Poconolady

I’m really enjoying your trip report.We will be on Flora in August, along with our daughter and her  husband  and two grandkids, age 13 & 16.  Is there anything in the evenings for the teens to do? What channels are there on the tv?

I’ll be following, we are on the Flora next Aug., it was the only ship that I could get three cabins together, on our our preferred  date.

Trying to make a decision about changing carriers/ new phone, etc Several here were satisfied with Verizon’s $10 international option, does anyone have any comments on the AT&T plan in Asia?

We just booked the Flora for next Aug, three generation trip to celebrate our g’son’s Bar Mitzvah. 2 grandparents, two parents and 2 teens, 16 & 13, my credit card is gasping for air tonight! It should be a great experience, both g’kids are avid snorkelers and obsessed with turtles and wildlife! It was a tossup between an African safari and Galapogas and the lure of the ocean won out!!

Are there any opportunities for fishing on any of the different islands?

Looking for some feedback from cruisers who have sailed the Galapagos with Celebrity. Things like which  ship, how were the cabins, food, ease of shore excursions, etc. are the shore excursions included in the fare or are they additional like on standard ships? Would you recommend this as a trip with teenagers? Any advise would be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

The ships can not use real greenery because of fire hazards. ( also, the cleaning up of fallen needles would be a continual headache)

Ah, the Grand Hotel. I spent many vacations there when I was a child. First we would go to a rustic fishing camp in the UP for a week for my Dad to unwind and then stop by the Grand for a week to appease my Mom. Fudge shops, long walks, sitting in the rocking chairs on the front porch before dinner, bicycling all over the island- but what I remember most was the freezing cold water in their huge pool!! 

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3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

@phoenix_dream   We had to try your recommendation.   We were a little apprehensive as their portions look so HUGE and they were. 

 

It was incredible but we could only eat half our portion in order to save room for desert.

 

Iain had the Wiener schnitzel and I had the The Beef Strudel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That strudel looks amazing!

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

@phoenix_dream   We had to try your recommendation.   We were a little apprehensive as their portions look so HUGE and they were. 

 

It was incredible but we could only eat half our portion in order to save room for desert.

 

Iain had the Wiener schnitzel and I had the The Beef Strudel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did the ships “on your own” transportation tour. There might be cheaper options, but I never found a suitable schedule that would guarantee a return to the ship on time. We had a lovely  fall day exploring several street markets and just wandering, absorbing the feel of the area.

We stayed at a local Residence Inn while our current  home was being built 11 years ago, $45 a night on a long term basis, we were there for three months. What a deal, included daily breakfast and dinner four nights a week. They always had an abundance of snacks set out and a bus to take you where you wanted to go. I “ almost” hated to leave!

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

That was indeed the cruise.    They didn't notify us as early.   We got a phone call at 6:30 AM that we were being evacuated from the ship and asked to grab enough clothing for one night and medications and report the the Randavous Lounge.   There were LOTS of B2B's and your overnight accommodations were according to class of your room.  

 

Unfortunately Hiroshima was cancelled 3 times but we eventually was able to visit Nagasaki.   All I can say was it was a very somber memorial and very memorable.

Yes, we got to Nagasaki on the anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing. Very somber at the memorial and the museum, and then a lively parade not far away.

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I would not hesitate to go back.    We were on a B2B and got hit with 3 typhoons.   On turn around day they evacuated the B2B's from the ship and advised all on-coming passengers to find a place on land.    The storm actually fell apart before hitting Yokohama

Jim,  was this in 2018? We got on in Yokohama, a day after the cruise was supposed to  embark. We got an email from Celebrity in the middle of the night, while we were waiting for the typhoon to hit us in Tokyo, telling us about the change of sailing date. . They told us to  stay in place and save all our bills for lodging, food, transportation and submit them onboard. They were refunded to us onboard with refundable obc .  The itinerary got changed around a few times, but it was a great cruise!  We are going back in for the Best of Southern Japan itinerary in March ‘24.

