StarSeven7

9 hours ago, luckybecky said:

 

Our entry to Kotor was supposed to be 12:00. If I remember correctly, they said were going to start distributing tickets at 10:45. I think I got in line around 10:00 and there were already 15-20 people in front of me. The same thing happened last time we needed early tender tickets: people start lining up early. Both times we lined up for tickets, they started handing them out a few minutes earlier than the stated time. 

 

Only one person in your cabin needs to go. They will give you enough tickets for everyone in your cabin. The time depends on what your docking time is, and they made several announcements about it. They were giving out the tickets at the entrance to the dining room, deck 4 starboard side. 

 

I will add that no one was actually checking the tender tickets at the gangplank. 

Thank you!!

Thanks for the enjoyable review!  We're going on the Montenegro/Greek Isles itinerary at the end of August so it was great to read all this info!  

Do you happen to remember what time you were able to get tender tickets in Kotor?  I know you mentioned it for your first itinerary but you didn't say for Kotor.  And you get the tender tickets in the dining room?  We're hoping to beat the crowds and get an early tender ticket that day!  Thanks!  🙂

18 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Look at the current sailing, Dining>Restaurants >WJ - it shows 5:30-9:00 for dinner for me. 

Thank you, I am able to see that by looking at the current sailing! I wasn’t able to see it looking at my sailing in August.

On 6/22/2022 at 8:56 AM, Biker19 said:

Dining venue operating hours are usually listed in the app.

Unfortunately the app isn’t showing dining hours for me at all.

On 6/22/2022 at 8:26 AM, island lady said:

 

I called.  Had 12 of them to change.   

Thanks!

On 6/20/2022 at 9:43 AM, island lady said:

 

I went in and changed all my future cruises to early traditional dining since it worked so well on our cruise with you.   

 

Funny thing is, used to be a waitlist for MTD....but now seems a wait list on some cruises for traditional dining.   I don't think we are alone.  😉 

Are you able to change this online or did you have to call?

We're sailing on the same itinerary at the end of August.  When you say the Windjammer wasn't open at night do you mean it wasn't serving dinner or that it was closed at odd times?  

Thanks for the helpful replies everyone!  I remember when we walked from the ferry (it was from Naxos so I guess somewhere E6-E10 on the map above) the walk seemed pretty far, at least while schlepping our backpacks!  The cruise terminals are even farther out so it's probably best to just hop on the bus instead of wasting our time walking!

2 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

I'm sure the walk can take some people 40 minutes.  It's all a matter of how fast one walks and/or stops to take pictures along the way.   

Very true! 

Thank you @VMax1700and @cruisemom42,that's very helpful info!

31 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

The return bus leaves from outside McDonald's on Syntagma Square.

This is the ticket kiosk at Terminal B.

 

Th

 

Thank you so much!  Super helpful!  I'm not sure which terminal we will be docking at - we're on Royal Caribbean, not sure if they're always at the same terminal?

18 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

X80 bus from outside the terminal. Day Return fare €4.10. Bus every 15/20 minutes.

Thank you! I was thinking that seems to be the best option.

3 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

There is a HOHO bus (with several stops in Piraeus before continuing to Athens) and also an express bus (x80) that picks up from both terminals and takes you into Athens with a stop near the Acropolis as well as one at Syntagma Square. Both, IMO, are easier from the cruise port than using the metro -- although there is a local bus that can take you to the metro rather than having to walk it. 

 

While the previous poster mentions a 20-minute walk, it can be as much as 40 minutes and I'd prefer not to waste so much time getting into Athens. 

 

More info here:  How To Get From Piraeus To Athens - Taxi, Bus and Train Information (davestravelpages.com)

Thank you!

55 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

Well, I’ve walked from the cruise terminal to the Piraeus metro station twice and would do so again if the weather was nice.  But, yes, it’s a little ways away, so you’d need to be people who don’t mind that.  It took me about 20 minutes to get there walking at a decent pace.  There were about 20 of us from the terminal doing the walk and sort of helping each other with the navigation (which is easy if you’ve studied the map a little). 
 

Our ship docked at Terminal B and we rode a shuttle bus to Terminal A.  From there we walked to the Metro. 
 

Are there better ways?  Everyone has their own opinion.  I enjoyed the walk.  It didn’t take too long.  I wanted to visit the Agorra first and then go up to the Acropolis this trip and I was at that entrance 20 minutes before they opened at 8am.  The second time, I did Rick Steves walking tours, and had plenty of time.  

Thanks for your response!  I don't mind a 20 minute walk but I saw some estimates for 40 minutes so that definitely adds some time!  It looks like the next best option is the X80 express bus, so I"ll have to decide between those two.

We're stopping in Athens for the day on our RC cruise in August/September.  We've been to Athens before and arrived via ferry to Piraeus and took the metro into Athens.  This would be my first choice but it looks like it's quite a long walk from where the cruise ships port to the metro station in Piraeus?  Is there another method of transportation that would be better than the metro for getting into Athens?  Our ship doesn't get into port until 12 noon so I'm concerned about traffic being busy that time of day.  Also, there will be 6 of us, 4 adults and 2 kids, so I'm not sure if larger taxis would be readily available?  Thanks!

