sunnysask

Thank you for the tips!  We’ve booked Jan 8, 2022 ! It will be nice to have a little diversion this winter, planning for next winter. 

We've been thinking about trying the Royal Clipper for a few years and have decided to take a leap in Jan 2022 with the Windward Islands route.  We look forward to sailing and a more relaxed intimate atmosphere that seems to be offered.

I'm looking for pre and post cruise hotel recommendations.  They offer two nights at the Accra Hotel, is this a good idea or do you book independently and take a cab to the port?  We will likely stay a few days prior and maybe a week following.

Thank you,

Pat

Thank you

Is there a cost to use the Thalassotherapy or Hydro pool on the Oosterdam?

Thanks

We travel with carry on only and left our TSA safe one at home.  oh well, Im sure we’ll find a way.

Ok Thank you, we’re not in a suite, just a balcony 

Going on the Nieuw Amsterdam and wondering if there is a wine opener on the room?  Thanks 

We sailed on the Oosterdam last January out of San Diego, because it was an easy drrive from our winter home in Phoenix.  If you can get in a day ahead to stay

in San Diego, the aircraft carrier is amazing, along with the other ships in the “maritime museum”.   We enjoyed the ship,.  We weren’t that excited about the itinerary, we had done it before, and usually sail the carribean, but this time we took some ship excursions that were great.  In PV we did the catamaran to Yelapa.  Fantastic whale watching by chance, and an interesting hike to a  waterfall.  Yelapa can only be reached by boat.  In Mazatlan I went on a  “salsa and  salsa” tour while hubby went deep sea fishing.  My tour was great his not so.  We enjoyed the Mexican Riviera!

Good to hear, thanks

I was wondering if Future Cruise Deposits are refundable (in the same way they are on Princess)?

Thank you,

Hotel Continental was recommended by someone in our roll call.

we stayed at the Hotel Contintal and would recommed it. we used Barcelona day tours to pick us up and tour around then drop the hotel. Also did a historic walling and tapas tour that was excellant. Enjoy

And just to clarify again - we left Paris wanting to return. But we'd never consider it as a part of a cruise-ship day tour again (or even once if we knew then what we know now).

Loved your review as we are doing the British Isles cruise from Dublin next spring. FYI Just a note on Paris. We added 3 days in Paris prior to a Mediterranean Cruise (Rome to Barcelona). It was easy to fly to Paris and return from Barcelona after a 3 day stay there as well. We stayed in the Rue Cler area in a small Rick Steve's recommended hotel and really got the feel of Parisian life. So close to everything and an easy flight to Rome for the cruise. We also did this in late September, crowds were less than in the summer, but there are always thousands of tourists in Paris.

We too debated over land tours vs cruise in Europe. The cost of the cruise ended up far less than a land tour of the same length. We booked early and re-fared for significant savings. (we did travel in the fall both times so I not sure if this would apply to summer savings) We ended up cruising both times. The first cruise we did a balcony because thats what we usually do in the Caribbean, however on the second cruise, being so port intensive in Europe we ended up with an inside near the back of the ship where we could walk up two flights of stairs and have access to a large "balcony area" (Horizon Terrace) with a bar !!

The first one (Island Princess) we flew to Rome arranged for pick up and stayed in the historic centre, transferred next day to Civitaveccia, ended the cruise in Venice. We then stayed two nights and took the train back to Rome for an additional 3 nights, where we had a chance to take small group tours around Rome.

This worked so well that we returned the Mediterranean two years later, this time flew to Paris for three days/two nights, flew to Rome and went direct to Civitaveccia and spent the night. This cruise ended in Barcelona where we stayed for two nights.

We've found this combination of cruise with independent stays before and after has worked great for us and we are planning on doing the same for the British Isles in the near future.

Happy planning....

We were recently on the Oosterdam and took the Yelapa tour with Vallarta Adventures (through the ship). This was one of the best tours we've taken in awhile! The staff were great, energetic, good food. We had an amazing unexpected encounter with a mama and calf whale and received a wealth of information from our guide. The walk to the waterfall on Yelapa was interesting, you could take a dip if you wanted. Quite a climb up a hill, afterwards we walked to a beach area where we could relax before our return boat ride. Free flowing drinks on the way back with dancing and fun by all onboard. Enjoy!

