kborth

It seems to take a lot of work to find a deal.[/i think you are right about Royal. We switched to Celebrity a couple of years ago and got cheaper cruises. Got a12 day from Rome to Venice last year for 900 each and on board credit with 10 ports on Silhouette. Like the entertainment better on Royal but Celebrity ships are first rate and cabins are nicer. Just my opinion. Though we loved the Jewel.

Thank you. I guess I will try it for lunch, sounds so good maybe dinner too. Think this is a great concept .

Going on a shorter cruise this time and was wondering which day is the best to,try this new seafood menu on a 7 day cruise. Are they open for lunch? Really like the idea of seafood heavy restaurant on Celebrity. We weren't too impressed with Bistro on Five in April,so hopefully this one will be better.

Just googled and saw there is a clothing optional cruise on Silhouette the week before mine. Kind of grosses me out.

Not about shoes but anyway try taking turmeric in water for your knee and also cod liver oil. I also have a bad knee and have flat sandals with blingy buckles on them. Can't wear heels at all.i also juice and that really helps. See lots do ladies in flats on formal night. Lots of us just can't do the heels. Good luck.

Miso salmon at the Aquaspa cafe, Caesar salad I don't know why but it tastes better than any I have had, had every night from room service and in the buffet, anything from Cafe Al Bacio and the ice cream which I had every afternoon and I rarely est ice cream.also the grill at the back of the ship which cooks steak, chops and fish to order with chimichurri sauce.

I was on Celebrity Constellation last month and there were families with children with Downs Syndrome and I was very impressed with how their children were treated. For a so called adult cruise line they pulled out all the stops to treat them like gold. You might want to try them.

I applaud you for posting this issue and I would suggest that you continue to advocate for your son, as I have for my son with disability. I think you are spot on and as I said I would keep squeaking and create some publicity on your experience and then change will occur. Cruise lines such as Royal advertise themselves as family fun and we all know that families come in all shapes, sizes and diverse dynamics. If you do so the cruise lines will hire trained staff and provide programming that meets the needs of all families and I believe it can be done. Bravo!

So sad to hear this. I believe they could have assigned a buddy for your sons group. I was an E.A. For many years and absolutely loved working with students with Downs Syndrome. It could have been handled in a much more sensitive and positive way and they need to rethink their policies to accommodate the rights of all young passengers. I visited the youth program while on their ships afew years ago and was impressed was the programming and staff but this issue is very important and perhaps extra staff needs to be hired and trained in accommodation to all children.

We sailed on the Eclipse last October on a 14 night TA. The ship stopped at some great ports in Southern Spain and the Canary Islands. Then 7 consecutive sea days.

 

We discovered that we have no desire to be at sea for seven consecutive days, particularly at he end of a three week vacation. I think we tend to use the ship more as a hotel than a destination. It is a great place to relax for a day, and get ready for the next port.

 

I fully understand that many people love those sea days. We don't.

 

RCL, HAL, Princess and some others have Northbound TAs that only have 4 consecutive sea days? In addition some of them visit Iceland, and other areas in the North Atlantic that are interesting.

 

X has no northern route TAs. Oh well, wishful thinking.

 

FWIW, X is still our favorite cruise line.:)

Went on Constellation spring one and almost lost my mind. Too many sea days, never again

Sounds to me like they are the only ones with any common sense. There is a huge difference between a service animal, there was one on the same cruise with fluffy and a dog in a baby buggy. I would not not have any problem with the service animals, give me a break. As for comparing dogs with fleas to children with lice , big problem as dogs are not human last I heard. although I have seen some kids wh behave worse than animals, past life in the school system. Anyway why can't pax be made to leave dogs in the cabin during meal times, this includes Fluffy in his own canopy bed in the suite and have room service, by the way on Connie we saw the area where they do their business. Hubby called it the poop deck.

100% agree with you .

Agree. On Constellation TA every morning there was a woman in the Oceanview with her dog in a stroller, turned my stomach. If I walked into a dining establishment and was seated next to a dog in a stroller I would leave, can't do that on a ship and quarters were very close. I love dogs just not when I am eating a meal on a ship. What is the matter with Celebrity?

We have switched to Celebrity for the last 2 cruises but now I really miss Royal entertainment and pax, wanted to take the cruise on Explorer next year to Alaska and am a bit worried about reviews here. Wish they had not moved Jewel as we wanted to take the California coastal cruise, oh well, have sailed on Radiance class 4 times and absolutely love these ships.

