Wisconsin Travelers

13 hours ago, Micah's Grandad said:

Just back from Emerald and was a fine cruise. Was a very old crowd but on a port intensive itinerary that should not matter so much. See the review I posted the other day.

We were on this same recent cruise on the Emerald.  Were there some issues that we hope will be addressed when the Emerald is in drydock?  Certainly!  The Emerald is an older ship and in many ways she is showing her age.  I'm confident Princess will spruce her up nicely.  Did the little bits of rust we saw on the balcony, the tiny cracks in the bathroom tile, or the really poorly lit areas in the MDR mean our cruise was bad?  Most certainly not! 

This wasn't our favorite cruise, but it was far from the worst one.  Just keep a positive attitude and enjoy the things that make cruising fun for you.  Even a "bad" cruise is better than staying at home, cooking and cleaning, paying bills and watching crummy TV!  Have a great time! 

I just spoke to HAL's Client Services people about the Culinary Arts Center because as of today it doesn't list a price or a sample menu on my computer. We are sailing on Koningsdam in November.

I was informed that the information wasn't there because the venue was "always changing." Now it's a sports bar type atmosphere with ala carte pricing and food like burgers, wings, and typical bar food.

My comment to: "We weren't able to sign up for a set dining time/table so we will be meeting a lot of different folks around dinner time. That's kinda fun, although it does get pretty repetitive with the night after night of 'where are you from' questions. Anyone have any better dinner conversation starters? I guess since we will be leaving from Rome, we could always ask "So, did you visit the Forum today?" In the Caribbean, we could "did anyone see any sea turtles while snorkeling today?"

About the best dinner conversation we ever had with an "anytime dining" table mate was:

Oh, you're from [fill in the blank]? If I were to visit your city for just one day, what would you suggest I see or do?

We have since used this many times and have enjoyed the responses. Give it a try!

That seems strange to me as well. In case you haven't seen this, the Cunard UK FAQ states the formal wear rental prices as follows.

 

Black Tuxedo Packages

Includes Dinner Jacket, trousers, shirt, bow tie & handkerchief.

 

Number of Nights - Cost (USD)

1 - $90

2 - $125

3 - $170

4 - $210

5 - $250

 

This is in agreement with the $210 price you were originally quoted for 4 formal nights. If the pricing varies by ship, the Cunard UK FAQ makes no mention of that fact, although it does include the standard disclaimer "Prices are subject to change".

 

Hopefully someone who has actually rented formal wear recently on QV will be along soon to give you a more informed answer.

Thank you for this information, John. On the Cunard U.S. FAQ there is no information at all regarding formal wear rental. The prices on the UK FAQ make perfect sense to me - more money for more days.

Thank you, Underwatr. There are 4 formal nights on our cruise, so the higher price made sense to me. But the guy I talked to insisted it had to do with the ship - very strange.

Since we don't normally cruise on Cunard, my husband really doesn't have any need to own a tuxedo. The one he had while we were both still working and attending various formal events doesn't fit him anymore! He tells people it shrunk at the dry cleaners . . . Hah! More like he managed to gain a fair amount of weight after retirement!

Here's an interesting little wrinkle. Upon booking our upcoming voyage on QV, I inquired about the cost of tuxedo rental for my husband, and was told $210 (U.S.) for the 15 day cruise. Today my husband found his tie, cummerbund and studs, so I called again to see if the rental fee would be reduced if he brought these items. Initially the fellow I spoke with said no, the cost would be $210. Then he kept reading and said, "Oh, I'm wrong. That's the price on QE and QM. On QV the price is $131." What??!!

Does anyone have first hand experience who might be able to give us a definitive answer? Thanks!

We will be taking the Cunard coach transfer from Southampton the morning of our cruise. If the traffic is more or less "normal", we'll probably arrive in Southampton around 12:30 pm. We have no choice but to sit around with a terminal full of people while awaiting our turn to board. Too bad the embarkation terminal doesn't offer a nice cafe with light refreshments for all of the passengers who are essentially in the "same boat" as us. I'd be delighted to wait my turn in much more pleasant surroundings than waiting with a herd of people who are getting more tired and crankier with each passing moment.

For those passengers traveling within the U.K., they can easily adjust their arrival time at the port to more closely coincide with their boarding time. Those of us who coming from LHR, we have no choice of what time we want to board the transfer coach. The cruise line dictates what time the coach will leave and approximate arrival time at the port.

Since St. Maarten is Dutch, and in the Netherlands there is a large Indonesian population, I'm wondering if there are any Indonesian restaurants in Phillipsburg. Has anyone found one and liked it?

Thanks!

Friends are leaving on a 7 day cruise tomorrow on the Ruby Princess. Today they got a phone call which they thought was from the upgrade fairy. The conversation went like this:

Princess: "Would you be interested in giving up your Balcony cabin for an Inside cabin?"

Friend: "Why would I want to do that?"

Princess: "Because your cruise will be FREE!"

Have any of you heard of this? Our friends took the deal because the weather isn't supposed to be great and they thought they wouldn't be using their balcony much anyway. They are hoping it will turn out to be the ultimate upgrade.

What would you do?

We are sailing in September on the Victoria and dining in the Britannia, but I'm wondering about The Verandah as an alternative dining room. Is this venue available on the Victoria? Is there an additional charge? How do I go about making a reservation? Thanks!

