Hydrokitty

Forgot to pack my husband’s underwear. He had only 2 extra pairs in his carryon and we had to make repeated use of shipboard laundry. He does his own packing now[emoji849].

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Good plan.....I'll have to try that.

If they are fresh they will eventually turn to salt thru out the day due to the passengers perspiration and peeing. 😱

 

Many reports and studies recommend that you avoid all public pools and hot tubs.

 

Happy cruising. 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

EWWWW....alas but it's true....every travel magazine will tell you hot tubs in hotels and on cruise ships are the biggest germ factories going. As for the pools on X....they're kind of smallish and very crowded. After our first trip we decided the balcony was well worth the money and we have a pool at home so why bother fighting for a chaise or listening to loud music or watching people playing silly games when we can sit comfortably and read in peace and quiet on our balcony. I had no idea they were filled with salt water!

I have been on Princess Alaska cruise and Disney Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises.

 

Want to take a Baltic Sea tour next year - on a dialysis at sea cruise (my father receives dialysis treatments).

 

My travel agent said only option is 2 week cruise from Southampton, leaving July 14, 2019.

I wonder if there are other cruises. We wish to see St. Petersburg and Scandinavia as a minimum.

 

What differences in amenities and service are there between Celebrity versus the 2 cruise lines I have sailed with?

We did this cruise last August with a B2B for 7 day Norway on Celebrity Eclipse. I haven't sailed on Disney or Princess because our first cruise was with X and we loved it so we've kept booking and booking...anyway, Baltic Cruise from Southampton was fantastic!!! We visited Stockholm, Copenhagen, Talinn, St. Petersburg overnight, Warnemunde (Berlin) and then back to Southampton for a wonderful day in a delightful port and moved on to Norway, which is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Celebrity does have cruises with dialysis available and I think Baltics was one of them. I don't need it, but we met some people who do as well as the doctor and everyone was very happy with their treatment.

Have been on 3 B2B's so far on Celebrity (2 recently) - two in Alaska and one in Miami. On none of them did they offer us any special tours in-between. So it may happen, but don't count on it.

That is surprising. I wonder why because they really like to get as many off the ship as possible....maybe Alaska was too easy to get off and do on your own? As I recall most of the ports we stopped at (not X) were easy walking distance to sights. When we docked in Miami they had a HOHO bus tour, which gets kind of iffy reviews, as well as the airboat.

On our last b2b there were excursions for b2bers in addition to the ones that terminated at the airport. Unfortunately, both of them were cancelled due to lack of people signing up. Check your shore excursions on trip planner or at the shore excursion desk after you board.

Hi we will be in the Summit next Oct 7 cruising to New England and Canada, will never forget a great friend, this will be our first time in NYC and all the ports of the cruise. Say hello to Lady Jane

Make sure you're standing at a railing at sailaway....Summit will pass New Jersey's 911 Memorial (beautiful to starboard), then Statue of Liberty (port side) then sail under the Verrazano Bridge! You'll also be able to pick out the Wonder Wheel, Parachute Jump and roller coasters at Coney Island (also port side)! (binoculars will help). This was a fantastic cruise!!!

Hydrokitty

According to Southwest's website, they do not charge a service fee for changing flights. All you have to do is pay the difference from what you paid for your flight and the cost of the new flight. Today's cost for a one way flight from Ft. Lauderdale (for example) and Midway is $514. In most people's world that is more than minimal.

This is true BUT it depends on availability more than anything else. I have had flights booked from FLL following a cruise at 5 p.m. and gotten to the airport (from port of Miami) at Noon...first thing I did was try to get an earlier flight....forget it when 2-3 ships are in port in both Miami and Ft. Lauderdale there's NO empty seats! One thing I did learn however is this: while you can't check your luggage in that early (I knew that) you CAN take it to the curbside check in and they will take it whenever... leaving you free to have a leisurely lunch and watch CNN for 3 hours!

