Shooraq

Perfect timing... looking forward to bringing two bottles of white wine on my Majesty Bahamas cruise this weekend!!! :D

Hiya. Fancy seeing you on this thread.;)

 

I suggested a tour for Delorean Girl a way back, and she seemed really pleased with it after she did it. It's detailed on post number 336 above, with some extra detail of how to get to Matthew Street in post 329.

 

You will have no shortage of museums and architecture in Liverpool, despite Mr Hitler's best efforts!! (All a long time ago!). You definitely need to see St George's Hall. If it were in London, Paris or Rome, it would be much more famous than it is. When walking back to the ship, take the route down William Brown Street (alongside St George's Hall) to see some wonderful architecture and also catch a glimpse of the entrance to the Mersey Tunnel.

 

We can add some more detail to your route as the year goes on. I am actually taking some friends from your ship on a tour of The Pool that very same day you are here, so we may very well bump into you.:) Hope that helps for now.

Others will tell you of other must-sees in Liverpool, and I wouldn't argue with them (our two wonderful cathedrals for instance) but it simply isn't possible to properly see everything. However, if you weren't really bothered about say the Beatles and wanted more architecture, you could miss out the Matthew Street part and maybe walk up to the two cathedrals. That would use up a bit of time (unless you took an inexpensive cab ride). You can decide. I think that with the various sights I have suggested, you can easily use up 6 hours in the city, depending on how much time you stay at each location.:)

You rule. Thank you. I will look over that route and see if it works. Thanks my friend! :D

Towncar T, we will be coming into Liverpool for the day next year on the Celebrity Infinity. We'd like to basically walk to the sights versus doing a tour or using the HOHO bus. DH likes the Beatles, but we don't need a Beatles centric tour, just maybe one or two stops. We like museums and architecture, and maybe a good pub/restaurant to enjoy for lunchtime. What kind of walking route can you suggest that might occupy 4-6 hours? :) Let me know if you need any more info.

Slowly posting photos of Mykonos and Delos, but here is the link of what I have so far:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynalman/sets/72157630186845010/with/7405355372/

For those who have done Delos DIY, a few questions:

 

1. What time does the ferry start running in the morning?

2. What is the cost for the ferry/guide combo ticket? Or, what's the cost of the guides on site?

3. Did you feel the guide was necessary? I have the Rick Steves Med cruise ports book with his guided tour, but am trying to decide if it is sufficient for DIY.

4. Can anyone recommend any self guided tour resources or podcasts for Delos?

The first ferry leaves at 9am. That's what we did.

I did just fine with the Rick Steve's ports book. It was nice not having a tour guide after having multiple tours guides thru the whole trip. Quiet and peaceful, at your leisure.

Shooraq,

Would love to see your pics of Delos!

Not a problem... it will probably take me a week or two to get them up, but when I do, I will post the link here! :D

DIY is cheaper. The booth for the ferry is right on the dock. Think it was 12 euro per person, definitely cheaper than a cruise ship tour. Rick Steves has a guided map in his Mediterranean Cruise tourbook that describes the route to take when on Delos and descriptions. I actually liked DIY. When you have dealt with hours of history regarding Athens and Epheseus tours, having Delos as a DIY tour thru Mykonos was really nice. It is really easy to do! Hopefully I'll have photos of it soon... took so many photos of my trip!

There's a 2-night Celebrity Constellation cruise from Miami to Nassau over MLK weekend in January. I booked it. Like you, we're Diamond and are intersted in testing it out. What better way to test a cruise line than their only 2-night cruise of the entire year?

That's what I did on the Celebrity Century when they had 2-night Bahamas teasers on January of the prior 2 years. The vibe is a little different because the demographics are skewed for a weekend trio, but you got to see the style, decor, food, service and activities that Celebrity has to offer. That helped me try out the Celebrity Equinox and now I'm hooked! 2 of my 3 cruises next year are on Celebrity. But I still enjoy Royal Caribbean too. I now use both cruiselines to find the itineraries I want to sail! :D

Although it would never make sense to purchase an alcoholic package, the classic nonalcoholic package worked well on our 10-day port intensive trip on the Equinox!

