dolfans0704

I have 7040 reserved on the Jewel for our West Coast sailing in 9/2015. From what I have read, this cabin has an extended balcony and is not obstructed by the lifeboats. I know that the extended part of the balcony is not very private due to a lower separator but don't think this will bother us. We usually enjoy the larger space on afts but the price was very good on this category when we booked. Figure we would try something new and very close to the elevator!

Dolfans from Miami

We used Santorini Private Tours. We were a group of 24 and Private Santorini Tours did an excellent job in ensuring a fabulous day for our port stop. They set up a water taxi to get us to/from the tender port so not to waste any of our precious time waiting in lines for the cable car. We visited Santos Winery, Anna's Roadside Stand, the famous Blue-Domed church and plenty of free time for lunch and walking around Oia. Best port stop of our cruise! A special thank you to John and Nick for making our visit a memorable one!

http://www.privatesantorinitours.com

Dolfans from Miami

Great - thanks!

No problem. We love the fiesta. Always a great time! Have fun on your cruise. :)

Dolfans from Miami

Looking at planning for our upcoming Allure cruise. There are 6 of us going, but only 2 plan to purchase the alcohol package.

 

I know that Rita's Fiesta has 2 prices, one for alcoholic drinks and one for non-alcoholic. If you purchase the drink package are you charged the non-alcoholic price?

When you make your reservation, pick the non alcoholic package if you have a drink card. You will be charged for the reservation fee you select.

Dolfans from Miami

Vancouver Trolley Schedule, Map etc. (others go basically to the same places, but you need to get off their buses inside Stanley Park and transfer to a different bus for the in-park sights - Groupons are available sometimes for Big Bus that does this though, so you may find a cheaper rate is worth the inconvenience of transferring).

Thank you for the info. One question...even though the trolley does not offer their dedicated Stanley Park route after September 1st, does the regular route offered all year still travel through the park and make a few stops? I am hoping to use it during our visit mid September and go to the aquarium and see the totem poles. Greatly appreciate your help! :)

Dolfans from Miami

Perfect! Thanks everyone for the info! We will take a cab to/from the bridge to the hatchery and utilize the free shuttle to/from the bridge from the Hyatt.

Dolfans from Miami

Dolfans: The hatchery is at 49.355188,123.109753 on google earth or google maps. The bridge is at 49.342732,123.113940

 

 

 

They are a mile apart but its up and down hill. We live here and I think the hatchery is so much nicer and better value. It's free, uncrowded and there are pleasant , cool trails along the river.

Thank you so much for the info, Earl. Sounds wonderful! Unfortanetly, we will not be renting a car and were planning on doing the free shuttle to the bridge from the Hyatt. It may be a little difficult to walk if it is hilly. Is there any cabs available at the bridge or public transportation that would go there from the bridge that you know of? Would love to visit if workable. Thanks!

Dolfans from Miami

Hi BChappygal

Thanks for all the info. Do you know if the hatchery is by the bridge? Is it accessible by foot or is transportation needed?

Dolfans from Miami

The last couple of cruises on Radiance class ships that we sailed (Brilliance and Serenade) the smoking area was on the starboard side. Not sure if this changes on different ships within the class/fleet. Allure was starboard as well I believe.

Dolfans from Miami

We used RIL in all our port stops in Italy a couple of weeks ago and it was the best decision we made. All the guides/drivers were very courteous and attentive. We were several groups of 14 which included a driver and a seperate guide for Florence/Pisa (Lurica), Rome (Nicol) and Pompeii/Almalfi Coast (Costanza). The guides we had were all very knowledgable and really put forth great efforts in making sure our visit to Italy was memorable. Way to go RIL! No hesitation in recommending them! :)

We were on Brilliance last year for our Baltic cruise and there were several tables of 4 set up in the My Time Dining room overlooking the ocean. We were actually a table for 2 but since we ate so late, they often sat us at one of these tables for 4. Very nice! Hopefully they will have the same configuration for your sailing. Check with the Maître'd and put in your request on boarding day. You should have no problem. Loved the ship! Enjoy your cruise.

