Cruisewilm

And yet another question: I read that some people bring hiking boots. Are they really necessary (takes up a lot of packing space) or will good running/walking shoes suffice?

Thanks for all the info - very helpful - we leave in a few days.  One question I still have:  allowance on the Fly Bondi flight to/from Ushuaia is one carry-on.  Are we also allowed a personal item?  I usually take a backpack with various items that I like to keep nearby:  an extra sweater, iPad, headphones, magazines, snacks, etc.  Were you allowed a personal item in addition to the carry-on and if so, any size limit noted?

We stepped foot off the Star yesterday.  I read all of your posts and there were several times that we followed in your footsteps.  We had a marvelous time in Iceland, Norway and Scotland.  And I am pleased to report that someone must have listened to you regarding the food - or they had new staff come in since you left.  We found the dining room food to be good ie on par (for cruise food) in comparison to the other 6 lines we have sailed on. Cagney's and La Cucina were very good.  Not so in Moderna.  Buffet was very limited in selection compared to other lines.  Thanks for doing the hard part and making it better for us!  No cinnamon buns in Djupivogur as they did not make any that day.  What were they thinking?  The weather was good except for a bit in Bergen. And we saw Northern Lights on 5 different nights!  How lucky for us.  Met some great people and suggested they read your blog.  Thanks for helping us prepare for this wonderful trip.

I am so sorry that you had such a rough time when you returned home.  I  don't drink beer, so I would have had to insert "have some chocolate from Iceland" in between each step. You posted a picture of a box that should have allowed lots of steps followed by chocolate comfort.

I am starting to read this whole post at the beginning.  Approximately 2 weeks and we leave for our Star voyage.  So I have to ask:  what was your decision on your initial questions? 

We know what the food was like, but how about the smell? 

We went to South America earlier this year and it was Azamazing!  (No other cruise line mentioned here of course.)  Depending on your answer, there are other fish - ie vessels - in the ocean!  Keep watch - there are good deals to be found if you keep looking.

1. I read a balanced review here on CC and the writer said the Star no longer smelled like sewage
2. 3.  One day I’d like to cruise to South America and the Star is the ship doing this itinerary.  Perhaps the experience this summer will be positive and I will consider booking the Star for a southern hemisphere adventure.

We are using NCL BOGO air from NC for RT transatlantic flights.  Got a combination of United, Air Canada and Delta.

We are going to miss your posts and insights.  It's been fun.  Safe travels to home.

16 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

How was my dinner at Teppanyaki tonight? Wait til tomorrow to find out!

Spoiler alert: my favourite shirt is now airing out on the balcony. (It’s tied up and I’m supervising it.)

The suspense is killing me. 

And I think I have found a ride share for Norway!!!! Not sure how it works etc, but at least it's a start!  Over the past few weeks, I have sent out many emails for taxi rides with NO response.

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

@Cruisewilm

More importantly, do you like cake?

My husband lives for dessert!  I plan to go back through your posts - took lots of notes when I first started reading them.  We are hoping to find bakeries and walk in as many ports as possible.  With 11 ports, it is just not possible for us to do organized tours and afford the cruise too.   And please can someone come up with  name of the app or the company with the program that is like AirBNB but for cars. Using a person’s car for the day as opposed to renting from an agency, especially in Harstad. Please, does anyone know the name of this program?

2 hours ago, Asawi said:

I had most of my food in the buffet, and will do so on my next Star cruise in October. Why? Because then I see the food before it's on my plate! I'm an average cook at home and I suck at food presentation. But I'm not as bad as what has been shown here! Wow!
There are at least two professionals involved in bringing out this "food" (cook and server). Surely at least one of them should react and think "this does not look all right" and act accordingly??

I think I might be an above average cook at home - I spend a lot of time considering presentation.  I suspect we may have issues as I will not be shy about telling someone how I feel (if something is not served up to at least minimal expectations).  On the other hand, I am also not shy about giving good feedback too.  We shall see....