Sounds like we are in for a treat. My wife and I board Solstice in 20 short days! The ship sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing your experience

 

On another issue you presented:

 

Vancouver was a problem when we sailed Century a couple of years ago, and there was only 2 ships departing then. I think they have SIGNIFICANT problems there, and ultimately that will cost Canada a lot of money. More and more ships and passengers are cruising out of Seattle these days, perhaps because of the Canadian (and US) Customs disasters in Vancouver.

 

Wake up Vancouver! This is costing you $$.

 

They used to have a speedy cruise pass embarkation for US citizens arriving at Vancouver airport. If you were arriving by plane and heading straight to the ship, it was a fast one-stop customs thing where you got on a bus and are whisked directly to the port. Easy as pie! Apparently they stopped that program.

 

Now its' a long line at the airport going through customs. Next, finding your transport to the port, and then enduring apparently a 2 hour wait to go through customs again, followed by the cruise line check-in which will add even more time. That is insane.

Lots of cutbacks in Canadian customs by Mr. Harper. If you think that's bad try customs at Pearson airport, waited 2hours after long flight from Rome 2weeks ago and it was a disaster, they need to put these guys back to work, probably would not fly out of Canada again til something changes.

We have done 6 TA/TPs on 3 different lines and IMHO they are different than other cruises. When you have 2500-3000 people confined on a ship for 6-8 straight days it is much different.

 

With no port days people stay up later, bars, casino, shows, activities have more people ( crowds). If the weather isn't conducive to being outside the ship interior spaces ( buffet, library, fitness center, atrium, promenade) begin to get very crowded and cabin fever can set in. At that point things that may not be a concern when you are heading to a new port every day or so become irritating.

 

We enjoy TAs but we get on hoping for wonderful weather and knowing that we can sleep late every day, catch up on our reading, meet new people, and not have to be anywhere at a set time. If you get on a TA with a smile, a bit of patience and a sense of humor you can get hooked on them:)

I agree ,having just returned from Connie TA, totally different with many experienced cruisers and much more crowded, lots of rude and entitled pax on this ship, could not believe it. Don't think we will go on another.

Guilty as charged. My only excuse is fat fingers and small tablet.

There was a very short older woman wearing a swimsuit and a winter parka yelling" There's no chocolate cake"chocolate cake!" My husband just about dropped his lunch. See what I mean, 13days of it.....

I am thinking of writing a diary as most of what went on was. Quite funny.

Actually as the cruise went on we kind of waited for the next situation to emerge. Not what I was anticipating and also it seemed on every occasion that we sat in the Refections lounge we were approached to try the Tuscan Grill and the price kept going down as the cruise wound down. I found it funny but my husband was not happy and kept saying no but the crew member had a hard time accepting that. Personally I would have tried it just to shut him up but my husband is Scottish....

Not impressed either, just returned from Constellation TA and found many of the same issues, in Bistro on Five the food was not up to snuff, creeps cold after waiting twenty minutes for them, at Cafe Al Bacio another long wait and again cold cappuccino and when I asked for another was told no. Could not get desired dining time at main dining room so we gave up on that. Oceanview grill was a zoo and many of the food items were lukewarm. My biggest issue on this cruise was the rudeness of the passengers and lack of manners. I saw a woman with runners dip her shoe in the Thalassotherapy pool and then walk away, some eating as they were walking and licking their fingers, woman with dog in baby buggy in the Oceanview, drunks yelling at the back of the theatre during the Beatles show. Would not sail on the Constellation again, actually we could not believe it was the same cruise line and the cheesy cruise director and TopChef over and over on a 13 day cruise,would not sail onConstellation again.

Hi I think we will take the train to Orvieto, sounds lovely and more manageable. Sure wish I had more time to travel through Italy.

We are looking at this tour offered by Viator. We have not taken any of their tours, just wondering if they are any good. We will be in Rome on the 25th of next month for 4 days and have already done the Vatican and Colosseum last year.

Insalata Ricci near piazza navotas! gorgeous salads and tiramisu and reasonable.

I always get this and we love it. You get the bottle and about six mixers. We get orange juice with room service and keep in the mini fridge for drinks. We don't get the drink package as we don't drink that much but it's lovely to have a cool drink in your cabin after a day in port. I can't remember the size of the bottle.

Bring back a better Hawaii cruise with overnights in Kauai, Oahu, Maui and two or three stops on the big island. Spend 10 days there and then the 4 or 5 days one way to the Pacific coast. Make it a 14 (or 15, depending on where on the west coast) night cruise but make most of it IN Hawaii, not most of it coming and going.

 

Do a British Isles cruise that begins and ends in Southampton and goes around the entire area for 2 to 2-1/2 weeks.

 

Do a better Norway cruise. We are doing Azamara's version in 2016 which is the best we found.

Love the British Isles idea!