HelenREMfan

I will never ever fly Iberia after it tried to bump 6 of our party of school children off a return flight to Uk! The air flights had been booked months before and we as teachers have to obey strict safety rules about number of pupil to staff ratio - this is reduced on foreign school trips. Having argues with any Iberia staff to be found they reluctantly agreed to bump 5 children and me from the flight. The rest of the party were told that if they didn't go to the gate immediately from check in they would have to buy other flights home ! Iberia then told me they would be flying us back via Paris with Air France. (was grateful for small mercies) The flight to Paris was fine, the food served was the best food I have ever had on a (economy) flight.

On arrival in Paris (11 30pm) I discovered we had been abandoned by Iberia and in a panic I spoke with the Air France desk. Despite us not being Air France's problem..... they took us to an airport hotel, provided us all with an emergency bag of toiletries and T shirts (Iberia actually flew our luggage with the rest of the party back to Manchester - without us on the plane !) WE were fed at the hotel, given very nice rooms and were served breakfast the next morning before Air France took over again in trying to get us on a flight to UK. WE managed with parental permission to fly the 5 kids on a direct flight to Manchester but I had to fly via Heathrow :(

So.... Air France get my vote every time. They went out of their way to help us..... I was extremely impressed. Iberia got into some trouble over what they did to us and we all received some compensation.

I won't fly BA either because of what they managed to do on one flight of mine....but that is another story.

Vive Air France !

I received the Celebrity email too and followed the link to the site. I was interested to look at the 2 evening speciality dining and one lunch but nothing like that appeared on the site, let alone a 20% discount. I suppose it means one has to ring them......

I received the email too.... so I followed the link but nowhere could I see it on the site. I was seeing a 2 nights dining and one lunch deal - but nothing like that on the site. Is it only that you have to phone Celebrity to get the deal.

We did the Celebrity trip to Pisa via coach and then transferred to a boat to sail into Pisa. It was handy for me as there was not much walking involved. We had free time in Pisa - all in all it was about 4 - 5 hours - so an easy day (Pretty useful if following on from a long day in Rome!)

Have done a ship's journey to Florance and yes it parked a fe hundred metres from the train station. In those days I was more mobile and managed the walk into the centre easily. Lots to see and do and time for a lovely Tuscan meal. Alas tho at the end of the day the heavens opened and we had torrential rain - and I mean torrential! The water was streaming down the ramps of underground parking. It also flooded the underpasses for us trying to leave Florence! We met our guide at the railway station and then had to walk to the coach (the couple who had managed to keep dry as they were riding on a HOHO bus then got as wet as the rest of us...ie soaked to the skin. The coach could not get out of Florence and the roads when we did get out were a nightmare. Our driver decided on leaving the main route and using ' B' roads to get back to the ship. WE were 3 hours late - of course the ship had to wait. I pitied the guide as she was booked to go back out straightaway with another trip. (The seats on that coach would have been jolly damp too!) WE heard on the ship that one couple did not make it back to the ship (they were on their own itinerary) They were fortunate in that the next day was Rome and not Sardinia so they could get a train easily (and a night in a hotel!)

He is nowhere near as good as Sue. Im disappointed

 

 

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I'm with you Dave! I have sailed a good few times with Sue and she is a force majeure around the ship. Where she gets her energy from I will never know. She is approachable, often funny and professional in what she does. On one cruise apart from a couple of stage introductions....we never saw the CD...he was the "invisible man" I don't want holiday camp stuff but Sue would be there to see you off the ship on trips and would be there welcoming hot and tired people back. She would always speak to people on her way through public areas..... she made you feel like welcome guest for Celebrity. I always said she should take up training CDs when she finally decides to hang up her heels !

A long shot..... but does anyone know who will be the CD on Silhouette 9th-23rd September?

 

 

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Right now it seems it is Sue Denning - someone put up a spreadsheet with details for each ship on it. There is though something written after Sue's name which I cannot read/decipher.... so I don't know if she will still be with the Silhouette..... I hope she is as she is very approachable and evident around the ship. The couple of cruises we have done with different CDs were very different.

