sippican
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Posts posted by sippican
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Tell me is san Juan Sheraton and mar riot **** or *** and half stars
There are two Sheratons - one in OSJ near the port, the other the Sheraton with the Casino (4 stars) only $130 per night right now without bidding. The Marriott is listed in the "resort" category.
There are no guarantees what hotel you may end up with, just the level
The "bidding for travel" or "bidding traveler" sites may be helpful.
Good luck!
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I had the DISpleasure of booking a ship excursion called Snorkel beneath the Pitons that stopped at this beach. We received 20% back after the terrible tour. The beach on the resort side is very nice. The lounge chairs are wonderful, but not available to anyone but resort guests. The rest of the chairs are shoved over to the side, on a rocky space. There are so many boats coming in and out of the beach area here that the water is muddy and murky. We had a terrible snorkeling experience. I would never return here as it was not worth the time or expense.Hmmm. Interesting...
We had a great experience with Spencer Ambrose and his Jalousie Beach Break tour in February. We got there before anyone else, so we picked out a couple of nice loungers under a palapa right in front of the area roped off for snorkeling.
It's a nice, sandy beach, but once you're in the water it's rocky, so you'll need water shoes. We found the snorkeling to be pretty decent.
The beach can get a little busy, but we didn't find the boat traffic to be all that bad. The area for snorkeling is roped off, so you're not worried about tangling with boats while you're in there...
All in all, I found this excursion to be one of the better ones we did on our 2-week cruise.
Cheers, P:)
I thought I had read that the resort will rent out their loungers for a fee if visitors choose to use that area instead of the free chairs. Is that no longer so?
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I want to try a priceline bid for a one night precruise stay for a family of 4, but not sure which area I should bid on. We want to be near the beach, but is that too far from the airport.We plan on exploring Old San Juan after we board ship. And not sure about transportation from airport to hotel and then from hotel to port...I guess taxis...but how expensive is that?Thank you for any ideas.
Check out bidding traveler dot com. They can actually set up a bidding strategy for you on Priceline, and many report luck by following the strategy exactly.
Zone 9 is the area from the airport to cruise terminals. Use the map on the bid for travel section of the PL website for hotel information (green button - Bid Now).
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Hotwire
1nt Jan 11-12, 2013
2 adults 1 child
$114 plus taxes = $136.2
Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza
That's a really great price. I have been trying for April, but think it's a bit too early.
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I am sure this has been asked many times but I need to finish my research on Stockholm. We arrive at the Stadsgarden port at 9 am. and wish to go to Vasa, Changing of the Guard and Gama Stan. What is the quickest and cheapest way to get to Vasa? What would the cost of transportation be? Once back from Vasa, we will probably walk everywhere else. Thanks!
I recommend the HOHO boats that run directly from Stadsgarden. Follow the red and yellow lines painted on the sidewalk. It costs 100 SEK for a 24 hour pass. There are two companies (yellow - every 20 minutes, and black - every 30 minutes). In the early morning, they will run directly to the Vasa without making other stops. We did that at 8 am, not sure how late they make that exception. From the Vasa, you can easily hop back on and get off at Gamla Stan or the Palace, the back to the ship when ready. (It's a very short walk through Gamla Stan to the palace.) An added benefit was the narrated tour through headphones onboard the boats, interesting and informative.
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sippican,
Thank you so much for this link. It is what I needed. Thanks.
Marge
You are very welcome.
I wish I could find more audio tours for the Baltic region. Last year we thoroughly enjoyed working our way through the Med with Rick Steves.
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Somewhere I saw something about an audio about the Vasa Ship that can be downloaded. Now, I can't find it anywhere. Can anyone help?
This may be what you are looking for.
http://www.vasamuseet.se/en/visit/mp3-guide/
It was a bit cumbersome to download (I couldn't figure out how to do it other than track by track), but I was successful and the bits I listened to sound very interesting
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We are traveling to Monaco on October 2, 2012 via the Carnival Breeze.
I'd really like to go to Nice, St Paul de Vence and possibly Eze. We have all day in Monaco and my question is will we have time?
