TMLAalum

I read that tram day passes aren't available on the tramcars, only in major hotels and the JR Railway station. Would there be places to buy that near the port? (Thanks in advance)

I did a bit more research and learned that it might be less yen to just purchase single rides for 100 each time. There is a tram stop close to the pier on the Green Line, which comes by infrequently from what I've read. Just pay the 100 yen on exiting. There is a possibility Tourist Info will have a booth inside the terminal and that tram passes would be available through them, since they can be bought at the TI at the train station.

Here is another useful PDF I found for Nagasaki:

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/pdf/pg-703.pdf

I only printed pp 1-3 for our use.

Glover Garden & Oura Catholic Church are about a 10 minute walk from the cruise terminal.

We are in port from 10am-6pm in April and will be DIYing via Nagasaki's tram system that goes near important sights.

FYI, here is a link with a great map of the tram lines:

http://www.at-nagasaki.jp/foreign/english/pamph/pdf/welcome_nagasaki_English_front.pdf

If I see any taxi/tours at the pier, I'll post back after we are home from the cruise & post-cruise China land tour!

Thanks for the reply. Do they do the usual gate check or the full checked baggage thing?

I am speaking only of our experience when we flew Lufthansa from FCO-FRA where we connected to a United flight back to the USA.

We had to fully check our legal carry-ons through to the USA, which were our main luggage, when we checked in at Lufthansa at FCO because of their weight and possibly size. I was worried going through customs/immigration with our connection time of @90 minutes from Dulles to CLE so figured carrying-on'd be quicker.

Turns out we were fine with having to retrieve our bags since we made it to the gate in plenty of time for our scheduled departure which, with our typical luck flying United, was delayed anyhow....

If you are in Venice in the summer months, you might want to skip the Secret Itineraries tour because it takes place in the attic of the Doges' Palace and though there are fans placed here & there, and water coolers in a few locations, it will be very hot.

If you do go during that time span, I'd book the earliest time slot possible. We took an 11am tour at the end of June and were wiped by the heat!

Unfortunately the chart isn't flawless as I just found out. Monday I told my wife I booked a room (6251) with the bed by the bath which she preferred, but although it's listed on the chart as 'bath', it actually should be by the balcony based on the every other room rule. Oh well, just another unpleasant surprise about this booking:(

If you aren't pleased with your cabin location, call your TA or Celebrity to switch to one that has the bed by the bath.

The spread sheet was kindly compiled by a member of Cruise Critic based on input from other cruisers. LibraryLady has put much effort into this and it is 99.9% appreciated! Errors aren't her fault nor her responsibility .

United does not have premium economy -- they have economy plus which is simply the same seat as coach with 4-5 extra inches of leg room at the front of the coach cabin.

as Chairsin said there is no Premium Econ on UA. It is a separate class of service on foreign airlines. British Ariways/Cathay Pacific and Qantas for example all have it.

 

If you want the E+ seats with extra leg room get them now. Because as it gets closer they will fill up. Silver elites have access to these seats 24hrs before departure and Gold and up levels have access at booking. (Plus you can buy an annual subscription to E+ so you can get them at booking without status)

I knew what I meant, just used the wrong terminology. Was also aware that the seat width was the same as economy in EP and that the major difference was leg room.

In the meantime, I appreciate the advice to book an aisle/window in EP for DH & me ASAP. Even though I'm short, the regular economy seats on UA's 777s are very uncomfortable for me. At least on the return flight out of Shanghai we are in first class on AA.

Question..

Will the gate agent accept payment for "upgrades" to Premium Economy?

I'm monitoring the seating availability on our flight to HK. If we can keep our separate row economy aisle seats without anyone else booking the window and mid, we should be fine as is, but I'm willing to pay the extra for the same arrangement in Premium Economy if we end up with neighbors.

There are @5 weeks til the flight.

I suggest that you join your roll call, if you've not done so yet-

June 7 2015: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1994602

This is the only June 2015 roll call thus far for the Epic.

By adding 2 or 3 more people to your private tour, the per person cost will drop. Rest assured that all private tour companies are vested in returning you to the ship on time. Investigate other companies in addition to RomeInLimo- we used APTours for Pompeii/Sorrento and were very pleased.

Keep in mind that old adage that "Less is More" and focus on two or three must-sees rather than trying to cram everything in on your 1st visit. Sights like the Colosseum & St. Peter's have small group tours that take you to sights not available to the average tourist.

Happy Planning!

I agree with Euro Cruiser that having an apartment has benefits for all travelers!

