SbbquilterUT

We are booked on the Celebrity Edge in April 2026 for a 12 night sailing of New Zealand - really looking forward to it.

I travel in carry on luggage only so do not bring most anything on the long packing lists you may see. Love my magnet/hooks for keeping the cabin tidy - holds caps, coats, bags on the wall or from the ceiling for air drying hand laundry. Dirty laundry goes into one of the bags under the bed so no need for separate laundry bag. Enjoy your trip.

We only book a cruise line excursion if it is some distance from the ship where transportation is a concern, otherwise we explore on our own or with a local guide. We book those as soon as we see them knowing we can cancel and get a refund if things change.

As there are four dining venues it would be easiest to look at a current sailing.

My experience on the Apex was interesting - therapist great but lack of access to the changing room or any spa areas at that price point was disappointing. The relaxation room is so small that when I arrived I had to stand up as there was no seating available.

Love Barcelona - would want at least 3 days to explore. We stayed at the Cotton House hotel and would again. Easy for us to walk everywhere we wanted to go and even metro station was close. We really enjoyed our walking Tapas Tour of the Gothic Quarter - very interesting and kept us up and moving until 10 pm that night which helped adjust to time change. Everyone we interacted with spoke English. Used credit card almost everywhere but we did get some Euros at a bank ATM to use for tour guides. Did a Runner Bean Free tour (tipped the guide at the end equivalent of what we had seen paid tours charge but many people just walked away). This familiarized us to where we wanted to spend more time. Made our plans ourselves but it was not our first trip to Europe. Look hard at travel time from port to visitor area as that will impact what you can see.

We saw it lowered for use as tender loading - easiest tender ever.

We have sailed TA each direction - love to use it paired with a cruise in Europe. For our sailing on the Anthem in April 2023 the clock was moved forward at noon so it did not really seem to impact how we felt - not sure how anyone could have jet lag at an hour a day. On west bound they added the hour in the middle of the night, harder for me because I was waking up earlier each morning. We do love an interior for those sailings as we sleep like babies after we have exerted ourselves on those sea days.

Looking for ideas of where to stay - arriving Friday afternoon at LHR from Reykjavik and plan to travel by train from the airport, thinking of staying near Fenchurch Street station. Of course, Friday night in August so the hotel prices are pretty high. Any suggestions for a different station along the line with hotel, nice area to walk out and enjoy the London evening? Or hotel recommendations at Fenchurch Street station. Finally, which train do we take the next morning to get to Tilbury?

We sailed her three times this year and enjoyed them all. We are low key folks happy to sail in a balcony or an interior, dependent on the pricing. We are Elite and the evening drinks are plenty for us. Our cabin has been tidy and clean as expected though not the most modern decor. Staff was excellent, food okay to very good (the updated menus should help with that). Would happily sail her again.

Agree that the title was not clear - EWR was just a point of reference in my mind since I thought we were staying in that area. We are sailing from Bayonne to Iceland. Then heading to London to board a return cruise porting at Manhattan. At this point we likely will stay in Jamaica that night we arrive. Then travel by train the next morning (Sunday) - we have traveled to Bayonne from the Penn Station area in the past so that part will be fine during the day. So really EWR has no part of the conversation since you all have helped me better understand local travel (have not used JFK for anything but transit in the past). I will be back to look at plans for Manhattan - have barely scratched the surface of options on previous trips . Thanks for the help.

Thanks - this gives us lots to consider. We travel with carry on bags and can manage them easily as long as there are not lots of steps.

As I dislike plastic bottles we travel with refillable - ship water was very nice and readily available in the cabin and at the coffee station. Also you can bring any soda you like onboard with you. I was able to find local grocery stores in our embarkation (and other) ports to buy soda if wanted. Happy to have booked our next river cruise but it is a long way out.

Add to silly pricing for the cruise - flights are nearly the same price as the cruise if flying in from the West coast.

Thanks - unfortunately using a Companion ticket and JFK was all we could choose. I know the ground travel will be pricey so looking for ease of using the train.

Thanks for the info. We are flying into JFK and sailing from Bayonne the next day - just assumed we could train to Newark Penn Station to get to our hotel in Elizabeth. On our return to the Manhattan cruise terminal we will stay one night before flying home from JFK. All this planning is for August and just trying to decide transport and hotels.

We used Uber and he even stopped at a liquor store close to the port so I could pick up wine.

The title pretty much sums it up - flying in to JFK arriving at 8 pm. Do we take the train (2 changes) to Newark Penn Station and then cab to hotel. Or stay near JFK and the next morning train to Newark. Or just suck it up and pay for taxi/uber/driver? Any hotel suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks

The airport is a 20" ride after getting off the ship and walking to taxi stand - then navigate MIA security. While I will take early flights there is very little chance of making such an early flight.

I am a planner so make reservations in the 6:45 to 7:15 range each evening, then if we want to eat elsewhere we let our waiter know the prior evening. Has worked great except on the mega ships where we ran into lines even in the line with reservations.

Not that I have ever heard of - spa services but not chiropractic.

No special breakfast. You will be notified of the procedure for continuing passengers with all the information as there are some things that may be different depending on the country you are in. We usually head out to explore taking our Pass with us - it will allow you to bypass the lines to reboard but you must wait until boarding starts to re-enter. Or you can stay on board and enjoy the relative quiet. We also tell our cabin steward to leave cleaning our cabin until later as they are so busy.

We are sailing Celebrity in August - Iceland to NYC. Also Oceania departing Tilbury then Iceland, Ireland, Greenland, Canada and arriving in NYC.

To answer the question - we have made the 10:15 to Salt Lake City each of the past three cruises in August. Might we miss it, of course but we want to at least try so we get home to our regional airport that day. Even worked on a Saturday cruise this year.

An easy ride from the airport - about 20". We asked our driver to let us do a quick stop at the Whole Foods which is downtown and not far from the port. Ran in and picked up wine and a bouquet of fresh flowers for the cabin.