Further, can anyone local recommend a non touristy place to eat in Nice? I'd love to have some fois gras while actually in France :)
Lastly, those of you that have done this, do you have any great tips on tour companies? I know they are sticky about posting tour companies, but I am in need and asking. I think that's ok :)
We did this cruise last year on magic but Monaco was cancelled
Ciao
The very best private tour of our entire Med cruise last fall was provided by Michel of Exclusive Riviera.
http://frenchrivierasightseeing-tourguide.com/services.html
We visited Eze, St Paul de Vence and other scenic spots all in a half day private tour. His service was exceptional!
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We, too, have been researching to plan our first river cruise, deciding between the Rhine and Danube. We wish we did know what parts of the country we want to see, but have little knowledge of the regions. We are looking to travel during the summer of 2013. We will have from 7-12 days. We enjoy great scenery, wine, those "lesser known" attractions, variety, and seeing other cultures; a few museums and churches, but do not want those to be the focal point of the trip. We will probably go with a mid-priced cruise line.
All suggestions welcome. Please provide some specifics on what you liked about your itinerary.
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Can someone help me with where we dock in Ravenna? I'm wanting to know just how far it is from where the cruise ships dock to the train station. It's depressing how little information there is on Ravenna. Has anyone been there?
We took the ship's shuttle, so I can't comment on the train.
We really enjoyed Ravenna; it was so relaxing to explore on our own following the hectic pace of the private tours of Rome, Florence and Naples. We visited the exquisite mosaics following suggestions on a walking tour I found online.
We had lunch at an outdoor cafe, bought some local wine at a market in the square by the carousel, shopped and just enjoyed the day at our own pace. It may not be everyone's cup of tea. I heard one couple on the shuttle complaining that the stop was a total waste of time and RC should eliminate it from the itinerary, we felt just the opposite.
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Nice (Russian Cathedral, Matisse Museum & Roman ruins), St. Paul de Vence and Eze are our choices right now. We might have time for a quick drive through Antibes, not sure.
Any other places you can recommend? We love Medieval and Ancient Ruins. Thought about the Chateau at Cannes but it is closed on Monday.
We did both Eze and St Paul de Vence (in four hours). Agree about Eze, but felt the walk to the top through the gardens, and viewing the statues was worth the stop. We would have loved to spend a little more time in St Paul de Vence. Be sure to include a visit to the Church of the White Penitents, different than anything you'll see on your journey. Would also recommend lunch at one of the small, terraced cafes off to the right (not the larger places ypu'll see near the entrance). Lovely views.
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Thanks for the photos. We'll be in 9278 (mirror of 9078), so enjoyed seeing the balcony.:)
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If you board the ship and then go back to the shops in the terminal, be sure to bring your passport along with your ship's boarding card. We filled up a small duffle bag with water, soda and other spirits at the shops, and headed back to the escalators. We were stopped and asked for our Seapass and passport. After explaining we had already checked in, they allowed us to proceed. (Never questioned our heavy bag!:D)
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Just returned from our Brilliance of the Seas cruise and used RIL for our Highlights of Rome tour and Florence/San Gimignano Tour. Both drivers were personable, professional and made our days very memorable. Readers need to be aware that each driver is different. I arranged our tours with Roll Call members from the CC boards, and I guess we could not help but feel a little disappointed when, returning to ship, we compared experiences with other cruisers whose drivers had presented them with wine, water, limoncello, songs, etc. We also noted that some vans had an audio system onboard that enabled the riders in the rear seat to hear the driver. One of our vans had this, the other did not. These "perks" are in no way advertised by RIL as part of their services and they delivered exactly as advertised. I booked 11 months in advance and had requested, by name, our drivers and private tour guide for the Vatican. (RIL is clear that they cannot honor requests, but one can always ask.) One request was honored, we were thrilled to have Sarah guide us through the Vatican. She was phenomenal, and made the tour a trip highlight. The place was mobbed, and she slipped us through effortlessly, providing us with a wealth of information.
I would not hesitate to book with them again, just wanted others to be aware that there are many choices, and not all tour experiences will be "over the top".