If you are on that sailing why not pop to the roll call board - it isn't the busiest of roll calls but we are putting together a cabin crawl where people volunteer to let others see what their cabins are like - so we have an inside, a balcony, a concierge, an aqua and 2 suites :)

Here is a link to the roll call..... some folks are arranging private tours..... and others provide information from previous experience. We are also having a sail away meet up as the ship leaves Southampton..... drinks at the Sunset Bar...... :)

There is the walk/jog track which goes around the deck above the outdoor pools.

It is quite a small beach and I haven't seen any chairs or umbrellas. We just sat by some rocks and enjoyed the sun and the swimming. I didn't see any lifeguards (secouristes) anywhere but I am a strong swimmer so not too bothered and with lifeguard experience am well aware re swimming in the sea. It is a sandy beach down by the area of the rail station. The beach shelves away quite quickly (no "Southport-type" pain of having to walk for miles to get a swimming depth!) There are little shops close by which sell beach paraphernalia so you might be able to get some beach-handy items. I took swimming towels from the ship to go with us, sun screen etc. I have seen word of another beach at Villefranche and I wonder if it is on the opposite side of the bay. As you get off the tender and go inside the port buildings there is a tourist info office so you could ask there.

We did this cruise a couple of years ago in June and loved it. Celebrity is our cruise line of choice as I like to holiday away from families - as a teacher I don't mind children but I am averse to some parenting "skills". Unlike Disney Celebrity does not have slides, dodgems, climbing walls etc. So in effect you don't see too many children. Celebrity does have an area and activities for the children who do sail. Most British school children probably won't have broken up by that date - start of school summer holidays is Friday 19 July generally. I presume the ship will be the Celebrity Silhouette as the Eclipse which used to do that itinerary is sailing out of Dublin. The Eclipse is a lovely ship and the Silhouette is a comparable class though a little younger than the Eclipse.

The Baltic trip we did was quite port intensive but that was fine. We organised ourselves with 3 other couples to do a 2 day private tour of St Petersburg with SPB tours. They were excellent and I believe they cover quite a few of the Baltic ports. WE had exclusive use of a 12 seater minibus with driver and excellent tour guide. The bus also had (free) wifi which was great for catching up on emails etc as we journeyed between the sites. WE structured the visit entirely to suit our group and we were a mobility impaired group so that was great. SPB will liaise with you and work out the best schedule for you. Our guide was brilliant and we got early entry to the Hermitage. We fitted in St Catherine's palace, the Winter Palace, the palace where Rasputin was murdered, as just an example of what we saw. We even were taken on the underground which was amazing as one of the 2 escalators took 3 minutes to descend, as the Underground is so deep in the city. I can highly recommend the company anyway and they took care of visas etc also. (You have to have a private company nor take Celebrity's tours to take care of the visa situation)

My one regret is probably that we didn't do a trip to the ballet on the overnight stay evening.

We were in such with other people on the cruise via the roll call site and so could arrange the private tour. We did our own thing in Tallinn just taking the shuttle bus from the port to the town and the ship's excursions in Copenhagen and Stockholm. The sail into Stockholm was breathtaking and was almost worth the whole cruise.

If you weren't tied to flying into London you could have a look at the Eclipse sailing from Dublin as it will probably be doing the Baltic sailing a couple of times - probably in June - and there is near 24 hour daylight at that time. It would give you alternative dates.

I hired a car from Sixt on Quai Southampton. I found them online and all was perfectly straightforward. I wanted to drive firstly up to Dieppe where I stayed on a French exchange when I was 14 - we took a couple of Canadian passengers with us so we visited the Canadian graveyard in Dieppe from ww2. We then drove in the opposite direction and across the high level bridge over the Seine estuary to visit Honfleur. We had an excellent day and dropped the car back at Sixt's office. WE could see the Eclipse from there we were but I didn't fancy the walk (was a fair way round by the roads and I have osteoarthritis) So we called at a local cafe and the locals helped us ring a taxi firm to take us back to the ship.

No problems at all with the hire, the car or admin.cost etc. However I do speak French so I have an advantage there and have driven abroad for years so that holds no worries for me either.

