Hlitner

There is a small port/pier area towards the left of the town, and that is where you will be dropped by your tender. From that spot, the entire town of Villefranche is within walking distance. There will be some taxis (first come first serve), but I am not sure of their fare to Nice (Old Town). It should be no more than 10 Euros per person, but taxis in France have been known to rip off cruisers. There are also regional buses and the train station, either of which can get you into Nice. The bus or train should be about 2 Euros. Once in Nice, they now have a decent streetcar/tram system to get around town, for folks that do not want to walk or grab a taxi. Speaking of old town, keep in mind that the Flower Market (do not miss this) is primarily a morning market and starts to wind down shortly after noon. We always suggest making the Flower Market the first stop. Hank

Nice is nice :). So what to do for a few days? Certainly take a walk to the Flower Market and adjacent old town. Although many folks seem to love Eze, our own preference is to go out to St Paul de Vence and, if you enjoy contemporary art, also visit the nearby Maeght Fondation. Eze Village is also worth a visit, but we have been disappointed in the quality of the shops...in recent years. I would suggest saving Cannes for another cruise that actually uses that town as a port. Monte Carlo does offer the palace/changing of the guard and perhaps a visit to the casino. DW and I are not fans of Monte Carlo, but we do understand that some do enjoy the town. In fact a couple of years ago we ended a cruise in Monte Carlo, where DW and I walked off the ship, into our reserved car/driver, and sped off for a few days in Nice :). Just a word about a walking tour of Nice (even if it is included in the Viking fare). Most walking tours will take you to the Flower Market/Old Town and also for a stroll along the Promanade. We agree with going to these places, but there is no reason to do it with 30 of your "friends" and a guide. The Old Town area is a place where you stroll around, enjoy the many stalls of the outdoor Flower Market, go into some of the shops. enjoy a snack or lunch (lots of nice places to eat), etc. When we have seen walking tours in that crowded area, the guides generally give their charges "free time" since it is an area for browsing, not for a large group tour. Then we see those folks stop at a cafe for coffee and a pastry, and nervously look at their watches because they are concerned about when to meet their group. You can easily do all this on your own, and not be concerned about being on a schedule. Hank

Would not say "for sure" because these days HAL can change any rule any day at any time. But, normally, if you are booked under a single reservation (i.e. cruise number) you will not get upgraded during the voyage. The one exception has been on "Grand Cruises" when upgrades were granted between segments. Hank

Just a few words about the posts (above). Going to places like Horosaki Castle (which is surrounded by a huge park) or Hiroshima Castle involves a lot of walking. Many cruisers have difficulty walking from one end of the ship to the other, and will wait 10 minutes rather than take a single flight of stairs. In some cases they have health issues, but many others simply do not like to do anything physical. DIY travel (and even some excursions/tours) do involve significant physical exertion and walking. In fact, on our trip to Japan (spring of 2023) DW and I (both in our 70s) had a few days where we walked over 10 miles (per my iWatch). Our norm was close to 6 miles (per day). Folks can certainly plan their days to avoid that much walking, but it will also mean some compromise. Many of the top sites in Japan, are located in parks where there are no vehicles. One gets dropped at a drop/parking area, and than walks. If you are visiting a castle (i.e. Pagoda) you may need to climb more than 6 levels, and not all the top sites have elevators. I know this sounds a bit weird, but we have previously preached to travelers to "get in shape" before your trip and plan on a post trip vacation to rest :). When it comes to Japan, the "getting in shape" is even more important than for most places. If you are on your own, just walking through a place like Tokyo Station (one of the largest train stations in the world) or Shinjuku Station can be very demanding. Just changing subway lines in Tokyo can involve a very long walk. Hank

We would not choose the menu for 400 Euros per couple (on top of what one is paying the cruise). Nothing wrong with the menu, but one can certainly question the value! Hank

I made the remark, tongue in cheek,,,,,or did I! Consider that for a period of time, folks paying extra (at the time it was about $50 per person) for their alternative venue, the Pinnacle Grill, were charged an extra fee (I think it was $10 + 18%) for simply ordering both a starter and soup! Eventually, HAL reacted to the uproar and did away with that extra charge, but simply increased the price of the Pinnacle Grill for everyone!

