tinybabynurse

Just got off Silhouette last Friday. We were told that the Porch was going to disappear and be replaced by a bar. This from the main man from the Lawn Club Grill. Seemed strange they would change now since it just returned from  being in dry dock. 
 

We also enjoy the Porch but notice there was almost no one there most evenings. 

Anyone arrive in Cuba via Viking? Wondering if you were able to tour on your own? If so please tell us how you did it... did you just walk off the ship?

Yes!!! Please do ask specifically if we are allowed to walk off on our own in Cienfuegos and also Santiago de Cuba and hire a third party tour director. Thanks so much!

An elderly thread but if you will be in Bonaire 2/22/17 then there are two spots available on Woodwind for the morning trip. We had to cancel a reservations for a friend who became ill last minute.

:(

It is against their laws to conduct any commercial business on the protected island of Klein Bonnaire. Soooo, if you want a beach without chairs, umbrellas, refreshments, restrooms, virtually no natural shade, etc. then Klein Bonnaire will meet your needs. You can get drinks and snacks from the water taxi, I understand. I have seen this rather narrow but long beach many times from the Woodwind Tours catamaran and decided that it is not for me although snorkeling is reported to be good or excellent.

Note I said it is not for ME/US. Other people like it. Some love it, otherwise there would be no water taxi going there.

(Subject to change without notice, your mileage may differ, objects closer than they appear. :D)

If you are active or retired military, or a DOD civilian, check out "Shades of Green" resort on the Disney property.

Been several years but was nice and VERY reasonably priced. Walking distance to Polynesian. Shuttles to parks.

They WILL take two if you insist and it costs around $20 total plus any tip. Likely in a sedan rather than a van. If you wait for at least 6 passengers in a van then it is $7 per person plus any tip. Tell the official dispatcher you want to go ASAP if you get tired of waiting.

Previous poster is correct they would rather fill a van and unless you are really in a rush it doesn't take long, particularly in the morning. Return rates are same. Make certain the license plates say T or TAXI on return trip.

If you search taxi in this forum you should find posts of photos showing the government controlled rates

Last there this past November so rates should be okay

These forts are part of the United States National Parks Service so if you have a national parks pass there is no additional charge.

Info available on NPS.GOV '

We generally use Mason.

:D

The Celebrity shampoo works in a pinch and if you run out the cabin attendant will bring you more.

Went there on our cruise last November. Quite a drive out to the airport to the site.

We spent about an hour at the 'Concord Experience'. The exhibit is really nicely done. Excellent for aviation buffs like me. Wife also thought it was really interesting. Probably interesting for anyone but you will need an afternoon plan. About 3 hours for cab ride round trip and the experience

We have gone with them several times over the years. Always top notch with good food nice crew and fair snorkeling. Turtle experiences is nice.

They have more than one catamaran. One tour is limited to about 15 or so passengers. The others are for around 24 or so. We have always gone with the smaller group.

Highly recommend!

^^^^^^^^

Well,

The perks in the coffee bar are pretty nice!

Just curious. Do you know what that time (zone?) is?

 

And do you know if airlines do the same thing?

GMT. Greenwich Mean Time. Also known as Zulu time.

Aviation flight plans, weather reports, air traffic contro, etc., are referenced to Zulu / GMT, but the cabin crew always announces local time when you arrive.

Times on your ticket are local as far as I can remember

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I am getting confused on a very basic question and cannot seem to find an answer when I search, though I seem to remember having read something about it….

 

When our itinerary on Celebrity says "arrive, san juan, PR---3:30pm" is that 3:30 local (San Juan) time or is it 3:30 FLL (port of departure) time? Of course I am assuming weather and all other variables work to support the posted itinerary.

 

I am trying to arrange a tour to include at least one of the forts, and since they close at 6pm, an hour can make a difference in what time we meet the local guide. Seems on our few other Celebrity cruises, the time listed in our paperwork itinerary was the local port time too…but it's been about a year so I may not be remembering correctly.

 

If anyone can share a link to a site that tells about arrive time for the Port of San Juan, that might help too. Thanks in advance, emelle

I was saddened to learn from "Gonzo something or other' that my memory is failing and that I'm probably an inexperienced cruiser anyway so I will defer to his superior knowledge and intellect.

While it is true that ship's time governs, I do stand by my original statement that I do not remember ON OUR CRUISES being in port on a CELEBRITY ship with local and ship time differing, including our Iceland cruise last May and our 14-day southern Caribbean over Thanksgiving 2016, Panama Canal, Alaska, Hawaii, Baltic, Canada & New England, and South America a few years ago plus a Fall and Spring 14-day Carribean each year for many years. But procedures do change, "your mileage may differ", and I digress.

It seems you really don't care about the whole ship/local time discussion but just want to know, specifically, if you have enough time to visit the forts. You didn't say when you are cruising but I seem to remember those 3:30 arrivals are mostly during summer cruises.

