Hydrokitty

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

Pack a foldable umbrella

Layers-- light cardigans/capris/a pair of jeans/a long sleeve light weight sweater

Sleeveless dresses for evening are fine though pack a like shawl

Short sleeve tops

a light windbreaker

 

 

Weather can be fabulous or a bit cloudy.

 

Its a wonderful cruise-- Did Southampton RT..2 days in ST P

Enjoy

 

PS consider booking a private tour in ST P! We did and it was pricey yet well worth it

I've been to St. Pete 3x and I agree with you 100%. It's a wonderful city with SO much to see..our cousin went with us last time and she did the 2 day private tour with Alla...she was exhausted but saw some of everything, even peterhof, which is not to be missed. If you have no plan to go there again and you can afford it...take it, you won't be sorry...

If you add up the cost for all 4 perks does the cost exceed $1400? I'll bet it comes close enough to make the difference worth while! Enjoy :)

Was Sushi on 5 open for lunch on embarkation day? That's where we like to go to beat the crowds.

It used to be and so did the Mast Grill where they have the best burgers ever.

Hugh Allison, owner and head guide with Inverness Tours, is an outstanding, knowledgeable guide. Provides wonderful historical and cultural stories as he guides you through the Highlands. And he will pick you up right at the dock.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

Thank you Larry...I did contact Hugh as well as Gavin from Inverness Tours and both were very helpful and honest in explaining that what I wanted wasn't really practical for a private guide and the shuttle provided by the ship just didn't run in sync with the boat cruise. Oh well. The chances of getting a photo of Nessie were probably not very good anyway.

You might also try asking about the taxi companies on the British Isles / Western Europe Port of Call forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=233

I did they wouldn't let me post a new thread.

Thank you all, after much figuring and hemming on line and communicating with both taxi companies and jacobite...I finally came to the conclusion that this boat tour is just not gonna happen!! There was no way to fit them together with the time we were docked and the taxis were both exorbitantly priced so I booked an X tour instead. But thanks for the advice.

We're on Eclipse for British Isles cruise and Tattoo in August. I have a question about Inverness. I know we dock at Invergordon and that it's about 30-45 minutes by car from dock to city. We're looking to take the 2 hour Caledonian Canal and Loch Ness boat trip which leaves from Dochgarren Loch (about 5 miles from Inverness) and planned to hire a taxi to take us from cruise port to boat dock and return. Has anyone done this? Does X provide a shuttle? I saw a post from 2015 that there was a shuttle for about $30 round trip to Inverness where I'm sure I can get a taxi to the boat dock. I also contacted two taxi companies with the following prices:

Inverness City Taxis: $190 (US) round trip and

Inverness Taxis: $312 (US) round trip

I went to the British Isles ports pages and found that I'm cannot post a new thread and there is no recent information....I asked for info on the taxi companies and found none for City Taxi and disappointing ones for the other.

Has anyone used either of these companies recently?

Has anyone taken the Jacobite Boat Tour?

Does X have a shuttle from port to Inverness and if so, what does it cost and where does it leave you?

Southampton is nearly always at the start or end of a cruise. It's only those doing a back-to-back that would ask this.

Or going in a day ahead of the cruise departure, which I think is what the poster was planning.

Sorry to get off topic, but would you mind briefly giving me some ideas of what you did in Southampton? We have a whole day there before our cruise and we're trying to decide what to do....you are right that they really don't advertise it, and it's hard to find much information on it.

Happy to. We walked from the ship,but there's a Holiday Inn Hotel right across the street from the dock, It's no more than a flat 1/4 mile from there to the entrance of the city. Southampton is apparently one of the few walled cities with its wall still virtually intact. Go through either of the gates (we chose the further one because there were two boats on display that we wanted to look at) An easy walk up the hill and you'll come to the Tudor House Museum, which is largely renovated as it was under private ownership for many years, but they have done a marvelous job of turning it into an historic museum. There's a program about the house, which is not to be missed, and then the gardens where you can almost visualize a Queen and her ladies in waiting walking and gossiping! The gardens are not large but there is a cannon that was actually built for King Henry VIII! On the lower level there's modern rest rooms and believe it or not a portion of the original house! We ate lunch at the cafe there, which over looks the garden and was delightful. The most memorable portion of the self-guided tour was down a very narrow stairway (I had no trouble and I have walking and balance issues) where the air-raid shelter for the family is. That was a mind blower for me (I'm a NYC girl)...when you finish with the house, across the square is the old church and an original shop, which was closed the day we were there. After lunch we walked through the old village with a quick stop at the Titanic Pub and Museum, then continued through the Gates and came upon the modern city with it's many shops and a supermarket, which was important to us because we were doing the B2B and had run out of some things. There is also a lovely walk along the water with landscaping and benches. We left the ship at 10 a.m. and returned at 3 p.m. and it was one of the best times we had....the people are so friendly and if you sit on a bench next to a local and start talking to them you can learn volumes!!! Enjoy!

