impatientlywaiting

I've also never taken my meds in their original bottles. I do, however, have a picture on my phone of all 4 of my prescription bottles in case of an emergency. I turned a 7 day container (with 3 parts per day) into a 21 day container. If we're gone longer, I put the remainder of the pills I will need in a small pill bottle.

We just got back from a month in Europe - 5 countries visited. Most of the airports we flew in and out of (Dublin, Amsterdam, Paris & Dusseldorf) were very busy with long lines and DH had to take his tablet out of his carry on every time (we don't have to do that in the U.S.). We always made sure to get to the airport about 3 hours early. We were quite shocked in Dusseldorf when everyone (regardless if they were Europeans or Americans or other nationalities) were felt up (yep, you read that right for both men and women).

Anita,

 

I didn´t say that a tourist has to have a map in his hands. But tourists do carry maps with them ;)!

 

Even with baguettes and a grocery bag I can tell you whether you are a tourist or a local. It´s the demeanor, the clothes you are wearing, the shoes you are wearing...

 

 

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I doubt it!

Thank you all for the great advice.

 

We are going to Prague (pre-cruise) and then Budapest to Amsterdam (coming directly back to the states the same day).

 

Countries that we are visiting: Czech republic, Hungary, Austria, Germany and Netherlands.

 

It sounds as if ATM and fee-free credit card will work.

 

For the restrooms--coins or bills?

 

Thanks

 

Bill

I had my credit union give me a pre-loaded debit card that was NOT attached to my regular bank accounts just in case I was pick pocketed (fortunately I wasn't). When we landed in Ireland, I went directly to the ATM (while waiting for my luggage) and got Euros. My Chase United credit card (with chip) does not charge international fees and I used it in all the countries we were in (Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany) with no problems. All the US dollars I took sat in my wallet never touched.

Anita, I would ask a tourist too for directions.. they tend to carry a city map with them ;)!

 

steamboats

The times we were asked for directions we were carrying baguettes from the boulangerie and a bag of groceries from the grocery store - just like all the locals were doing. No maps.

Yes. Our travel wasn't until late in the afternoon and we didn't need to be at the train station until mid-afternoon. We were able to stay on the ship until 2:00 p.m. Viking kept our luggage on the ship and also arranged the taxi to pick us up. We had lunch on the ship and hung out in the lounge until it was time to leave. You definitely can't do that on an ocean liner.

Sorry, follks, but forget to "look like..." whatever... You´ll be recognized as a tourist from 100 m away whatever you´re wearing!

 

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Disagree 100%. We just spent a week in Paris and were asked no less than FOUR times (maybe it was five, we lost track it was starting to be too comical), by Parisians, for directions, We don't even speak French. We apparently did NOT look like tourists.

On tours, are there many readily available rest room facilities ? Do you need euros to access them ? How about restroom on tour bus ? Has anyone done pre Cruise Lucerne extension? Is there enough time at airport on arrival in Zurich to do currency exchange? Are only CHF accepted in Lucerne ? My main concern is for tipping $$ . Should we bring adaptors and converters for Lucerne and Amsterdam hotels.?

Also, for pre cruise Lucerne, what time do you depart hotel for Basel ? Thinking of am boat trip on the Lake. Many thanks !!

 

 

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We just got back from doing the Viking cruise Amsterdam to Basel on the Rhine. The buses did NOT have restrooms, however, there were plenty of stops. Our tour guides knew where most of the "free" and clean restrooms were. Occasionally, we had to leave a small tip (.50 Euro).

You will need converters for all the hotels in Europe.

We tipped in US dollars before we left the boat.

There are ATM's available in Baggage (we were in four countries) and you should have plenty of time to get Euros while waiting for your luggage. That's where I got my Euros. Before leaving the U.S., I went to my bank and got a pre-loaded debit card and got cash that way the entire month we were in Europe.

Just cruised the 8-day Avignon to Lyon on Viking Buri and we were told to put luggage outside cabin at 8am with the tags they had provided (which indicated airport or taxi or train or independent travel etc). We were not scheduled to leave the ship until afternoon so we were invited to take lunch on board and then relax in any of the public areas or decks until our taxi arrived. Public washroom off reception were available for us. Viking reps called our taxi and placed our luggage in the taxi trunk for us! Excellent customer service all around.