45 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

Do you recall what they offered for that B2B tour?  We are on B2B on Millennium in March/April...but ours are both Yokohama to Yokohama--so we're flying into Haneda 5 days early and staying in Shinjuku...We've got two tours planned for our pre-cruise already and one more for the disembarkation day after the second cruise since our flight doesn't leave until late.  By the time they would let us know what this tour encompasses, we might already have seen the places they are visiting. Probably okay though...with our intensive itinerary, we were planning on just staying on the ship on turnaround day.

I’m not sure, we didn’t take it because we already had our day planned out.  We took the subway toTokyo to our pre cruise hotel to pick up some kimonos we had ordered, had lunch and then returned. We had time to walk around the China Town in Yokohama and visit the October Fest that was going near the pier.( yes I know, Hofbrau Haus beer garden in the middle of Japan, kind of a mix of cultures!) Then onto the ship in time for sailing.

On 8/24/2023 at 8:01 PM, RlyLvn said:

Thank you all for this very helpful information. We are doing a B2B on September 15 from Vancouver to Yokohama (14 nights) and then Yokohama to Yokohama (12 nights) on Celebrity Millenium. We arrive in Yokohama at 7am and leave at 7pm. Is it feasible for us to take the train into Tokyo for a few hours and get back in time for the 7pm departure?

It should be possible. You will have to stay onboard to be processed and get your new  keycard etc, so maybe you will be off the ship by 9:30, then you can walk to the train station and get the train to Tokyo, have some time to walk around, have lunch and then get back for your sailing. You will need to be onboard by probably 6pm. Another note, the ship offered a tour for b2b guests only , but it wasn’t announced  until you were onboard. 

We are considering a flight out of Haneda back to the US. Is it conceivable that we could make a 1155 Flight, if we carry off our bags ourselves. Ship iss heculed to arrive at 7am.

On 9/1/2023 at 4:58 PM, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks much -   It will really be helpful if some of you recommend other cruise lines to explore.    I think high on our demand list are itineraries other than the standard Caribbean and Mediterranean and of a duration 14+ days.  

 

Top on my list is a life long dream to visit Africa.   

Jim,

if Africa is of interest, you might want to look into Oceana Insignia, half of their 2025 world cruise,  Capetown to Singapore segment, 33 days. 

I just did it- booked an Oceana Marina Reykjavik to Southampton cruise for next Aug. This will be our fourth attempt at Iceland, hope this one actually happens!! We still have a Millennium, Japan,  for cherry blossoms that we booked in ‘21, we will still do that one since the price we booked is so low compared to now.  I have a feeling that we will meet a lot of former Celebrity passengers.

Jim_Lain,

looking forward to your next Live report. What line will you be sailing?

Being under the gym is not bad, IF you check the deck plans and book the cabins that are under the hair salon, those are very quiet. Also, there are a few cabins under the buffet area, near the entrance, this area is carpeted so the chairs don’t scrape on the floor. There are also AQ cabins that are above the buffet, those are really quiet.

Does anyone have any personal experience with Viking Ocean cruises? I’m about ready to jump ship from Celebrity.

I noticed that the sirloin steak from the classic menu has been downgraded to a flank steak option.

26 minutes ago, 4-2-N-8 said:

Just curious, since this a thread in its own right, is the elite breakfast a marked step up from breakfast in all other dining venues?

 

Is this more a champagne type celebration and/or premium offerings well ahead of everything else on the ship (at least for breakfast)?

 

TY

Absolutely not. This is just an option for a quiet, continental style breakfast, without the morning crowds. Not a champaign brunch. The rolls, fruits, etc are the same as what is served in other breakfast locations.

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

9th gen on the larger ipad 10.2", 6th gen on the iPad mini. 

Thank you so much for checking for me! 
on another front! Have you tried the cinnamon rolls in Eden Cafe? They are the best I’ve ever had!!

Kwokpot, if you happen to wander by the Apple Store, could you ask what generation IPads they have, and how much? Thinking of how I’m going to spend all my obc! Thanks in advance