TMLAalum

Prior to our Avalon Romantic Rhine cruise we are flying into Paris! Thanks to an email notification from NS International this Tuesday that train tickets for our late August journey from Gare du Nord to Amsterdam Centraal were now available, we snagged the 35 euro standard seats on Thalys for a 9:22 departure, which BTW are now 48 euro🙃. For those who would like to book Thalys tickets, I suggest doing so via the NS website, which requires name, email and phone for the booker and just names for those traveling with you vs. Thalys which mandates everyone's names, emails and phone #s using a non-user- friendly dropdown list for country code! Train tickets for international trips by train - Fast & comfortable | NS International | NS International

@CruisingGator96 You and your husband can each bring 2 bottles of wine aboard without a corkage fee (unless you bring the bottle to the MDR). if you chose to purchase drinks without the beverage package a gratuity will be added-unsure if it's been raised from 18%. If there are more sea days than port days a beverage package might be worth it.

Book the cruise as the filling in a sandwich. Spend at least a couple of days in your departure and arrival ports. If your itinerary includes LaSpezia, my recommendation is to forgo any ship tours to the Cinque Terre, Florence or Pisa. Instead, DIY to Porto Venere, which is an exciting public bus ride from the port and provides a taste of the Cinque Terre, without the fighting the hordes of tourists in those small villages. IDK if it is still running, but we took a 3 island boat tour from there, had a relaxing lunch and explored. That day was one of the best we've experienced from any of the 6 Celebrity European cruises we've sailed. Porto Venere: Tour around three islands (porto-venere.com)

If you want a view directly down to the sea, then go far forward on Deck 6 on S-class ships. Look at a photo of an S-class ship to find forward cabins on upper decks that also have an unobstructed view of the ocean, because those directly above the Deck 6 forward have a slight blockage.

Finally got a blue chip club offer. Wanted to investigate pricing options but was stymied when asked to input my Blue Chip Membership #. Is it the same as my CC#?

@SeaCBear I concur with your experience re: transferring. Confirmation from Celebrity that they received my request to move my booking arrived instantaneously last Thursday but nothing yet from u no who. Annoyingly, the BBTA website does not show the cruise only fare, which is what we book these days.

Can I use choice air for flights even though I have booked with a BBTA?

Also you can count forward or backwards from cabins that have the square, although that gets a bit tricky with AQ cabins since those don' sleep more than two. We prefer bed by bath and were lucky enough to snag the only DPV available on Deck 8 forward on our recently booked Edge cruise.

$500 cash card "apology" from the BBTA came to us at the end of last month's cruise. Originally it was for $165, but we were sent an email from them after we'd made final payment indicating our cruise would be cancelled if we didn't pay a greater amount based on list price for the cruise. That invoice included the greater shop card amount. A phone call resolved the issue and the BBTA sent a corrected, paid-in-full invoice except for the amount of the shop card which was $335 larger! I think that was their way of making up for their mistake!

Here's a video of a DPV with bed(s) by bath!

@pontac Except for the aquarium/swan deck cabins on Avalon, and the Royal/Penthouse suites, all cabins are like this! Avalon Panorama - Avalon Waterways® Europe Cruise Ship BTW we are bottom-dwellers.

In addition to concerns about Vikings payment practices, their cabins do not compare favorably to those of other river cruise lines. Check out Avalon's!

Ok. #1-remains the same #2-IDK #3-Absolutely plus a shop card from the BBTA #4-made via Celeb website and not a concern of BBTA #5-linked via Celeb website and app and not a concern of BBTA #6-IDK FWIW, we have had excellent service from the BBTA even though we do not have an assigned agent. I think at least 14 of our Celeb cruises have been initially booked with the BBTA or transferred to them.

Deluxe Porthole Veranda? We just booked one on the Edge selecting it over an IV, which we've sailed in on her "inaugural" December 2018. Any further input or photos to share?

We were on her for the 2/27-3/9 sailing. Yes, there were a few things different from our previous cruises on the Silhouette. No complaints! We had a great time and enjoyed the ship and the ports. Thanks for your review.

I cannot seem to find any information on forward facing OV cabins #8107 or #8104 which, based on the deck plan, appear to have more square footage than the middle five. Is that correct? And am I correct in thinking that those cabins have the bed by the bath? Thanks!

The all-included minutes are slow so use your Captain's Club perk first.

Appreciate your refresher course.

@Kenster Was about to respond to your post re:my post #1848, but @MisterBill99 interpreted it correctly! Might be cheaper if Avalon or TA could find a consolidator rate, especially for a one-way, so it doesn't hurt to check into it!

@gnome12 Thanks. I use the Man whenever planning Europe train travel. We were on a cruise when I received an email fare alert from SCNF that the seats were now available for our travel date! My first attempt was navigating the French site on my Ipad and the 2nd was on my laptop using the English link when the ship's internet crashed just as I was to enter my cc info. So....I took that as a sign to rethink plans. We will pick up a rental car at CDG the morning we arrive vs picking one up in Bordeaux the following day. We'll have a drive @1 hour to Fountainebleu, check into the Ibis hotel there which has a standard arrival time of noon (Hotel manager has emailed me that we could likely check in at 11), and drive to Sarlat the next day. Less schlepping, less money and hopefully a rest area along the route!

I would so love to be on one of those cruises!

When I was researching trains from Paris CDG to Bordeaux for this August via the SNCF website, Inoui! seemed to be the only option. Our arrival time at the airport was too late for a direct train from there or way too early for the next train so I was planning on booking an 1100 train from Gare Montparnasse. My two attempts to purchase tickets via the SNCF website failed so I took that as a sign to forgo Bordeaux, since the focus of our trip is the Dordogne. With all your luggage, why not consider a one-way car rental?

I think you have to go thru your TA, but it doesn't hurt to try calling Avalon 1st. Compare fares from Avalon vs. booking your own flights. Taxis or private transfers from Prague to the airport will not break the bank!

1 point closer to Zenith- thousands still to go!

@land64shark Be sure to have your reservation marked and noted as special occasion for your wedding! IMHO, the liveliest, fun places on Celebrity ships are the martini and sunset bars open to all.