crimsonbird

We too have had the hardest time reaching a Celebrity agent. We wonder "what is going on?". We've waited over a half hour...and more.. and this was trying to book a cruise.

This is a sad commentary on their customer service - we've been sailing with Celebrity for years and never have had such phone difficulties.

We will be on the Constellation in May. The ship gets in to the port of Amsterdam at 6 am. Does anyone recall the earliest one could get off the ship?

Ive gotta say I am much less excited for my cruise now, seeing on how the ports of call are Cozumel and Grand Cayman....seem to be very high on everyone's list to "not get off the ship!"

 

But then again a saw some dislike for San Juan and I LOVED PR...

 

We get off at every port, it's nice to walk around, have a local lunch and people watch, if anything! I get bored on Sea Days! lol

Be excited and happy. Cozumel is lots of fun, whether you just walk around and shop, or go to the beach. Grand Cayman is lovely. Go to 7 mile beach or swim with the sting rays. Have a beautiful time whatever you do.

Sorry but the free buses are just to get us around the Rock and avoid traffic congestion (not quite resolved this issue, but it is making a difference). The free buses go from the Market Place - about a 1 km walk from the ship outside the city walls. They go in all directions except up the Rock. The buses to and from the frontier cost £1. So you can take a free bus to the cable car station, to the lighthouse (south end of the rock, nice as long as it is not windy) and up to where you can walk up the rock.

 

Prices of rock tours include the cost of the entry to the Nature Reserve. so if you go by taxi or cable car, that cost is factored in. You do have a nice long stop so you have got time to go on a Dolphin safari (and have a 75% chance of seeing Dolphins - ask how many they have seen that day) and then go up the Rock by cable car or by taxi. The cable car is fun. The views should be great (can be affected by misty weather) and seeing the apes is fun, just don't attempt to feed them because that encourages them to get too close.

If you decide to do the rock tour only I would walk into town and look at a few shops - duty free perfume, cosmetics, alcohol and tobacco attracts people, I think jewellery, Swarovski, Samsonite and other brands are also cheap because they are duty free. Know your prices at home before buying. You can then get a taxi towards the end of main street or walk to the cable car. By then the first 2 ships will be boarding and the Upper Rock will be less crowded (I should think).

 

If you want a good meal on the way back, Gatsby's at the side of Ocean Village (just under the sign) is popular locally, but there are other cheaper places in the square before you go through the arches. Just having a drink in the square is nice if the late afternoon is warm. It is good to people watch as locals meet up with their friends and late the children play together in the square.

 

If you like casinos there is one in Ocean Village as a change to RCL.

 

I should have written this all on the Gibraltar Forum :o

Thank you so much for all your help. We've printed out your info and will take you suggestions for a successful visit to Gibralter. Regards from Florida, USA

It is a good plan. Taxi tours are popular, you can get to see the tunnels and the cave too. The price covers all the sites.

 

I noticed that there are 3 ships in port that day, but they are not all huge, I am not sure which you are on. Two are staying for 5 hours and the Brilliance does not leave until the evening so you would have time to add a Dolphin Safari from Ocean Village (you pass it as you go into town from the port). You could of course go and see the Dolphins first and then do the rock tour later on (I think last admission to the Upper Rock is 6 15 pm but I am pretty sure the gate stays open later, so you could still see the Apes). The upper rock will be less crowded once the first 2 ships have left so if you are on the Brilliance, that is an option to consider.

 

I am not sure what time the Dolphin tours go out, I think when we went last summer there was a trip at about 3.30 - I cannot get onto the website right now. The companies each say they are better, but if one boat sees dolphins the other comes up behind.

 

You can pay for joint cable car/dolphin safari ticket somehow if you are on the long day, not really sure though. There are queues for the cable car when there are ships in - so go as early as you can if you decide on that way to get up the rock. Whichever way you go you will get great views.

 

BTW if you are on the Brilliance you can walk up the rock (I do regularly). Get a (free) bus towards the lighthouse and jump off just past the old casino. Then it is a workout for about 2 hours, and you will deserve your evening meal.

