sanbmet

I can find the forum....but have no idea how to "subscribe" to the forum.  It's too time consuming to go searching every time I want to see new posts.   What am I doing wrong?

We are currently on Rhapsody and were told that if we have M life status because of RCCL status, we can no longer receive the M life benes (dinner, drink coupons, obc cash out fee waiver) if we are booked through RCCL.

Crown and Anchor benefits and M life cannot be combined. So unless you book your cruise through M Life or have an M life card via gambling points with MGM, the card does not get anything onboard the ship.

http://www.panynj.gov/alerts-advisories/advisories-bayonne-bridge.html

 

Typically the bridge is closed weekdays from 9 am to 3 pm. That means you are adding an extra layer of unnecessary hassle to your trip by staying on Staten Island.

 

Trinityreservations for the Ramada is $214 tax included for your date for room, 21 days parking, and round trip port transportation.

Thanks so much for the info and the website!.....love CC for all of the good info and helpful posters!

What exact date would you be doing this? Are you sailing Anthem or Summit?

 

Leaving cars on Staten Island has never been a concern. However the Bayonne Bridge closings over a long period of time have made Staten Island a more unpredictable less convenient option. If the Bayonne Bridge is closed on your sail and or return dates, the hotel shuttle will have to take the long way around on the NJ Turnpike from exit 14A to exit 13 (Goethals Bridge) to get you back to Staten Island.

 

Coming from the South you will save some NJ Turnpike tolls by getting off at exit 10 and crossing over to Staten Island, but you will incur a $15 bridge toll.

 

Post back with your details. Until the Bayonne Bridge construction is complete, your best options might be to do the park/sleep/cruise through Trinityreservations.com at the Ramada or to get a hotel at exit 8 or 8A on the NJ Turnpike, drive the 45 minutes to the port (easy drive for a weekend sailing), and pay the $140 to park at the pier.

Thanks for responding with good info.........we'll be on Anthem Dec 9 - 16. Those are both Fridays.

Is there somewhere that the bridge closings are posted?

We found a stay-park- cruise option at the Holiday Inn on Staten Island. Shuttle service is provided to and from the port.

Any comments or suggestions from anyone familiar with the area would be greatly appreciated.

Is it a good area to leave our car for a week?

Our other option is to stay there and then drive to the port to park.

Thanks so much

I still have not heard anything from C&A. It looked like I might get invited to the Nov 14 but nothing yet.

Really makes it hard to book flights etc.

Andrew

I can't understand why you haven't heard anything yet. We finally did get an invitation but by the time they got to us we had already made other plans for the time period.

Bayonne is not our favorite port at all so the hassle of getting in and out of there made us decide to stick to our new plans and scrap the 2 day pre.

We will see you on the Nov 2nd sailing won't we????

We did also but had to decline.......too many other items on our "events" calendar.

What point level are they at now for inviting people for the pre-inaugurals? I know some Pinnacles at the 950 point level and they got invited on 9/4.

 

I just wonder what point level they are going to stop inviting people :(

Was that the group that had to respond by Sept 9th?

We're hoping that they will invite all Pinnacles ......we're at the "light "end ....in the 800's.

We're also "pinnacle light" and haven't heard a thing......we're also currently on an Alaskan cruise tour so we're hoping to be contacted in the next wave with time to respond after we get home!

We just booked the Nov 2 cruise and are looking forward to exploring the ship!

Royal Caribbean have a spot booked in Sydney under the name Rhapsody of the Seas 12 June 2015.

Is this the ship the USA is crying over losing?

It is a cold weather ship starting duty in Shanghai late June 2015.

Via Cape Horn possibly.

I am certain we can give her a great Aussie welcome.

Rhapsody will be in Dubai on May 17,2015 then to Istanbul. We're booked on Rhapsody on June 1,2015 for the first of her several Black Sea voyages.

after that i think she's in Europe for the summer season. It's Quantum that is in Shanghai.

If you click on cabin type it will bring up a bunch. It brought up 409 for me. I think they are still working on some bugs.

Thanks for this tidbit of info.....I also see 409 when I click on the cabin type!

They may be working on those bugs for a while.......I'm never surprised when the web site does not work correctly. How can a major company have such issues with their site! YIKES!

If it weren't for Cruise Critic and everyone who shares information we would never know what's happening!

