sooper

I just bid $100 total for upgrade from inside to balcony. The lowest bid possible. I know I won't get it and that is okay. Just wanted to try. The process. I want to save my money to spend in the casino. Lol

Had bid up to $150 and no dice.

Nice review. I was on the same cruise and the Getaway the week after, and the casino smoke was so stinky that I think we will stick to X after our next NCL cruise. Even if we're invited by the casino again!

I've never cruised on Norwegian. I've only been on Royal Caribbean and Carnival. But I've never had to pay for nachos. Do they charge for all kinds of snack items throughout the ship?

O'Sheehan's got great snacks including nachos, hot dogs, wings, and burgers for no charge.

Thanks, I'll post where I could to warn people!

We just got off the NCL Escape and Getaway. In Cozumel, at the port by Calle 7, we rented an old beat up scooter with broken light panels from Jorge at ROOSTER'S RENTAL (not at the office but just at the corner of the street with a pop up stand). Our fault for being excited to tour the island and did not take pictures and videos of the scooter condition before we left. There were also warning signs that we didn't see indicating that Jorge would not be an honest person, when he first said the price was $45 cash, then required $5 tax after we signed the contract, then required another $7 for gas as we were riding away.

Upon returning the scooter an hour before the ship's boarding time, Jorge pointed to one side of the scooter and said that there were scratches and we needed to pay $250 for repairs, or he wouldn't give us back the ship's key card. We didn't even carry that much cash, and tried to reason with him that the scooter was already in bad condition and we hadn't done anything. He kept trying to make deals that he would take $150, or that he would call the police to handle it. We kept arguing that it was not right that he was doing this but he wouldn't budge.

At 15 minutes before boarding time, I thought that maybe we could report the key card lost and get on the ship somehow, and started to walk away. But either the police just passed by or Jorge had called them (though didn't see him make a phone call), and he had them come by. The younger officer was actually trying to talk him down by saying that it's an old scooter, and did not warrant so much money for some scratches anyway. The older officer, however, was in cahoots with the blackmailer, and told us that it's better if we gave Jorge the money(!), or Jorge could request to take us to the station and fill out paper work to sort this out. I showed them my purse and Mr. sooper pulled out from his pockets all the cash we had for $57. Jorge said at least $100. We said there's nothing more on us. He saw that we had a credit card and pointed to the nearby ATM and told us to get cash. Mr. sooper went, but he didn't know the pin since we never take cash out from credit cards, and said that there was error and no cash available. We begged and pleaded :rolleyes::mad: with the $57 and at 5 minutes before boarding, he snatch the cash and gave us the key card, with the police just watching. We had to run all the way to the ship and were the last on board as they were already removing the gangway.

As a frequent traveler for more than 30 years, I have to say that I was really lucky in that this was my first incident. Have never had a robbery, theft, or been scammed. I suppose this is a fairly cheap lesson, but it was quite scary as we didn't know what the Mexican police could do with us. Just had to share this, and hopefully no one else will get blackmailed again by this Jorge guy.

The Celebrity shuttle you mention in Copenhagen ... was it a free shuttle (one can hope :rolleyes:).

It was $6pp each way. If you don't mind walking, go towards the Little Marmaid, then to Amalienborg, and catch a bus or tram around there.

Nice review, we are on the Silhouette for a UK cruise in August. Hopefully you have time to answer a few questions.

 

- Do you happen to have the sheet listing who is on board? Specifically curious about the cruise director and captain's club host

- Any thoughts comments on the various bands/musicians that performed around the ship

- Were there any "parties" in the Atrium area? Any late night pool party?

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

I have a photo but need to upload and process...am traveling more these weeks.

Captain - Athanasios Peppas

Cruise Director - Rich Clesen

Captain's Club Host - not listed

There was a band - Funky T, the female singer was pretty good. The music was great and often saw people dancing in the Atrium.

Another singer with guitar was Terry Dobson. He was OK and covered some pop / well known songs.

