Captain Canuck

been on a few med cruises...one of the best cruises was on an old ship. ship is not the feature the ports are. look at the ship as transport..has the benefit of not having to unpack and including food. save the ship experience for a later cruise..where the ship is the destination and the ports are an afterthought

we have been on Costa..ship passengers were mostly italian. announcements were in 5 languages with English last. food etc geared to Italian taste. But the ship was gorgeous and the ports were the deal.

can suggest that you pick out your must see ports and then try and find a cruise that does most of them. then use cruise critic to find tips on port excursions. our best experiences were with organizing a group on cruise critic to share private excustions. did Egypt for 20% of the ships tour. stayed in the same hotel in Cairo. group of 12 which made it much more fun

you can pay your bill with cash

credit card just holds account ensuring cruise company they get paid

never use a debit card for anything but atm

you get it compromised they clean out your account

they get a credit card your exposure is limited

was on Royal in December so hope my info is good

1. We have Anytime dining, we are waitlisted for a traditional dinner seating but don't know if it will clear. On RCCL with My Time Dining we always made reservations online before sailing. Is there an option to make reservations in advance for dining, do you do it when you get on board, or do you just show up each night and wait?

you can make reservations. size of your party and when you want to eat determines if this is necessary

she who must be obeyed and I normally get a table for 2 and eat early..never had to reserve.... not sure but think you can reserve ahead of time.

2. Are the menus the same for Anytime dining and Traditional dining?

only 99% sure but yes they are

3. I can't find any information about evening shows online. Do you need to make reservations in advance? When you get on board? Just show up?

normally 2 shows a night just like on traditional dining schedule. first come first served not like Oasis where # of passengers way more than theater can handle

4. I have been a bit disappointed to read about all of the additional charges on Princess ships (for the Sanctuary, pizza place, I think I even read somewhere about a charge for an evening show). Any other guidance on additional fees to be aware of? Any input on whether paying for the Sanctuary is worth it? I find the idea a bit offensive but one of our sea days is my birthday so it may be a nice birthday splurge. And if you want to reserve the Sanctuary, again is that something you can do in advance or only once on board?

got lattes most mornings at the Piazza coffee place ($2 or so each).with free pastries

Santuary is small pool and cabana area..extra but not sure how much as had no interest

ice cream extra most of the time

5. Any recommendations for web sites or other sources besides this site and these boards with good information about Princess?

google for reviews

have fun

Moncton is proof it can happen anywhere.

did back to back with Royal being one of the ships last december

kept luggage to a minimum so no tux

so dress shirt and pants for formal night...was not alone doing that

we were upgraded on Royal. check of website showed that our cabin was an aft balcony with a wrap around balcony. balcony on side and rear of ship. was actually the next cabin..website had the numbers wrong. would have been nice but balcony although smaller than on other ships was large enough to sit out and enjoy.

have fun

did back to back on Oasis and Royal last december. oasis is amazing. royal also amazing in its own way. food is slightly better on the royal (in my opinion anyways)

entertainment on the Oasis better.

that being said either ship really good so would go by prices and ports

civi station has steps but depends on which track you arrive on...inner tracks mean you have to take steps down..go through tunnel under tracks and then back up to get to the station

so you can try and plan a rail trip to make it easier but you still are humping your own bags

car service from rome expensive so your plan to share a ride a good one..and this is the place to organize

have fun

one of the operators of hop on hop off picks up on a side street by the termini station. left hand side as you face the main entrance

there is also a bus route that goes by the Vatican and other sites. search these boards and you should get the bus #. but pick pockets know that tourists use this bus and target it

stayed at Best Western Royal Santina which is on this street. it was good

there are 2 ferry ports in naples that serve Capri. We took slow ferry over as it was boarding right beside the cruise ship. took fast one back and it docked a few miles away..out of sight of the cruise ship and no cabs around. was an easy walk along very pretty coast but a bit of a concern as we did not know for sure which way to go

have posted this before and somebody had all the info on the names of both ports etc so suggest you find.

where is the idea that you are looking for donations coming from....this is a person who is looking for $ saving ideas for the rest of a trip

see from profile that you are in MD. so for airfare check out area airports and also area airports in Florida. MIA is close to Ft Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. lots of deals to be had on internet search sites.

even though it ads to the cost you should plan on staying night before in cruise port area. too many things to go wrong that may result in your missing your ship. you can find one (search cruise critic) that has free or cheap transport to the ship.

enjoy your cruise

she was probably 80 but was great

layers is the correct answer

but being Canadian I would wear shorts and a t shirt

just to look tough

I also wear hockey jerseys...1 because again I am Canadian but 2 they are warm when its cold but seem to breath and not be as hot when it gets a bit warm.

thanks for the info Zach...$35 to unlock my iphone so that is worth it

I take the battery out and store the phone in my backpack for the trip. available for emergency use but do not use it at all normally..use ipad for most stuff

wifi cafes everywhere...if actual cafes do not have wifi you can use for the price of a coffee there are sometimes actual wifi stores although these are more common in places where personal computers are rarer than at home..my favourite was in Turkey where the computers all had a turkish keyboard..kind of like english one but some weird changes..finding the "@ was real fun

and it was expensive ..3,000,000 lira for an hour...that was pre conversion so was less than $3

we tried finding an internet cafe in Cyprus...asked at an iphone store...guy took us to a cafe without wifi but let us use his signon while we had a soda. gave him 5 euros which he seemed really happy with

you can buy packages that drop the price a bit. if I remember right it was about 75 cents a minute on our last cruise for buy as you go.

one other tip...have heard of people on the ship in port using their devices thinking they were on their regular plan..only bouncing of the ship tower and getting charged.

being Canadian I get hosed so badly for US use that I not only go airplane mode I normally take my battery out. had a phone package for the us for my wifes iphone (no internet included). got a bill for $75 for first day in US before she turned internet off. no use just attempts to connect.

I never use the ships wifi. been in the computer lounge too many times with folks coming in having shut their laptop off in the room but the link and the charges keep running. ships do not even have it set to auto log you off if you do not touch a key for hours.

so I use ships computer for email on the ship. bring your laptop to use ashore and/or backup your pictures etc.

no ties to the rock except alberta is newfoundland west

its the only province we have not been to

booked it last night

its on the drive between the strip and downtown on south las vegas blvd

have driven past it lots but never went inside

she who must be obeyed talking Newfoundland instead of vegas now

glad you had a good time

she who must be obeyed and I might go again this summer

Mikey..are you guys back from Vegas yet.

only pointed out westjet to show its not a law or rule

just charging what the market will bear and making flying worse by inducing people to cram all their luggage in the overheads

first bag free

Greek city with amazing ruins

pay the extra for the terrace houses

last time we went we got a group together on cruise critic...private bus tour for 8 couples.....included Ephesus, Mary's House and and a tomb of ST John. Also included a lunch stop at a carpet factory....hate that stuff but they were not hard sellers and it was semi interesting

love the info and tips I get on this site

but I would NEVER rely on legal info from posters and there are guys like Mikey who is RCMP who I would likely trust my life with kicking in doors

use this info get a start but please contact the cruise line AND Immigration to check (even then get it in writing if you can)

lots of people do it so do not worry too much..just enough