kawagama

Southeast Sea Kayaking out of Ketchikan. When we did their tour (and we were the only 2 guests!) we saw a humpback close by and then his/her tail even closer! It was very cool! They are a great company that offers many varied options.

Our Alaska cruise was the very first week of May in 2016. No bugs anywhere that we experienced. Did not need hiking boots even though we did hike up the Chilkoot Trail (athletic shoes were plenty for that). Layers are important, as is a hat and mitts. You'll likely need those in Glacier Bay. I also recommend quick dry pants instead of jeans. If jeans get wet (which is likely), they take forever to dry. The really nice thing about May, besides the snow capped hills and fresh green of the newly budding trees, was the fact that the ports were not jammed with huge ships. We were the only ship in ports that we docked at and that was plenty enough for these small towns.

We had definitely over-packed with all the different layers and then some dress up clothes for the ship. If I were to do it again I would bring much less, especially for on board dinners. It was our first cruise, so we didn't know what to expect.

We were on the Noordam in May of 2016 and enjoyed it very much. It was our very first cruise. We had a balcony, but in the end didn't use it all that much because the weather was still quite cool in early May. It was great, however, on Glacier Bay day, as we didn't need to fight the crowds on deck for views when the captain did the 360s. The ship itself was fine as far as we were concerned and we liked the fact that it was only 2000 people. They had a nice variety of entertainment in the evenings and we found the staff was very friendly. I would go on it again.

Our cruise just sailed right past Tracy Arm even though it was indicated on the itinerary. Not sure why, as nothing was said about that. We went to Mendenthal Glacier in Juneau, hiked up the Chilkoot Trail/floated down the Taiya River in Skagway, and did some sea kayaking in Ketchikan. Enjoyed them all! We were also happy to see many humpback whales from the decks of the ship and close by when we were kayaking. I have a bit of a hang-up about whale watching tours after seeing motorized vehicles zooming around pods of orcas in Johnstone Strait--I find it very invasive of these animals. So, we were happy to enjoy seeing the whales from the ship (which I guess is also a rather large motorized vehicle in their habitat--sigh). Lots of eagles, seals, and other shore birds too. No bears.

Haven't been to Dubrovnik, so I can't speak to that one, but we were in Split and Kotor last fall. Split was okay in the old palace, albeit very expensive. However, we were done walking around the old palace in about an hour. Kotor, on the other hand, is beautiful! Sailing into the town through the fjords is beautiful and the old town is very quaint. Prices were reasonable for drinks and souvenirs. We did do the 1500 step climb up to the old fortress for an even more amazing view! It was a slog, but this pair of 60+ managed just fine. We earned our beer after our descent for sure. Too bad they aren't offering you Kotor and Dubrovnik.

We had foggy, cool weather in Venice in mid October 2017. The weather for the cruise portion to Athens and back was lovely--sunny and warm everywhere we went. The fog in Venice, however, delayed our cruise and consequently changed our itinerary, much to our disappointment.

When we went to Rome in 2016 I spent a lot of time researching beforehand. I came across a website that was invaluable: Romewise. A North American writes it after living in Rome for several years. It was great. Lots of advice and links to tours. You may find what you are looking for there. We did a tour of the underground and third tier in the Colloseum. It was great! I, sadly, don't remember the name of the tour company we used, but I'm pretty sure I found it through Romewise. Our tour was 3 hours and included the Palatine Hill and Forum too. After it ended we were still able to wander around the Forum on our own to see more. A word of advice: bring some snacks or a lunch with you, and water. There really isn't anything to purchase on site. We did need to wait in line to go through security, despite having prepaid, skip the line tickets. Just the way things are these days. Enjoy!

We did HAL in May of 2016. I believe we were one of the first ships up and the only ship in the ports when we stopped. To me, that would be more important than the entertainment, etc. on any ship. The ports are not large cities. If you choose a bigger ship and a time when there are several larger ships in port, your experience at the port may not be as great as you will be constantly surrounded by crowds. I guess if you don't mind that, it doesn't matter. We were on the Noordam which had roughly 2000 people. There were all ages on it and most people were pretty casual in their dress. We liked the food and had no issues with it--actually liked all the choices and options. Found it far superior to RCCL and a ship of comparable size. We've not been on Princess, so can't compare, but I know that for us a passenger count of 2000 is plenty big enough.

For Rome I would recommend the Borghese Gallery, if you like art. The building is a work of art in itself (windows, doors, floors, ceilings, walls), plus there are beautiful paintings and sculptures throughout. We liked it best because of the way they allow entrance. You need to book a specific day and time in advance. When you arrive you have two hours to wander through the building at your leisure. They only allow 250 visitors at a time so it never feels crowded, which is really nice for Rome.

In Venice, wander around the little alleys and back canals. If you are there for more than a day or two, consider staying on the island of Murano. This island welcomes lots of tourists during the day as they all come to see the glass, but in the evening, when everyone goes back to Venice itself, the island is quiet and quaint. We stayed at Murano Palace--a lovely little hotel that included a delightful breakfast. It was less expensive than Venice and much nicer than the hotel we had in Venice itself. We found great places to eat there too, for lunch and dinner. I wouldn't do this instead of Venice itself, but only if you have some extra time. We had two nights before a cruise in Venice itself, but then stayed on Murano after our cruise for one night. Then, took a boat to the airport! How cool was that?!

