snirpville

I bought a travel purse last year for our trip to Italy/Croatia/Greece and it worked great and I used it again this past March for the Caribbean.

It locks and is water proof. I took a small travel wallet with a bit of cash, a credit card and my drivers license. It also fit my glasses case (wore my sunglasses all the time but needed my regular ones just in case), my cell phone (although that was attached to my wrist pretty much all the time!) and a small bottle of pain killers just in case. I just wanted something that would not be easy to grab or slash or open if I was distracted and this fit the bill.

1 hour ago, BaWBarmy said:

 

Nice to hear. Our hotel is only 200 m from a Vaporetto stop. Not going until November but I'm as excited about our two days in Venice as I am about the cruise.

Two days in Venice is perfect. Did the same thing last September and loved it. 

I keep a box for travel items like wallets, extra glasses, noise machine, adaptors, containers, etc. So I can pull out when needed and everything is always in one place. Books, papers, etc are piled up on a chair that I never use. As for clothes, I like to have a list but I tend to lay out everything I think I want to take the weekend before I leave. Then I can do laundry or replace clothes with others or remove some when it looks excessive. But I will only pack the night before. I'm single and child-less so this works well for me. If I had kids, I would start two weeks before I think!

I packed layers but bought a hoodie while in port and that ended up being my go to when outside! Prior to going, I also bought a thin, foldable rain jacket and a lined one as well. Both of them worked great. The rain jacket was thin enough and roomy enough that I could wear it over the hoodie and another layer. We had pretty good weather (for Alaska in August) but the glacier day was cold and rainy. Not only did I have on layers plus the hoodie plus the rain jacket but I was also wrapped up in one of the blankets! Two days later, I was sitting out on the deck in a pair of capris and a tank so you really never know. Layer up and prepare for rain and cold. That rain jacket and hoodie were the best things I've ever bought.

On 5/31/2019 at 11:35 AM, NIX70 said:

Please excuse the rather random question but we are first-time NCL cruisers on Jade next month and we NEED our cup of tea first thing in the morning (what can I say, we're English!). As we're in a standard OV, and from reading some of the posts on here, it doesn't look like there will be a coffee maker or anything like it in the cabin. Room service/continental breakfast order isn't ideal as we're not good at waiting.

 

So my question is: has anyone ever asked NCL for a kettle or coffee maker to be put in their cabin? If so, was there a rental charge? Happy to pay it, just trying to sort out our options.

 

TIA

Nicola

I remembered that I ran into a woman on the elevator and she had a teapot. I asked her and she said she asked for one and then would fill it with hot water from buffet and go back to room. I suppose you could do the same thing.

Did this last September. Got off the ship and took a taxi tour for some spectacular views (50 euros). Had him drop us off at the gate in Old Town. Yes, they only accept Kuna or credit card. Then you walk. We happened to arrive when the weather began to get quite bad (very windy and a bit of rain) so we did only about half the wall. Then took a taxi back to the port. It was about 20 euros or so.

I went to Solin and Trogir with a tour in the morning which was great. Then spent the afternoon walking around Split. It was a lovely day. 

I need a tea first thing in the morning too but I usually just went up the buffet and made myself two (those cups are too small). Other morning, I would go to O'Sheehans and they would bring me a pot which was lovely.

Our first Lyft didn't show after 30 minutes so we cancelled and the next Lyft driver was there in less than 10 minutes. It was a Monday morning in March and was incredibly busy with pickups and drop offs.

At restaurants, we just rounded up and left the difference. For a private water taxi, we tipped the guide. For the excursions, generally around 10-15 Euros depending on how awesome it was. No one yelled at us for doing it and always seemed appreciative. I never tip on a cruise ship but I know many people do so I think it's ultimately up to you to decide when/if and how much to tip.

@euro cruiser Yep, I knew about it beforehand so I wasn't surprised. It was fine and we had the dailies with us that listed that info plus a photocopy just in case. Others were surprised though and I heard a few arguments.

