Lizard Queen
Senior Associate
103/2024
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 22:19:13 GMT -5
Posts: 14,659
|
Post by Lizard Queen on Feb 19, 2019 20:41:09 GMT -5
It's been a long, long, time, but I always found the jetlag coming home much worse. I'd plan a day back just to sleep. Also, someone mentioned smaller, carryon sized suitcase. There are convertible ones that convert into a backpack, and a smaller daypack can attach to some as well. (I did a college/backpacking thing when I went to Europe.) Im not sure how much train-hopping you plan, but if you want to be extra mobile, its an option. (I think I got mine on ebags.com)
|
|
|
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 19, 2019 20:56:31 GMT -5
We stayed in a well located hotel that was on the avenue opposite Champs Elysees.ETA: Everything (hotels, restaurants, food) is more expensive in that "fancy" neighborhood. I'm guessing that she would have more fun in a younger, less prestigious neighborhood, and save money too.
Were you thinking we were actually on Champs Elysees? We were at the other side, and it really wasn’t that fancy. I think it was Avenue Armee or something like that. We were about 6 blocks from the Arc in the exact opposite direction. Our hotel wasn’t fancy, but it was comfortable. I felt comfortable enough to go out by myself for dinner the 2 nights where TD was zonked out sick. About prices, I’m not sure if the 18-20€ I paid for dinner in the local cafes was excessive but it was less than I’d pay at home for comparable food.
|
|
justme
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 10, 2012 13:12:47 GMT -5
Posts: 14,618
|
Post by justme on Feb 19, 2019 21:21:22 GMT -5
$10/day is a lot to pay when you can get away for as little as $25 for the whole stay. It is not a big deal to switch out a SIM card, it takes 5 minutes, and the booths at airports do it quickly. I know the OP doesn't want to mess with SIM cards but I agree with you- it's not that complicated. (You just need to remember to bring a paper clip or something similar to get into the pinhole that opens the SIM card tray, at least on my iPhone.) I bought a SIM card in Scotland for $25 or so and they said it would work in the entire EU. My only other destination was Paris and yes, it worked there. I actually wouldn't want to keep my US number- I could picture getting a Robo-call about my (non-existent) student loans at 3 AM. OP is fine with SIM cards! I just didn't know if they worked in all the EU or if I'd need two.
|
|
|
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 19, 2019 21:25:28 GMT -5
I know the OP doesn't want to mess with SIM cards but I agree with you- it's not that complicated. (You just need to remember to bring a paper clip or something similar to get into the pinhole that opens the SIM card tray, at least on my iPhone.) I bought a SIM card in Scotland for $25 or so and they said it would work in the entire EU. My only other destination was Paris and yes, it worked there. I actually wouldn't want to keep my US number- I could picture getting a Robo-call about my (non-existent) student loans at 3 AM. OP is fine with SIM cards! I just didn't know if they worked in all the EU or if I'd need two. It looks like you can buy one on Amazon. www.amazon.com/Vodafone-Prepaid-Countries-Hostpot-Tethering/dp/B07NCW7SD7/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1550629407&sr=8-5&keywords=vodafone+sim+card+europe
|
|
justme
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 10, 2012 13:12:47 GMT -5
Posts: 14,618
|
Post by justme on Feb 19, 2019 21:27:15 GMT -5
What you might want to try doing is separating out your flights. There are cheap flights out of NYC, so you might want to try booking NYC to Rome, Paris to NYC and then look for a second round trip from NYC to MCO. Also, one thing that I discovered is that flights into Miami are cheaper than other airports in FL. I was looking domestically, but gateways seem to be cheaper to fly out of. I was looking into that, but you'd really need to plan for a long layover in NYC to do that. When you buy the legs separate they won't do shit for you if other fights are delayed. So if my flights to NYC got delayed enough where I'd miss the flight out of NYC I'd be screwed. No idea how much that happens but I'd be so mad if my flight up to NYC was delayed enough that I missed the flight to Rome and had to pay for it out of pocket. And if the NYC to Rome and Paris to NYC flights were booked together I'd lose the Paris to NYC leg if I missed the one to Rome. I know Miami can be cheaper, but it's almost 2 tanks of gas and like 40 in tolls - so $100 plus parking. Add in 4 hours of driving and I'd prob want to save at least $400 to make it worth it. I do check it out, but for those destinations it's not really that much cheaper. Miami does have some nonstops that are considerably cheaper.
