crewsgirl

Does anybody think that HAL will be posting cheaper prices than popular online big cruise agencies? Do they typically include any OBC or other perks? 

7 hours ago, taylortime05 said:

How did you like Tablao de Carmen?  Would you recommend it? 

Yes, it was a fun night. We met up with others going on the cruise and had a large table up front. Our first cultural experience in Barcelona, and yes, we would definitely do it again. I have no idea the food we ate, but they kept bringing different dishes to taste & share, and lots of sangria. I think we paid for the dinner menu, but I think we had the tapas menu, lol. At any rate, it was all fun and plentiful. The dancing was fun, and lively, and we enjoyed watching it. The neighborhood is worth getting there early and walking around, makes for great pics! I wish we had had more time there, it was beautiful. 

lo  

5 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

How was it?

The Luberon Villages were lovely. We first went to the quaint village of Lourmarin, and while it was sleepy on a Sunday morning, I loved that we wandered without large crowds, and then, lucked out to find a beautiful small art festival/craft show with local french crafters. Our next stop was Roussillon, France and we had the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes with truffles overlooking a spectacular view of Provence, not sure how our day could have been better! It was a fairly small group, about 22 people, we had an excellent guide, and we enjoyed the day immensely. We stopped on the ancient Roman bridge on the way there, and had a great day overall. I would do this again. 

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

Going Sydney to Auckland, I would go for port side, mostly for the coastal views when approaching/departing each fjord. For the fiords themselves, best viewed up on deck or get a forward facing view - bear in mind that the Crows Nest and Tamarind Bar are likely to have all the good seats taken before breakfast.

ahhh, good to know. thank you! we will be up early!

8 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

The three fjords you go through are Milford, Doubtful and Dusky.  The last two have more than one entrance and exit, so you don't go up and back. Milford, you go in the only entrance, up and do a U turn and go back out the same way you came in.  

If you have a balcony, you get to see both sides in Milford, but not in the other two.  Milford is better seen from outside your cabin at the start, because the entrance is a very grand, so worthwhile going up on deck so you can look forward. After that, you'll see both sides from your cabin.

The other two sounds, you will see different views from port or starboard, but both are good.  Travelling between them along the south coast, you will see land only on the port side.

I don't think port or starboard makes much difference really. I was in a starboard cabin, and just went up on deck for some of the views on the port side.

this is also very helpful, thank you for your comments. 

Desperate for some quick help here. If you are on the Eurodam sailing from Sydney to Auckland, do I want to choose Port or Starboard cabin location to view the Fijords? I know its a small detail, but I want to be on the correct side of the ship. I am going to try to book it!

We really enjoyed beautiful Antibes when we were in Cannes. The market there is lovely and strolling the quaint streets was very pleasant. The waterfront and the harbor filled with amazing yachts was a great walk with the  fort in the distance.  On the way back, we walked to the very top of Cannes for the view and of course, the hilltop sign. We enjoyed Cannes and because it was a tender port, I did book with Celebrity so we had priority debarking as a group. 

29 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

it feels like we have scared away @crewsgirl they haven't had much to say for some time. I hope they have had a chance to look at options that may fit in their limited time frame.

oh, Blackduck.....I am still looking at the options. Seems I read another thread that discussed Qantos airfare, and prices weren't as bad as I had imagined. What are your thoughts on Qantos? And you're right, we may be looking at 2025, to be honest. 

Please, continue the Jungle Juice information, I am enjoying the convo!  

UPDATE! Just wanted to circle back and let you CruiseCritic people know that as a result of social media, my friend using Twitter, and specifically an additional email sent to the contact that davekathy shared here on this post, I was contacted today by Gali at Celebrity Executive Team and my link to my cruise photos were sent to my email and fully downloaded! I am THRILLED and I appreciate all the helpful comments and thoughts that helped me arrive at a timely solution! While photos aren't for everyone, I am glad we took the time to make these memories and now I can make my Europe cruise book. So, again, thanks for all the help and listening to my concerns. Celebrity did take care of it. Here's our photo with the Captain, just for fun! Have a great day, Cruisers! 

1 hour ago, Mark_T said:

Obviously there is no excuse for failing to provide you with the download link via email after your friend had purchased them for you, but for the initial problems paying for it yourself, did you approach the Photo Manager while you were at sea, or after you were already in port?

 

Once in port, a lot of the retail services do shut down to avoid tax issues, and from a security perspective I can see why they would not want to take a copy of your card details to use later...

We were in port debarking, so correct, that is why she would not take my card, but my SEAPASS is my card, right? Has the same info.....I was open to any method to pay, but asking a new friend to pay for a service onboard is awkward, and seemed very scam-like to me. Surely, after the friend paid, they should have sent the link immediately. We had excellent wifi in Rome at the hotel. 

17 minutes ago, davekathy said:

You need to send your complaint (rant) to the following Email address concerning the so called armature photographers and what you experienced. The photos are from the contractor (the photo studio staff are not Celebrity employees) not Celebrity.  executiveoffice@celebrity.com

Thank you for the contact info. I will send to them as well. Celebrity has a long detailed commentary on my file, but I appreciate you posting this information as well. That is very helpful. To be fair, the photographer remembered us to my friend when she paid, and she had no control in the situation, it was all the Photo Manager on Reflection. And that person refused to come out to the Gallery to handle the situation, it was abysmal. 

