pete_coach

Appreciate, Peter, the comments, suggestions and ideas/potentials. I didn't know that we could re-size things through the Photobucket website. I will check it out.

 

My/our challenge/question is multilevel. ...... Cruise Critic Editor In Chief Carolyn Spencer Brown has been very supportive and even asked and borrowed a few of my pictures to use to illustrate a trip she was doing along the Norway coast.......

 

THANKS for the interest and ideas! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

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Never said your pictures are not nice. Many people take nice pictures too and then put a link to those pictures in their post. That is really good.

I am glad for you that some official at Cruse Critic person wants to use you photo, I am sure others have contributed as well.

More to the point, I am active on a number of forums and they also have people that post photos. Those forums have asked that the photos be of a specific size, (400X600 or 600X800) and limited them as such because the storage room on their servers was being filled up with huge photoo data. They have also asked posters that quote posts witrh photos to delete the photos of the text they are quoting, again because the servers are filling up fast with extrraneous data. You can imagine how a site like this accumulates data. Cruise Critc would be well served by saving space and money if they restricted the size of the posted images.

All that to say, for a post, a smaller photo still fits well, is still crisp and, takes up considerably less screen size, not to mention server space. A 600X800 pixel image will print an 8 X 10 inch photo very nice and sharp. It does not need to be any higher unless you intend to make wall sized posters.....and if that is wanted, they can always ask you to e-mail a higher resolution photo to them.

Yes, great info and super good graphics by mathgeek1978 to show how to do this helpful sharing process. ....... can look at this 1000 width of the picture.

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Terry in Ohio

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No disrespect Terry but all your posts contain a large photo.

The 1000 pixel wide is why I suggested 800 by 600 pixel photo being max. A large photo makes the textbox wider to accommodate the photo and is larger than many/most laptop/tablet screens and then you have to scroll. It can also affect the entire page.

There are many free programs out there to re-size your photos to upload to Photobucket or Shutterfly. Just Google"free photo resizer".

Nice photos by the way, we took the same cruise and have almost the same photos LOL.

Great info.

I cannot emphasize the importance of re-sizing the photo to 800 X 600 or less. You all know how annoying it is when a posted photo is so large it has stretched the text box beyond the page and you need to scroll to see it and the text.

Thanks for all the info folks.

I guess I am in a bit of a dilemma. We have never been on a Caribbean cruise nor have we been to the Caribbean before so for us, it is mostly a sightseeing cruise.

If Colon is not worth it, what about Panama City? Is it worth taking a tour to Panama City and do a walkabout there? I am surmising that the bus ride to Panama city will take a route similar to the train and we will see the same thing along the way?

Has anyone done the Panama Canal Railroad Journey by Dome Car & Bus (CO23)? We are taking the 11 day Equinox cruise and thought this would be a nice way of seeing the Canal. it seems to be a train ride to Panama City (Balboa) and a bus ride back to Colon.

My question is, do you get any time in Panama City at all. It is not clear in the description. I would like to see both Colon and Panama City.

Thanks

A typical lunch can cost as little as 5 euros or...it can really be an Italian lunch lasting over an hour and a half or two and costing 50 euros per person.

The real key to your lunch, especially with RomeinLimo is to email them and ask them about lunch, where they could take you and about how much you wish to spend (say, 20 euros per person including drinks).

Our driver/guide took us to his neighborhood restaurant and had the owner prepare a "tasting" lunch for 20 euros each and it was wonderful. We had a little bite of many things, family style. Oh, there were 6 of us and it took 1 1/2 hrs.

Communicating your wishes and desires with RomeinLimo is the key. They always respond to you emails and will gladly make suggestions. They are great folks and will do whatever you want to make your day a memorable one.

I am a proponents of the Ho Ho buses. I have found in my travels that the Ho Ho buses are a very good introduction to the cities we visit. In a few hours, we get an overview of the city and its geography. We get a sense of distances between sights and can even make decisions if there are some sights not worth going to. We took it in Rome and it was nice to see everything in a short period. It made our planning for the time we were there easier.

That will really rub some people on this forum the wrong way but I do think it is worth the few hours time and few Euros money.

Anyway here is a site that may help pick one of the HoHo services for you.

http://www.rometoolkit.com/whattodo/rome_hop_on_tour_bus.htm

I also found Ron in Rome a great sight with tons of info and insight.

***************************/ or roninrome dot com if the website gets starred out.

I am not sure how I missed this one. Thanks for posting.

 

What do you mean by you took the premium? The "build your own"?

 

Is it unlimited? It looks like you can use at all the bars as well?

 

Thanks.

We took the premium drink package which includes wine. It worked out to about $50 per day. Seems like a lot but at $12 per drink for some wines and cognacs, it adds up quick. It also includes all beers and soft drinks etc. For us, it was right.

