Live and Solo: Dustin's European Adventure (Explorer May 8)

[kernow]

I've been cruising myself and missed the end of your review, just spotted it and caught up. Glad you had such a good time, really enjoyed following along, hope you have a lovely trip with your sons next time.

[FionaMG]

Thanks for sharing your trip. I've really enjoyed following along. ☺️

[TPCRUISER2]

Great review! Loved your pictures!

[perfect match]

Thank you very much for taking us along with you on your cruise. I enjoyed sailing along with you, and enjoyed the land portion of your trip as well. 

[catella02]

Such an entertaining and informative review. Great pictures. We appreciate the time you took out of your day to do it. Thanks.

[Nadey]

I very much enjoyed reading about your trip. I'm glad you had a wonderful time even though I know you had to be missing your wife. She was along with you in spirit. I will not be going to any of the ports that you have been to  so I saw it through your pictures 

[sharonlacey]

Thanks for your review.  We will be sailing on the Explorer in April, cannot wait.  Thanks again for taking the time to report.

[DandDM]

Wow!  Thanks for all the continued comments and support; I really appreciate you all!

 

Came back for a quick follow up...was taught that it is not polite to talk about money... but just completed a post mortem financial review of my trip and decided to share. I've noticed a lot of folks are planning (or would like to plan) a trip like this, so thought it might be useful. That said - I spent more than I thought I did (and probably needed to). Looking back, could have cut back on flight and hotel expenses, also went through a lot of cash and small debit charges for various things. Flights surprised me...I thought I found cheaper flights, but now think that I focused on the actual cost and ignored the fees and other items. Also did a lot of tours which added up.

 

All that said, would I have done the trip differently now that I know how much it cost??? probably not. Life is too short and Italy is very far away! 🙂

 

Cruise	3185
On board charges	182
Flights	2994
Hotels	2984
Tours	706
Meals (Credit Card)	111
Dining package & ship internet (less OBC)	220
Cash & Debit (local transfers, meals, tips, gifts, etc)	948
total	11330

 

One positive - never got charged (at least not yet) for the post ship transfer to Venice.

 

Also, you might note that there is not a line item for travel insurance. That was my error - I don't always get insurance, but on more complicated and expensive trips (which I would consider this one) I do. However, was having trouble finding a policy I liked, then forgot about it and never purchased. Intentionally did not bring this up during the trip because I didn't want to 'hex' myself!

 

Cheers,

[KiwiGal117]

Thanks for sharing the financial side.  People do say it's not polite to discuss money - but I think it is very helpful for others to see this!  It's easy to think that "ohhh... the cruise is only $X, plus the airfare."  It's easy to forget or downplay the additional costs.

[auburngirl]

On 5/12/2023 at 9:55 AM, DandDM said:

Back on the ship; another great day! The port today is Split, Croatia, the second largest city in the country with 200,000 inhabitants. 

 

This was a 'private' tour organized by someone on our roll call. We had 16 in the group and were very surprised to have a full size tour bus waiting for us!

 

First stop was an old town on a small island called Trogir. We started at an old Church in the central square, and our very competent tour guide explained the history of the tour and surrounding buildings. Four euro got us access to the Church and the bell tower. I climbed that with 200 steep steps and felt it in my thighs!  Great views.  Some photos to follow of Trogir.

Could you have done Split on your own?  I am reading Rick Steve's walking tour and considering doing it on our own 

[DandDM]

4 hours ago, auburngirl said:

Could you have done Split on your own?  I am reading Rick Steve's walking tour and considering doing it on our own 

Yes, definitely.  Two of the spots we went to required transport, however I walked back to the ship from Diocletians Palace and it was an easy walk and saw a lot to do along the route. I think you could have a full and fun day within walking distance of the ship.

 

Cheers,

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I’m sorry for your loss, and I think it’s wonderful you’re continuing to visit the special places you and your wife enjoyed together as well as build new memories solo and with your boys. Cheers to your future adventures!