beachluver9

Hello Members,

 

Any suggestions on cruise parking at the Tampa port other then the terminal. We all know the terminal is expensive compared to offsite parking.

 

We cruise a lot but never out of Tampa. Normally we sail out of port Canaveral or port Everglades and when we do we always park at "park and cruise" and "park n go." My experience has been great at both. Shuttles easily available to take you to and from the ship. The process seemless with loading luggage, cheaper price, secured lot etc. Just an overall great experience. Is there any where like this in Tampa and my car will be safe and secure?

 

Please provide any suggestions and your experience. Your help is greatly appreciated. You will be helping us have a great vacation.

The Marriott close to the port has a park n cruise rate.

The TA is wrong. I've already printed my Alla tickets which state that they are to be presented to the agent. They act as a temporary visa.

 

Morley.

That is also how it worked with SPB Tours. Some agents will also tell you that if you booked independently that you have to wait for the shore excursion groups to get through Russian immigration first. This is also incorrect. My daughter and I waited at the exit point of the ship along with a couple dozen other passengers and we were literally the first ones off the ship and through immigration.

There is a nice bathroom at the port once you get through immigration, so if you get stuck waiting a bit, no worries.

The Marriott offers two different day passes. One all inclusive and the other just resort access. check out resortforaday dot com

After having read the threads for this port, I think we are about ready to book. One housekeeping question...can you purchase taxis, drinks, etc. using US dollars or do we need to convert money prior to leaving the pier?

Hey Ginny and all the other AZ friends!

First of all...thanks so much for the Calabaza recommendation. We spent the day with Gina on May 14th and it was absolutely wonderful! She sends her greetings :p

Thanks for this review! I was waiting for it because I know how much time you put into them and how thorough you are.

Jim and I am looking at a winter 2017 cruise on the Harmony. Right now we have "pick of the litter" on the cabins since we are flexible on dates. We had already planned on an end cabin on the boardwalk so your review helped confirm that this is what we want. My question...what would be your first choice of deck? I want to be able to watch the shows and get a glimpse of the big screen, but don't necessarily want too much noise from down below when my door is closed.

P. S. so glad you enjoyed Nachi Cocum! We have been there several times and haven't had a bad experience yet!

I cancelled my cruise but found both SPb tours(Victoria) and ALLA tours offer great package deals for all five stops or just buy for one city if you choose. Nothing but great reviews for those and several other companies.

We did SPB tours in St Petersburg in 2013. We did a private tour because we only had one day in port and wanted to see as much as possible. My DH and I were literally the first ones off the ship in the morning and our guide Helen was waiting for us just past immigration. I had emailed our photos to SPB prior to our cruise so our guide would recognize us quickly. We hopped in her late model Volvo and hit the road. We had already finished our tour of the Cathedral of Spilled Blood before the tour groups were even getting off the ship. We were able to tour Catherine's Palace before they opened to the public, toured Peterhof, ate a nice lunch in a local restaurant, ride the subway (just for the experience), walked through the local markets, toured the Hermitage for a few hours and arrived back at the ship with time to spare. We never could have seen everything that we did if we had been on a group tour. Money very well spent.

I agree with other posters that Stockholm can easily be done on the Ho Ho bus. We also added the water portion just because all of the traffic and noise of the city can get to be a bit much. Head straight to the Vasa (if that is something that you want to see) as early as possible because it gets unreasonably busy.

I have family in Denmark and we have visited a number of times. Our favorite coastal town is Lonstrup on the NW coast. If you are interested in original artwork and handmade jewelry it is beyond compare. The viking museum in Aalborg is a treasure and should not be missed if possible.

Out of curiosity...if I were to put my two bottles in my checked luggage and then DH carried two on, how would they track that?

Our thoughts...We have sailed on RCCL, Celebrity, and MSC. All three had their good points and their bad points.

Food: Celebrity was hands down the best, RCCL the worst. MSC was suprisingly good.

If you are worried about dressing up more in the Celebrity dining room, then book a concierge room. The room service menu is the same as the dining room. Enjoy dinner on your balcony in whatever makes you comfortable.

Activities: We are not a good source here. We tend to eat around 7, grab a show if it interests us, wander the ship for a few drinks, and then conclude the evening on our balcony with a bottle of wine.

We did notice that the dance clubs on the Celebrity ship were all closing down around the time that we would be wandering in.

Ships: They all seem to be about the same unless you are on a brand new ship. Keeping all the rust away and not having any carpet seams is almost impossible for a ship that is sailing full of passengers 7 days a week. It is a constant struggle no matter whose ship you are on.

We would love to sail on Celebrity again during the summer months, but they have abandoned their younger (under 50) passengers that want beach destinations at that time while the kids are out of school.

RCCL bumps their pricing markedly during the school vacation times to the point that I think it is time to give MSC a nod once again. Kids sail free, the ships are beautiful, and we enjoy meeting passengers from other parts of the world.

