SueMo

3 bags per cabin or per person?

Glad to hear you had a good experience on the NA. We cruised on her New Years Eve a year ago and the entertainment was just awful. There was no live dance band onboard (You expect to celebrate the New Year with dancing!). There was a very bad singer/piano player in Billboard. The 2nd singer/piano player in Billboard, who was marginally decent, had covid. Evidently, the drummer for the BB Kings group was sick, so without him they didn’t play. The Lincoln Center musicians were often down in numbers as well. There were two comedians on board. One was decent and the other just dismal. Guess which one came down with covid? There was one poor entertainment host, Tomas, who was wonderful, but just how much could one guy do? He had to act as trivia host, game host, DJ, etc. We understand the times were unusual, but with the threadbare entertainment options to begin with there was no way to have a musician from one group to “fill in” for another. We were on another cruise line during 2021 where there was a live orchestra in the theater as well as several bands scattered throughout the lounges. It wasn’t uncommon to see an orchestra member fill in for a sick member of another group. Since then we’ve cruised on Nieuw Statendam, and I must say, a great improvement!

This topic makes me laugh because my husband hates to visit churches and cathedrals. In fact, he has a rule when vacationing: "Only one church." He will happily sit outside in his sport shoes while the rest of the group goes inside.

Guess I'm neither genteel nor discerning. I like VC because it's just incredibly beautiful. I am more about the water and the beach than lunch and drinks. I'm fine with a good rum punch and burger. I don't know what S.H.T. stands for, but I do know that I've never been bothered by anybody trying to braid my hair or give me a massage, if that's your meaning.

If you have a National Park Pass, bring it along for free entry into El Morro.

It's not listed in your post, but we always to to Valley Church Beach. It fulfills all of your requirements as to beach chairs, umbrellas, and beach bar.

I feel badly that some people are avoiding E class because of other posters’ dislike of them. I really think you need to experience these ships in person and make up your own mind. I have sailed with Celebrity a lot over the years, and every ship has its pluses and minuses. I ALWAYS have a great time on the Edge and Apex. If you enjoy entertainment, they have the best shows, a large entertainment staff that host multiple trivia, games, and activities during the day. The ship is beautiful (except, I admit, for the creepy hallway leading into Eden), and the service is outstanding. I booked a suite once, but usually get a balcony or Aqua class and guess what? We enjoyed both! You don’t have to get a suite to have a great cruise. I understand that many people cruise to have quiet time in a forward facing lounge where they can watch the ocean and read a book, and for them I understand why they prefer S class. But everybody’s wants/needs are different. I encourage those of you who haven’t been on an E class ship to have an open mind and decide for yourselves.

We didn't have a suite, but for us, in 2020, our taxi let us off at the terminal building. We were directed into a seating area and after a 10-15 minute wait we were checked in. We then had to go by bus to the ship. As I remember, it wasn't a bad experience. The ship is in an industrial area, so you have to go by bus to go back to the terminal building if you want to go into town.

We took the Curioso free tour several years ago, and it was very good. It starts at 10:30 am on weekdays. From the cruise terminal, walk through the middle archway of the customs building and you will be facing Perez Castellano pedestrian walkway. Take this walkway for 5 blocks and then turn left onto Sarandi. Follow this for 9 blocks and you come to Ciudadela Gate of Plaza Independencia. The walk takes about 15 minutes. The tour guides wear sky blue shirts. When you get there, they will divide the tourists into Spanish speaking and English speaking. There is a bank at the plaza with an ATM inside that you can get Uruguayan pesos. Right now 775 Uruguayan pesos is about $20 US. The tour ends at Plaza Zabala which is pretty close to the terminal. For lunch, check out Mercado del Puerto (see picture)

Allianz will give you a price online.

Try Play Air--out of Iceland. They are a budget airline, but we booked round trip flights with them from Baltimore to Copenhagen for our cruise in August, and even after adding the additional cost for luggage and insurance, it was about 2K for two people, at least 1K less than other airlines. I think they fly out of Newark.

