aslaw

We booked a Galapagos cruise while onboard another Celebrity cruise. Celebrity Galapagos cruises are all inclusive (gratuities, beverage, internet, etc.) and there is almost nothing to spend money on on the ship. When we got home, I called several TAs asking about additional benefits. One offered $1000 in air credit if we used Choice Air. If we booked air independently, the offer was a $1000 check after we completed the cruise. I transferred the booking and our airfare was virtually free ($12).

Totally agree about the Alamo shuttle. But, you should be aware that when we were boarding the shuttle from the port to go to MIA Rental Car Center, we were asked if we had Alamo reservations. So I'm not sure if you can use the Alamo shuttle without an Alamo car reservation.

We used it Thanksgiving Week. We were a party of 11 with 6 adults. One person from each couple got the app. For communicating with each other, it worked about 75-80% of the time. Sometimes the message was delivered instantly and other times, it took awhile.

We booked Xpedition on a July 2015 Silhouette sailing in the Baltic for January 2017; there was no discount but the deposit was $250 per person. When we got home, I called the several of the big box agencies. Most offered OBC and couldn't answer when I asked what I was going to spend the OBC on as this cruise is all inclusive. One agency offered $1000 in air credits if we used Choice Air. If we didn't use Choice Air, we were promised a $1000 check on completion of the cruise. Needless to say, that's the TA I transferred the booking to.

]We are a multigenerational family of 11 - 2 grandparents in their 60s, 4 parents in their 30s and kids age 12, 7, 6, 4 and 4. We booked this ship because it had activities for kids and adults. We all had an amazing time!! Because it was Thanksgiving Week, there were 1600+ kids and the ship was probably booked to capacity. It did feel crowded but not overly so and that is what we expected on a holiday sailing.

The Pros —

—The ship is beautiful with lots of different dining and entertainment venues.

—We were always able to get tickets to the shows we wanted.

—We also never had a problem finding seats at the Garden Cafe or lounge chairs at the pool. The food was generally good and better than some cruise ship buffets.

—The children had a fabulous time at Splash Academy. They wanted to rush through dinner to get there for the 7:00 session.

—The kids loved the water slide, pool and water playground.

—The specialty restaurants were as good as you could get on land. We had the 4 dinner package. We went to LeBistro, Cagneys, Moderno, & Teppanyaki. Our favorite was Cagneys because the service and the food was the best on the ship. The children were enthralled with the “show” at Teppanyaki.

—Howl at the Moon. The performers were engaging and fun!!

—Waterfront is a great idea and the perfect place to sit at night after an early dinner and before seeking entertainment.

—iConcierge was about 75% effective and working. We put the app on 3 phones and generally it helped us stay in touch with our group. But there were times when it just didn’t work — the message we were trying to send said “sent” instead of “delivered.” Delivered meant it was received by the addressee. Sent was somewhere in cyberspace. Because it worked most of the time, I put in in Pros.

—Service was exceptional except for The Manhattan Room.

—“Washy Washy” (don’t know his real name) a crew member responsible for providing hand sanitizer at the buffet. He apparently loved his job because he sang “washy-washy” hands, etc. The grandchildren at every trip to the Garden Cafe had to see Mr. Washy Washy. NCL knew his appeal as he was entertaining the folks in a rather long line at the Manhattan Room on Thanksgiving Day rather than working in the restaurant. He was also entertaining as we were disembarking the ship.

The Cons

—The Manhattan Room — Because we were a party of 11, our only complimentary dining choice was The Manhattan Room as Savor and Taste don’t have large tables We ate there 3 times, including Thanksgiving Dinner. We always had reservations. The food and service were abysmal. They probably were not equipped to handle the number of diners on a holiday sailing. We observed other large intergenerational families in The Manhattan Room. One night, we were shown to our table minus dining chairs on one side. Staff disappeared and we were left to move chairs to our table. On Thanksgiving, one of our 4 year olds was out of her seat, but next to it; one of the servers, bopped her on the head with his tray (gently) and said “in my way” not so gently. The traditional Thanksgiving dinner reminded me of the Thanksgiving meal that my work cafeteria prepared for employees a few days before Thanksgiving.

