Groovybusybee

Pryia - the drive is very easy, motorway nearly all the way.

It takes us about five hours including a break, usually around Birmingham. Previously we have always driven down the day before and stayed in a hotel at the docks. However, for our upcoming cruise in May we are just going to get up early, plan to leave the house by 5/6am and drive down. We figure that early Saturday morning in May shouldn't be too bad traffic wise, not sure I would be so laid back about the traffic if it was peak school holidays.

Deb

Yep, 200 lb per person.

On our first cruise departing Southampton my husband reminded me that 'that's a limit of 200 lbs each - not a target!' As he packed yet more stuff into the car.

I will admit to taking 17, yes 17 pairs of shoes! As someone who normally travels hand luggage only the luxury of not having to think about the weight restriction went to my head. Needless to say, the vast majority of what I took came home again unworn!

Deb

There is a minimum age for a child to get off the ship by them selves.

There has been a couple of occasions when exiting the ship the I got separated from my 'baby boy' all 6'1" of him. Some people had cut in front of me in the line and when my son gave his sea pass to be processed out they wouldn't let him go without a parent present.

Although he was 17, they asked him where I was and shouted out for me to come to the front of the line to exit with him.

I find this somewhat comforting that the security people are 'on the ball'.

Debbie

We disembarked from our latest cruise on the 11th July 2014.

Tonight I received via e-mail a very detailed ports visited questionnaire from Celebrity.

Now I enjoyed our cruise, it was memorable but seriously Celebrity you want me to comment on the cleanliness of ports, availability of Celebrity tours and Celebrity shuttles some seven months later?? I'd say my memory is fairly good but this is ridiculous!

In fact I thought it had been sent i error until I read it more closely, they quoted the correct embarkation date and yet still referred to my recent cruise.

If they think seven months is recent that perhaps explains why they take so long to respond at any questions!

Handbags!

Never been on a cruise when I didn't see at least one that caught my eye.

Deb

You have a fantastic holiday planned, I hope it exceeds your expectations, I am very envious.

I'm curious, do you always get off the ship and fill your port days with activity or does it get to the point when you are visiting repeat ports that you stay on board?

Deb

On our very first cruise (thomson - a small UK line) there was a jigsaw room adjacent to the library.

I absolutely loved this quiet space, at the beginning of the cruise they placed an 8000 piece jigsaw, which I thought would never get completed.

It was interesting to see that as the cruise progressed how it took shape. As well as hardened jigsaw fans you saw people come in, complete a couple of pieces and then leave. Suffice to say that in less than a week it was complete.

I thought it was a really good idea and worked well with a library.

Deb

.......don't be surprised when no one asks to see them!

I have cruised extensively with my son who has a different surname to me. Every cruise I go with all the necessary paperwork including original birth certificates and my marriage license as detailed in the cruise Terms and conditions. As we were recently in Alaska on the Solstice visiting Canada I also had the required letter from his father agreeing to him entering a Canada with me.

In all those cruises I have only been asked for the documentation once, and that was at Southampton our home port!

However, I would never risk not taking them. Fortunately he turns 18 next month so I won't have to bother in future.

Deb

Labor day is when North Americans celebrate the final day of the great vowel famine.

After this all vowels are available....

Love this comment.

D

Well the advantage of being 9 hours ahead time wise was that this didn't feel like an early start - we were already up!

I can't comment re the music or any hard sell by waiters as we got off the ship and didn't return until the ship was tied up in Juneau. Our trip was late getting back, due to seeing so much wildlife! We saw a young black bear on the return trip so the captain let us watch him for 20/30 minutes.

This trip was the highlight of the trip for me, eagles, harbour seals, whales, bear and the glacier calving - everything I went to Alaska to see!

Brent Nixons talks were fantastic - do not miss. I didn't enjoy Miss Amanda's as much but still good.

Yes, I did complete me on line questionnaire and reported our experiences. One unexpected positive of our MDR experience is that now I am home again (we tagged another week on in Canada) is that I weighed myself yesterday morning, I have lost 3.5 lbs - every cloud has a silver lining! :)

D

With the exception of the female singer who sang ( or should that be screeched) every night in the atrium area before late seating dinner, it was good.

The jazz type band and singer who played later in the atrium were very good.

The shows we saw were pretty standard Celebrity fare, Dad particularly enjoyed the magician. We tried to get to Sin City but a 9 hour time difference and fresh air didn't mix well - we were usually back in our cabins by 11pm.

D

Sorry but we didn't attend. Our roll call was very quiet only 80 odd posts, I'm not sure that there were enough people registered to trigger a party.

Regards Debbie

Hi Folks,

Here's the link to my review

A good cruise, but not great.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=258595

Regards Debbie

We have just got off the Solstice, three generations holidaying together.

On most nights at least one in our party had the NY strip off the everyday side of the menu. Not once did we receive what I would call a good steak, in fact we gave up after day four.

My father, an elderly british gentleman, was heard to mutter that he had had tougher steak, but that it had been during the war! Being British he didn't send it back, but did inform the waiter that it wasn't good.

Food, is such a subjective issue, and whilst I think that the buffet, cafe Bacio etc are still serving excellent quality food, I really do think that the cutting of quality can be seen and felt in the MDR. We had some good meals in the MDR but for the very first time we also encountered mediocre and downright nasty (usually fish) dishes.