Dolfans from Miami

You could look down into the water from our cabin. My pictures are sunny but I think it was covered. It only had the two loungers. I was remembering our aft on Freedom right after this cruise on Legend that had two chairs and two loungers.

Nice pic! Thanks for posting. I have 7630 on hold for the 11 night Southern Caribbean in February. I think I will jump on it! :)

Dolfans from Miami

We had an aft on deck 7 (7132) in January and it was great. Two loungers and 2 chairs. There is no obstruction to the view on this class ship. We were right in the center. I don't think that the corners were any better. I think that is on Radiance class. We have only sailed on Jewel and didn't have an aft.

Thank you so much for the information. It appears from the deck plans on the RCI site that the balconies bow out some as you go towards the center cabins. I wonder if that makes a difference in balcony space. It also appears the balconies get smaller as you go up in decks. We generally get the JS but from the plans, appears to be a smaller balcony than the D1's on Deck 6&7. Maybe someone else has info on this. Was there any obstruction looking down to the water from your cabin and was the balcony fully covered? Thanks so much, again!

Dolfans from Miami

A true aft cabin would be best--with the large balcony.

 

 

 

We sailed the Legend last fall and took a balcony guarantee. We ended up with the most forward cabin on deck 7. [7000] We felt we had lucked out. It was larger than the balcony cabins on deck 6.

 

 

 

The ship is not that large, so it was a little bit of a walk, but not too much.

I have never sailed on the Legend but considering booking a cruise for 2015. How do the aft cabins on the Legend compare to the Radiance class afts, do you know? Is there a more preferable deck? Are corners best? Thanks for your insight.

Dolfans from Miami

So the bellyflop contest is in the aqua theater pool? Cool, didn't know that. We have 12729.

OMG, we LOVED this cabin! And having the secret balcony steps away was great!

Dolfans from Miami

Hello all. We just ended our April 27th cruise in the Allure (booo.. is it over). I was thinking about cruise directors after this cruise; ours was Ken Rush, and I got to wondering what people thought of the cruise director effect.

 

I will be honest. After five cruises, I remember only two cruise directors. Richard Spacey on the Freedom, and now Ken Rush on the Allure.

 

While I didn't think it was important to me, I know realize I certainly did notice if they are good. I swear Ken managed to introduce or close out just about every show or event I went to on my recent Allure cruise. Same with Richard.

 

In hindsight, I guess I love it. They really make you feel like RCI gives a hoot. Crazy that one person could do that - but it's so true. I now understand why people ask about the cruise director before they sail. They make the nerd in us feel popular!

 

What do you guys think. Do the cruise directors make a difference?

 

Oh jeesh - same could be said about captains... LOVE captain Johnny!

 

 

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Loved both Ken Rush and Captain Johnny! Were you able to spot him tooling around on his Harley? Very cool! As for your question on CD's and cruises, I think it really depends on the cruise for me. A port intensive sailing such as the Med or Baltics, I really didn't care much about who the CD was. But for the Caribbean cruises, I do like a good CD. I guess we are more into ship activities and shows on the laid back itineraries. Just my opinion. :)

Dolfans from Miami

Yes, we fly to BCN in 6 days for a cruise on the 12th. Haven't been on her since 2010 when our oldest graduated college. Looking forward to 11 nights in the Med!

We can't wait! Been planning this trip for over a year and very excited. Safe travels! :)

Dolfans from Miami

We are sailing on the Serenade next week. It has been so long since we have been on the Radiance class, I don't recall if there are fridges in the staterooms. We are in a D if that makes a difference.

 

 

 

Thanks!