We went with Southeast as well in 2016. While it did start to rain during our tour, we still enjoyed it and were the only two on the tour (early May)! They were very gracious and I would recommend them.

We are contemplating a cruise as part of our trip to NZ in 2019--haven't decided for sure on the cruise part. However, if we did book a cruise, I would definitely be annoyed at missing the fjords, as that would be our main reason for taking the cruise in the first place. Can anyone fill me in on what kind of weather prevents ships from sailing there and what do they do instead? Also, has anyone ever booked a smaller boat cruise in the fjords, booked through some of the smaller boat companies out of NZ? Is there better luck that way?

Yes roads in NZ may be "bendy" and there are not a lot of 4 lane divided highways. Much like rural England, the Cotswold's, Alberta or Montana or Idaho - including the possibility of sheep (or cattle) on the road.:D

 

 

For me, the remarkable thing about most NZ roads was the absence of any traffic at all - Sometimes we went an hour or more without even seeing another vehicle. For perspective, South Island had roughly one million inhabitants and is about the same size as New York State which has a population of around 20 million. People are scarce in NZ. There are, of course, more sheep than people;).

 

Robbie

This makes me even more excited about going! We experienced the same thing in the Yukon (minus the sheep), where we didn't even need to pull off the road to take pictures. Stopping in the middle was fine because there was no traffic, just beautiful country and wide open empty space. But, I am excited about the sheep! :D:D

See responses in red :cool:

Thank you! Yes, I think we are not that keen on 10 sea days with only a short stop in Hawaii to break them up either. Especially at the end when we probably will just want to get home. Might break up the long flights with a stop in Hawaii, however, seeing as how we have never been there. Enjoy your trip!

Should you opt for the land tour only here are some things to know:

 

1. NZ motels are everywhere. Most have cooking facilities sufficient for breakfast. We purchased an ice chest at Kmart (called a "Chilly bin"), bought a cheap fry pan, etc. (although many have them in the room) and carried eggs and orange juice and all that. Also had some lunch stuff and often had leftovers from dinner for lunch the next day. This helped avoid overeating too much. Get a copy of the NZ Automobile Association motel guide, lists pretty much all of them. We did not reserve long ahead - just called a day or two before or even while enroute. We did make B&B reservations well ahead of time for a couple of places. Note also that there are always good options for lunch stops. There are lots of parks and every town has a nice town square park always with a clean public restroom. We traveled in March and April, weather was good and tourist areas not particularly busy.

 

2. Roads are generally good and signage is excellent. Traffic is light by our standards except in major cities which, come to think, consists only of Auckland, Wellington and maybe Christchurch.

 

3. If you plan to drive on both South and North islands be aware that although there is a very fine car ferry most rental companies want you to unload on one side and get another car on the other side. That seemed a bit of a hassle so we found a company that let us pickup in Christchurch and drop off in Auckland and actually got us a discount fare for the ferry. We simple drove off the ferry and went straight to our motel in Wellington. We met some other folks who said it took them 2 hours to get through the car rental lines and locate and reload their luggage. Good move for us!

 

4. Local tourist offices are generally excellent and everyone you meet is anxious to ensure you see all of their country. Motel owners/staff are excellent sources of local info - you just have to ask. Although we traveled without a locked in, day by day schedule we had done a lot of preplanning for sites to see for sure, if possible and if convenient. We had a general route planned and stayed two or three days in each area, with the option to extend or shorten our stay as we progressed.

 

5. Get a good map, a couple of guidebooks and do your homework but do feel free to discuss your plans with folks you meet along the way. You will get good advise and local knowledge that cannot be found in the books (or on the web).

 

We have traveled a lot and NZ remains one of our very best experiences. Enjoy!

 

Robbie

Once again, thanks for all the advice--especially about the rental cars! We are thinking of March/April and are quite accustomed to making our own meals on the fly (long-time campers). I like the idea of buying a cheap cooler and some basic tools. You are giving us some awesome advice! Thank you!

Yes, renting a car is really the only way to see a significant part of NZ. Unlike Australia distances between cities/sites are reasonable. We drove around both North and South island for 6 weeks - there is a lot to see!

 

Given that this is a "bucket list" trip I recommend you forgo the cruising entirely and dedicate your time to seeing all of NZ. In addition to our 6 week land trip we have cruised Aus/NZ twice. The cruise stops in NZ barely give you a taste of this fascinating country.

 

Robbie

Thanks! That's what I've been thinking now too--land tour only. I know I have been disappointed at the little amount of time given to ports during our previous cruises.

thanks for the responses! This is great! I gather renting a car is the easiest way to get around, despite the difference in driving on the "wrong" side of the road. We might forget about the cruising home to Canada part as that might take things beyond our budget and time allotment. It just sounds really cool and would allow us to see more while we're out that way. Has anyone done this? In either direction?

