The "Travel Bug" title now has me laughing. As my Manager at work traveled recently and brought back with him......bed bugs. 😃😀

Cost him like 3k to get his house fumigated last week. 

12 minutes ago, LacesOut said:

The "Travel Bug" title now has me laughing. As my Manager at work traveled recently and brought back with him......bed bugs. 😃😀

Cost him like 3k to get his house fumigated last week. 

Anyone have stories or experiences of crazy people they’ve encountered in their travels?

Outside of seeing new places and doing new things, sometimes travel lets you be someone new who ends up bonding with crowds you’d NEVER get mixed up with at home.

 

2 hours ago, eagle45 said:

Anyone have stories or experiences of crazy people they’ve encountered in their travels?

Outside of seeing new places and doing new things, sometimes travel lets you be someone new who ends up bonding with crowds you’d NEVER get mixed up with at home.

 

I saw plenty of crazy people in Seattle last week.  People cooking fentanyl right in the streets, and urine flowing down the streets, and more.

 

I have never taken an alternate identity when traveling, but sometimes it seems intriguing.

On 8/13/2024 at 4:09 PM, mr_hunt said:

train.

we're considering cutting out florence & just doing rome and venice. (the wife insists on venice). have to research it a bit more to see if that's the better option. 

Costco has a cruise on Holland America for 14 nights that goes to Athens, Croatia, Venice, Sicily, Naples, Rome (and a bunch of other stops) for $1884/pp for an room or $2800 for a balcony room. I’m generally anti-cruise but I would definitely do a Mediterranean one. https://www.costcotravel.com/Cruises/Offers/HALSTAEUR20241102KS
 

When we did Rome and Venice we took the train too. It’s pretty riding up the Italian countryside but we got so drunk the night before our train departed that we overslept and missed our first class booking - we had to ride up in coach and hungover so I don’t recommend that  I absolutely loved Venice. They speak a lot less English there so have a few basic Italian phrases and do their free walking tour. Also you can get all day or several day tickets for the water busses which besides walking is your best bet. Water taxis are super expensive - we just did one once for our early morning ride to the airport. They are like the limos of Venice. We did the gondola once for the experience. It was fun but you will be swarmed by gondoliers trying to get you to ride theirs - you can usually negotiate the price with them. I can’t wait to go back! We were thinking about going for our 10 year anniversary coming up but I’m giving paco a break and we are doing an all inclusive instead. 

On 8/13/2024 at 4:09 PM, mr_hunt said:

train.

we're considering cutting out florence & just doing rome and venice. (the wife insists on venice). have to research it a bit more to see if that's the better option. 

 

32 minutes ago, binkybink77 said:

Costco has a cruise on Holland America for 14 nights that goes to Athens, Croatia, Venice, Sicily, Naples, Rome (and a bunch of other stops) for $1884/pp for an room or $2800 for a balcony room. I’m generally anti-cruise but I would definitely do a Mediterranean one. https://www.costcotravel.com/Cruises/Offers/HALSTAEUR20241102KS
 

When we did Rome and Venice we took the train too. It’s pretty riding up the Italian countryside but we got so drunk the night before our train departed that we overslept and missed our first class booking - we had to ride up in coach and hungover so I don’t recommend that  I absolutely loved Venice. They speak a lot less English there so have a few basic Italian phrases and do their free walking tour. Also you can get all day or several day tickets for the water busses which besides walking is your best bet. Water taxis are super expensive - we just did one once for our early morning ride to the airport. They are like the limos of Venice. We did the gondola once for the experience. It was fun but you will be swarmed by gondoliers trying to get you to ride theirs - you can usually negotiate the price with them. I can’t wait to go back! We were thinking about going for our 10 year anniversary coming up but I’m giving paco a break and we are doing an all inclusive instead. 

I would add a contrarian opinion on the cruise.  I actually like cruises a lot, but I think they aren’t a great fit for Western Europe…unless you are traveling with people or kids with limited mobility.  You can’t get a feel for Rome/Venice/Florence/Amalfi Coast etc. if you are in port from 9am-3pm.  That means you aren’t having a proper dinner, aren’t walking the streets at dusk when the crowds die down, are stuck to the well trodded path shared by masses on a 5,000 passenger ship.  Now, if you are traveling with people that could never navigate a rental car, train, or inter-European flights…then it’s a reasonable compromise to see more.  But you’d definitely be missing the real ambiance of most of these places.

In the Caribbean, you want to get to the beaches, the rum catamaran booze cruises, the snorkeling/diving/etc…some of the nicer restaurants on cruise ships have food comparable to the better Caribbean land restaurants.  You aren’t missing as much.  

