CherylsCaribbeanTravel

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Sad but not surprising. 😞

Wrong post

Overall, we prefer the food on NCL but I do think there are huge differences between ships.

I agree that O’Sheehans is awesome. I actually like their Reuben’s and wings. Unlike rcl where i dislike their late night options.O’sheehans is Perfect late night bar food to hit up right after howl at the moon [emoji287]. And not to forget o’sheehans is a third option for breakfast and lunch too. We like being able to get served breakfast over a larger time frame. Last time I think breakfast was 6-11 am. MDR breakfast has more restricted hours on both lines.

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March 29

Tia

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Holy cow! Cc somehow found my old screen name! I tried to find it back in 2014 but couldn't - I thought that was gone forever :).

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Lunch was good- service a bit slow (1hour 40 minute lunch)- we weren't in a hurry. Pub crawl was fine, but we didn't make it all the way- Amsterdam is still kicking my a** and we closed the bar onboard last night too. Here is some lunch shots- my spinach and mushroom omelette was better than dh fish n chips. Peanut butter cheesecake, key lime pie, and white chocolate mousse for dessert. Yum.

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Here's another copy of day 2 :)

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Hello,

This is my first post in this forum. I have been reading you guys for months. Such talent!!! Most of the photos on this thread are amazing. Work that could be sold. I have mucho respect for the camera peeps.

With that being said, I just upgraded to a Cannon SX20. I got out and played with my camera. I am leaving on an Alaska trip next week. I know I need to play a lot more before then. I have a photo tour booked in Seattle pre-cruise, so I'm hoping they can give me some pointers. I did buy the book, so that's a start, but I will shoot, shoot, shoot between now and the time I board the ship.

Anyway, I hope you don't mind if I share some of the very first photos I took with this camera. Right out of the box. No photoshopping (don't know how yet). No special setting other than the marcro for this first flower.

This was the third pic taken with the camera. I was still learning how to take the lense cap off ;-). Auto setting:

Now, the reason I went with the Cannon XS20 is the 20 times zoom. I know this isn't nearly enough for Alaska, but I figured I did not have time to learn a DSLN before the trip (plus I needed to save a bit of money). I am hoping that this camera will help bridge me into the full out DSLN. Well, that's the plan anyway. Here are two pictures I took. One at normal and then one at 20 zoom. The first pic is the normal one. Notice the eagle nest in the tallest pine tree in the very middle of the photo:

Zoomed in on the Eagles Nest:

And finally, my very first panoramic shot:

Any pointers, tips, things I can to do take better pictures would be very welcome. My skin is thick and I only have one week to make this camera sing.

Thank you for allowing me to post my amature pictures among your art,

Cheryl :)

Hey kcteach12, have you read bidding for travel dot com and looked at the Seattle area where people post their winning bids? Have you read their bidding strategies blog to understand the free rebid system? The easy free rebid way is to bid in your zone (presumably Pike Place), then add another zone that does NOT have 4* availability which allows you to rebid, mostly safely knowing it won't award you that zone because there are no 4* showing for that area (so, you could add Airport) - bump up your bid a bit, say $2-$5, if that's not successful, add another zone, say Bothell, bump up bid again.... etc. There are 10 zones without 4* so you get 10 free rebids. Keep a grid, then if not successful, you can bid again once 24 hrs has passed. So if you start at $73, bump to $77, $81, ..... then the next night, start at maybe $75 and bump up... you WILL get something this way, unless there is a BIG convention that weekend and 4* downtown hotels are all full - you can check availability by checking some of the hotels on their websites. If they're showing full, then you may be in trouble.

 

The complicated free rebid system is using permutations - from your user name "k C Teach 12" maybe you teach grade 12 and permutations are your idea of fun? If so, there is a posting on that same web site that I referenced that teaches you that - another grid needed, this one probably in excel as it's more convoluted but gives you more rebids.

 

Seattle is an easy priceline city as there are so many free rebid zones it's never a problem to get a hotel. You might also re-consider whether you need 4*. 4* means more expensive parking, more expensive breakfast, etc. I stayed a couple of weeks ago at the Westin in Seattle for $77, but I've also stayed at a few other 2 1/2 or 3* hotels and they have cheaper parking, sometime a free so-so breakfast, and sometimes a free shuttle to pike place. Good luck and if you have specific questions, post them and I'll try to help you. It's a hoot when you get a deal!