I know that dinner is $25. How much is lunch?

We have done cruises both ways. The TA that has the best pricing (that I am aware of) also adds their own $100/pp non-refundable cancellation fee, so unless I am 100% committed to the cruise then I just book direct.

No tapas.

We were very disappointed in Vintages. There are very few tables and the best ones are reserved for people who have booked the wine tasting dinner. Having purchased the drink package, I was looking forward to being able to go in there and having a relaxing glass of wine prior to dinner each evening. What I ended up with was a menu (sorry, I don't have a copy) that was very limited for wine-by-the-glass which I can somewhat understand since that is not really what a wine bar is for. What I didn't expect was being treated like I had the plague by the people working in Vintages as if we were too low class coming in with our drink packages. We ended up leaving our full wine glasses sitting on the table and left for the champagne bar. Not the right place for us!

Shorts are okay. Just don't take off your shoes...they will yank you off the dance floor faster than you can say "...

Oh...in that case, I'm not sure it's worth it. I don't even drink coffee or tea, just water and soda...not sure we would drink enough alcohol to break even. I just hate the looks dh gives me when I order a couple margaritas or a bottle of wine at dinner. Also, after looking the premium package over again it doesn't appear to include bottled water.

Premium pkg includes a no-name bottled water. It was not good...the tap water on the table in the MDR tasted better.

No ,in order to use OBC you must wait until onboard to make your reservation. If you make it ahead of time you will need to pay for it at that time.

There is usually a discount if you book on the first day of the cruise and they hold back tables for reservations for onboard bookings so if you make your reservation when you first get on the ship then you should be fine. They usually have a reservation table set up outside of the Windjammer.

Hey guys!

 

I recently booked our honeymoon aboard the Anthem of the seas for 14 nights in september, but i have a few questions i can't seem to find answers to, i'm hoping some of you awesome people might be able to help me out?

 

are the pastries and breakfast items in cafe promenade complimentary? can we get coffee and things from there as part of the standard price, or are they seperately charged? i understand there are starbucks coffees which are chargeable, but do they serve standard coffee also?

 

are the shore excursions worth the money? they seem very expensive for a walk around the town?

 

is there a limit to how many beverages i can take per visit to the bar? we have the select drinks package, so for example, is it possible to take 2 bottles of bud? or do i have to return every time i need another?

 

is it worth buying the bottled water package? we drink quite a lot of water in general, is there water available anywhere else on the ship?

 

thanks in advance.. i must seem like a complete newbie..i'm getting there slowly but surely lol

I'm sure you will get many responses with many different opinions. Here are my personal thoughts...

1) Pastries and breakfast items in the Cafe Promenade were complimentary last time I checked. We always have them delivered to our room via room service along with a pot of coffee for me and tea for DH. The room service coffee is not great, but it is hot and delivered to my room.

Specialty coffee cost extra, cheapo coffee is free (but not great). Pour some Baileys in the cheapo coffee and it can be quite delish.

2) If you are looking for a walk around town, you can take the excursion via You Tube (seriously). If you are traveling to a foreign country (don't know where you are going) and venturing more than 30 min from port, then I recommend taking the ships excursion because the ship will wait for you in case you have a delay (flat tire, etc). For Caribbean islands, go to Trip Advisor and see what your options are there. Often times these same companies are the ones that the cruise lines use and the prices are comparable

3) RCCL limits you to one drink per purchase per card. If I want two I just use hubbies card. MSC allows two drinks per order per passenger which makes it a whole lot easier for the wait staff as well as the passengers. Sure wish RCCL will do that.

4) Some people might recommend buying bottled water after you get off the ship. There will be vendors selling it really cheap (~ $1/bottle). I bought a bottle of Evian in Nassau once and went to drink it and the seal had already been broken. Clearly they refilled and old bottle and I was gullible enough to buy it.

We go through a good deal of bottled water on the ship although the tap water served in the dining rooms tastes fine to us. If one of you has a drink pkg that includes bottled water then you can just start a stock-pile in your room if you are trying to save money. Easy.

Our flight is the first one out of Nashville at 5:30 am connecting in ATL. There are other flights after that and, no, it is not the day of the cruise. It is the day before - we never do that unless no other options! And, it is in two weeks, so pretty much the only weather worry would be thunderstorms ( I know, this is very possible)! I'm a little apprehensive, but really want to try it. Just wondering what others may have experienced.

We have lived in GA since 2001. DH is a pilot. He says you should be fine if you are going that early especially if you are the first flight of the day for both the planes and the crews. There are several flights after the early ones out of Atlanta, so if you have a delay you can always get on the next one. Our nasty t-storms are usually in the afternoon/early evening.

Go for it and have an awesome trip!