Not really awake yet, my first thought was that it was time to eat again...no no no...need to exercise first. 151 steps up, and into the pool I go. It is all mine and the water is warm. 50 more laps in the books. 151 steps back to the room to change. 151 steps up, time to eat. For the first time on this vacation, no eggs or bacon on my plate. I had a banana which I cut up and mixed with some seeds & nuts, some potatoes, a buttery croissant, and an awesome cinnamon bun. Now I am relaxing by the pool. Pete's dragon is on MUTS. I am almost finished the latest Lee Child book that I started yesterday. The wifi keeps disconnecting in this area.

 

The connecting door does not take up any space. There is a door stopper sticking out of the wall. Neither one of us has kicked it yet. Please excuse all of our stuff in the photos...i forgot to take them when we first arrived.

 

 

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Thank you for the quick response and photos! Enjoy your cruise :D

 

We went down at 12:45pm and found our room. We are staying in cabin E226. It is a standard, completely unobstructed balcony. I do not fully remember, but I think this cabin was in the obstructed category. I remember doing research before I chose it. For the record, it is completely unobstructed. Cabin E228 is where the obstruction starts. They do have a full view out, but there is platform with 2 poles right in front of their balcony. The tender obstructions start with Cabin E230. Our cabin has a connecting door to E224.

 

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Good morning. We've just booked E227, which apparently is a connecting room. Just curious where the connecting door is and do you loose anything in the room because of the connecting door? it would be great if you could post pictures of your room, thanks :)

Once again thank all of you for your input....

We will have two full days in Paris and will fly out the next morning/early afternoon to Rome.

Romecabs is a little cheaper than RomeinLimo and seems to get good reviews here

We've decided to just go right to Civitavecchia upon landing in Rome and the Miramare hotel should be ok for the one night prior to the cruise.

AirFrance or Alitalia also seem our best option for choices for times etc and will likely book something soon with them. Their baggage is much more restrictive than Air Canada. We travel with carryon only but it appears we will have to check a bag on AF/Alitalia

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

We've decided to fly in the day before. Now we just have to check out hotels in Civitavecchia.

I was also considering Princess air, but am not sure if they will do just the one way from Paris. It won't let me choose that option online so I will have to call them. Our transatlantic flight are already booked.

I just talked to Princess and they can't do air from Paris.....oh well, lesson learned, I shouldn't have assumed that option. I will have to keep my fingers crossed.

Alitalia has a 7 am flight that arrives at 9 am also a 10:55 and 12:30 flights. We plan on using RomeinLimo for transfers we used them last time and they were great.

I was also considering Princess air, but am not sure if they will do just the one way from Paris. It won't let me choose that option online so I will have to call them. Our transatlantic flight are already booked.

We are flying to Paris for a couple of days prior to a Mediterranean cruise next September. Since it is only a 2 hour flight to Rome and we have toured Rome previously for a few days post cruise in the past we opted to fly in the day of the cruise this time. I'm hoping I haven't made mistake by assuming we should be alright flying in the morning of the cruise. We have several options for flights with Air France or Alitalia that would arrive between noon and 2 pm and our cruise departs at 7pm. Just wondering if anyone has done this? :confused:

...... The deposit on this promo is refundable. So just make sure your TA (if you use one) doesn't charge for rebooking. Mine doesn't and I wouldn't use one that does.

just recently booked with Princess for the Regal New years 2016 and was told the deposit was "non-refundable"

If "a few" means THREE, then your best bet from the promo perks is probably the UBP. If less than that, you are probably better off with the free DSC. Assuming you don't adjust DSC, that perk is worth about $94 pp. The dining package is worth $74 pp (4 nights of specialty dining), and you have to pay 18% of that amount, too. UBP costs you $70 pp for the service charges, so you'll need to drink $70 + $94 (opportunity cost of the free DSC) = $164 pp over the 7 days to make it "pay." This is between 2 and 3 drinks per day, pp, which most any drinker(s) should be able to handle.

 

Right now the dining package is only second (and probably only third) best, no matter what. The free DSC beats it easily. If you drink at all, UBP easily beats dining package, too. The shore excursion credits and/or internet minutes are both inferior to the other choices. Pax 3+ sail free is the best option, but only for specific low demand cruises, and only if you have others you want to cram into your stateroom.

This is a 12 day cruise we are looking at and "a few" can easily turn into a several over the course of an evening, and then there are the sea days, so its looking like the UBP might be the best value.

thanks again for the explanation

Thanks to all of you for your replies, you've certainly cleared up some of the confusion I felt when I first started browsing this board and im sure we can figure out what will work for us next fall. Ive read some great reviews of the Venice to Barcelona cruise in the Spirit!