Hlitner

Montoudon is also the included wine on Seabourn We find it quite drinkable.

Absolutely agree by reading through the Rick Steves book. As a long time independent traveler we have oft seen issues with family groups because some want to do one thing and other something else. Over the year we have never found a good solution to this issue, so you either divide up into smaller groups or compromise :). Naples vs Capri. Truly a tough call and also somewhat weather related. If weather turns out not to be an issue we actually prefer Capri. That being said, there is plenty to do and see in Naples, and you also have nearby Pompeii (often a good place to visit for first timers). It is also reasonable to combine Pompeii with a visit to Sorrento (not my favorite place). Another option is an excursion to the Amalfi Coast, but this is not what I suggest for a first time visit. Keep in mind that cruise line (and large tours) excursions to the Amalfi Coast will not take you down into Positano since no tour buses are allowed. Hank

I love the Princess egg drop but sometimes wonder if the only real eggs are used for that activity 🙂 But seriously, just about all the cruise lines use commercial boxed (like a large milk carton) pasteurized eggs whenever it is possible (which is for just about anything where you do not need an intact yolk). On one of my recent cruisers I asked the grill man (in their Lido) if he would make me an omelet using the real eggs he had in a bowl. He bluntly told me that he "would get in trouble" with his boss if he did that. The real eggs were only for things like over easy, sunny side up. etc. where you really must use a real egg. Otherwise, it is poured from a carton. My own appraisal is that the pastuerized egg mix tastes fine, but the texture is "off" when it comes to omelets. For scrambled it is open to debate.

I also don't like the word "foodie" (which I use) and prefer gourmet. But gourmet is just too stuffy for this blog. But CC uses it in their "foodie" blog and sometimes I think it is a good description. Consider we live in the winter months in Puerto Vallarta where "tacos al pastor" is king. While we cannot describe a basic taco (sold for about a dollar on the street) as gourmet, it is truly special. "Foodies" will appreciate taco al pastor while a gourmet might turn up their nose. 🙂

I like melba toast (some of us call it that over here) but Seabourn does not use what you and I would call real "melba toast." It is their own concoction which seems to be thinly sliced (often falling apart) breat that is lightly toasted. Almost like toast chips. I have never seen a real blini on Seabourn. When we were more recently on the new EJ1 (Explora Journeys) in one of their restaurants called "Marble and Co" they had a fantastic starter which was a very large portion of caviar on top of a bed of an excellent potato salad. The combination was truly fantastic and one of my two favorite starters on that ship that really stressed good food. DW and I ordered that caviar starter every time we dined in that venue. Hank

When you say "potato chips" you are talking DWs language. Seabourn has a popular lounge called the Observation Bar. Every evening, around 6pm. the staff sets up a small pre-dinner snack buffet. Most nights they do have potato chips :). If you do order cavair it comes on a large round platter with caviar in the center, the blinis (actually like thin pieces of crisp toast, and lots of various fixens such as crumbled egg whites, chopped onion, sour cream, etc. We caviar lovers all have our own opinion about what, if anything, should be added to those lovely little eggs on a blini or thin toast. On many evenings, I will grab a seat at the bar (pre-dinner) and ask the bar tender to please get me a double order of caviar. They call it in and it is usually delivered to my seat by one of the bar waiters. As a caviar lover I have sometimes joked that I make up for the cost of Seabourn with my caviar consumption. Consider that caviar, on most mass market ships, will sell for over $100 for a single portion. Hank

You might want to take a cruise on Seabourn. Unlimited caviar (you can order double portions you desire) from room service at a bar,etc. And their caviar is quite good. In fact, if you are on the right itinerary you can experience Seabourn's famous "Caviar in the Surf" when senior staff serve caviar and French Champagne in the water on a private beach day/party. Hank

Actually, what you are describing would include Seabourn, although if food, and a variety of restaurants is a goal, you might want to consider the new Explora Journeys. That line truly emphasizes cuisine and their ships hold a max of 900. Hank

Pharmacies on nearly on every block in PV, but we are choosey. Walmart is fine (Costco is better). Our goto pharmacy is Guadalajara Pharmacy (there are a few around town). With all the Fentanyl that seems to make its way into various drugs, one does need to be careful. The truth for us is that we can get our legitimate scrips filled in the USA for less money than here (Puerto Vallarta) because we have a prescription drug plan. We do have friends that are always buying Ambien for friends, back in the States, but not the kind of risk I would take. Of course you cannot bring eggs aboard. When you get omelets or scrambled onboard you are generally getting pasteurized stuff out of a box. Argh! Cruise lines would never allow fresh eggs aboard! Hank

In our experience, boarding Seabourn is never difficult since the ships are relatively small and the cruisers very experienced and not rushing to the port. That being said, our of Miami we would be thinking around noon. Why? Getting aboard for lunch :). Boarding will likely start by 11 or 11:30 but that is often determined by the US CBP folks who have their "zero out" policy. Hank

LOL You did make us smile as we were trying to picture a bus getting to the train station 🙂

Unless you are little people with small bags :).

