TMLAalum

You are permitted to change cabins within categories and the following 1Bs are showing as available:

Portside-9135*,9137,9139*,9143*,9145,9149 and 9153

Starboard-9136,9138*,9176,9178*,9180,9182*,9184,9188

These are more toward the middle of the ship. We've been in similarly located cabins on lower and upper decks of sister ships and had no worries. The * means bed is by bath; unstarred are bed by veranda.

Check out an Equinox deckplan and then call your TA or Celeb to make the switch to the cabin of your choice.

Come back to let us know how it goes, thanks!

The Cleveland Plain Dealer published this article today which is attached as a PDF I hope...

North East.pdf

From what I recall from our check-in for the Eclipse at Southampton in 2010, the first thing we did was hand our pre-tagged luggage to the porters, then we went into the terminal for the paperwork, seapass cards, etc. We arrived via a private transfer from London before noon as I recall, but I am fairly certain that porters will be available sooner (maybe ask on the Celeb forum?).

Just because you relinquish your bags doesn't mean you have to continue with the check-in then. So it should work to come back later in the day so long as you are within the timeframe required by Celebrity.

We'll be in Southampton 8 months from today! We will be taking the train from Gatwick and spending the night at the Premier West Quay before boarding the Eclipse the next day! Can't wait!

Any tips you have after your experience, Banjo, would be very much appreciated!

Friends of ours booked for other friends aboard the Millennium this past June. They were not booking for themselves at that time. When their Alaska cruise came to an end, they had enjoyed themselves so much that they went to book that same cruise for themselves. In the span of 6 days the price had gone up @$225 per person! They booked anyhow and we will all be sailing together next May. They all did get 2 of the 1-2-3 options, whereas that option wasn't offered when we booked aboard in April; however, once the 1-2-3 came out pricing increased by $200 per person. Not worth it for us to pay more for one extra perk

Not a Southampton expert, but...

There will be porters available to take luggage at the Cruise Terminal, so unless you have to return your rental car at the crack of dawn (before this service is available), your DW won't need to wait with the bags. They can be left and you can return later for the boarding check-in.

You might then have time to breakfast together, or if lucky enough to find a launderette open, do your wash before boarding the ship later in the day.

If not a prepaid reservation at the Holiday Inn, there may be a Southampton Hotel that does have washers/dryers available. I will speak from experience using machines in England and Scotland and on the continent that cycles abroad seem much lengthier than in the US.

PS- found this for you Banjo: http://www.atlantic.uk.net/branchlocations.htm. Or try this: http://www.yell.com/s/launderettes-southampton.html Looks like you have lots of options!

We were in the opposite Sky Suite on the starboard side of the Silhouette. We heard no noise, but the restaurant roof below somewhat limits a downward view. Also, the veranda configuration limited the placement of the deck furniture.

We were assigned 6306 as a W GTY and were delighted to be in an SS1 regardless of the drawbacks!

On our 13 night Adriatic cruise we had one sea day!

We began the cruise with an overnight in Venice with the only commitment being prepaid tickets to the Academmia for a Leonardo exhibit on day 2. On arrival we checked our bags at the pier and got our seapass cards, but didn't board then. Instead we took the vaporetto to Murano and boarded in the late evening. Next day was the Academmia and then wandering Venice til time to be aboard.

We had full-day private tours in 4 ports, a half-day 'private' tour (that's another story...) to Herculaneum in Naples, and a half-day ship tour in Corfu.

The remaining ports we DIY'd (Ravenna, Dubrovnik, Kotor & Catania).

It was a perfect balance for us because on the DIY days we could return to the ship for relaxation before dinner (we had early seating which worked out fine, but also ate relatively early in Blu and specialty restaurants since we were suite guests).

Your 8 hour days are looong so I suggest resting/napping on the return to the ship. Bring water and snacks along since meals can be hit or miss. On our Slovenia tour, our guide recommended a special sausage place in Ljubljana, but we didn't get there til nearly 3pm!! Sit when you can while touring. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.

You will have a great time!

We've been fortunate to have combined OBC in the $500-600 range because we usually select perks of OBC + prepaid gratuities vs. the drinks package.

Last cruise was the first time we had a refund of some of our TA OBC. With port-intensive itineraries (and enjoying the Elite cocktail hour + bringing our allotted wine aboard), we don't spend much on adult beverages.

In addition to wine at dinner we use our OBC for:

-specialty restaurants

-spa services

-ship shop purchases

-shore excursions

Hope someone can help with the flip of the OP's question.