We each had a fresh squeeze OJ in the morning, followed by a cappucino at Cafe al Bacio, then took a water off on our excursion for the day. When we return, another coffee beverage, dinner with diet coke, and then an evening decaf tea or coffee. So worth it for $14 per day! I think in the future we will stick to our inside rooms and I will buy the classic N/A package while DH gets the premium N/A package (prefers getting Gatorade for the excursions).

Most have notifications off-so we only see your picture if we go to your profile.

Ah... I did not know that! Thanks for the clarification! :D

The Elite breakfast is sometimes held in different venues, there will be a letter in your cabin on embarkation that will list all Elite events on the ship and will give the location of the morning and evening Elite lounges.

 

There is another recent thread that included some discussion of the elite breakfast: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1573286

 

The food items vary by cruise. It is basically a continental breakfast that is sometimes expanded quite a bit and sometimes very narrow. Usually there are no hot items other than toast. Common items are pastries, muffins, toast, bagels, lox, fruit, cereal and yogurt. They serve espresso based coffees, juices, smoothies, and alcoholic breakfast drinks such as bloody mary or mimosa. While it isn't required or absolutely necessary many people bring a little cash to leave a small tip for the serving staff there.

Good to know. So if I want a traditional breakfast, better to go to the buffet or MDR. But at least I know that if my husband wants an espresso, we can swing by the Elite breakfast. Or if we have an early excursion, this breakfast is the way to go. Thanks for the advice! :D

Looks to me that he is at least Diamond on RCL which would make him Elite on X.

Gee, my picture must not be clear enough that I am female, not male. :eek: Haha, must start growing out my hair, I guess. :D

Yes, I am Diamond on RCI, so I am already Elite on Celebrity.

It's all personal preference, like anything else on the cruise ship. I love arts and crafts, ways to be creative, but I never have time at home to do that kind of stuff. So on one of the sea days, I did the cupcake class. It was fun, allowed me to be a "kid" again and not be the business type I usually am. Way better than bingo to me! :D

Here are my results:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynalman/6590190535/in/set-72157628367367775/

This will be my 3rd cruise on Celebrity, but my first lengthly one. (Previous two cruises were 2-nighters on the Century.) So I plan to utilize the Elite benefits as best as possible.

I don't think I'll be getting a non-alcohol package, but will make that decision on board. In the meantime, I'm trying to find affordable ways to enjoy espressos, cappucinos and teas without forking over too much money. (I'm very budget minded when it comes to cruises.)

Can someone describe what you can find at the "Captain's Club Lounge for coffeehouse style breakfast?" What food and drink is offered?

Wonderful job on this review, Kathy... you have saved me the effort of doing one for this cruise! Majority of the things you've mentioned, I agreed with. (Althought I didn't care for Solarium Bistro for breakfast or lunch, just their amazing dinners!)

The photos your husband took were wonderful. And I understand the Flowrider... I did it back on the Liberty a year ago and made sure to wear a comfortable one piece to ensure not to flash anyone (had a bad experience with that at the water park in Six Flags New England, learned my lesson well!). And you look so lovely in your photos!

I regret not being able to meet up, but I'm glad we got to discuss and share our opinions and pasttimes together - always lovely connecting to another awesome Cruise Critic memeber! :D

Moira- I checked it out too! I remember you saying that you could ask the cam operator to focus on you, and he seemed to do that for 2 or three groups we saw waving! Next time we are doing that for sure!

 

I was embarrassed by what was on offer for snorkeling for you...these folks live in Australia...and well, this doesn't come close! But we enjoyed your company!

 

It was great meeting you and Brit...I have to compliment her. What a wonderful young lady you have raised! I was so impressed by her attitude. A lot of teens are all about "get me to where the other kids are". I saw Brit enjoying every moment of her " American" experience, taking it all in and appreciating it with someone she loves, rather than running off with strangers. That shows a lot of maturity and some really wonderful values! Because what is travel all about if it's not to appreciate far away places with our loved ones?

 

I can certainly see why you like to indulge her in these wonderful trips!

