PurpleTraveller

On my NZ cruise in December we were instructed that no food could be taken off the ship other than chocolate, confectionery or biscuits and no liquids other than commercially bottled drinking water.

Have your booking marked "No Upgrade" for your best chance of not being upgraded, though it doesn't always work. I had a carefully chosen cabin booked for a year for my last cruise. A week before the cruise I received an email that my cabin had been upgraded even though my booking was marked "No Upgrade". When I rang to try and get my booked cabin back I was told that it had already been allocated to someone else and I could not be moved back.

A few years ago we arrived at Heathrow and got the National Express coach directly to Southampton where we stayed for a few days before a cruise. On day one we got the train to Winchester which is a gorgeous town with a magnificent cathedral. On day two we hired a car and drove to Dorset. I went to Lulworth Cove and walked the coast path to Durdle Door while DH went to the tank museum at Bovington. On the way home we drove through the New Forest to see the ponies. On day three we got the train to Portsmouth. We had been to the naval museum previously so we went to Southsea Castle (where Henry VIII watched the Mary Rose sink in 1545) and walked along the ocean front to the Spinnaker Tower stopping for a fish and chip lunch at a cafe along the way. We had a lovely relaxed three days before our cruise and it was all very easy to do. Southampton is also nice to walk around and has a few museums. Alternatively you could go by National Express coach from Heathrow to stay in Winchester and travel from there by train to sightsee and then to Southampton on the day of your cruise.

On my Constellation cruise that ends in Ravenna in July there is not a Celebrity transfer to Rome. There are transfers to Ravenna train station, Bologna train station, Bologna airport, Venice airport and Venice city centre.

Thanks so very much for the link. Neither my husband or I got the email so we have done the survey via your link. 😊

@gddo In June 2022 when on a Celebrity cruise the port shuttle from the dock into Livorno was free. We just got off the ship and got a shuttle from the dock just outside the ship to Piazza Municipio in Livorno. To go back to the ship we waited at the same place for a returning shuttle. The Livorno port is an industrial port and there is no pedestrian access.

I was in Katakolon in June 2022 where we docked. We had planned to get the train from Katakolon to Olympia but the train was not running that day. We paired up with another couple who had also wanted to get the train and we went to Olympia by taxi. It cost €80.00 (€20.00 each) to take us to Olympia, wait for two hours and then take us back to Katakolon. The drive there and back took 30 minutes each way. Once at Olympia we bought tickets which cost €12.00 each and gave us entry to the ruins and the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games which was close to the entrance. We had plenty of time to explore the ruins and visit the museum. We went early in the day to beat the afternoon heat. On our return to Katakolon we went to our new friend's yacht (they happened to be sailing around the Greek Islands) and then browsed the shops in the very cute town. There are also lots of lovely waterfront restaurants. It was a wonderful day! There is a bus that also goes to Olympia but we did not see it and on the day of our visit there was no booth at the port exit but that may have been because we were early. It is possible to have a DIY day in Katakolon.

Thank you! I'm glad that you enjoyed the review. To be honest you would see more of New Zealand on a coach tour, particularly the areas away from the coast which you won't see on a cruise. Fortunately New Zealand is fairly small so a coach tour would let you see a lot of the country. The big advantage of a cruise is the unpacking once, not having to be up at the crack of dawn each day to move on to your next destination and not having to think about dinner each night. So much more relaxed! On a cruise you can see some of the natural beauty of New Zealand and cruising through the Fiordland National Park is wonderful which you wouldn't see as much of on a coach tour. Personally I love a New Zealand cruise. As for Australia, it is a big country and a coach tour would only show you a small portion. It is easier to fly to different places such as Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru. You would have to pick what you wanted to see most. There are cruises that go to Tasmania from Sydney and others that go to Queensland. It all just depends on what you want to see and how much time you have. You could read my review of my 2018 New Zealand cruise (link is in my signature) where I went to different places at each port to help you decide on whether a New Zealand cruise is for you. Happy planning and if you have any questions please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them. I hope you do come to visit us. 😊