When we are paying for a premium or luxury line, we prefer both lamb chops and lobster. O did deliver on our recent Vista cruise and did a pretty good job with both items. Hank

Interesting posts from Donald, which has increased my own knowledge about the procedures used by some mass market lines. But, I want to take the thread back to the original topic of preauthorization holds. What does this mean to the cruiser? A preauthorization hold, which often shows up on your account as "pending" does not impact the amount you must pay on your account. What it does do is count against your "credit limit" which is the authorized maximum balance + pends you can carry on your account. For folks that have a high credit limit on their card, a preauthorization hold is a big nothing. It is also not generally an issue if you use a card like AMEX that does not have a specific limit (although AMEX does have limits in their system that, if exceeded, will trigger a review). For folks with a lower credit limit, these pre-authorization holds can be a big problem. If the hold takes you over the card limit, it is very possible that any other charges will be denied until the pending (hold) amount is removed or satisfied. So, the question is what are folks to do, who only have cards with low limits? Before your cruise, call your credit card company (there is a toll-free number on the card), explain the situation, and request that your limit be increased. The credit card companies want your business, and their normal tendency is to grant you a higher credit limit, although that increase might be temporary. The credit card companies are usually very helpful (it is to their own benefit) but you need to ask, rather than wait until you have a real problem. For cruisers (especially younger cruisers) who are frustrated by low credit limits, keep in mind that it is using that credit card (and paying it off) that will get your limit increased on a permanent basis. Instead of dealing with cash, on a cruise, you might want to put aside that cash, use your card, and later use the cash to quickly pay the entire credit card balance. This is how you gradually improve your limits, and also increase your overall credit score. Lack of use (of your card) will not increase your limits or credit rating and may, actually, lower your credit score. Most folks with the highest credit ratings do regularly use credit cards, but almost always pay the entire balance when it is due. Hank

If it is the port of entry, that adds significant time to being off the ship and on your way. Our experience with the Japanese authorities is that the amount of time is not predictable and could vary from a half hour to at least 2 hours. Things will hopefully move pretty fast since the Japanese are going to be aware that many folks need to catch flights. But, for arguments sake. assume you can be on your way by 8:30 or 9. If you are willing to pay the money for a taxi, I would guess the ride to Disney would be about 40 minutes. Not sure of the fare, but you could be looking at something in the $120 dollar range (they run the meter) so traffic delays increase the fare. Doing a little math that means you might be looking at $250 taxi fares (round trip) and something like another $200 to get into Disney. The early departure from Yokohoma is obviously not helpful. Getting a taxi at Yokohama is probably not going to be an issue. I have no clue how difficult it is to get a taxi at Disney or how long it takes to get from wherever you are (within the park) to the taxi stand. I am a DIY person and might try your crazy idea, making decisions on the spur of the moment, depending on the situation. If it does not look like a reasonable port day, you can always just stay in Yokohama, enjoy a nice walk and lunch in Chinatown, etc. I guess another issue is whether you would have any problem buying a one-day Disney ticket, at the park. Seems like too much uncertainty to justify buying advance tickets. If Brucemuzz, sees this thread, you can hope he jumps in with all of his expertise (he lives in Japan). Hank

I would answer your question with a few questions. Where is your ship docking (i.e. Yokohama, Tokyo, etc)? Will it be your first port in Japan or will you be in another Japanese port a day or two earlier. I ask this, because the procedures for entering Japan (unless coming directly from another Japanese port) involved a face-to-face with Japanese officials. This procedure can add a lot of time to the procedure to get off your ship. Hank

