Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[clochette]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

They do suggest packing light and some of the hotels actually have washers and dryers where you are allowed to use and wash your own clothes.

 

Some of the hotels also might not have elevators or real good air conditioners systems........Is this a common thing for some of the hotels in Europe to not have elevators. I guess not all hotels there have AC either? Is this a common thing there?

if you are staying in brand name hotels Marriott, Hilton etc, they will have AC and elevators, if staying at older hotels maybe not or if they have elevators you might  have to go up some stairs to get to it, and they might be very small.  AC is still not common and you will find a lot of places that do not have any.

[grapau27]

We called at the beach after Pauline finished work.

[NHProud]

28 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Can't seem to find a like tour at either of the 2 tour companies you named above like  what Rick Steves Tour offered....

Look at Gate 1 travel tours.  I have friends who have used this company.

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, NHProud said:

Look at Gate 1 travel tours.  I have friends who have used this company.

I looked, but not easy finding a tour that covers as many places as the 21 day tour Rick Steves offers.

 

[NHProud]

17 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I looked, but not easy finding a tour that covers as many places as the 21 day tour Rick Steves offers.

 

Granted , I agree with you. I’ve been to all of the places mentioned except the three between Rome and Paris. We lived for 13 months 10 miles from Dachau . 
 

You’ve been warned , you’ll have to transport your luggage in some places, no A/c , no elevators and in one hotel a shared bathroom.  
 

Steves is known for his no frills travel . It is not for me but you and your wife are younger and more fit than me .  I would definitely check out his hotels . 
 

We’ve been waiting since 7:30 am for the geek squad guy . We were to be his first stop today . Best Buy has no number for him and still looking. Bad service for $250 to install a TV. 
 

 

 

[dani negreanu]

@Jimbo

 

JMHO, after travelling extensively through Europe, and began cruising in 2010, at the ripe age of 59 😕

 

I'll give the first part of this itinerary a miss.

 

I'll take a cruise which starts in Rome (and arrive 3-4 days before the cruise), which ends in Venice (Ravenna) and add 2-3 days there (or vice versa -- Venice to Rome).

 

Paris deserves much more than 2 days. I'll make a dedicated trip for Paris and London, travelling between the two with the Eurostar. Amazing.

 

Florence I could do with a full long day.

 

Much of our travel in Europe has been driving from one place to another. I absolutely hated having to "live from our [car] boot" and having to pack/unpack every 2-3 days...

 

So glad we discovered cruising, albeit late, even at the "price" of not doing "in-depth" travelling.

My "philosophy" is that anyhow I'll not see everything in the world thoroughly... budget and time are big constraints.

 

[Ozark_Kid]

We all seem to enjoy sharing food pics.  Kenzie wanted to share one with Sharon today!

 

I like how she arranged the cucumber slices!

[Arzeena]

11 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

We all seem to enjoy sharing food pics.  Kenzie wanted to share one with Sharon today!

 

I like how she arranged the cucumber slices!

🥰Doll!

[DaniDanielle]

So cute, does she eat all those veggies and is that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich???

[Jimbo]

43 minutes ago, NHProud said:

Granted , I agree with you. I’ve been to all of the places mentioned except the three between Rome and Paris. We lived for 13 months 10 miles from Dachau . 
 

You’ve been warned , you’ll have to transport your luggage in some places, no A/c , no elevators and in one hotel a shared bathroom.  
 

Steves is known for his no frills travel . It is not for me but you and your wife are younger and more fit than me .  I would definitely check out his hotels . 
 

We’ve been waiting since 7:30 am for the geek squad guy . We were to be his first stop today . Best Buy has no number for him and still looking. Bad service for $250 to install a TV. 
 

 

 

Going to pack light though, fine with me just shorts and t-shirts and a pair of sneakers. Not having to pack dress clothes like for a cruise sounds like a dream vacation for us.

 

We can handle our own luggage when packing like no problem. Having to share a bathroom for a night or 2 not a big deal.

 

Yes, all the hotels are probably going to be nothing like 5 star hotels but no big deal we will be traveling with our boots on the ground getting the real experience of what these countries are all about.

 

Good Luck on your geek squad arrival, usually those guys know their stuff when they do finally arrive.

[NHProud]

47 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Going to pack light though, fine with me just shorts and t-shirts and a pair of sneakers. Not having to pack dress clothes like for a cruise sounds like a dream vacation for us.

 

We can handle our own luggage when packing like no problem. Having to share a bathroom for a night or 2 not a big deal.

