Best Of
Re: hair straightner
I don’t know what a hair straightener is, but if it uses heat the answer would be no. They don’t allow any electrical devices that create heat on ships except hair dryers which they provide. If the hair driers are used long enough the heat will shut them off and they must cool down before they will begin working again.
Sealord
Re: dinner recommendations
We were in Essaouira last month. I’m pretty sure it is a three hour bus ride from Marrakech but it is lovely. A long promenade to walk, a fishing port near the souk which is interesting and yes, a souk that you will not get lost in. Restaurants all along the prom. As well as the camel rides we saw windsurfer/ kites.
British
Re: dinner recommendations
On our free day in Rabat we booked a half day tour of the city (we were already planning on doing the Essaouria option with Tauck) through Viator (Tripadvisor). We had a guide and a driver for just the two of us and got to see and learn about the city much more comprehensively than we could with Tauck the following day. We knew by our itinerary what we would see with Tauck and he customized our stops so we didn't duplicate much. We did duplicate the beautiful Kasbah but spent much more time exploring it than with Tauck.
Re: dinner recommendations
Mimitravels, go to the seaside town of Essaouria. It is charming and very walkable. The souk is manageable on you own unlike the ones in Rabat, Fes and Marrakech. You can ride a horse or a camel on the beach if you so desire. It is a great city!
Re: Budapest to the Black Sea review
Cathyandsteve:
Just for fun, I ticked of one of my silly bucket list items and dipped my toes in the Black Sea.
SueMS
Re: Recommendations of things to see in Oslo
All - Thanks for your comments. This is very helpful. I will post reviews of places we decide to visit.
Shel
Re: Ephesus Dinner - Attire suggestions
Some people dressed and some wore shorts and sandals. It is not a Tauck event, it is a Windstar event.
Sealord
Re: Just returned from Essence of Japan tour (Sept-Oct)
Currency. When we exchanged dollars for yen prior to the trip, as I remember we took 5000, 2000, and 1000 notes. Here's the easy way to keep it straight: Take the yen amount, drop the last 2 digits, then reduce the amount by roughly 20%. For example, a 5000 note, dropping the two 0s and reducing 20% would be about $40.
Shopping: I can't really offer any specific shopping advice, except the old standby rule "If you see it and really want it, buy it now because you may not see it again later in the trip." There were ample shopping opportunities and some really beautiful Japanese items for sale, so enjoy! We enjoyed looking as much as buying. You'll find everything from small cheap trinkets to $20,000 kimonos.
Restaurants: There were several "opportunities" to eat on your own, and a couple of times we just ate in the hotel's restaurant. However we had received a couple of recommendations from our good travel buddies Linda & Nancy for Kyoto which I'll copy/paste below. We ate at the first one a couple of times and it was good food (with an amazing bakery), reasonably priced. Some might argue that the Irish Pub isn't really an Irish pub, but we found it fun there with good fish & chips. Here's our friends' quote:
"In Kyoto you have a few meals on your own. If you get tired of Japanese food we have a couple of alternatives to suggest. One is Cafe Boulangerie. If you go out the front door of the hotel, turn left and walk about 2 to 3 blocks on Kawaramachi-dori and turn left on Sanjo-dori. It is connected to the Royal Park hotel building but has its own outside entrance. It is kind of like an Au Beau Pain. They had soup in bread bowls, open faced sandwiches with side salads etc. and a great bakery. It was very reasonably priced. One other night we ate at the Irish pub which is out the back door at the corner of the hotel.