—The kids pool and water playground area were next to the adult pool. So the raunchy humor from the bandstand wafted to the kids area. Some of what was said was vulgar and not appropriate for children.

—The room steward refused to open the balcony dividers between our 3 rooms because it was “dangerous” as per NCL policy.

The Ports —

St. Thomas — We privately booked the Godfrey tour for shopping and beach. With a party of 11, we wanted to make sure we had transportation throughout the day. We did some shopping in St. Thomas and then went to Sapphire Beach. Weather was spotty — rain, no rain, rain. But who can complain about being at Sapphire Beach?? Godfrey contracted our transportation to Sapphire Beach and back to the ship to Anthony. His vehicle was an enclosed van with air conditioning!! After getting back to the ship, my son and I walked to “Al Cohen’s Discount Liquors.” Some of the liquor was truly discount and of course, left with some bottles.

Tortola — Months ago we booked the ship’s excursion to the Baths in Virgin Gorda Other than the ferry ride to Virgin Gorda when the 7 year old had motion sickness, this was an outstanding excursion. It does require some exertion and balance but we, the grandparents, are in reasonably good health and are active. We were able to do it!! We are travelers (this was our 20th cruise) and have never seen rocks on the beach like this. Perhaps because we booked early, we had the 7 am assembly time. We were able to do The Baths before it became really hot. There were 8 am and 9 am assembly times for this excursion also

Nassau — We walked to Lighthouse Beach (Junkanoo). Our family had a blast!! The kids and their parents loved it. There were 4 or 5 ships in port and it was crowded but we found our spot of sand. On the way back to the ship, we shopped at the stalls in a market near the port. While reviews generally disparage Nassau, we had a great time.[/size]

What about Keen water sandals? My understanding is that they are great for traction and water. I've tried to hyperlink a photo of them.

http://i.keenfootwear.com/images.ashx?t=product&i=510230_mineral_bluevapor_3q.jpg&w=500&h=333&q=90

Thank you for the review. This is a bucket list trip. We are booked for January 2017. We are starting to figure out what items we need to take with us. Can you please share things that you found to be absolutely necessary to take-- eg, sunscreen? What did people use when they were getting out of the zodiacs? Did they carry a change of shoes for walking/hiking? How buggy was it? Did you carry bug repellent? Etc.

Thanks for any information you can share.

We are doing a family cruise over Thanksgiving on Escape. We are trying to book return flights on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. What is the earliest you can get off Escape? We will arrange limo service to meet us at the pier so as soon as we clear customs and immigration, the limo will be waiting for us. We are looking at a noon flight from Palm Beach International.

Thank for the help.

We used A1A Limousine for pick up at Port Everglades after a westbound transatlantic cruise. We were delayed several hours before we could get off the ship. The limo driver stayed in touch by cell phone but waited for us. A1A Limo services Palm Beach County. Their website is http://www.A1ALimo.com.

We used TJ Travel (Berlin, Talinn & St. Petersburg) on our recent Baltic cruise in July on Celebrity Silhouette. They delivered what they said they would. The guides were knowledgeable about their city, history, culture, etc, but also knew how best to avoid crowds at the tourist attractions. We customized Berlin and St. Petersburg. We had 11 people for Berlin and 10 for St. Petersburg. We formed both groups on our roll call.

I looked at the big tour operators (all had excellent Trip Advisor ratings) in St. Petersburg and settled on TJ for several reasons.

1. They always responded by email in 24 hours.

2. They were willing to customize their standard tours.

3. They offered the "Russian Experience" in St. Petersburg after the first full day of touring. That tour had a different guide (both the regular guide and the evening guide were great). We walked along Nevsky Prospect at rush hour, visiting a book store, a gourmet grocery store, & a Russian fast food restaurant. After walking, we were driven to a restaurant for a vodka tasting. We had a plate of appetizers and 3 shots of vodka. Each shot was a different brand and supposedly going from less to more smooth. Of the 10 on our St. Petersburg tour, only 4 of us did the Russian Experience. It was extraordinary and truly a highlight. We were able to see real folks going about their lives. It gave us a feel for the city that we would not have otherwise had.

