mom2mnem

We decided to use a local tour guide for our trip to Marseilles. We used a gentleman named Robert Dahan from a site  called Tours by Locals.  He was laid back, yet engaging and we even had a little wine tasting.

Lisa

19 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

No, that's about a year out of date by now.

Thank you. was hoping that was the case.  I didn't want to mess up and not inform the rest of my family and end up running into an issue boarding.  

So I am curious as I was looking at the information about my upcoming cruise and this was part of the info on my APP

Does this still apply?

I am so glad you were ablate go on the excursion Mary Lou. It sounds like it was a nice day. I am looking forward to the whole cruise !

Lisa

I did mention in this post ( I think I forgot in the other thread) that I am getting a refund, but also $110 in pre-cruise credits.

7 hours ago, dmrrn73 said:

I booked this tour for our October cruise and just in the last few days received an email that the tour  operator notified them that for "operational reasons" the tour had to be discontinued. They gave me a refund and then a 15% discount towards booking something else for that port. I don't know if it was just for our cruise or totally discontinued. 

Interesting.  I received an email  this week stating my tour is cancelled with no explanation.  I guess I know why now. I am getting a refund but they also added $110 in on board credits for pre-cruise purchases which is pretty useless since my cruise is in 2 weeks so pretty much all other excursions are full and and I already have everything else taken care of. 

10 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

This is setting off alarm bells. I have been reading some very questionable things about Venture Ashore -- for example this:

 

 

I know it's late in the game but I would advise you to look for a different option.

Hmmm that's interesting. I was booked on these tours through my travel agent and now I am worried. So far anytime I emailed or called them I was able to get an immediate response and I do have my excursion vouchers. UGH. With 2 weeks to go I am now questioning everything 

Mis type. Ooops ignore this.  I can’t delete it. 

Thank you for the insight.  That was the only excursion I booked via RCI because of the swimming at the marina. The rest of our tours are through Venture Ashore. After a full week of sightseeing and the hustle and bustle of Rome , I figured it was a good way to relax and get my daughter to a beach. My daughter spent a semester abroad in Northern Italy and in those 4 months managed to pack in the major sites up and down the coast. We are already duplicating a lot of what she has seen in Florence area and Rome area.  I am a nervous traveler when it comes to time schedules and don’t want to chance missing the ship. My friends got stuck on the train in Rome and had a near miss, so I would definitely not do this on my own but would rather a tour company. I am going to be researching tonight as it is getting too close for comfort and so much is already booked up. RCI added a $110. Onboard credit….. for pre cruise purchases.  Of course with 2 weeks to go i have already purchased everything I wanted to. 

I don’t know that you decided or if you are still making the decision, but I was just notified this morning that Royal Caribbean cancelled our Gulf of Naples  and Amalfi Coast tour on July 7. My daughter wanted at least one beach day and was really looking forward to time swimming in Capri with that tour. 

I am following to see if you get replies. My daughter wanted at least 1 beach day on our vacation. This came closest since she will be able to swim in Capri. We were just curious how it works with attire. If we go swimming and are wet and in swim attire, will there be someplace for us to change into more appropriate, dry clothes for the rest of the tour.

Lisa

Closed toe shoes for the I-FLY and glow sticks from the $ store.

Socks for the IFLY as well. A group that was in our time slot, not only showed up late, a couple of them had flip flops on. They were told that shoes could be borrowed , but they must also have socks.

Lisa

Wifi: depends on who is cruising. DH likes to have wifi so he can be accessible if an emergency arises at work. I have 3 teens....would they survive if I didn't get wifi? They would have to. Would my vacation be more pleasant if they had wifi..most definitely. When we left for our cruise, it was a day after my mom was released from the hospital after a week stay for unexpected surgery. I wanted to be connected just in case. Only you can really answer the wifi question.

I Fly and Northstar..... how long is your cruise? Ours was 5 day so there were less days to get on these. We did I Fly on our first full sea day ( we were able to pre book) People kept coming in asking if there were openings and were told there was a 4 page waiting list. Book as soon as you get on the ship, if possible.

As for Northstar..they take groups of 14. When it was our time slot , there were 12 ahead of us so we couldn't get on that round. They took 2 from the stand by line to complete the group. Try to get your reservation, but if you can't then you may still have a chance on the stand by line..especially if you aren't a large group or are willing to split your group.

I am sorry, I don't have answers on the rest.

Lisa

Thank you for the review and tips on the Anthem. You have a lovely family and it looks like you all had a lot of fun together.

 

The pictures were beautiful - makes me anticipate my turn in December.

 

Thanks again!

 

Donna in NJ

Thank you! We do have fun when we are together....not too much of that now that they are older and so independent.