To OP: You can probably make it from port to airport in time....it's close but it depends on everything from docking to disembarking and clearing immigration working like clockwork.....there's no room for error and that makes me opt for a later flight.

My sailing is in April. SWA schedule being released on the 28th is only for flights in March :)

 

 

Sent from my RCT6603W87M7 using Tapatalk

And on 6/29 you open SW and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, click on flight schedules (second column) and that will tell you when they will open for the next block, which will include April. You also mentioned Choice Air......I think you will do much better with SW or one of the other lower cost airlines. Choice is fantastic for cruises leaving from foreign ports for both return trips and one-way trips.....and if you like to fly business class you'll save a bundle, but for domestic flights.....not so much.

My suggestion is take your waiters advice. But, if you want to really try the swamp frog, order it as a second entre. Just go for both.

Loved your review....we're doing this cruise on Anthem as a family reunion in July, 2019. Funny thing though, on one of our previous cruises the only bad meal we had was the night we did NOT take our waiter's advice. We were on Eclipse and at the time one of the "special" nights was a menu of "Top Chef" selections. Our waiter suggested we go with the "order any time chicken or beef", but nooo we went for the Top Chef menu and it was dreadful!!! Our waiter felt so bad when we sent back dessert (pecan pie that you needed a steak knife to cut into) that he brought my daughter and I big slabs of the fabulous chocolate mousse cake with 2 scoops of ice-cream....served with a smile and an "I told you so". :D

So there were 500 hundred attorneys on this nude cruise........can't help it....it was just too easy.

Thank you so much for the heads up on the parking situation.

 

 

I'm looking at a stay/park/cruise company that offers three options for hotels with parking and transportation to the port:

Ramada Plaza

Crowne Plaza and

 

Holiday Inn

 

 

Which hotel would you suggest

All 3 of them are well known chain hotels. If it were me I would choose Crowne Plaza only because IMHO it's a little more upscale than than the other two....but I wouldn't have a problem staying at any of them. I like the idea of leaving a car at the hotel because it seems like a more secure area than the huge port/airport overnight parking lots. One thing that I would want to check in choosing a hotel is whether or not it has a restaurant on premises. If you're not familiar with the area, you might not want to wander about looking for one.

When it mixed your account with your husbands did the password reset come addressed to your husband? If so, use his answer to the security question. That worked to get me in.

Wrong poster.....my husband doesn't have an account only I do. IT was able to solve my problem by signing me in with a temporary X password and then allowing me to change my password, which, so far, is working fine but only with Edge. This morning I was able to log in with Chrome, so we'll see how long that lasts. It seems like there are several problems going on here which makes this so hard to counter, but thanks for trying!

My husband and I are flying into FLL for our April cruise.

 

Airlines that release their fares 330 days prior have release their schedule and the cost of flying is crazy ridiculous. Anywhere from $600 to $1100.

 

I am hoping that Southwest will be less. On June 28 they are releasing flights through March. Anyone know when, historically, they will release for April?

 

Thanks!

Probably end of July....wait until June 28, then go to southwest, scroll to bottom of the page where they list all the corporate stuff, click on flying southwest, flight schedules that will tell you when they open for next period. As soon as you have the date, mark your calendar to go to them that morning....those will be the best prices you will get and they will be less than the big guys.

Does anyone have a current picture of the tote bag? We are cursing on the Equinox on June 30 in a Concierge Class. I read a few reviews that said you had to ask for the bag and also the sparking wine, is this correct?

Love your post....gave me the best laugh of the day!!!! (reread your second sentence....Damn spell check)

;p:')

Exact same happened to us. You don't need Celebrity call in. Log in to the account you can get into and go to personal information page. Edit that to you with your name, birthdate, celebrity captains club number and save. It will then tag you. Just make sure you have the right email. That's your starting point. Accounts are tagged to email. So you edit the personal information to reflect the email you want.

Yes but first you need to log in and THAT'S what I couldn't do.