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When we originally booked w/RIL, they informed us they arranged tickets for the group. It wasn't until I confirmed our upcoming tour that I was told the policy had changed and we now had to reserve our own Accademia tickets, and to be sure that all members of the group had them for the same time.
Some of us were able to reach the museum by phone, some were not. There is also a website, but they were sold out for the timeslot the others had reserved, and most times were gone. I needed to prepay (almost doublle) through another vendor's site to acquire tickets for the correct time. Wish we had been informed by RIL when terms of our reservation had changed. I sm posting hoping other readers who may have an older reservation with RIL, and be unaware of the change, will be able to avoid this last minute hassle.
Looking forward to our day in Florence!
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Yout photos are terrific; now I really have an idea of what the Sun is like (especially the aft mini-suite) and I can't wait for our Baltics cruise. A million thanks for your time. :D
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Couple of random questions....
2. If we book just for the 2 of us and later find other people who want to do the tour with us, any one had trouble changing the number of people in your group? Thanks!
I understand that this is usually not a problem. We were able to max out at 8 by adding people to one of our tours after booking, however, they told us that we would be unable to add more to our Florence tour as they are "full".
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Hyla, thanks for reviving an older thread. Do you think we'll be able to find others to join us once we are onboard? We are doing the RIL excursion that includes Positano, Sorrento and a pizza making class. I'm just a bit concerned as we leave in a week and we haven't had any responses yet. Of course, it's only been 2 days, lol.
Liz
Just a word of caution. We have tours booked with RIL for September. When we booked for the two of us we told them we hoped to add more, and they said no problem. We've been fortunate to fill two with members from our Roll Call. I just received an e-mail from Jany that they will NOT accept any more passengers for our third tour as they are "full" for that day. We are fine with that as we have six people booked, although we would have liked to have 8. So I wouldn't presume that RIL will be able to accommodate additional
passengers on such short notice, unless you originally booked for the larger group.
Best of luck
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Have heard of so many good tour guides for Amalfi/Psitano and Sorrento that cannot make up my mind. We do have RIL booked for 2 days in Florence and 1 day in Rome for our cruise in Oct.-Nov. but not for the Amalfi Coast area. Do you feel their tour of that area was as good as someone who is a native of that area? I have contacted them about it but have not made a decision yet. Have also heard good reviews of Francesco Marapesse and Marcello of See Sorrento and also Simply Amalfi. Had no problems making the decision for RIL in Rome and Florence - their reviews are wonderful. Any info you can give me would be helpful.
I faced the same question when we were arranging our tours. We chose RIL for Rome and Florence but decided to go with SA for Naples based on the reviews on the TripAdvisor site. After reading through tons of comments on both boards, I'm sure you can't go wrong with either. Do more reading, contact the companies, then go with your instincts.
Happy planning.
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Forgot to include link that was helpful to me - courtesy of another CC member
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There is an aft- facing balcony (B1) available on the cruise I want to take (Baltic), but it has a connecting door to the suite next door.
I'm not super sensitive to noise, but would hate to hear my neighbors all the time (which probably means I shouldn't take it!).
Anyone with any experience in this room and if you could hear your neighbors through that door? 9077, 9277 are the 2 available.
Thanks!
Not sure if you are looking for extra balcony space, or aft? We considered both cabins you mention, but actually ended up booking 9075 after reading many reviews. The last cabin on each deck side has a large balcony and a very tiny bit of a curve to aft. Be aware that these cabins (including 9077 and 9277) are smaller in square footage than the standard balcony cabins, but have larger balconies.
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Yes,all ships have metal doors (fire safety) and the walls are metal too.
I bring magnets for the room to post up events, invitations and other notes.....keeps the desk clean too!! :)
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Hmmmm ..... don't the decorations kind of defeat the whole fire safety idea?
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Booked for 9/4/11. Aft wrap balcony, in celebration of retirement.
Can't wait!!!!!
John Heald has promised an update on some of the Magic's new features soon. Watch his blog.
Summary of Winning Bids on Priceline, Hotwire, etc.
in San Juan, PR
Posted
It was the Sheraton Convention Center that I saw awhile back and now for the life of me, I can't find it. My apologies for the confusion. :o