Thank you so much for your lovely comments! I write these reviews to try and help other cruisers with providing information that I am interested in knowing before I go on a cruise to that location and also hopefully make reading enjoyable with some nice photos. I also enjoy reliving my cruises when writing the reviews. I wouldn't do YouTube because I am a bit "old school" though I do occasionally watch for something that interests me. I am of a similar age as I (now don't tell anyone) am turning 60 this year. Our children are grown and don't have pets so have no restrictions for travelling. We don't just do cruises though we like to do a couple each year. We are off to India later this month which should be great. I've always wanted to go to the Taj Mahal. Have you read any of my previous reviews? They are all on my signature. I did one of my 2018 New Zealand cruise when we did go to Wellington and it also has some information at the end of the review about my 2016 visit to Wellington when I answered another cruiser who asked about Wellington. I wrote my first review in 2017 and you will see that my reviews have changed a lot in the time since then, hopefully for the better. 😊 If you have any other questions please ask as I am always happy to try and help. Thanks again and happy Cruising! Allison

Thank you for reading my review! The notice about the port change from Wellington to Picton said that the change was due to cruise ship congestion. Fortunately there was plenty of notice and we had been to Wellington twice before. Wellington has a lot to see and do, particularly for a first time visitor but Picton is also lovely. I checked the next two Royal Princess cruises to New Zealand and they are going to Wellington. I have also read of some cruises that have been to Wellington since my cruise. I did not have a port change on my two previous New Zealand cruises in 2016 and 2018 so hopefully this is not a common occurrence. Hope you have a great cruise and get to Wellington. 🛳️

Any cruise leaving Australia at Christmas will have a lot of children as it is the school holidays. I was on a Royal Princess cruise that finished in Sydney on December 15, 2023. The next cruise was going to have the same number of adults plus an extra 500 children. There is a tender system on all Princess ships where independent passengers (those not on a Princess shore excursion) have to get a tender ticket and wait until their ticket is called to get on to a tender. If you want to be off the ship early you need to line up at the place where the tickets are handed out before the time they start handing out the tickets so that you get an early ticket. Instructions for the where and when will be in the Princess Patter the night before the tender port.

I have been to Naples many times on cruises and land tours. There is a lot to do in Naples or nearby so choosing will be up to your personal interests. The big ones are Pompeii, Capri and the Amalfi Coast. If you want to go out of Naples bear in mind that during summer the traffic is very heavy and places crowded particularly on weekends. It is possible to go to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Capri, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast by yourself by train, bus or ferry but consider how long it may take. You can do private or shared tours through local providers. For the first time in five cruise visits I am doing a ship excursion, the Celebrity "Sorrento and Amalfi Coast by Boat" in June as I will be there on a Saturday and the traffic will be terrible and I thought it would be nice to be on the water for a while. Valletta, Malta is a fabulous port. It is very beautiful to sail into the port and you can stay in Valletta to sightsee by yourself. There is plenty to see and do there such as the St John's Co-Cathedral, Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens, the Siege Bell War Memorial, St Elmo Fort and lovely streets, shops and restaurants. You could get a ferry across the harbour to Vittoriosa to explore and enjoy the great views. Or you could go to the Blue Grotto, Marsaxlokk fishing village or Mdina either by local bus, taxi or on a tour. Messina, Sicily does not have a lot to do though it does have a lovely Cathedral and Bell Tower. Most cruise passengers go on a ship or independent tour. Taormina is a gorgeous town with an ancient Greek theatre, great views of the coast, wonderful shops and restaurants. Mt Etna is also a popular tour and the villages where scenes from the Godfather movies were filmed.

I was on Crown Princess in June last year in Alaska and had a wonderful cruise. Yes she is older and may not have the bells and whistles of a new ship but she has things that I like such as a full Promenade and Skywalkers. I did not experience any bad smells but my mattress was worn out, lumpy, saggy, was very uncomfortable and desperately needed to be replaced. Other than that I did not have any other issues. The service was excellent and the food was good. Despite my terrible mattress I would cruise on Crown Princess again if it had the itinerary I wanted at the price I was happy to pay. Princess usually has mostly adults but not during the school holidays or the holiday periods. A Christmas cruise will generally have a lot of families with a lot of children.