Our cruisetour in early June ends in Fairbanks mid-week. We were trying to get back to Dulles (DC). The flights were so expensive and inconvenient (leaving at 1 am for example) that we decided to fly from Anchorage on the week-end, spending a few extra days in Alaska. When researching how to get from Fairbanks to Anchorage, I discovered that one way car rentals are prohibitively expensive (extra $300 or so upcharge), the train was over $200 pp and the cheapest bus was at least $100 pp and a very long ride because it went into Denali, where we will have just been. Ended up booking an Alaska Air flight for $115 pp........wish I could've found those under $100 fares but originally it was showing $150 and I was happy to get it for $115 "on sale". There were lots of flight options available. The flight home from Anchorage was more than $115 cheaper than the cheapest Fairbanks flight and had much better times available. Hope this helps..........

We wanted to fly from Dulles too...but found better prices from BWI into Vancouver and back from Fairbanks....and that was with an overnight park and sleep package.

We're doing a cruisetour this summer that ends in Fairbanks. We were able to book a Delta flight back to Virginia.

Patti, I think you were quite right, as I heard just a week ago that there now are about 670 plus PC members.

 

The club continues to grow!!:)

 

Rick

that's all????? I would have thought a lot more given the number that we keep meeting and know!

WOW!

Carol, between our Australia cruise last year and Hawaii/Alaska this year, we have tried all but the Chef's Table, which is too long and drawn out for us. Giovanni's table is our favorite.

Hi ...can I chime in here......just back from 42 wonderful days on Radiance. Yes, the crew did a great job with the oil leak repair and fortunately for all of us we were stopped in calm seas so a lot of people probably didn't even notice until the Captain made his announcement!

We tried all of the specialty restaurants and loved them all. The Chef's Table is a fantastic experience....14 diners, good food, good wine, good service. However, as Karen noted....it is a long evening! We started at 6:30 with champagne and walked out at 10:30!

Hi

Have a question for those of you who stayed at Mena House...We are thinking of taking our laptop on shore but wondering if Mena House offers in room free internet access.

Thanks!!!!

We didn't have our laptop but I'm pretty sure we saw a note that said that there was a charge.

We had a wonderful tour with Ramses while we were on the Oct 11th Navigator trip. They were so well organized and so informative!

Our guide knew that a number of us wanted pictures with or on a camel and he arranged it for the group. We didn't have to pay for the opportunity because he had worked it out with the camel "handlers".

As Cruisemom42 said....you do have to hold on...it's not a smooth ride up or down but there is a sort of saddle horn to hang onto.....make sure you grab it before the camel starts to stand up!!!

There were some questions about shopping on the thread....

We did make a quick stop at an Egyptian cotton shop and then another at a papyrus shop. The cotton shop wasn't exciting at all, but the papyrus shop was very nice. We got a quick demo of the process and then time to shop around. There were other souveniers available on the second floor of the building.

There are also a number of shopping stalls right at the port in Alexandria.....don't forget to bargain ....cut the offered price in half and then work from there.

I went with sterling silver ones. Mine are a relatively simple design, and cost me $20 each. Mohamed ordered them for me, and then I paid him in U.S. dollars at the end of the tour after he picked them up and I approved them.

 

You can also get an idea of prices at hotels, on your ship potentially, and if you go to the Khan al Khalili bazaar there is a reputable shop right across from the Mefouz Negib restaurant so you can comparison shop.

Thanks so much!

Can anyone tell us about the cartouches? I understand that the tours all have vendors who take orders on the first day and pick them up on the return to the ship.

What kinds of prices can we expect to pay and did they accept US$? I want to make sure that we carry enough cash with us to cover shopping as well as the tours.

Thanks

We're booked on a Ramses tour in October and I think that the Egyptian Museum is included. The info for the museum indicates that cameras are not allowed.

Did anyone encounter this? If so, what did you do with your camera while you toured the museum?

Thanks

I have a foot pillow for flights. It's just a blow up cylindrical pillow that I found in some airport shop. It helps me to keep my feet slightly elevated and it also allows me to sort of massage my feet by rolling them back and forth....I think it cuts down on the foot swelling on long flights and it's easy to pack!

This happened to DH every time on a cruise. Someone suggested he eats parsley, and guess what, it works. It's a natural diuretic, so yes you need to be close to a bathroom, but he starting eating the garnish on his plate, or asking the waiter for a sprig of parsley in the mornings, and no more problems !

Hi Hilary ( and Mick)

What a great idea....it's certainly worth a try!

Hope all is going well down your way