We ordered a taxi by email to meet us at the ship when we debarked. While everyone else was getting their bearings, getting on the bus, etc., our group of 6 found the taxi. The driver was holding a sign with my name. We were one of the first to leave the pier and one of the first to enter Vasa. By the time, we were finished, the museum was very crowded.

FYI -- On the Vasa website, you can download the audio tour. We brought earphones and after entering the museum, we were ready to go.

Thank you, Jazzbeau, for clarifying.

I'm confused. I completed an online form to receive a Scenic River Cruise brochure. When Scenic thanked me and confirmed by email, it had a hyperlink to their cruises. I clicked and got Emerald River Cruises. Huh?? Is there a connection between the 2 lines?

Thanks for all the information/advice. Once we get to Amsterdam, I will ask the concierge to arrange for a taxi to pick us up when we debark the ship.

When you can order a car to pick you up why worry about a taxi line?

Orchestral -- Can you explain what you mean by ordering a car? How does one do that? What if it takes longer to get off the ship than expected? Do you know how the cost compares to a taxi?

If you have ended your cruise in Amsterdam, can you remember if there were taxis waiting for passengers to debark? We have an 11:40 am flight and plan to walk off in order to make the flight. Thanks for any information you can share.

Has anyone taken a private tour from Warnemünde to Berlin and missed the ship on the return trip? Several private tour operators offer excursions to Berlin. We are reluctant to take a private tour because of the distance to Berlin. Hence the question as to whether anyone taking a private tour missed the boat?

Thanks for the info.

Does anyone know if Choice Air is covered under Celebrity Cruise Care travel insurance? Choice Air and the regular air rates to Europe for this summer are the same. But, if Celebrity Cruise Care covered Choice Air purchases, it would make the decision on whether to use Choice Air easy.

Thanks for any insight members of this board have.

It worked out great. We sailed Liberty transatlantic arriving in Fort Lauderdale Nov. 8. Initially we were assigned D1 very far forward. I was able to switch to an aft to mid ship location and then about a week before the cruise a mid ship location on deck 9 opened up and I switched the cabin again. It was a great location.

Thank you for all the great advice. I think we are going to text without a plan for 50 cents a text.

We are on the transatlantic Liberty of the Seas sailing October 26. With a few day left, we are exploring options with regard to internet while on board. We are considering using AT&T Passport Ship Package. It works only in international waters. For $120, you get 50 minutes of talk, 100 text messages and 100 MB data. If you exclude data and/or messaging, the cost is less. Has anyone used this?? AT&T calls it "cellular at sea." The ATT international agent assured me that there would be coverage in the middle of the Atlantic. The alternative is to purchase internet through Royal. Does anyone have pros and cons? We would not be using the internet extensively -- just to stay in touch with family and friends and would not exceed the AT&T limits.

I have posted a similar message on the roll call, but thought there may be a broader knowledge base on the Royal site.

Thanks for any input you can share.

I agree with The_Big_M about the cramped seats on Air New Zealand. We did a land tour of Australia and New Zealand in February 2014. We flew Air New Zealand from LAX to Auckland in coach with the 3-4-3 configuration. I am not a big person. It was the most cramped that I have ever been on an airplane. The aisles were the narrowest I have seen or tried to navigate. Service was good but really couldn't compensate for the cramped quarters. I have no comment about Quantas because I have never flown on that airline.

Deck - 9

Cabin # - 9264

Class – 1A

Starboard or Port Side - Right side

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – Balcony

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – Quiet

Balcony View - good view - no obstruction

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Larger balcony - standard size for 1A.

Was wind a problem? None

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? N/A

Any specific problems with this cabin? None