We have been to that building, a few times, for dinner at The Iguana...which is their restaurant only opened for dinner. In order to get to the restaurant, you do walk through the lobby/courtyard. But somebody always opened the door, when we arrived, and I am not sure whether one can just walk in, off the street. It sure would not be high on my list of places to see in PV. If you do go, just tell them you want to look at the facility and are thinking of booking a week for a future trip :). As to the taxi fare, if you get a taxi from inside the port, you must use the so-called federal taxis (they have a federal franchise to only pick-up at the port) which charge a fixed fee per person. It used to be $5 US to town, but I would not be surprised if the price has increased in the past couple of years. Outside of the port area, you can catch one of the local yellow taxis (which can also be white) and you would need to negotiate a price. If paying in Pesos, it will likely be about !50 Mexican pesos ($8) for the entire taxi. If they think you are off a cruise ship, the drivers will generally ask for a higher price (perhaps 200 pesos). You can have them drop you anywhere in Centro (town) including Casa Kimberly....which is located quiet a few blocks uphill from the Malecon. The taxi drivers will accept US Dollars, but you are not likely to get a good exchange rate. Hank

When we went on the Vista, we had read all the posts about the soundproofing issues in the cabins. We had a normal OT cabin, and in 35 days, never had any issues with sound from our neighbors. I do remember one afternoon (shower time) barely hearing the TV from next door, but we never had any issues during sleep time. Some others we met on the ship told us of noisy neighbors, but it was not our experience. We also heard a rumor (onboard) that there were technicians coming aboard in July, that were supposed to put some soundproofing material in the walls (bulkheads) between the cabins. We posted this as part of our "live blog" back in April, but do not know if this is fact or fancy. Hank

When it comes to the "R" ships I do have it right. With the Marina, we only know what some O fans have told us. But recently, when on the Vista and we asked some others about the Marina they said, while slightly larger than the R ships they were still not up to the competition. Our next cruise is on the Seabourn Encore, where the normal bathrooms in a regular balcony suite, have a full size tub, shower, double sink, and plenty of space. While we are prepared to admit we are wrong about the Marina (we actually had booked an 18 day cruise on that ship until O decided to completely revamp the itinerary less than 3 weeks before embarkation). As to the R ships, our history with those vessels' pre-dates Ocenania. When new, the R ships were fine. But we have grown old and so has the design of the R ship bathrooms. Hank

Thanks for the review. We recently spent 35 days on the Vista (also our first O cruise) and can agree with most of what you posted. Hank

There is an ugly truth about cruise ships;. While cabin bathrooms can be updated, they cannot be enlarged without major ship rennovations...which does not happen (except when cabins are repurposed as suites). The R ships are well known for their tiny cabin bathrooms. For whatever reason, O did not learn it's lesson and continued with small baths on the Marina. On the new Vista, cabin baths were made a lot larger and compete, with baths on some of the luxury ships. We made no secret that we enjoyed our cruise on the Vista, which was our first O cruise. One reason why we had never cruised on O was that we did not want to book those tiny R ship baths (we cruised those ships when they were still with Renaissance) at O prices. Our feeling remains the same in that we will only consider O on the Vista or upcoming Allura. Many O fans do not get it, but this cruiser looks at overall value. And will not pay O prices for budget cruise line cabin baths. Hank

It seems that each cruise line plays their own games regarding pricing in various countries. For example, when Explora Journeys (a new luxury line) started excepting bookings, prices were several thousand dollars cheaper if one lived in the EU. Why? You would have to ask the EJ folks. The result... there ship has operated far below capacity. Most cruise lines use sophisticated "yield management" programs along with decising-making by experienced marketing folks. Sometimes they get it right and maximize the revenue per passenger/day throughout the ship. Other times they get it wrong, and sail with empty berths or must offer some big discounts (such as to the Interline program) to fill those berths at marginal rates or a loss. Hank

The current situation remains unchanged. In the various cruise terminals (assuming you are docked at one of the usual terminals) there is a so-called Duty Free shop (past port security). Prices in these shops may, or may not be as good as the deals you can get in town. "Duty Free" does not mean "profit free" so let the buyer beware. As far as taking booze on your ship, that is entirely up to your particular cruise line and the ship's security folks. Many lines will take any booze you bring aboard, store it, and return it the night before you disembark. There are also lines (mostly premium and luxury lines) that have no problem with folks bringing aboard their own booze. Even if you buy wine or booze outside the port, the port security folks have no problem. It is all about your cruise line. Speaking of wine, wine lovers can find a lot to like at many wine shops around Barcelona. Hank