You can book the Celebrity transfer to get to the ship from Rome city centre or you could book a shared or private transfer. Or you could use the train which is easy particularly if you stay at a hotel which is walking distance of Termini train station in Rome. As you are arriving on the day prior to the cruise you can get the Leonardo Express directly from the airport to Termini train station in Rome (cost €14.00 each in 2022). The train from Termini to Civitavecchia is easy and inexpensive (cost €4.60 each in 2022). Then get the shuttle from Civitavecchia train station directly to the ship (costs €6.00 this year). That is what I always do when embarking in Civitavecchia. After the cruise getting the train from Ravenna to Venice airport is more complicated in that to get the train to get to Venice you need to get from the dock to Ravenna train station. Celebrity runs a shuttle at a cost from the ship to Ravenna train station. There are very few taxis in Ravenna. You can then get the train to Venice but you will need to change trains along the way. You would then need to get from the train station to the airport. You could get the Celebrity transfer to Bologna train station and then get a train directly to Venice. Getting the train from Ravenna to Venice airport would be very dependent on the time of your flight and how willing you are to have multiple changes of transport. Another option is to book a shared or private transfer. Personally if I was flying out from Venice on disembarkation day I would use the Celebrity transfer from the ship to Venice airport which though more expensive is much more convenient and easier.

On my excursion to Volunteer Point in March 2018 there was a large number of King Penguins and their many young, as well as Gentoo Penguins and Magellanic Penguins. We were also able to see them on the beach. It was one of the best excursions I have ever been on and so worth the ride there and back.

No problem. Completely understand brain fog. 😂 Just really pleased there hasn't been a huge price increase. Hope you had a great cruise.

Wow, the shuttle from Lyttleton to Christchurch was only AUD15 return on my cruise in December 2023. That's a big jump in price!

If you haven't been to Venice before you should definitely spend a couple or more days there before the cruise. Celebrity has transfers to Ravenna on the day of the cruise from the airport and also the city which may be convenient and easy for you. Alternatively you can get a private shuttle to Ravenna or the train which will require a change of trains. If you go to Ravenna the day before the cruise there are many wonderful mosaics to see in various churches in the town.

I have been following you on your journey and enjoying every moment. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and your wonderful photos. I have been considering an Antarctic cruise and after seeing your amazing photos I am even more keen to go on one. Thank you once again. 😊

We are well and hope you are too. It was lovely to meet you as well. We had such a wonderful cruise. It is interesting how things such as shuttles change from year to year. It shows how important it is to research each port regardless of whether you have been there before or a first visit. How interesting about the cost of the shuttle. Definitely better to have paid in NZD. 😊

I remember walking into Wellington in 2016 so the change to a mandatory shuttle must have happened between then and 2018 when I got a no charge shuttle. I wonder if the paid shuttle that was mentioned earlier was a ship shuttle that was put on for passengers who didn't want to walk into the city.

In December we just got off the ship and waited in the line for the free shuttle into Lyttleton. We left the ship at 10.00am and waited for 20 minutes to get on a shuttle which took ten minutes to get into Lyttleton. There were seperate lines on opposite sides of the road for the free shuttle to Lyttleton which did not require a shuttle ticket and the paid for shuttle to Christchurch which did need a shuttle ticket. For the return we waited for about five minutes at the bus stop where had been dropped off and got on the first shuttle that came at 1.50pm. We were back at the ship at 2.00pm.

I don't know how big your group is but you can get a taxi from Valletta to the Blue Grotto, have them wait and then take you back to Valletta or somewhere else. Make sure to confirm that the taxi will wait for you as the Blue Grotto is rather remote and it would be difficult to pick up another taxi. The Blue Grotto is well worth a visit particularly on a hot day.

Amazing that it's free now. Usually things get more expensive not less! 😊

In 2018 the shuttle from the dock into Wellington was free and I have seen reports of the shuttle being free this season. This was posted by someone on another site about a month ago.