|
|
tskeeter
Junior Associate
Joined: Mar 20, 2011 19:37:45 GMT -5
Posts: 6,831
|
Post by tskeeter on Feb 19, 2019 22:50:17 GMT -5
From debthaven thread a bit back, it was mentioned to bring out my own thread. But I've been a combo of lazy and busy and haven't been able to lay out everything in a thread. -Haven't been to Europe before -Need to figure out whatever I need for voltage differences, and what I would do about my phone (I'm leaning towards a pre-paid SIM vs relying on wifi). And any other "oh crap that's way different than the US" stuff-Paris & Italy are must-see, ok with others in there -Not sure beyond this. Venice? Rome? Wine Country? Almafi?-Have 2 weeks expiring end of May (but can extend to use some of it in June if needed) -Could add another week, but would obviously mean not taking something else or going for less time
-Can't find anyone to go with, so everything's solo -Don't totally have a budget, but would like to do it cheap without being a pain -Thinking I'm hoping to do it all for under $5k -Hotels if it's only 3-4 days in a place or renting a place?
-Not against tours, but they tend to do too much or charge too much for solo fees And I just realized I already have tickets for plays at home on April 17, May 15, and June 12. I'd prefer not to miss them. I do have Memorial day as a holiday though. The most coherent idea I currently have is to fly either Fri or Sat (they're night flights) to Rome. And then I'm in Rome until I catch a cruise on Wed. Then head to Venice that day. Then to Paris. If I just did those two cities after for 3/4 nights each I'd be around 12 days PTO. That would have me coming back on a Tues/Wed. If I take a full 14 days of PTO then I could fly back that weekend and have another 3/4 nights. But I'm not sure whether I should just stay longer in Venice & Paris or if I should add another city. The flights I've seen when I look are usually around $1200ish give or take. Depending on the day you leave/return. It's just under $1600 for the cruise. The cruise hits Florence/Pisa, Cannes, Palma, Barcelona, and Naples. I think Florence/Pisa is the only stop where it's actually far from the port. Not sure what the excursions would cost, but I'm thinking that in a few I'd probably just wander. I'm thinking $200 is prob more than enough to get from Rome to Venice and Venice to Paris. The real question is how much am I looking at for hotels and food? Is it going to be $200/night for hotels and then food? I know you’re not into tours. However, you might consider guided day tours, hiring a guide for a specific site, using docent guides (Louvre), or the like. I think guides can add tons to the quality of your experience, rather than having a been there, done that, check off the box, type of vacation.
|
|
justme
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 10, 2012 13:12:47 GMT -5
Posts: 14,618
|
Post by justme on Feb 19, 2019 23:05:46 GMT -5
From debthaven thread a bit back, it was mentioned to bring out my own thread. But I've been a combo of lazy and busy and haven't been able to lay out everything in a thread. -Haven't been to Europe before -Need to figure out whatever I need for voltage differences, and what I would do about my phone (I'm leaning towards a pre-paid SIM vs relying on wifi). And any other "oh crap that's way different than the US" stuff-Paris & Italy are must-see, ok with others in there -Not sure beyond this. Venice? Rome? Wine Country? Almafi?-Have 2 weeks expiring end of May (but can extend to use some of it in June if needed) -Could add another week, but would obviously mean not taking something else or going for less time
-Can't find anyone to go with, so everything's solo -Don't totally have a budget, but would like to do it cheap without being a pain -Thinking I'm hoping to do it all for under $5k -Hotels if it's only 3-4 days in a place or renting a place?
-Not against tours, but they tend to do too much or charge too much for solo fees And I just realized I already have tickets for plays at home on April 17, May 15, and June 12. I'd prefer not to miss them. I do have Memorial day as a holiday though. The most coherent idea I currently have is to fly either Fri or Sat (they're night flights) to Rome. And then I'm in Rome until I catch a cruise on Wed. Then head to Venice that day. Then to Paris. If I just did those two cities after for 3/4 nights each I'd be around 12 days PTO. That would have me coming back on a Tues/Wed. If I take a full 14 days of PTO then I could fly back that weekend and have another 3/4 nights. But I'm not sure whether I should just stay longer in Venice & Paris or if I should add another city. The flights I've seen when I look are usually around $1200ish give or take. Depending on the day you leave/return. It's just under $1600 for the cruise. The cruise hits Florence/Pisa, Cannes, Palma, Barcelona, and Naples. I think Florence/Pisa is the only stop where it's actually far from the port. Not sure what the excursions would cost, but I'm thinking that in a few I'd probably just wander. I'm thinking $200 is prob more than enough to get from Rome to Venice and Venice to Paris. The real question is how much am I looking at for hotels and food? Is it going to be $200/night for hotels and then food? I know you’re not into tours. However, you might consider guided day tours, hiring a guide for a specific site, using docent guides (Louvre), or the like. I think guides can add tons to the quality of your experience, rather than having a been there, done that, check off the box, type of vacation. It's more of not liking every second planned. Some tours are definitely ok! If you have any recommendations for Paris I'd love to hear them.