There is an 8:15am out of Atlanta to SJU almost every morning on Delta. This is the one that we normally take. There are several hotels connected to the airport via the hotel Sky Train that have very reasonable rates. Did you consider staying in Atlanta the night before? It is a whole lot less expensive that San Juan which I find to be pricey especially with their "resort fees" added.

We have a room at the Springhill Suites attached to the Atlanta Airport for our next cruise in May and are paying around $100.

Is a 45 minute layover in Atlanta cutting it too close? It would be a Delta flight from Nashville, TN to San Juan, connecting in Atlanta. Any comments?

It depends on what time of year it is and also the time of day. Early morning any other time of the year than Jan - Feb is probably fine. Assuming that you are staying on Delta. If you are changing carriers then you will need to hop on the train or use the moving sidewalks to get to one of the other terminals. It is not difficult if you are familiar with our airport but can be confusing if you are.

Afternoon and early evening from June - September you are rolling the dice with the possibility of afternoon t-storms delaying your incoming flight. On the flip side, they could also delay your connection.

Well, not so last minute now as I am looking to next year. Want to sail Liberty out of Galveston in late April/early May 2016. After Easter and spring breaks. We live in Texas so would be able to drive to the port. We have always booked way in advance. And usually do a next cruise while onboard.

 

Just wondering what luck people have had with last minute. We would schedule the week off with our jobs. We would only want a balcony or higher and are Diamond if it makes any difference.

 

We would be willing to take the risk to a point, but how last minute would be safe?

 

 

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I used to book some cruises last minute because there were good deals to be had. Not anymore. Now you have to book at least a year in advance to get the best rates. This is true for Celebrity as well.

We cruised in January on LOS and had the premium drink package. I like a glass or two (or three) of Sauvignon Blanc prior to going into the MDR for dinner. The thing that frustrated me most (beside the small number of choices for SB drinkers) was that each bar had a different wine list. I like the Kim Crawford SB was only able to get it at the Champagne Bar. At least with the drink package I was able to leave any that I didn't like behind without losing any $.

LOS cabin question. - we are family of 6 with connecting oceanview cabins. One cabin is double occupancy and the other we are booked as quad. My question is this. The legend on the deck plan map shows the quad cabin as having a pullout couch - does that mean no pull down bed and two persons are sharing the couch? Cabin is 6666 and 6668 - there is a triangle on the legend.

triangle = pull out sofa

asterisk (*) = one pull down Pullman bed

Black Diamond = means both one Pullman and a sofa bed

"Telephone Pole" or "cross" if you prefer = two Pullmans

Double Telephone Pole = four Pullmans

Sometimes I'm a little full after dinner to truly enjoy dessert. Has anyone requested their dessert be served 1st?

I have done that! I have been known to build my dinner around my dessert choice. On the last couple of cruises, I have asked the wait person to plate my dessert "to go" so I can eat it later in the evening on my balcony. They have always been more than happy to do that for me.

Curious--how did you know what was left on the ship?

 

 

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I like the TA http://www.OnlineVacationCenter.com They show all available rooms in each category on their site. They are the first place that I look since many of the other sites (RCCL included) only show a handful of available rooms.

I have been booking activities, entertainment and dinner online for our August Oasis cruise. I just added something else and now I see 2 of my specialty dining reservations now have "This Item is no longer available online. Check onboard as availability may change" written in red. Does that mean I lost my reservations? :confused::(

Check your cruise calendar. If it doesn't appear there, then check your credit card for a credit for the reservations. Someone on our roll call for next month had an excursion cancelled on them without notification from RCCL. They only found out it was cancelled was because it appeared as a credit on their credit card statement.

If you still don't know what is going on in another few days, give them a call.

Hi all!

 

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I've always found the info here so helpful. I recently booked a last-minute cruise on Oasis for 5/16/15 as an anniversary surprise for my DH--it will be our 10th anniversary on board and our second babymoon! So excited! I told him about the surprise last night, and he's already said a few times this is the best gift I've ever given him, outside our daughter (who I was pregnant with on our last Oasis cruise). :)

 

Anyway, this will be our third time on Oasis, and due to the last-minuteness of booking, at first, no OV balconies were available, but then some OV balcony guarantees popped up, so I grabbed one. We've done guarantees a couple times before, and the rooms were assigned right away. I am just curious what others' experiences have been with guarantees--what is the LATEST you've been assigned a room? (I realize that they say it can be up till the sail date, but just curious to hear the general consensus. I also realize the gamble that guarantees are, and we can end up anywhere, but I am just excited we are on the ship AND will have a view of the ocean!)

 

Excited to get that room assignment ... But mostly just excited to get on board!!! Thanks!

 

 

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We did a guarantee cruise a couple of years ago (Jr Ste) and were assigned our cabin around 3 days prior to sailing. We pretty much knew which one we would get because it was the only cabin left on the ship!