We just got off the Viking Mani two weeks ago and our train from Basel to Paris wasn't until late afternoon. Having only taken ocean cruises, I was absolutely shocked when we were advised that we could stay on board until it was time to go to the station. Like you, they had arranged for our taxi and loaded our luggage for us. Viking is an awesome company and I can't wait to go on another river cruise!

Thank you.

We will be on an AMA cruise but also on a Viking.

Does anyone know about Viking?

TIA

I just got off a Viking cruise less than two weeks ago. You can have "still" water (no bubbles) any time of day. The people I traveled with had the house wine or beer for lunch and dinner but I don't like wine or beer so either I had Coke or water. No problem.

We just got back from Europe this past Monday. I tried not taking a purse of any kind and using a small backpack. After ending up carrying that backpack in front all the time, I decided a small cross body purse was the way to go. It was just big enough for my cell phone (which I also use as my camera), a small RFID wallet, and my passport. When it rained, it fit comfortably under my rain jacket.

As for not talking when we were on the Metro subway in Paris, that's ridiculous. There are so many people crammed onto those trains, and so many different languages being spoken, you don't know who are tourists and who aren't. I lost track of how many times a Parisian stopped us to ask us for directions. And we don't know any French!

We did notice that fanny packs, worn in front, are coming back in style in Europe (lots of Europeans were wearing them). We're going back in October - I might have to think about a fanny pack!

Thanks for all the info everyone, very good feedback.

My opinion is opposite of everybody's. We had a port side balcony. The outside decks were so crowded when we were at the glacier we would not have had a good view/seat. Yes, it was chilly but we knew it would be cold at 5:00 in the morning so we took warm clothes. Plus we had room service deliver breakfast and we were able to come in and out of our cabin and not worry about getting a god view. Plus, when we were coming into ports, we were always out on our balcony.

When you say two 750 bottles of water is that per person or,per stateroom?

Per stateroom.

I have posted before about buying this phone but checked with cc whether anyone had a problem taking it on board celebrity abd comments were favourable however decided just to email celebrity too.

Just received an email to let me know if CANNOT take it onboard. Just thought I would let you all know. Ggrrrrrr:evilsmile::eek:

My husband and I both have a Samsung Galaxy S7, our daughter has the S7 Edge and we spent 29 days on Radiance of the Seas last fall with our S7's - NO PROBLEM. We've flown with our phones several times as well. They are talking about the S7NOTE which you can no longer buy at all. If you want the S7 go buy it!

We also sailed out of Seattle's Pier 91 and never had this problem. We were at the Pier by about 10:30 and there were no issues with our ship (Rhapsody of the Seas) or the ship docked next to us (a Celebrity ship - can't remember the name).

My vote always would be for the Radiance or Vision class ships! We did the TA on Rhapsody in 2014 and loved it. We also cruised on Jewel from Vancouver, B.C. to Los Angeles, CA and she's a beautiful ship. There's always plenty do on these "smaller" ships.

Exactly.

 

In fact, people here are saying adding laundry would cost RCL revenue...but I would never take a longer cruise on RCL because they dont have machines.

 

I did a 15 night Princess cruise with 3 days on land at each end. 21 days total in Europe. The laundry machines were ESSENTIAL.

 

If its a ship that ONLY does 3,4, or 7 night trips - no laundry needed. But if youre trying to sell longer packages, laundry facilities are a must.

We were on Radiance for 29 days last fall and didn't have any issues with laundry. We watched for the wash & fold sale days and any other laundry sale days. For delicate items, I hand washed those items and hung them on the deck to try. So laundry facilities are definitely not essential.

Don't forget to stop off in the Tortuga liquor store and pick up some rum and rum cake! The cake is delicious and you can only get Tortuga Rum (at least the 140 proof) in Grand Cayman!

Our airline changed our arrival in to FLL from 11a.m. to 2p.m. Ship leaves at 4p.m. Looks like we may be sticking our neck out here. Would anyone try to do this?