 

I'm looking at an Iceland Air flight from LHR to BOS with an overnight layover in Iceland, 11½ hours. Has anyone had this type of layover either in this airport or another? Just wondering if we should plan on getting a hotel room or hang out in the airport for that length of time.

 

thanks

With that long a layover, staying at the airport would definitely not be fun. If you're going to book a hotel then why not extend your trip with Icelandair's "free" stopover for at least a couple of nights? That way you can experience the "Golden Circle" and/or the Blue Lagoon if not just Reykjavik itself?

First, The aft balcony cabins on S-class Celebrity ships are in a staircase formation and all decks can be looked down upon from the Sunset Bar. This doesn't afford much privacy for a honeymoon couple.

Second, soot can be problematic. Even on our aft corner Sky Suite on Deck 6 there was soot that wafted down from the smokestacks.

If available, I would go for AQ1 cabins numbered 1547, 1549, 1552, 1554, 1605, 1603, 1610 or 1608. These cabins have larger verandas than other cabins excepting suites and provide more privacy.

Here is a link to a thread that provides actual experiences of cruisers in various S-class cabins: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=911018&page=112. This page has a link to a spreadsheet of all S-class cabin reviews as well as fotos that pertain to AQ1672 and AQ1605!!

Happy Planning!

We are more DIY excursion people but this would be completely new.

 

Advice please.

Thank you

I would strongly advise a one-way Alaskan cruise combined with a DIY land tour. The interior of Alaska is not to be missed, especially if this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for you.

If your cruise arrives/departs from Seward there is a non-cruise affiliated bus to take you to the Anchorage airport. However, do spend a couple of nights in Seward so that you can take a Kenai Fjords boat cruise and maybe a hike to Exit Glacier.

Once you are in Anchorage, pick up a rental car. From there the opportunities are endless. You can take the Alaska Marine Highway via the auto-train from Portage to Whittier and cruise to Valdez from where you can drive the Richardson Highway to the Denali Highway.

Do not miss Denali!! We spent a couple of nights at North Face Lodge near Wonder Lake (pricey, but worth it) and were fortunate that we were able to see the mountain thanks to clear weather.

Hatcher Pass is another suggestion with the Lodge there consisting of cabins lacking running water and flush toilets but a great experience nonetheless.

You can go elsewhere in the great state of Alaska. Research and decide if Fairbanks is a must-see for you, or perhaps Homer which is on the other side of the Kenai peninsula from Seward.

A cruise/land trip gives you far more to experience than a B2B cruise. Alaska is expensive, but you can save $$ and see much more if you DIY!

Hi, Alaskanb. In New Mexico. :confused: :D

 

Nope, not this time.

In brief, SF, coastal Hwy1 to Seattle, Jasper, Glacier Nat Park, Yellowstone, Black Hills, Chicago, Dearborn (Model T pilgrimage ;)), Niagara, Montreal, Quebec, Boston, lots of places in-between. Fly home from Boston.

 

Summertime, MPV ;)

Just a little too early for New England in the Fall

 

JB :)

Your itinerary is amazing! If you are overnighting in the Cleveland OH area, we'd love to treat you to dinner (or perhaps breakfast would be a better option;)?) beejaybeeohio at netscape dot net if it might be doable for you!

Are passports stamped in Iceland? We will be staying there several days enroute to our cruise and are hoping for a stamp! I love the ease of traveling within Europe freely, but miss having a stamp from each country visited. Even when we took a high-speed ferry from Spain to Tangiers a few years back, and passports were checked, we still didn't receive a Morocco stamp:(.

Driving along I-5 in Oiregon earlier today passed a bulding reminiscent of a ship! It had my beloved Celebrity "X" as well as the RCCL logo. I thought that Kansas City was where Celeb cruise consultants were based?

#1 Catherine Lu Tours. She guided a cruise critic roll call group of 21 of us for 2 nights in Beijing. $394 per person all-in which included transportation, meals, deluxe rooms at the Park Plaza and all the important sites in the city as well as a visit to the Great Wall. I am sure she will work with a smaller group as well! Everyone on our tour was delighted with her personality and service. Another group on our ship used her as well (different guide, of course) and they were equally pleased with their tour.

http://www.catherinelutours.com/

#2 Chinatour.com. We used them for a post-cruise China tour for four of us. I am sure they would be able to put something together for Beijing. Overall we were very pleased with the various guides provided in each city and liked the company's flexibility to meet our needs.