I think in Europe, a cruise forces you to miss a lot of the best stuff.

 

On 8/14/2024 at 10:23 PM, xzmattzx said:

I saw plenty of crazy people in Seattle last week.  People cooking fentanyl right in the streets, and urine flowing down the streets, and more.

 

I have never taken an alternate identity when traveling, but sometimes it seems intriguing.

Ha!  I’ve never taken an alternate identity, just wound up in some different crowds than my very standard suburban circles back home.  We once met a hip hop artist (not particularly well known) hiking the Kalalau trail, had a couple dinners with him in Kauai, and he then insisted we crash at his place in LA rather than the airport hotel for our overnight connection back to the east coast.  

At home, I’ve never even been to a concert…most of my friends’ idea of a wild night at this point is a glass of wine and YouTubing Taylor Swift concerts…and here we were getting picked up after a flight from Hawaii by this posse in LAX for them to show us around town.

1 hour ago, eagle45 said:

 

I would add a contrarian opinion on the cruise.  I actually like cruises a lot, but I think they aren’t a great fit for Western Europe…unless you are traveling with people or kids with limited mobility.  You can’t get a feel for Rome/Venice/Florence/Amalfi Coast etc. if you are in port from 9am-3pm.  That means you aren’t having a proper dinner, aren’t walking the streets at dusk when the crowds die down, are stuck to the well trodded path shared by masses on a 5,000 passenger ship.  Now, if you are traveling with people that could never navigate a rental car, train, or inter-European flights…then it’s a reasonable compromise to see more.  But you’d definitely be missing the real ambiance of most of these places.

In the Caribbean, you want to get to the beaches, the rum catamaran booze cruises, the snorkeling/diving/etc…some of the nicer restaurants on cruise ships have food comparable to the better Caribbean land restaurants.  You aren’t missing as much.  

I think in Europe, a cruise forces you to miss a lot of the best stuff.

 

I appreciate the perspective - having done a lot of those cities already and loving my sailing experience on the Adriatic I thought it would be a cost effective way to add in more sightseeing and enjoying being on the water as well. But those are fair points regarding the amount of time you’d have particularly on a first trip. I could live on a yacht on the Adriatic though. I love it so much. 

For anyone interested in cruises, there are cruises that cover North America and Europe: they'll start in Boston or something, and stop in Boothbay Harbor, Halifax, St. John's, Greenland, Iceland, Dublin, and Amsterdam, or similar itineraries.  If you're a travel nerd and like going to places people don't normally go, like Greenland, a cruise seems the best way to get there.  I've looked at airfare to Greenland, and from BWI to Nuuk, it was always $1,000, and you have to connect in Iceland.  A cruise for $3,000 is a third of that airfare, plus you get to see a bunch of other places as well.

On cruising, I'd also add that is hesitate to cruise with anyone but royal Caribbean.

My parents did an Alaska cruise on Princess and hated it. One cruise and they will never cruise again. 

Myself,  wife and kids are becoming more in to it as the kids get older. 

I know many who have sailed on other cruise lines and say there is none other like RC.

Their ships are 2nd to none, and being on the water for half of your vacation- the ship is very important. They are also likely the best in hospitality among crew staff.

You can definitely find better prices with other cruise lines but the experience is reflected in the discount price. 

We haven't done a Mediterranean cruise yet. It's one of the things I am considering for our trip for my 40th birthday in a few years. I'm sure it would be in a RC ship if e decide to do that. 

On 8/17/2024 at 7:50 PM, HazletonEagle said:

On cruising, I'd also add that is hesitate to cruise with anyone but royal Caribbean.

My parents did an Alaska cruise on Princess and hated it. One cruise and they will never cruise again. 

Myself,  wife and kids are becoming more in to it as the kids get older. 

I know many who have sailed on other cruise lines and say there is none other like RC.

Their ships are 2nd to none, and being on the water for half of your vacation- the ship is very important. They are also likely the best in hospitality among crew staff.

You can definitely find better prices with other cruise lines but the experience is reflected in the discount price. 

We haven't done a Mediterranean cruise yet. It's one of the things I am considering for our trip for my 40th birthday in a few years. I'm sure it would be in a RC ship if e decide to do that. 

I think there is a cruise line for everyone.  It’s kind of a personal thing.  Helps to find the right one for you sooner rather than later otherwise you’ll be one of the people that says they hate cruising.

9 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I think there is a cruise line for everyone.  It’s kind of a personal thing.  Helps to find the right one for you sooner rather than later otherwise you’ll be one of the people that says they hate cruising.

I can see some sort of river cruise being a great vacation.