Hello! Can anyone tell me if the Everglades Airboat Tour out of Port Lauderdale is ok for someone with a bad knee who uses a cane, and also for an average 80 year old (could walk probably 1/2 mile comfortably)? The family can help them get in/out of a boat (they get in and out my pontoon boat at home) but I wonder if it is a long walk from the bus to where you board the boats or see the alligator demonstration? I tried calling X and they were not very helpful so I appreciate any personal experience. Thank you!

We did this excursion in March and I have difficulty walking. It was a little difficult getting on and off the airboat but there were plenty of big guys there to help. Once on board you sit the whole time and you don't need seatbelts (we did on one in the NP) nor do you get wet. If they can get in and out of a pontoon, they should be able to handle it with assistance. The walk down to the boat is a little steep but there are handrails. As for the walk from the bus to the demonstration it's uneven in most areas, hardpacked dirt, but I did it and there were benches in several spots. If it's very hot the walk could be a bit uncomfortable because there's not much shade. All in all it was a fun excursion....not great but fairly good.

They did on my last cruise in March.

Spent over an hour on phone with X tech....very helpful and very frustrating since I could not log in and got nothing but black screen with white boxes on it! Anyway....they finally discovered that the problem they're having (and there IS a problem with the web site) appears to be with Chrome. They're working on it, and suggested I try Edge, which worked. I was able to sign in using my e-mail and the password X provided, Welcome1. This enabled me to change my password to what I chose and voila....everything is there where I left it. They don't know how long Chrome will be a problem but at least using a different browser may solve some of your problems. She also asked if I had Internet Explorer so that one is working too. Good luck....hope this helps.

The HoHo is a great idea.

I agree, I think the HoHo is the best way to see most cities, especially ones that aren't too far away from the port. I usually book mine through Viator. They pick you up at the ship and we'll ride the whole route and pick out where we want to get off and then they bring you back to the ship. Tickets are reasonable, you can eat (or not) when and where you want and you can spend as much time as you want in the Sagrada Familia and Gueli Park. One thing: be VERY careful of pickpockets at the Sagrada.

Our last one was the Douro River in 2015. We lived in Germany for four years and won't do any cruises on the Rhine or upper Danube. Probably the only one we might do in the future is the lower Danube from Budapest to Romania.

 

We did Budapest to Black Sea and it was marvelous....a real eye opener with exquisite scenery. You'll love it.

 

We will likely do an African Safari in 2020. We have been to so many places in the World, that what is left on our bucket list is comparatively short.

 

This is the one on my bucket list that I probably won't be able to do since the accident. I think it would be a good thing on safari to be able to make the lion run at least 3 feet to catch his dinner!

 

We are doing Machu Picchuto prior to a repo cruise from Chile to San Diego in March 2019, Then an Arctic Circle cruise up the coast of Norway in June 2019.

 

Out of all the places we've been, and like you we're running out of places to go, Norway is by far and away the most beautiful.

 

After that, we will most likely do the Safari to Kenya/Tanzania and then trips to places in Europe with a returning TransAtlantic to the USA. Want to do Italy one more time with a week in Rome and Umbria.

 

Planning a TA for next year just can't decide which one I want to do! DH is Italian so we've been to visit family and love Italy. One more time isn't enough!!

 

Also, want to go back to Britain once more, then perhaps a trip to Bordeaux, France and the Basque region of France and Spain.

On second thought we may do a Bordeaux River cruise. Grand Circle has one for that region, not Vantage.

 

Basque region was delightful and the food is to die for! Be sure to take the tram up the Rune....and have a glass of wine or 3 in Bordeaux!

 

What do you have planned?

We're doing British Isles with the Edinburgh tattoo in August. Like you in Germany, we lived in England so we've pretty much done all of the UK except for Scotland and Ireland!! This one should be interesting not only for the tattoo but we're also porting in Guernsey, which as you know I'm sure, was occupied by the Germans during WW2 and the underground "city" including hospital that Germans built is now a museum. DH cannot wait for that. So underground bunkers for him and bagpipes for me!! :D

We're doing a family reunion next July on Anthem of the Seas....we've never been on one of the mega ships but with 3 generations I think Anthem is a good idea....something for everybody. It's sailing from Bayonne, which is convenient and going to Bermuda, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and Labadee for 9 days. Should be fun....and we're now doing Caribbean every March for 2 weeks....it's cheaper than Florida!!

