Scrapchick

LOL... Not a sports fan, but thanks for the advice!

55 Francisco parking is now owned by Ace Parking and it's their reviews that are less than encouraging.

I appreciate the responses.

I have read many threads about cruise parking in SF. My question concerns safety, leaving my vehicle in one of the cruise recommended lots for 10 days. Princess Cruises recommends Impark or Ace Parking but many Yelp reviews refer to cars being stolen or broken into and the parking companies being unresponsive and unhelpful.

I don't expect parking to be cheap in SF but it would be nice to find my car parked where I left it when I get off my cruise.

If you have parked in these lots, did you experience any problems and did you feel comfortable parking your car there for a long term trip? Price is one factor in booking but nothing would wreck my trip faster than coming back and finding no car or a smashed window. We will be driving from Los Angeles to start the cruise in SF.

Not blaming anyone for being unco-operative...just trying to understand why we cannot disembark earlier unless we we carry our own bags. That's all...

Thanks to those of you who offered some great suggestions. We are confident we will find a solution.

We don't need help once we are off the ship. We are three people. We just need to get off the ship. We can drag our luggage bit by bit off the ship if we have to. The bit I am not understanding is that we leave by ourselves with our luggage we can do so until 7AM but then the ship will not let us leave before 7.30AM if we need to collect our baggage in the hall. We don't expect help with our bags, we simply to get ourselves off the ship to the taxi rank.

We are currently on the Noordam for 22 days and having a really great time.

We are due to disembark on July 23 in Venice. We arrive there the day before and overnight. We have a 9.25AM flight and need to be off the ship no later than 7AM to get to the airport.

The disembarkation form said we could do early disembarkation at 8AM but not before.

The other option is walk off express disembarkation any time after 4.30AM until 7AM. However, we have more bags than we can carry without assistance so this won't work for us.

I spoke to Guest Relations and explained the situation and after 24 hours of "consulting with colleagues", the girl came back and said they could not help us and would only let us leave at 7.30AM, which is still too tight for our flight. We have three flights to catch that day. If we miss the first, we will miss them all.

We can try to drag our bags off by ourselves but it will be slow and difficult. We don't expect anyone to help us with this, we simply want to disembark an hour earlier than the 8AM time.

We don't know what to do next and feel we've hit a roadblock with Guest Relations. It seems such a small issue, but are we missing something? Something to do with customs and baggage not being available in the hall??? We thought there was ample time to have everything ready to go as the ship is docked there overnight.

Would appreciate any advice or suggestions. We' re having a great time on the ship but this really has the potential to mess up the last part of our trip. We're not trying to be difficult we just want to make our flights and don't understand why Guest Relations can't help us.

Is your hotel not able to offer any assistance? It would seem in extreme circumstances they could step in and give some advice on a solution.

 

Barcelona has not been as speedy as Madrid to modify most of its stations and often elevators are only operational in some entrances to each metro. So, if a station has 8 to 10 entrances only one is fully equipped.

 

There are so many variables not knowing your exact location, but there are several bus routes including the D20 and H14 and 20 that get you almost right to where the blue port bus leaves from. You then do not have the added issue of maneuvering the metro stations and platforms and stairs.

 

I always use the 20 from the port up into the city if I am overnighting and the D20 if I am transferring to the airport. This might help some others.

 

http://www.tmb.cat/en/linia-de-bus/-/bus/20

http://www.tmb.cat/en/linia-de-bus/-/bus/D20/detall-n/dia-FEINER

 

I am happy you have the option to go back and collect your bags and take a taxi the next day. I see there is a Costa and Princess ship in on the 1st and they will have delays.

 

Another factor to consider is that the port may experience disruptions with disembarkation if there are no taxis on the arrival of 3 ships that morning.

Actually, it was the hotel who offered to arrange a "grey cab" for us to get us to the port... However, the cab then cancelled the booking because they were afraid of violence. It's only a tiny hotel and they have no other suggestions at all!

We are very close to the University area and the metro so can manage that, but not with all our luggage. What we can take is on wheels. The metro closest to us has elevators.

We'll manage it somehow. We overnight once on the ship so we have the luxury of waiting till the cab strike is over before collecting the rest of the luggage. I think it is going to be a difficult day for those disembarking AND embarking.

Thank you for the info... We are thinking of taking the metro to the Drassanes stop with just our hand carry and taking the bus to the ship, then returning the next day to collect our suitcases from the hotel once the cabs are running again. My husband is quite old and can't manage to drag luggage as well on the metro. The ship overnights in Barcelona, so doesn't sail,until the following night after the cab strike.

Anything else you find out would be much appreciated. We are already in the city so even getting back to the airport to take a shuttle transfer is going to be challenging. We think we are better off going to the port via public transport with the minimum of luggage we end to get by for the first day.

