Crazy planning mom

8 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

Dinner tonight was in Cosmopolitan as the ship sat in Reykjavik . Our waiter was Bitsy from Indonesia who often served us breakfast.

As usual 3 different butters

 

Carol's Gravlax

 

My cauliflower (puree) flan. With shrimp I think

 

Carol's corn soup

 

Carol's pork chop with red cabbage and roasted pear

 

My sirloin steak which came with mashed potatoes from an ice cream scoop which reminded me of high school lunches. I asked for fries and they were procured. Now that's service!

 

Carol's dessert was carrot cake

 

and I , after explaining the glass that should be used, had a Sambuca and espresso

 

Another fine meal despite the lame espresso. Looks like mud.

How was the cauliflower flan?

Dumb question- Does the Martini Bar serves soda?  Would it be acceptable to order an included wine under the classic package and a coke if my husband and i want to hang there?

Congrats on the Ph.D, new job, and new home.  We went to Aruba on our honeymoon over 25 years ago.  The A.B.C's are a great itienrary and you already know that you like the Equinox.  Have a wonderful trip.

1 hour ago, kitkat343 said:

 The mainstream cruise lines are generally more alike than different, so we used to sail primarily for itinerary and cost.  However, we will use caution with booking with NCL in the future because:

 

1.  They are changing itineraries for non emergency reasons and not informing passengers.  

 

On my cruise, The dominican republic port was canceled and the morning of another port were cancelled after final payment to help protect the environment.  After the cancellations, NCL continued to market and sell this cruise with the original itinerary for an entire month until the ship sailed.  They refused to let anyone switch to a different sailing, even passengers who purchased their cruise directly from NCL after the DR was cancelled and weren't informed of those changes.  

 

Itinerary problems were also reported on Panama Canal cruises (an overnight in Panama switched to late night visit too late to actually see the locks in action and the ports of Costa Rica and Nicaragua cancelled due to safety reasons being replaced by Acapulco and Jamaica).  The spirit in Alaska lost the inside passage.  On none of these cruises were passengers allowed to reschedule, since all itinerary changes were made after final payment.

 

 

NCL just cancelled a port stop for the rest of the season (Valdez) and people found out about the change from rumors on cruise critic, and the confirmation was issued by a press release from the town of Valdez before anyone was informed by NCL.  

 

2. In May, there was an issue with paying taxes on alcohol in the UK so NCL stopped serving alcohol even to passengers who had already paid for a drink package while in port and UK waters which was a problem on UK cruises.  They initially refused to refund the money paid for the alcohol package,  but after an outcry relented and refunded the fees.  They told passengers this was due to a change in UK laws, but it didn't affect passengers on any other lines.

 

They also have cancelled some production shows and are planning to cut more.

2 hours ago, sadiwest said:

I only know two people who saw Alaska outside of taking a cruise.  My mother and stepfather who did a multi month tour across country, including WEEKS in Alaska in their RV.

 

It's not so easy to see a large portion of the state if not on a cruise.  It's Alaska.  Everyone should see it once.   My timing wasn't great (September 2001) but I'd do it again. 

 

Not cheap, but do it right and see as much as you can.  

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Not sure I could do the RV part but good for them! We spent 10 days taking the train all the way from Fairbanks to Seward before our cruise and loved it. Even with 10 days and maybe 5-6 different cities we only cracked the surface but it was definitely worth it to spend a chunk of time on land beyond the cruise ports.

We did a land trip when our cruise was cancelled due to the pandemic.  We went to Anchorage, Seward (Kenai Fjords National Park) , Matanuska Glacier, Talkeetna, and Denali, of course.  It was wonderful.  Still would like to do a cruise.

Thank you both.

My husband and I are booked on the Apex in 2024 with family.  I linked the reservations.

If my family cancels their cruise which they may, will my cruise be affected?  Should I de-link the reservations?  My husband and I are still planning to go.

11 hours ago, hallux said:

That depends on what you want from the private island.  Want a waterpark with paid-for attractions that also has a beach?  RCL gets the edge.  Want a beach escape that has a couple attractions?  NCL gets it.  I was on GSC this Spring, it's a beautiful island with LOTS of beach space, a good-size food pavilion and a couple zip-lines.

Yes, but you still have to tender for GSC.

I like NCL but I've only sailed NCL outside the Caribbean and Bahamas.

Wouldnt Perfect Day and Labadee give RCL the edge there? 

Beyond does have aft balconies called sunset verandas but they sell out frequently.

Sailing on the Apex next year.  We have a porthole veranda and my cousin has a sunset veranda.

13 hours ago, GMaCarolK said:

I do not think reservations were followed on our recent Apex cruises (Transatlantic then Norway). We never waited more than 15 minutes. If one restaurant is backed up, just go to another one. You can order from any menu using the app. The 4 ounce Filet mignon on the children’s menu was my favorite. 

So, if you showed up at your reservation time, they didn't honor it?

So, we made reservations on the app for dinner.  Will those reservations be honored?

Always glad to hear a budget review!  Thanks for your great review.  We enjoy the MDR for dinner which is complimentary.

Thanks Bridgemates and Georgia Peaches.

I have found a private company that we can arrange through but wanted to wait to see if Celebrity offers first.  My husband is most interested in the dune buggy excursion so I think we will focus on that one.  Does Celebrity usually dock at Taino Bay?

Our cruise on the Apex isn't for a few months.

However, there are already a lot of excursions listed in the cruise planner including quite a few for Puerto Plata.  However, I don't see any atv, dune buggy or Damagagua (sp?) Waterfalls excursions.  Is that because Celebrity attracts an older demographic or will it be added later?

We did 4 days pre-cruise in Oahu before boarding the Pride of America in 2017.  It was one of our best trips ever.   It was a great way to island hop.  The 4 days pre-cruise gave us time to go to Pearl Harbor, visit the North Shore, and get over our jetlag.   We stayed at the Outrigger Reef which was wonderful.

So, if I booked dining reservations on the app for my cruise next year, will they be honored?

We will be sailing on Apex in a porthole veranda and sunset veranda.    Have only sailed on Celebrity once before.

Where is the best place for sailaway - Sunset bar or  Magic Carpet?

We loved the Outrigger Reef in Waikiki.

Kauai is great.  You  could take a flight over

Sister brand Celebrity is bringing the Apex to Southampton in 24.

I would rebook with HAL or Princess as they are the Alaska experts and own their own lodges.

Havent been to Coco Cay yet but hope to eventually.  We havent cruised alot but have cruised the Med twice, Hawaii, New England in addition to the Caribbean.   Our next sailing is with family who didnt want to do a private island so we are taking Celebrity instead of Royal.

Has anyone done this excursion?

On 4/16/2023 at 4:14 PM, C4HCG said:

We want to go to Hawaii next August for a special celebration. Had Celebrity had any new itineraries in the Caribbean we’d have gone with them, unfortunately they don’t. Hawaii is somewhere we’d love to visit and Norwegian the only line who do August. Are they comparable to Celebrity? I think I know the answer and it’s no but would appreciate the wisdom of people who know first hand.

 

The NCL ship is completely different from the other NCL ships and is staffed mostly with Americans due to the fact that it is American flagged. That ship doesnt get great reviews.   However, We took the cruise in 2017 and enjoyed ourselves.  The ship and service were ok but we were there to see Hawaii and it was a good way to island hop.

I have used and recommend Dial 7 car service.  Have also heard good things about Carmel Car Service.