When a friend asked a similar question as the OP's, my response was that there are more than 1600 hotels in Paris! If you ask 100 folks, very familiar with Paris, their favorite hotel you are likely to get 100 different answers. So, what to do? We suggest making a decision on which neighborhood (arrondisement) you prefer to stay. Knowing the area really helps pare down the list of good choices It also helps if one decides if they want a large modern hotel, or a smaller boutique-like cute Parisian property. For example, if we were to choose a small property in the 5th (Latin Quarter) it would likely be the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles. If I wanted a nice hotel in the 1st (close to the Louvre) I might choose the Hotel Brighton...although that is a 4* Hotel with 4* prices. My own preference, if staying on the Right Bank would be to look for a nice reasonably priced hotel in the Marais area . On the other hand, DW and I sometimes prefer to rent an apartment, for a few days to a few weeks, since you get a lot more space than a hotel room, can do some cooking, etc. Paris is a wonderful place with so many options on where to stay. It is not a matter of right or wrong, but simply personal preference. Hank

Having lived in Japan for two years, as a young man, and also had a nice visit (both land and cruise) in 2023, we have lots of thughts about this country. We enjoyed cruising around Japan, so much, that we are returning next year :). I do think that for most visitors to Japan, they should try to spend multiple days in both Tokyo and Kyoto (Osaka is an alternate) apart from a cruise trip. As to your ports, Shimizu is not an exiciting place except for its location near Mt Fuji. We suggest taking an excursion of tour at this port to get you closer to Mt Fuji and some of the decent viewing points. Without seeing the specific tours, we cannot make a recommendation. Kochi - An area that you can do on your own (with some pre-trip homework) or with a tour. Since most folks will stay in the vicinity of the city, it is a place where some folks like to try to get a private guide from outfits like "Tours by Locals" instead of being stuck with a large group excursion. There is the castle, a temple, etc. Hiroshima - For some strange reason, I never visited Hiroshima until last year when DW and I took a train from Kyoto, for a day trip. Of course, we went to the Peace Memorial, and I was not very impressed with how this exhibit takes some liberty with history. In fact, we think the memorial at Nagasaki is much more honest about the history of what led up to the bomb. We simply went to that memorial, on our own, by using the public bus we caught at the train station. We walked all the way back (we love to walk because it is the best way to experience cities). Busan- Most folks take a tour into town, and we think going to the market is a hoot. Busan is on your itinerary because the Japanese cabotage rules require cruises to stop at a foreign port (usually in Korea or Taiwan). Aomori - This is the part of Japan where I live for 2 years. We never considered Aomori more than a place where we took the train (from our base in Misawa) in order to catch the ferry up to Hokaido (there were no tunnels in those days). Since you are not going to be there during Sakura (cherry blossom time) you might want to take a local tour. We do like Hirosaki Castle, but the best time to be there is during cherry blossom time (i.e. April). You can certainly go, in August, but the blossoms will be long gone and one can debate whether the castle is worth the trip. We went on our own, by simply taking the train from Aomori, and hiking more than a mile from the train station to the castle grounds. For us, it was an inexpensive day, but for those on cruise line excursions it is a lot pricier. Hank

We are O newbies, having just taken one O cruise (and having another cancelled due to COVID issues). But when we shop around (among many lines) for future cruises, we have noticed that O does tend to sell-out their better itineraries...more then a year in advance. This is not so common on other cruise lines. O is also one of the few cruise lines that maintains waiting lists and charges a deposit to be on the wait list. For whatever reason, we get the feeling a lot of O fans quickly book future cruises, to hold space, and often cancel before final payment. We do not see this on most other lines with which we deal. MSC used to have a problem with folks booking their popular Yacht Club, to hold space, and later cancelling. Since the YC tended to sell out rather early, this was a way for folks to guarantee a berth with no risk (deposits were low and refundable). MSC finally caught on, and decided to make YC deposits non-refundable! That stopped the false booking issue :). We are seeing the trend, among many lines, towards non-refundable deposits. In some cases the various lines give a discount for folks choosing non-refundable and in other cases (like MSC) you have no choice. Some lines, like the new Explora Journeys, give a discount for paying the entire fare at or near the time of booking. These schemes tend to keep out the folks that book many cruises with the intent of only taking a very few. Hank