Didn't see the pool much or at night.

Thank you for this review. We are doing this cruise in July 2017.

Thank you for reading. You'll have warm weather and a lot of fun!

We are planning on doing this cruise. What is an SPB tour? Thank you for your review.

Thank you. SPB is one of the larger private tour company - there were so many vans and groups! They provided early access to places (and even private access to restrooms). Very well run.

St. Petersburg - We took the 3-day SPB tour and were very happy that we did. Our guide, Sveta, and driver, Anatole, were both knowledgeable and efficient. Sveta got us early tours which successfully avoided some crowds, and really kept us on schedule. The driver took short cuts and scenic routes when he could. The restaurants we went to had OK food, then good, and then really good on the last day.

Many palaces, churches/fortress, museums. So much history learned. We were most impressed with the Church of the Spilled Blood - especially since we grew up playing Tetris! :D The all mosaic architecture was unforgettable. The Hermitage Museum was huge and amazing - I loved and my favorite artists were in the Post-Impressionism building, could have spent more time there.

The line was long for Customs on the first day - plan at least 40 minutes before your meeting time. The was little to no line on the second and third days.

For the complimentary President's Cruise excursion on the first night, we attended the Bronze Horseman ballet at the new Mariinsky Theatre building. X did a good job of providing us transportation and a fancy hors d'oeuvres reception. The costumes were colorful and I enjoyed the seemingly effortless graceful dancing. Everything was really great - until we were trying to get back on the ship. Still had to go through Customs and then wait in a second line for X. It wasn't very organized - there were a few line cutters and people were rushing to get ahead of others. There was only also one entrance to the ship and the other wasn't open due to low tide or something. At least they were passing out chicken broth in the chilly weather.

During the second night we tried to sleep early at 10:30pm and were kept up by loud music and heavy bass. I'd read the dailies and didn't see any event scheduled at the Sky Lounge. We contacted and encountered a very nonchalant security officer who dismissed our complaint of noises. Mr. S went up to see what it was all about and was told that it was a private event until 3am. Who schedules a late and loud private event during three early and long days of tours?! (This was my sleep-deprived cranky voice.) The unhelpful officer didn't do anything, and we had to ask for ear plugs ourselves, which didn't do much. After 1am I couldn't take it any longer and asked to sleep elsewhere, and we were assisted by a very helpful and warm Guest Relations officer named Hester. We went to an inside for the night and had a few hours of sleep between the moves. It was very unpleasant night and tiring next day, and we voiced our unhappiness to the Asst. Manager. The management team was very proactive and apologized for our inconvenience, and we were satisfied with the resolution.

Before we got on the ship we browsed the shops and bought a pretty paper mache box with a ballerina handpainted on. They accepted USD and EUR.

Helsinki - Didn't have much on our agenda and we slept in after three long days. It was raining in the morning anyway. We walked to the nearby tram stop and bought an all day pass from the driver, and went to a nice (but slow) lunch at Juuri. It was incredibly sunny after our dessert, and we walked to the lively Market Square by a scenic port, where the Navy band was performing, and there were many stalls selling food and crafts. We looked but didn't find anything to bring home. Then we went to the Church of the Rock, which was really special and modern. It was a short visit and we took a tram back to the ship just 5 minutes before the boarding time.

Stockholm - Had planned to sleep in while Mr. S got his facial. When I woke up I thought that the city was surrounded by water. Well, we were nowhere near Stockholm. It was pouring down and windy, and we didn't dock as scheduled at 9am. At first the Captain hoped to get there at noon, then I heard 5pm, finally we arrived at 7pm. It was a zoo at the buffet around 1pm and we had to circle a few times for a table. It was actually a relaxing sea day for us - we went for a last steam at the Persian Garden, had some afternoon tea, watched a movie, and took a nap. Didn't do packing - always waited until the last minute. Had a wonderful special event dinner at Murano sharing a table with 6 other couples. Drank more than I could've managed and fell asleep. Got to packing only an hour before getting off the ship at 9am. Still had our last quick breakfast at the buffet.

