fvandewouwer

Rob, thank you for your response

the one I am looking at is also part of the Grand Voyage and as it is crossing the Atlantic ( 5 days ) we need to be comfortable meaning no interest in big pool and pool games but a quiet room and little sea motion

I have read one review about someone saying they could here everything there neighbors were doing and that would ruin our vacation.

( we are looking at a balcony cabin on deck 9 located at the back of the ship )

we have sailed RCI / Carnival / NCL and never had that experience so this worries me a bit ( ship is also rather old and las time refurbished in 2012.

As you leave in November I want to wish you a very nice holiday and would appreciate if you could update this topic after you come back.

again, thank you so much for your time

wishing you a wonderful day

Frie

While I can't help with this question directly, there is a very good review on the ship from early in September which you will easily find by searching this forum. We are on the Grand Voyage to the Caribbean on the Poesia in November and very much looking forward to it after reading this review and from other research. We have also been on Magnifica, a sister ship to Poesia, and very much enjoyed it. If it's a good price, I would go for it and, if you drink even moderately, the Allegrissimo package is a great buy.

 

Rob

Hi, we have been cruising RCI / Carnival /NCL

but found a great trip from FDF Martinique to Italië for next year March on the MSC Poesia

have never been on a MSC ship and the reviews of the Poesia ( rather old ship ) were not that good.

is there anyone who has sailed the Poesia lately and I am a bit concerned about the location of our room that would be 9204 ( aft of the ship )

( a quiet room is very important to us due to illness )

thanks for your time to help me out

best regards

everyone, thank you so much for your replies to my question

still having the same discussion here, 1278 : husband :rolleyes:

1378 : me

will let my ta decide tomorrow

have a wonderful week

(:rolleyes: that would be a little too late ) wishing you a wonderful cruise :)

I'm on this deck mid ship for June 3. I'll let u know[emoji3]

to Cobrakev and Atocha Shipwreck Gal

Thank you for your time to answer.

Brugges is indeed lovely also our favorite city in our country.

still doubting about booking this cruise, never have travelled transatlantic

so I guess I need to ask in that section what experiences people have

( weather related )

husband says that 1278 would be the best option, back of the ship according to him ( and he worked all his life on a tugboat ) must have issues about the engines and the more upfront there are more issues about the waves

normally we book a room much higher but they are all sold ( no need of a balcony I guess, wintertime - transatlantic )

oh well this is a luxury problem hardly to call it a problem

we wish you both happy eastern and to Cobrakev a very nice cruise

stay safe

br

Frie

Hi everyone,

we are looking at the transatlantic from Barcelona trip for October and are interested in an ocean view cabin on deck 1

as this is the lowest floor I am a bit considered about vibration noise from the engine room/ noise what so ever ....

I know this is a new ship so no reviews yet, but is there anyone who can figure out what will be below deck 1 and as I am doubting between 2 rooms

1278 or 1378 ( nothing in front of 1378 seems interesting ) not sure which one to pick so I really can use your advise.

I do have an option that will expire tonight

I do thank you for your time

from (sad) Belgium

have a nice weekend

Frie

More than welcole

Happy cruising

To all of you

thank you everyone for your replies and yes we could use usd in Cartagena without a problem

happy cruising everyone

You can use USD in Cartagena. Prices were normally quoted in USD. I have always used USD at all Caribbean cruise ports and never had a problem. I don't know about Euros but I would expect it is not as common so I would suggest you get USD cash for your entire trip.

ok thanks guys

will certainly check them both

thanks for sharing

hi,

which tour did you book ( a special one for cruise people ? )

how many people in your group ? price ?

thanks for sharing

We just got back from Cartagena a few weeks ago and we felt safe. We did a private tour with one of Marelvy Pena-Hall's associates and it was one of the most beautiful cities on our 11 day cruise.

Dear All,

there is so much information going on about the HoHo bus in Cartagena this is the answer I received, hope this clears the working of the bus system

best regards

The first website http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tours/colombia/cartagena.htm you have stated is the City Sightseeing Worldwide page, a generic page for all the tours and this does offer City Sightseeing Cartagena but not including a cruise port pick up.

The second website http://www.citysightseeing.com.co/en/producto/ship-shore-tour-cruise-passengers/ is our local franchise website, specific for the tour is Cartagena and this does offer a cruise port pick up.

The main reason the worldwide web page doesn't have a cruise pick up is because it needs to be arranged locally and it is not a free-sale product, the local franchise need to know numbers of passengers.

