goncruzn

Thanks for your replies. I wanted to see what everyone's perspective was as I think I'd rather go in early June, but my other half who is not that much of a fan of cruising as I am has said he would go but September would be better for him. I went this past June on an "all girls" trip with family members and we loved it and I can't wait to go back.

We'll have to think about it a little more but I do want him to be able to enjoy the trip.

Thanks again!

Hi all. I'm thinking about taking an Alaskan cruise on Coral Princess next September. This will be my second cruise to Alaska as well as my second time on Princess. To anyone who has sailed to Alaska at this time of year and/or anyone who has sailed on Coral recently, can you give me your thoughts on the ship itself as well as whether you think September is a good time to cruise Alaska? I'm also thinking about booking one of the premium balcony cabins on Caribe deck. Are there particular rooms anyone would suggest or any other balcony cabin types I should consider?

We are a couple in our early 50's, and we're really not very picky; more go with the flow kind of people. I welcome all your feedback!

can i assume the same can be said for reflection?

is real orange juice at breakfast an extra charge?

can you ask the waiter in the mdr to get you a free drink or can you bring one in yourself?

You can get orange juice at breakfast from the dispenser and that is free. If you want fresh squeezed then you will pay for it. You can get free iced tea, lemonade and fruit punch in the MDR at dinner. These would be the same drinks you would get for free up in the buffet out of the dispenser. Sodas and fresh squeezed orange juice would be an extra charge.

It's great to hear you are enjoying your cruise so far and have positive comments about the ship and experience in general. I will be boarding in a couple of weeks and although I've cruised before, this will be my first time on Celebrity and my first time in Alaska so I am really looking forward to it.

Hope the rest of your cruise is as good if not better than it has been so far!

I have a group of 8 needing transportation from Sea-Tac to our downtown hotel and I just got off the phone with Shuttle Express and was quoted $103 for a 10 passenger van. It's a flat rate; you need only allow for gratuity as extra. They are more expensive for the return from Pier 91 to Sea-Tac so we might use EastSideforHire/FlatRateforHire as their prices were better. We'd have to divide up into 3 cabs, at a total rate of $105 for all three.

EastSideForHire should be around $35 per cab. I just got off the phone with them and they quoted me $105 for a total of 3 cabs from Pier 91 to the airport.

We used RomeinLimo (RIL) this past October from FCO to our Rome hotel, transportation to the Vatican to meet our RIL tour guide and from our hotel to Civitavecchia and they were very reliable. They were punctual, friendly and very knowledgeable. They gave us commentary every where we went.

Am considering using them for the Rome city tour. Has anyone used their services?

I have only used RomeinLimo and Your Tour in Italy and I can say with those two that both were excellent. They were prompt, courteous and knowledgeable.

I received that same message when I tried to log on tonight, but after about 4 or 5 tries I was finally able to get in.

Keep trying, it may work eventually.

I had to wait until two months out to purchase tickets to the Vatican.

With only two days pre-cruise you might want to look at a hotel closer to Rome's most popular sites, quite possibly on the opposite side of the Tiber river, although you will be within walking distance of the Vatican. I stayed at the Albergo Cesari hotel pre-cruise just two weeks ago and it was 5 minutes walking distance to the Trevi Fountain and maybe 7-8 minutes to the Pantheon at most. Piazza Venezia was maybe 10 minutes. We even walked to our hotel from the Vatican which was approx. a 20-30 minute walk. That included passing through Piazza Navona and a stop for gelato. :D

 

Bottom line is it was very close to a lot of the most famous tourist sites.

Just noticed I said walk from Vatican was 20-30 minutes. I meant to say 30-40 minutes with it probably being closer to 40 minutes.

I got back last Sunday from my Med cruise and stayed at the Albergo Cesari on the 25th and 26th of October. It was an excellent choice as it was close to just about everything. The farthest away was the Vatican, but we even walked back from it. Took about 30-40 minutes I think.

We had a quad room, and it was very spacious with plenty of walk around room for all four of us. The bathroom was also spacious with a large (and high) tub. The shower portion of the tub was on one end with a short glass wall. It was hard not to splash water on the floor, but a very minor issue.

The rooftop eating area was lovely. Although there was an occasional pigeon, they did not interfere with us and our food thankfully. Breakfast consisted of juices, coffee, tea, pastries, bread, cakes/sweetbreads, yogurt, fruit, meats and possibly a few other items I can't remember.

All in all, I would not hesitate to stay there again. Hope this helps!

I actually booked The 21 Hotel in Rome. It is 300 Euro for 2 nights.

As far a price range - That is about what we would want to spend.

 

In Venice we will only have 1 day to sightsee so I just want something nice - but it doesn't have to be fabulous because we will not be at the hotel much except to sleep and shower.

 

The hotel Arlecchino has come up several times so I am going to give that a look. Thank you all for your help!

With only two days pre-cruise you might want to look at a hotel closer to Rome's most popular sites, quite possibly on the opposite side of the Tiber river, although you will be within walking distance of the Vatican. I stayed at the Albergo Cesari hotel pre-cruise just two weeks ago and it was 5 minutes walking distance to the Trevi Fountain and maybe 7-8 minutes to the Pantheon at most. Piazza Venezia was maybe 10 minutes. We even walked to our hotel from the Vatican which was approx. a 20-30 minute walk. That included passing through Piazza Navona and a stop for gelato. :D

Bottom line is it was very close to a lot of the most famous tourist sites.

