Travelling2Some

32 minutes ago, surfnsun said:

I've had pretty good luck with guarantee cabins and sometimes you don't know even without a guarantee.  Not much wakes me up on a cruise, but our neighbor this time wasn't very easy on the ears when shutting the cabin door.  Didn't keep us from enjoying our cruise!  Have a fun, safe trip and I'm happy to answer any additional questions!

We had one of those last time and, unfortunately, they kept late hours.  I think many new cruisers do not realize that cabin doors are heavy and naturally slam hard enough to shake the cabins next door if you don't hold back on them.  Might be a good idea for the cruise lines to publish this in the dailies or make a few announcements about it in the first day or two of the cruise.

Someone posted recently that security took a small manicure scissors (part of a set) away from them at boarding.  It was kind of funny since he pointed out that steak knives are readily available onboard.  It is useful to have a knife or scissors in the cabin.  We bring a small blunt tipped scissors and have never had that confiscated.   

If there is an inexpensive (sometimes almost free with FAS/Latitudes discounts) shore excursion, we have booked it just to get priority tendering.  Then we let the guide know that we are going off on our own so they know not to worry about their headcount being short.

7 hours ago, MikeMary4449 said:

While not a Celebrity shuttle, you CAN take a train from Bologna to Ravenna.  In your Cruise Planner, you can book the Celebrity shuttle from the Ravenna train station to the ship.  Hope this helps.

There are frequent, direct regional (not high speed) trains from Bologna to Ravenna.  You can book local transport from Ravenna to the ship here:  https://www.visitravenna.it/en  There is a monorail directly from the Bologna airport to Bologna Centralle train station.  No need to book regional trains in advance.  They are fixed price and do not sell out.   In the past Celebrity has run shuttles to the ship from the Ravenna train station  BTW, taxis are in short supply in Ravenna on the morning any ship embarks so don't count on being able to get one.

Agree that Cadiz required no shuttle.  You are docked right in the heart of town and just walk off the ship.  Spain Day Tours (spaindaytours.com) does shore excursions in both Spain and Portugal and is very reliable.

1 hour ago, pghflyer said:

Even though I am not eligible, I am happy to see this - the world would be a better place if we all valued educating our children more. Still, kind of interesting for a global company to only support teachers from two of the wealthiest countries in the world. 

I think this is less about support and more about playing to a market that enjoys way more vacation time than workers in other employment sectors.

2 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Some of us actually have a strategy.  The last 3 cruises on Celebrity have netted me a hand-pay on each.  One of them even paid for our cruise!  I thought I was a sharp tack until I saw my win/loss statement when Uncle Sam put his hand out for a chunk of my winnings...lol.  Then I discovered MSC, which doesn't follow US tax laws and is not beholden to them to report passenger winnings...but I haven't won much on MSC, so there's that...🤦‍♀️

Good to know about MSC.  One of my daughters is a bit of a high roller and I will pass the word to her.  She says she has a system too and seems to do nicely in the casinos.  Made enough on her honeymoon to cover the entire cost of the cruise (and they are big spenders, not like me!)

Hah again!  You have a vivid imagination.  I travel "carry-on only" and these days my fashion look is "clean and respectable".  The "gorgeous" ship sailed quite a few years ago:)

Thanks so much.  I have so enjoyed reading your very entertaining daily reports.  Wish you safe home and many future adventures.  We are doing Ravenna to Rome on Constellation in two weeks!

1 hour ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

Ah yes so my plan to play with $10 isn’t going to cut it.  lol.  That’s my threshold on what I’m willing to throw way.  😂

Hah!  I don't gamble, buy drink packages or take ship-sponsored excursions.  To add insult to injury, I book inside cabins and watch for price drops.  I'm surprised they don't put me on some kind of a list of unprofitable passengers and hang up on me when I call to book!!!

Thanks, kwokpot.  I suspected there was "no free lunch"!

We have an acquaintance who just returned from her first cruise ever (Apex - loved it) and tells us she spent a couple of hours in the casino every day and was then offered a Sky Suite FREE for booking another cruise.  She's an honest person so doubt she is lying. Do you think she lost her shirt or what? Does Celebrity actually do this?  Makes me wonder if the folks who work in the casino report passengers who are likely to loose large sums of money in the future?  Maybe they make offers to unskilled gamblers who place large bets?  We never use the casino and have no idea what to make of this but it seems so odd after just one cruise?  What do you make of it? 

11 minutes ago, Sammy512 said:

Hi- I’m looking for anyone who has taken a shore excursion on the Cadiz port day to Tangier. I have my shore excursion set and my round trip ferry tickets from Tarifa to Tangier, but am struggling with transport from Cadiz cruise port to the ferry dock in Tarifa. My excursion company sent me some links, but they are not a huge help. 

The bus to Tarifa will take 2 hours (on a good day - (Spain public transport not known for efficiency) and then about an hour on the ferry (not counting loading/unloading/waiting for it to arrive).  Realistically, you are probably looking at at least 8 hours in transit round trip. Does not sound like fun to me.  

