jajsmom

13 hours ago, williegirlcat said:

We died the Barcelona to Athens starting June 29. As a family group of seven we did all the ports with private driver/guides in vans. There were two formal nights for each week. Since this was our teen grandchildren ‘s first Mediterranean cruise we did all the regular sights again. But it was fun seeing it with them. In Chania we went to a beautiful beach club, explored Corfu, Kotor and Mykonos. We had a private car to the Athens airport. 

We ate in Anytime and had the same table and wait people every night. The menus were basically the same both weeks with slight changes

Thank you, williegirlcat!  Can you tell me about the beach club you went to in Chania?  That's one port I'm really having trouble with.  A beach day may be just what we need.  Did you use a private driver for that, or did you just take a taxi?  Unfortunately, we don't get to that port till the afternoon, but I'd love to hear about your day there.

Thank you NavyVeteran!  Yes, we will be on the Emerald Princess too.

It is interesting that so many people do the extended two or three week cruises.  We did the Baltic cruise last summer, and it was strange having people embarking and disembarking at several points throughout "our" cruise.  Like you, we've been to many of the ports on the "other" two weeks of the cruise, and DH wanted to go back to Rome, as we were last there 25 years ago, pre-renovation of the Sistine Chapel.  And I wanted to go to Greece!

Thank you for mentioning the Knossos Palace/ Heraklion Tour.  It's one of the few ship tours that we would consider, as I'm not getting much information on Chania itself.  In Mykonos, we're considering the ship tour to Delos vs. doing it on our own, and then wandering on our own.  Salerno, we'd like to take the ferry to see the Amalfi coast, as we have not done that before, but have been to Pompeii.  We'd like to hike the town walls in Kotor.  How early were you able to get off the ship in Kotor, as it's the only tender port?

And thanks for letting us know disembarking in Athens was ok.  We're planning on spending a few days there as well after our cruise.

Anyone else?  Would love to hear everything!!!

I keep hoping someone will report back on this cruise, but it only runs every third week, and I haven't seen any feedback.  And the roll calls are practically inactive.

So if you've done this cruise this year, can you let us know:

--what nights are formal nights?

--what excursions did you do?  Did you do Princess excursions or on your own?

--what is not to be missed in these ports?  What did you do that you wish you hadn't done?

--anything particularly memorable on the ship?  Was there an escape room or the other new game that was mentioned on the boards?

--do you remember what menus were which nights?  Trying to plan alternative dining arrangements, and don't want to miss out on certain things.

--how were the ports of Civitavecchia and Athens?  Easy  embarkation/debarkation? Did you take taxis or public transportation or car services to/from these ports?  And do many people stay on for multiple weeks, as each week has a different itinerary?

I'm sure I'll have more questions.  But looking for some feedback on this cruise.  Please feel free to give any information and your experiences on this cruise.  Thanks!

I'm allergic to strawberries, which I always tell my server the first night when they ask.  They are more than accommodating, and before they even hand me the menu, the let me know which foods I should not eat.  We have dined in Palo, and our server always inquires about allergies when we are seated.  I feel that they go above and beyond on Disney to be sure no one is getting anything they should not have.  Several cruises ago, we were seated with a woman who was on a vegan diet.  Each night, the serving team met with her with the next days menus to discuss what she could eat, and come up with a plan for alternatives for her to order.  I find the service team to be "above and beyond" accommodating.

We've done 13 cruises on DCL.  Only 6 of them were with our kids, and they were adults for one of those.  Except for the price, they're our preferred cruise line.

8 hours ago, slidergirl said:

 

Yes, that is the same foot rest.  I'm 5'8" and a 32 inseam.  But, it is nice to have that footrest to alternate seating position on a long flight.  I have a surgically repaired ankle and it bothers me on a daily basis, 10 years from the surgery.  That footrest allows me to fly comfortably.  

 

Wow, that is some research, if you found postings of mine from 5 years ago!!!

I googled business class inflatable foot rest, and one of the  responses was a post of yours on flyer talk from 2014!