I can see maybe adults looking to go with Virgin for an adults only cruise. I havent really heard about experiences with them but its an enticing concept. 

I can sorta see maybe taking the better value with other cruise lines for a shorter 3-4 day cruise where any ship can keep you entertained for that short time (even though a 3-4 day RC cruise would be much better).

But any other cruise, youre probably doing it wrong if you go Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, MSC, etc. over RC. A family vacation 5 nights or longer Id never consider any other cruise line.

(Im pretty sure that saying this will help paco and binky conclude that the costco trip on a non-RC ship is the best choice anyone can make)

On 8/15/2024 at 9:27 AM, eagle45 said:

Anyone have stories or experiences of crazy people they’ve encountered in their travels?

Outside of seeing new places and doing new things, sometimes travel lets you be someone new who ends up bonding with crowds you’d NEVER get mixed up with at home.

 

What kind of crazy are we talking? Because if you've spent enough time in Vegas or South Beach your probably going to see/experience some crazy crap 

We booked the Hilton La Romana in the DR for our 10 year wedding anniversary. Paco needed a break with our vacations where everything tends to fall on him with the transportation of things. An all inclusive let’s him enjoy the vacation too since it’s basically just eat, sleep and play without thinking. Has anyone been to this resort or this part of DR? It’s in Playa Bayahibe which is more on the western side and about 45 minutes from the Punta Cana airport. I haven’t been to DR in about 20 years so I don’t know anything about this part of the island. 

15 hours ago, binkybink77 said:

We booked the Hilton La Romana in the DR for our 10 year wedding anniversary. Paco needed a break with our vacations where everything tends to fall on him with the transportation of things. An all inclusive let’s him enjoy the vacation too since it’s basically just eat, sleep and play without thinking. Has anyone been to this resort or this part of DR? It’s in Playa Bayahibe which is more on the western side and about 45 minutes from the Punta Cana airport. I haven’t been to DR in about 20 years so I don’t know anything about this part of the island. 

Was just there but we were in Bavaro which is north west of Punta Cana.  We had a good time but the language barrier was tough at times if you don’t speak Spanish.  If you’re interested in any excursions, would highly recommend Happy Fish Catamarans.  We rented a private one for 4 hours - it was so good we rented it again the next day.  There was a group of 11 of us though so it made the private option more affordable.

On 8/23/2024 at 11:44 AM, Mat said:

What kind of crazy are we talking? Because if you've spent enough time in Vegas or South Beach your probably going to see/experience some crazy crap 

I’ve spent a good amount of time in south beach…IMO…one of the best places to go for a weekend if you are a PA/NY/NJ person.  Never been to Vegas before…just not a casino guy.

 

23 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I’ve spent a good amount of time in south beach…IMO…one of the best places to go for a weekend if you are a PA/NY/NJ person.  Never been to Vegas before…just not a casino guy.

 

Im not a casino guy in the sense that Im not a gambler. Nor do I drink. But I love Las Vegas. Great pools to lounge all day (and amazingly never get sun burned despite the heat) and then I enjoy walking around those huge resorts taking in the neat theming, or the opulence, and just being amazed at the scale of things.

Now its been a few years but some of the free things to see like the pirate ship battle outside of TI (which has long since ended), the Volcano outside the Mirage, or the fountains at the Belagio. Seemingly limitless food options ranging in variety from your typical chains like Cheesecake Factory, to gigantic buffets, to themed breastraunts like Twin Peaks or quirky themed places like the heart attack cafe, to the more fine dining options which I can not speak to but know they exist, lol.

I was last there in 2011 for our national convention. As luck would have it, it was the same week as the EDC so sight seeing was likely at its peak for the year as half naked rave girls were everywhere. Did educational stuff in the mornings. Till 11 or 11:30. Had lunch with my wife and then relaxed by/in the pool for the next few hours. Headed out to the strip around dinner time to eat and take in the sights. I think that was 5 or even 6 nights for that conference, and although the first half of my days were not spent vacationing, I felt like it was a pretty active, action packed vacation with the nightly activities. A lot of walking, and really a lot to see. Being there longer than probably average for a vegas trip I still feel like it was rushed to see everything.

During that trip, I felt like I wanted Las Vegas to become a regular vacation spot for us, but we havent been back, because....kids. We came home from that trip with our first bun in the oven!

Id go back even with the family once the kids are older. Even before they are able to gamble. My first time there I was only 8 years old, and my family spent 3 days as part of a much larger California (family visit) and west coast sight seeing trip.  And even being that young I thought it was awesome. 

I think you should go. 2-3 nights just so you can say youve seen it. Its pretty impressive.

