2012_Alaska_bound

I thought Hop On Hop Off was great. The hotel shuttle dropped us off by the National Gardens, which is a HOHO stop. We did this our first day in Athens because we came in a day early. Nice way to get oriented. There is a nice little restaurant right down the street from the hotel, just past the church. Very reasonable and family owned and open all hours! Another restaurant we liked was across the street from the back of the hotel and had great pizza.

I did the pre-cruise Athens tour in October. 3 days and it was included. Lots of walking on uneven ground, but covered all the major sites. Usually a full day of touring followed by an evening tour. I sat out some of them due to a knee problem. Included meals on the tours were great. We were at Grand Hyatt, which wasn't our favorite, but the view of the Acropolis at breakfast was spectacular! Restaurant at hotel was very expensive and not that great, but plenty of other places to eat with in walking distance. Our guide was great!

Wonder if our May 15-29 cruise will be the first ship to go to Klawock? May 17.

Yes, two segments of WC. My friend is doing the whole thing and I am joining her for South Pacific and Australia / New Zealand. What a treat to see you both onboard.

@mj_holiday and @Gilly I will be on Mariner in March / April of 2025 Papeete to Bali. Are either of you on that?

Yes. I "trusted" them for the first time on my last cruise to not dry certain items and it worked beautifully. I simply marked items I wanted to hang dry with an asterisk and made a note in the "Comments" space.

It is one login per superior suite at a time, but it is ok to logoff one device and switch to another one. Concierge suite and above get 4 logins per suite. Gold loyalty status and above also get 4 logins no matter what level suite.

I have my TA check current deals and prices before I make final payment on each cruise, just in case! Have also saved thousands sometimes. Usually not a change but when there is, well worth it.

Go Ella! Lucky World Cruisers!

Just did this itinerary this year on Splendor. Our weather was generally good, with only a few rainy days. Crowds were supposedly less, but still more than we expected.

Ha, ha. Maybe he couldn't get the Brazilian visa!

Coffee Connection opens at 6:30 every day. La Verandah does open early at 6:30 or 7 on early Port days.

Just did many of these ports last month. Unfortunately, hurt my knee on the first day of the pre-cruise (inexperienced use of walking sticks), and also had trouble with the new shoes I brought, so was much more mobility limited than I expected to be. I still was able to visit almost all sites I wanted at the "moderate" level of excursions. Make sure to check activity level on the excursions once you board the ship in the provided excursion description booklet that they put in your cabin, as many had been raised on our cruise. My hints: Get very comfortable using your walking sticks before you travel. Bring both kinds of tips, as the rubber ones are the ones you want on any marble sites. Not all stairs have hand rails. Bring two pairs of good walking shoes. Lots of cobblestones everywhere. For Ephesus, I recommend the "Ephesus with Less Walking Tour". This includes all the walking of the lower site, and a bus tour of the upper site.

They give you the option to add the pre/post gratuities for the Cruise Director onto your account at the end of the cruise portion. This would be a separate amount than what is suggested for the CD during the cruise portion of the trip. If you are confused, just ask at the reception desk.

Our cruise in March was also a designated wine cruise with an American wine maker. I think they offer one in Spring and one in Fall. Our wineries seemed to be similar to the ones mentioned by @gingerspike. If you want me to look up the specifics, please let me know. I had done very little Bordeaux tasting before, so all wines were new to me. Looking into the Provence Fall itinerary for 2025.

I was just on Splendor for two weeks, and Destination Services did a great job. For the first time in 7 cruises, I had almost daily interaction with them. Changed many excursions due to activity levels being raised between signing up last year and boarding. DS was able to help me choose more appropriate excursions each time.

We went there for lunch on 11/13. Delicious! Caprese salad, cheese and pepper pasta, and a whole sea bass.

This the first cruise I have needed to really pay attention to activity levels. 14 day Med cruise to Greece, Turkey and Italy. When we boarded and got the updated excursion descriptions, most excursions had increased in activity level. We think it is due to the amount of cobblestones in this area. Unfortunately, cobblestones are not my friends nowadays! Very few "easy" excursions or even "moderate". Since I walk so slowly I've had to cancel any marked "strenuous". Just don't want my fellow passengers always waiting for me to catch up. Found that just because it is labeled "panorama" does not mean there isn't walking or stairs involved. Going forward I will try looking things up on YouTube!

Currently on Splendor Athens-Athens-Rome. Did the pre-cruise in Athens. Since we came in a day before the pre-cruise started we did the Hop On Hop Off bus the first day and a Food Tour that evening. Next day was Poseiden's temple, lunch, and dinner. I opted out of day 2 and 3 due to a bad knee, but from my friend's description both were good and they were onboard by 1:30. Doing the Rome/Tivoli post cruise in a few days. Once again the first day is empty so will probably do HOHO. Will report back after.

Been in Istanbul and Izmir this week. High winds kept us from docking in Bodrum. Ephesus tomorrow. Seen nothing unusual or disturbing.

Thanks @flossie009. I will wave to you at Piraeus tomorrow as I board Splendor!

Luke is a destinations manager that makes a difference! His great attitude flows down to his team. And yes he wore shorts in the Arctic Circle last year!

A good manager makes all the difference!

Yes, it does. Gold loyalty level and above and concierge cabins and above get up to 4 simultaneous logins. @Pcardad please correct me about the suite level if I'm incorrect.

I use AT&T which is also $10 /day. They cap it at $100 for the month automatically, so anything over 10 days is "included".