Hlitner

We should be clear that the CDC no longer has COVID “rules” that apply to pre cruise testing. It is now completely up to the cruise lines as to the standards/rules they choose to impose on US departures. Hank

I think depending on ship internet for proctored tests is a big gamble. You need uninterrupted streaming for at least 20 minutes or I believe your test is invalid. If you plan on doing this you might consider having several extra test kits and a Plan B of what to do,if all those tests fail. Hank

Interesting info and something we might check out during our next visit. But that would come after the places you mentioned, Topkapi, Basilica Cistern, Covered (Grand Bazaar) and a few other places. The city simply has an amazing collection of places worthy of a visit. Istanbul used to be one of our favorite cities to visit but that has now been tempered somewhat by the policies of the current government. Hank

A real bummer. Earlier in the pandemic, nearly all the cruise lines bent over backwards to offer deals or transfer bookings to future cruises. But in more recent months the lines (including Celebrity) have been less willing to deal. You should certainly call X or your cruise agent and try to make a deal but you may be disappointed. As to air, those of us who have booked our own air (vs using air through the cruise line) we can try to work out a deal with the airline (many will give you a future air voucher/credit). We have had 8 cruises canceled because of COVID so do truly feel your pain. Hank

Seabourn, Princess and HAL (and possibly Cunard) all use a similar search/booking engine for flights. With Seabourn you must have a booking number and have paid the initial deposit in order to get access. It is convenient and provides a wide choice (with various pricing) of airlines, airports, etc. it makes it easy to fly in early or home late. Our recent Seabourn cruise ended in Monte Carlo a couple of weeks ago. We used the booking engine to grab a business class flight home from Prague in another week so we are now driving around Eastern Europe. Our one way business class flight cost us only about $1000 back to Washington DC. The booking engine usually has terrific international first/business class deals. Domestic is often not a good deal. We have sometimes saved enough money on our bus class tickets that it paid for the cost of a Princess cruise in Europe. I do not know why SS, Oceania and some others do not offer similar pricing and decent booking engines. Hank

Regarding Seabourn, they have a decent air system. You can access their internal search engine and choose your own a flight, airports, class, etc. if you want hand holding you can call Seabourn directly and deal with their regular reservations folks or ask to speak directly to their air department folks. Hank

The HAL Group includes Princess, HAL and Seabourn and is run by the past CEO of Princess

Thought we would update this topic since we were in St Paul de Venice about on March 29. We did use the train/bus connection from Nice where we were spending a few post cruise days. As I previously advised, this is not a great option from Cannes if you have a normal port day….because of the time element. The train/bus option works Well from Nice since you change to the #400 bus at its origination point just East of the airport. Folks m Cannes you would generally make the change at a Cagnes where you might need some help finding the bus stop. St Paul de Vence remains a fun day trip and we really enjoyed browsing many of the art galleries. There are currently no COVID restrictions or masking (except on public transport) so we did not have to play the “mask game” while popping in and out of the galleries and shops.

All the comments are fine but why the Big Lie from HAL about circumstances beyond their control. They certainly can administer Antigen tests if they wanted to offer the tests. Seabourn, who is part of the HAL group, had no problem providing those tests on the Ovation to disembarking guests who wanted the tests when we disembarked at Lisbon or Monte Carlo. If HAL “chooses”,not to provide testing that is one thing, but to claim lack of testing is beyond their control is a pile of you know what. Hank

A couple of days ago we drove over to Germany. That country is currently using masks on public transport and airplanes. Otherwise we noticed very little masking or other restrictions in the Dresden area. Since arriving in Europe nobody has asked to see any COVID documentation. It seems like the USA is lagging much of the Western world in eliminating COVID restrictions. Life i n Western Europe seems to have returned to nearly the pre COVID norm. Hank

Let’s be clear about private tours. It is your tour and you can call the shots. If you do not want to go to any of the “factories” then simply make that clear when you book your tour and again when you meet your guide and driver. We no longer recommend any specific tour company since much has changed because of the long COVID shutdown. Companies we trusted 3 years ago may not be under the same management and the quality of guides may not be the same. Watch for new reviews and take recommendations based on old information as old information. Hank

