crazyman3

It's no good pretending.... you're either trying to avoid the muster stations or you're thinking of stowing away!

We've been on a Holy Land cruise with Princess ----about 8 years ago. Our ports were Haifa and Ashod.

Bethlehem was a shock! Busy, dusty roads with lots of traffic. Concrete everywhere. The Church of the Nativity was extremely crowded and I declined a visit to the crypt.  Our guide was 'replaced' temporarily by a Palestinian guide once we crossed the border. 

The Garden of Gethsemame was tranquil. We liked the views to be had over Jerusalem from the hill. Whilst up there we visited the Church of All Nations. Very interesting.

At one point we stopped at a centre on the River Jordan and were offered a baptism as well as shopping opportunities.

We preferred Nazareth to Bethlehem and enjoyed a tour of the Basilica of the Annunciation.  

Capernaum was fascinating but the heat was getting to us...

We loved the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and I managed to take some rewarding photos there. Also, whilst in Jerusalem, we followed the route of the Stations of The Cross ----not all of them but many. 

Of course we went to the Western Wall and were fascinated by the comings and goings.

Would we go again? Probably not ----but I wouldn't rule it out!  

Our CC meet & mingle experiences on X ships have varied.

Some have been well-organised by staff and hence well-attended. I can certainly recall one which was postponed twice because the ship was in port and most people were on a tour.

On one occasion, 2016 Connie Indian Ocean, everyone brought a gift for someone else and these were exchanged ----well done to the Australian lady that organised the event!

Food and drink has varied. I tend to suspect that the smaller the gathering, the less effort is applied by X.

This also seems to be the case when recalling how many officers attended and how long they stayed.

We've sat and watched others on occasions ---- not because we are shy but because many CC guests are eager to meet up with people with whom they have corresponded or arranged tours together. That's only natural.

At times, we have chatted to other out-on-a-limbers and had some interesting conversations. I guess we have to make an effort...

We're looking forward to meeting others at the CC m & m in August this year.     

A Full Moon Party ---- interesting! Fangs very much for that. I guess the buffet will be open for a light bite... Music by Howlin' Wolf? Drinks: Bloody Mary and Zombies. 

1 hour ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

I've always struggled with the Michaels Club Concierge.  Too me this is almost a management position.  What about the Suite Manager?

I always treat the MC bar staff very well (in my opinion), not that I drink much but because I enjoy the MC atmosphere and spend quite a bit of time in the lounge and always develop a nice relationship with them.

 

Mmm... yes the MC concierge is verging on management.

This next cruise will be our sixth CS or above but we've never had a Suite Concierge. Saying that, there were two MC concierges on the Reflection in 2017. 

Well, I'm with Orator on this one!

We pre-pay gratuities and then provide something extra for those who have provided something extra.

So we will nearly always tip the Michael's Club concierge ---but with a special gift. Research about the person pays dividends!

A favourite waiter.... a cleaner.... our butler (sometimes a gift)... our room attendant.

We never tip a person in a management position. The same as in a restaurant or hotel: we tip the porter and the maid.

Here in the UK, we tip the paperboy at Christmas, we tip taxi drivers, our ironing lady at Christmas, waiters and  occasionally we add a little extra for plumbers/builders/electricians. 

There is also that extra something that is important: personal praise! I will let managers know when I have received outstanding service. 

2 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

Given to you as you check in, it is just a small card wallet with your sea passes and concierge’s card in.

Yep.

Once we made a huge error.... we put out folder from the check-in, in my pocket. (see how I share the blame!) and upon embarking the ship we were totally ignored. Still, we took ourselves to Michael's Club and we were soon in Heaven!

So, show the crew your colour-coded wallet with your documentation! 

Enjoy!

Allergies are such a headache! No, nightmare!

I have a very serious nut allergy.

Despite filling in the paperwork, despite meeting with the 'right' people, I was served nuts twice in one meal in Luminae on our last X cruise. 

I took my complaint to the hotel manager. I'm not going to mess around when my life is on the line! It was dealt with.

So, whatever you do, be proactive. Do not expect X or any other cruise line to get it right! Sorry is the sounds a bit am-dram but it is so important!

We book suites for every cruise because we don't want to be dragged in to the Spa.... Even now I'm feeling quite unwell thinking about entering a Spa. 

I'm off to Michael's Club instead: a vodka is needed! 

Wait! I'm at home!

Scream! Hurry up next cruise! (August 'Viking Raiders' cruise) 

On 1/13/2019 at 10:34 AM, uktog said:

Surprisingly technically because you enter from a US port it does however if the chance of checking up for a US guest is say 0.1% for a UK guest it’s 0.00001%

Phew! I feel relieved! I thought that it was 0.000099%. That's taken a huge weight off my shoulders!