2 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

@Cruisewilm You have an incredible itinerary to enjoy! Have you been to any of these ports before?

We were in Alesund and Bergen in 2015, and Edinburgh in 1984.  We are betting it has changed a bit since then!  Most of our travels are via cruise ship.  Many times, we rent a car and travel further out for the day.  Finding convenient car rentals on this itinerary has proved challenging.  I am definitely not a garden person due to issue with bees, so that is a never for me.  Though your pictures were awesome!

2 hours ago, odie1024 said:

@Cruisewilm,after reading and seeing the pictures @YVRteacher has been posting which look absolutely amazing I am ready to go. When is this trip and what ship?

Except for the food, and possibly the internet person, we are pretty excited to be on this same ship on Sept 9.  Still showing a few rooms available...

5 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

@Cruisewilm which ports are on your itinerary?

Iceland:   Reykjavik, Isafjordur, Akureyi, Seydisfjordur, Djupivogur

Norway:  Tromso, Harstad, Alesund, Bergin

Scotland: Lerwick, Edinburgh

Plus 3 sea days

(Hence why I have been so excited to read your posts!)

NO BAKERY???  😲  

Well, now you know where to move to when you retire and what kind of shop is needed to fill the void there!  And think of how close you will be to those other favorite places in Norway.

Good thing it is not on our itinerary in September.

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

Yes, I use the MOLDIV app. It’s free! When I notice something repeating I make sure I take 9-12 photos so I can make a 3X3 collage.

Your pictures are amazing!  I am trying the app in advance of our NCL Star voyage with almost all of the same ports in September.  I hope I can master it by then.

Finally a picture with you in it - and you aren't even wearing a jacket!  I looked at weather forecasts and it looks to have highs in the mid 50's when we are there in a month.  You are there in a heat wave!  Day temps look to drop 20 degrees by next week.

What are you seeing for evening dining room attire for the past few weeks? I would like to pack light like you, but usually tend to overpack.  Can I get away with nice jeans or do I have to be more dressed up?

YVRteacher

You were able to fit everything into those small bags.....I have never been able to do that....can you tell me what people are wearing to dinner in the evenings?  Do I really need to bring something nicer to wear each night (which means extra clothes and larger suitcase needed) or can I wear jeans and nice tops?

8 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Would now be a good time for me to tell you that there are toenail clippings on the carpet in the new cabin?

 

There are toenail clippings on the carpet of the new cabin.

 

Would this also be a good time to tell you that when I went to the Cruise Next desk today to register for the Behind the Scenes tour she told me it was full?

 

Would now be a good time for me to tell you that the room steward said that since I am back to back I don’t get the Diamond Latitudes coupon book for the two free meals and the laundry.

 

Would now be a good time to tell you that there were no chocolate covered strawberries and Flow Water boxes delivered today? Nothing.

Would now be a good time to tell you that I have read (and enjoyed) all of your posts and am terrified of what I will find for food and service next month on this vessel? 

My head is screaming to look at upgrades and avoid the dining rooms...been on dozens of cruises on 8 other lines and Star is scaring me.  What you have endured is absolutely unacceptable!

Your port days look to have been amazing and I am hoping it compensates for the horrendous onboard experience.  Wishing you better times for the remainder of your travels.

Received at 61 days out for a September cruise.  The wait is over!

We love TA and TP cruises. Have been on many.  We exercise, eat, attend lectures, eat, play beginner bridge, eat, explore the ship or read, eat, play trivia, eat, clean up for the evening, see the show, eat, read and go to sleep.  Repeat next sea day.  Maybe a snack here or there. Did I mention food?  We stay active enough that we aren't packing on the pounds when we travel.   We no longer use the spas or casino.  Too much to do in other places.  We prefer going east to west as we gain the hours back instead of loosing an hour several times.  It's challenging to fit 36 hours of activities into a single day.  We are never bored.  Have rarely experienced bad weather as we usually have been steered around it if it was imminent.  I prefer not to travel late in November or December as the weather is cooler - same for the earliest dates going west to east.  But in retirement, if a great deal pops up in either direction, we would do it in a heartbeat.

