sapphireblue
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Posts posted by sapphireblue
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15 hours ago, bianks said:
have you done any with Italy tours . EU? they are coming in significantly cheaper........ hmmm
No, I have only used Rome in Limo. I did three tours back to back in 2014, and because I was so impressed with the quality of the tour, I booked the same three again this last summer. I have had awesome experiences working with Janey in the office. She is very quick to respond and was amazing at working through some of my requests.
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We have stopped in Positano and had approximately 1 hour to roam around the streets and shop. I have done this tour twice so far and the next time I travel to this area I will work with Jany at Rome in Limo to have more time in Positano.
I will add that this last summer, due to a travel obstruction on the road that made a visit to Sorrento a problem, our driver suggested a wine tasting (lunch) to a winery at Mount Vesuvius, very close to Pompeii. Oh my goodness! It was an unexpected highlight of our tour.
We then concluded our day at Pompeii. It was an epic day. We shared this tour here on cruise critic and had no problem filling the extra seats on our 6 passenger van, making the cost per person very affordable.-
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I highly recommend Rome in Limo as well. I have done 6 tours with them and can confirm they are outstanding.
We just did a tour out of Naples with them this summer to both Positano and Pompeii. Spectacular.
Email them and Jany will get right back to you. She is amazing.-
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We arrived in Ravenna on a cruise , so only needed Daytrip to Venice.
Daytrip does do transfers from Venice to Ravenna. Our ride arrived early, before 8:00am, in the morning with a passenger from Venice.
It must’ve been a very early for that passenger as it’s about a 2 hour drive.
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Another vote for Rome in Limo here. I used them for the 2nd time this year ( and have done 6 tours in total with them ). They are outstanding. Janey, who you’d be in contact with, is fantastic with all your arrangements.
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I would suggest to email them directly to ask about booking before December 31. That does seem unusual. I believe their email is on their webpage.
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Ship: CONSTELLATION
CABIN #: 7199
DECK #: 7
CLASS: Family Verandah
AREA: Corner aft
BED NEAR: Bathroom
QUIET?: Room is quiet; on the balcony only conversations of neighbouring cabins. Not bothersome.
BALCONY VIEW: Aft - wake of the ship and full side view. No obstructions.
BALCONY SIZE: HUGE!
WIND A PROBLEM?: No
SOOT A PROBLEM?: No
PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: As the cabin is not revolutionized yet, however it was very clean and well maintained. There were no issues with anything. This cabin has 2 doors to enter. The outlets were sufficient as we used both types with adapters. In the sitting room with the sofa and chairs ( will sleep up to three ), the power bar ( under the tv in the cabinet) was used to charge devices as well.
The balcony was unbelievable!! It’s approximately 2/3’s the size of the cabin. There were loungers, chairs, couch and 2 tables available to use.
It has been rumoured that this cabin will be updated to a suite when the ship goes in to be revolutionized.
Would absolutely book again.
See the attached video for a quick walk through.
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I recently returned from my first cruise with Celebrity, and while I normally book my own flights, I ended up booking FBC when their airfares were 1/2 the amount I typically pay I decided to give it a go this time. I flew into Barcelona and out of Venice, and was able to work with the agent booking flights 3 days before the cruise and 3 days after the cruise. I booked about 10 months in advance and was able to handpick my preferred airlines and flights.
Fast forward to 2 weeks prior to my first flight. I received notice from FBC that one of our LH flights via Munich was cancelled (something I was anticipating due to airport issues in Europe). They promised to have new flights for me within 48 hours. And they did. Excellent.
We were now flying via Frankfurt. The new flights had a 'legal" connecting time which I know from previous experience would be very difficult to happen. I requested another connecting flight with them and was told it would take about 7 to 10 days. That was frustrating as I felt it was cutting it way too close to travel time. I called them several times, hoping to expedite my request but nothing ever happened. I was asked to continue to wait. I decided to let it go.
Then, one day before departure, I learned that there would be a one day strike by ground crew in Germany on the day we were to arrive and then connect to Barcelona. I called FBC and asked about my flights Because they had not received any notice from the airlines yet, they couldn't do anything about it.
At 12:30am. the day of my flight, an email came in from LH that my flight out of Frankfurt was cancelled due to the strike. I called LH - couldn't get through. I then called FBC (twice ) - the first agent was not willing to look further into anything for me. I hung up and called again. This agent was amazing. I provided the email info that I'd received from LH and then, she and her supervisor worked for me to find flights with another airline (not connecting in Europe) to get me there.
Interestingly, my outbound LH flight to Frankfurt was still expecting me to board. I could have flown but would have had issues upon arrival with continuing on to Barcelona. And I absolutely did not want to deal with that there, jetlagged and worrying about finding a new flight (would I be limited to only LH flights? would I need to fly the next day? what about a hotel? where is my luggage? etc)
What did I learn?