 

Yes, all the hotels are probably going to be nothing like 5 star hotels but no big deal we will be traveling with our boots on the ground getting the real experience of what these countries are all about.

 

Good Luck on your geek squad arrival, usually those guys know their stuff when they do finally arrive.

It looks like a wonderful itinerary.  I especially like the visits to the museums .  It covers a lot of territory but if you’re able and don’t mind then go for it.  We are too old now and glad we did our independent travel when we did . 
 

No show , yet , for the geek guy.  

[bobmacliberty]

46 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Going to pack light though, fine with me just shorts and t-shirts and a pair of sneakers. Not having to pack dress clothes like for a cruise sounds like a dream vacation for us.

 

We can handle our own luggage when packing like no problem. Having to share a bathroom for a night or 2 not a big deal.

 

Yes, all the hotels are probably going to be nothing like 5 star hotels but no big deal we will be traveling with our boots on the ground getting the real experience of what these countries are all about.

 

Good Luck on your geek squad arrival, usually those guys know their stuff when they do finally arrive.

 

I enjoy Rick Steves' shows and like his walking audio tours.  We used his audio tours in Rome and they were very informative.  As you know, he's about value travel.  The hotels that he uses look to be clean but basic.  I'd rather spend a little more on hotels and get A/C and working elevators.  Have you looked at Tauck tours?  They are more of a luxury offering and may be too expensive, but they are supposed to be excellent.  They won't cover as much area as the Rick Steves tour you're looking at, but I'd rather spend more time in fewer areas to get a feel for each place.  I love cruising but my biggest gripe is that you basically do a "drive by" for each port stop.  For land tours, I'd rather spend 4 or more nights at each stop.

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, DaniDanielle said:

So cute, does she eat all those veggies and is that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich???

It looks like a pb&j.  Her family are big into eating plenty of fruit and veggies. I think it is funny when they are here and one of the kids ask if they can have a snack.  When we say yes, they go grab a cup of apple sauce or peaches! They are being raised to  be healthy eaters! 

[mets07]

@Jimbo We are doing a back to back this summer in Europe similar to what you had planned. We will spend a few days in London pre-cruise.  We have already done multiple trips to Europe right after we were married (40 years ago 😉). People told us to travel before we had kids and we took their advice. Those were trips we did on our own and went all over by car or train. My husband also returned to England & France with my older son and also visited Japan when same son was studying abroad. 

 

We have long since become huge cruising fans and are fine with the combination of relaxing sea days and intense port days. We are doing a Norway cruise followed by a cruise to Spain/Italy/Portugal/France.

 

We know it will be hot weather but we are ok with that.

 

I hope you have a great time whatever you decide. @bobmacliberty mentioned Tauck tours .... those were very popular with my husband's family.

 

 

 

 

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I enjoy Rick Steves' shows and like his walking audio tours.  We used his audio tours in Rome and they were very informative.  As you know, he's about value travel.  The hotels that he uses look to be clean but basic.  I'd rather spend a little more on hotels and get A/C and working elevators.  Have you looked at Tauck tours?  They are more of a luxury offering and may be too expensive, but they are supposed to be excellent.  They won't cover as much area as the Rick Steves tour you're looking at, but I'd rather spend more time in fewer areas to get a feel for each place.  I love cruising but my biggest gripe is that you basically do a "drive by" for each port stop.  For land tours, I'd rather spend 4 or more nights at each stop.

 

6 minutes ago, mets07 said:

@Jimbo We are doing a back to back this summer in Europe similar to what you had planned. We will spend a few days in London pre-cruise.  We have already done multiple trips to Europe right after we were married (40 years ago 😉). People told us to travel before we had kids and we took their advice. Those were trips we did on our own and went all over by car or train. My husband also returned to England & France with my older son and also visited Japan when same son was studying abroad. 

 

We have long since become huge cruising fans and are fine with the combination of relaxing sea days and intense port days. We are doing a Norway cruise followed by a cruise to Spain/Italy/Portugal/France.

 

We know it will be hot weather but we are ok with that.

 

I hope you have a great time whatever you decide. @bobmacliberty mentioned Tauck tours .... those were very popular with my husband's family.

 

 

 

 

My parents went on Tauck Tour, many, many years ago to Hawaii and they could not keep from telling everyone how nice it was and that they took care of EVERYTHING on the tour. They really enjoyed it a lot.

 

Even back then though it was very expensive and even now even more expensive. Probably more then we want to spend.

