beckntom

Of course, the sign says the same thing when bringing passengers back to the airport.

Now THAT is funny! :D

try HALfacts signature ships Eurodam 4079

Thank you. I didn't check outside of the class. Wow, I'm kind of surprised. I'm fairly familiar with ObstOV on Princess, and that would be considered an obstructed view (not partial). But Princess doesn't have the floor to ceiling window, so that trumps everything. :D Again . . . my thanks!

Check out the Halfacts website, here:

 

http://halfacts.com/

I already did. :) There are none. I promise you I tried to do my homework before bothering HAL cruisers.

Would love to see pictures showing the window views from any of the Category G “Partial Sea View” cabins on the Noordam, or I guess any Vista class ship. We may book a G category for an Alaska cruise next year and would like to be prepared for the “view.” If there are any pictures available, we would really appreciate your posting them!

Thank you!

Either way, we are not bar flies any more and prefer the other nightly activities.

 

Princess Cruiser's

But Skywalkers is much more than a bar/lounge. It's a great daytime viewing area, as well as a quiet place to read or visit with friends. You really should check it out! :)

We also had the Penthouse Suite R415 on the Caribbean Princess Oct 2013. The suite was really nice and quite comfortable. The only issue was the noise that began around 6:15 AM every morning. :mad: To start with I was sure it was an overweight jogger... ;) however, we soon found out it was the staff rearranging chairs and tables from the night before because of MUTS!

 

Since we have never attended MUTS I was unaware of the situation. We also complained about the noise and were told sorry! :rolleyes: We didn't complain enough evidently because we didn't get any OBC's. :eek:

 

But then again, I am up well before 6:00 AM so it didn't wake me and my wife can sleep through a train wreck! By 6:30 AM the coffee arrived and that did wake up my DW!!! :)

 

Enjoy you suite and roll with the punches.

We are just,

RetiredNTraveling!(Mike & Betty)

Am I the only one who has a problem with the size and color of your font? It's painful for me . . so I just give up. :)

I would bet there will be a few that cancel in the next 16 months and when final comes.

I wish they'd hurry up so we could get our cabin assignment NOW. :D

I personally would prefer the earlier date. Later, to me, equates to colder. We are going on September 22nd this year (Ruby Princess, NYC to Quebec) for that very reason.

JMHO but one of the best values and most fun ways to eat lunch is from the mega variety of gourmet food trucks on NYC streets. They all have twitter feeds to let you know where they are parked, post on facebook and their own websites so you can locate them. Do a Google search to find descriptions, locations and menus.

 

Luke's Lobster is one of my personal favorites and is usually around 46th and Park. While $18.00pp is NOT a particularly cheap lunch, the lobster rolls are huge, the slaw is good and it is all fresh.

 

There are much cheaper food trucks and most are very, very good. They won't last in business in a city like NY if they are not clean and the food is not well above average. Some have become so popular and prosperous they have actually opened brick and mortar restaurants (which is a REAL high risk proposition most places but doubly so in NYC). Luke's has at least 6 brick and mortar locations in NYC and is expanding to Washington DC and the Hamptons.

 

Go and enjoy NYC street food from the food trucks. Find a place to sit, people watch and enjoy!!!

Oh, my goodness, what a great thing to know! I've made many trips to NYC but never bought from a food truck! Will definitely be checking them out in September!

I really hate to see y'all totally discounting Super Shuttle. I have had a brother in a nursing home in Manhattan for the past six or seven years. I have been making two trips a year to see him, as has my little brother and his wife from AL. Most of those (separate) trips into the City from various airports have been via Super Shuttle. I have never ever experienced a scary driver, and I scare easily. IMO, you stand a much better chance of getting a reckless taxi driver. MUCH better chance! The only problem either one of us have ever had was feeling forgotten at the airport, and another phone call to them solved that. Sure, sometimes you are on the early end of the airport pickups and have to make a few rounds until the van is full. Others, you are the last one picked up and leave immediately for the city. It's always seemed a viable option for me, and all but once have I chosen it over a taxi or private driver, and that was when I had my two granddaughers with me.

I have a very low tolerance for "hassle" AND spending extra money. Super Shuttle to me is a very good option. All I'm saying is don't discount it completely. I feel like, between my brother and myself, we have enough experience with them, certainly more than the person here who used them a single time, to speak with confidence.

For my money, I would skip all this hassle and take the SuperShuttle. Looks like it would cost you $47 total, each way, for you and your wife, which isn't a whole lot more than you're talking about paying. Get picked up at the airport terminal exit and delivered straight to your hotel's front door. It doesn't get much easier than that, and you get to see a lot of NYC area on the way. I especially enjoy it when they drop off the other passengers first (there are 11 van passengers total), so you can see what some of the other hotels look like.

Another advantage that I like is that you pay when you make your online reservation. You can even prepay the tip. It's just that much less cash I have to carry, or think about handling.

I think your DW will judge you kindly for using this option. :D

I don't have any little kids around, and I've never sailed Carnival. But I have to admitt that current Carnival commercial with the kids ("who just met yesterday") walking with attitude and queuing up to go down the water slide makes me smile every time :)

I thought it was just me! :) And the "who just met yesterday" line is brilliant. I don't love Carnival for a lot of reasons, but I do love this ad.

