Fairgarth

Thanks for the clarification, I should have mentioned that myself. I was responding to the OP's query if they needed to book in advance. Point taken!

Service from Bologna to Ravenna is on Regionale trains. No need to buy in advance, you can't book, just show up, buy at the machine and board. Don't forget to stamp the tickets at the yellow machine. In Italy, the fast Freccia trains operate more like an airline where you book in advance and reserve your seat but they don't do Bologna to Ravenna. Regionale is the local milk run.

We have taken lots of trains in Italy and they work well. There is frequent service along that coast line so you can just hop on and hop off the next one along. Stations are only about two minutes apart. Just watch that the train is longer than one of the stations (can't remember which one) so when it stops and you are in a dark tunnel, yup, you are there so get off. Yes, there are five of them but in one day don't overdo it. I would skip Corniglia - it's up high and not on the railway line - and Monterosso al Mare IMHO not as picturesque as the other three. So that leaves Riomaggiore, Manarolo and Vernazza. Just my opinion.

Hallelujah! The airlines should charge for carry-on and take free checked baggage. I think there is one airline - Spirit? - that does charge for carry-on. The problem as you found it is that boarding takes so long for everybody to get installed and seated. Spirit needs much quicker turnarounds. However.....if you had to go through Heathrow right now it could be a week before you see your checked baggage again so carry-on is a must. So no easy solutions, then.

Very wise advice, carry multiple cards. Some years ago I flew from the Middle East to the USA. During the station stop in Heathrow, I went ashore and made a phone call using my MasterCard. Later when I checked in at the hotel in Miami the card was declined. I could not understand that - it was fine just a few hours ago. Having previously learned the lesson to carry multiple cards, I used another card to check in then phoned MasterCard. They verified that it was me, that I still had the card with me and turned the card back on. It turns out that card thieves test the card by making a phone call to see if it is still valid. If it had been reported stolen and cancelled and they tried to use it in a store, the store would call the cops.

What nobody has pointed out is that Celebrity is very American and Cunard is very British. Well, maybe you can drop the 'very'. How about going from a Chrysler convertible to a Wolseley or Humber?

Look for the statue of Samuel Cunard. It has not been torn down or splashed with red paint, at least not yet. Stay tuned!