CEI 3.

No. Call the airline and tell them what you're doing. They'll change your flight - no charge. It's happened to us and never any problems.

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I plan on having a drink or two in the DL...then using a voucher at the bar on my way into the dining room...maybe another leaving the table for a second during dinner (I understand you can't use them IN the dining room), then perhaps one after dinner, on my way to the show...It means I am not anchored to the DL for free drinks...

We always order a fresh drink before leaving the DL to take to dinner with us without having to use our vouchers. By the end of a cruise, the servers in the DL know us and come to us 15 minutes or so before we leave to take our order!

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I was shocked last fall when we boarded Radiance of the Seas for our b2b down to Australia at how disorganized Canada Place was. A Celebrity ship was also at Canada Place for their trip down to Australia as well and all passengers were being funneled into the same building. Nobody in charge knew where luggage was to go when we got off our shuttle from our hotel. We ended up taking our luggage into the building and depositing them directly in the Radiance room. It was a total mess. After going through Customs, if you weren't paying close attention (there were no signs and no personnel directing you), you ended up outside on the sidewalk instead of back inside the building heading towards the gangway to board the ship.

Until our last two cruises, we ate all our meals in the WJ. We now eat dinner in the MDR and breakfast & lunch in the WJ. I particularly love the made-to-order egg bar in the WJ. They always make my eggs just the way I like them and I get them hot out of the skillet!

I haven't had the pleasure of sailing on a Radiance class ship, but I'm looking forward to it in 2019 (when they finally release the itineraries for Australia & the Transpacifics etc!). I've been on one Vision class ship and the thing I remember most about it was the lovely Centrum with the beautiful glass windows all around and the stunning views of the ocean outside. We spent a lot of time in some of the lounge spaces on various floors (often times with a cup of Ben n Jerry's!) enjoying the beautiful views.

 

While I personally continue to prefer the Voyager and Freedom class of ships, if you really think about it you do notice that there are very few options for getting outside views UNLESS you pay for a balcony+ cabin. (Most of the oceanview cabins have very small windows although some of the newer panoramic oceanview cabins are stunning though and are just as good as a balcony.) Anyway -- unless you've got the balcony cabin, it's hard to find an indoor space with nice views outside. And if there are such spaces, they are usually pay-for venues (such as Chops, for instance) or else the good seats are already taken!

 

We will be on three Vision class ships in a row so it will be interesting to see how we enjoy it this time around (having also been on an Oasis class ship). I think I will miss the Promenade but I will enjoy the lovely views outside from the Centrum instead! I also absolutely love the covered Solarium (whether retracted or not) as we have found many of our cruises are marred by inclement weather (we do a lot of repositioning and European cruises) so this is a major bonus for us.

 

I'm definitely looking forward to a Radiance class ship as I've heard lots of lovely things about them. I'd always wanted to sail on one of them. Do they still have the self-leveling pool tables?

We spent 29 days on Radiance last fall and really enjoyed her (Vancouver, B.C. to Hawaii to Australia). During the days when the weather was too hot or the seas too choppy, we hung out on Deck 5 inside by Café Latitude, or Deck 6 Aft in the Colony Club (right past the self-leveling pool tables). Everywhere on the main decks you have wonderful views of the ocean! We also enjoy walking around the ship outside on Deck 5 if it's too windy up on Deck 10.

Majesty is still around and why not do Empress?

BTW - I suggested that you try Freedom Class, not Oasis Class. I'm sure you would still enjoy it, and there are many places to see the ocean. Even Quantum Class with Two70.

 

The small ships are not my cup of tea - but I am qualified to say that having sailed two Radiance Class ships and a Vision Class. I don't even dislike those ships, just not enough to do for me, and I even wouldn't be opposed to sailing on Majesty for a weekend cruise, she seems great for the 3/4 day itineraries.

I'm looking at Empress for a future cruise to Cuba!

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but the person said that the radiance class was almost too big for them. Why suggest they try something so much bigger.

Because they can't believe there are actually people who don't like the bigger ships and just can't leave it alone. No worries though, I know we won't be running into them on the smaller ships! [emoji2]

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