If you can inform the passengers that have booked the tours on the worldwide page without the cruise pick up that they are eligible for a refund so they can book on the local franchise's web page instead...They must email us at: info@city-sightseeing.com with their ticket number and the reason: booked incorrect tour in Cartagena and require refund as per Alison Leeke's email.

Sadien thank you for the walk into town information as we do love to walk

this is just what we needed

have a wonderful day ( evening ? )

Frie

Ensenada--

Can walk into town in about 10-15 minutes. Out of port walk across the bridge. At the light cross the highway, go up the hill, turn left at the first street (Ave Primera/Ave Lopez)

 

You can grab a tour from the tourist info booth in town. Take the shuttle into town for $2 then pay for the tour at the discounted rate of $15. Otherwise the tour is $20. Savings of $3 pp. All prices in US

 

Good taco place, Taquiera Lindo, between Papas and Beer and Hussong's.

 

 

 

Cabo---

Take a tour to the Arch. Lots of info on this board. We like Taco Loco in the same shopping center as Cabo Wabo

 

Haven't been to Huatulco. If there is a tourist info booth ask where they eat. We found a great place in La Paz this way.

thanks for your feedback

so we can easily walk into town check out and take there a bus ( is that a local bus ?? ) to Bufadora ???

and then charge would be 20 ?? ( I have read that it would be 15 )

so confusing all those different prices :D

did you go to Huatulco and Cabo San Lucas to ?

I really hope you had a wonderful cruise

thanks

Just back from Ensenada.

 

The shuttle is US$2 into town, US$1 back to ship. Pay when you board.

For comparison..if you walk into town they charge $20 for the Bufadora tour, so there is a bit of savings.

The tourist area is very close to the port. About a 10 minute walk.

 

Ensenada is doing major construction along the Malecon and the Highway. They started in November and probably won't be done too quickly.

we booked a kayak trip to the Arches, seems not bad and up close to the sea lions, snorkelling will be too cold for us that is a pity

during the afternoon we would love to walk to Medano beach and back depends on the time we have

thanks for the feedback

You're right - in Cabo you cannot walk to the arches. Only way to see it is by watercraft.You will be bombarded when you get off the tender by MANY water taxis etc. I would walk a little past the first "pushy" vendors. They were more laid back when you got past the main group - for water taxis. They will take you from Marina to the Arches then to Medano beach or just back to the Marina. Keep in mind if getting offthe water taxi by Medano beach is just that a beach - with waves - not a dock. You will get a little wet. I would then walk behind all the hotels off the beach and take a taxi back - or walk.

thanks we were planning to go outside the port and find a driver that is willing to take us to the wallet city / fort

hope to find a driver that is willing to take dollars .... that is the problem now I know that 10$ is the price to pay ( one way )

thanks for the info

have a wonderful day

Should be around 10$, BUT your problem will be in finding a driver willing to take you as they are all looking for day tours. May have better luck outside the port gates.

can anyone of this thread please tell me if they took a taxi one could pay with usd instead off pesos

we are going next month and getting pesos only for a taxi seems not a good idea ( charges and changing rate is ridiculous for a few bucks )

if you did pay with usd please give us an idea how much from the port into the old city

I would be so happy knowing this as I am worried how to get into town

without an organised tour

thank you all so much

arriving Cartagena only for half a day ( cruise port ) we want to see the old city

have a stop at the fort noting else nothing more ( except for a good cop of coffee )

can anyone give us an update about paying a taxi with usd or even euro ?

( with so many cruise people I guess they must have had that kind of question )

and suppose if someone reads this and says, " yes I have been to the city paying my taxi with usd ) can you pls give us an idea how much this would be ( are willing to pay more if we could give dollars instead of pesos )

seems so stupid to change money only for a few bucks

suppose we see something nice we would buy, we will pay with our visa

but changing money there is always a fee of 5 usd and 1.5 % of the money you take out the atm

visa even more expensive

thanks for your input

have a great day

:eek: didn't know that, thanks for the info

A friend of mine has taken a couple of Princess repos and tells me that it almost always gets a bit rocky somewhere parallel around the California - Oregon border...something to do with the Pacific storm track & jet stream. If you go to a weather site like weather.com and look up a Pacific Northwest satellite loop you'll can see the storm systems "loop" over the Pacific and make landfall around that area.

sounds interesting :eek:

when was that ??? which month ??

