chrisdom3

Depending on the season you may find nautical / tropical themed clothing at:

J.Crew

Ralph Lauren

Vineyard Vines

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We just returned from the Med a few weeks ago and stopped at La Spezia.

Have been to Pisa, years ago, and it's not worth using up a day to see. We did it with Florence and that was a great day. Have never been to Lucca.

La Spezia was a port I was excited about because it is so close to Cinque Terre. Through advice on CC and some research, we spent the day there on our own, mostly exploring the first town Riomaggiore and then the last Monterosso. It was an inexpensive train ticket that was good for the day. Simply breathtaking! Can't wait to return there someday and spend more than just a day.

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Just got off the Brilliance 2 weeks ago and felt she was in excellent condition.

I too read some less than stellar reviews but did not find anything on board that hindered our experience. Would sail on her again in a heartbeat.

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Hoping the OP and their family are fine after this devastating storm.

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Great to hear that they're doing the right thing! [emoji1303]

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Front row views for sunrises and sunsets, getting into and leaving ports! Just got back from the Mediterranean and while leaving Santorini we had the most incredible view of the entire island. Other ports were also quite impressive. This all depends on what side of the ship you're on but that evens out at some point.

Enjoy your cruise!

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Just line up early near the location where disembarkation will occur, nothing secret about that. You might be overthinking this.

I definitely am overthinking it, never really cared about disembarking so quickly before!

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We are on the Brilliance on August 17th and will be visiting Athens. This is the main reason we picked this cruise.

Since I have family, a home and haven't been there in 10 years, I am looking to squeeze every minute I can from this visit!

I've inquired with RC and of course was told that their excursions are first off, and since I clearly don't need an excursion in Athens I was wondering if there is any 'secret' or advice anyone has to help me insure I can get off ASAP.

We plan on getting up bright and early and of course be ready to go when they will let us go!

Thanks for any help!

Christina

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While Brilliance does not have the faster O3b service, the service she does have is still delivered in two different service levels: Surf (slower) and Surf & Stream (faster).

Good to know, because just about a week ago on the cruise planner there was only one option given (as far as speed goes).

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From what I know, there is still a speed difference, surf and stream is something like 2 - 4Mb/s download and surf around 0.5 - 1.5Mb/s from speed tests I've seen.

Thanks for the breakdown!

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Don't go by descriptions - that's just marketing spin. The only thing that matters are on board speed test results.

My thoughts exactly. I'm sailing on the Brilliance on August 17, I noticed these two options with about $2/day difference. When I called RCCL and inquired about the differences in these two options I didn't get a definitive response.

From what I've been reading here on CC it seems that the Brilliance doesn't even have the upgraded "Voom." Are they selling the same product with 2 different prices?

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We took this excursion in June! We enjoyed it. We did not get to do the boat to Montorosa because it was too rough. We came back from Portaverne on the ferry and took the train out. All in all a great time and I would recommend it :)

Was it the RCL excursion? If so does it stop at the coastal Cinque Terre towns? The description doesn't indicate that, which makes it hard to decide.

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Here's the ROMEINLIMO SITE for La Spezia tours (Florence/Pisa) - outstanding!:

 

https://www.romeinlimo.com/la-spezia/

Thanks for this site! I think we may consider using them out of Civitavecchia to Rome.

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It is very easy to do Cinque Terre on your own by train. We did it a couple of years ago and enjoyed our day so much that we did it again last year.

You can walk to the train station in La Spezia in about 20 minutes. You go along the waterfront for a little bit and then cross over the big boulevard and up a pedestrianised shopping street. If you prefer, there will probably be taxis.

When you get to the station, go inside and there is a dedicated Cinque Terre ticket office. The staff are fantastically helpful. They sell you the tickets - last year it was 16 euros per person, but I think there are discounted tickets for certain age groups - and also give you a leaflet with a map showing the route and different stations, as well as the timetable. There are several trains per hour that you can use, depending on the time of year. They also sell guide books which give you more detailed information about the different stops.

Then it's a bit like a hoho bus. You can get off at each stop, spend time wandering around, or have a bite to eat or shop for souvenirs and then catch the next train when you're ready.

Our favourite stop was the first one, Riomaggiore. It was the best for souvenir shopping, if that's something you like to do.

We also liked the last one, Monterosso, which has a pretty beach, so if you think you might want to spend some time on the beach go prepared with swimwear and towels. We had some very tasty paninis for lunch at one of the beachside places there.

I hope this helps and you have a great day (and a great cruise too, of course). :D

 

Lots of info on here in English and Italian: http://www.cinqueterre.it/it

This was extremely helpful! Thank you so much for all your advice and tips. I am even more certain now that this is the way to go, so excited!