Shebba, we are boarding the ship on July 1... Are you all aware on board of the Barcelona taxi strike scheduled for that day? What is HAL advising passengers to do about transportation? We arrived in Barcelona a few days ago and are trying to figure out how to get to the port, as there will be no taxis that day and there are threats of violence against minivans or grey cabs trying to transport anyone.

Just wondering if HAL and passengers are discussing this on board right now...

Great information here about the port. We arrived in Barcelona ahead of our July 1 cruise a couple of days ago.

Unfortunately, there is a citywide taxi strike planned for embarkation day and threats of violence against any minivan or illegal cab that attempts to transport anyone, so we are sitting here trying to figure out how to get ourselves and our baggage from our hotel to the ship. The hotel tried to get us a ride but it was cancelled due to fears of violence and they can suggest nothing else to us except public transport. At the moment we are prepared to travel to the ship via metro and bus with only our hand carry and board the ship then. As we overnight and don't sail till July 2, we would collect our bags from the hotel the next day once the cabs are running again.

If anyone has any other suggestions we would love to hear them... We think it will be a very difficult day on July 1 for all the disembarking passengers trying to get to their destinations, as well as all of us new arrivals.

Holland America has basically said we are all on our own unless we have transfers or hotel bookings with them. At least we don't sail that same day.

We were there yesterday... My smallish bag wasn't inspected and my big camera was slung over my shoulder. No problems. I don't think they would make you check the bag, more likely they would just peek inside. I saw people opening their bags for inspection but it was cursory.

If that particular brand of tea, and only that brand, is so important to you, I suggest you have your own in your purse when visiting a dining venue on board. I have found that, at times, the selection is not constant across the ship - a particular brand will not be available in the MDR on a given day, but appears the next day, or can be found in the Lido. I can go with the flow, and make an alternate choice, but I am not a tea fanatic. What do you do when you go to a local coffee shop - have what they offer or carry your own?

If you read my original post, I stated that I usually take my own tea with me… I'm not married to that one particular brand, but it's often available on HAL ships and if it is, I won't need to take my own.

And yes, I do take my own bags to a local coffee shop or simply don't order tea when I go! I don't expect anyone to cater to me, but if they choose to, great. It has always been a very pleasant surprise to find English teabags on cruise ships but I go prepared and never expect them to be there.

The tea bag I am staring at on my Noordam. breakfast tray this very moment says Fancy Darjeeling.

Thank you for your reply… I appreciate your response. I am aware there are many different varieties of tea on the ship. However, can you ask my question about PG Tips teabags being available?

The thread about teabags made me ask…

Can anyone tell me if there are PG Tips teabags available on the Noordam currently? I usually take my own bags, but it's one less thing to take with me if the ship will have decent teabags on board… I've usually had good luck on HAL ships in the past with teabags but don't want to chance it on a 22 day voyage.

Us Brits can't go without a decent cup of tea!

Me too… Another British transplant in the US here… I always take my own teabags on the ship. I prefer Tetley, but will never turn my nose up at PG Tips! On the Noordam several years ago the captain was from New Zealand his wife was English and there was an industrial sized bag of PG Tips on board and i remember having a great conversation about this with the captain and him telling me to take as many bags as I needed…

We're going back on the Noordam next week and I hope it's the same situation, but I've got some Tetley bags with me just in case….

I would never use a flask to keep water overnight… I like the water boiling, not just hot! And milk, never half and half...

Dear CruiseMom42, you're so popular! Would you be willing to share your Herculaneum notes with one more person? I would love to see them. Thank you so much!

melanieg AT financialseminars DOT com

I'm also on the Jul 1-22 Noordam sailing and would be interested in the train from Calvi. I am assuming we are talking about the July 6 call to that port?

Bear in mind it's a tender port, so getting off the ship will take some time.

I have a 12 year old DD who has been cruising since she was a baby, and will turn 13 on a ship this summer. The OP did not say how old her child was. We have never really gone for the Carnival/Royal Caribbean style and have pretty much stuck with Princess, HAL and Celebrity. Our DD is an only child and used to love the kids clubs on board, so much so that we couldn't drag her out to come and eat with us.

Now she's older she's much more into doing adult things with us and enjoys the more mature aspects of cruising. She has grown into a wonderfully behaved girl who can make conversation with anyone and behaves very well in social situations. However, she still craves kids her own age to hang out with even though she avoids kids clubs now. For that reason, I'm not sure if we would go on a cruise that wasn't considered "kid friendly" or at least "kid tolerant". Even now my DD hopes there will be someone for her to hang out with on our summer cruise. All kids are different. All families are different. Not everyone appreciates the joys of children or wants them around on vacation. We try to be respectful of others while wanting to enjoy our own vacation. Personally, I'd like to be able to relax on a cruise without worrying my child was unwelcome. We've had very few problems cruising with our DD but every now and then there's a grumpy who thinks kids just don't belong on ships at all ever.