We have visited Kusadasi 5 times,,used a cruise ship excursion the first time (never again), did 3 other visits on our own (once with a rental car) and the last time we arranged for a private tour ( just the two of us):which was a very good experience. I understand the concerns of the OP and suggest they simply book their own private tour and make it clear that there will,be no faux rug factories, jewelry factories, etc. Visiting Ephesus (including the Terrace Houses) should be a must for any first time visitor. Adding the so-called Virgin Mary House is also a decent option although the truth is that there is really no solid evidence that Mary lived at that exact location. It is likely she did live in that area so it is nice to believe. Exploring the parts of Kusadasi, within walking distance of the port, is fun to do on your own if there is time after your tour. Browsing and shopping is fun when not being brow beaten by a tour company who has their own agenda and gets a cut of the sales action. We also have enjoyed visiting Didyma, Miletus and Priene although it is not reasonable to do these sites on the same day as Ephesus because of their far flung locations.

From tequila to tacos? Plenty of great tacos places in PV where Al pastor is as good as it gets. Probably the best known Al pastor tacos is found at Pancho Tacos but that lace does not open until 6pm (m-sat). Some street vendors can also provide great tacos. Hank

We were in PV from New Years to mid March and then tourist industry was back to near normal by mid February. We actually had problems getting some last minute restaurant reservations which we saw as a very good sign. Flavored tequilas are a specialized niche aimed at tourists and those tourist trap tequila shops seemed to be well stocked and doing their normal business (with only gringos). Hank

Being on a smaller luxury ship does help but shade can still be a challenge. Of course you could cruise on some of the Seabourn ships that have their Retreat. and pay $250 extra per day for guaranteed shade. Hank

These guarantees do not always work as advertised. Consider that our most recent cruise did not reach its first port (Funchal) for 10 days. Even simple Caribbean itineraries can mean you would miss many days or even the entire cruise. While the guarantee says no additional air cost it does not speak about days of hotels, transfers, and food. In reality you may miss your entire cruise and simply be flown back home. Hank

If you simply want to go to Honfleur you can negotiate a price with a taxi (at the port). Honfleur is a compact city that can easily be explored on foot on your own. We strongly recommend a long lunch at one of the cafe/restaurants that surround the small harbor. If you prefer to explore more of the region you might consider renting a car for the day (our preferred option). Hank

A few more observations. When we boarded our KLM flight to Amsterdam we had to again put on our masks. Once we arrived at Schipol it seemed like masking was optional since many did not bother with the things. But we were required to wear masks as we boarded our short KLM Flight to Prague. But once airborne and clear of the Dutch airspace the masks quickly came off with the flight attendants leading the way. In the Czech Republic there apparently is no masking at all. Not even in taxis. Folks here have obviously adjusted to a world without COVID rules. Hank

Just off 27 days on the Ovation where we had our share of pizza. The pizza by the slice (at the patio from 12:30 to 3:30) was eatable but just barely. The problem is they only put out 2 kinds (one of which is basic margarita) which can sit for a long time cooling under an inadequate heat lamp. As others have mentioned you can order custom pizzas at the patio and they are much better since you get them hot. The downside is that it is another of those Seabourn secrets since there is no mention in the menus of being able to order pizza. It took us weeks of cruising on SB until we learned of this option from another passenger. Compared to many other lines that we have cruises we think SB Pizza is on one of the lowest rungs. Hank

In France the only place that has a mask mandate is on public transport. This morning we grabbed an Uber to the Nice Airport and did need to wear our masks in the car. Once we arrived at NCE the masks came off as there is no masking required in the airport. We are not sure whether we will need to mask for our flights to Amsterdam and on to Prague. It is refreshing to be sitting in an airport lounge with no masks in sight and the usual food/booze buffet. Nobody in Europe has ever asked to see our vaccine docs and other then a short online health form from KLM there has been no mention of COVID. Hank