I got my seat yesterday, and so far, I like it.  I've read a lot of reviews on the inflatable footrests.  Most people seem to like it when they have short legs, but I have the opposite problem--I'm 5'6" with a 36" inseam!  Slidergirl, I take it you really like yours, as I read reviews of yours on flyer talk from 5 years ago, and you're still recommending the same one.

Globaliser, I looked at seat guru, and for the A330 that we are on, it does say that there are 16 MCE seats, but I could only locate 8 of them, being the bulkhead row behind business class.  We're only a few rows behind that, and I got our seats the day they were released.

23 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

This doesn't sound right. From Philadelphia alone, you have a choice at least between British Airways and Lufthansa, both of which have true premium economy. And I think that even if you were to use a US airline, most of them have some form of extra legroom economy on most flights. If, for example, you were to restrict yourself to non-stops to Rome and back from Athens, you'd have to fly AA but there should be Main Cabin Extra on both routes.

We are flying from Philadelphia on AA, but there are no Main Cabin Extra seats on our flights.  We really prefer non-stops, so AA is the way to go.  We looked into flying out of JFK too, but the only non-stops are on Delta, and they only have economy plus seats to Rome, but not back from Athens.  You would think that living near one of the top 5 largest cities in the US we would be able to fly most places non-stop.  But each year, the choices get fewer and fewer.  And AA did not have a non-stop flight returning from Athens to JFK.

I'm happy to just be flying non-stop both ways.  I'm looking to make the flights more comfortable.  My seat cushion should be arriving today.  Still looking into the inflatable footrest...

Thanks Alaskanb, I have placed the seat cushion in my cart.

Any recommendations on the inflatable footrests?  I thinks that's a great idea too, but not sure how much height to get on them.

And just to reiterate, we'd be happy to pay the extra for premium economy/economy+, but unfortunately, none of the flights within a several hour drive of where we live has these available.  The routes for our dates seem to be only business/economy flights, and the difference in prices between these is ridiculous.

Wow, thank you for all of these great suggestions!!!  I didn't know if I'd even be allowed to bring my seat cushion onto a flight, with all of the crazy airline regulations.  And now I've learned about inflatables--I knew nothing about this before, and I'm going to look into these.

Our flights (the only direct flight for us) only have business class and economy seating.  We flew RT to Copenhagen last year on Delta, and enjoyed the economy plus section of the plane.  the extra cost was definitely worth it, but for these flights, it an extra $4000 pp to upgrade to business, and I'd rather go on an extra cruise or two for that.

My problem is that my bones don't have enough padding (a good problem,) and my bones dig into the hard seats and create intense pain.  Leg room is great, but if we're flying in the clouds, I want to feel like I am sitting on one.

Again, great suggestions.  I will be doing some shopping.

While I would love to fly business/first class, the cost is more than the cost for our cruise and airfare combined for our next cruise (even using EZ Air.)  We have a 9 hour flight to Rome, and a 12 hour return flight from Athens, which I am dreading due to severe discomfort.  At home, I use a gel seat in my car, and padding on all of my chairs.  On our most recent 4 hour flight, we had bulkhead seats which I was able to stand during a portion of our flight.  But that is not practical for our long and overnight flights.

So I'm sure I'm not the only one who experiences discomfort sitting for long periods of time.  Any recommendations for things to make the flight more comfortable?  I always pre-medicate with ibuprofen for long trips.  Thanks for any suggestions.

I'm sorry for you, but that's interesting.  I had been trying to book that hotel for months for September 2019, but the rate kept showing as 3200 euro per night.  I guess that is one way of making sure people do not book their hotel for that time period.

Just want to follow up on my afternoon.  I believe the general consensus is that you should always book directly through a hotel rather than a third party booking agent.  Well, in this particular case, after lots of searching, I found that the hotel I wanted was available on Booking.com.  I was not able to find it on any other sites, and being that there were only 6 rooms to begin with, I decided to book with them.