So while not for everyone, we love it!

On 4/2/2023 at 8:11 AM, Blue and Green said:

We are looking forward to our first cruise with Celebrity (following many Princess Cruises and a couple NCL). We will be on the Summit and have a boarding time of 12:30-1:00. Since we are in a Concierge Class stateroom, we were hoping to take advantage of lunch in the MDR. On Princess, we always enjoyed  a quiet embarkation lunch in the MDR and avoiding the crowded cafe. However, I thought I read somewhere that the embarkation lunch in the MDR on Celebrity is only available 11:00-1:00. Now, I can't find where I read that, or if it is accurate. Does anyone know if we will be too late for lunch if we don't arrive before 1:00?

I know this is not a big deal, just wanting to plan accordingly.

 

 

On our recent cruise, the embarkation lunch may just have been the worst meal we encountered in the 14 day cruise.  IMHO, you won't be missing much.  The rest of the days were much better!

That is a very tight schedule even as a walk off with private transfer.  We did the Ravenna to Venice transfer last October. Can you change your flight?  I just did that today for another cruise and was able to change without penalty.  Might be different re change fees if you are traveling between 2 countries.

4 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

 

 

I am glad you mentioned that.  We had the same issue, and I had forgotten about that.  I had no issue with volume in The Den, but it got to be too much in The Living Room.  The volume increased with every set.  It would be okay earlier in the evening, but it was far too loud after dinner.  I hated that because we enjoyed the band very much, but I couldn't take it.  The volume in the theatre was pretty dadgum high, too.  

 

We also remarked to bartenders and officers and even the band, and we got the same "nothing could be done" reply.  Apparently, someone pretty high up has the idea that it's to be this way.  We also did mention it in our post-cruise survey.

 

I say we keep fighting the good fight.  

Absolutely - if you do nothing, it will never change!

On second thought, our only complaint was indeed the music level in the evening upstairs. Way too loud.  Next time we sail, I might have to make it a personal challenge to get the level reduced.

Have sailed twice on Azamara Pursuit in the past 6 months and been exceptionally pleased both times.  We are Elite plus so very familiar with Celebrity.  If I had a choice (cost not being a factor), we would choose Azamara hands down.  Staff was for the most part wonderful, food comparable to or better than Celebrity, never had a wait to be seated in the dining room, venues always active, guests interacting, found too much to do each day and had to miss things at times (I don't paint but many people enjoyed that option).  I don't drink wine so can't comment on that.  More personalized attention everywhere.  Cozier atmosphere.  Travel in to ports was easier on the smaller vessel.  We watched a larger ship sail away ie miss the port at the Falklands as they were not able to get close enough to tender due to rough seas.  Can't think of anything bad to say.  We will continue to look for cruises on Azamara and hope for good deals so we can sail more often with them.

13 hours ago, seekatz said:

Thanks for the post. If you only use part of the gift card for your fare, would the remaining balance not be still on the card? This could be used for your next cruise. The wording was 

Would you loose the remaining balance, or have it available for your next cruise?

Thanks

After much discussion with several Celebrity reps, the reply was that the balance is lost if you don't use it in it's entirety on the purchase of cruise fare for ONE new booking.  Cannot be used against any taxes.  Cannot be used for OBC or gratuities.  Any remaining balance cannot be saved for future use. 

The fine print says it cannot be returned for a cash refund but we never asked for that.  We just wanted to maintain the balance for a future new cruise booking.

The fine print does NOT state the gift card must be used for only ONE cruise.  We asked to have the fine print changed to reflect this for future sales of these gift cards.  We were told it would have to go to their legal department.  We provided our email and asked to be notified when the verbiage was changed. Will post again if this ever happens!

Also in the fine print: for use on cruise fare only ie not for government taxes. And if the cruise fare is less than $500, too bad.  You lose the remainder on the gift card. No balance can be left to use on another cruise. My newly discovered good deal has turned into a nightmare!