I want to do Antarctica so badly I can taste it, but DH is giving me a hard time over that one. I may have to ditch him and find someone else to go with me.

Say Hi to the river cruise crowd for me!

Good idea.....and if enough people call with the same problem that should light a fire!! Been a long time since I've "talked" to you...are you still doing river cruises?

What is going on with X's website? I tried to log into my account and it won't accept my password.

I had the same problem yesterday...and tried to reset my password as they suggested and it still wouldn't accept it. Up until yesterday I had no trouble signing in or navigating the web site. Like you, I've read many of the posts with information on how to do this but until yesterday had no problem.

And I tried using both username and e-mail neither one would let me sign and the message I got was that my account was deactivated!!

Just tried now and all I get is a blank black page. Interestingly, when I go to my RC account I can sign in without difficulty.

Hi everyone! My husband and I are in our early thirties and we are planning a big overseas trip/cruise for next year. We came across the 12 night Scandinavia/Russia cruise on the Reflection that starts on June 26th. Our first cruise was on the Reflection and we loved the ship so we have experience there but we've never done this type of cruise before (take a look at my signature for our past cruises to see what we've done). I'm looking for thoughts from folks whom have done a similar cruise. What did you enjoy, what did you not enjoy? I know the crowd will skew older as this is a longer cruise. Should we perhaps consider a different cruise line? We're both foodies and I personally like having activities to do while my husband likes relaxing on the ship. I liked this sailing since it has stops at almost all of the countries that are on my bucket list to see (only one missing is Norway).

 

Here are the stops:

Starts in Amsterdam

Rostock, Germany

Helsinki, Finland

St. Petersburg, Russia (overnight)

Talinn, Estonia

Stockholm, Sweden

Copenhagen, Denmark

Back to Amsterdam

 

Any thoughts and/or reviews are appreciated!

We did this cruise on the Eclipse out of Southampton last August and it was wonderful. We didn't stop in Helsinki and our Germany stop was Warnemunde (Berlin). BUT you might be interested to know that we did a B2B after Baltic Caps that was to Norway and THAT was amazing.

As for the ports in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Talinn we did HOHO buses in all three and they were fantastic. I purchased tix ahead of time from Viatour and they picked us up and returned us to the ship. Of the three cities Stockholm was my least favorite but the weather was bad...In Copenhagen be sure to stop at Tivoli Gardens....great place to have lunch in the pirate ship and it was one of our favorite places of all...and the Gelfion Fountain and Little Mermaid are close to each other. In Talinn be sure to go up to the top of Toompea Hill.....and after you've toured the church walk to your right for some fun shops,very old houses and beautiful lookout...then to the Old Town Square where we had a delicious lunch of boar burgers (yum) and carrot fries (not so much).

We went on the post cruise Everglades Tour with airport drop off last March it was terrible too. We did this same tour (or so we thought) many years ago and loved the tour. This was a waist of time. Next time we will sit in the airport. Don’t substitute with this tour.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We did this excursion with last March as well with drop off in FLL and while it wasn't the best excursion we've ever had, the airboat was great! We have done them in the NP, Orlando and Naples and enjoyed them all but on this one we saw more wildlife than on any of the others!

We are sailing on the Anthem on June 14th . I booked the cruise about 10 months ago and since the time you could book activities the IFly and Northstar have shown to be unavailable and to book on ship. Does anyone know the procedure for schedonce on board and how hard will it be to get reservations? There wi30+ll only be two of us. Thanks in advance!

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

I'm sailing on Anthem in July, 2019 with a family reunion and since we're a large group (30+) I thought I'd book Northstar, IFly and cabanas ahead of time but I'm having the same problem. I cannot book anything this far out. But I will download the app....that's good advice.