Villefranche is a very picturesque town. Along the harbour front it is flat and you can walk to the train station - but it is around the curve of the harbour. Fast trains go to Monaco and Nice from the station. There is a beach at that end of the bay and I have always liked to go and swim there. To access the rest of the town it is fairly strenuous uphills and steps etc.

Right where the tender boat reaches the harbour just a little up to your left there is 'le petit train' which takes you all around (and up!) and you get a wonderful panoramic view of the town and harbour (and the ship out in the bay) I can recommend that if you are going to stay in Villefranche. At the terminus of the little train there is usually a small local market, often you can get lavender products and home crafts. Just set back from the harbour front behind the market are cafes where you can usually get free wifi if you need it. There is a Chapel (Chappelle Saint Pierre) with murals by the famous French artists Jean Cocteau. It will be possibly a climb up to it from the port but it's not too far (google it on a map to reassure you) It is signposted from my memory. All along the harbour are restaurants and we always treat ourselves to a nice lunch there !

At the port there is a tourist information office where you can get a quite detailed map of the town.

It is actually one of my favourite ports on the cruise and am sorry that on my next cruise we are stopping at Toulon instead - from what I cn find out it is nothing like a quaint as Villefranche!

Best advice is never use the Trainline.com - they are just a ticket agent always charging a booking fee over and above the Main Train Service provider like GWR, etc.

You do have to be patient and wait for the discounts to come in...once it was 9 weeks before travel date and not the 12 often stated but I have usually managed to get first class travel - definitely on Virgin trains from the North to London at a very acceptable price. £33 has got me first class comfy seats, a cooked breakfast and internet plus the fastest way to get to London from the North west.

I always use www.booking.com but there are other sites which compare/price check hotels (Trivago comes to mind)

Careful reading of the details, reviews, and then looking on the map can pay dividends. There can be some great deals too. The best I ever got was for The Cumberland Hotel which is right by Marble Arch and at the end of Oxford st (shopping) and across from Hyde park. There is also a stop where all the HOHO buses pull up. The Cumberland was marvellous but alas these days it seems very pricey as I have never got a similar deal. Another hotel in the Guoman chain is the Tower Hotel right by London bridge - again a very comfortable hotel but you need to find a deal to keep cost down. Is a fabulous view from most rooms though of the Bridge even more so should it rise to allow a ship to pass :)

Hi

 

The train companay that runs frim `London to Southhamption is South West Trains from Waterlo, they run every hour and take about 1hr30 mins to get to Southhampton you could book 1st class which is always a good way to go as more space and also room for your luggage it is nice to sit on the train and watch the countryside go by.

 

Hope that helps

Gareth

If you use http://www.thetrainline.com at about 11/12 weeks before your travel date there can be discounted train fares. I always use this as I can get first class rail travel cheaper than the ordinary train fare. I have used the assistance facility offered by the railways when I travel as there can be help for you if anyone in your party is disabled and it can be a Godsend for example the staff at Southampton Central meet me from the train and help me get the luggage off. This is really useful as Southampton Central is just a stop on the line and not the terminus (I get a bit stress about managing to get us and luggage off the train quickly!

I would say also to get the tube from Heathrow as London traffic can be awful.

The hotel I have liked the best is The Cumberland which is right opposite Hyde Park and is one end of Oxford St - buses and underground are both very close by. The breakfasts are wonderful, my room was a good size and the entrance/foyer is lovely and spacious with attentive staff. There is a Jimi Hendrix room somewhere in the hotel where he liked to stay. There is another hotel in their group which is right by Tower bridge (The Guoman group) and is called The Tower hotel.

The Cumberland's site https://www.guoman.com/en/london/the-cumberland.html

REMfan waves to prish !!!! :)

I am well north of Birmingham - north Cheshire to be exact. Have now got travel and overnight to S'hampton down to a fine art. It is now part of the holiday and at 2 hours to London on the train ( using my railcard) I can get good train fare deals. I have found rail staff to be brilliant at meeting me and helping me on/off trains - the service at London Euston is excellent as they meet me at the carriage with a buggy and transport me, companion and luggage to the taxi rank. Taxi to Waterloo and then onto train for S'hampton.