Not so strange. Businesses fail, all the time, despite having lots of customers. While the number of bookings is very important, it comes down to the cost per person/day vs the revenue per person/day. A ship can make a profit with 50% of berths sold, as long as the revenue per day of those sold berths is enough to cover costs plus. On the other hand, they could lose money with 100% of berths sold unless they generate sufficient revenue per person/day. Some of us here on CC, have been interested in the first years of the new Explora Journeys cruise line. That line is obviously operating at a loss (probably big loss) since it began operations about 1 year ago. Some of us wonder how many years the Aponte family (who owns the MSC empire) will accept the losses before they make "adjustments." Unlike "O" and the other lines of the NCLH, CCL and RCI corporations, the MSC family (which includes Explora Journeys) is financially able to subsidize a new luxury line that is constantly losing money. The difference is that O is part of NCLH, which is a public company. Not only do they need to cover costs, which now includes huge debt service obligations, but they also need to satisfy their major stockholders. That puts a lot of pressure on the "suits" to generate an immediate profit which means increasing prices and decreasing costs. MSC, on the other hand, is a privately held corporation, that only needs to satisfy a single owner (the Aponte's) who is willing to lose money (in the near term) to create their "baby." Why did I mention EJ? Because we think that line has the best cuisine at sea, because their owners are willing to lose money if that is what it takes to build a good reputation and high-end line. Hank

Thanks for posting. We enjoy reading about other DYers doing this kind of pre-post cruise journey. Absolutely agree that having SUICA card is such an advantage when traveling around Japan. Hank

The last time we were on the island the boat to Oia cost 30 Euros. Understand that for that price you get the boat transfer from Giolos (the tiny port below Fira) to Oia, Once you arrive at the small dock below Oia, you are provided with a vehicle transfer up the road to Oia. This trip also includes a return bus, from Oia to Fira. This boat/transfer is a private venture and does not run on a fixed schedule. When you get off the tender, you just look for the signs along the pier, buy your ticket. There is never a guarantee that they are even operating, and you can wait a long time since they usually don't leave the pier until their boat is full. We do not see any reason to buy tickets in advance. My suggestion is that before you do buy a ticket it is wise to ask when they will be leaving (and hope they tell you the truth). Hank

30 min change at DFW is a recipe for disaster. In reality, that may give you only about 15 minutes to get between gates (not always possible) and if you have checked luggage, that misses the flight, AA usually sends it up to Chicago before they start in on its catch-up journey. We would be OK if later flights are an option. But 2 years ago we were stuck at DFW because all the flights to the East Coast were booked for 2 days (it was spring break). AA did comp us with hotel vouchers (for a crappy motel) and near-useless meal vouchers. The real bummer was that even though they told us (on Saturday night) they had no available seats until Tuesday morning, their rules required us to present ourselves, every day, just in case...and to give us new vouchers. Lots of fun 😞 And by the way, all that happened on flights where we had 2 hours for the change,,,but our first flight was late. Hank

If you want to share, we did it using the Anytime dining options. DW and I seldom know when we want to dine, since we enjoy pre-dinner cocktails and will often meet other folks and get into interesting conversations. But usually, around 7:30 - 7:45 we head to the MDR and simply tell the door folks that we would be delighted to share a large table. Never a problem, as long as anyone else on Hal dines that late :). I should add that our later shared tables are usually a lot of fun, and we have met many fine folks during shared dinners. As to the idea of spending thousands of dollars to dine with strangers, we do spend many thousands to cruise with strangers. Our goal is that many of them change from "strangers" to friends. That is what cruising used to be all about (in the olden days) when everyone shared tables. We keep that alive on our voyages, which is one reason why after more than 50 years of extensive cruising we still enjoy every voyage. We get it that some cruise for the itinerary and some for the ship We cruise for the people....with the ship and itineary also a consideration Hank