Travelling2Some

Thanks very much. That is a very convenient drop off point for Seville sightseeing. Anybody have experience with the Granada drop off?

We have booked NCL's "On Your Own" shore excursions to both Seville and Grenada. Would love to know what the drop off/pick up point will be so we can better plan our sightseeing. Has anyone who has taken these NCL excursions advise? TIA

We just got $1,000 ($500 each) in FCC to be used on a future cruise in the next two years. I called our PCP at NCL to ask if we could move up to a better cabin. That math didn't actualy work out (my mistake) but she very helpfully offered to make an email request for FCC since the price of our inside cabin had dropped considerably. She said it could take a week or so to hear from them but we got the email approving the FCC the same day. Very happy as I wasn't expecting much since we were well past final payment.

I got it too. The information could be a tad more specific, lol. "Europe" is a pretty big place and they are not really telling us what the real problem is. Big surprise there, of course, lol. Historically, the only place I remember being very prone to mosquitos on previous trips was Florence. Screens never really caught on in Europe though, so if you are staying at a B&B or charming inn, that is good to know.

This is a very annoying NCL thing. I understand they don't want people booking overlapping excursions (are we really that dumb?) but there must be a better way. On the one hand, you feel pressure to book a popular excursion well in advance but I think most of us still want to be able to see if something we would have preferred pops up later.

Agree! We enjoyed Warnemunde so much that we didn't even bother going into Rostock. Lovely little seaside town and you just walk off the ship into it so no stress. Given the breathtaking price of NCL's excursion to Berlin (and the prospect of most of the day wasted in transit) I would rather take that money and use it for a couple of nights in a Berlin hotel either before or after the cruise as Traveling Man suggested.

"Small Group Hiking in Paklenica National Park" is offered by Celebrity from the port of Zadar, Croatia. Has anyone done this excursion or heard comments about it from fellow passengers? I can't find anything definite about it. Specifically, how strenuous is it? Thanks for any info. I booked it but having second thoughts.

"Small Group Hiking in Paklenica National Park" is offered by Celebrity from the port of Zadar, Croatia. Has anyone done this excursion? I can't find anything definite about it. Specifically, how strenuous is it? Thanks for any info. I booked it but having second thoughts.

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.

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.

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.

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!)