So, a bit of a summing-up.
I did a Finnair RTW (needs a Travel Agent to book), cost abt $10K for J, booked Jan 2024. Starting in Sydney, this allowed me a stop-over in Asia (which I didn't take) (Qantas), fly to Helsinki, then fly to anywhere in Europe and back to Helsinki, (open jaw OK) (Finnair), fly to USA (FInnair). Then it allowed me to fly back to Australia on Qantas or AA BUT any gap between arrival port and departure port I had to fill. In my case I flew MIA-BGI and CTG-MIA-DFW on a separate AA ticket.
Finnair was excellent. Especially the dining and FAs. I was OK with the Finnair bed, except its difficult to wriggle out of lying position. The Qantas wet-lease of the Finnair plane SYD-BKK was a marked step-down from the 'pure' Finnair experience.
European Christmas markets were very good, but by the time I reached Vienna they were getting a bit the same. The lack of snow was in part a shame, but it made walking about safer - I did a lot of walking which I don't think I would have done if there was ice about. Strasbourg was the best experience, mainly because of the street decorations and some nice food options. Vienna probably next, and Vienna of course is a fantastic place to visit. I finally understood the Hapsburgs, a bit anyway. Salzburg was a bit of a let-down; of all places it would have benefitted from snow!
German and Austrian trains were good - fortunately no disruptions due to snow or breakdowns or trackwork. I got a DB Trial (3 month) 1st class 50 BahnCard - 50% off first class tickets. I am definitely glad I travelled first class (but Business add-on wasn't worth it), especially with my checked bag and a carry-on. Better flexibility and nicer seating. Their wi-fi was a dead loss. This is a video about how Germany is improving and rebuilding its awful train system:
Accor hotels in Europe as a Plat were a bit disappointing (mostly Mercure) - but I've since been told here that that's not unexpected. Fortunately I chose all the hotels before becoming Plat. The best one was Mondial am Dom in Cologne (M Gallery), followed by the Novotel at Vienna Hauptbahnhof.
The Caribbean cruise. I booked the Silver Moon cruise off the back of my fantastic Antarctica cruise on Silver Wind in Christmas 2023 as a way to cover a number of Caribbean countries in comfort. I discovered that I am not a 'classic cruiser'
. The idea of lying in the sun around the pool for hours on end, for days on end, playing bingo in the lounge, drinking coughtails at the bar is not my scene. Not to mention dressing formally for dinner in the tropics! I like to get up and go see places, which expedition cruises offer. There were
a lot of small faults on this cruise (and a couple of big ones)- in my suite and in the service, which can and will happen anywhere but there were a lot here and for what you pay for SilverSea it should have been better. The included shore excursions were on the whole, just OK. Comparing to the descriptions, the tour providers gave the bare minimum. SS did give me a refund of the 'night cruise to no-where' after my tour feedback, which I gather a number of others did similarly.
Fortunately I don't have to say 'never again, SilverSea', as I have already booked my cruises for the next 18 months and they are all expedition cruises, mostly on Ponant (zero single supplement, too
).
Best place on the cruise was Willemstad at Curaçao, buy a long way. Best shore experience was the submarine at Aruba. Barbados was fun for a couple of days, and fortunately gave me easy access to a doctor and radiology.
Cartagena in Colombia was excellent. On balance, probably the highlight of the trip in terms of any one location. Food there was amazing and again, best of the trip, and the history very interesting. Cheap too, except for accommodation. What I didn't mention before were the Rosario islands - an hour or so offshore by speedboat, would be a great place for a daytrip or a stay, especially if you are into beach and waters ports. I'd like to go back to Colombia.
American Airlines in J was very good; comfortable, good FAs and not bad food and wines.
Qantas flight back was one of the better long haul Qantas flights I've had recently - especially as it was 17 hours. meal service not delayed, FAs friendly and efficient and meals pretty good.
So, that's this trip - I will post some videos once I get settled and caught up with regular life at home. My niece got married last night , absolutely the nicest, most devoted couple you'd meet (except in your own family, of course!) and it was a late, jet-lagged night. Yawn.