Unfortunately, there was only one room available for each of our nights there, and they were not the same room.  But I booked those, and will check frequently to see if there are cancelations and we can get any room for both nights.  I wish I had checked Booking.com earlier, but it's not a service I generally ever use.  I'm happy that we have someplace to stay in Rome!

Cruisemom42, thanks for the idea of checking on facebook.  Unfortunately, this small operation is not to be found there.  But every review I've read for this place is excellent.

28 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

3200 euros per night? That is close to $3650!!! The Cavalleri, one of the best hotels in  Rome, is far less than that...even for a suite.

I know!  But following their site, it appears that that is the price they put in as a placeholder, until they are actually ready to release the room.  I could not imagine anyone paying that rate.

19 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Where are you thinking of booking?  Most hotels I've dealt with in Rome (more than a few) open up bookings at least 6 months in advance and those with a robust website will be longer.  (More than a year in advance is pushing it.)   And often I have gotten personal responses and bookings by email when the website isn't showing availability yet.  

 

Are you sure the places aren't simply booked already?  Have you also checked your spam folder to be sure you never received a response to your emails?  (Just trying to help troubleshoot...)

One of the places I'm considering, actually based on your recommendations, is 9 hotel cesari.  That is the hotel that is currently listed as 3200 euro per night on their website, as has been the case since I first started checking it out.  That's slightly above our budget.

The other hotel, which I'm almost afraid to list, is a 6 suite hotel on the fourth floor of a building.  There are just six rooms, so I've been following it very closely (as well as my spam folder.)  I booked our hotel for Athens, months ago, also using a hotel that you recommended (Athens Gate Hotel.)

And thanks to everyone who has let me know that they have already booked there Rome hotels for this summer, likely months ago.  It's making me more concerned about getting a room soon.

19 hours ago, Host Bonjour said:

OK so I’m wondering- one of your choices only has six rooms total (sort of like a B&B?) or only has six rooms left for booking at that time - which would imply that they are booking so I’m assuming it’s a six room only establishment. 

 

How’s your Italian? Why not consider calling to ask about getting a reservation for September? I’m wondering if that might not get things moving along, especially in a place that’s more “cozy” and possibly family run, accustomed to doing things in a more personal manner. It may be 2019 but if this hotel has been around for 50 years or more, you never know, could be some senior members of the family in the office that don’t want anything to do with this new thing called email! 🤪

 

It’s what I would do - or send a fax. It’ll get much more attention than the email I believe. In some ways - wonderful , good and “pazzo” Italy can still be a bit old. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want to make reservation now for September.

 

If that’s not possible at this location or the other place you fancy but you feel more at ease and therefore happier about your travel plans if your lodgings are secured well enough in advance then why not select other accommodations? Rome is not lacking in fine places to sleep. You might search through some of our old threads or put out a query specifying what type of requirements you have in your Roman accommodations. I know many replies will soon be coming your way.

 

I stayed in a great little apartment off the Via Veneto (via Lombardini) near the Borghese awhile back and it was incredible but it was arranged by friends in Modena so I’m not even sure how to go about contacting the agent! I loved feeling like I was absolutely doing the “when in Rome...” thing but still exploring and discovering with wonder. 

 

Let us us know how things go!! We love to hear about results, outcomes etc. 😎

 

 

 

I've tried emailing (through the hotel's website) several times over the past several months.  There is no way to actually book a room on the website, which is why I directly contacted them.  this is the hotel that only has 6 rooms.  I learned about it on this site, and it gets top reviews on trip advisor.

Do people still send faxes? 😉  My DH's family is from Italy, but I cannot speak a word of it.

I have done extensive research on hotel rooms in Rome, and had narrowed it down to two choices based on location, price, and accommodations.  My second choice hotel lists rooms as available, but the current "going rate" is 3200 euro per night.  I've noticed that they list that price until closer to the time of staying there, but I'm afraid of missing out on getting a room.

