Category: Tips and Tricks

Tuscans are very proud of their wines, and rightfully so.  Made predominately from sangiovese grapes and traditionally available in a rotund bottle nestled inside a straw basket, it is the quintessential Italian wine.  Serve it with aged meats, hard cheeses, pizza and pastas and you will be transported back to the rolling hills of Tuscany….

We just returned from a two week trip to Italy. In that time we made use of airports, bus and train stations to move about the country.  It become evident to us that many travelers still pack more than they need, making their travel more cumbersome and exhausting than necessary.  How do you pack? Every…

Among the many reasons we have learned to pack light is to avoid long lines and waits at the baggage claim and the heart stopping potential of your luggage getting lost. Even then we are finding more and more airlines insisting that we check our carry on luggage, often due to a full flight with…

The concept of home basing is one we learned from travel guru Rick Steves.  It involves staying in a central location for a longer period of time instead of moving to a new destination every couple of days.  This works best in a large city, but is also a great option in a smaller city…

On a recent cruise with NCL we attended a presentation offered by the cruise consultant on board about how to book the perfect cruise at the best price available.  Whether or not you use NCL or another line these tips are worth considering. Choose a ship that meets your needs Bigger ships are great for…

We prefer to sail off season, especially now that we are retired.  If we combine a cruise with an independent land tour than off season becomes even more important considering the crush of travel after the pandemic.  This year we tried a transatlantic. Transatlantic (or pacific) are repositioning cruises for ships that sail different destinations…

When we started travelling we wanted to be as independent as possible.  We were content to wander freely through cities and ports with just a map we either copied from a guide book or picked up at the tourist information centre.  It worked at first because we didn’t know any better. Eventually we realized we…

There is an old adage that states “size doesn’t matter”.  I’m not sure what it originally applied to but the current utilization is wide spread.  The question is, does it apply to cruise ships?  More and more lines are introducing mega ships, behemoths at sea that can carry more passengers and offer more activities.  Is…

Due to the pent up demand caused by the pandemic travel is high on everyone’s list – and I mean everyone.  It is super busy in Europe from early spring well into late fall. Evidence can be found in the full cruise ships, often with multiple lines at every major port, large groups overbooked for…