|
|
|
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 19, 2019 23:37:22 GMT -5
It's more of not liking every second planned. Some tours are definitely ok! If you have any recommendations for Paris I'd love to hear them
The first thing you might want to do when you get to Paris is get a ticket on one of the hop on, hop off buses. The one thing that it does is it gives you a lay of the land that is hard to determine from the metro map. It goes by all the major attractions, so you can see where you can walk from point A to B vs getting on the metro.
The first ticket we bought for the metro was a day ticket. It turned out that we didn’t even use it enough to break even on the pass. Afterwards, we bought a packet of 10 carnet (tickets) and just used as needed. The packet gives you a little price break. Just make sure you throw away your used ticket once you exit the metro. It really is incredibly easy to get around Paris.
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,314
|
Post by debthaven on Feb 20, 2019 0:21:41 GMT -5
Were you thinking we were actually on Champs Elysees? No, I assumed you were in that neighborhood, which is what you said. I just don't think the 8th or 16th (a few blocks away) would be a fun place to stay for a young single person. JMO.
Great point about the "carnets", they're 30 percent off.
|
|
|
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 20, 2019 0:46:20 GMT -5
I’m not sure what neighborhood we were in. All I know is that Champs Elysees was on the other side of the Arc and while the neighbothood the hotel was in wasn’t horribly ritzy, there were enough businesses around that there were places to hang out in the evening a few blocks from the hotel. As it turned out, I got to find out how phenomenal the hotel was when TD got sick. There is no way we’d get service like that in a hotel in the US.
The hotel wasn’t my first choice though. I wanted to stay here......https://www.hotelchatnoir.com/fr/.......but a friend of TD’s who used to live in Paris said it was in a quite hilly area and I don’t do hills well.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Apr 19, 2024 8:59:47 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 9:22:31 GMT -5
Just make sure you throw away your used ticket once you exit the metro. It really is incredibly easy to get around Paris. But for heaven's sake, not before. They check periodically to make sure you have a validated (stamped) ticket, including at transfer points. I'd thrown mine away after we entered and they were going to charge me a fine. I handed over my credit card and it didn't work in their machine. I had almost no cash (pickpockets are a risk in large European cities). Neither did DH, who was a pickpocket magnet and not allowed to carry cash! They eventually let me go. The transit cops were polite but they were enforcing the law and I'd broken it by not being able to prove that I was traveling on a validated ticket. We stopped at a grocery on the way back to the hotel. Credit card worked with no problem.
|
|
happyhoix
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Oct 7, 2011 7:22:42 GMT -5
Posts: 20,856
|
Post by happyhoix on Feb 20, 2019 11:48:30 GMT -5
Just make sure you throw away your used ticket once you exit the metro. It really is incredibly easy to get around Paris. But for heaven's sake, not before. They check periodically to make sure you have a validated (stamped) ticket, including at transfer points. I'd thrown mine away after we entered and they were going to charge me a fine. I handed over my credit card and it didn't work in their machine. I had almost no cash (pickpockets are a risk in large European cities). Neither did DH, who was a pickpocket magnet and not allowed to carry cash! They eventually let me go. The transit cops were polite but they were enforcing the law and I'd broken it by not being able to prove that I was traveling on a validated ticket. We stopped at a grocery on the way back to the hotel. Credit card worked with no problem. DH and I got stuck at a metro stop (can't remember which one) and couldn't figure out where the exit was. We wandered around a bit, then asked 3 or 4 people before we found someone patient enough to piece together my rudimentary French, and he explained that, to get back out of that station, you had to run you (already used) ticket through another machine at the exit. WTF?