We booked our cruise leaving from Rome almost 6 months ago for this coming September.  My top two hotel choices are still not available for booking, and one of them only has six rooms available.  And yes, I have emailed them both, without response.  How far in advance have you booked your Rome hotel?  I'm used to booking as far in advance as possible, so I'm somewhat frustrated.

Please let me know if you only booked a few months in advance and had success.  Thanks.

We've done the southern twice now. Aruba and Bonaire were both outstanding.  Antigua was OK, and St. Marten was our least favorite.  But overall, the southern is our favorite DCL cruise.

We're Platinum on DCL, and haven't traveled with our now grown children in years.  When it comes to a relaxing cruise, we choose Disney.  When we want to do a port intensive cruise and see the world, we choose Princess.  For the coming winter, I had looked at doing a Caribbean cruise on Princess, in a balcony, for significantly less than Disney.  We chose Disney, because there are more adult activities that we like to do, and we'd have a more relaxing overall cruise.  We only do an oceanview on Disney, but the cabin is much larger and has a split bath.  We love dining at Palo.  We really enjoy the adult evening activities, and have never found as much to do on other cruise lines, and we've been on several.  We enjoy the rotational dining on Disney, and all of the special Disney attention to detail and service.  We like the entertainment on Disney much better than other cruise lines.  In fact, when we go on other cruises, after trying out the entertainment one or two nights, we never go back.

Everyone has different wants and needs, but for us, DCL is worth the extra money for a relaxing vacation.

Thanks for all of the replies! I was able to find more cruises when I used the advanced search; I only got the one cruise when I used the search on the front page.

We're researching now, but it seems like the most popular option is full transit on the Coral, which I assume are always the old locks. Any preference to Eastbound or westbound?

According to the Princess Cruises atlas for April 2019 to May 2020-------

Emerald Princess is doing a full transit west to east on January 2nd, 2020 and east to west on January 17, 2020. The Coral Princess is doing a full transit east to west on April 6th, 2020 and a 19 day Panama Canal round trip from Los Angeles on April 21st, 2020.

I would recommend the full transit through the old locks aboard the Coral Princess.

Thank you! I don't have the cruise atlas, and my search only showed up the one cruise.

Still, there appear to be much less cruises through the Panama Canal then there have been in the past.

For the past few years, we've considered a Panama Canal cruise. We weren't sure if it was better to do a full or partial transit--input would be helpful.

Anyways, with the 3 for free sale going on, I thought I would get some information for 2020. Unfortunately, it does not look like Princess will be doing Panama Canal cruises in 2020, with the exception of a full transit through the new locks on the Emerald On February 29, 2020.

Am I missing something? Are there really no Panama Canal cruises, other than the one mentioned in 2020? I know the full schedule is not out yet for that year, but winter seems like a great time for a Panama canal cruise. Thanks for any help on this matter.

Thank you marazul and cruisemom42. I'm still hoping to convince DH to take more time off of work, so we can get to both. Our cruise starts in Rome, and it has taken us 25 years to get back there, so not sure when we'll be in the area again. Everyone locally we talk to says we have to go to Santorini. But how could we go to Greece and not see the Acropolis?

Next year, we are on a cruise that includes the Greek ports of Corfu, Crete (Chania), Mykonos, and disembarks in Athens (Piraeus.) We will have a few days to see Athens, and I'd really like to go to Santorini too. What is the minimum number of days we would need to do this?

Can we see both Athens and Santorini in 3 days, flying to Santorini? And what would be the best way to do this? Should we disembark and go straight to the airport to spend time in Santorini, returning to Athens and then fly home? Or would it be better to see Athens first, then fly to Santorini and then fly home? I thought my husband would be able to get more time off of work, but he'd like to limit our time after the cruise to 3 days, 4 maximum.

Thanks.

When I checked first thing this morning, it looked like going from SnS to 3FF made our price go up about $50 net. Later, when I was more awake, I realized that I was using the amount that we still owe, rather than the price of the real total. The rates are actually better for us--we went from an obstructed oceanview to a balcony for only $50 net. Much better stateroom for minimal difference. We're happy!