Quince

I know for the last few months, the entertainers are not moving from ship to ship. When we were on Ovation, the music group and comedian booked 6 month contracts for that particular ship. They had to quarantine in their cabins for 2 weeks, just like the rest of the crew, before they were allowed out. And they weren't allowed off at any of the ports, just like the rest of the crew. I think I heard that the music group, Las Vegas Tenors, moved to the Allure once the Alaska season was over. 

Another vote for the San Giorgio, UNLESS you plan to spend at least two days in the center of Rome doing heavy duty sightseeing.  But if you just want to fly in one day, and get on the ship the next day, then it makes more sense to go directly to Civitevecchia.  The San Giorgio is an older hotel, well-kept, right on the main street across from the water, and it has a very nice balcony dining room.

When we docked in San Francisco 4 years ago, we had planned to just Uber to the airport.  The difficulty is the traffic is just gridlocked down around the port.  Even though we called a car while waiting for our luggage, it still took them 45 minutes to get to us.  We ended up taking luggage a few blocks down the street just to get out of the madhouse of the port terminal.  I don't know how to get around that problem, other than early disembark, since there's only one street in and out and limited parking at the pier.

We did an Alaska cruise several years ago with a 9 month old.  If you are willing to not participate in many of the cruise activities, it is doable.  Luckily we had 3 grandparents in the group, so there were 5 adults who took turns staying in at night to sit with the baby. We also had weird meals in the dining room where one adult  would get his main course while everybody else got the starter.  As soon as he was done eating, he'd take the baby away because 30 minutes was the limit on good behavior.  You also have to figure out how you're going to approach excursions.  You either have to limit yourself to places you can walk with the stroller, or you use the car seat, then have to figure out where to store it while at the Museum or Lumberjack Show.  Also at 1 year old, they're just starting to walk, and want to practice everywhere.  So it will be harder to contain the child then it is now.  This is not to totally discourage you -- it is doable, but it won't be a relaxing vacation for you.

We also had a White Party on the Edge Transatlantic in May. Maybe it depends on the cruise director?

It was $800 for the day for the guide and her 14 passenger van.  So if you filled every seat, it would be about $57/person.  If there were only 4 of you, it would be $200/person, but you'd have lots of room to spread out.😀

We will be on this cruise with you, but I'm following because I think you will be having more fun

Hope to meet you on board.

We had a great tour in Skagway last week, and I want to recommend our guide. Her name is Raymie E, and I booked her through the Tours by Locals website for Skagway.

There's really only one road you can take out of Skagway, so if you want to see more than just the town, you can take the train over the pass or go by bus to see the attractions. Or you can book Raymie's 14 passenger Ford van and be able to stop whenever you want and stay as long as you want. We visited the Suspension Bridge over the river, a dog sled camp, Emerald Lake, and then had multiple photo stops. My favorite stop was when we stopped at one of the numerous waterfalls by the road and Raymie collected the glacial water, filtered it, and then provided it to us as drinking water for the rest of the trip. My second favorite stop was our picnic by a lake, with food we'd bought at the suspension bridge cafe.

In our group we had a 9 month old, a three year old (both with car seats), and 7 adults. There was plenty of room in the van for all the jackets, diaper bag, snack bag, etc. We were also able to stay longer at some of the stops to give the 3 year old a chance to run around.

Raymie has been in Alaska for 20 years, so she has great stories about her time there and the history of the Gold Rush out of Skagway. We also enjoyed her stories about what it was like to live in Skagway after the tourist season ends.

I lived on the California coast for 20 years, and I would always recommend a fall cruise over a spring one. In spring you're much more likely to have thick marine layer (fog) for much of the journey. Also the afternoon wind is much stronger, sometimes "blow you off the beach" strong, from about March to August. Fall on the California coast is lovely and usually sunny.

I'd also like to see a photo if anyone has one. We're thinking of booking 9200 on the Navigator. The one photo I could find looks like the bedroom is in a separate area. But maybe that was an old photo of the Family Suite.

Thanks

This falls under the category that "it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission" - or however that old saying goes. But I've found that the theatre is empty a lot of the time, and you can do a nice loop up over the stage, then up and down the aisles and stairs. I've also run the halls where the cabins are, done a few flights of stairs, then run another circle of halls. I do a lot of running down 8 flights of stairs, then walking up four. Of course you have to be considerate of others in those spaces, but if you're creative you can find many ways to get your heart rate up while avoiding the gym.

We are thinking of taking a Danube cruise in October of 2017, a year and a half from now. Unlike ocean cruises, all the companies seem to have a non-refundable deposit. So if we book now, we would also have to buy travel insurance that includes cancel for any reason coverage, just in case something happens in that time.