It was both a train station and a metro stop, there must have been some reason for requiring you to do that, but I couldn't figure out what. If we'd thrown out the tickets we would have been screwed.
|
|
happyhoix
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Oct 7, 2011 7:22:42 GMT -5
Posts: 20,856
|
Post by happyhoix on Feb 20, 2019 11:55:14 GMT -5
Just me, what are you interested in seeing? Do you want to tour the usual tourist sights, or do you want to see medieval cities, or palaces, or castles, or museums (what kind of museums?) Or do you want to be a foody tourist and sample as much different cuisines as you can? Or do you want to see the modern, trendy, artsy, fashion district places?
Good question! I'm not much of a museum type - the quiet atmosphere often gets me twitching so I move through them fast (with most I'm like ok seen that next thing after looking at something for 10 seconds. Though with things like art shows I love them because it's more interactive and not so stuffy). Though I would likely see if I can get tickets to the Louvre and maybe some in Italy but I can't really recall any at this moment from my Latin classes. Definitely a foody tourist - a big reason why Italy is on the list. Between that and the wine. I would definitely want to do a wine tour at one of my stops if I could. So finding good places to eat is top of the list and I won't mind relaxing lunches. (Which is why my mom's tourist style doesn't match as much with me because she wouldn't be down for 2 hours people watching while Italian guys pour me wine and bring me food ahah) The trendy/artsy/fashion district places too. As an example last time I was in New Orleans I spent an afternoon just wandering the French Quarter - checking out the buildings, wandering in to shops that looked interesting, watching the street performers, sitting in the park people watching, and having a nice relaxing drink when I wanted to get off my feet. Or when I went to San Francisco I just spent an afternoon wandering around Sausalito and another one I just headed toward Golden Gate Park, but a few of the places were closed or closing so ended up at the Japanese Garden taking in everything there before I meandered back. Actually in San Fran the day I got there I took one of those "see the sights" tours and got to see all the big hitters and "must see" but then also was able to make note of stuff I want to go back and see. I definitely added some things I didn't know I wanted to see, confirmed others, and got the obligatory Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard St photo without have to spend time going out of my way JUST to get the photo. I'm leaning towards doing a similar style over there. (Which also begs the need for a SIM card because I'd use my GPS a lot for when I got lost or trying to find food.) Two places that are good for strolling/ watching- you can take a TGV train from Paris to Brussels, then a local train over to Bruges. Old shipping port that got stuck in a time warp, very quaint, fun to walk through the narrow streets and along the canals. They have a 400 year old brewery (with a beer pipeline) you can tour, with a good restaurant in it. Chocolate is fabulous.
Another side trip to a fun strolling place would be to take the TGV train to Amboise, south of Paris. It's in the Loire valley, and Amboise is a wonderful town to visit, lots of cafes, a big castle to tour. From Amboise you can get a van tour of local chateaux - we saw 4 in one day, the van gets the tickets for you in advance and drops you right at the entrance, plus the driver had a ton of interesting facts.
One of the best things about Europe is their rail system, very clean, very punctual, the TGV trains are amazing. I hate that the US went away from rail travel.
|
|
justme
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 10, 2012 13:12:47 GMT -5
Posts: 14,618
|
Post by justme on Feb 20, 2019 12:12:14 GMT -5
It's been a long, long, time, but I always found the jetlag coming home much worse. I'd plan a day back just to sleep. Also, someone mentioned smaller, carryon sized suitcase. There are convertible ones that convert into a backpack, and a smaller daypack can attach to some as well. (I did a college/backpacking thing when I went to Europe.) Im not sure how much train-hopping you plan, but if you want to be extra mobile, its an option. (I think I got mine on ebags.com) When I was looking at it, most of the flights home would have me getting home around the time I would normally go to bed. My friend had a flight home from Europe with the same timing and while he was a bit tired the next day from all the travel he didn't get much jetlag since he started off back on the regular schedule. I've taken those flights from the lesser time difference of the west coast and didn't get hit with jetlag.
|
|
justme
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 10, 2012 13:12:47 GMT -5
Posts: 14,618
|
Post by justme on Feb 20, 2019 12:13:55 GMT -5
Those are some good ideas happyhoix. I could keep it to the 3 cities 4 nights each and throw in day trips to others. For anyone giving me recommendations, an FYI because I'm weird. 1) I can't drink beer (or anything carbonated) 2) I don't like chocolate (the horror) 3) and I'm a total wimp when it comes to anything remotely spicy - not sure if that's an issue over there.