Our plan is to take advantage of Icelandair's stopover for several nights enroute to boarding the Eclipse out of Southampton for a Fjords only cruise. The Eclipse cruise that visits Iceland & the Fjords was not workable for our budget and timeline, so this way we get to experience Iceland after all, and in more depth than via cruising.

I like the choice of European airports offered by Icelandair. We will fly into Gatwick from Reykjavik for the ease of taking the train to Southampton. Post-cruise we'll be traveling around England and will likely fly back from Manchester.

I've seen fares dip into the 700s in the past!

Our first cruise was on the Great Lakes freighter/ore boat the William Clay Ford as guests- thanks to my DH's fellow USMMA alumni who was then president of the Lakes Carriers Association. There were only 6 pax total and our cabin was bigger than the SkySuite1 we sailed in last year on Celebrity. No veranda though. We left from Duluth MN and the first night aboard I was awakened by the fog horn bellowing every 2 minutes. Scared to death because all I could think of was Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald":eek:. We had an exclusive lounge overlooking the bow where we played cards and watch videotapes. Our meals were quite hearty and we were served in a small dining room just for us 6. the crew led us on expeditions around the ship including traversing the low-ceiling underground passage just above the keel! We sailed through the Soo Locks and down Lake Huron to Rouge River Detroit MI.

Needless to say, this was a fantastic voyage. But then again, all our subsequent cruises have been fantastic as well!!

We took a 10 day driving tour of Iceland in June and loved it. Reykjavik is just another city. I would look into one of the self drive-fly tours on-line as there are several to pick from with different areas. They will give you specific areas that you could see in 5 days and it is worth the drive around the ring road as there is much to see outside of Reykjavik. They will rent you the car, arrange for the hotel and give you a map from day to day and suggest places for you to see. It is awesome.

What's your (and others) opinion on whether this could work for 3 nights at the beginning of May? Who did you book with?

Here is a thread that I started when I was aboard the EQ. It has the menu and photos.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2051239&highlight=gastropub

I did follow your advice from yesterday and found the thread with your photos of the Equinox gastropub and menues.

The interior layout doesn't seem much changed from Cellar Masters, except perhaps for the longer bar. To echo many posters on the Equinox gastropub thread, I hope that more seating/eating areas and a few more tvs so that major sporting events, e.g. World Cup, World Series, college bowls, Super Bowls, etc. can be enjoyed in a pub atmosphere, will be added to the Eclipse.

Gateopubs have become popular. I see nothing wrong with the name and having actually tried it on the Equinox am glad to see it expand. Some can never be satisfied..:rolleyes:

Would you happen to have any photos of the Gastropub on the Equinox? Is wine available? Other alcoholic beverages such as gin/tonic or whisky/water?

What is the menu like and is there an upcharge? TIA!

I would hope that wine is available too!

As a wine card user for Cellar Masters for 3 of our Celebrity cruises, I have to say I am not sorry to see it go. I never experienced recognition or assistance there- I'd come in, survey the various enomatic offerings and serve myself without any acknowledgement from the Cellar Masters sommeliers. On our last cruise, I decided that I'd rather order from our MDR sommelier and in doing so received the personalized service missing from Cellar Masters.

I investigated using a service and found one that I recall would charge around $129 US for a group. But a savvy traveler on our roll call posted that taking taxis would cost far less per person.

The Salisbury YMCA flagged us a taxi that ran about 100 HKD for the two of us to Kai Tak. Our Sil/Bil traveled in a separate taxi. Three Cruise Critic friends also took a taxi and they and their luggage made it in!

Enjoyed Qsine (2x), Lawn Club Grille and Bistro on Five very much.

I was not as impressed with Murano as I anticipated.

Looking forward to trying the Tuscan Grille on the Eclipse and hope that by the time we sail the Solstice I'll be up for trying Silk Harvest (haven't had a taste for Chinese cuisine after almost 30 days of nothing but this spring:p).

All you have to do is look at the stone it's made from and know that's it's no where near Yorkshire! The yellower stone is from the southern part of England. In the north it tend's to be grey. If you have ever watched Morse or Endeavor have a look at the color of the stone buildings --they really are in Oxford.

I had no idea about the stone- I can hardly differentiate granite from laminate;)! Have only been to London & the Devon area in England and must confess I never attended to the geology of the stonework used in buildings there.

But travel research is an avocation for me, which is how I learned where in England Highclere Castle stands.

Here is a foto I took of our cabin- 7003- on the Millennium. It looks to be bigger and brighter than 9001, and I would estimate it to have the same square footage (but not the same amenities or fancy bathroom) as our SkySuite 1 on the Silhouette.