We did the Baltic's cruise from Southampton 3 years ago in music August and had fantastic weather most of the time. Could lie by the pool on all but the last sea day.

 

Mid 20's most of the the time so never needed the layers we took. The cruise before though had mainly rain and overcast days.

 

 

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We did this cruise last August with B2B to Norway and the weather was glorious!! I packed jeans and long sleeved shirts and at the last minute threw 3 pairs of capris and 3 short sleeved shirts in my bag. I wound up living in those capris for almost 3 weeks and buying tee shirts in each port!! It was a glorious trip and we had the best time in Southampton on "turnaround" day. So much to see and do in that charming city but they don't advertise it.

One of the things I like most about Celebrity is that I don't have to rent a wheelchair. I tell them ahead of time that I require a w/c to board and they will have one (with an attendant) ready for me when I arrive at the dock. On board it depends on where my cabin is located and what ship I'm on so I don't always need a w/c to get around on the ship but I do use one when I go ashore and they always have them available at the end of the gangway. If your Mums are not used to using motorized scooters I would not recommend a cruise as the place to try one out! The public areas can be very crowded making it difficult for a regular user of a scooter to get around let alone someone who's just learning! There is one grab bar in the shower, which is easy enough to get in but a second one would be helpful. Remind them NOT to touch the bar between the water faucets as it gets very hot!!! If they have balance issues (like me) I would suggest a pair of rubber beach shoes for the shower...sometimes the floor can be slippery and the "bathmat" is more for comfort than accident prevention. I also bring a small high powered flashlight that I keep on the bedside table for getting up in the middle of the night. There is a night light in the bathroom but first you have to get TO the bathroom. I've been on the Eclipse 4x so far..... the staff on board the ship is wonderfully helpful and considerate. My only complaint about Eclipse is there are only 2 elevator stations....one forward and one midship....and it's a very long walk from the stern (aft) cabins to the nearest elevator.

I have sailed Concierge on Celebrity over 5 times and I've yet to be invited to any special lunch. WTH? I always arrive before 1pm.

Really? Are you sure you've boarded before 1 p.m.? I've also sailed Celebrity Concierge level for all but 1 of my cruises and I've never been "invited to"or had to ask for the concierge lunch...when I board the ship and my sea pass is scanned that first time, I have always been directed to the MDR to enjoy lunch...but it's only served between 11:30 and 1:30....I've had it on Eclipse and Summit and it's my favorite thing about concierge class. The menu is limited...soup/salad...meat, fish or vegetarian entree....and chocolate cake/ice cream...but the food is very good and it beats the heck out of walking around the Ocean View with a plate of food in one hand, a drink in the other while pulling a carry-on or wearing a back pack and trying to find a table! (IMHO)

In a word the X binoculars are worthless!! Mine are Pentax that I've had for years so I no longer have any idea what they cost but they have their own soft case with a carrying strap and fit in my backpack. As pp have suggested....look on line including places like LL Bean for a small pair that doesn't weigh much....short of a pair of brightly colored plastic binoculars that you find in a toy store, whatever you buy will be better than what you'll find in your cabin. :D

What are the chances of getting a suite with a water bed that is perpendicular with the headboard toward the bathroom. That way I could feel as if I was sleeping on a ship in the middle of an ocean..... oh wait..... well, if nothing else it might be easier to roll out of bed if timing is right. How many people can deny they are over fifty and never owned a water bed? :cool:

I never had a water bed because I was always worried the cat would puncture it while we slept and we'd go rushing down the stairs and out the front door and then the neighbors would call the police and then the newspapers would show up and who wants to be on the front page of a newspaper sitting on the front lawn, wearing a granny gown and dripping water???