|
|
Lizard Queen
Senior Associate
103/2024
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 22:19:13 GMT -5
Posts: 14,659
|
Post by Lizard Queen on Feb 20, 2019 12:18:32 GMT -5
It's been a long, long, time, but I always found the jetlag coming home much worse. I'd plan a day back just to sleep. Also, someone mentioned smaller, carryon sized suitcase. There are convertible ones that convert into a backpack, and a smaller daypack can attach to some as well. (I did a college/backpacking thing when I went to Europe.) Im not sure how much train-hopping you plan, but if you want to be extra mobile, its an option. (I think I got mine on ebags.com) When I was looking at it, most of the flights home would have me getting home around the time I would normally go to bed. My friend had a flight home from Europe with the same timing and while he was a bit tired the next day from all the travel he didn't get much jetlag since he started off back on the regular schedule. I've taken those flights from the lesser time difference of the west coast and didn't get hit with jetlag. Hmm, that might work. It would feel like you stayed up all night, but then you'd get to sleep so that would be good.
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,314
|
Post by debthaven on Feb 20, 2019 12:36:21 GMT -5
Last time we stayed in a small hotel near the Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, is that a good place for young adults? Seemed to be a lot of students there. happyhoix That's a very fun area but it's a bit far from a lot of other sites IMO. Other ideas for day trips: Versailles, and maybe Giverny (but I'm not sure how to get there on public transport).
|
|
|
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 20, 2019 12:53:24 GMT -5
Last time we stayed in a small hotel near the Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, is that a good place for young adults? Seemed to be a lot of students there. happyhoix That's a very fun area but it's a bit far from a lot of other sites IMO. Other ideas for day trips: Versailles, and maybe Giverny (but I'm not sure how to get there on public transport).
I am glad TD's coworker gave us the head's up on that, even though it looked like a really cool place to stay. My damn immobility! Hills are just so hard on my joint, which meant that certain places we were going to in Lisbon were utterly miserable for me. But we didn't have to do hills to get to our hotel. Versailles is a great day trip, I thoroughly second this. I *think* the Paris Pass you can buy can put you to the head of the line. The line to get into Versailles has to be the single longest line I have ever stood in in my lifetime! Granted, that trip was in the middle of tourist season but when we were in Paris a few years ago in Dec. the lines to get into some places were pretty substantial.
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,314
|
Post by debthaven on Feb 20, 2019 12:56:21 GMT -5
The lines are ALWAYS crazy there! Always!
|
|
souldoubt
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 11:57:14 GMT -5
Posts: 2,745
|
Post by souldoubt on Feb 20, 2019 13:07:30 GMT -5
We spent 2.5 weeks in Italy back in September. Norwegian had the best flight deals going direct from our location but the day of our direct flight to Milan it was cancelled. We had paid for the economy plus seats and they got us on a flight later that night to Rome with a connector to Milan. When we got to the airport we were lucky to get on the flight they put us on and at first we weren't even sitting together. As we were about to board the flight they fixed that and we sat together but I felt bad for other people who were in our situation as some who had economy seats were told they were put on the flight and when they got to the airport it was full. I realize things happen but they cancelled multiple flights on us (first one we booked was cancelled a month later) so I've somewhat soured on Norwegian but if they're the best deal and only one flying direct to our location I'd likely use them again.
Our trip was primarily spent in Italy but we took a week long cruise on NCL that departed and returned to Venice that stopped in Montenegro, Greece and Croatia. It was a great way to see multiple cities/countries and they have shore excursions where you go with other people from the cruise and there were quite a few solo flyers on there. That said the cruise itself with shore excursions may not be feasible on the OP's budget. I know in another thread some people weren't fans of recent NCL trips but I had no complaints and thought it was a great value. Admittedly that was the first serious (non booze) cruise I had ever been on so getting to pick what I wanted to eat every meal when I could eat steak, fish, daily specials and so on was great.
For our time spent in Italy we booked our tours and train tickets in advance and have no complaints there as they ran on time. No experience with prepaid sim as we used wifi and I activated the international plan through AT&T before we went. Any day we used our service was a $10 flat fee and we did this with my phone and used it to look up restaurants, sights to see and use the map. I don't live somewhere with subways and the map function was great because obviously if you want to walk you can get directions but it also works for taking the subway for a further destination. Contrary to popular beliefs I'm a guy and have no problem asking for directions because I can get turned around real easily especially on a subway so the map function was huge. We stayed at places through airbnb in Milan, Rome, Venice and Sorrento and everything was fine. We spent time in the aforementioned cities and also did day trips to Lugano/Lake Como and Florence. Most everything was booked in advance online but we did end up booking some last minute shorter walking tours using our phone.
