masterbaker

We had 7199 on Constellation, fantastic balcony and we were serenaded in the evenings by a guitarist playing up in the café bar above. It was wonderful dancing in the moonlight on our balcony. I would highly recommend any of those corner aft FV's. :)

In 1980 during a thunderstorm a freighter hit a support column on the old Skyway bridge that spanned Tampa Bay causing it to collapse killing 35 people. The new Sunshine Skyway Bridge was built in its place but since that disaster, ship traffic is closed when any weather event reduces visibility to an unsafe distance.

I'm on a number of cruises this winter that include St John USVI as a separate port of call, and I know there is no pier there for ships so is a tender port.

 

Just curious, where do the cruise ships actually drop anchor? How long a tender ride is it to Cruz Bay or do they anchor off Coral Bay?

I believe you are confusing St John, USVI with St. John, Antigua. You don't tender in Antigua.

We are not happy loosing Bonaire as a port of call on 4/3/16 Eclipse. We enjoy snorkeling and Bonaire is an amazing snorkel port. Instead we now overnight in Curacao which has boring "island" tours. We live 30 minutes from world class beaches that annually make the top ten list so beaches are not why we cruise. We have been to Curacao before on several cruises and know what to expect.

We had planned to treat Curacao as a sea day. Now we are there two days. IMHO, the itinerary changes should have begun with the release of new bookings for future cruises. We could understand a change for weather, mechanical, or problems with a port of call, but this seems to be an executive decision regardless of how the majority feel about loosing Bonaire as a port of call.HUGE disappointment Celebrity..... HUGE! Rebooking is not an option for us this time but we will definitely remember this when we choose our next vacation. Celebrity will not be the choice.

We've been discussing this change in our itinerary on our Eclipse M&M thread.

A point just brought up by one of the members is the potential for lost casino revenue on the late night and overnight ports. I have to wonder if the ports that have been chosen for extended visits have agreed to allowing normal onboard casino activity especially after most of the shops ashore close for the day.

We always speak to our room steward and also the steward for our new room. That way they both know we are onboard sailing consecutively. They can assist you in moving as soon as the new room is clean and ready for you. Informing your next steward will enable them to prioritize the cleaning of that room. They can also provide a rolling rack for moving hanging clothes, you don't have to repack things that hang.

I put mine in my bra (or bathing suit top etc) ….or as my B/F calls it… my glove compartment. Easy to get to and always with me.

Me too..... we call it my "safe". ;)

I also got the invite (D+) but do not plan to travel from FL for this event. They should invite more local members IMHO. We do have current bookings but nothing on Quantum.

Did they also have a grill to order station in the WJ at dinner? Usually you have choices of steak, fish or chicken.

There is no extra charge for the T-Pool on the M-Class ships. They really are wonderful especially after a long day in port in a cold climate. In the caribbean however, I would have enjoyed it more if they had not been so warm.

Ken, thanks for the complete discription of the parking facilities at the port of Tampa. I really appreciate your reply. My DH and I discussed the parking and since nothing of value will be in the car, we will just park there and not worry about it. If for some reason it is vandalized, that is what we have insurance for.

Thanks again from one Floridian to another. ;)

We will be cruising from Tampa in April. We live within an hour of the port and planned to park at the pier. After reading this thread i'm concerned especially with comments about cars being broken into. Is it an unsecured lot?

We loved the whitewater rafting trip we booked through Celebrity on our visit to Costa Rica. We had class three rapids most of the way downriver with just a couple of smoother spots in between sets of rapids to catch our breath and brace ourselves for the next set. This is a very active excursion but well worth the effort. We did see wildlife walking down to the river and back out from the river but while rafting, our attention was definately not on looking for wildlife on shore. On the river, your attention will be on following your guides directions so you won't be swimming through the rapids instead of rafting over them. :eek: This is not a lazy river raft ride, it's whitewater.