Nick_C

Apart from Cunard and sometimes P&O, I wouldn't expect the dress code sailing out of Europe to be any different to anywhere else - although expect cool evenings so you may see more jackets at dinner than you would in the Caribbean.

You will probably find a high number of Americans, Canadians, and a few Australians and New Zealanders. Probably not so many Brits as there are lots of cruises to Norway ex UK.

The Dutch are generally quite informal, and other Europeans are likely to be flying in on budget airlines with a smaller luggage allowance than you.

And for daywear yes, take the clothing you would take for Alaska. Bergen has high rainfall, but I've also been there when it's been shorts and T-shirt weather.

Norway is beautiful, I never tire of it.

Nick C

Which operator is flying from which UK airport, into FLL this summer?

Norwegian start flying from Gatwick to FLL on 4 July. Twice weekly flights, westbound on Fridays and Mondays. They will be flying the 787 Dreamliner, with the same seating config in economy as BA.

They sell reasonably priced one way fares, which is good for anyone planning a transatlantic cruise.

They are also starting services to JFK and LAX.

I think its utter folly to plan to fly into a port and sail out the same day.

In September, it me took 7.5 hours to fly from Orlando to New York. If we'd been heading for a ship instead of a hotel, we would have missed it.

Even if you have booked the flights and cruise as part of a package, ships will not wait for ever. On Ocean Princess in 2010, we sailed out of New York without 30 passengers whose flight was delayed. They joined us three days later at our first port.

Even if you arrive on time, there is always the chance that your luggage will not.

We always plan to fly in 2 or 3 days before the ship sails.

Currently, we can't fly direct into Fort Lauderdale (but that will change this summer), so we have flown into MIA and even MCO to cruise out of Lauderdale. MIA and FLL are less than 30 miles apart, 40 minutes on a good day. Its basically one big conurbation, so I find the question slightly puzzling! Its generally an easy drive, although when we did it in December the rain was torrential, we slowed down to 15 mph on the Freeway, and could barely see.

I do agree though that Lauderdale is a nicer place to stay than Miami (although on our last visit we stayed in Key West which we loved!!)

The first time I flew to MIA to cruise out of Lauderdale, I had planned to take a taxi. It was cheaper to rent a car for a day.

Fabulous. Loved it. Thanks for posting.

Hi Deidre, loved reading your excellent review. Just to add a couple of points. The bottled water in the cabin, and the soft drinks (on the top shelf of the fridge) are complimentary and replaced daily. (Free bottled water was also available at the gangway or tender dock when going ashore.)

Although there are "wines of the day", you can ask for any of the wines from the complimentary list. Once we tried the South African Pinotage, we stuck to it. However, we didn't see a wine list anywhere on board, so for future reference, I would recommend printing it off before you go!

http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/plan-your-voyage/onboard-packages/complimentary-beverages

We found our breakfast menus in the room service directory. The steak and eggs were excellent, and room service seemed to be the only place where you can have steak for breakfast every day. (However, after trying room service and the MDR, we decided that windows offered the best breakfast experience.)

We also had a V3 guarantee, and were in 6009, close to the front of the ship. I normally enjoy rough weather, but after 48 hours of being tossed around I was seasick for the first time in my life, and missed dinner on Sunday night. We were also woken by the anchor being dropped in the mornings. I know we were unlucky with the weather, and I've never had a problem with a guarantee cabin before, but if I go on any of the R class ships again I will choose a midships cabin. I was on Ocean Princess a few years ago, in a cabin on deck 6 just above the bar at the entrance to the MDR. This was a great location, and much less movement. We had friends on that cruise in a forward facing cabin, and the balcony was unusable when the ship was at sea, another reason why I would avoid a guarantee again on this class of ship.

Nice to hear that you are having good weather. I'm hoping it will be dry on Saturday. We'll be in Fort Lauderdale, and I'm looking forward to the boat parade.

Oh and yes, we are flying out Friday morning. Really looking forward to being in Florida again.

I used to date an Italian many years ago. I couldn't understand what he was saying half the time, but the way he said it made me melt!

Hi Ann, nice to hear from you. Looking forward to meeting you on board in just over a week.

Nick & Joao

Yep, Joao is Portuguese, and if I knew how it was pronounced I would tell you, but after 14 years he tells me I still can't pronounce it properly! lol. People call him Jay.

Likewise, looking forward to meeting you both - won't be long now.

This will be our first time on Azamara. Really looking forward to it. Celebrity is our favourite line, and if Azamara is as good (or even better) then we will be very happy. Looking forward to the inclusive drinks as well!

Florida, we are staying in Fort Lauderdale for 3 nights, followed by Key West for 3 nights, and finally a night in Miami. (The night in Miami was part of the fly/cruise package, so we may be in the same hotel - the JW Marriott downtown? The rest we've organised independently.) We just had two nights in Florida last Xmas; it was Joao's first time there and he was really impressed. I think he thought Florida was all theme parks, and he was pleasantly surprised at the beaches, architecture, and countryside. We'll be in FL for the Xmas boat parade on the 14th, which I'm looking forward to.