I've been trying to get into the website to cancel one of our shore excursions.  I'm actually a bit apprehensive because I did that (by phone) a few years ago and instead of cancelling the excursion the cancelled the entire cruise!!!  Luckily I caught the mistake right away.  Looking back, I think it might have been an language barrier issue so I won't ever cancel or change anything on the phone again. 

Yes, I can get in but if I click on anything it keeps asking me to log in again over and over.

On 5/2/2024 at 1:56 PM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

I’ve been to a clothing optional beach in St Maarten and no one, I mean NO ONE, who was nude needed to be seen without clothing 🤮

 

But the best part of the day was watching two boys, maybe 11 or 12.  They were bouncing on a big floaty th No in the water when a couple came down the beach and they both fell off because they were so distracted.  And they couldn’t get back until there fast enough for more of the show.  It was years ago and we still talk about it.

Ha! Our two young-teen aged sons slept in the morning the rest of the family went to that beach, otherwise that would have been them.  I told them that they really missed out and their father darn near got whiplash, lol.

On 5/2/2024 at 1:17 PM, 1025cruise said:

While I have no personal experience with this group, it is my understanding that they actually do dress quite well for dinner. 

That makes sense since they don't have to pack a lot of casual clothes.

The pool deck is scary enough on a regular cruise.  As for the mirrors in the elevators, that big florescent lit bathroom mirror in the stateroom bathroom is a real buzz kill when getting out of the shower but at least there are no witnesses.   

3 hours ago, AC Stew said:

For the life of me, I can't comprehend how someone could find an entire crew to be "unfriendly." That has never been our experience on this ship or any other!

 

Yes.  You know how the crew seems to quickly "pass the word" about those who tip extra? If the whole crew was being unfriendly towards me, I would think it might be negative word-of-mouth.  I'm sure they also warn each other about difficult passengers and try to stay away from them?

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

$10.95. or $10.95 + tax? And if the battery goes bad, it is cheaper to buy another watch then replace the battery. That is said from experience.

Yes, I never wear a watch except for cruises so sometimes when I take it out of the back of a drawer for a cruise it has stopped and I just buy another one.  I like the ones that light up.  I leave it in the cabin's bathroom every night so I can see what time it is without turning the light on.

8 minutes ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

I have found in some cases that the no refundable deposit is actually significantly less than trip insurance (to be fair I almost always do cancel for any reason which is higher) but for an April 2025 I believe I paid $300 for 3 of us for a deposit on a 4 night cruise in a balcony so even though it was so far out I decided it was worth booking at the rate I paid and I’m foregoing trip insurance at this time because I’m willing to lose the $300 and potentially the rest given the price of insurance (I’ve been averaging policies around $500.) Everyone has a different risk tolerance.

Yes, but there is a great deal more to trip insurance than just cancellation.  I would have to purchase insurance anyway since my primary concern in medical, not cancellation.  I think most of us can afford to loose the cost of a vacation, but uninsured medical and evacuation costs can bankrupt people!  CFAR insurance costs almost double what regular comprehensive coverage costs and only covers a max of 75 per cent of the trip. And, as I mentioned, it cannot be sold in NY State.

We would really like to book with Celebrity again but these very high non-refundable deposits are a bit crazy.  I like to book very early but having large sums at risk for long periods is too worrisome.  I buy trip insurance right away, which mitigates some of the anxiety, but there is too much that can happen in a year and a half.  Insurance does not cover all reasons for cancellation, especially since we live in NY, a state that does not allow CFAR (cancel for any reason) insurance to be sold.  I have never used a travel agent and don't want to.  Much as I would like to book another Celebrity cruise their deposit policy makes it a no-go.   

In our experience one of the MDRs has always been open for lunch at embarkation.  If you are automatically directed towards the buffet just smile, say you are exploring the ship and proceed to the MDR area.  It is always uncrowded since few seem to know about it.  Very nice start to the cruise.

15 hours ago, roddy good boy said:

I need to consider this for our Mediterranean cruise. My kids gifted me an Apple Watch this last Christmas. Not only am I still trying to figure the thing out, the notion of trying to insure it synch’s with the ship’s and local times is daunting! 

My loved ones keep "threatening" to get me a new phone.  I still haven't figured out the old one!  I remember buying my parents a microwave, which they used only as a fancy breadbox.  Now I'm that age and I can relate!

11 hours ago, Levanah said:

And from yet another senior couple, we are watching these port cancellations carefully.  We have cruised with NCL exclusively, but there are still destinations/ports we want to see.  We are still healthy, but as seniors, our cruising window is closing.  If we have to move to another line to see the places we want to experience, we will do so.  Even as we have made it to Sapphire.  

 

I do hope NCL is listening.

Yes, we also hope they are listening and will re-think what has obviously become a deliberate corporate policy.  Many of us could loose our ability to travel overnight with one bad diagnosis which, unfortunately, will turn up sooner or later.  Delivering bucket list destinations is important in this context.  We prefer cruising and enjoy our perks but now consider land options more often because the itineraries have become so unreliable and the destinations are the most important thing to us.