However, if we wait to book till a year from now, we could have airfare deals included in the cruise price. And from what I can see, prices for this summer are not that much higher, and in some cases a better deal, than they are for 2017.

We're not picky about our room. So as far as I can see, there's no reason for us to book this cruise now. But I really want to! Why do the rest of you book river cruises so early?

We have 10589 (I guess he got 10th floor again not 11th) balcony over Vintages- great view of the live music at Central Park

Good to know about the music. We're in 10587 next week.

Can anyone who's sailed recently help with this? Trying to decide if it's worth taking my "real" athletic shoes vs the lightweight Skechers shoes.

I know the classes are often dependent on the staff onboard for that sailing. We sail in early May. I'm interested in Pilates and Body conditioning classes with the fitness staff, and hopefully Zumba with the activity staff.

Thanks

We loved this room on Quantum. We had it for 30 days on the move to China. It has a huge round window that looks over the front (crew area). The TV is across from the bed. There's a couch by the window and plenty of storage. Disadvantage might be that you feel more motion in front. I'll try to find my photos and post them back here.

This is just the info I needed.

The ship also offers a tour to the GBR from Airlie Beach the day before. It's a 2 hour catamaran ride each way. We thought if we did that, then we could spend our time in Cairns doing something inland. Whereas there's not much else to do in Airlie Beach except look at crocodiles.

Or are we cheating ourselves by not spending the whole time on the reef? We've snorkeled a little, but I'm not a big fan of swimming.

We had been scheduled for a transatlantic on the Royal last September. We boarded the ship, learned my father had just had a stroke, and decided we needed to be with my parents, rather than worrying about them while on the cruise.

Lately, we have purchased annual trip insurance because we travel to timeshares in Mexico and Canada several times during the year. We figured the medical coverage would be what we mainly needed for those trips, and the one cruise we had planned.

Unfortunately, with our annual insurance, trip interruption would only pay if the family member died, not if they were hospitalized. So we were not covered for the missed cruise or the one way flight home.

Fortunately, we called our travel agent to see if there was anything more that we could get (I was just calling to notify them so we'd get the taxes and port fees back.) She called Princess, and they asked for a lot of paperwork to prove that we had not received any recompense from travel insurance or any other source. The happy ending is that we received a future cruise credit from Princess for the entire cost of the cruise. This would have been our first cruise with Princess. We were booked in a mini-suite so that might have had something to do with their generosity.

Things I've learned: I never expected Princess to come through with anything, because I'd always heard that if you miss your sailing, you're out of luck. So it always pays to ask nicely.

It took several months to get the necessary paperwork from the hospital and our travel insurance company. At one point, after 5 requests or calls for verifying paperwork, I was ready to give up (since at that point the most I thought I'd get back was $200 pity pay.) So it was definitely worth it to keep after them.

Princess is my new favorite cruise line - even though I've only spent a few hours on their ship.

And finally, we did purchase insurance for a cruise this spring, in addition to our multi-trip medical insurance. I'm also going to look into a credit card that could reimburse us for trip cancellation/interruption.

We were on a Princess transatlantic last summer that we had to leave on Day 2 because of a family emergency. We were refunded $350 in taxes and ports, without asking for it.

:D Don't have one yet. I just wanted to keep this thread on the first page until I had time to sit and read it all, which I have now done.

But I've got some ideas for our itinerary now, and I'm sure I'll be back to this thread after a little more research.

bump

We live in the desert, where shorts for men are the normal dress for most events - church, dinner out, even many jobs in the summer. Many men only wear suits to weddings and funerals these days. I know other parts of the US, especially the East Coast, are more formal. You personally may not like the less formal style of dress, but that doesn't mean it isn't the norm for others.

Obviously Royal doesn't feel they need to make a point of this. After all, they gave up requiring jacket and tie for the smart casual nights long ago.

Here is a link to another website that has 5 photos of this room on Quantum. The room is much larger, but the bathroom is the same size as a regular balcony (no tub). We were able to book it for 2 people on the trip to Shanghai, but maybe it depends on the itinerary and the number of families that they expect to sail.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204050149993536&set=oa.792600634166942&type=1&relevant_count=8

Thanks. That was a very helpful explanation. I'm going to try and spend it all onboard.:D

We're sailing the Quantum on the last 3 legs to China. We have received OBC from Royal and our travel agent. I would like to use it up on some shore excursions. If I put excursions "in my cart" now, but don't pay for them, will they still be reserved for me once I am on board? Then if I confirm them at the Shore Excursion desk, I think my OBC would cover the cost.

Is that the best way to do it?