11 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

They still photographers on the ship ? 
Never noticed them in April 

Clearly, you are one of the many passengers that don't have cruise photographs, so one would think they have plenty of time to take care of the few customers they do have...apparently, not. Such poor customer service, they shouldn't bother with photographers. 

Warning: Long Post. We sailed on Celebrity Reflection on June 10 from Barcelona to Spain. We disembarked in Naples to fly home early, and before we disembarked with special permission, I went to the Photo Gallery to purchase our cruise photos. The Photo Manager REFUSED to allow me to pay for our photos, and instructed me to ask a friend to purchase them for me that night and they would send me an email link for the photos. She refused to allow me to leave my credit card information to process later at her convenience, she refused to help at all while onboard. HOW AWKWARD! My husband & I were traveling alone, but luckily I had met a friend, and I messaged her and she agreed to pay for the photos & sent me the receipt and I venmo'ed the funds. I thought I would be receiving the photos from Celebrity with no issues. FF to July 1. NO PHOTOS. I have called Celebrity every day, emailed them with all the details, they have a copy of the receipt, they know my cabin number, reservation number, email address, and my friend has reached out through Twitter, and while they are clearly aware of the problem....NO PHOTOS, NO PHOTO LINK, NO EMAIL. This rant is to let Celebrity know they need to address the customer service issue of instructing someone else to pay for goods, then never producing the merchandise. I am furious. This was a birthday/anniversary cruise and yes, I want my photos that I paid for, and numerous phone calls, emails, messages, etc has produced absolutely nothing from Celebrity. Customer Service is NOT adequate in this situation and we will not be X customers in the future.

WOW! The pics are incredible and are making us want to book a trip. Still figuring out our budget and dates that will work for us. I appreciate all the knowledge and suggestions offered here, keep it coming please. 

Do you think it is possible to pack in a carry on only? How dressy are Aussies on cruises? Are most excursions outdoor type activities like hiking, walking, or cities/towns? I am thinking hiking, and whale watching would be amazing as well.  Off for more reading! 

20 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

I did a HAL cruise two months ago to New Zealand from Sydney, and really enjoyed it. They offer one way cruises, which start in Sydney and end in Auckland, NZ.  That saves two sea days getting back to Sydney, and you can fly back to the US from Auckland.  You could add those two days onto your Sydney stop and see something of the Australian countryside with a visit to the nearby Blue Mountains.

I think Hobart is a very worthwhile stop. It is a beautiful city and the shore excursions will give you a taste of Tasmania.

You can do a winery tour from Picton, NZ, if that is one of your stops, to visit the Marlborough region at the top of the south island. There are also winery tours available from Napier on the north island.

The other essential part of a NZ cruise is to visit Milford Sound and the Fjordlands at the bottom of the south island. Some cruises miss that part - don't choose one of those, because it is breathtaking scenery.

March is getting towards the end of the NZ cruising season, so you need to firm up your dates and make a booking as soon as you can.

oh cruiser3775, this is the info I am looking for, so thank you so much. Were you on the Noordam? Is it a decent ship? Any cabin recs? And yes, we are choosing first part of Mar to avoid the height of the season over there. We just finished Europe and while it was a FABuLOuS trip, I could have done with fewer tourists, especially in the quaint little villages that I love to explore. So, I am wondering if the weather down under is still desirable in March as well as smaller crowds? Hoping not too cold, not too hot, lol. 

The wineries in the Marlborough region sound delightful and definitely on my to do list. My husband will enjoy the fjords there for sure, I guess a balcony cabin is a must? We are amenable to going into Sydney and out of Auckland as well. 

Thank you Aussieflyer, and I'm sure we would love Silversea, but the budget would probably not agree, lol. Most likely, we would fly to Hawaii for 2 days to get somewhat acclimated to the time change, then fly to Sydney for 2 days before a 10-12 day cruise. That is probably not as much time as we would like, but ~ 2 weeks will have to do. 

And, as you richly point out, Australia is massive, and we would never be able to see everything from just a cruise. I am going to have to console myself that we will be happy doing the cruise thing and getting just a small taste of the area.

In your opinion, is Hobart a must do? I see that HAL makes that stop, but I am interested in exploring Princess as well. We are not die hards on a certain cruise line, but would like to choose the itiernary that offers the best ports. Interested in your opinions of each cruise line that is popular in the area for the most reasonable price. 

We are happy to do excursions on our own, and if there are others that join together to form small groups, that is the best option for small group tours. We have been successful in other cities with our CC roll call and found better opportunities for small tours. But, if groups don't happen, and the ship offers tours, we have done that as well, but tbh, we prefer a group of 20 or less. 

And I agree with you, I need to get busy, 2024 will be here in a hurry! I just now have the hubby on board to consider this trip. 