This was the most expensive port of our trip. We got the transport pass from the Visitor's Center right at the terminal. It's quite worth it as it covered all the buses, the trams, and the ferries (good for going to and from the Vasa Museum). Then we took a taxi to our hotel for the night. The taxi meter kept increasing with each second! It was almost as much as the ride to the airport.

We waited at the hotel lounge and were able to get into our room early at 11am. Took a quick nap and then went to lunch. Then took the ferry to see Vasa.

The Vasa was huge and fascinating. The movie was a must do. After our visit we walked the old town, and went to a flea market near our hotel. We had not exchanged any local currency, but needed some boxes and tape to bring our sheep stools home. Luckily they welcomed Euros and we wrapped up our stools safely. We took the bus north and found a nice authentic Chinese restaurant. My credit card worked everywhere, which was very helpful.

And then...we had to visit Casino Cosmopol. We had a terrible exchange rate (of course) with our Euros, had a staff reprimand us and told us weird rules about not sharing/passing money and chips with each other, even if we were married! My thought was that they didn't want us to pool our chips to buy back our Euros. Whatever. I lost quickly and had to exchange more Euros. Luckily I got my money back and some extras to cover the taxi fares. We had a couple hours of sleep and at 4:30am took Taxi Stockholm to ARN for a fixed price of 520SEK.

It was so early that the shops at ARN had not even opened. At 6am we browsed the shops but didn't get anything. So our souvenir was some Kronas from the casino. :)

***PORTS

With the exception of St. Petersburg, we did our own tours of the cities. We started our vacation 9 days before the cruise. What we did/saw:

Berlin - Warm weather with some quick rain showers. The cheapest city of all the ones we visited this trip. Started our first day with a free New Berlin walking tour, Brandenburg Gate and Holocaust Memorial, Pergamon Museum, e-music club, Reichstag Dome, rented a bike, Berlin Wall, Eastside Gallery, trained to Potsdam. Delicious dinner at Katz Orange. Not so delicious at Nobelhart & Schmutzig. Good Mustafa doner. Of course, the Berlin Casino: again, so great that it was non-smoking, and better that they paid for some of my dinners. Bought lots of Haribo gummy bears - they just taste so much better when they're made in Germany.

Amsterdam - Were told that we were lucky with sunny weather. Took the train to Zaanse Schans for the windmills, bought a few Henri Willig smoked gouda cheese. So yummy. Walked everywhere. The RLD was interesting. Streets were sweet smelling. Had some cake/smokes at the Bulldog but didn't feel much. Had and thought the rijsttafel was overrated. Loved the Rijks Museum and the Van Gogh Museum. Got passes from our hotel concierge to the Holland Casino. Made some donation. We stayed right by the train station, and took a taxi to the cruise terminal. It was a quick short line to check in at around noon.

I dragged Mr. S to the Spa giveaway and he had one foot out the door to leave when they called his name! He got a nice facial (to be used while in port). He had been quite lucky and went on to win a free slot tournament prize, a casino raffle, and a free painting (but paid for the frame) from an art auction. He's a believer in free drawings now! ;)

Copenhagen - We took the X shuttle to the city and walked around. Went to the Tourist Info Center by the Tivoli, and got a 24-hour card. It was a good deal as it covered all transport and what we wanted to see - Amalienborg, Rosenborg, Round Tower, Tivoli (meh), Copenhagen Casino (worst ever with dealers demanding tips!), and a Canal Tour (for which we didn't take since we slept in and didn't get up early enough).

The highlight of our first day was our dinner at Noma - which I thank this forum for making it possible. I wasn't able to get a reservation for 2, but after checking daily had finally snagged one for 8. Was able to find three other nice couples to join us and we had an interesting and fun time. The food was delicious and it was an unique experience.

