alicat58

I beg to differ with @perakcruiser on this one. Our "shuttle" included entry to Virgin Mary's house and the trip up the mountain( 12 euro pp), entrance to Ephesus(apparently 40 Euros) and entrance to the Terrraced houses(? 15 euros). Then the trip the the temple of Artemis(free and would happily have skipped that (also apparently one of the seven wonders of the ancient world) and the trip to the pottery which is one of the World heritage craft places. We also had a very good guide who usually does bible groups. You can walk from the port and catch a minibus and pay in Turkish Lira for very little. It will stop at the bottom end of the Ephesus site. Then get your tickets and walk up the hill to the top gate and exit there and get the minibus back. The minibus is a local public transport from what I can see. We very rarely do arranged excursions but for us this made sense and it was about half the price the one Celebrity offered. Alicat

Been on the Splendida in the Red sea. Lovely ship. I can highly recommend Ephesisshuttle.com for a visit to Ephesus. I think we paid something like $65 pp. There were 7 of us on a minibus. We went to the house of the virgin Mary, Ephesus, the terraced houses(Hubby did as I couldn't do the uneven stairs down), some or other temple with one pillar standing(can't remember) and then visited a pottery making place. It was very good and we even bought a vase/pot for our new kitchen. Our guide was Emray. We were on Celebrity Infinity so our ports were otherwise different from yours. Have a great time. Alicat

Notamermaid Thanks for all the info. I followed last year when we were going on Avalon from Budapest and we were lucky that it rained prior to our departure in early August because the water levels were very low prior to that. Now I'm once again following hoping for the water levels on the Danube to drop before we go on Avalon Envision (same as last year) again. Different direction and some different stops. @Yorkieboy1972 what a hellish experience on Tui Isla. We were on her 31/3 for a week on the Rhine. If we did not have such a fantastic time on Avalon I would have also said never again. Prior to booking I watched some videos and a Youtuber noted the issue with the aircon but she sailed when it was much colder. Thank goodness we had a "balcony" because we left the doors open at night. The dining room was unbearable. The service and attitude on the boat/ship a massive issue. The chef left midway through the cruise, as did another member of staff. Lots of apologies(excuses) from Jean. The food was mediocre. We paid for the drinks package and found the wines to be below par. Same issues with docking at the cheapest possible spots. We were supposed to start in Amsterdam with an overnight and ended in Zaandam. I know they are supposed to be budget but looking at specials on better lines is not costing us anymore and we have excursions included. Alicat

Ignore me, I found you and subscribed.

What is your channel called? I'd like to watch your videos. Alicat

Hi Jim Thanks. Got it! No mention of my two favourites anywhere though. I like an Aperol spritz or a Hugo spritz. Nevermind. By the way on page 38 of your Singapore to Downunder trip. Longterm lurker. Alicat(aka Riana)

Hi Jim, how do you do that i.e. look at the current sailing of the ship. We are going on Infinity in february.

Thanks for the info but for some reason there are no bar menus showing. We will just see how we get on.

Thanks I will have a look.

Hi cruisestitch Where on the app please. I can find the meals menus but baffled where to look for the drinks. I'm a bit of a tech disaster I'm afraid.

I would appreciate if anyone could post some current bar menus to give me an idea what is available. We have the classic package which seems quite limited. We have mainly wine and like a coffee. Thanks for any help. Alicat

Thanks for your review. I love your child's comments about the lifts. We have made it a private joke about those going up when they meant to go down. Oh, and pushing the up and down buttons!

Not sure how I could not quote your whole post but WOW! you got a refund for that Saudi day. We had TWO on Splendida in December. Like you we organised ourselves prior to getting into Saudi waters and toasted them off out balcony watching that self same tower in Jeddah. Felt a bit like naughty kids but hey-ho. Those were the worst ports ever. Enjoying your posts Bea.

I have no idea. I mix my left and right up all the time so no idea which is which. I think our cabin had an even number. In Yahnbar we had a nice view towards the restaurant area where all the action was. Cannot remember the other ports. Sohkna looks post apocalyptic so I really do not think it matters. It was also extremely dusty out. There was a quarry or something next to the port. Sorry I cannot be of more help. Alicat

Hi stephenSJ We used a TA but they booked the MSC cruise and fly for us. Hubby found the bit about reimbursing somewhere in the small print about getting visas for this cruise. Assume it will be same for you as you are also in the UK. Might be different if booked from other countries. I doubt that he kept the info as he actually printed it out and if I remember the guest service people on the ship took the print out. Good luck finding it. I suggest you search around and take a print out with just in case they want to wriggle out of repaying you. Alicat