erby2283

I saw them but they're looking for the unsuspecting ones.  I also cam prepared with a purse that had locks and RFID  similar to one like this: https://www.amazon.com/Travelon-Anti-theft-Signature-Quilted-Pouch/dp/B0792NSNNZ/ref=sr_1_23?crid=3UK8B5YLX9MAA&keywords=travelon+purse&qid=1689184553&sprefix=travelon+purse%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-23

My boyfriend used one like this. His belt loop goes through it and then it tucks inside the pants. https://www.amazon.com/Shacke-Hidden-Travel-Wallet-Blocker/dp/B00Z2AKO3G/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=3C8W06FOVPN4I&keywords=safety+wallet+that+loops+through+belt&qid=1689184740&sprefix=safety+wallet+that+loops+through+belt%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

3 hours ago, jlandz09 said:

Same here. Just booked it two days ago, but was debating between it and the pure Amalfi tour. Would be interested to know if the traffic was an anomaly or typical. Also would like to hear from others if this was similar to their own experience. Definitely would like more out of Positano than just an overlook.

The traffic is normal. I too really wanted to see Positano but tempered my hope with the fact that they almost always never make it there. But they do state in their emails that Positano is usually only a view from the road so I knew that going in. Traffic between Pompei and Sorrento was the worst of it. But we had a wonderful lunch in Sorrento and beautiful scenery. 
 

My advice to anyone wanting to see  Positano is to book an excursion that specifically goes directly there. 

Yay! Happy to hear some other people saved some money today too. 

9 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

These days it’s about as good as it gets not including a Black Friday sale. Pre pandemic it’s not a good price. In fact all the planner prices are ridiculous IMO especially the beverage packages, sale or no sale they’re usually about the same inflated price.

I agree.   I just checked what I paid for the refreshment package back in 2019 (on my last cruise) - it was a 12 day cruise and I paid $240.72.  Today I paid $247.66 for a 7 day. 

37 minutes ago, abpplh said:

Is $18.99 / person per day good price for internet for 8 night cruise?  Dining is still not listed for Our Odyssey cruise 12/23-31/2023

I would book it at that price.  You can always cancel it and rebook and if it becomes cheaper.  I booked ours today at $20.99 per day (for one device). 

11 minutes ago, The Scurvy Pirate said:

This morning Chops + one was down to $74.99 (first time in over a year it had been lower) .  All the individual restaurants were higher (10% off v. 15% off).  Went back this afternoon and Chops + one was back to $84.99 and the individual restaurants still higher... mighty quick sale....

 

Mighty quick sale is right - when I posted this, the 3-night dining package $93.99 and I was considering purchasing it.  It's now at $127.99 (but says "up to 40% off"). The Unlimited dining package is $243 (says 50% off).

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

I'd checked earlier and saw this so checked booking direct meals again.

 

Had been 15% off for weeks and weeks. Today's big sale 10% off, every date I have the cost is UP today. 

Bummer...  I always wonder how they decide which sailings get a sale on these items and at what times.  We are just over a year for our Icon sailing. 

Just now, Itchy&Scratchy said:

don't look at the percentages. Look at the final $ value only. 🙂

 Thank you for adding that tip when searching.  I paid $280 in March and booked it today for $247. I'll take it. 

I was really mad with myself that I didn't buy the refreshment package before Royal raised their fees back in March so I bit the bullet and purchased it for my May 2024 Icon cruise at 10% discount.  But, thanks to the inner stalker in me, I noticed it today for 20% off.

Beverage package is buy one get one 50% off (I don't drink alcohol so not sure if the price is great but the daily price reflecting discount is $81.99) and there were dining package and internet discounts as well.  Just wanted to let you know in case your sailing is having a sale as well.

In 2019 we booked with mtours.me and had a wonderful day.  We booked the Perast - Budva - Kotor tour. They were four of us and I think the price was 70 euro per person. It was a lovely day with amazing views.  I would have liked more time at the end to actually visit Kotor Old Town - that's my only complaint.  You could probably ask them to revise to tour a bit to allow my time in Old Town if you preferred. We stopped and had a big lunch as a group and we all chipped in and bought our guide lunch as well.  To me, the highlight of Kotor is the view sailing in and sailing out.  I was out on deck the whole time.  Simply amazing.

My email said the description of the tour was as follows:

08:00 – 08:20 Short ride towards Perast
08:20 – 09:45 Boat to the island of Our Lady of the Rocks, church, museum visits and free time in Perast
09:45 – 10:45 Panoramic driving to Budva, photo stop above Jaz beach
10:45 – 11:45 Walking tour of Budva old town, and some free time
11:45 – 12:15 Driving to St. Stefan (Aman Resorts); photo break
12:15 – 13:00 Driving back to Kotor via Trojica hill, photo break
13:00 – 14:00 Kotor old town walking tour

Price includes:

• Pickup from the port/hotel and drop-off
• Guiding services (licensed English speaking guide)
• Private transportation with a modern car or minivan (parking and fuel costs)
• Taxi boat to the island Our Lady of the Rocks and back
• Entrance fees for Our Lady of the Rocks museum
• Ferry boat fee
• Panoramic photo stops along the way (Jaz beach, Sveti Stefan, Trojica hill above Kotor bay)
• Tourist taxes and maps for the old town of Kotor

Some pictures from that day.