We left our passports and extra cash in the hotel safe in Venice and then, in order to board the ship in Venice, we had to give the passports to the cruise personnel. They kept the passports, for everyone, for almost the entire length of the cruise, until we were on our way back to Venice. I also bought a travel safe purse that locked and felt entirely comfortable the whole time even in crowds. The ports were Venice, a few stops in Croatia and Olympia and Athens.

I took the Catamaran excursion which included lunch with NCL. It was great. I really liked it. We took the catamaran over (with a brief stop for swimming) to the Pitons and then transferred to a bus for the drive up to an estate for lunch. A couple more stops before arriving back at the cruise ship in the mid-afternoon. It was really nice.

Dubrovnik - you can take a taxi tour right from the pier which takes you to some amazing views points and to the top of the cable cars. Then have them drop you off at the walls.

Kotor - the town is adorable and easily walkable. We did a tour in order to get off the ship quickly (as it was a tender port) but at the port there were lots of taxis offering site seeing tours which all looked really nice.

Split - yes, you can walk right into the town from the port (maybe 15 minute walk) which was nice. We did a tour of Trogir which was beautiful.

I'm similar in that I have no interest in shopping either. I had been to Venice once before on a bus tour and therefore had already seen Doge's Palace, St. Mark's and crossed the Bridge of Sighs so this time (this past September), I decided to just walk. After finding my hotel, leaving the luggage, I chose a direction and just walked everywhere. It was awesome. I did the same thing the next day. Now near the Rialto, there is a mall of sorts where you can go to the roof for a spectacular view of the Grand Canal and Venice and it was FREE! You have to reserve a time and then you have 15 minutes to spend up there. It was great. Not sure I can post the link but google Venice Rooftop Experience and you will find it.

After the cruise, I finally got the vaparetto pass and used it to get to Murano and Burano and then up the Grand Canal. That was lots of fun too and quite easy.

Walking around Venice is fantastic. Go down alleys, wander over bridges. You'll never get lost and every turn is beautiful.

12 minutes ago, imwmn913 said:

Good to know!  We might want to do this in October, so if this is an 'unadvertised option' something to consider!

 

For those that did it - what do you advise ? Are we going to encounter any 'barriers' that make it difficult to get the suitcase over, or can we simply walk off?  We've done this on previous cruise lines, but that was years ago.

 

Thanks!

We didn’t really do anything special. Just kept our suitcases in the room. We were in no rush to get off as we were staying another 2 days so we left the rooms before 8am as they requested and went to the buffet with the luggage. Waited there and ate until about 9:30 and then got off. Easy.

Not really sure why it’s not recommended but I didn’t really care as we were not explicitly told no.

Going June 2020! Please come back and post about your trip! Enjoy!

Yeah, it wasn’t “advertised” but I asked at guest services and he said yes but they didn’t recommend it. We did it anyway and we each had a large suitcase plus carry ones. No one said anything. 

Three of us walked off with our luggage in Venice in October 2018. They "didn't recommend it" but it was not forbidden and many others were doing the same thing.

Did you guys cruise yet and if so, what was the studio room like? Any tips?

I'm debating between a studio and an inside cabin now. These tips are very helpful. @imgoingonacruise Could you post a review when you get back about the room and lounge? Thanks.

Hi, you've posted in the Celestyal Cruise forum. May want to report in Celebrity forum :-)

You never know about the weather. It could be quite warm! I'll tell you, my dad wears short sleeves until November sometimes. I'm in Montreal and you never quite know what the weather will be like in September. Sometimes it's warmer than July! You could still wear those things, you just never know. Better to pack with a sweater and sneakers and not need them 😃

We got off the ship in Venice around 9:30am, walked out and hailed a cab who took us to our hotel in Mestre. Took about 20 minutes total. 

I take it you primarily have been to the islands and that is your concern? That where you are going is not the same type of port?

I wouldn't worry. Your vacation is what you make of it. I may be a tad biased but I love Canada :-) And New England is beautiful too. Enjoy!