On 1/16/2019 at 6:30 PM, mchell810 said:

Not open to those of us living in the states 😩

      Good luck to those who can enter!

Not brilliant for those of us living in Europe either! Rio is a long haul!

Veranda(h) is a word that originates from India. Balcony does not: it has a different spelling and pronunciation. 

18 hours ago, spikkel said:

we just got back feom Cape Town and stayed at the Commodore next to the Portwood, it's from the Legacy Hotels, 5 min walk to the v and A, Annelies

Thanks.

How was it?

6 hours ago, cltnccruisers said:

We stayed there pre-cruise a few years ago.  Had a nice suite overlooking the gondola station.  The drawback was being woke up around 5:00 AM by the delivery boats that also dock there.  About a 5 minute walk to St Marks.  I was really looking forward to seeing the basilica.   Unfortunately, a bishop had passed away and was laid out inside so access to the basilica was by invitation only.  I guess we'll just have to go back.  

Yes, you'll need to return to Venice. Hopefully everything will be hunky-dory for you.

You were unlucky being woken by the delivery boats. I'm a light sleeper and wasn't woken. Perhaps it was my wee dram just before bedtime...

6 hours ago, groryjm said:

Last time we were in Cape Town my MiL and Sil stayed in the Cape Grace while we stayed in the previous y mentioned apartments. Now don't get me wrong as the Cape Grace is wonderful with both the rooms, service and food, but that is most certainly reflected in the price.

 

The Apartments don't come with a restaurant and room service but the V&A waterfront is a safe and short walk away with every thing form Jazz Cafes to fine dinning. Staying in a big multinational I feel you miss out a bit on the Culture of South Africa and often the feel once past the front doors could be anywhere in the world 

So true! It is good to dip into the local culture ----and accommodation choices are one of the ways. However, for us we need to be careful because I have a life-threatening nut allergy I select my food and environment carefully!

Is this photo the Cape Grace Hotel?

15 hours ago, varoo said:

While some balconies offer more privacy than others, there is no privacy at all when the kid in the neighboring cabin leans around the divider at the railing and looks right into your balcony, and into your cabin as well if you have the curtain open.

 

If you happen to be out on your balcony looking right back at the time, they are embarrassed and retreat pretty quickly, but there is no way of knowing how many times they do that or for how long when you are not out there to catch them.

 

We have been on other ships where the dividers extended out beyond the railings so people could not peep around them into their neighbor's balcony.

 

Also, on the deeper balconies on Celebrity ships the dividers often consist of several panels, and there may be gaps between the panels so your neighbor can easily see into your balcony, even when it is not intentional. 

One poster mentioned that he brings along a roll of duct tape to tape up those gaps between the divider panels.

 

Then there was the poster who asked just what you are planning to do out on your balcony that you don't want anyone to see.

   

We had gaps on the dividing panels and our neighbour peeped through a couple of times. I mentioned it to our butler and tape was soon applied!

2 hours ago, SandyDix said:

Hello all cruisers, this is my first post. We have never been on a cruise before and are thinking of booking the Norweigan fjords on Celebrity Silhouette 25/8/19. I have a few questions and have emailed the cruise line but they have not replied to me. Could I please put these questions to all you lovely experienced cruisers - any replies would be gratefully appreciated! Many thanks in advance, guys.

 

1) I would like to upgrade from the classic drinks package which is provided free as part of a deal, to premium. However, my partner drinks very little alcohol so is it possible for just me to upgrade? How much would this be?

 

2) Given that the above deal includes all tips, does this mean we are not expected to provide any more tips? For instance, I presume that ordering a beer on a drinks package ( whether classic or premium) does not incur another 18% charge?

 

3) We would like to book Aquaclass. However, we prefer the bed to be next to the bathroom as opposed to the balcony. How can we tell which cabins are set out like this?

 

4) My partner is very sensitive to cigarette smoke. I understand certain exterior areas of the ship allow smoking. Can you tell me if there are any particular cabins on deck 11 that are more likely to have smoke wafting into the balcony area? If so we would avoid them.

 

5) With regard to dining at the Blu restaurant, we would prefer to sometimes sit with a group and other times be seated just the two of us. Is this possible if we let staff know when we arrive for the meal? We would like to do the same in the main dining room if possible too.

 

6) In your experience, are the waters likely to be rough in August for the Norweigan fjords voyage?

 

7) We intend to do some excursions independently. Do we just walk off the boat to do this or is there likely to be a queue and if so how could we avoid it eg maybe by departing earlier than the organised tours?

 

😎 Could you tell me which ports require a shuttle to take us into the main town/city? I presume this is free for all passengers, regardless of whether they have booked an excursion?