Enjoy your upcoming cruise. December will be here before you know it!

Lisa

Did you feel a lot of movement in your cabin location?

 

I have similar location, but on the port side of deck 9. Usually we like a

mid-ship or aft cabin - but I wanted to be near the forward elevator for

the solarium, theater and music hall.

Thanks for the info and picture!

 

Donna in NJ

Unfortunately the first 2 days we felt a lot of rocking throughout the ship. It stopped mid evening on our 2nd day. We overheard a concierge tells his group that on the Quantum class ships you feel the rocking more than on the Oasis class ships. When we spoke to our waiter later in the evening he said that there usually isn't much rocking, but that on this day he woke up feeling it as well. We did have some gray skies and chilly weather when we left so the oceans could have been a bit angry. Once the rocking stopped that evening, we never felt it again at all.

Lisa

Was 9550 or 9552 a larger balcony?were they noisy?

They were just regular balconies. Since we had 2 we were able to open the balcony divider tho. No noise at all.

Lisa

We were on the 5 day Anthem and had 9552 and 9550. Close to elevator.

View from our balcony:

Lisa

Now that you have Dynamic Dining choice, make sure you remember to make your dinner reservations as soon as you can.

Lisa

I love the different art all over the ship. My second cruise. First was Carnival Breeze. This ship is big and beautiful and doesn't feel crowded at times. So many activities there is no way to do it all. I do hate the smoking section by the pool and it is very hard to avoid it.

 

 

Too funny!! We did Allure first in 2013, then Breeze in 2014. We were just off the 5 day Anthem 7/9-7/14. Reading your review and it sounds like everything we experienced is pretty similar......including trying to avoid the smoking area. LOL.

 

Lisa

I was just checking the compasses that are posted. they are a bit different from the ones we had on our sailing. We had booked shows and the times were changed...not sure which times are reflected on the above compasses. They have the welcome aboard show listed at 745, ours was 730. They had a note to move clocks ahead on day 1, our warning about moving the clocks ahead was listed on the day 2 compass.

Lisa

I don't know if this will work, but it is a link to cruise compasses from the 5 day.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1AsSoQXHJFHUVBmb2pYeTZXQlU/view?pref=2&pli=1

i it doesn't work, look for a review from capitalkyle all the compasses are posted there

Lisa

We just wandered around the ship listening for the sounds of music . If something caught our ear we went in. Most of the venues are concentrated on deck 4 and 5 and you can hear music as you walk. ( Michaels pub, schooner bar, boleros etc..) I don't know if they will be there when you sail, but we happened to pass by the Royal Theater one night around 9 and there was a group called Edge Effect listed. We went in and they were fantastic. 270 had a Journey cover band that played a couple of times during our sail. They were also very good. Definitely keep an eye on the compass. There was a comedian. He was at the Welcome aboard show and was going to be having an adult only show later that evening. I don't remember if he had another show later in the week. We missed it tho. We were exhausted and the rocking of the boat was getting to us.

Lisa

They are 23 and 25, with their own job obligations. We figure soon we can get them back as a free vacation sounds good to them. It was much easier when school was the only factor. Anyway, yes the waves are calling

Perfect ages for you to go and have fun without them!

Lisa

You have a beautiful family. Thanks for the review. Sailing Anthem in two weeks. My sons are not coming. We used to cruise every year. But they grew up on me! Still can't wait for the day when no land's in site. Thanks again for y.our review.

Thank you!

We are looking forward to the day the kids don't join us! We really do like having them tho. When we were planning this vacation I knew there would be a possibility my oldest would have conflicts. He said he would rather quit his job than give up our vacation. They love to travel. DH and I have had an occasional overnight getaway. These days with social media, a 17 yr old son with a girlfriend and a 15 yr old girl just discovering the high school social scene there is no way on earth we would leave them alone. One tweet or snapchat or whatever and its party central. It's unfortunate , but I have seen and heard too much of it happen.

Enjoy you cruise and your time with your husband! I miss the sound of the waves already!

Lisa

Thanks for the review and the casino tip for the early 20s. Do you remember the time for the Welcome Aboard show? Thanks

If you kids enjoy sports have them look on the compass for the adult tournaments like 3 v 3 basketball, dodgeball, ping pong. They may meet others their age there as well. My boys started on the basketball courts on embarkation day. My middle son pretty much has that as his home base. My oldest son likes it but not enough to stay all day. Put in a batting cage ,however, and you would be fighting him for usage time! Lol. Most of the court kids were older teens around 15-18. My oldest had signed up for boot camp and yoga. Boot camp conflicted with some of the adult tournaments so he only did dodge ball but he said it was fun.

Most of all...enjoy your cruise!!

Lisa