1. Booking my flights to arrive several days before my cruise was crucial, especially this summer with all the issues that transpired.
2. Celebrity promised they would get me there - and they did. This is where they shone - in my case.
3. If you don't get the assistance or help you are needing, hang up and try again. There is a mix of experience on the other end of the line. Just need to try again to find a better match.
Will I use FBC again? Maybe. Things worked out well in this case. It was 'freaky' timing that the strike happened the ONE DAY were flying through. Had the strike not happened, I would probably have been fine. There were several connecting flights after the one they had booked me one and I would have likely been on one of them - which is fine.
This was the only hiccup of our entire trip. It was resolved well and I was fully aware that we were travelling during an unprecedented time with all the airport issues.
And now.... on to planning the next one.
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We just returned from Venice and used a private transfer service from Ravenna to Venice. We were picked up by Daytrip at 8am and in Venice by 10am. Their vans hold up to 7 people. Great service.
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Once again, Rome in Limo has provided another set of 3 amazing visits at our ports of call to Rome, Florence and Pisa, and Positano, Pompeii and a surprise.
In 2014, I read about Rome in Limo here on the Roll Call of the cruise I was on at that time. Fellow passengers on my sailing had posted tours to all the places I was hoping to find tours to and had a few seats to fill. I contacted Rome in Limo and promptly heard back from Jany who booked us. We experienced 3 phenomenal visits to Florence & Pisa, Rome, and Positano, Sorrento and Pompeii. Each driver was truly an expert at each destination and provided us with such memorable experiences that I knew if I ever came back, I would contacting Rome in Limo again.
Fast forward to 2022. Once our cruise was booked, about a year ago, I contacted Jany and started arranging tours to the same three ports as cruises were starting up in the Mediterranean again. I had many questions as the world slowly opened up again, each of which Jany promptly answered every time. I shared the tours on my Roll Call with an invitation to join us., and it didn't take long to fill them all. Jany provided us with very detailed information as to where and when to meet the driver. (My suggestion here, if you're sharing a tour, is to arrange a meeting point onboard the ship before disembarking to meet the driver. This works beautifully as no one has to wait and the driver can often get a head start to beat the busses to the popular sites).
Our driver for Florence and Pisa was Sabrina, who loved sharing her knowledge of Tuscany with us. We were looking to get some olive oil from the region and she knew exactly where to take us off the highway into the Tuscan countryside. Once in Florence where we had booked a visit to the Accademia, she whisked us to the front of the line for our booked time. She had the perfect Trattoria in mind for us to enjoy a delicious lunch.
In Rome, our driver was Francesco, who amazed us with his knowledge of his home city. He expertly navigated all the streets in Rome while filling us with history and stories of what was before us. After a walk around the Colosseum, a visit to the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, he brought us to a quaint restaurant to enjoy another amazing meal. He dropped us off at the Vatican for our booked tour and was waiting for us outside when we were done.
Daniel was our driver in Naples. He expertly navigated us through the windy and scenic roads to Positano, stopping along the way at the most stunning scenic views. With potential traffic issues in some areas, Daniel suggested that we do something a little different and took us to an amazing winery on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. What an amazing surprise this was and ended up being a highlight for all of us. We loved it. Here we enjoyed a wine tasting lunch which we will never forget. We ended our day with a visit to Pompeii with a guide arranged through Rome in Limo.
Jany went above and beyond to work with us on our various requests. Each driver was an absolute delight, arriving with Mercedes Benz vans that were spotlessly clean and wonderfully air conditioned. The drivers are in constant contact with each other at each port and got us back to our ship with plenty of time to spare.
We were filled with so many unforgettable memories that we will cherish for a lifetime.
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31 minutes ago, Loracpin2 said:
Won't Munich be effected as well?
The union Ver.di announced that the main airports of Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne-Bonn, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover and Stuttgart would be affected by the planned strikes.
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We've booked our air through Celebrity and are just waiting to hear IF we get our flight(s) cancelled. Then we can move forward.
Thankfully, when we booked this back in November, we decided to fly in to Barcelona 3 days before our cruise. We were just hopeful at that time that cruising would continue to grow. The flights seemed to be the only arrangements that were a sure thing.
Here is another classic example of why it's so important to fly in a few days early if possible. Who knew in November that the flight situation would be what it is in the world right now. And now a one day strike?!
In 12 hours we are planning on heading out to the airport. Let's see how this rolls out.
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We're so ready and excited to fly out tomorrow to join the Constellation this weekend. And just as we finish our last bit of packing we've found a few news articles along with a notice on Lufthansa's website is saying that there will be a one-day warning strike on Wednesday, July 27th in airports across Germany. 😮 Is anyone flying through Germany enroute to a cruise port? Does anyone know about this? Any experience with this?