Being from the west side of the Pond I'm not sure where Northampton is but last May my wife and I took the Cunard coach from London to Southampton. The service was very nice. They took our bags in London and we next saw them in our cabin. The coach was very clean including the bathroom. Being on the Cunard coach gave us a bit of confidence that if we hit traffic or were to break down the QM2 might cut us some slack and hold departure, at least for a little while. The cost was U$50 and would do it again.

Hope this helps.

 

Harold

Dear Harold - We just booked transfers from Heathrow to Southampton and Cunard has raised their prices considerably since last May. Now the one-way price is US $80 per person! Outrageous increase in my opinion.

Taking our first Mexico cruise in December, although we've been in Cozumel and Costa Maya several times on Caribbean itineraries. In those ports it was easy to use dollars - no need to change money. What has been your experience in Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta? In particular, I want to buy vanilla at the WalMart which is across from the dock in Puerto Vallarta. Do you think WalMart takes U.S. dollars, and should I plan to exchange for pesos? Thanks.

Thanks for the info about the headsets, and especially the tip on having some form of ID that we can use instead of a passport. I don't even like it when small hotels without safes want to keep your passport!

How can I reserve an audio tour? The Uffizi site seems easy enough to reserve tickets, but I don't see a place to reserve an audio tour. Or is this something we can just add on when we're there?

Thanks!

Based on CC recommendations we have decided to visit the Uffizi on our own. Booking online seems straightforward, but I can't figure out how to also reserve audio tours. Is this something easily handled at the museum, or is there a way to do it ahead of time?

Thanks.

I've read many threads about what to see in Gibraltar but never a mention about Alameda Gardens, which sounds like a wonderful stop for anyone interested in gardening. Has anyone been there? Is it walking distance from the ship? Is it worth seeing?

Thanks!

We loved Kotor and can't wait to go back! Very charming town with super nice people, and an easy walk off the ship. We did not do the climb but talked to people who did and it took several hours up and back down. To see this gorgeous part of the world we'd recommend a personalized tour with Milo or maybe one of his organized tours for a few hours. See his website toursbymilo.com for more info and very reasonable prices. This port was really a surprise to us - we never even heard of Montenegro before and it was one of our favorite ports EVER, and we've been to lots of them! Have a wonderful day when you're there.

Ah - at last some CURRENT information - THANKS! So you walked from the train station to where the port buses are located. How long a walk was it? We did this walk several years ago pulling luggage, and it was LONG - probably at least 30 minutes. And there was no signage, just a bunch of people loading onto buses that took you closer to the ships which was about a 15 minute ride.

You might want to check ZipTransfers.com to get you to the airport. We've reserved a mini van that accommodates 6 passengers + 6 suitcases (I'm assuming medium size ones) for 49 euros. We won't be using them until Sept. 15th at the end of our cruise, but they have been very responsive with emails and they have a good reputation.

Well, it sounds like all of you got lucky. I sent two emails to this company in planning excursions for our upcoming Mediterranean cruise and never got a response. Very disappointing (and yes, I did check my spam, just in case). We've booked with another company.

There are 4 of us who would like a van to take us from the port in Barcelona to the airport. Any recommendations for a service you've used which was reliable AND reasonable?

Thanks!

We booked our cruise with a large online Travel Agent. They are affiliated with Shore Excursion Group to book excursions. They have nice packages for our upcoming summer Mediterranean Cruise. I have seen some very good reviews and some not great reviews. I am apprehensive to trust them to our excursions, but it would make things so much easier. There is not much of a roll call yet and teaming up with other passengers may not be viable.

We exclusively used Shore Excursions Group on our first Mediterranean cruise a couple of years ago because they were affiliated with our online travel agent. Other than the tour in Rhodes, they were ok. The problem in Rhodes started when the pick-up point was not where it was described on our paperwork. It continued when the "guide" who was actually German got lots of his dates and facts mixed up regarding history.

As I recall, the Amalfi coast tour van driver had really broken English and was difficult to understand so I just tuned him out and enjoyed the spectacular views.

Our guide in Kusadasi (tour to Ephesus) was outstanding. I wish I knew how to contact him because I'd love to refer business to his company. He was one of the best guides we have ever had anywhere!

Now I'm planning excursions for another Mediterranean cruise, and I have found that Shore Excursions are considerably more expensive than other companies.

As others have commented, companies like Shore Excursions or Viator contract with local companies to actually conduct the tour in the particular location. We have had great luck with Viator and I'm using them almost exclusively for our upcoming cruise in September.

If you have time in your planning, check out recommendations on CC and also Trip Advisor. Read all of the reviews you can for the tour you're interested in. Sometimes the general tour description isn't as thorough as it should be. Last week I was all set to book a tour that included a cable car ride. It wasn't until I had read about 40 reviews that I learned about a 10 minute steep climb to get to the cable car entrance - and I have rotten knees! Glad I kept reading!!

Best of luck to you - and be sure you post your reviews back on CC for everyone!

Has anyone used All Around Italy tours recently? I've seen many excellent reviews of this company, but nothing after 2013. Thanks.

Thanks, MADFlyer! I've read many of your postings to this board and you've provided lots of assistance to us and, I'm certain, to other travelers as well. Can't wait to visit Barcelona - I think it's going to be one of my new favorite European cities.

Thanks so much for the link. I see that the T-10 ticket is good for 1 to 6 zones, and the price varies for the zones. Is metropolitan Barcelona all in one zone, so I can buy the ticket for the lowest price?