I haven't had the chance to read beyond the OP so not sure what follow up questions the OP may have that are more specific based on our trips. In previous years we've also been to the UK, Ireland, Spain and done day trips to France. More than happy to provide any info I can.
Edit - of the places we visited on the cruise I'd really like to go back to Greece and Croatia. I'd also recommend a day trip to Capri if you do that part of Italy. We didn't get too far into the Amalfi coast because we only had a few days in Sorrento and we had trips planned every day but we did make it to Positano. It was fun but it wasn't anything that blew me away but I'd still recommend a day trip if you're in the area. Ran into some people from Australia who had been in Positano all week and they loved it but they also had a hired driver who took them up and down the coast.
The one place we were in that I have zero desire to go back to is Naples but admittedly we were only there between trains. I know just about anywhere you go the train station is about the worst place to judge an area or city on but there was a lot of trash, it felt less nice/safe than other areas and when we came back to Naples from Sorrento on the ferry a cab driver tried to screw us which I was aware of in advance. He literally drove us a mile or less, complained about the traffic and upped the price after we got into the cab. I later read they recommend you take down the cab number and if that happens you should hop out with your stuff and report them but again not the nicest area, we were on a deadline and I had my wife with me and didn't want to cause a problem. I know some people love Naples and I have no doubts it has it's nice parts but given that we've already been to Italy if we were to go back Naples isn't somewhere that would be on our list.
|
|
|
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 20, 2019 13:17:31 GMT -5
We spent 2.5 weeks in Italy back in September. Norwegian had the best flight deals going direct from our location but the day of our direct flight to Milan it was cancelled. We had paid for the economy plus seats and they got us on a flight later that night to Rome with a connector to Milan. When we got to the airport we were lucky to get on the flight they put us on and at first we weren't even sitting together. As we were about to board the flight they fixed that and we sat together but I felt bad for other people who were in our situation as some who had economy seats were told they were put on the flight and when they got to the airport it was full. I realize things happen but they cancelled multiple flights on us (first one we booked was cancelled a month later) so I've somewhat soured on Norwegian but if they're the best deal and only one flying direct to our location I'd likely use them again. OK, this has just sealed the deal for us now. Right now, I'm trying to book a trip for October and I need to fly into Bergen and out of Barcelona. Seattle also has Norwegian, so I found flights that were considerably less than what I was finding. As we are getting onto a cruise in Bergen, canceled flights are a really big deal (and I still leave quite a bit of leeway for this). I think we might be going to China instead.....
|
|
souldoubt
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 11:57:14 GMT -5
Posts: 2,745
|
Post by souldoubt on Feb 20, 2019 13:30:01 GMT -5
The flight they cancelled a month after we booked was due to a recall/fix on the engine model (I think rolls royce based on the document they sent us) so that grounded a bunch of their flights. Like you our trip was dependent on us getting somewhere at a specific time and that's why we booked direct because we've had bad experiences trying to hit connecting flights in the past that had us get to our destination late. At that point we had to make it work because getting our money back and trying to go another airline last minute we were looking at paying 3-4x the cost at least. The airline was going to get us on another airline if needed as that was their responsibility but the day of I'm at work on hold trying to make sure we can get on another flight and make our destination. That was the last thing I wanted to do when I was supposed to be on my way to the airport already. It happens but again it soured me on flying with them.