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Awesome. Thanks everyone. Very helpful information.
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This is my first time booking with Flights by Celebrity. At this point I have chosen the Pay Later option. My question is: Is my airfare locked in at the price when I booked? Or can it change? What is the benefit of paying at the time of booking?
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I was booked in an Inside Guaranty at a great rate.
About 12 weeks prior to my sailing, I received and accepted the email offer to be called for an upgrade to an OV cabin for $400.
Then 7 weeks prior to my sailing I received another email notifying me that I could expect a call with an offer to upgrade.
The following day the call came. The OV were no longer available, but was offered a balcony for an additional $200. I grabbed it. In the end, I paid the going rate for an inside cabin but enjoyed a balcony cabin instead.
If you choose the offer, you do need to pay on the spot. So, have your phone and your credit card close by. ;)
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Diamond. Booked in an inside guarantee. Received an email 2 days advising I could get a phonemail from RCI offering an upgrade. Got the call yesterday - expected an upsell offer to ocean view. Ocean view was sold out, but got an amazing upsell offer to balcony....and grabbed it. This was the first upgrade of any kind in over 20 cruises with RCI.
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We visited Argostoli this last summer and ended up taking a ships tour. It was excellent. It took us to a monastery (with a very interesting history), through the heart of the island to Lake Melissani, along the coast back to port. This was the only ships tour we took on our cruise, and because it was a 'tour' we probably learned the most because of the superb guide. The coach was comfortable and cool. Well worth our $$. Hope this helps.
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I've purchased the Photo CD package 3 different times now and LOVE it.
Five years ago we tried this for the first time. We looked for every photo opportunity to take full advantage of the package. At that time, it was more about giving us a chance for a 'good' family photo. We typically take the worst photos when we pose. They look awful. So, we decided to have fun and be a little silly. Ha - the photographers weren't too sure about us at first, but worked with us and now we have the BEST family photos. Not just the fun ones, but they would keep snapping after our 'pose' and caught us with real smiles / laughs. It turns out that this was the last time our family managed to travel together. The kids are busy with college and work, and hard to find time to travel together.
Three years ago, I bought the package on my first Mediterranean cruise. Again, we had fun with the photographers. And it didn't take long before they got used to us, and looked forward to finding us as the ship unloaded at each port for photos. We took advantage of every photo op at port. Port photos also usually have something labeled with the name of the port. That along with the many opportunities each night onboard ship, gave us lots of amazing photos.
And finally, I just returned from an amazing b2b sailing on the Rhapsody in the Mediterranean. Again, I got the package beforehand for the first cruise. Then, during that first cruise, I was able to purchase a 1/2 price (of the regular price) package for the 2nd cruise. We now have fabulous memories of each port visited, along with several photos each night with different back drops. As already mentioned, the photographers are out every night with anywhere from 3 to 5 photo opportunities with various backdrops. More on formal nights. On our sailing, they also took photos with the Captain one night and had several nights with amazing sunsets, so photos were taken out on deck during that time.
Most ships now have kiosks where you check for your photos. Some still print the photos for you to view in their gallery. Use the kiosk to make sure all your photos are on there. I mention this because on this last sailing, they still printed the photos so I only looked for them there and didn't check the kiosk. When I got home - yup - some photos were missing on the CD. Now here is where I felt that the after cruise service was top notch. I contacted the company that handles the photo program, and within days, they emailed me the missing photos. (For photos on board they usually ask for your Seapass card. For photos taken off the ship at port, they don't ask for your cards, so you'd need to ensure that they are showing up by checking the kiosk.) Lesson learned. :D I ended up with about 300 photos of both cruises. A great deal when you consider each photo is $19.95.
Bonus: we got to know the photographers with all the fun we had, and know they had fun along with us. They are a wonderful group of photographers from all around the world. And now we have a great bunch of photos with lots of memories.
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Rhapsody update:
Ligia Kandler is back in the Diamond Lounge until November 2017 sometime.
Alan is still in the Suites lounge
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CD was Patricio Honares and Activities Manager was Dani ......can't remember his surname.
The Activity Manager was Dani Dornas. He also led awesome Zumba classes - for those who are interested.
He and Patricio made a fantastic team.
Lots of good fun on the Rhapsody on both the July 22 and July 29 sailings. The atmosphere on the ship was incredible. Very international group of passengers. Lots of fun!
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I read that on some European trips that when you check in for the cruise they will take your passport and hold it for you until the end of the trip or report if it's necessary. Is this the case on the Rhapsody going to Greece? Just curious...
I also returned from a B2B cruise on the Rhapsody (July 22 & 29th). No passports were collected on either itinerary.
Ravenna to Venice airport transfer
in Italy Ports
Posted
Try mydaytrip dot com.