We prefer the bed by the balcony as well. That being said, we just booked a cruise on Equinox and have the second off the hump on the slant. We had the first one off of the hump on the slant last year and The balcony was bigger, but the second and fourth have even a bigger balcony so we were excited about that.....then found out the bed is by the bathroom. We are still going to go with it and see how we like it!

purplsmurf: You're going to be so happy with your balcony you won't care where the bed is!!! Love the bump/hump cabins!! :hearteyes:

I always enjoy reading these threads about bed location because my husband and I are also two of those folks who are totally indifferent about bed location!

I agree...but it's so much more fun to sit here with my coffee on a cold, dreary Sunday morning and read posts about which side of the room is better.....a nice change from the problems and complaints. :D

Just looked at it for you....view should be fine...cabin fits 3 people....2 in beds and 1 on pull out sofa. If you want to see for yourself go to celebrity.com, choose menu, then ships, Summit and find my cabin. Oh and welcome to CC!!!

I've been on Summit so if you have any questions, ask away.

Hopefully, they will spend some of that money on the cabins, especially the bathrooms....rather than what they always do: improve the public revenue generating space. Heck, if they replaced the, what appear to be the original, shower curtains it would be an improvement :)

I agree, but in all my cruises with X, I've never had a shower with a curtain....what ship were you on?

Is it really cheaper to book a flight and a hotel through the cruise line?

Generally speaking hotels are NOT cheaper when booked through the cruise line....air fare on the other hand can be substantially less but it depends on where you're going and where you live. For example: I live in NY with a regional airport nearby. If I'm taking a cruise out of anywhere in the US I can fly from my local airport on SW for less than any of the legacy airlines and I don't have to pay for things like luggage, peanuts or my seat....BUT if I'm sailing from a European port I can save up to $1000 or more, per person, flying business class on airlines like Lufthansa, KLM, Virgin Atlantic and I get to choose my airline, my flights and my seat. I even get loyalty points but most of all, I get to use their lounge and upper class passenger line through security.

We ALWAYS choose the bed by the veranda on the port side of the ship for two reasons:

 

1. The room feels much larger without the bed directly in front of you when you walk into the room.

 

2. More importantly, when the cabin is located on the port side, the position of the bed when it is by the balcony means when you are lying in bed, your body is facing forward with the motion of the ship. This makes a major difference for someone who suffers from sea sickness.

Interesting about the sea sickness....I don't have that problem so I never really thought about it....but I always choose the bed by the veranda because I usually get up in the middle of the night and I like to peek outside to see what's going on......nothing is going on of course, but I like the idea that if it were I could see it. ;p

Waiting for your report, Reflection has switched to Le Petit Chef.

What is Le Petit Chef? I mean what kind of food is it :D DH was not a fan of Qsine...

This was our FIRST Celebrity cruise and Infinity is still our favorite ship, although these days we seem to be on the Eclipse an awful lot....it's a wonderful, wonderful cruise and all the ports were fantastic. Bon Voyage and have a great time!!!! :D

Thank you Sue, it's good to hear St Petersburg was your favourite and there were no problems, this stop was the main reason for booking this cruise. I was booked to go on it 8 years ago, but had to cancel so I have waited a long time for this. I am very excited and don't want any mishaps!

 

Jean.

I'll second Sue....St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities and I've been there several times and never get tired of it...just be aware of pickpockets especially in the Churches (Spilled Blood and St. Isaacs)

The Gardens are a must see. So beautiful! We only had 6 hours and wish we had more time.

And the food in the little restaurant was pretty good too!

Need that "Like" button!!

Pretty sure Hydrokitty missed the mention of Victoria in OP's question and has answered as if they were coming from Vancouver... Butchart is ~30mins drive from Victoria without traffic issues.

Actually, I saw the mention of Victoria...I just didn't catch that they were docking there! :D To be truthful, I didn't realize ships docked in Victoria, I thought everyone docked in Vancouver, hence my negative response...thanks to you both for clarifying for me and OP.

I'm confused by your post. On our Solstice cruise two years ago, we stopped in Victoria and took the ship's tour to the gardens. It was a fairly long bus ride, but there was no ferry involved. The ship actually docked in Victoria.

That explains a lot!! When we docked from HAL, we docked in Vancouver and stayed at the Pan Pacific. From Vancouver we took a ferry and then a bus! If you're docking in Victoria, I take it all back and you should have plenty of time to enjoy the gardens.....they are magnificent.