We are planning our bucket list trip to New Zealand and could use some advice. For those of you who have been is November or April preferable? Both are shoulder seasons, and both seem to have similar weather according to my research. However, as far as activities on the islands, is one more favourable to the other? We are thinking of a 14-day HAL cruise, but also want to do some land travel either before or after. We also thought of the 36-day repositioning cruise that would take us back to Vancouver via Fiji, Samoa, and Hawaii, along with the two week NZ part. Has anyone done this trip? And as far as the Tasman Sea, is November calmer than April, or does it not make any difference? We are simply in the planning stage and need some advice before we start booking things. We live in Ottawa Canada, so this is a very long trip for us and one that we will never repeat (given we are in our mid sixties). Thanks!

Haven't been to Tivoli Gardens, but when we were in Rome, the Borghese Gallery was a stop that we absolutely loved. Because they only allow 200 people in at a time for 2-hour segments, we were able to really enjoy our visit there--no jostling and bumping by thousands of tourists. The art is spectacular, as it is everywhere--on the walls, on the floor, on the ceiling, the walls themselves, the doorways, etc. etc. Loved, loved, loved this place!

Wow, this question ended up being hijacked into a discussion about muggings pretty quickly! As to your question about daylight hours--we were in the Eastern Mediterranean last October (mid month) The weather was warm and sunny all week (not cold at all), and sunset was around 6-7 PM, so we sailed out of ports during sunset on most days, as a previous poster indicated. If you are worried about being caught in the dark, just go back to the ship a little early. If you are on a ship organized excursion, the bus will bring you right to the docks, so again, you don't need to worry.

We used Private Greek Tours http://privategreecetours.com/ while in Athens. They were great! Our ship arrived early (3 hours early!) and they knew about that and were waiting for us at the ship terminal. We had a private, air conditioned car and driver for over 6 hours for 300 euros. There were 4 of us. He took us all over Athens, giving us lots of historical information while driving. We had adequate time at all the spots to look around and take pictures. I think we ended up seeing much more than if we had taken a hop on hop off bus. It was worth it. I highly recommend this company.

In Argostoli, we did not book any kind of tour. Consequently we simply went to one of the local beaches for a swim and then wandered around the town itself. The town, although clean, didn't really have much to see. And while the swim was lovely, the beach was not spectacular like some that one sees in pictures. I think most people at this port need to take some kind of tour to really see something special.

Before we went to Rome I found this website : https://www.romewise.com/

It was an invaluable source for information, planning, and tips. I spent a lot of time reading her suggestions and many of them were very useful to us.

Stay in Rome--like many are suggesting. It is lovely in the evening and being able to check in to your hotel during the day for a power nap is a bonus. We stayed at Hotel Farnese during our stay, near Campo de Fiori and 5 minutes from Trastavere and its delicious restaurants. The rooms weren't large, but adequate, and it did have breakfast and a rooftop terrace to enjoy a glass of wine.

When my cousin and her husband went to Rome, they stayed outside of the city and she said she would never do that again. They found it very tiring to spend the entire day wandering around and not be able to go to her hotel to change her shoes or just grab a quick rest. We are all in our 60s and active too.

We also did a kayak tour with Southeast Kayaks and were very happy with it! We were there in early May so we were the only two on the tour and they were still training guides, so we had 4 of them! It was very cool. Saw a few humpbacks quite close up. Unfortunately it started to rain quite hard towards the tail end and we cut the kayaking short due to wind. Instead we had more time on their mother boat to enjoy some salmon treats and hot tea. Highly recommend this group.

Check out MedSeaYachts.com I think they might offer what you are looking for.

If you haven't booked your post cruise hotel yet, may I recommend Murano Palace? I had trouble finding something nice and affordable for one night (Saturday) after our cruise in October in Venice itself. Most things were either too expensive, already booked up, or required two nights stay, or looked very very sketchy. So, having spent 2 nights in Venice before our cruise, we decided to go further afield to Murano, which we hadn't yet visited. It was an easy trip to Murano via Alilaguna from the Piazzale Roma. The hotel on the island was a 5 minute walk from the boat stop and required no crossing of any bridges. The island is lovely and not as crowded as Venice itself. We enjoyed a lovely dinner and were very happy with our hotel choice. In the morning, we hopped on another Alilaguna boat which took us directly to the airport! My husband, a sailor, thought this was great!

We had no issues in Rome, but of course were cautious travellers. We both purchased rather pricey travel bags (over the shoulder for both) that are slash resistant and also have stuff in them to prevent the use of credit card readers. If you can afford it, get one of these bags--they also have all kinds of zippered compartments and clasps for attaching wallets, etc.

We never took more than we needed out with us, leaving the rest safely in a safe in the hotel.

On our most recent trip, my husband brought along an old wallet that he didn't care about. He put in a few euros in that. Had we been "held up" he would've given the thieves this wallet instead of his real one. Luckily we never had to test this!

He has been to Rome a few times and was told that putting a wallet in one's pants' pocket is fine, as long as a hand remains in that pocket with it.