Yes, there is. We were on the Brilliance last year for our Baltics cruise and there was a mini bar fridge. We always have the room steward empty them so we can store our own soda/beer/water. We will be sailing the Serenade out of Barcelona on May 23rd so I think you are on the sailing right before us. Enjoy your cruise!

Dolfans from Miami

Please don't let rude responses turn you off to cruise critic. Irregardless of how many times a question may be asked - this forum is meant to help each other … not to show your nasty side.

 

Good luck with your search sissykim

 

Happy sails

 

~ Liz

Couldn't agree with you more, Liz. Well said. I find CC an invaluable tool in planning for our cruises and I am grateful to those who kindly share their travel experiences with others. Then you have the not so kind ones...and I will leave it at that!

Dolfans from Miami

Can anyone who stayed rooms close to or right next to the Rock Climbing Wall share their experience with noise coming from there. We just changed our cabin from 11315 to 11327 which is second in from the end.

 

 

 

We have stayed on this deck/stateroom type in the past and were not bothered by the noise, but don't know about this particular room due to the proximity of the Wall.

 

 

 

I know we're going to get our exercise heading to and from the room, but am hoping the change/upgrade is worth the hike and that the noise levels aren't a PITA.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance!

We just cruised on the Allure spring break and were in the last end cabin on deck 12. Loved it! We weren't bothered by the noise at all from the BW and really enjoyed having the secret balcony all to ourselves. With the door locked, it is amazing how much it cuts out the noise. Enjoy! :)

Dolfans from Miami

That's terrific you get to meet up with them! I pal'ed up with Gerald during the St. Petersburg tours. He's a very nice gentleman and Cathie was very sweet. Please give them our best. It's great to finally be in the double digit countdown! I remember saying: 400+ days till embarkation... when we were booking onboard Brilliance last May. :p

 

Happy sailing!

Yep! Cathie and Gerald our great people and I'll make sure to tell them hi from you. Time flies by for sure! Won't be much longer now! Enjoy, my friend! :)

Dolfans from Miami

Hey Dols! Earlier, Jill and I were just talking about Barcelona hotel to pier/metro transport for our cruise this coming July. I decided to check it out and lo' and behold, I see you here! Hope all is well with you and R.

Great to hear from you Brig! Things are great our way and just preparing for our upcoming Med cruise in a couple of weeks. We are actually meeting up with Gerald and Cathie from our Baltic cruise in Barcelona and trying to find out if they can use the on line tickets directly on the HOHO. We will be there post cruise and they will be on a port stop. Anyway, enjoy your cruise in July and my best to Jill! :)

Dolfans from Miami

We visited Barcelona last fall and used the red HOHO bus.

 

This is a link to a mini review of our stay in Barcelona.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1943583

 

Both of the bus companies have a stop near the Columbus statue at the top of the port.

 

This is a map of the port area. You will likely be docked at A,B, C, or D. You can see it is a long way to the entrance of the port. You can take the port shuttle. [~5 euro pp RT] If you go to the spot identified as #1 this is the traffic circle near the Columbus statue. You can get a taxi directly beside your ship.

 

Both HOHO companies are here. The city owned Bus Touristic [blue] is on the port side of the road. The red bus is located on the right side of the traffic circle as you look up Las Ramblas and across the road.

 

 

 

Having said that--if you have a few places you want to see you might want to get a taxi directly to them or take the metro. The HOHO takes around 2+ hrs to make a circuit. It is a good way to get an overview and the commentary is good. It all depends on your mobility and touring goals for the city.

 

Have a great cruise. :)

Thank you for posting the info and your review. Very helpful. I see that you purchased your tickets on line with a 10% discount. Were you able to get on the bus at the Columbus Statue with your on line tickets or did you have to exchange them at an outlet? Thanks again for your help. :)

Dolfans from Miami

No Freestyle on Serenade.

Thank you, clarea!

Dolfans from Miami

Are the Freestyle machines on Serenade yet?

Dolfans from Miami