daydreamer62

Rather than bill through the hotel who are likely adding a premium you could book your water taxi direct https://www.motoscafivenezia.com/en/ticket/choose-destination.php?_gl=1*ww0rz3*_up*MQ..&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwMqvBhCtARIsAIXsZpbZUETiIpIJQMnLkUL8MegG9LVrKPa9SPhbTvv7J9P0WbiaG1_FUPIaAoQHEALw_wcB

And the very next review from a couple in their 40s/30s gave a really great review. Different strokes for different folks.

I'm in a prime position to compare as we are booked on Vista for 11 days followed by a plane, train, hotel apartment type of vacation directly afterwards. The cruise cost $580NZ per day each for a balcony. The hotels/apartments cost on average $550 NZ per night for 2 so $NZ 225 pp room only for not fancy but hopefully 4 star level accommodation. Transport ( 2 trains 1 plane)cost another $1000pp divided over 10 nights and I know from our costs in France last year that we will spend at least € 120 pp at the very very minimum on restaurants per day so that's NZ 267 bringing the land portion to at minimum NZ$539 per night and that is before daily travel costs such as metro uber taxi etc. Taking into account the convenience of going to sleep and waking up in a new port, no packing and unpacking etc the cruise portion is surprisingly good value. It's a totally different experience of course and I don't believe one replaces the other but doing the maths makes me wonder if we just shouldn't have stayed on board for the next 7 days B2B after our original cruise!! ( This cruise was a replacement for a longer one cancelled due to the red sea transit issues that averaged $564 per night) we changed our outgoing flight and kept our original return flights from London so have 11 days to fill in getting from Athens to London hence the land portion in France and the UK.

Exactly. A resort based vacation to me would be akin to boarding a ship that never leaves the dock. Those who enjoy that shouldn't be complaining about port changes of any kind. I just don't think you can compare the two like for like.

I'm younger than you. Early 60s , but we tend to travel for longer periods because we are coming from New Zealand and it's a very loooong very expensive flight. I'm always less than 23kg even fully laden but that's still hefty to get on and off trains, and luggage racks aren't always convenient. As I said we are using this method of travel after our cruise ( travelling in France and to the UK) but really only to give my husband a driving free holiday for a change . But personally I don't think train travel can be compared to cruising. It's completely different ( unless you are doing one of the luxury all inclusive journeys)

Have done that and will be doing it again at the conclusion of our next cruise however it definitely has its downsides. Luggage being the worst IMO. You really don't want to be lugging big heavy suitcases on and off trains (so that limits my shopping and wardrobe choices ). Then you need transport from the train station to your hotel . It's not a great issue if you are young and fit and travel light.. Then in Europe there are the (not infrequent) strikes to contend with

But then cruises of all types and independent travel are different beasts. You know that going in so a decline or fare increase for one or the other doesn't mean the alternative will be a replacement. I love independent travel and I'm sure it will be my go to method until we no longer feel capable of self driving in strange countries but that won't stop us from trying other travel methods , cruising being one. I'll never want to do an organised bus tour though, that would be like taking the worst parts of all travel methods as bundling them all together

And me.. it was one of the reasons I chose Oceania for our upcoming cruise over other lines. From what I've read and understood regardless of a so called decline in quality and services of most if not all cruise lines they are almost without exception more fully forward booked than at any time in the past so it seems they aren't being harmed in the short term anyway, by those who are leaving to try other methods of travel ( personally a land tour where you are constantly packing and unpacking doesn't fill me with excitement). We aren't big cruisers, only having done 2 in the last 9 years . We are usually independent driving holiday people but cruising is so much more relaxing . I'm looking for the best bang for buck at a certain level of comfort. Oceania may or may not be perfect for us . It remains to be seen but at face value the cruise we have booked seems excellent value for us given the inclusions including Simply More which suits our needs perfectly

Look online when you go to shop shore excursions there is a tab with Simply More and a question mark. Hover over that and it will tell you. I think it's also in the shore excursions pdf.

And It pays to do the maths if you are doing multiple excursions. For us it physically cost less to book 6 excursions than to book 4 . Two of the 4 I wanted to book were quite expensive. 6 was the minimum set to get the discount. . I added 2 much less expensive excursions which bought the price up by $269; but then 25% was deducted from all of them bringing the total down by a lot more than the extra2 excursions. Then the credit was applied to that balance after the discount had been applied.

I'm on Vista 1 June from Trieste

No it's on Vista but I found more listed. I just hadn't scrolled along far enough.. All on port days though which is annoying

I have a related question to this. On our upcoming June 1 cruise there is a culinary class listed but it's in a port day that I don't want to miss. Are other classes ever added later . We do have just one sea day on this cruise and obviously that would be my(and most peoples I imagine) preference.

Yes for our cruise the minimum was 6 . The credit paid only for one (expensive excursion) . It does pay you do the maths though as I wouldn't have believed it would be cheaper to do 6 than 4 ( one of the extras was quite a relatively inexpensive one though)

I'd definitely prioritise whales over food too. But I'll remember to pick up and keep a packet of nuts or snacks in the cabin just in case something similar happens to us!!

I've just completed booking excursions for our Vista Trieste to Athens cruise beginning June 1 . This was a replacement for a cancelled Insignia cruise for which I had booked excursions months ago. I booked 6 ( minimum for the discount .. It was cheaper than booking the 4 I really wanted ) and I had no problem getting all but 1 that I that I chose so it's definitely not always the way that excursions are sold out.

I used trenitalia https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html for all Italian train bookings. Direct with the supplier rather than with any booking service though many will suggest Trainline as being a good option, I found booking direct also means you get advanced notice of strikes (of which there have been entry year we have been there)

Thanks @mauibabes . That will set his mind at rest .I'm sure he wouldn't starve anyway!!

On our upcoming cruise we have signed up for a couple of excursions with VERY early starts. (7:15 and 7:30) I'm not a bit breakfast eater anyway and an fine with a coffee but my hubby likes his breakfast. What time does room service breakfast start to deliver and or what other options(baristas? Aquamar kitchen, the terrace?)

Yes it pays to do the maths. For our upcoming cruise it was cheaper to do 6 excursions (the minimum for the 25% discount) than to do 4 .(2 of which were pretty expensive ones)

It was only a matter of time. So Azamara is the last hold out now?

It's pretty easy to tell which may be cancelled. Those where the ship is on the Asian side of the red sea. The ships that come across the Atlantic aren't affected. But if the itineraries of those aren't your cup of tea then that's a moot point . We were lucky that our 2nd choice if itinerary after the one that was cancelled was actually on sale so we'll nabbed that

This is the reality of the situation. It's buyer beware really. We also were affected by the cancellation of a cruise because the ship could not make it to the embarkation point due to having to reroute. When I had originally booked my fares I could have saved a hundred dollars by buying non refundable non changeable fares but I chose the next fare class up which allowed changes with a fee. Oceania offered $300ppUS toward flight changes. The replacement cruise I chose had an earlier start date andv end date and different locations completely. We decided to keep our return flight as it was and change the initial flight which cost us just under that$300. We could have cancelled totally and rebooked for under the $300 . I've been bitten before with a large fee with a non cruise holiday where an event we were going to in the UK had a date change after we had booked flights so I never choose non refundable flights. Even if travel insurance might cover it, if just less hassle to be prepared for all eventualities.

Interestingly Viking and Azamara still have not pulled out so Oceania definitely weren't the last to do so

I don't believe that Azamara has cancelled yet. We have friends of friends waiting and hoping