I had fully intended to book a transatlantic whilst on board, but the quality of the MDR and the cutting of other things have made me hesitate. At this point of time I'm not sure about booking again, maybe we need a break from cruising for a little while.

We depart home on Tuesday for Fridays sailing, we are all getting pretty excited.

Do you recall if there was any offers on laundry, such as a bag for x dollars?

We are travelling for three weeks and will need a 'pitstop' clothing wise.

Thanks Debbie

Whilst I assume that most ladies would cover their shoulders, and men remove their hats when entering a church, some churches in Europe don't let ladies in wearing shorts. Please be aware that some churches, especially in Italy and Greece ban women wearing shorts.

Likewise, in mosques you should be without shoes and some expect women to wear the burka, although this was on a Middle East cruise and I'm not sure Celebrity sail these intineries?

Regards Debbie

Whilst this doesn't help get your Aunt and service animal directly into the UK, I can confirm that other lines do carry dogs.

We have a home in Southern Spain and use Brittany Ferries to sail from the UK to Spain, some ships have a specific kennel deck as all dogs are allowed not just service dogs. It's a common sight to see dogs on all the cross channel crossings between the UK and Spain and France.

Could this be an alternative for your Aunt, a TA terminating in a European port then a quick crossing across the channel, or even Eurostar?

Debbie

I have had a similar experience, my husband ordered one of the drinks off the menu, as I don't really drink I requested something, I can't remember what and was very rudely told no. We were the only people in the bar, the bar tender just said you either have something off the list or nothing. No directing to another bar or anything. It was at the beginning of our first Celebrity cruise and we didn't know the policy of the bar.

I wouldn't say I was upset by his attitude, I'm not that kind of person, but his rudeness did make me feel uncomfortable. My husband drank up fairly quickly and we went elsewhere, suffice to say we didn't go back! It didn't ruin our cruise and we received such superb service from other staff on the ship I can clearly see it wasn't usual Celebrity service, but it does stick out in my memory. It has put us both off ever trying the bar again, not the policy per se, just the staff attitude in implementing that policy.

Afterwards I did ask my husband what he thought of the actual cocktail.......his assessment was that it's what you can get in an upmarket city cocktail bar at home but without the attitude! :):)

Deb

Whilst I personally wouldn't use a British style pub I can see its attractions to many others.

I too am a bit stumped at British tapas style food........I do hope that they plan authentic British pub snacks, I'm sure you would all enjoy the culinary delights of a pickled egg, bag of salt and vinegar crisps or for the real foodies a bag of mixed nuts! :):)

All served with authentic warm beer. Actually I'm serious about the beer......it shouldn't be cold.

Debbie

Hi,

My name is Debbie and I live in the UK. In July we are travelling to Seattle to board Celebrity Solstice to Alaska.

I am travelling with my parents. Mum has limited mobility and will be travelling with her manual wheelchair. She also uses a scooter at home and we are thinking about hiring a scooter for her to use on the ship, this would give her increased independence when we may be off the ship during excursions etc.

Has anyone had experience of hiring a scooter on a ship? Any personal recommendations?

Also, she is booked into a normal cabin, would there be room in a non accessible cabin for storage of the scooter overnight etc?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Regards Debbie

My mum has similar mobility issues.

You will find that when you use wheelchair assistance at airports, railways stations etc in the UK there will be designated personnel who will push the chair leaving you free to handle luggage.

We usually hang as much bags etc as possible on the wheelchair, Mum gets pushed and Dad moves the luggage.

I can't comment on Paris, but London and British Isles can be negotiated with wheelchairs with a little prior planning. It's true that many of the historic sites were built before ADA regulations but most places, including rail and tube stations, have had lifts etc installed.

I'm not sure when you plan to visit, or your particular interests, but we took Mum for a trip around Buckingham Palace last year, she was treated like a Queen and everything was perfectly accessible in a wheelchair you just had to let them know your needs when you book the tour tickets.

I hope that this helps, it can be done but plan, plan, plan.

With best wishes for a fantastic trip

Debbie

Many UK schools break up for Easter on April 4th, so there may be some Brit families aboard.

D

It seems a bit odd to try to enforce timed boarding , what happens when the Celebrity organised transfers arrive? People from all potentially every deck arriving together on one bus? How on earth could they enforce timed boarding in these circumstances?

My guess is that whilst they would like to stagger the times people arrive to board, they won't turn people away who arrive at a different time.

D

Hi Gordon

I can't help with your specific question re Eclipse medical centre, but when we were stranded in mainland Spain due to the Icelandic ash cloud I had a similar issue.

I needed to get an INR check for my mother who was on warfarin. I found it really easy to do, much easier than at home on the NHS. I found that most pharmacies had a machine and were able to provide an almost immediate result. We just rang the result through to her NHS hospital at home and adjusted her dose as required. We repeated this three or four times until the airlines started flying again and we got home.

Now, I'm assuming that the Eclipse is in the Caribbean and whilst it's not mainland Spain I can't believe that they wouldn't have facilities to get an INR in every port of call. I realise it would cost a bit in phone calls to check the dose but it can be done and you can have a plan 'B'.

I do hope that you can get this sorted with special needs dept before you leave, just to put your mind at rest. I hope you have a great, relaxing holiday.

Debbie

Rain..........I'm afraid it's the price you have to pay for all that beautiful green countryside. :):)

I live in the west of England, we also experience much more rainfall than the East, sometimes it feels like we need webbed feet, but on the upside our green countryside is spectacular.

Deb