I know Venice is high on your priority list (it would be for me too if I was lucky enough to get back that way).  However, just wanted to offer another tip.  When thinking about airfare, please do consider flying to or from Bologna rather than Venice. Even if it's just one way.  The price difference may be well worth it than if you flew into Venice. You could always fly into Bologna and then stay in Venice for a day or two post cruise and then fly home from Venice?! Or try vice-versa.  

May want to check with Celebrity.  Had a cruise friend book a May 2023 Norwegian Fjords from Southampton cruise with them today and it was $799 GBP for a Veranda. Great price for booking so close to sailing.   

Have you checked airfare?  When I do mock bookings, I generally find cheaper rates flying into Bologna than Venice.

6 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We booked the Icon for March.  Booked immediately when booking opened.  Price has increased by over 20% for our suite-  

Same.- except ours has doubled in price (in May 2024).

We had a 10:25 flight from Barcelona to Lisbon (for a few days post cruise).  We carried our stuff off the ship and took a taxi to the pier and don't recall having any issues.  I believe we were off the ship by 7:30 and at the airport by 8.

16 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I could not agree more on Kotor.  And, you got to Venice prior to the cruise ship ban -- awesome!  

And before Covid! So sad you can’t sail in anymore. Glad I did a FB live and have video to look back on it as we sailed into the canal. Now I’ll have to choose a cruise that embarks in Ravenna and spens a day or two in Venice first. 

Just remember that's their holiday season and airfare and cruises tend to be more expensive.  Many will also say it's too hot...but I live in the south and love 90's and high humidity so Aug in Barcelona didn't bother me. 🙂 

You can find some really good deals if you can wait until Sept.

Took my one and only (so far) European cruise in 2019.

As for ports, I LOVED Venice.  Maybe it was because we had an overnight there and could just walk around and not care about time - and being able to see the city at all times of the day and night.  So many amazing churches, and foot bridges, and food... I just adored it.

By Kotor was by far the most amazing port to sail into/out of.  I can't even explain the beauty of the mountains and how they surround you...and it goes on for hours! Hope I can make it back one day.

2 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

I hope that you didn't jinx yourself!  😮 

Was thinking that as I typed...🤪

I had problems for the longest time being able to see my cruise on the app.  Then all of a sudden, one day it was just there. People kept saying the screen should look like this and was nothing like what I was seeing. Not sure what the issue was but no problems since.... (fingers crossed).

As someone who makes sure I am physically in my a lounger at 7am on sea days to make sure I get a spot I really want, I think this is great. 

My vote would be Option 2. All three start and finish in cities that (in my opinion) require more than one day to explore and you can extend your vacation a couple days on either side to explore Venice and Rome - and I really like those ports! I had my one and only trip to Europe back in 2019 and was away for 19 days - a true bucket list trip....I so want to go back but haven't made it yet.

I would say focus on which ports you really want to visit - my main areas of interest were Italy but I also  absolutely loved Barcelona (which option two gives you two days there) and Nice.  But on my trip, since it may be the only time I ever got (get) to go, I choose a port intensive cruise to many different places because it was more about quantity....not quality. I needed to check off as many different ports as I could because who knows when you'll get back.  😜

You could also do some mock bookings with airfare and see which may be the best economically.  We actually added on 3 days in Lisbon post cruise but once you're in Europe, it's really easy and cheap to get to most other cities.  So if one itinerary is calling you, but doesn't hit a stop you really want to visit, look into flying to that city post cruise and staying there for a few days.

ps - take me with you.

4 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

I'm extremely happy to hear this.  We are heded out on a long trip in a couple of weeks...Flying to Rio de Janeiro and doing a 13 night Transatlantic on Celebrity Infinity, ending in Lisbon,,,we spend a few days there, then fly to Barcelona to catch the Symphony of the Seas, then home from there.  We booked the LAX-Rio and the Barcelona-LAX legs on CelebrityAir/RCCL Air2Sea, but the options they had for Lisbon to BCN were a little crazy and way overpriced--and all needed to change planes in Madrid.

I found a flight on TAP--direct Lisbon to BCN, less than 2 hours, 23 kg of luggage each included, for $76 US per person...less than a third of what we were looking at through the cruise lines...and saving us several hours...

Hopefully, our experience will be as good as yours. 

Once you get to Europe, it’s pretty cheap to fly to most places within it. The hard part is getting there economically. Enjoy your trip. It sounds amazing! 

I booked one of these at Breezy Bay for our May 2024 Icon sailing - they only had 3 left and South Beach was already sold out - even though it was around $100 more. The description of what I was getting wasn't very clear online so I watched a few online videos people had posted.  Ours was $219 for the day - $244 with taxes. I was really surprised these were already almost sold out 14 months before sailing. 

22 hours ago, moposh said:

I wouldn't even know how to find roll call in other location.

Just search for ship name and date of sailing.

I personally enjoy all roll calls bc not everyone is on all of them.  I have many lifelong friends that I have met on CC roll calls so this is usually my first go-to place for my sailing.