April29

The air conditioning on The Bus is freezing !

The cruise line transfer is $ 47 per person per direction.

Your return flight must depart from 12:30 pm onwards from IAH or 12 pm onwards from HOU.

The PRE hotel is the Hotel Galvez which includes transfer from the hotel to the ship for $ 158 per person.

There is no cheap way to the pier.

I have also used Super Shuttle and their ExecuCar division (limos & town cars). Runs about 150.00 plus tip to the driver. An extra 2.00 for second person.

You will need to make up a dummy flight for the arrival transfer if you are going back to the airport the next day.

The Pan Pacific will be a lot more central to the transportation for the attractions you listed.

The Hampton Inn includes a free breakfast but is about a 15 - 20 minute walk to the Pan Pacific.

Disney raises the price as the sailing date approaches.

Best price is more than 6 months prior to departure.

You can book a room that holds 3 & say that there may be a 3rd guest.

However, you'll need to cancel before final payment if you need to cancel 1 room.

Just call your credit card company & tell them that your credit card statement doesn't match the onboard bill at the end of the cruise.

My credit card company disputed the charge & gave me an automatic refund.

Tipping included.

Just read this under New Cruisers ( which they should post on the home page ) dated Feb 12 - Mar 15, 2014.

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In desperate need of a cruise countdown :)

Jenn

Community Support

help@cruisecritic.com

Just read this under New Cruisers: ( which they should put on the homepage ): dated Feb 12 - Mar 15, 2014.

Boards and Search Functionality

We apologize for the delay in Cruise Critic enjoyment. We feel your pain! While our boards were not functional, the other sections of our site were up and running. We do hope that you were able to get your cruise fix by looking at our news, member reviews, and other sections of our site.

We did have to roll back the forums just a bit so you may notice that some posts are not visible. We encourage you to re-post if you can.

Also, Just a note that search is still being worked on, so it is not functional at the moment. This will also effect certain options on the App, such as Participated Threads, Unread Threads, New Threads and the like.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to email.

__________________

In desperate need of a cruise countdown :)

Jenn

Community Support

help@cruisecritic.com

Can someone from Cruise Critic please comment on the NEW POSTS button ?

I like to read an overview, not anything specific.

Yes, I had my eye on a cruise for Sep 2013.

I booked the flights in June when they went on sale.

Then I booked the cruise on July 12...8 weeks out.

But if I had waited until July 25...they had a balcony gty sale

Then I checked every week & the best price was 2 weeks out.

I'd also be interested as we are on the Apr 26 sailing.

All guests must complete a Guest Information Form & medical form.

Booked guests can go to www.silversea.com, My Voyage (top of page), enter your booking number, your name and follow the prompts and directions to complete.

Thanks for the review.

We are on the Allure Western for this NYE & I was waiting for this.

Thanks...this was a very informative review covering all aspects of the cruise.

Thank you for this informative review...I haven't seen too many Western reviews.

Thank you for scanning all this information...it's professional quality !

Hi Terry,

Glad to see you're reporting from this cruise.

I have friends attending a medical conference onboard.

G'Day !

Yay !

Next they need to ban smoking on balconies so non-smokers can enjoy the balcony.

The Radisson is right inside the airport.

However, many cruise lines use this hotel & dayrooms may be unavailable.

Try between9and5 dot com for a list of available hotels.

Yes, I love your new hairstyle.

It really suits you.

You could take a one-way cruise from Vancouver to Honolulu or vice versa.

Cruise lines offer this in May before they start the Alaska season

OR

in September after the Alaska season.

I think Celebrity & Royal Caribbean offer this.

Try Celebrity Century or Solstice & Royal Caribbean Radiance or Rhapsody.

OR

Holland America offers cruises Panama Canal re-positioning cruises from Vancouver to Florida/vice versa; again before & after the Alaska season.

Hit the Beach

Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and Venice Beach are all less that 10 miles from the airport. Head to the closest, Manhattan, by hopping on the red Ocean Express bus that runs past most of the LAX hotels on Century Boulevard, or by jumping in a cab. Once you’re done sunning yourself on the clean and well-groomed sandy beach, you can take a stroll down the 928-foot pier and visit the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium at the end. The beach also has a two-mile-long pedestrian only walkway, a bike path, volleyball nets, and several good surfing spots. If you are here in summer, you might even catch the International Surf Festival.

If you have some extra space in your luggage, you might want to hit some of the clothing, jewelry, and gift stores around Manhattan Beach, otherwise you can finish up your layover with a snack from North End Caffe (featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) or a hand-made ice cream from The Manhattan Beach Creamery.

The Encounter Restaurant

While you are unlikely to have the meal of your life here, The Encounter Restaurant is worth visiting once for the spacey decor and views of planes taking off and landing. The restaurant opened in 1961 and looks just the way the 1960s pictured the future – lots of UFO-shaped lava lamps and space-age design. As well as the kitschy surroundings, you can enjoy a menu of steak and seafood, as well as some retro looking, and very brightly colored, cocktails. The restaurant is right outside the airport (just walk outside, you can’t miss it) so you don’t have to worry about missing your flight – as long as you take it easy on the cocktails.

Downtown Los Angeles

Two places you should be able to get to are the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Little Tokyo. You can get to downtown on the metro (take the green line from the airport, then change to the silver) but if time is tight, jump in a taxi.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall is worth the trip purely for its stainless steel deconstructionist, Frank Gehry-designed building (above). From the concert hall it is just a short stroll to Little Tokyo, where you can take your pick from around 100 restaurants. Try takoyaki (fried round dumplings filled with octopus) from Mitsuru Cafe, or ramen from Daikokuya.

How timely !

I read this yesterday:

http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/free-business-class-tickets/