iancal

My view is that if someone is foolish enough to pack a carry on bag to a weight that they cannot physically handle or place in an overhead then I am not going to be foolish enough to help him or her IF suspect that it is too heavy for me. Many of the regional carriers have a weight limit of 8KG. There is a reason for this. Can you just imagine someone lifting a carry on that is too heavy only to have it fall on top of a poor passenger seated below.

agree....for now!

Our experience over the years in a number of trenitalia stations.....elevators are one thing, functioning elevators can be something else altogether.

Agree. And the other thing that I will no longer do after learning the hard way....I will not lift someone else's carryon that appears to me to be very heavy, or heavier than I can handle, into the overhead compartment.

Never stayed in Piraeus even though we have been through it multiple times. We have stayed in Athens several times. Last time, for a change, we stayed in Glyfada. Midway between the two. Streetcar or bus into Athens. Xbus to Piraeus. Nice quiet area. Beach. Some good restaurants. We enjoyed it.

We are in the 'trust but verify' club. First thing we do if we make a TA booking is to get the vendor booking number and check it against the vendor site for date, price, conditions, etc. Anyone can make a mistake. Our view is that since it is us that will have to deal with the consequences it is incumbent on us to double check. And better to do it when we book vs when we are in front of the check in desk.

It would be a mistake to assume that the TSA regs are followed in every country. Our experience is that they are not. Some countries are less stringent, others much more stringent. We carry our sunscreen and bug repellent in 100ml containers. We have had larger half full tubes, 300ml of sunscreen removed and discarded by airport security in some countries, including Canada. Ditto for liquid bug repellent. We only travel with carry on so all liquids are subject to inspection.. Some countries appeared to be very interested in the contents of the bug repellent. In one instance we had a 75ml bottle confiscated. Not certain what it was that caused them to take it away. You never know.....especially if there happens to be a security alert in the airport where you are being inspected/processed. We has the misfortune to experience this at LHR. Excruciating long lines and regs followed to a T by the security staff.

I do not put much stock in the daily market numbers. Too many extraneous factors that can move those numbers up or down. Unless of course something very significant occurs to any of the companies themselves. No doubt all of the cruise conglomerate leadership teams are trying to come up with positive public statements that will have the most positive impact on their respective stock prices. The real touchstones will be the quarterly financials. The P&L, the cash flow projections, balance sheet changes, etc. Or any subsequent stock issuances or bond floats announcements. The insider trading reports which can sometimes be telling.

We took it in the afternoon. If you were standing in front of Termini the buses were on the right hand side of the station. Opposite end to the tracks (21 or 22?) where you get the Civ train, so I suppose on the side closest to track 1. At the side where the RomeTourism office was located and where you could by a Rome pass. No idea how often the buses left. They were lined up when we arrived. It was three or four years ago. The bus did stop once. At the wall near the Vatican. Close to where it stopped when we took in to Rome the year before. We have done the train to Civ a few times. More than once from a suburban station instead of Termini. Who knows,,,it could be that those buses are no longer running. Have you tried asking on the Rome tripadvisor forum??? You may well get exactly the information that you need. Or...the Ric Steves and Lonely Planet both have forums where you might be able to ask.

Our first time in Malta there was a HOHO bus waiting at the dock. Very inexpensive and it included a boat tour which we took. Got off the bus at Mdina and spent an hour there. Did the boat tour. Then walked about DT for an hour or so. Enjoyed it so much we returned for 9 days while on our way to Sicily. Loved it.

We have been to Ephesus a few times. Last time with in laws. FIL wanted to go to house of the Virgin Mary. From the perspective of each of the four people who went on this add on it was a complete bust. Typical tourist trap. It was a major disappoint for him. We knew what to expect but he was determined to go so we went.

We have done that trip several times...both ways. Always had a seat with a window. However, as I recall there is really not that much to see. It is quite a dull trip once you leave the Rome environs.

Same here. Actually, we are very much discouraged from attending physician's offices or hospital emerg for tests. Test are distributed to all pharmacies and available for free. In our area the first pass is with a self test. Second is a heath authority drive in PCR test. The very last place they want possibly positive people is in a physician's or hospital waiting room.

We have purchased many trenitalia tickets on the web over the years. Never had a credit card refused or put on hold. But...it has been three or four years since we did this. Last month we purchased at least six on line rail tickets in Portugal. No issue whatsoever, no holds.

We do the same. Just returned from four weeks in Portugal. We packed test kits for exactly the reasons outlined above. If we believe that we have the virus we want confirmation. The very last thing we want to do is pass it along to someone else. We have had covid, it was very mild for us. But...we know people who have been very ill, hospitalized, and at least one person who has experienced serious covid attributable ailments for months afterward.