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We did a Med cruise a couple of years ago & booked all of our Italian tours through Italy in Limo service (italyinlimo@gmail.com). All 3 places had the BEST guides... places to eat...personalized & cheaper than aboard RCCL. They made sure we were back in plenty of time. I would recommend them hands down :)

Thank you for this info!

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My 18 year old daughter and I took the train and visited 3 of the towns on our own. Very easy and enjoyable day!

I'm seriously considering that! From what I've read the towns are not far apart by train and the train runs hourly. I need to do some further research! Thanks

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We arranged for a private excursion to Cinque Terre, I can't give you the website here (our agent booked it). I highly recommend it, and it was much cheaper than the ship excursion (though there were six of us). If you want to e-mail me at m2j.nardi@gmail.com I'll send you the info. It was AMAZING. My favourite excursion by far - I want to go back.

 

 

I should add that you can take a train from La Spezia to Cinque Terre and see it on your own. We didn't do that so can't comment. But it's a relatively short trip from La Spezia to the area.

Thank you for your help! It's just my DH and myself but that would have been great when we had our 3 children. Those excursions cost us a bundle. DH feels safer about getting back to the ship with cruise lines excursions. He's fluent in Italian, which makes me comfortable about getting around on our own, so I'm hoping he wants to do the train!

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I would post this under the Port of Calls. You find lots of useful information there.

 

Enjoy your cruise on the Brilliance!

Thank you!

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Thank you! I guess we've been cruising dangerously. :eek::o:)

I too always traveled dangerously until a family member who fell ill when in Europe needed to be evacuated back to NY. The insurance covered that evacuation (about 100,000) on a private plane with medical staff. It covered the hospital stay in Europe along with all incurred cancellation and rescheduling fees. The only thing not covered was the cell phone bill!

I now take out additional coverage no matter where I'm going!

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We are sailing on the Brilliance on 8/17/17 and are looking for some advice about excursions out of La Spezia. We are very interested in seeing Cinque Terre. I've been inquiring about the "Coast of Cinque Terre & Portovenere" shore excursion through RCL. When I ask the RCL Rep for 'further' information on this excursion they are very happy to help but are basically just reading the description that I have already read on their site.

I'm hoping that someone is familiar with this excursion or even a way from La Spezia to explore this area. We have only been to Livorno and are not sure what to expect out of La Spezia.

Thanks for any help!

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I agree with Hoopster95 that the itinerary should be your primary consideration.

I'm partial to Celebrity but haven't sailed in about 10 years so I'm not really sure how they're holding up. When we did the Med with them in 2006 I couldn't have been more pleased with all aspects of the cruise. So when we were looking to cruise the Mediterranean this summer I only looked at X, but their itineraries just weren't right for us so we are doing RCL for the first time this August.

Hoping you find your perfect itinerary!

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Brilliance does not have Freestyle machine, so your only choices of soda with a package would be Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Ginger Ale, Tonic Water, and Soda Water. You may luck out and find a bar server who will give you a can of soda as part of your package, but that is the exception, not the rule.

If we could get soda water as part of the soda package, it is worthwhile. We don't drink soda but they are offering a bundle with the soda and voom that is just 5 dollars more a day for the soda package... so that works. Thanks for the info!

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Correct, and the Refreshment package also gets you a soda package, with special cup.

We are on the Brilliance, Aug 17, 17. I'm not sure if anyone knows if soda/any of the packages offer seltzer. We don't drink soda but enjoy our carbonated water, not sure if any package is worth it. Certainly the deluxe isn't since we'd probably just have a glass of wine with dinner. Thanks for any info!

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This is a NEW change. I've booked many cruises in the past, I started with an inside room and worked my way up to a suite. So all you green-with-envy-types are being ridiculous. I've never, NEVER, booked a cruise where the deposit was non-refundable whether booked onboard or through a TA. FYI-- I booked this suite onboard with NO reduction in deposit or OBC on the booking cruise, so that means I paid $900 to book a cruise a year plus out, one that I will have to save for! I work hard for my money, and don't go around with my nose up in the air bragging I'm "Diamond, Diamond Plus, Pinnacle," etc. and I'm NOT a crybaby. This policy is UNFAIR to people like me who like to plan and save for their vacations! I don't have $900 to throw away, do YOU??? And this ONLY applies to those bookings made onboard and not through a TA as I've just learned. So lesson learned, NEVER book RCCL onboard if you want a Grand Suite or better; or just don't book at all, as is my choice. Plenty of other lines out there that DON"T have this policy.

 

Also, I DO NOT care if there is already a topic thread, I didn't see it and it didn't come up during a topic search--I checked! God knows how many times other mundane topics such as formal nights and such have generated over the years! Please forgive me all you holier-than-thou's and have a nice day.

Thanks for the information. Also glad to see this response. I am truly surprised to see how harsh and unnecessary some of these replies have been.

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