I just used them last week and a carryon is basically the same size suitcase/bag that the airlines would consider a carryon. Just tell them how many suitcases/bags you have in total and they will determine what size vehicle to bring. I used them for airport to hotel, hotel to port and port to airport and I never had to request a specific vehicle.

In fact, the hotel to port transfer was for a total of 6 people and there were a total of 6 large suitcases (28" - 30"), 4 carryons (20" - 21") and an additional 4-5 carryons that were small enough to put on your lap. All of that including the 6 of us fit into a minivan.

Use Romecabs there service is top notch. Just returned from Rome on Monday and used them for three transfers. They have a great website and Stefano is quick to respond.

I agree. It will be more expensive of course than taking the train, but the ride to the airport was quick and easy. For four it cost us 150 euro total plus tip. I also used them for other transfers and a Vatican tour. No complaints at all on the service provided.

I have been trying to figure out the best solution for international calling and it has been so confusing. At first I was going to get a Mobal phone, but after reading the replies on this thread I decided to call Verizon and have them explain their plan to me. I just hung up with them and following is the information I received. For informational purposes I have a Samsung Galaxy S4.

Calling the US FROM Italy: $1.29/minute (no plan or contract needed-phone is global ready) OR

Verizon Value Plan: $4.99 per month (no contract); prorated if you don't use or need it for an entire month plus $.99/minute

The above information refers to VOICE ONLY.

Text messages are $.50 to send and $.05 to receive.

Data plan: $25/100mb and every 100mb after

Without data plan (pay as you go): $20.48/mb :eek:

These rates are Verizon's only and her advice was to stop in at a store (not an authorized reseller) and have them give your phone a look over if you are unsure of its capabilities.

I was very specific when asking about hidden fees, charges, etc and she assured me that what she gave me is all there is. She followed up with an e-mail of what the costs would be. She did reiterate that data MUST be turned off if you don't want costly charges billed to your account. Purchasing a data plan is an option, but can get costly if you use data a lot.

I'm thinking if all of the above is correct, I may just stick with Verizon's plan instead of trying to buy a SIM card and voice plan in Rome. I will only use my phone to let family know I've landed and when I board the ship. I plan on turning my data off completely and will use Skype, Facetime or other while on the ship and/or in Wifi area.

We will be staying at the Albergo Cesari in 3 weeks (pre-cruise Reflection TA). I haven't stayed there before so it was nice to see the favorable opinions. I'll make a note to let you both know my thoughts when we get back.

I will also be staying there for two nights beginning on the 25th of this month. I, too, will make a note to remember to post back here on my thoughts about the hotel. We are staying in a quad room so although you are looking at a triple, I'll let you know what the space was like in ours.

That is a pretty photo and I'm sure looks good on canvas.

I also like some of the scenic pictures in Venice. I didn't want to copy the entire post here, but it was post #158, 2nd picture and post #182, 1st and 3rd pictures.

Your review was absolutely amazing and I cannot wait for my upcoming cruise on the Navigator!

I was thinking about purchasing the unlimited package on my upcoming Med cruise, but now I'm having second thoughts. This is not the first post I've seen from someone who was very disappointed in the quality of the pictures they received. Once I thought about it, I realized that on land I would never hire a photographer without first checking their work, so I guess you could use the same philosophy on a cruise ship.

I don't know, I guess I will need to think about it some more.

I am so glad I saw this! I will be in Rome at the end of October for a couple of days pre-cruise and one of the things I decided me and my little group would do is take an all day tour to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. I was a little hesitant at first to do it, since it will easily be an 11-12 hour tour, but then I thought about it and said why not. Now that I've read the page in your blog about it, I am so glad we have decided to do it. Our cruise leaves the next day so we can sleep when we board!:eek:

I have been reading your review and I have to say it is absolutely wonderful. I love your pictures. As if I wasn't excited already, you have made me more excited for my upcoming Med cruise in October. Sadly, unlike yours, it will only be a week. :(

Can't wait for the remainder!

Although I haven't stayed there yet to report back on how it was, me and three friends are booked in a quad room at the Albergo Cesari in October. I saw mostly favorable reviews on trip advisor so decided to go with it. Off the top of my head I think our rate was somewhere around 269 euros/night.

Ha ha, that's funny. Oh well, I've booked what I've booked, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let a cabin stop me from enjoying my cruise.

 

If there's one thing I've learned from CC, it's that there are a million cruisers out there with a million different opinions, and that the attitude you take on the ship determines the quality of the cruise you will have.

 

:):)

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

You couldn't have said it any better than that.

I had inside cabins when I first started cruising, back when balconies were few and far between on any ship. Once I experienced my first balcony in 1996 (you never forget your first ;)), I have never looked back. That's not to say I would never cruise inside again, it's just that I prefer having a balcony to look out upon the sea and also when we're in port I like to look out at the countryside of whatever country we happen to be in.

If you're ok with it and enjoy an inside cabin then that's all that matters!

Enjoy your birthday! I just found this thread and I absolutely love it! Me and three of my girlfriends will be doing this same itinerary October 27th. I've been trying to decide what tour companies to go with and now you've at least helped me in deciding which one not to choose. :eek:

I love your pictures. We will only be in Rome for 2 days pre-cruise, but I wish it were longer because I'd love to do the drive down the Amalfi coast. It looked so scenic and pretty. Hmmm, I may have to see if I can get an extra day or two out of the trip.

Can't wait for the remainder of your review!

I can't wait to read more of your review. I'm on the Navigator next year, October 27th, with three other girlfriends doing the Med itinerary, but going to Sicily, Greece and Turkey. We are planning on staying in Rome two days prior to the cruise, but I'm thinking we might need more than that!