I too was on a Vancouver to SF trip.... boat was like 2 or 3 hours late pulling in the rough exposed Pacific waters.

• Walking was kinda difficult.
  
• Sleeping was rocky.
  
• Dining was interesting watching the waves covering the window horizon. I still remember the ship tilting to one side and dishes can be heard crashing to the ground during lunch!
  

Telling the captain to slow down is pointless.

would not expect that having bad seas from SF to Vancouver

anyhow I am so lucky never to get seasick but hope we have some good

weather

We did hit some bad seas enough that the Captain slowed the boat down and we were late into San Fran and Vancouver. There was a lot of people in there cabins riding it out.

guess we are not lucky as we also checked the Giants game on May 18 no games, none and we also wanted to go to a baseball game as we have never seen one...

Hope we ever can return to SF and see a game as that is also on my bucket list

thanks for the other ideas

the big bus has a night tour ... husband is not so fond of big bus tours so

still not sure if we buy a ticket

will decide whenever we are there, depending the weather, we love to walk

and who knows I try to learn your public transport system and buy a Muni Pass luckily we still have a little time to prepare

thanks a lot :)

there are plays, concerts, dance concerts, maybe even a giants ball game (check the schedule--even if not a baseball fan, the park is a fun experience)--and very american. the ball park is right down the road on public transport from the ship. take a night ferry...round trip from the ferry building. walk through chinatown. walk the labyrinth at night at grace cathedral on nob hill...again, go up by cable car. take taxi to top of twin peaks for a cool view if there is no fog.

walk across the golden gate bridge.. small music venues are all over.

 

check the local paper..sfgate.com for some information.

thanks we are no restaurant people, seem so strange, as every time we cruise we often do that from the US so mostly we meet US citizen and we became very fond of them there is one very strange difference between European cruisers and the US cruisers, we find it a waste of time going to a restaurant somewhere far away from home as we could use that time exploring and wondering around That is not meant to be critical as we also enjoy a strange dish if we travel for ex to Puerto Rico and stay there for 3 weeks then it is normal that we eat local, your food seems very similar as ours ( except for the chocolate and waffles and fries and beer and .....:) )

but we do enjoy garlic crab with noodles or burrito's ....

so thanks we never know we will end up in one of these restaurants

thanks

Ah, that's too bad. Sorry, I don't have any great ideas for nighttime activities other then going to a restaurant. My fav restaurants are Thanh Long at 4101 Judah for their garlic crab and noodles and La Taquera on Mission. La Taquera claim to have the BEST Burrito's ever and I agree.

that show was on my list but they do not run on Monday

:(

any other ideas ?

My favorite thing to do in the evening is to go see Beach Blanket Babylon. You would need to take a taxi there but it isn't too far from the port so a taxi would not cost much. Anyways this show has been going on for like 40 years but changes to fit the time period every so often. You'll laugh all through out the performance. You will see in the show characters like Bill and Hillary, Elvis, the pope, Obama, Snow White, Romney and many many more. It is a bit political but both Republicans and Democrats will laugh. No one is safe from jokes.

Check their schedule to see if it is playing while you are in SF. Get tickets in advance as this play always sells out.

BCCruisingcouple also thank you for your reply, it would have been easy to book the bus trip but I agree it is not always convenient due to traffic but that is the same case for a taxi, no ?

what did you do on your cruise in SF ? something fun you did during the evening ?

still need a lot to read and we leave within a month ( first part is the panama cruise ) so get a bit nervous

I see you are from Vancouver, also am checking that out, also so much to see and to do ( we stay 3 nights before going back home )

thank you all for your time

best regards from Belgium

We did the grand last year and did the overnight thing in San Fran. Feel free to ask us anything would be glad to help

thanks for your response, ok really did read that the terminal was outside the city and one needed a but to go into the city

so glad that is not the truth

we have visited Alcatraz which we found very interesting

I still do have a map of our first visit of 16 years ago ( china town, fisherman's warf ... )

sausalito i cannot remember anymore

anything changed that we need to visit now

wine country i really need to check out

thanks for your help

Frie

The cruise ship terminal is in the middle of town, with lots of public transit right there. However the town is large, not all of the sights are close by.

 

Doing the Hop on Hop off the first afternoon is a good idea, then you can decide what you want to do on the second day, if you want to focus on any particular area.

 

I would suggest some reading on the board. There are suggestions of visiting Alcatraz, or the wine country, or a variety of other locations. A guidebook and a map would be helpful.