Thank you so much. Yes, we are on the Brilliance - so we don't arrive until 2:30. You mentioned the free bus...where do we get it and what is the route? I know that my DH would never consider walking up the rock - but he loves the word "free".....The taxis are pretty pricy, but it seems it's a less expensive option than the cable car. Do you agree? Or can we do our own tour with the free bus? By 2:30 in the afternoon it may be a long wait for the cable car and taxis may be pre-occupied. Any suggestions in that regard? What should I shop for in Gibralter?

If you are a Rick Steves fan you will have heard about Rue Cler. It is a great street for foodies to explore and has several good restaurants. I brought back a wonderful cake from there - just the packaging made me excited. You will need to look on a map, but it really is about 10 minutes walk from the Eiffel tower. (I wanna go back to Rue Cler).

 

I also remember that staying just around the corner from the Eiffel Tower we were near to the Place des Invalides where Napoleon's tomb is. Now it is not the most exciting of Paris attractions, but if you feel that you are in Paris and you want to see something worthwhile but not stray too far from your pick up point, I would recommend it.

We just noticed that you are from Gibralter. We will be stopping there on May 6th....any suggestions? We plan on taking a taxi to see the monkeys and views.....but you are the expert for sure. Thanks again.

If you are a Rick Steves fan you will have heard about Rue Cler. It is a great street for foodies to explore and has several good restaurants. I brought back a wonderful cake from there - just the packaging made me excited. You will need to look on a map, but it really is about 10 minutes walk from the Eiffel tower. (I wanna go back to Rue Cler).

 

I also remember that staying just around the corner from the Eiffel Tower we were near to the Place des Invalides where Napoleon's tomb is. Now it is not the most exciting of Paris attractions, but if you feel that you are in Paris and you want to see something worthwhile but not stray too far from your pick up point, I would recommend it.

Thank you so much for your two suggestions. Rue Cler it is!!!

Any other suggestions about what to do in the Eiffle Tower neighborhood since we'll have about 3 hours to explore. Restaurants, shopping??? All help in planning is appreciated. Also - what side of the bus driving into Paris is the best side for viewing?????

The bus drops you off near the Eiffel Tower and that is where you will return to reboard the bus for your trip back to Le Havre. :) We did this tour last year and enjoyed it immensely.

Thank you so much for your response. We've been to Paris before, but can't seem to get enough of that beautiful city.

We are taking the cruise line's transportation to Paris from Le Havre. We purchased the excursion that includes a brief bus tour of the city. Does anyone know where the bus drops off and picks up the passengers on such a tour? Thanks for the help

We have driven through Ravenna while on a driving trip on that side of Italy (on our way to the Marche). As to what to do, if we were ever there on a cruise we would simply rent a car. We assume some folks will want to go to San Marino just to say they have been in that country (very disappointing place). If you prefer to simply spend the day in Ravenna there are certainly plenty of old churches (the Brits say "ABC" Another Bloody Church) and that part of Italy has some pretty decent food.

 

Hank

We had a lovely time in Ravenna while on an Azamara cruise. Read up on Dante and visit his church and grave. We also took a tour to San Marino and wandered around...it was fun for half a day...and the drive there was very pretty. Ravenna is a very upscale town with pretty shops and wine bars to sit and relax outside and watch the world go by and converse with the locals if you're fortunate.

i know i posted this before, but didn't get any specifics - thought maybe someone different would see this and respond.

We are staying in cabin 8171 millenium, has anyone stayed in that cabin or close by? Any thoughts, pictures, good location, etc??

Whatever information you can provide, would be appreciated. Thank you :)

we were just in 8173 on the infinity....which is almost identical. The cabin location is ok.... It's a quiet location - however a bit of a hike to the spa side of the ship - helps to walk off those extra calories......but easy for the main dining. We will be on the millenium shortly, and have the same cabin on the aft side.

i have read a lot of reviews about whales patagonia and huinca travel. However, i can only find one person who mentioned the above company, and it was in 2002 i believe. The tour i am considering is in puerto madryn.

 

I would like to hear from someone who used them more recently. Has anyone used this company?

we recently used sentir patagonia to take us from puerto madryn to punto tombo. We worked with diego alende via internet - and found his company to be reputable and responsible. They met us with signs at the pier, the vans they used were rather new....we were most impressed with the driver. He was cautious and very skilled. Punto tombo was such a happy place -