LOL can appreciate the hassles. DW and I have wrestled with luggage in Venice and once walked from the Piazale Roma all the way to the old cruise port (prior to the People Mover) dragging luggage over the bridge. We love to be in Venice, but no question the city involves more than its share of hassles. We are soon to be on a cruise that ends in Trieste and decided to completely skip Venice. Perhaps at the back of our minds was dealing with luggage logistics. Hank

WOW, very interesting thread with all the differing opinions. As one who also cruises many different lines (often in the same year) we would offer up one additional factor. Price! When folks lump together various lines in terms of food, quality, etc. what often gets ignored is price. If I were to do a simple comparison of Seabourn to Regent, there are many SB cruises that cost about 1/2 the price of the Regent cruise. Toss in O (their pricing is all over the place) and Silversea and things become even more interesting when it comes to one of my favorite cruise terms which is "Value." By value I do not mean cost but the value one gets for a price. Is Seabourn a good choice for under $400 per person/day if a similar Regent cruise is $800 per person day? etc. etc. By the way, a new player on the block is Explora Journeys. This line puts a lot of emphasis on food which might interest many O fans who have long favored O for its cuisine. From my perspective, as a equal opportunity cruiser who readily enjoys many lines, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find good value. Why? The cruise lines (and sometimes ships within a single line) seem to be changing so fast that it is difficult to know what to expect on any cruise. These days, whenever DW and I walk up the gangway onto another cruise ship, we truly have no idea what to expect in terms of food, entertainment, and overall service. Despite having spent years onboard ships, we now feel like cruise novices with each cruise being a new adventure. Hank

Must admit to being amused by folks coming down here to Mexico to go to Walmart. We live in PV (10 weeks a year) and manage to avoid Walmart :). As to souvenirs, I would imagine that most you find in Walmart were made in China. But it is certainly a good option for buying soda. They also have a pretty good deal on eggs (never refrigerated for those that need their own eggs on a cruise ship. Hank

Oh heavens! I hope nobody jumped overboard in protest or horror. Hank

No question, for me, #1. I also would agree with those talking about land time. DW and I have done extended driving trips on both North and South Islands and loved every minute. We especially enjoyed spending 2 weeks driving South Island (we flew to Christ Church, too the Tranzalpine Train the Greymouth were we picked up our rental car). In 50 years of extensive cruising/travel those two weeks on South Island would be among our favorite trips. Cruising around NZ is fine, but it is driving when you can drive to glaciers, spend some time in Queenstown, etc. Even driving down to Milford Sound and taking a very small boat tour was an entirely different experience than cruising the Sound on a cruise ship. Hank

The one caveat to your advice is that the OP must be prepared and capable of handling their own luggage (to the station, to the platform, onto the train, off the train, for the long walk through Termini to get to the left luggage office, etc). This can be a problem for some travelers. We always warn fellow cruisers that it is very unlikely that you will find anyone to help with luggage when moving through European train stations and trains. Hank

You might also add the Majestic Princess to the mix since that ship does a crossing, in July 2025, to Boston. Over the years we have also found various lines (such as HAL and O) will have return (to North America) as part of Iceland, Greenland itineraries. One can have a lot of fun finding options, especially for those of us who want to spend some time in Europe. Hank

Good point. But water taxis are not always easy to find, on the spur of the moment. One can certainly book them, online, if they have a good idea of the time of a pick-up. For us, the cost of vaporettos is not an issue since, when in Venice, we always buy a multi-day vaporetto ticket (I think they sell 2,3 or 7 day tickets). Hank

To me, the most honest thing in Kusadasi is the store with the sign "Real Fake Watches." We make no secret of our dislike of cruise line excursions and part of our dislike has to do with the guides (as well as the large group size). But when you book any cruise line excursion it is simply luck of the draw whether you get a decent/professional guide or somebody who is just a cattle herder who is good at talking about nonsense. We do think folks can usually (not always) do much better booking a private tour, especially if they are able to have some say in who will be the guide. In recent years we have also grown to like the very common "audio tours" that can be rented at many museums and other venues or sometimes just downloaded from their website. We figure the odds are better that audio tours have been somewhat vetted and our generally accurate (although sometimes a bit wordy). Hank

I can speak with some experience in that venue on another HAL ship. We are talking about an alternative restaurant (which we thought was excellent) where every diner must have a reservation. When booking a reservation (generally done on the Princess App) there is no way to request a shared (with strangers) table. However, one can certainly speak to the venue's host/hostess (who is at the entrance during opening hours) and make a request. I would speculate that this would only be effective if the host/hostess knew of some others also seeking a shared table. A single diner who would happen to meet other like-minded diners could also make linked reservations. That being said, getting a reservation in that venue (in our case it was on the Sky Princess) was somewhat difficult since the venue was quite popular and booked most evenings. Hank

I will add that we have always been happy with the taxis in Japan (other than the small size of the cars). We agree that its best to simply ask at your hotel, but keep in mind that any taxi will happily take you to Yokohama. Hank

Harsh 🙂 Not sure we agree, and we have heard differing points of view when aboard their ships. We actively cruise on many lines (including Seabourn) and have heard folks express similar comments (like yours) for every cruise line. The topic becomes amusing on the new Explora Journeys line when their staff insists, "we are not operated like any cruise line" and they become "unhappy" if anyone tried to make a comparison to other lines. The reality is that the so-called luxury lines all have their fans and detractors. In that sense they are not much different than the mass market segment. For the record, one of our future Seabourn bookings does include an Alaskan segment (our 2nd time going to AK with the line). If we were unhappy with SB, we would not be booking their product. Hank

I think the HAL fans prefer I avoid that board :). My current opinion about HAL is not favorable and some folks follow the philosophy that if you can't say good things...say nothing! We are truly addicted to cruising (and also living here in PV) but have moved-on to much better than HAL. Hank