|
|
justme
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 10, 2012 13:12:47 GMT -5
Posts: 14,618
|
Post by justme on Feb 20, 2019 14:03:00 GMT -5
We spent 2.5 weeks in Italy back in September. Norwegian had the best flight deals going direct from our location but the day of our direct flight to Milan it was cancelled. We had paid for the economy plus seats and they got us on a flight later that night to Rome with a connector to Milan. When we got to the airport we were lucky to get on the flight they put us on and at first we weren't even sitting together. As we were about to board the flight they fixed that and we sat together but I felt bad for other people who were in our situation as some who had economy seats were told they were put on the flight and when they got to the airport it was full. I realize things happen but they cancelled multiple flights on us (first one we booked was cancelled a month later) so I've somewhat soured on Norwegian but if they're the best deal and only one flying direct to our location I'd likely use them again. Our trip was primarily spent in Italy but we took a week long cruise on NCL that departed and returned to Venice that stopped in Montenegro, Greece and Croatia. It was a great way to see multiple cities/countries and they have shore excursions where you go with other people from the cruise and there were quite a few solo flyers on there. That said the cruise itself with shore excursions may not be feasible on the OP's budget. I know in another thread some people weren't fans of recent NCL trips but I had no complaints and thought it was a great value. Admittedly that was the first serious (non booze) cruise I had ever been on so getting to pick what I wanted to eat every meal when I could eat steak, fish, daily specials and so on was great. For our time spent in Italy we booked our tours and train tickets in advance and have no complaints there as they ran on time. No experience with prepaid sim as we used wifi and I activated the international plan through AT&T before we went. Any day we used our service was a $10 flat fee and we did this with my phone and used it to look up restaurants, sights to see and use the map. I don't live somewhere with subways and the map function was great because obviously if you want to walk you can get directions but it also works for taking the subway for a further destination. Contrary to popular beliefs I'm a guy and have no problem asking for directions because I can get turned around real easily especially on a subway so the map function was huge. We stayed at places through airbnb in Milan, Rome, Venice and Sorrento and everything was fine. We spent time in the aforementioned cities and also did day trips to Lugano/Lake Como and Florence. Most everything was booked in advance online but we did end up booking some last minute shorter walking tours using our phone. I haven't had the chance to read beyond the OP so not sure what follow up questions the OP may have that are more specific based on our trips. In previous years we've also been to the UK, Ireland, Spain and done day trips to France. More than happy to provide any info I can. Edit - of the places we visited on the cruise I'd really like to go back to Greece and Croatia. I'd also recommend a day trip to Capri if you do that part of Italy. We didn't get too far into the Amalfi coast because we only had a few days in Sorrento and we had trips planned every day but we did make it to Positano. It was fun but it wasn't anything that blew me away but I'd still recommend a day trip if you're in the area. Ran into some people from Australia who had been in Positano all week and they loved it but they also had a hired driver who took them up and down the coast. The one place we were in that I have zero desire to go back to is Naples but admittedly we were only there between trains. I know just about anywhere you go the train station is about the worst place to judge an area or city on but there was a lot of trash, it felt less nice/safe than other areas and when we came back to Naples from Sorrento on the ferry a cab driver tried to screw us which I was aware of in advance. He literally drove us a mile or less, complained about the traffic and upped the price after we got into the cab. I later read they recommend you take down the cab number and if that happens you should hop out with your stuff and report them but again not the nicest area, we were on a deadline and I had my wife with me and didn't want to cause a problem. I know some people love Naples and I have no doubts it has it's nice parts but given that we've already been to Italy if we were to go back Naples isn't somewhere that would be on our list. A lot of great info! Thanks! I've been reading too much of Norwegian's money issues and where I am they don't have a ton of flights during the week. So a canceled flight means I'm screwed. I'm going to have to stick with either a company that has a lot of flights or is at least in an allegiance that gives them more options. I've been on NCL twice and they were who I was mentioning in the OP. Problem is, at least for this season, they only have 1 ship in the Med that has studios and it's doing Western as it's too big for Venice and doesn't start until May 15. The others are just too much money for this trip having to pay the solo penalty. Though I just noticed Getaway is sailing Eastern Med out of Rome next season and she has studios! Still miss Venice though, and I'm not sure whether the stops on Getaway would be tendered or not. But I'm excited about 2 ships with studios sailing the Med in 2020! I think I've narrowed down my two Italy cities to Rome & Venice for this trip. So if there were any specific tours you really liked let me know!
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,314
|
Post by debthaven on Feb 20, 2019 14:23:15 GMT -5
It was both a train station and a metro stop, there must have been some reason for requiring you to do that, but I couldn't figure out what.It must have been an RER station as well as a metro station. But yes, you should keep your ticket until you are completely out.
justme Bruges is beautiful, but it is also the chocolate capital of Europe. Chocolate shops galore. So if you're not a chocolate fan, I'd skip it. Part of the fun of going there is buying chocolate. And although it IS doable in a day from Paris, it would be a VERY long day. I'd go for a day trip to Versailles (easy) /Giverny (harder) /the Loire (hardest) instead. If you ARE tempted by the Loire (the castles), I'd spring for a day bus tour that would take you to several castles.