Thank you for all this information. I too am getting ready to bid for pikes area in Seattle. Where are you finding all the free rebid zones? That is very helpful.

Thanks again,

cheryl

I am not from San Diego, but I did sail out of there recently and was told that Ralphs was the best place for me to get flowers (I was staying downtown near the gaslight district and Ralphs is right there). There might be a place on the way from the airport to the pier if you are not staying a night pre-cruise.

Have fun!

Cheryl :)

Silly silly question............ any special tricks for carrying on the flowers if from Pike Market??? I'm not sure I want to try to juggle a few huge bundles of flowers and my carry-ons through the entire embarkation process :).

(I know, silly question, but maybe someone has come up with a spifty way to carry them).

Cheryl :)

Most Alaska departures on HAL are 150% June-August for both inside and outside cabins (balcony cabins 200%). The May sailings are 125% right now. Not bad for solo if you are looking at Alaska :)

I picked Downtown/Harbor Island area only. Started at $50 for 3 1/2 stars but it was rejected. Stayed with the same bid and area and added 3 star hotels and the bid was accepted.

Thanks for sharing your bidding strategy! :)

Precuise 4/3/10

Got it for $50.00. :)

Can you please tell me how you bid this? Priceline Downtown 3 star??

Cheryl

I went to this site to check it out and can't get prices. Do you know what I am doing wrong? Keeps taking me back to select.

You're not doing anything wrong. This is one of many quirks I have found in researching MSC. I have been tempted twice by a very low (or no) single supplement on MSC. While this line does offer some excellent single pricing, I would highly recommend reading the MSC forum here before booking to form your own opinion of this cruise line (I'm sure everyone would anyway). The reviews are much more polarized than mainstream lines. They have extremely limited dining times for the solo traveler that does not want to eat in the MDR and that has been a deal breaker for me (wouldn't bother others).

I did send an email off via the MSC link requesting a quote for an Easter cruise this year and made the mistake of giving my real email addy. I have been hounded by an agent, so you might want to give a spam email address that you can check once, but that won't flood your inbox.

Happy Solo Traveling,

Cheryl :)

I have traveled on nearly all the mainstream lines (Celebrity, HAL, Carnival, NCL, Princess, etc...) and have ironically booked my first solo on RCCL. I have never booked RCCL because of price point, but found RCCL cheapest for this solo cruise.

I suppose like anything it pays to shop around, but I found a price of $749.00 pp (plus tax) for a balcony cabin. Single suppliment was 150%. I really wanted a balcony and many of the other lines charge 200% for a solo balcony, so RCCL at 150% was a 'deal' to me. The cost ended up right around $1,300 for a solo balcony 10 nights. Princess, Celebrity, NCL, came in around this price for 7 nights. This is Easter week.

I tested the theory of reserving certain cabins for non-solos and found that on my sailing, the exact same cabin inventory was available regardless of double or single occupancy. I realize this may not always be the case, but it was the case for this particular trip.

I do know that I am checking every day for a stern balcony to become available and will ask my agent to move me should one open up. I will be very upset if they refuse me an available aft cabin because I'm traveling solo, but honestly don't expect that to be outcome. I suppose time will tell.

Wishing everyone happy solo travels,

Cheryl :)

:confused: What ship?

Silly me, must be proof that I'm exicted :).

Radiance of the Seas sailing out of San Diego.

Cheryl

I just booked my first solo. After 17 cruises, I have always wanted to try Solo and I have always wanted to try longer than 7 nights. I must travel Easter break so I was shocked that the price for a guarantee balcony cabin was $749.00 pp plus tax with a 175% single suppliment (for 10 days at Easter!). I've seen that price disappear and come back several times over the past two days so if anyone is interested it might be beneficial to keep checking.

If I like this solo I might try the real deals (inside or oceanview), but since this is my first solo, I was too chicken (and spoiled) to book anything other than a balcony. If worse comes to worse, I know that I will be perfectly happy just sitting on my balcony drooling down my chin :)

Happy Sailing!

Cheryl :)

Thank you to the OP for a thoughtful and objective review of these cabins. I have been very curious. You have answered questions I didn't even know to ask :)

I used betterbidding to identify hotel (They are great).

Sheraton Old San Juan.

$119.00 through Hotwire.

April 3-5

We really wanted this exact hotel or I'd have went with priceline. Because the hotel was an exact match for amenities, I felt it was a low risk on Hotwire. This is for the week before Easter, so the prices were high.

Cheryl :)