I've sailed on the Crown twice. We did the British Isles in 2009 and the CA Coastal two weeks ago. We enjoyed the first cruise much more than the second, but there was a Norvirus outbreak on the ship that colored everything. Mine was probably one of the reviews you read about that voyage and I stand by everything I wrote. We were far from alone in our views.

Having said that...

I'm not sure what the negatives are that are specific to the Crown. I do think cruising generally has changed and not for the better, with much less attention to service and food than there used to be. Cutbacks have affected all the cruise lines and all the ships. Leaving aside the whole Code Red/Norovirus situation which really affected our recent cruise, there's nothing wrong with the Crown… Well maintained, looks like every other ship in the fleet, food tastes the same to me… The same cutbacks that affect the Crown affect all the Princess ships. I was on the Caribbean Princess six months ago and honestly, you can barely tell the ships apart unless you go looking for differences. The menus are the same, the shows are similar, the carpets and bedding are all identical…

We've taken 25 cruises with Princess. This last one on the Crown was a real downer, but if that was the usual experience, we'd be sailing with other lines. We got unlucky.

Are there specific concerns you have? Otherwise, as long as they've got the Noro situation under control at last, I'm sure you'd have a great time. Despite our poor experience this month, I would go back on the Crown again.

Hi Tony, remember me? We met a few years ago on a cruise and you've shared several of your videos with me privately….

We're going on the Noordam on Jul 1 for 22 days from Barcelona-Venice, so I'm perusing this board to learn about the French ports we're going to. I loved your Marseille video! It gave me such a sense of what it was like there… We are weighing up spending the time in Marseille or going to Aix en Provence to visit there.

Anyway, this was wonderful! I'm a photographer but always remember you were the video man and I really appreciate being able to see places through your videos. it gives me such a head start on thinking about what to do!

Best wishes!

Thank you, no, we did not get sick! I am glad to be able to say that. I feel sorry for the people who did and effectively spent their vacation throwing up confined to their cabins. Horrible way to spend your precious time away.

CC reviews all submitted reviews first and it can take a couple of days for it to show up. I haven't submitted my review yet and am still editing it. It will end up on the Home page under Member Reviews for the Crown Princess.

I hope everyone feels better soon.

 

I boarded Celebrity Century on the 5th of April. Before we were allowed to board they sprayed our hands with sanitizer. Maybe I've had that done on embarkation before but I don't remember it. I asked if there was a Noro Virus outbreak onboard and I was told no but the ship next-door has the virus. The ship the crewmember was referring to was the Crown Princess.

 

The Celebrity Century and the Crown Princess were together several times during the week. Some people were a bit nervous at the thought of possible contamination. Now me, I just wanted to board the Crown Princess, watch a little MUTS and have a few chocolate chip cookies.

Funny! We kept seeing your ship everywhere… If you had been on ours you would have shivered in the fog hidden under blankets watching MUTS and you definitely would not have been allowed to select your own cookies!

Question for you… What was the Century like? I know Celebrity is getting rid of it and had always dismissed it as too old for us, but I thought it looked fantastic in port, way more modern than I had envisioned. The pro pics on Celebrity's website looked great too, but you were on it… What did you think?

Incidentally… No hand sanitizing was required on reboarding the Crown… One of the many areas I felt they could have done more to show what was being done to contain the noro virus and reassure passengers. Plus it just plain old makes sense...

Whenever I read these threads, I wonder how they know it is noro virus, say as opposed to food poisoning? In the past I've heard medical practitioners say that most people who think they have stomach flu are actually experiencing food poisoning. Not trying to create controversy here, just curious.

 

It is an ecoli virus I believe and you can get it through food that is contaminated. I believe that they are one in the same.

 

All I can tell you in this case is that the captain said the CDC was involved and had confirmed Noro as the cause of the gastroenteritis after doing lab testing.

Yes. Already written, though I am going to sit on it for a few days. I do want it to be fair and balanced.

Passengers were notified the ship will sail at 9PM and not to arrive at the port until late afternoon. We disembarked today and they were planning an extensive cleaning.

The ship will sail under Code Red conditions for at least three days into the next voyage, as per our waiter this morning.

Best of luck! Definitely not our best experience on Princess last week….

Yes, the captain said lab testing had confirmed it was Noro. We just disembarked and this was one cruise I was glad to get off. Definitely a very frustrating week for everyone on board.