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,314
|
Post by debthaven on Feb 20, 2019 14:28:53 GMT -5
We booked Paris/Boston on Norwegian in April. I know they recently cancelled some of their NY flights. I am getting nervous. We booked WAY before this was in the news. Their prices were amazing! My main Christmas present from DH was a flight to Boston to visit DS1/DDIL/DGS (then to NY to see my sister/nieces).
Norwegian was so cheap that DH decided to come with me! Both our tickets cost less than what DH expected to pay just for mine. We had paid for the economy plus seats souldoubt so did we. Do you think this is why you got preferential treatment?
|
|
|
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 20, 2019 14:58:43 GMT -5
Those are some good ideas happyhoix . I could keep it to the 3 cities 4 nights each and throw in day trips to others. For anyone giving me recommendations, an FYI because I'm weird. 1) I can't drink beer (or anything carbonated) 2) I don't like chocolate (the horror) 3) and I'm a total wimp when it comes to anything remotely spicy - not sure if that's an issue over there. Don't underestimate the amount of time that you'll want to stop and 'smell the roses'. Paris is a really good city for this. I spent a whole afternoon in Jardins de Luxembourg listening to high school bands play. It was a nice day, I had a good bench to sit on and I just watched the world go by and listened to music. In fact, it was so enjoyable and I didn't want to lose my bench so when I got hungry I went to the closest place to grab something to eat - McDonald's. It was the only time I ever ate fast food in any of the times I have ever been to Europe, but at that point I didn't want to take the time to find another place for take out. The next trip, I noticed that a ballet company was putting on Romeo and Juliet - so I went looking for tickets. It was pretty easy to get a single ticket, and I got to see a ballet company that I'd never see in the US. Last trip, there was a boy's choir singing at Notre Dame. I really, REALLY wanted to go as I had heard them practicing and they were incredible, but that was the afternoon TD got sick. Unfortunately, they were singing that night and TD was out like a light. I was not comfortable leaving him for several hours when he was feeling so sick. Most of what we have always done is just look to see what's going on, and trying to take advantage of it.
|
|
|
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 20, 2019 15:03:24 GMT -5
Not sure if they are available, but a day trip to Rouen is really interesting. The food there was incredible in every single restaurant we hit - even those we did absolutely no research about. The vibe of the city is incredible.
If you have any interest in WWII, there are day trips up to Normandy to see the beaches, cemetaries and museums. We wound up doing this on our own because the tours stopped in November.
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,314
|
Post by debthaven on Feb 20, 2019 15:15:34 GMT -5
There are frequent trains to Rouen from Gare St Lazare.
ETA: There are so many great suggestions here, justme will just have to come back LOL! Don't underestimate the amount of time that you'll want to stop and 'smell the roses'. Paris is a really good city for this. I cannot second The Walk of the Penguin Mich 's comment enough. You WON'T be able to do everything you'd like to do in a 12- or even 14-day-trip. So you need to prioritize, and spend more time in each place. JMO. Personally I'd skip the cruise, it sounds like a way to just tick a bunch of cities off your list. Better to spend more time in fewer places, IMO. That is how we prefer to travel but everyone is different.
|
|
happyhoix
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Oct 7, 2011 7:22:42 GMT -5
Posts: 20,856
|
Post by happyhoix on Feb 20, 2019 15:16:40 GMT -5
Those are some good ideas happyhoix . I could keep it to the 3 cities 4 nights each and throw in day trips to others. For anyone giving me recommendations, an FYI because I'm weird. 1) I can't drink beer (or anything carbonated) 2) I don't like chocolate (the horror) 3) and I'm a total wimp when it comes to anything remotely spicy - not sure if that's an issue over there. Bless your heart! Two of my favorite things about Europe.
I know you said you weren't that fond of museums, but if you like impressionists, there is one smallish perfect museum called the Orsay. It isn't massive like the Louvre (I've been lost in the Louvre all 3 times I visited it), so you can tour it fairly quickly, but it has some of most fabulous paintings.
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,314
|
Post by debthaven on Feb 20, 2019 15:21:10 GMT -5
The Orsay is wonderful! A few bite-sized museums, smaller than Orsay: Rodin, the Marmottan, the Orangerie. The beauty of Rodin is the garden, with all his statues.
|
|