 

On 8/24/2024 at 6:43 PM, binkybink77 said:

We booked the Hilton La Romana in the DR for our 10 year wedding anniversary. Paco needed a break with our vacations where everything tends to fall on him with the transportation of things. An all inclusive let’s him enjoy the vacation too since it’s basically just eat, sleep and play without thinking. Has anyone been to this resort or this part of DR? It’s in Playa Bayahibe which is more on the western side and about 45 minutes from the Punta Cana airport. I haven’t been to DR in about 20 years so I don’t know anything about this part of the island. 

I have access to that one for my Hilton rewards points. You should let me know the dates so I can come hangout!

On 8/25/2024 at 11:30 AM, mikemack8 said:

Was just there but we were in Bavaro which is north west of Punta Cana.  We had a good time but the language barrier was tough at times if you don’t speak Spanish.  If you’re interested in any excursions, would highly recommend Happy Fish Catamarans.  We rented a private one for 4 hours - it was so good we rented it again the next day.  There was a group of 11 of us though so it made the private option more affordable.

Thanks for the tips! Did they do any whale watching? There is a good population of humpbacks around DR and Ellie is obsessed with whales so it would be cool to see some. 

 

9 hours ago, Agent23 said:

I have access to that one for my Hilton rewards points. You should let me know the dates so I can come hangout!

Lol we are going on points.. Lifetime Diamond! 

5 hours ago, binkybink77 said:

Thanks for the tips! Did they do any whale watching? There is a good population of humpbacks around DR and Ellie is obsessed with whales so it would be cool to see some. 

 

Lol we are going on points.. Lifetime Diamond! 

I’m not lifetime because I never had paco’s work/travel life, and my line time of having Diamond-status ended at the start of 2024  

13 hours ago, binkybink77 said:

Thanks for the tips! Did they do any whale watching? There is a good population of humpbacks around DR and Ellie is obsessed with whales so it would be cool to see some. 

 

Lol we are going on points.. Lifetime Diamond! 

There was no whale watching.  It was a trip out to some reefs for snorkeling, then some time sliding/jumping off the boat in the water.  Then they took us to a sandbar where everyone gets in the water and they bring the drinks and snacks out.  When we went back the second day, we requested the same crew - since they were familiar with us they took us to a nice little beach area to check out and found some coconuts to crack open and eat.

After hearing that you're gonna have the little one along, I don't know that this would be a good fit for you guys.  I'm sure she would be fine, but it was definitely more of a party type atmosphere for us.  We had three kids along, but two were 15 and one was 8, so they were able to still enjoy everything (minus the copious amounts of rum).  

We did see a bunch of fish snorkeling obviously, and a ton of sea turtles too.  The second day the captain took us around an open air aquarium that had some sharks, dolphins and sea lions, but we didn't see anything like that when just cruising around.  

leaving for italy in a couple days. we wound up switching to 2 nights in venice & 5 nights in rome...with a day trip from rome to pompeii & amalfi coast. should be fun...except for the 8-9 hour flight.  

7 hours ago, mr_hunt said:

leaving for italy in a couple days. we wound up switching to 2 nights in venice & 5 nights in rome...with a day trip from rome to pompeii & amalfi coast. should be fun...except for the 8-9 hour flight.  

Ostia Antica is a Roman ruin village similar to Pompeii with about half the crowd.  It's maybe a little bit bigger than Pompeii, too.  It's about 10 miles southwest of Rome, just off the coast.

On 9/10/2024 at 2:48 PM, mr_hunt said:

leaving for italy in a couple days. we wound up switching to 2 nights in venice & 5 nights in rome...with a day trip from rome to pompeii & amalfi coast. should be fun...except for the 8-9 hour flight.  

Roscioli is my favorite restaurant in Rome…but you really can’t go wrong anywhere.  

If you make it to Positano in the Amalfi Coast (definitely worth it), go to Lo Guaracino for lunch and get the Buffalina pizza.  Best pizza imaginable.

If you do the Sistine Chapel and Vatican museums, go before it opens.  Far better experience if you are amongst the first in line when they open the ropes than going in the middle of the day.

Trevi fountain and Spanish steps are amazing in the morning…Europeans get up very, very late.  These attractions are empty at 8am.  

Leave a day or half a day to wander the streets and enjoy the ambiance.

On 9/10/2024 at 8:48 PM, mr_hunt said:

leaving for italy in a couple days. we wound up switching to 2 nights in venice & 5 nights in rome...with a day trip from rome to pompeii & amalfi coast. should be fun...except for the 8-9 hour flight.  

Smart move.  Save Florence for another trip and then add Siena and some time for wine tasting in Tuscany.

Amalfi coast is great to visit.  Hope you aren't driving yourself that day