 

I do hope we end up on another voyage with you- that Australia NZ itinerary is on our list.:D

Ditto - I'm hoping to book New Zealand in December 2013 when the itineraries come out in March/April. I bought my next cruise certificate while on the Oasis to prepare for it!

Just wanted to say how much I am enjoying your review - it's exactly the style I enjoy (and try to write!) And your DH's photos are sensational - I have had some nice comments about mine in my recent Enchantment review, but this is a whole different level. Guess I'll just have to take another cruise (can you persuade me onto Oasis?!) and try harder. Oh, well!

 

I have also just seen your shipmate shooraq's photos as well - wow, this must be the best recorded cruise in history :)

Haha, that's awesome! :) I probably won't bother with a review since Kathy is doing such a phenomenal job here!

Hey Robyn! I would LOVE to see you photos because I know for certain yours are different... because I never saw you once on this cruise!:eek:;) It is one of my regrets, I so enjoyed your company on the roll call! Just you watch, one day you will be at the grocery store here in MA, and suddenly you will hear..."Shooraq..is that YOU!"

 

I'm sure you got some great shots! I'd love to see them. Hope you do get to post a review or a link to your blog!

I'm glad you got to see the photos I took. I bet you figured out which one is me and which one is Ben.. (hint, Ben is the white guy with the Kangol hat... haha).

If you ever want to meet up for coffee or a meal, let me know, always interested in meeting new people, especially those addicted to cruising!

Thanks everyone, I see from your signatures, that you all are planning to Cruise Oasis...think you will love it! I really loved reading reviews before our crusie, and I got so many good ideas and really " learned" the ship. Hope it's the same for you!

Bogos, we did do excursions, and we have more photos of those than other things, so I will definately be posting them! More tomorrow after work!

I'm glad you did this, I just haven't been able to find the time yet to write a full review of this week. I will still need to for my blog, but it seems you got it covered for Cruise Critic. I did just post my photos. I also have a D7000 and was mostly using my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, along with my Tamron 70-300mm, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 and my Tamron 90mm macro. Love photography!!

Congratulations are certainly in order! Best wishes to you both!

Kindle, and whatever strikes my fancy at the time. Lately, I've been on a Stephen King kick, currently reading Misery. And I mean the old classics, not the stuff he's written since the car accident that injured him. That stuff isn't the same too me, unfortunately... I rather read It or The Stand. :)

Thankfully 30 days until Liberty! This summer has been brutal , so eventhought it's just 3 nights, it will be worth every single day!

I'll chime in.....

 

My DH is 6'4" and works out daily. He is a trim "big guy". His coat size is a 50 extra long. Between the suit coat, suit pants, dress shirts, ties, belt, fancy socks and SIZE 13 dress shoes, his suitcase is then HALF FULL with clothes he'll wear for just a few hours (and that is the part he hates!) :o

My husband is the same. 6'1", size 13 feet, big guy. It is a pain to lug a full suit, dress shoes, two suits, ties, etc., especially in this current market of being overcharged for checked luggage. So now we choose wisely. We will bring the suit for the trip to the Oasis, but when we travel to Europe, we will skip formal nights. Simple as that. :)

From our roll call from last year, we had about 35 sign up for the SPB tour. They ended up using two different tour buses as Viktoria always has a max of 20 on any tour.

In your case, I guess it would depend on what else is doing that particular day, and if you make the request to Viktoria that you would prefer just whatever amount you would like on your tour. The more people, the cheaper it would probably be, but if you want just 10, I would definitely make that known to SPB. as was said, so many times, most of the major tour groups are very accommodating.

 

Cheers

 

Len

Thanks for your help, Len. We've had a couple of people drop out of the cruise, and much more interested as time progress. I just threw it out that if anyone had objections, to bring the total to 20 max and after that, people had to begin their own separate group.

In my cruise's roll call, I currently have a max cutoff of 12 people for our tour since people didn't want to be overwhelmed by group size. Now I have more people wishing to join our group rather than start their own, if possible.

If I increased the group to 20, would Viktoria be able to break everyone up into small vans instead of one big bus with one tour guide? How does that work?