Vacations - Vacation Planning - Discussion

Doats wrote:

luvstx wrote:guardian angel encouraged me to come to this section of the board…never knew it was here!  Hubby, daughter and I are currently on a week plus trip to Austria. So far have been in Salzburg and Hallstatt and loved both. Now in Vienna which is bustling.

I’ll write more when I have more free time.

BTW, we are big travelers and I’m the planner so happy to help with an6 ideas others might need.

Both kids are out of college/grad school so my husband and have been doing some traveling, mostly to Europe and mostly on Viking river and ocean cruises. (I do question how the river cruises are going as the news has been showing very low water levels.) After our Viking London-to-Bergen cruise in April we are heading for Alaska on Celebrity.

We have another Amtrak trip planned for sometime this fall. We want to do the California Zephyr again but this time from Chicago to San Francisco (actually Emeryville).

Would love to hear if you've done any land cruises in Italy as that's where he wants to go in 2024.

Sounds like you've got some great travel planned! Our 'kids' LOVED Viking Ocean and we have always enjoyed the Celebrity cruises we've done so you've got lots to look forward to.

When you say "land cruises in Italy", I'm assuming that you mean have we done any land-based vacations in Italy. The answer to that is yes. Have been to Italy multiple times (some connected to pre or post cruise) so am happy to help. When we do land touring, I usually DIY it, especially in Europe where I find it is easy to travel as most in the tourist industry speak English. We spent three weeks in Italy in 2016 when our daughter was studying in Rome for the semester. We have been to Lake Como, Venice, Florence, Tuscany (for a week), Rome, Amalfi Coast, Capri (my favorite!) so feel free to ask me any questions.

@Doats Now that I'm back from Austria, I have sent an email to my daughter in law to find out about the Skara Brae excursion. Their cruise didn't go to those other locations.

@Sprite So sorry about the passport hassle. Sounds brutal. But worth the trouble once you are traveling. We were in NZ in 2019 doing both independent travel on land and a Celebrity cruise. Really fun. If you are starting or ending in Auckland, I would suggest spending a day doing a wine tour on Waiheke Island (we used Waivino and thought it was great). It's one of our favorite travel experiences (and we've had many!!).

@Sprite that Viking Egypt trip looks really great. It's one we would consider. If you do go to the Mid-East, I can't recommend a trip to Petra and also Israel more. Petra remains the highlight of all of our travels (and we've been many great places) for me. And I always was hesitant to travel to Israel for security reasons but we finally went in Oct 2018 and LOVED it.

Doats wrote:@luvstx Would love info on any of the excursions but especially if they went to Skara Brae, Caernarfon and/or Chester and what they thought. We are going on that exact Viking cruise in April 2023.

Also, we were in Vienna (LOVE that city!) earlier this year and went to the art museum to see the exhibit on Hieronymus Bosch. It was spectacular and I highly recommend it if you like that sort of thing.

My daughter in law confirms that this was the excursion: Yesnaby to Skara Brae: A Scenic Coastal Walk. It was very popular so they weren't able to book it in advance but could once on board. She says "incredible spot"

@luvstx thanks for all the info and the enjoyable daydreaming on my part!

It sounds like you've been to some incredible countries! I would love to spend 3 weeks in Italy.

luvstx wrote:

Doats wrote:@luvstx Would love info on any of the excursions but especially if they went to Skara Brae, Caernarfon and/or Chester and what they thought. We are going on that exact Viking cruise in April 2023.

Also, we were in Vienna (LOVE that city!) earlier this year and went to the art museum to see the exhibit on Hieronymus Bosch. It was spectacular and I highly recommend it if you like that sort of thing.

My daughter in law confirms that this was the excursion:  Yesnaby to Skara Brae: A Scenic Coastal Walk.  It was very popular so they weren't able to book it in advance but could once on board.  She says "incredible spot"

Thank you, @luvstx. I've been studying and reading about Skara Brae for some years now and can't wait to see it.

My husband is concerned about 15 days on the ship so I booked a Jr. Suite so he has room to move. It's expensive but we have onboard credit and will be using Amex points for our airfare so I felt it was a good trade off and he'll be much more comfortable.

@Doats I think you've made good choices and I'm sure he'll love the time on the ship once he's on it. I would recommend joining the Viking Ocean Cruises Friends Facebook group if you are an FB person. You will lots of the ins and outs of booking excursions, dining reservations, etc. if you do.

Kia Ora!

I just returned from a trip to New Zealand. The places we stopped： in North Island: Auckland, Rotorua where it’s very Māori culture centered, Wellington the capital. In South Island: Christchurch, Franz Josef the glacier town, Queenstown.

NZ is such a beautiful country with manny beautiful gardens and lakes, but unfortunately many shops and restaurants are closed due to Covid.

I will post some pictures later.

Wellington and its beautiful botanic gardens.

In Franz Josef, the helicopter ride to the glacier was canceled due to low clouds, so we hiked in Robert Points Track where we had to walk on some suspension bridges and crossed some creeks.

@sdmom Looks like a lot of fun. I've been watching the Kiwi Bake Off and they show a lot of scenery during the intros. It looks so beautiful.

I have finally booked my next trip...Egypt with Women Travelling Together. The first trip they are running there is happening right now so I can't wait to see how it went. They usually post photos after. Unfortunately, my passport saga continues. My Canadian passport was supposed to be here Nov. 7th, but didn't show up. I am trying to track it, but nobody has gotten back to me yet.

@sdmom I totally missed the recent posts. That looks like a fabulous trip! The suspension bridge walks look amazing with great views. Thanks for sharing!

@Sprite Yay! Glad to hear you booked your Egypt trip! When are you leaving? Did your passport come in yet?