That is the stuff of fairly tales in the cruise line service industry. There is a reason why cruise lines are incorporated in offshore countries and hire foreign workers. It is called low wages, long hours, and no pesky labor legislation or unions to deal with. We tip extra, in cash, for good service. We are now doing it in restaurants at home because there are some employers who do no pass on tips that are added to credit card bill payments. We want the person who is serving us well to get the entire benefit our gratuity. And at the time they provide the service.

It seems to me that there are many different cruise lines. Why moan and groan about something that does not please you when there are other cruise vendors that offer exactly what you want? In our early 70's and OK with a mixed environment on a cruise. Casual-formal is fine for us. And we have no issue with children on board. Basketball court is also fine with us as is music by the pool. Live (preferable) or canned. 1800-2700 is fine for us as it provides multiple dining venues. Any larger no thanks. We accept that the cruise line is not marketing specifically to us. Good thing, because many have different preferences that we do. If we did not like any or all of those attributes we would shop for a different type of cruise line or ship. It is all about choice. Why choose strawberry if you really want butterscotch ripple?

The mass market lines are going where the vast majority of the public is going. More casual, more family, larger ships. Cruises on these lines are no longer the purview of the wealthy. Late booking 7 day Alaska cruises on HAL(Eurodam/Westerdam) are today selling for a low $499/449 and Princess (Discovery/Royal) for $399 according to one very popular late booking TA site. It is just business. There are more expensive, higher end altermate cruise lines that do have, and enforce, a more formal dress requirement.

Alas...we live in Canada. Our banks excel at retail service charges but fall far short when it comes to credit card offerings. In the past we have rec'd far better value from our Delta points and from our United points than we have done from Aeroplan over the past 10 years or so.

We no longer care about Aeroplan points. We stopped our cards some time ago. For us the benefit, after payment of their 'fees' was often less than one percent. We switched to a cash back travel card that allows us to truly shop the market for any carrier.

I feel much the same way. However, we are starting to travel now and we are being very careful . Pay with credit cards, not too far in advance. Always have refundable bookings just in case one part of the puzzle goes south. Certainly no future credits of any kind. And never leaving any monies needless on deposit with any travel vendor-cruise or otherwise. At one point we did have a small $1200. credit with TUI, one of the worlds largest travel vendors. Airlines, cruise ships, hotels, vacations...you name it. To their credit we rec'd a reminder every 60 days that it was there along with a note that said if we did not specifically request a refund or use the credit by Oct 21 they would send us a refund. And they did just that, without our requesting it, as promised. We were impressed and will willingly do more business with them. I think they were an exception. I have no doubt that there will be changes in all cruise line holding companies. I do not think that anything will be off the table. I also think the heads up will be when significant debtholders/creditors and institutional investors start to flex their muscle at the board and at the senior management level.....and are purposely seen to be doing so.

If this is the biggest issue that cruisers will experience then they indeed leave a good life. Go with the flow. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just get on the train. Hardly an unsurmountable challenge. Who knows...it might even be an enjoyable experience. HAL is not doing this to purposely inconvenience customers. There must be a good reason. Cut HAL some slack on this.

We found large differences over the years based on where we lived in Canada Dress at business casual events in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver that we attended tended to be different, sometimes very different, from each other in terms of dress. DItto for corporate events in Boston/NH areas. Same for attire at weddings, funerals, church, fine restaurants. etc. And this has changed over the years and changed again as the demographics have changed. At my spouses church it would be a straightforward exercise to place congregants in the right demographic category simply by their attire. I have no doubt that differences exist between regions in the US. Boston, New York, in our experience if very different that Montana or the west coast.

Sounds like it might be a bit of plan depending on the next itinerary.

When we travel to Europe the jet lag does not bother us. Assuming it is 6-9 hours. Coming back....absolutely. We feel it for days. Same experience when we fly to Bangkok. Arrive at midnight, to to bed. Next morning all is well. Coming back it takes a week. Perhaps because we are 70. I made the mistake of flying from Malaysia to Gold Coast, Australia, and renting a car to drive drive for several hours to meet friends. Only 10 hours. BIG mistake. I realized in hindsight that I was not attentive enough to be behind the wheel of a car. And is was RHD of course. I was lucky...no accidents. But I did take note of the lesson and never did it again. Keep in mind that that travel plans change. If your plane is 3 hours late will you still be up for a drive and have full faculties. Why take a chance???