We are finally considering taking the plunge and would like to plan our first trip to AUS/NZ, possibly during March 2024 and need a little insight on which ship/itiernary to choose. I want to spend a few days in Sydney beforehand, visit Hobart if possible,and enjoy a stop for the lovely NZ white wines. Looking for the most efficient pricing and if you have any tips on where to search for that, it would be most appreciated. Is it possible to use an Australian TA to book a cruise if we are US citizens? We just got off Celebrity Reflection, and we also like HAL, but open to other cruise lines, not opposed to a smaller ship if it affords availability of smaller, interesting ports of call. Would love to hear your compelling thoughts on which ship does this area the best and which ports are not to be missed. We are active mid/late 60s, love nature, no mobility issues, enjoy new adventures, and want to have plenty of time to plan this trip. Thanks in advance. 

5 hours ago, GCBK10905 said:

Marseille Excursion Question:   Has anyone done a tour to the Luberon Villages when they stopped in Marseille?  
 

Haven’t been too excited about the Viking tours offered…. trying to justify the price of a private route to the Luberon Villages (including seeing the lavendar fields).  It’s pretty pricey.  

 

For those who have taken that type of tour, is it one of those “bucket-list, so glad you splurged” type experiences?  We love pretty/quaint/picturesque areas and this seems to check those boxes…but getting a little hung up on price for 2 people.  

 

Thanks for any viewpoints!

We did this tour on Sunday with Celebrity, and I have to say it was a fabulous day. The small village of Lourmarin was stunning, small streets with charming quaint details. We encountered a small art festival and had truffles for lunch in the second village. The hills were interesting, we went to a lavender museum and absolutely would Recommend this tour for a true view of Provence. 

Great to know, thank you. I am just really concerned about the Mega Ships that will be in La Spezia and the idea that Cinque Terre will be crazy crowded on any regular day in June this year. Tuscany sounds delightful and I hope this turns out to be a good tour for us! Thanks for your words!

18 minutes ago, pbrn55 said:

It was always my dream to see the 5 villages and we did so while docked in La Spezia. We took the train which stopped in all of them and we sort of hopped on and off spending an hour or so in each place then headed back to the ship. I don't remember the logistics but if I planned it ( and successfully I might add) then it couldn't have been too hard! It was a beautiful day in every way and we're very glad we did it! 

YES! Our cruise was originally docked in La Spezia and that is perfect! So much closer, and easy to do our your own. However, we are moved to Livorno for 2 days on Celebrity Reflection, and I can't help but believe that the govt is trying to control the mass number of visitors by moving these huge cruise ships elsewhere. It makes it very difficult when you figure the travel time. Also, no cars are being allowed in, so I get they are making an effort to control the numbers. I'm sure it's fabulous, but a land trip is the way to go. 

On 12/3/2022 at 4:55 PM, psyfi said:

We used ItalyTours.eu in Livorno in Nov 2022 on our Transatlantic.  We were initially booked to go to Cinque Terre but our blue haired tour guide Stefano (who was channeling Hades from Hercules) said it was going to pour rain there so gave us the option to re-route, which we all agreed would be better than being in the rain in November.  He took us to Pisa, San Gimignano, and a tiny town called Certaldo in Tuscany instead. He stopped at scenic spots so we could take photos and gave us so much information.  He even made a stop at a local grocery store so people could get limoncello for €4 instead of €24 in the tourist area.  We had a fabulous day!

Hello there, I am really interested in San Gimignano and the smaller towns in Tuscany while we are in Livorno. Did you find enough to do there? Any chance he would have taken you to a winery if you had asked? I love the idea of stopping at local markets. How many people were in the vehicle and do you mind sharing how much you paid for that tour? 

1 minute ago, IB2 said:

Don’t do it as a day trip, see here:

 

https://www.topic.com/cinque-terror

 

If you want to enjoy the CT, as far as you can given the overcrowding, make the effort to stay overnight, or even better, for several nights, in one of the villages.  Then you will see it at its best, when the crush of cruise and other day trippers has gone.

Yes, I agree, we are passing on Cinque Terre, it's going to be a nightmare of people. And nothing says touristy disaster like huge crowds. We are going another direction. Thanks for the confirmation we are making the right choice. 

4 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

The problem might be that your credit card rejected an overseas charge. My card (Chase) contacts me if they do this, and ask if it was me. I say it was, and they have the charge re-submitted.

Yes, I have had to submit a verification code on every overseas purchase on my card, and yes, my card company is texting me asking to confirm the charge as well. I do think that is a safeguard!

10 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

The high speed service is pretty comparable between Trenitalia and Italotreno.  

Well, I'm glad you said that, because we are booked in Business class on Trenitalia and it was so much easier to book through them. I will get train updates by text/email and it is a direct route. Interestingly, all the senior tickets were sold out. We are set! 

Thank you cruisemom, you're right. It was in translation....And somehow, Italo doesn't like my credit card. I am now looking at trenitalia, are they about the same? I want a nice direct high speed train experience. Shouldn't be this hard to book a ticket, but I just read a review that it was a nightmare on site, so I want this done beforehand for sure!