Virgin Gorda, I agree, the baths. We like to do things independently whenever we can, and I see from the main thread that taxis should be running normally on Xmas day, and its only a 40 minute walk.

The inner child within me would also like to see the planes at Maho beach. Not sure if I can persuade J (maybe I'll just tell him its a beach and not tell him about the planes). Apparently, you should try to be there in the afternoon when the big planes arrive. KLM have a 747 due to land at 12:40 (and Air France has an A340 due in at 14:50.)

Sounds like you are well on top of the planning. I need to firm up our plans in the next few days.

Hi guys,

Don't have much knowledge of these ports. We stayed in Fort Lauderdale before our cruise last Xmas. We went for a drive from Miami on FL90/US41 to Naples. Really nice quiet road through the Everglades, with a few places along the way where you take an airboat ride, which I would highly recommend if you've not done it before. You even see 'gators in the ditches at the side of the road on the drive. Naples itself is a bit boring, so maybe not worth going all the way, depends how much you like driving.

Ports, I've only been to Dutch side of St Martin (Phillipsburg) and San Juan, which I loved. Are you staying there post cruise? If so, I'm sure you will enjoy it. Nice architecture, full of character, very clean and safe. Sadly, we are flying back the day we disembark.

Interesting that the OP calls for a boycott of Russian ports (where homosexuality is legal), but is booked on a cruise that will call at St Kitts (where it is illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison).

Homosexuality was illegal in many US states until 2003 when these laws were eventually declared to be unconstitutional, 10 years after Russia had decriminalised homosexual acts. Many US states, such as Florida, refuse to repeal the sodomy laws (although they are no longer enforceable). This discrimination against gay men never prevented me from visiting the United States, a country I love.

In the 80s, walking down the street in St Petersburg Florida, my boyfriend and I suffered verbal abuse and had things thrown at us by local youths driving by.

In the 90s, I visited the States several times with my boyfriend at the time, who was HIV positive. It did worry me that he was entering the country illegally, as he would have been refused entry if they had known his HIV status. Fortunately, this rule was eventually abolished - in 2010.

Now, when I visit the States with my lawful Civil Partner, we are still discriminated against when we try to go through Immigration as a couple. I have been told in no uncertain by US Immigration Officers that my lawful partner (my husband in all but name under UK legislation) is not a family member, and that we have to be processed separately. When entering the States from Canada recently, the Immigration Officer asked me my relationship to my partner. I told her "he is my partner". "What?" she asked. Three times. Before she recovered from the shock and accepted the fact that we were a couple of benders, at which point the expression on her face suggested she had stepped in something unpleasant.

Although I suffered homophobia in St Petersburg Florida in 1988, I didn't encounter any unpleasantness in St Petersburg Russia when we visited on a cruise in 2008.

Hey guys,

Yeah, signed up for the M&M today, its now up to 52 people.

Finished reading the roll call as well, and there is at least one other couple, "SeaTea75" and his partner.

Likewise looking forward to missing the madness of Xmas and having someone else do all the work. We booked this cruise back in April, and haven't really given it much thought since, but its practically on top of us now and I'm starting to get excited. We're flying out on the 13th and spending a week in Florida, including a trip down to Key West which has been on my bucket list for a long time. It will be Joao's first time in the Caribbean, and we are looking forward to just chilling out.

Where are you guys from?

Hi Ben & Steven,

My Partner Joao and I are on this cruise, so you won't be the only gays in the village. Looks like not many Brits either. Mind you, you can't tell much from the roll calls. We were on Ocean Princess in 2010, same size ship. There was no gay roll call, but there must have been a dozen couples, so you never know.

Nick

Our first Celebrity Cruise this November.

 

We're C&A Diamonds.

 

Side question, what drinks are available during the Elite cocktail hour?

On Century at Xmas, the menu was

Kir Royale

Mimosa

Vodka or Gin Martini

Apple Martini

Cosmopolitan

Manhattan

Screwdriver

Cuba Libre

Celebrity Vintages Sparkling Wine

Santa Helena Chardonnay

Anakena Cabernet Sauvignon

Skyy Vodka

Beefeater Gin

Bacardi Rum

Jim Beam Burbon

Dewar's White Label Scotch

Courvoisier VS Cognac

Heineken, Bud Light and O'Doul's

Sodas and Juices

The Chardonnay was pretty awful, much worse that the white wine in RCIs Diamond Lounge (well, sailing out of Australia anyway)

At breakfast, they serve Sparkling Wine and Bloody Mary's, as well as proper coffee

Latest NYSE price is $32.53

Thanks Pablo -typo

Ticker for the UK stock is also CCL

You can see prices for LON and NYSE at

http://www.google.co.uk/finance?q=LON:CCL and

http://www.google.co.uk/finance?q=NYSE:CCL

Prices have been sliding for the last week, and are currently almost at a 6 month low after a volatile day. If you are buying just for the OBC, this is not a bad time to buy. Latest prices $35.21 or £23.24

Although its listed in NY and London, the value of shares seems to be priced in US$, and London prices reflect the varying exchange rate as much as they reflect the value of the company.