Here she is in port in Cozumel!:D

Beautiful picture--thanks! We have friends enjoying that sunshine and the beach (and a drink or two) at Nachi Cocom right now. It's hard not to be jealous since we're in the middle of a very cold day here in Central Texas where they're also from. :)

But since the OP was on one of those two cruises, it is their business. I certainly can see your side, but since Princess crossed the Rubicon, the OP's position is not unreasonable. We may not share that view, but it doesn't make the other side untenable. Someone at PCL concluded that offering compensation was not callous.

JimmyVWine, I am always glad to see your responses or follow-up responses to threads like this. (Why this one is controversial, I am not sure.) In any event, I can count on you to be fair, well spoken, and well informed. Even if I don't always agree with you (which is seldom), I ALWAYS respect your opinion and how you voice it. Thank you.

To Escapes2010, in MY opinion, you made a very reasonable request of Princess and posted about it here in a compassionate, reasonable manner. Please ignore some of the people on this thread and continue with your Cruise Critic involvement. I look forward to hearing from you again.

E724 is showing available on the 3-20 Ruby sailing. So is E730, with the huge extended balcony . . and five other minisuite cabins on Emerald as well. Perhaps a momentary glitch? Book now!

We enjoyed our Quebec stay at the Hotel du Vieux-Quebec on the hilltop in the old city. We met CC friends for a drink at the Frontenac & used the savings for a horse buggy ride & a bus tour of the Quebec area. :)

I'm glad to hear you liked the Hotel du Vieux-Quebec, because we have booked it for September 2014. And your "CC friends" are mutual to us; they told us about the wonderful horse and buggy ride, so we must have one of those as well! :) We are definitely looking forward to visiting Quebec City. We had the same reservations as the OP about the Royal cruise vs the Ruby cruise, especially considering the disparity in price, but the visit to Quebec won us over!

What a dellightful day in Naples! The kind of day where one wishes they could just tag along with someone like you who is brave enough to strike out on their own. I am envious!

Thank you! I think you might be right!

You might want to try Hotel Le Clos St. Louis on rue St. Louis in the Upper Town inside the walls. Most of the rooms should fit your budget and they are beautifully furnished in Victorian style--every one different. It's handy to all the sites and I found the staff very friendly and helpful.

 

http://www.clossaintlouis.com/index.php

This hotel looks lovely; the Victorian furnishings are simply beautiful. Thank you very much for the recommendation.

Twickenham, I wonder how you think this location compares to that of the Hotel du Vieux-Quebec? Thanks.

As I live here, I will only comment on location. Hotel du Vieux-Québec is in the middle of the action, just down the street from city hall, with lots of shopping and restaurants nearby. Maison du Fort, while not far from the action, on a quite quiet residential area (my aunt & uncle used to live down the street from there). Both look nice from the pictures.

Thank you very much. Very helpful information and just what I was looking for regarding location of the two hotels. These two are definitely at the top of my short list!

With regards to the Frontenac, when I attempt an online booking for my 2014 dates, the lowest price I get is $309 per night, and the description says it is a small room, no view, and "great for single traveler." The next lowest price is $399. I will keep the hotel in mind, however, so thanks for the recommendations.

We will be in Quebec City after our Princess cruise in early October 2014. Anyone have hotel recommendations for Old Quebec, inside the walls? We are planning on two nights. So far, I have looked at the Hotel du Vieux-Quebec and the Maison du Fort. Both are in our comfort zone of +/- $200 per night (so the Frontenac is out) and seem to have a measure of charm AND great locations. Any thoughts on these or others?

Thanks for your help!

Really enjoyed your review, Marla! Glad we were at the aft on Emerald for all that rockin' and rollin' on the last day! We suffered somewhat but nothing like friends in their cabin on Baja. I was amazed at how many were out and about all over the ship, even sunbathing on Lido deck. I guess it's all about the cruise experience, smooth sailing or not. :D

I have a reservation with Spiros in October, would you say that 4 medium size people could fit? Is it 3 in the back and one up front?

 

Thanks

We were four in September 2010 with Spiros. Not sure, of course, that it is the same car, but we put the largest gentleman (tall, not large) in the front, and the rest of us were very comfortable in the back (two ladies, one gentleman). We had a great tour and enjoyed ourselves very much. Our very best lunch of the entire 20-day cruise was in a family-run restaurant up in the hills (not the touristy areas down by the water) where the owner took us to the kitchen and his wife and mother-in-law brought fish, lamb chops, chicken, out of the refrigerator for us to make our choices. Those along with chunky skillet-fried potatoes, authentic Greek salads with red, ripe tomatoes and large slabs of local cheese, and a carafe of their homemade wine (and of course good friends) . . . well, it was just a special day.

I will say, if you run short of time and need to omit something, you might consider passing up Achillion Palace. The gardens and view were nice, but you will see many nicer palaces on a Med cruise. We thought the time for this stop could have been better spent.

Good morning. I have learned that our driver/guide in Rome is to be Vinny (or Vinnie). Seems to me I've seen his name on this thread; but when I searched, nothing came up.

 

Has anyone had Vinny (Vinnie) as a guide? I'd love to know your opinion.

 

Thanks.

 

Kathy

His real name is Vincente (Vin-SEN-tay), I believe. He was our guide in Rome on September 7th, and we liked him very much. He was personable and a very good driver. Very patient with the Rome traffic, but we like to tell the story of how he finally lightly honked his horn at someone who didn't move at a traffic light, and he asked the air, "The light only has three colors. What color do you want?" You'll have a good day with him.

Our private guide for Pompeii, as arranged by Rome in Limo, is $100 Euros.