Rostock - Before we sailed, our port was Warnemunde. Being the overplanner that I am, I'd booked with a well-reviewed tour with Friends of Dave. I didn't hear back or get a confirmation from Dave, only mass marketing emails every so often. I'd given up on this tour and decided to rent a car from Sixt to visit Schwarin (really nice castle!) and Wismar. About two months before the cruise I got a Paypal invoice to pay for this tour - whaaat? I replied that I didn't see a confirmation and had made other plans. Then I got a few replies back arguing with me that it wasn't true, and funnily (or not) a screenshot of all the marketing emails that he had sent but he insisted there was a confirmation, and now he's deleted me from his system! Gasp. WOW. It was not FRIENDLY at all. It goes to show, take online reviews with a grain of salt.

The port changed, so we got up extra early to take the free shuttle to Warnemunde to pick up our car, which was a little confusing. There was no office. Finally we saw a van with the Sixt logo and we processed the rental in the van. We were given a Benz with GPS in German (or I didn't find the English setting). Despite years of visiting Europe, it was our first time driving there, and where best than on the Autobahn? It was such a freeing experience, just use your own good judgment and go fast when you can! There was a crash on our return and we got delayed and missed the X shuttle (which was really too early at 6:30p for a 9pm boarding time). We took the train and connected to a bus. When we looked at the timetable posted at the bus station, it was THE last bus running to the port! We felt pretty lucky.

Tallinn - Easily walkable and quaint little town. We climbed up the tower at St. Olaf's Church, great view and visit. Surprised that there was wifi everywhere - very high tech. There were quite a few nice shops, and we did some shopping at this port: sheep stools, gloves, a hat, leather notebook, leather keychain, earrings, a pendant, and some marzipan and roasted almonds. The price was very reasonable too.

Still processing thousands of photos from this amazing and port-intensive cruise. But thought I'd get started with what's fresh in my head.

***BOOKING

Having cruised a few times before, I wasn't going to book until after final payment. But I was given a quote for a good group fare and I jumped the gun. I was too eager. So I watched the fare drop and drop that I had to upgrade from a balcony to Aqua. Then saw the same category on the Tuesday Specials for a few weeks. I will definitely not book until after final payment in the future! :o:rolleyes:

Received from X free gratuties and the drink package, and from the TA an OBC of $150. But the OBC didn't show up and the TA promised to send me a check, which I'm still waiting for now that I'm home. We drank lots of lattes, teas, prosecco, and wine on this trip. Usually I like having sparkling water, which is not in the Classic Package, but club sodas were fine. I'd looked up the various ratings for the wines and found most to be in the mid-to-upper 80 points. Mr. S and I are not big drinkers, what we've had were adequate and we didn't feel the need to upgrade.

***CABIN

My first X cruise was in Aqua (similar booking scenario as above - I don't learn easily!), and it was great to be back in the same setup. I really liked the multi-stream shower panel. The location was under the Spa, which I thought would be quiet. It was except for one night...(more on this later).

Didn't miss the flower. Didn't drink the X sparkling wine. Didn't eat the nightly chocolates.

I'd read that previous Aqua cruisers got a half-off offer for specialty restaurants on the first night, but the letter in our cabin was for only 30% off. We didn't use it.

***FOOD

1) Blu

The food was still as excellent as I'd remembered. The scallops, pork, steak, and duck choices were really good. The service as well. In fact, we got the same fantastic J. Contreras from our first cruise! Fernando the Sommelier was always fast and gave us good wine pairings. Marie was such a lovely hostess, and Umesh the manager couldn't be more accommodating to our requests. A really fabulous team here. The only flaws were the two fish choices I've had, and that soups were a little salty at times. I'd given my comments to the Guest Relations about this. I'll attempt to post some mouth-watering photos later.

2) Aqua Spa Cafe - Tender chicken breasts, some good smoothies.

3) Oceanview Cafe - Good quick food before hitting the ports. I liked having oatmeal with eggs and turkey sausages as my power breakfast; soymilk on request.