The wine packages prices are posted http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/tabLanding.do?pagename=onboard_beverage_packages#onboard_beverage_packages_wine_tab/onboard/asrPanel.do%3Fpagename=onboard_beverage_packages_wine&ComponentTypeId=13&categoryId=&currencyCode=USD

What is a decent price is up to you and what you choose. The prices are fixed by the choice you make.

We took the premium package and were very happy with the drinks and wine selection. We were able to choose several different types of wines by the glass during dinners instead of ordering a bottle.

Deck - Resort Deck

Cabin # -2146

Class – S1 Corner Suite

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – middle

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – Cabin is under Oceanview Cafe and only when the next day was a sea day there would be slight table and chair noise later in the evening but nothing to keep you awake.

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Fabulous aft and side view. A huge balcony that wraps around the side. Also. there is a big round porthole window in the cabin.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Very big, biggest on the ship i think.

Was wind a problem? no

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? Not at all.

Any specific problems with this cabin? None

Any other comments? Great cabin, especially if offered as an upgrade and you did not have to pay the rate LOL.

I can agree with the recommendations for Chez Fonfon. The food was spectacular and the service impeccable. Their signature dish is the bouillabaisse and they serve it as if it was the "only" thing on their menu. All the fish brought to your table and then assembled in your plate. A great meal and a fabulous memory. It is a small place and if you can get a window table it will be that more special.

No questions just kudos.

I thank you very much for the day by day descriptions and photos. We are on the same cruise in September and you took a lot of unknowns away and it now allows me to solidify our plans.

Again, well done and, a very large thank you.

Are you coming straight from the airport to the port and on the ship or, are you arriving the day before? If you need a hotel, I suggest the San Georgio, a few meters from the port entrance and it has a wonderful wine cellar from which you can buy a few bottles.

If going directly to the ship, how are you getting there? Private cab? He can stop at an enoteca or even a grocery store and you can pick up a bottle or two. Civitavecchia is a large town and has lots of places to buy wine.

Pete- Do you remember how much they charged for the Cellar Masters tasting?

 

Wine-O- I know exactly what you are saying. Having taught many wine classes over the years I tell people never to judge wines by price. Wine is one of the few commodities that has a price based simply on "what will the market pay" rather the cost of production, or proven quality.:rolleyes:I prided myself on finding wines for my customers that were of high quality in relation to their price whether it be $10/bottle, or $30/bottle. I can find plenty of $100 winners (and losers), there's no excitement in that.:rolleyes:

 

I've asked about the Celebrity tastings to determine if they are worth it, even if you already have a premium liquor/wine package. The interaction of a good tasting is worth it. I actually was embarassed at a wine tasting on a Carnival cruise as I heard the "trainer" giving misinformation to 50 people.:(

 

Thanks to everyone who has already responded on this thread.:)

I believe that it cost something like $42 or $47 per person. (we are very certain we got our moneys worth LOL).

In retrospect, it was more a "do it yourself" guzzle as opposed to a guided tasting by a sommelier. There were full descriptions and vinyard history if you chose to stand and listen. It was an afternoon interlude and we enjoyed ourselves. :)

We did one at Cellar Masters on Solstice during a Mediterranean cruise last year. We were 3 couples and we had a great time.

There were about 6 or 7 Countries represented and about a dozen wines. Each Country had a sommelier (or server) which described the wines and gave information. They gave us a "score" sheet to mark your impressions of the wines your were tasting. It was interesting to note that the score sheets had all sorts of numbers and profound statements for the first 5 or 6 wines and then the comments resorted to just happy faces LOL.

It was a fun afternoon (we made it last that long LOL).

Basically, they are a car with a driver. Some are much more social than others, some speak better English than others and some are more knowledgeable than others. They are not guides in any way.

They drive you to wherever you want and drop you off. You then go do your thing and they will be waiting at a pre-arrange time at a pre-arranged spot when you are done.

Deck -10 Sky Deck

Cabin # -1014

Class – Concierge

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – Balcony

Quiet Cabin – Very quiet, no noise problems at all

Balcony View - A view of the Bridge Wing. Interesting to watch the Captain take the ship out when he is on the Wing.

Balcony Size? - Same size as all the others on the ship

Was wind a problem? No, except for when in inclement weather of course.

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

Any specific problems with this cabin? None, it was very good

Any other comments? We were impressed with the cabin and the amenities.

Please provide the additional information so that I can add this cabin to the spreadsheet. You didn't even mention the cabin number. With more information I can list it on the spreadsheet and no one else will be disappointed with the view.

Deck?

Cabin#

Cabin Class?

Starboard/Aft/Port?

Bed by bath or balcony?

Balcony Size?

Balcony View?

Noise a problem?

OK, dumb question. Where is the link to this spreadsheet? I have looked back several pages of posts but can only find reports.

Has anyone reported on cabin 1014 yet?