I still think those days to explore the ship.... relax in the Solarium, meet people on the ship etc is a real bonus. I do know what DKYWIA means about those last 2 days after leaving Lisbon - wistfulness at the cruise nearly being over - but....it does beat traipsing round a continental airport . I have dreadful memories of the Barcelona experience where Iberia decided it was quite ok to bump 6 pupils off a school trip party of 50+ kids and 5 staff. As I speak French I was able to thwart the awful woman at check in who thought she had got one up on the Brits who didn't speak much Spanish. She was very sorry she admitted she spoke French. As Iberia were intractable I had no option but to tell our 56 15/16 year olds to fill up check in and her desk so she could appreciate the seriousness of the position (our seats had been pre booked and paid for 6 months previously!) Our only option in the end was that they grudgingly agreed to bump me and 5 of the kids off the (overbooked flight) This left the remainder of our school party understaffed on foreign visit grounds but we were between the devil and the deep blue sea! Iberia shunted us onto an Air France flight to Paris - and as we found out later with no plan to take us any further. All credit to Air France who at 11 30pm at night took us to a hotel, arranged dinner for us and transport back to Charles de Gaulle airport next am. None of us had a stitch of clothing or belongings as Air Iberia had taken our cases. Air France gave us toiletries and emergency supplies of a T shirt etc. Next day at the airport BA took us on but could only take the 5 pupils on the Manchester flight. I had to get parental permission for that - which was given. BA flew me back alone via Heathrow. Rather a nightmare of a trip. Some quite high levels meetings took place for Iberia after that and we all received compensation - but overall it was a disgrace and I have never flown - nor would I with Iberia again.

So...... give me a 2 day cruise back home any day :)

We sailed from Southampton once on a 14 day itinerary to the Med but I wouldn't do it again. It's a cold and possibly rough 2-day sail to the Med and a 2 day return. That's a large part of your total cruise. You may want to consider flying to the Med and spend your entire cruise there. That would open up a lot of other itinerary and ship options with some of Royal newest ships (depending on the time of year).

 

Good Luck and enjoy your cruise

I thoroughly enjoy those first 2 sea days! It eases the stress of the day's travel down to Southampton (we go the day before now and book a hotel for B & B as is less stressful!) The 2 days enable you to explore the ship, chill out, take part in any of the activities which interest you - on one cruise there was a watercolour painting class for the 5 sea days which my daughter and I really enjoyed ! The 2 sea days on the return again allows one to relax after the hectic side of visiting the likes of Rome and Florence for example. It's not like you are captive on a cross channel ferry !!

It also means for we Brits that we don't have to worry about luggage weight and allowance which would feature if we were flying say to Rome to pick up a cruise.

You might like to join the roll call for the Sept 9 cruise. I love the Celebrity product and am sure you will like the ship and all about it. Obviously one cannot predict the other guests..... in my past W Med cruises there has been a good mix of US, Canadian and even Aussie guests so you can probably count on similar for this cruise. I would suggest you familiarise yourselves with the Martini bar as it always seems pretty friendly and lively in the evenings. The shows.... well they aren't always to my taste,..... but you should fins a few of them to suit. It will be our first time on the Silhouette but have been on the sister ship the Eclipse quite a few times.

Am sure you will be as converted as I am after this cruise.

Oh I do hope so as my elder daughter and I did a 5 day watercolour painting class on the Eclipse in the Med a few years ago and loved them. Alas when I subsequently did Baltic, Canaries and the Med again there wasn't any.

I have now got my fingers crossed for the Sept 18 cruise.

A little off topic but I have been forced on occasion recently to use a scooter mostly when going to some of the big box stores. You would not believe how stupid people are when you are driving one of these scooters. They walk in front of you, cut across because they need at that moment to get to the other side of the aisle, things they would not do if there was just a person there instead of a person in a chair.