As I recall from working in Puerto Rico they do not use daylight savings time. A quick check on the internet will show they are presently 1 hour ahead because mainland and PR are now BOTH ON STANDARD TIMES. So....if you are traveling in the summer, Florida will have 'sprung foreward' and both FL and PR will have the same local time. Problem solved.

If you are going before DST in the states then others have posted the very good advice to check directly with your tourist operator (we choose to walk to the fort(s) and use our national parks pass, but that is a different thread). You or someone you know will have a cell phone -- AT&T for us-- that is local for Puerto Rico so it is easy to simply call and find answers.

Hope this helps...

Here you go............Celebruty Today front page announcement

Can't read the print. Have a higher resolution photo?

I think it means"been there done that".

Aqua: We like the really nice, expanded room service breakfast menu (also available in CC), unlimited Persian Gardens, footstools on the balconies and relaxation room (on S-class ships). The shower is a 'spa' shower that has a fancy arrangement with multiple jets and is nice. Don't care for the afternoon canapés, daily fruit, and have mixed emotions about Blu.

CC: Like room service breakfast menu and footstools. Might like their embarkation day lunch -- used to have lunch at Bistro which became Sushi on Five and is not our favorite. And yes we did try it. Same canapés and fruit offerings. A somewhat upgraded shower head but not as fancy as AC. Also BOTH offer a nice tote bag and a little sea pass card wallet and a larger umbrella that we hope NOT to be required....

Regular balcony cabins are same size and layout in general and any differences other than the shower equipment are too insignificant for us to notice ON THE S-CLASS SHIPS.

Never done suite because we value the travel not the room and would rather do two cruises to different locations than one itinerary with a more than we need room.

Sooooo.... I would advise selecting based on whether those perks and an extra Captian's Club point or two are really something you think is worth the extra money and also something you will really use. For us it is worth a small amount more -- low hundreds on 14-day trips. However we are perfectly happy in the regular veranda.

Sorry to be confused but my search and the Celebrity Rep told me the only 14-day Caribbean cruise from FL for 2019 was January 4. All others listed were 12-days or less. There were quite a few available for 2018. Maybe I missed something.

To be clear we were only checking on the Carribean and all my comments apply only to the Caribbean and cruises leaving Florida.

Some things I believe and some speculation.

All the 14-days we have been on have supposedly been sold out.

Judging from the age group on those it appears having to get back to work is pretty far down the list. Many older than me and I just turned 70.

I'm GUESSING that this the tried and true 'new and improved package' ploy where the new 'packaging' obscures the fact that the contents have been reduced or otherwise degraded. My unsupported logic is that an increased perdiem rate is expected to be obscured by the reduced number of days so the cruise cost looks to be less.

I guess time will tell but, as I said earlier, =X= has a a couple of unhappy (Elite +) customers

Definitely hope that's not the case. Might have to settle for B2B if so.

 

 

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Done that and not wild about it. Repeat most shows, repeat menus. We like sea days but not more than twice as many in a 14-day period.

TBM's Hubby here:

We try to take a 14-day cruise in late fall and then another in early spring. We like those to be in November/early December and February/March time frames. We book far in advance, for various reasons, and are currently looking for spring 2019 bookings. Presently, there is only ONE available 14-day Caribbean cruise itinerary from Florida for all of 2019. That one departs January 4, 2019. All others we could find are 12 days or less. This is a notable departure from previous years and even from 2018 when there were/are abundant choices. I am hoping that there will be some 14-day trips added and available with their new ships, but who knows.

Because I thought that I must somehow, suddenly be unable to properly search the internet I called. Just off the phone and had a pleasant chat with Charles at Celebrity. He confirmed only one option is presently available and that virtually all 2019 Caribbean cruises are 10-, 11-, or 12-day itineraries. Why that change had occurred was, "above his pay grade", he said. He said he had no information about the itineraries of the new ships.

We are a pretty disappointed pair of loyal Celebrity Cruisers right now.

Stated arrival time will be local time.

TBN and I have been on many Celebrity Cruises and I do not remember any port where the ship's time differed from local time. Just be certain to refer to your daily program each evening and note if you are to change your clock before turning in.

I have been on other cruise lines where ships time did differ but not Celebrity.

We were there on Eclipse over Thanksgivivg. Food was good but not exceptional. Or TA makes our 'free' reservation so can't complain about cost.

Was surprised that sautéed mushrooms were no longer offered as a side at a quasi-steakhouse. We were told that if we wanted to come back we could place an order a day before. ?????

I believe the Breakaway stops at Port Canaveral. It has to be a long stop given that you can go to the theme parks. I would like to go to Fantasy of Flight, Kermit Weeks' amazing air museum in Kissimmee. I think I would have enough time to get there and back; my question is would that be a taxi ride, and if so roughly how much would the taxi fare be each way? I wouldn't mind the Garlits museum either but I think that's a little too far away. Any feedback would be welcome.

Better check the F of F website. There were some changes in their operations a year or so ago, and they were not offering routine museum visits but were offering only group visits. Don't know if that is still the case but it is a long trip for nothing if they are not open.