On 5/6/2022 at 4:21 PM, SummmerInKefalonia said:

Are you on a cruise? Why don't you try to find some people on roll call?

I've asked there as well with no response.

Hello, I am looking for tour company recommendations for Kefalonia.  We would like to visit Melissani Lake and Myrtos beach, most likely on a private tour for 6 people.  Thank you!

Does anyone know if Royal is offering a shuttle to/from Bologna airport or is it just Venice?

We just booked deck 7 obstructed view balcony on Brilliance OTS for our cruise in August!  Hopefully we like it!  Does anyone know if these balconies can connect if you have 2 side by side?

1 hour ago, DoctorWhoGirl said:

Yes, the second pullman is above the other bed so it would be like two bunk beds. Technically they could push the two lower beds together but that would make getting in them a bit difficult. Your current balcony room would give you a bit more room to spread out away from everyone (my 15 year old loves sitting on the balcony) but having a separate bed for each child is more important for my boys. We were on Brilliance last week and put our boys in the cabin next door to us for pretty much the same price as all 4 in one cabin. It’s great for extra room, extra bathroom and privacy for all. Even if that’s not an option for you, there are many public places on Brilliance to hang out so you don’t feel crowded in your stateroom. We use our balcony a lot, but tend to spend a lot of time enjoying the rest of the ship when we aren’t sleeping. 

Thanks for your response. I think we’ll stick with the obstructed balcony since I like that layout better. My kids don’t mind sharing a bed and my husband and I would prefer to sleep in the same bed! Lol! 

47 minutes ago, topnole said:

Definitely price out two cabins.  Sometimes the price is the same or very close.  Sometimes it isn’t.   But it is very much worth researching.  

I’ve priced it out and it is about $500 more for 2 connecting ocean views vs. 1 obstructed balcony. Definitely not worth it for us. My kids don’t mind sharing a bed and we don’t particularly feel like we need a ton of space. We’ve only been on one cruise before but we hardly spent any time in the room. We’re campers so we’re used to not having much space and we’re totally fine with that! Saving money is a bigger priority for us.

5 hours ago, kiska said:

You need to look at the room you booked. Some rooms have bunk beds and that's specified on the legend on the deck plan

I'm actually booked in an obstructed balcony cabin right now, but when I look at the deck plan for the oceanview room it just says "Stateroom occupancy up to 4 available" and no mention of bedding type.

47 minutes ago, DoctorWhoGirl said:

I stayed in an oceanview for up to 4 on Brilliance a while back. It had two pullmen beds, but we only needed one. Here is what it looked like with the bed down. The matress was rather thin and my almost 12 year old complained about it. Probably better than a sofa bed though. 

Thanks so much for the picture!  So if you had the second pullman bed down, it would be overtop of the bed on the left? Sort of like 2 bunk beds?

Hello, we're sailing on the Brilliance of the Seas in August.  We have 4 in our family, 2 adults, 2 kids (12, 9).  We are currently booked in a obstructed balcony room, but I'm curious to know what the room layout is for an oceanview room for 4 people.  Where do the 2 kids sleep?  In the balcony room, which looks a bit bigger than an oceanview, they sleep on a sofa sleeper.  For the oceanview do they both sleep on the sofa as well or is there a bunk that comes down somewhere?

Thanks!

On 1/29/2022 at 11:35 AM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 

Be careful with this one.  I found this article a few days ago and it looks like CBSA is not on the same page with this test.

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/01/16/relieved-but-what-a-nightmare-travellers-pre-entry-covid-test-questioned-by-border-officials/

 

Also, on another forum, another poster called CBSA to verify after reading the above article and this was the response from (1/26/22):

 

We were just about to purchase these tests from Switch Health but I thought best to do some due diligence before doing so and wanted to share what I have just  learned:

1.  I contacted Canada Border Services Agency and was adamantly told that whether you are providing a PCR, NAAT or LAMP test it must be done so in a licensed facility.  I explained that the Switch Health tests were proctored and was told they are not valid.

2.  I contacted Switch Health and was told that while their website states that they are accepted, it is up to the customer to verify and remain up to date with protocols.  As far as they were concerned, their LAMP tests are accepted upon entry back to Canada.  They did suggest I contact Public Health.

3.  I was advised by Public Health that these tests would not meet entry requirements because sample collections must be sent to a lab in order to be valid.

I find it extremely frustrating and misleading that Switch Health and Air Canada are recommending these tests when the border agency and public health are saying that they are not acceptable.  It is also not very accurately stated on the government of canada travel site that the tests must be lab based.  It simply lists the type of tests that can be used.

I suppose it may come down to which land or airport border representative you happen to get upon arrival into Canada but I don't think it's worth taking a chance unless clearer information is updated.

We've used the Switch Health kits 2 times for my family with no issues. Once flying, and once at the land border.  I'm surprised to hear that someone had issues with this test kit because it was absolutely no problem for us, it was never questioned.