We are in Pennsylvania right now, visiting kids for the holidays. We were supposed to fly home to Fort Myers, FL today, and then drive to Fort Lauderdale to take a Celebrity cruise Jan 3rd. But like the OP, our Southwest flight was cancelled. We got on SWA's website to rebook, but there was only one seat available on a Jan 1 flight and one on Jan 2. By the time we tried to book them, they were gone. We were thankfully able to get a Delta flight (for more $) on Dec. 31. If that falls through, we'll be taking the 20 hour drive--yuk!

Before AI, as soon as you stepped foot on the ship, a waiter would approach you to ask if you'd like to purchase a drink package. You would respond with either "No, thanks. I already have one." or "No thanks, I don't want one." Ten steps further another server would approach with the same question. Your response would be the same. On the pool deck and in every lounge you passed through on day one, this occurred. I bet we were asked this question at least a dozen times on every Celebrity cruise on day one pre-AI. Once they started to offer AI, servers assumed you already had the drink package, so no more hard sell.

The one good thing about AI is that passengers were no longer constantly harassed about purchasing a drink package while onboard. Celebrity's "hard sell" on day one of each cruise had me seriously thinking about changing my loyalties.

Yes. You go to your room to pick up your room key in the slot next to the door and can drop your carry on luggage at that time.

I personally have not done this, but I did research on it while preparing for a May 2022 Baltic cruise that I ended up cancelling due to covid. Look here: https://tulipfestivalamsterdam.com/keukenhof-express-bus-arriva-852-from-amsterdam-rai-station/

I think HappyInVan has a valid point. My husband and I are one-cocktail-before dinner drinkers at home, but find ourselves having one or two extra when we have the HIA package. My son and his wife rarely drink at home, but on a cruise they have multiple daiquiris throughout the day. Friends that we travel with that normally have one glass of wine in the course of a day will find themselves ordering one or two extra on a cruise. None of us are “mindless” or “have prior drinking problems”. We’re on vacation! I’m surprised at the outrage directed at HappyInVan for pointing out something I believe to be absolutely true for many people looking to get the most for their money. There’re a lot of judgmental comments going on here…

In 2020 we took a four hour hike in Punta Arenas through the Reserva Forestal Magallanes with Jamie from Borealis Adventures. Borealis Adventures no longer has a website, but its Facebook page directs you to Indomita Adventures dot com, and sure enough, Jamie is now one of their guides. We had a very positive experience with Jamie and if you like a hike through great scenery, look her up.

We did the free walking tour there a couple years ago and it was very good. https://www.curiosofreetour.com.uy/?lang=3

On the Nieuw Statendam in October we had both refundable and non-refundable OBC. We went to the front desk to ask a question about our statement and were told that all deductions (including gratuities) were taken first from the non-refundable OBC, and after that was used up they deducted from the refundable.

I agree with the above poster with the exception of multiple trivia games on sea days. On our October Nieuw Statendam, two trivias were offered daily regardless of whether it was a sea day or not. One was at 4:30 pm and the other at 6:30 pm. I found the 6:30 pm trivia inconvenient because it conflicted with many passengers' dinner plans. Maybe they are offered more often on some of the other ships.

Te Puia, Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland, and Waimangu are geothermal parks in Rotourua. Can anybody tell me which is the best to visit on a shore excursion in Taurangua?

Sometimes we take a cruise for the destination (Mediterranean, Baltic, Northern Europe, Alaska, etc) and sometimes the ship is the destination (Caribbean). If you've been there many times, you really don't feel the need to get off the ship. That being said, we do try to do "something" on shore on some of the islands, but keep it simple. If you are docking at Crown Bay in St. Thomas, I recommend just taking a ferry over to Water Island (10 min walk to the marina, $15 RT ticket leaves every hour on the hour, and returns at :15 after each hour) and spending an hour or two at Honeymoon Beach. It's a 10 minute walk to Dingy's Beach Bar. Have a drink, lunch, and swim with the turtles. It's inexpensive and super easy to do.

If you purchase more than your customs limit at one of the ship's shops, a beeper will sound when you swipe your room key as you debark. You will be pulled aside, escorted to customs, and asked to fill out a customs form. You don't get in any "trouble" as long as you are honest in your declarations.

A month ago we took a cab from the port to FLL and the charge was $12-13. The ride only took about 10 minutes. We just gave him a $20 and he was happy.