4) Grand Cuvee - Had lunch here once, the service was a little slow, and the food was OK. We tried having lunch here another time, and the hostess said that it was full (on one side) and turned us away at 15 minutes before closing time. We went to Oceanview - not a big loss.

5) Murano - We wanted to try Murano on the last night, but it was full except for the special Nordic Dinner, so we did that. Fantastic food with great wine pairings - which I drank them all and got drunk. Didn't pack until the next morning!

***ENTERTAINMENT

1) Jazz - Ray Brown Jr. was fantastic.

2) Shows - We saw only the Best of St. Petersburg and that was good.

3) Casino - This was our entertainment. Had much much better service/staff and experience this time around, compared to our first X cruise. Loved the non-smoking policy, which NCL (our other casino cruise line) does not have. We got acquainted with some people as we saw them regularly (ha!) throughout the cruise and had a fun time playing with them.

There was a very good promotion with getting 15% bonus when you buy $500 credits for slots or tables, with 3 packages max for each per person! Needless to say, we got them all. I was playing two hands of blackjack at a time and ran through the chips quickly in a night. The slot credits were good for video poker and we did that. We were down and ended up a little. Unlike NCL, which gave out comps on the same cruise, got nothing for my play but was invited to join their club, which may give me something (comps or discounts) on future cruises. We shall see.

The odds are better with BJ than Rouelette. I don't see why X would have an issue with a player betting both red and black and insure on the zeros - that's over 5% house edge! I'd gladly pay $95 for your $100 promo chips. Come find me if you can. :D

I feel conflicted. On the one hand, I don't like to get up earlier than I do for work. On the other, I want to maximize the time I have at each port.

Celebrity is not the only cruise line that offer a cheaper fare for guaranteed categories.

It's not about the location but choice. Some rental car places have a "wild" choice for cheaper than if you book a category directly. Same here. Think of the normal fare as being $200 more, while you save $200 if you let them choose the cabin for you.

Once the cabin is assigned, you can always move to another cabin in the same category. But do a mock booking and see all the available cabins - there's only one starboard in the aft.

It's not a "fee" but the price difference of the different categories.

XC (gty) fare is cheaper than a C3/C2/C1 category.

Doing a mock booking on the Celebrity website, only one Concierge starboard stateroom is available, but aft.

Thanks! Getting extra 15% chips sound great. Is that per person or cabin?

Funny how they're offering Blu patrons specialty deals - is it getting too crowded there?

You'll have a lot more options if you rent a car.

Since you're not, airport hotels can be had for a good price, especially through Priceline or Hotwire bids. From there you can go to the Santa Monica Beach and Pier, and shop / dine on the Third St. Promenade. Check out Hollywood / Walk of Fame another day. Maybe take a Viator tour? The Ocean Express shuttle to Manhattan Beach looks interesting, but not sure how reliable it is.

The current menus and the food ratings are helpful. Thank you!

Worthiness is always subjective. I'd do it for <$100pp for a 7 day cruise. You may still dine in the MDR.

Thanks for sharing. Glad everything turned out fine.

Never had insurance in 30 years of traveling, this makes me rethink.

Cancel and rebook?

With all the disasters in the world, I feel like it's armageddon. So I need to do more trips and enjoy myself before it's all over. :D

I had a quick comparison when I went on the NCL for the first time: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41581347&postcount=27

We took another NCL cruise last year and dined at a specialty restaurant (the French one). I'd have to say that I didn't enjoy it enough to do it again. The food was just OK, and the desserts were not as good as on X.

Gorgeous photos! Are the taxi's back to the ferry, from Cinnamon Bay, as plentiful as they are from Trunk's Bay. We have been to Trunk Bay and would like to go to Cinnamon Bay as it sounds like it is less crowded.

Any reason why you would not buy a round trip ticket on the ferry? Just curious!

Thanks! :) There was only one taxi waiting, but there's a park office so I think they would be able to call one over. I did get round trip tickets, they come in singles.

Loved St. John. Can't wait to go back. My review here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41581102&postcount=19