I agree with you dkjretired. I have severe osteoarthritis and sciatic nerve trouble, have survived mini strokes and a brain haemorrhage. I hire a scooter to take on cruises as I have limited energy for the day and activities/excursions. If not using the scooter I have to use a walker or crutches. I think kind people would be surprised if they tried using a scooter etc for a while and saw the way some people treated the disabled. They will positively rush to get in front of you for a queue, or on a ship a lift. I don't use a scooter when at home so I do drive one tentatively when on a cruise ship as I don't want to drive into people. I reverse carefully - in my fit days I used to reverse a 7.5 ton horse box without any problem at all. So I am grateful to Celebrity for making my cruise enjoyment a little easier. I have to say the staff on the Celebrity ships I have travelled on have gone out of their way to be thoughtful eg the lady in the restrooms who would have no thought of tip would rush ahead of me to open the disabled toilet door and the wait til I had got in and then operate it to close! The staff in the Oceanview will often offer to help carry items for me...... just really thoughtful which is so appreciated.

Regarding service dogs I am appalled at some of the experiences of people on here and I would agree with the consensus that any bone fide service dog would have been well trained. The only 'invisible' disability I can think of for a service dog would be those who are trained to foretell an epileptic fit for example.

Does anybody know what terminal Celebrity uses here. I will be on the Silhouette next September.

 

 

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Hi there

We too are on this cruise Silhouette Western Med Sept 9 - handy info re the berthing at Barcelona.

Have you thought about joining the roll call for this cruise? It is rather quiet right now but as time counts down I expect it to get busier.

Here is a link to the roll call

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2510323

Amsterdam is a wonderfully compact city and I found it easy to navigate and negotiate. There are many many hotels and they range quite widely in price. You have to recognise that with some of the more economically priced ones you might have to negotiate steep stairs in houses without lifts! I have always preferred to stay close to Centraal Station and like the Victoria just opposite it. There are many hotels in the museum area of the city though you are further from the hub of the city at night time down there. The public transport is good with the many trams.

I recommend taking the HOHO canal buses as to cruise around the canals gives you a great view of the city and familiarises you quickly.

Just along from the Victoria hotel and down from the station is a tour company Lindbergh on Damrak. They run many trips to locations in NL - we saw Den Hague, Delft, der Schans with its windmills, cheese and clog making, the fishing village of Volendam and of course the wonderful gardens Keukenhof. Of course it is also quite easy to take the train from Centraal Station to many destinations - all very feasible with a little bit of research.

Amsterdam is a fabulous city with so much to see and do. Use Trip Advisor for hints and tips and be prepared if wishing to visit the Anne Frank house - it is possible to prebook tickets so as to avoid queues.

Yes I have seen a pool attendant assist someone with the hoist into the main pool when on the Eclipse. It is a good pool for a cruise ship pool. I found the Eclipse and its staff wonderfully disabled friendly. The staff couldn't do enough for me.

On a Baltic cruise a lady from the US and I arranged a private tour for the 2 days in St Petersburg. We used SPB and 2 other couples joined us, one other British and one US. It worked like a dream. We knew we had some mobility issues..... we arranged a timetable to suit ourselves whilst taking advice from the company - who were great! Any part of the trip anyone felt not up to they remained with the bus (which had a free wifi) as just 4 of us went for a trip on the underground (can highly recommend that!)

With arranging things via people on the roll call we were able to organise things so everyone knew what would be happening.

I do have to say that the odd Celebrity excursion didn't work as well as despite Celebrity reserving seats at the front for me - I have severe osteoarthritis a couple without disability decided they needed to sit there for the return to the ship and left me to struggle further down the aisle of the bus. On the dolphin ad whale watching trip in the Canaries several people came and stood in front of the disabled sitting area so blocking my seated view and opportunity to take photos.

On balance if you do the right organising beforehand the private trips should work well.

I agree with the critical remarks about the Grand Harbour. There was nothing "grand" about our overpriced and none too great room. Ennui's boutique hotel is lovely and I can highly recommend it however in view of your hubby's disability it is ruled out as it doesn't have a lift. The Holiday Inn quayside is fine with parking - better so if you are able to book as far enough in advance as to get a good rate. I can recommend Regents Park guest house as they do have ground floor rooms which you should request, it provided an excellent breakfast, has lovely staff and is only a short drive from the dock. We have also stayed at the Holiday Inn Express just off the motorway on the outskirts of S'hampton and it was very reasonably priced with large comfy rooms etc.

If you go onto Booking.com you can browse what is available and see facilities, price and distance from the port. It has always worked well for us.