 

9) Is cava, vin mousseux or prosecco included in the premium package? ( I am assumimg champagne isn't).

 

10) This will be our first cruise - do you find that cabins at the front feel more movement when the sea is choppy?

 

 

Phew! I think that is all for now! Sorry for the long post and for asking questions that may seem obvious to more experienced cruisers! Many thanks again -I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Happy cruising, Sandy x

 

Wow! How exciting for you! First-timers! A very special time...

I've cruised on the Silhouette twice and am due on board again later this year. Lots of other Celebrity and Princess cruises in the past.

As ghstudio pointed out, you just cannot pre-judge how calm <---> rough the seas will be. Cape Horn was a millpond for us whereas we had serious issues in the Adriatic on one occasion. So just enjoy the cruise and if it gets choppy  you may be one of the lucky ones who doesn't get seasick.

You ask about the bow end or the stern end accommodation: we've often cruised at the back. It's great to sit on the balcony and watch the wake of the ship. However, there can be engine vibration at times ----so we make sure that there are several decks below us!

At the front there is a great view! Yes, the anchors do make a din ---- but they're not used that much!

Before you decide on a room, check what is near, below and above. I wouldn't select accommodation under a bar, restaurant, pool, jogging deck etc. 

The only time I've broken my 'never near a ....' rule was on my Reflection cruise. Our room was on Deck 14 and it backed onto a popular lounge -----fabulous soundproofing! No issues!

Shuttles: I've never had a free shuttle with Celebrity.

The Fjords: never been. Have visited Oslo twice ----very expensive. If your cruise includes this city, do go to the Vigeland Sculpture Park ----amazing! Camera needed!

Have fun! 

7 minutes ago, cruise kitty said:

Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.   Since you choose not to have a smart phone, keep in mind that your kindle has a setting called 'experimental features'   using this, you can access your emails when traveling 🙂  You can even get on the internet with it, though it's a bit choppy.  If you have the wifi only type, you'll need to find free wifi (most cafes in Europe have free wifi)  if you have the type that has 3G, you can access it pretty much anywhere that's not too remote.    Happy sailing. 

Very helpful information! Thanks.

On 1/11/2019 at 3:45 PM, Pam said:

The one we stayed at was the Radisson Blu Waterfront, too.  I'm sorry I wasn't more specific, I honestly didn't know there were several there.

No problem! Your input is so valuable ----I really appreciate it!

20 hours ago, K12Guy said:

That was my intent. Disney is NOT likely to reduce pricing on anything. But, with the overage of cheeses available I would think it would be cheaper to feed Mickey and his family than it used to be.

You're correct! They'll be no reductions ----well, that's what comes with with such a Micky Mouse outfit!  (Sorry, someone had to post that!)

We've stayed there 4 times.

1st as a Princess Cruises post-cruise stay. A small room with a poor view.

2nd A suite overlooking the Grand Canal. 

3rd Identical suite as last time

4th A much larger suite but no view of the canal.

We stayed at the Molino Stucky once.... a canal view but a very small room. Never again. 

A few weeks ago we flew over for a long weekend and stayed at the SINA Centurian. Our suite was excellent!

The restaurants at both the Monaco and the Centurian were both good ----but £££££

I have written a number of reviews about places to eat, places to visit etc. on Trip Advisor. I am crazymaddancer!

7 hours ago, uktog said:

I think that is a very difficult question to answer.

We have gone back to Celebrity after an Azamara cruise, it was because we wanted an itinerary at a certain time and that was the way to get it.  Would we go back to Celebrity now, less likely because from what we have heard there have been changes that we do not think we would like.  We have got very used to the smaller ships and we feel more sure of consistent food and service than on Celebrity.  We also like the much more limited upsetting onboard.

What would make us change now and go back to Celebrity?

Well for us its Azamaras to lose rather than Celebrity to win but triggers could be

*prices rising to a point we feel the extra cost per day outweighs the advantages in our mind

*standards slipping particularly in food or entertainment

*itineraries doing nothing for us

 

It all depends what really matters for you on a cruise, many people flip between the two lines, some come to Azamara and never go back and some come and never return

Please explain this phrase to me: 'We also like the much more limited upsetting onboard.' Are you suggesting that people are happier on AZ? Thanks.

On 1/9/2019 at 11:48 PM, Pam said:

We stayed at Cape Grace the first time we went to Cape Town and Radisson the second time.  Cape Grace is very elegant, but again, very pricey.  We liked the Radisson just as much.

Thanks.

Which of the Radisson hotels was it? There are more than one in CT.

Thanks everyone!

I guess it 'll be follow-up time from your fab suggestions soon.

Holiday research is often fun ---and this task certainly will be, thanks to your help!