LynnSD

Prior to corona:   A surprising number of restaurants were open on the holidays.  I’d start internet— searching after Thanksgiving.  

For the past few years our celebration has occurred on Christmas Eve due our kids splitting time with in-laws.   So my husband and I go to Mr. A‘s for Christmas lunch.  It’s a splurge but we enjoy the view and the service.  
 

As for other activities, you might not have as much luck; but there are plenty of places to stroll:  Embarcadero, Seaport Village, Balboa Park, Little Italy, Coronado (there’s a ferry.).    All should be prettily decorated.  The zoo should be open.  
 

Of course all this is based on past experiences.   I’m enjoying my memories!
 

Good luck - who knows what will be happening in December. 
Lynn
 

Does anyone know what time boarding begins, specifically on the Wonder?     Our assigned time is 1:00; can we go aboard earlier?

 Thanks.

We just booked a short cruise in San Diego.   The Bibbity Boo makeovers are only available after 7 pm, too late for our kiddos.  

I’ll keep checking on line, but I’m wondering if it will be possible to book a better time once we’re on board?  

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks, Lynda 

Here’s what I did -    I read many posts about Kotor here and on TripAdvisor. .

I ended up finding three tour companies that got good reviews and sounded great.   I emailed them with my questions, and chose one that was most helpful with planning the day.  

Since most cruise ports are only one day, there’s never enough time to see everything.  I hope you can someday return to your favorite spots.

Good luck!       Lynda 

Thanks.  I was looking at morning flights but today found one at  12:40.  I’m thinking that’s what I’ll go with.    I agree with making plans that set us up for as little stress as possible!   

Lynda 

Thank you!

We’ll be ending our cruise at Civitavecchia at 5 am as well.

What is a safe time to book a flight home?

thanks!

We end our cruise in Civitavecchia at 5:00 a.m. per the itinerary.   How early is it safe to book a flight home?

thanks.  

We’ve gone with Stagecoach several times. Santa Ynez Valley is beautiful. Ask them to take you to Bella Cavalli winery!

That makes sense! Thank you.

We will be on the Royal Princess in Dublin on 8/21, and want to book an excursion that leaves at 8:15 am from the Gresham Hotel. The ship overnights on 8/20.

Does anyone know if there will be shuttles or cabs available at the pier at 7:30?

Thanks. Lynda

Doreen

We are on the August 16 sailing and for us, the coach pick up is the Montparnasse train station. I think we need to be there at 9:30.

Lynn

We are taking the Princess transfer from Paris to LeHavre. It is scheduled to be via coach, not train, although it does depart from the train station.

My feeling is you just have to look at all the options and choose what works best for you. Different folks have different priorities!

Good luck.

We are on the Royal August 16 sailing from Le Havre. We are going to use the Princess transfer from Paris; it leaves from Montparnesse train station at 9:30.

The Fish Market is next to Midway museum, and very good. And if you want to walk through Seaport Village, Seasons 52 is a good choice.

Enjoy.

Little Italy is fun to walk around with a ton of choices.

Our favorites are Davanti Enoteca (on the patio, shareable plates) and Monello (free tapas with happy hour, and then you can share a pasta.)

Doug, thank you for the information. We are able to take advantage of the CA coastal cruises when the price is right, and new places to visit will certainly make the day in Ensenada more fun. BTK looks great!

Memoak,

Thanks for posting about Baja Valley Girls. We have been on the Princess Ensenada wine tour too many times -- my husband is bored with it but I don't want to stay on the ship or walk around town, so that's been the only choice.

Next time I'll have an alternative!

Lynn

Just my opinion, but I would not go all the way to Ramona for a wine tasting when you could spend a day at the waterfront in San Diego seeing the sights like Mdway and Seaport Village. There are plenty of places to stop in for a drink and snack!

We also enjoy the Ensenada winery tour. And if your itinerary includes Santa Barbara, get a few more people from your roll call and hire a private van for a day of wine tasting in the Santa Ynez valley. The wine and the scenery are spectacular

Good luck.

Thank you all for the information.

We plan to take the train from Madrid to Barcelona this summer. Does anyone have any advice about buying tickets etc? What about which station to leave/arrive?

Thanks. Lynda

We like guided tours too, for the same reasons mentioned here. We think it's the best way to maximize your time.

And I agree, Barcelona Day Tours seems to go out of the way to help you get the tour you want.

We have also had good experiences with Tours by Locals, although not specifically in Barcelona.

If it's too expensive maybe you can add a few more people from your roll call. Good luck.

They also have parking lot shuttles - so if the lot is crowded for some reason you don't have to walk it; they will deliver you right to the baggage area!

We were on the Star last weekend also. Not many kids on our cruise so didn't hear about that; but the captain did make a stern announcement about smoking in non-smoking areas, said anyone caught would receive a heavy monetary fine...

Too bad people don't just follow the rules!

We did not go to the Ataturk statue.