We just came off a Seabourn cruise where we had 9 sea consecutive days and it was heaven. What did we do? Pretty much nothing except read and socialize with fellow passengers. Like HAL they did have daily lectures, team trivia, duplicate bridge, some cooking demos, etc. Some of us were kind of sad when we finally reached our first port (Funchal) and had t actually make an effort to go ashore. Hank

So here is the update I promised. We checked into our Nice hotel today on a somewhat dreary rainy day. There were no formalities when disembarking in Monte Carlo. Our ship was cleared within 30 min and folks were free to walk off. There were no Passport or Vaccination Card checks and no required testing. France is now mask free except on public transit. It is life as normal and , for now, COVID is an afterthought in this country. We spent part of this rainy day in the Chagall museum where very few folks bothered to mask. The Nice Flower Market was operating as normal and crowded even on this somewhat wet day. Check in at the Hyatt Regency was also very normal with the staff and guests not bothering with masks or any social distancing. We were asked for our Passports during the check in procedure ( normal practice in Europe) with no request for our vaccination cards. Bottom line is that nobody seems to have any concern about COVID. The big issue here is tomorrows Presidential election. If Le Pen were to win we would expect some major disruptions within the country. Hank

Finally off the ship and relaxing in our Nice, France hotel. At the moment there are no COVID restrictions in France except that masks are required on public transit. No need to show any COVID documents and restaurants are back to normal capacity. It was a rainy dreary day so after lunch in nearby Old Town, we walked 1 1/2 miles to the Marc Chagall Museum. I did not that Uber would have cost about 12 Euros for the short drive. By the way, we paid Seabourn $150 for a private car transfer from the ship (Monte Carlo) to our hotel. A taxi would have cost about 110 Euros but might have been hard to get on a rainy day. Hank

Just an update. Today we docked at Ajaccio (part of France) where our ship was quickly cleared (as in all of our ports). Going ashore was normal with no checks. Nobody wears masks outdoors and indoors masking is hit/miss. The indoor market near the port was normal with neither the merchants or most visitors bothering with mask. We stopped for lunch at an outdoor restaurant where nobody wore masks and everything was as normal as before COVID. I want to emphasize that since departing from the USA a month ago nobody has ever asked to see vaccine documents, there have been no temp checks, no screening as we went ashore in various ports, etc. Some folks aboard did get COVID (likely carried aboard in Miami) but those folks were quarantined and life aboard continued as normal. Most of the onboard COVID folks were “ out of jail” in a week and back in the bars. A few were disembarked at Lisbon to complete their quarantine and we assume continue home or on with their trip plans. We disembark at Monte Carlo tomorrow with no testing or vaccine checks required. DW and I have a private transfer over to Nice where we will continue our independent European trip which will likely have us in France, Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. Hank

Marazul, 27 days on the Seabourn Ovation has been simply wonderful. Other than having to substitute Gibraltar and Malaga for our two scheduled stops in Morocco (that country still has roadblocks to cruise ships) we have had nothing but fun. Had a few cases of onboard COVID during the cruise but they were handled by the usual onboard isolation protocols and life continued as usual. Today we were ashore in Ajaccio where we saw no outdoor masking and only minimum indoor masking. It appears that many European countries are Over COVID and simply learning to live with the disease (my attitude for over a year). Folks who want to continue to obsess over COVID still live in their own world but for most life simply moves on. Our ship has been to various ports of Portugal, Spain, France and Italy and we have been quickly cleared at each new port. Nobody has ever asked for vaccine documents or required testing although Seabourn did test everyone who continued on from Lisbon. On the ship we enjoy our crowded bars and shows. A few folks are very COVID conscious and keep to themselves but they probably number fewer than 30 out of the more than 400 aboard. We do not need to get tested for our Monte Carlo disembarkation nor will we need any testing as we we travel on land to France, Holland, Czech Republic and probably parts of Poland and Germany (during our post cruise driving trip). To sum up, it is travel life close to normal for those of us who simply accept COVID as one more aspect of life. Hank