Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Lost in Italy

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    178

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Lost in Italy

    Hotel in Bologna Pre Cruise

    in Italy Ports

    Posted

    On 2/17/2023 at 7:06 AM, little britain said:

    The city of Bologna is beautiful with the best food in Italy!   There is a mono rail connecting the airport with the city centre. Please don’t stay at the airport!!!

    Any hotel suggestion near Piazza Maggiore? Asking in regard to our trip next summer. 

    Celebrity Shore Excursions

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    On 3/16/2024 at 5:20 PM, Joanne G. said:

    @Harley167, if you are interested in Celebrity excursions, and depending on when your cruise is, you may be able to catch one of the periodic flash sales.   I booked my September 2024 Med cruise over a year ago, in the months after booking there have been several sales on excursions with discounts in the range of 40%-50%.   I was easily able to cancel previously booked excursions and re-book at the sale price, saving several hundreds of dollars.   The sales come and go quickly and are often around holidays. Celebrity excursions are easily cancelable for any reason, so you could book what interests you now and cancel if you later find a preferable independent option.

     

    This thread - and the ports of call boards - have many suggestions and lots of good advice about independent tours.  I personally prefer ship excursions, especially in the Med as often the sites I want to see are some distance from the port, and a higher cost is worth it to me for the security.  I will also add that on 3 out of my 5 European cruises (not on Celebrity), ports have been missed due to weather or mechanical issues.   In each case, refunds for the ship-sponsored excursions were credited to my onboard account with no action needed on my part.  People with independent excursions had more issues negotiating refunds. Hopefully you won't have my bad luck, but any ship on any cruise line could miss a port for any number of reasons.

     

    One more point - I may be naive, but I like to think that Celebrity (and other cruise lines) vet their tour vendors in a way that would cause them not to contract with a company whose vehicles have bald tires, such as shown in the picture @mahdncposted.  I know they will disclaim any liability regarding their own excursions, but it still seems very much in their interest to contract with reputable providers.  

     

    I'm not trying to convince you to book independent tours, and I understand the reasons others prefer to explore independently.   I am just mentioning some issues that you may not have thought about.   Have a great cruise, however you decide to enjoy the ports.

     

     

    Do you need to go into your booking account to see if sales/discounts are available? Is there any other way to be notified? Our cruise is not until 2025. 

    Great experience with shared shore excursion from Livorno from Bella Italia Tours.

    in Italy Ports

    Posted

    On 6/24/2023 at 9:47 AM, Torfamm said:

    We used Bella Italia Tours for a tour to Pisa and Florence from the port in Livorno and had a terrific experience.  We found it to be the best small group tour of the many we did during our time on the Enchanted Princess in May and June. Our driver/guide Massimo spoke perfect English and was engaging, knowledgeable, and very enthusiastic.  He made us all want to return for another visit. I'd definitely suggest considering Bella Italia if you are looking for small group or private excursions from Livorno. 

     

     

    Thank you. In early planning stages. Interested in Cinque Terre from Livorno. Will keep them in mind. 

    MDR vs. BLU

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Thank you all for your frank opinions. We did choose Aqua. Majority of you had positive experiences.  We have been happy with Concierge Class in the past, but our TA happened to have a group rate for Aqua that was hard to pass up. We’re not very frequent cruisers and value fellow cruisers experiences. 
     

    MDR vs. BLU

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Considering booking Aqua Class on upcoming Constellation cruise.  We enjoy late fixed time dinner in MDR. IF we choose Aqua, can we choose/book fixed late dining in the MDR and still enjoy Blu when we choose? 
     

     

    AARP member credit

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    On 11/30/2023 at 10:01 AM, REOVA said:

    You can try but they may say no it's after booking. But being so close you may get lucky. There is no consistency how they apply it. I initially got an email rejecting and also got one approving (I usually send email to 2 different places just to see). Same with stock approval, the first email said approved and second email said they need more info (I went with the first which showed in my revised statement). So it's a toss up. 

    Can you let me know emails you used for requesting the AARP Member Credit?

    New to Holland America? This is for you...AKA "HAL For Dummies"

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

    We used Uber to get us from our hotel to the cruise terminal on Nov 4th, he was allowed in the gate and dropped us and our luggage off at the point where the luggage was collected. When we returned the Uber was allowed inside the gate just like taxis. We had Club Orange and we were directed to the same line with Neptune suites and 4 and 5 star Mariners. All others had to go into the general boarding lines.

    Thank you!

    Port of San Diego

    in West Coast Departures

    Posted

    58 minutes ago, lais said:

    Ubers are allowed in the gate as soon as the port opens at around 10:30.  Sometimes earlier for Holland. 
    there is one line until you get through security (a second line for people who do not have a barcode or Navigator) to have their boarding pass reprinted) 

    after security there are priority check in areas 

    Thank you!

    • Thanks 1

    Port of San Diego

    in West Coast Departures

    Posted

    To those of you who have sailed from San Diego …. 
    are Ubers allowed through the gate at cruise terminal to drop off luggage? 
    Also, other than passengers with mariner status, are all others directed to one line?


    Trying to be prepared. 

    Another Transatlantic covid story

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

    If Celebrity did not isolate the passengers testing positive would most likely continue to spread the virus.   The antigen test shows that you are capable of spreading the virus whether or not you have symptoms.   Prospective passengers should be aware of the probable isolation rules before they make the decision to cruise.       The fact that some passengers have been allowed to isolate in their own cabins should not cause other passengers to expect similar experiences.

     

     

    Why would SOME passengers then get to stay in their own cabins? I get the isolation, but inside rooms 24/7 are a bit much, don’t you think? 

    • Like 4
×
×
  • Create New...