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Going to pack light though, fine with me just shorts and t-shirts and a pair of sneakers. Not having to pack dress clothes like for a cruise sounds like a dream vacation for us.

 

I haven't packed dress clothes for a cruise in a very long time.

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

@Jimbo

 

JMHO, after travelling extensively through Europe, and began cruising in 2010, at the ripe age of 59 😕

 

I'll give the first part of this itinerary a miss.

 

I'll take a cruise which starts in Rome (and arrive 3-4 days before the cruise), which ends in Venice (Ravenna) and add 2-3 days there (or vice versa -- Venice to Rome).

 

Paris deserves much more than 2 days. I'll make a dedicated trip for Paris and London, travelling between the two with the Eurostar. Amazing.

 

Florence I could do with a full long day.

 

Much of our travel in Europe has been driving from one place to another. I absolutely hated having to "live from our [car] boot" and having to pack/unpack every 2-3 days...

 

So glad we discovered cruising, albeit late, even at the "price" of not doing "in-depth" travelling.

My "philosophy" is that anyhow I'll not see everything in the world thoroughly... budget and time are big constraints.

 

 

After taking 2 to 3 cruises a year for many , many years just don't have the interest in cruising that much anymore.

 

So I guess we are going the opposite way as far as cruising a lot first and now want to do  more land vacations.

[George C]

1 minute ago, Ocean Boy said:

I haven't packed dress clothes for a cruise in a very long time.

Cruises are really casual compared to a decade ago, I used to pack a tux now I don’t even bring a sports jacket for most cruises. As Bob said the times they are a changing 😁.

[NHProud]

17 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

 

My parents went on Tauck Tour, many, many years ago to Hawaii and they could not keep from telling everyone how nice it was and that they took care of EVERYTHING on the tour. They really enjoyed it a lot.

 

Even back then though it was very expensive and even now even more expensive. Probably more then we want to spend.

We toured Germany on a 3 week bus tour courtesy of a German foundation.  The hotels were basic . It was fine .  The highlight was a formal reception in Bonn. You won’t know unless you go .  

Edited April 30 by NHProud

[ATG]

17 minutes ago, mets07 said:

@Jimbo We are doing a back to back this summer in Europe similar to what you had planned. We will spend a few days in London pre-cruise.  We have already done multiple trips to Europe right after we were married (40 years ago 😉). People told us to travel before we had kids and we took their advice. Those were trips we did on our own and went all over by car or train. My husband also returned to England & France with my older son and also visited Japan when same son was studying abroad. 

 

We have long since become huge cruising fans and are fine with the combination of relaxing sea days and intense port days. We are doing a Norway cruise followed by a cruise to Spain/Italy/Portugal/France.

 

We know it will be hot weather but we are ok with that.

 

I hope you have a great time whatever you decide. @bobmacliberty mentioned Tauck tours .... those were very popular with my husband's family.

 

 

 

 

We’re also doing the b2b Norway and the Med on Anthem this July.  Yes, it will be hot, but it’s hot in SC then too.  We’re spending a couple of days in Portsmouth before since Dave is a big naval history buff. He was excited to learn we would be close to where the battle of Trafalgar was fought while we’re in the Med. We did an eastern Mediterranean cruise in 2013 and spent several days in Rome before.

[Luckynana]

6 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

The lift in our hotel in Paris was tiny.  Only had room for myself and my suitcase and it was so old.  Decided it was safer to join DD carrying the suitcase up the stairs.  

Our hotel in Rome also had a very small elevator.  Just the two of us and our two pieces of luggage fit inside.

[aussielozzie18]

Good afternoon from Canada Place.  3 ships departing so it took 1.5hrs  to board.  Just thankful I didn’t book radiance (which I was seriously considering)

 

Beautiful day for our sailaway

[jmh2006]

27 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Good afternoon from Canada Place.  3 ships departing so it took 1.5hrs  to board.  Just thankful I didn’t book radiance (which I was seriously considering)

 

Beautiful day for our sailaway

Bon Voyage @aussilozzie!

[reallyitsmema]

Just read on another site that Harmony had to make an emergency medical stop in Cozumel to drop off Captain James.  The cruise is continuing on to Roatan with the staff captains in charge.  Hopefully he is okay.

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Good afternoon from Canada Place.  3 ships departing so it took 1.5hrs  to board.  Just thankful I didn’t book radiance (which I was seriously considering)

 

Beautiful day for our sailaway

 

Bon Voyage!  Have a great cruise!!🛳️