If you research carefully you might even find an apartment with a washer/dryer, which would be useful. A terrace is also a plus and easier to come by for less money in an apartment rental vs. hotel. We've booked through HomeAway & VRBO. I strongly recommend you stay in the Centro Storico or Trastavere.

I don't know the name of the apartment our cruise critic friends stayed at in June 2012, but it was affiliated with a hotel and just down the street from ours on Via Guilia.

Please check out the Ports-of-Call board, Italy section, for advice from other cruisers as to how to get from the airport and into Venice. We used a private van transfer for 6, but other methods are by taxi or bus to Piazzale Roma, the Alilaguna waterbus and private water taxi (expensive but not as much as you'll be paying for the Celebrity package!) Rick Steves' Guide to Med Cruiseports gives the down-low on how to get to port from airport.

Find a canalfront hotel in the San Croce district, which includes the Piazzale Roma. From there you can take the 1 euro People Mover to the ship.

There may be steps over bridges to your hotel so if you aren't fit, you might want to book a porter. DH & I are senior citizens and we managed to schlep our bags from the rail station to the Best Western Olimpia and from there to the ship.

You will save lots of money by investing time into researching options that will make memorable honeymoon even more special because you planned it yourselves.

Were you processed aboard ship by the Chinese officials or on land?

There are @20 of us taking a private tour when we are docked at Tianjin for 3 days/2 nights.

Where might we gather together so that we can disembark the Millennium en masse but not be in the way of others? I know on the S-class ships, we've our private tourmates outside Quasar and in the Ensemble Lounge, but I'm unfamiliar with M-class options.

Thanks!

@20 of us are taking a private tour to Beijing when the Millennium arrives in port at 7am. Our guide is meeting us at 8:30.

I want to arrange a meeting time for our group aboard ship that will allow us to go through Chinese immigration and be on time for the guide. How long does it take to go through this process?

I was thinking 8am to meet, but wonder if we should gather earlier?

Thanks!

@20 of us are taking a private tour to Beijing when the Millennium arrives in port at 7am. Our guide is meeting us at 8:30.

I want to arrange a meeting time for our group aboard ship that will allow us to go through Chinese immigration and be on time for the guide. How long does it take to go through this process?

I was thinking 8am to meet, but wonder if we should gather earlier?

Thanks!

I let DH know the consensus of the wise CruiseAir posters.

We will use our UA club passes to while away the 4 hours at ORD...hope they're serving Bloodies at that hour:D.

We're starting to experience the cutbacks by UA out of CLE.

Our flights to Hong Kong have been changed from departing CLE to ORD at 10am, arriving at ORD at 10:22am to departing 8:53am and arriving at ORD at 9:15am. The flight to HK departs at 1:15pm.

We haven't clicked on accepting this change yet.

DH wants to do so, but I am lobbying for the CLE-ORD flight that leaves at 11:13 am and arrives 11:34am. There is a later flight that would get us to ORD @12:30pm in the event of trouble.

He's worried about missing the ORD-HK flight and prefers the 4 hour layover cushion. I'm concerned about the length of the trip which would be 20+ airport and flight hours leaving earlier vs. having a couple hours longer before we leave home.

Of course, since we used FF miles for economy, there's no guarantee UA will accommodate us on the later CLE-ORD flight:(

Opinions without flames, thanks!

Celebrity's Europe itineraries for 2015 won't be out for a couple of months, so it might be good to wait until they're published before you decide.

Celebrity offers a classy experience for far less than Oceania. You might be able to take advantage of their 1-2-3 promotion which includes choices of a classic alcoholic beverage package, prepaid gratuities and/or Onboard Credit. Times in port vary with most between 10-12 hours.

Your description of your interests suggests to me that you might like Celebrity.

Regardless of which cruise you choose, join the roll call for your sailing. You can join in, or organize, private tours with other roll call members for less than the cost of a ship excursion that will provide an up-close & personal experience.

Re: FF miles- we split our flights by booking one-ways, depending how much mileage we have in our accounts. Our last trip we flew AA to Florence and UA from Rome and for our upcoming it's UA economy to Hong Kong and AA 1st class from Shanghai!

Are you interested in nightlife and partying?

Do you want a port-intensive cruise where there are few sea days and time in port between 8-12 hours?

Do you enjoy dining that offers menus beyond everyday food?

What a shame that you were treated as you were, lisah101!

Please do follow the advice of other posters as to how to continue to "fight the good fight"!

Two more suggestions from me.

#1 Use synonyms and google "oceanlooker" or "oceanwatcher". The site will have two "s" words together. Find your cruise on that site and then subscribe to its notification service that provides updates on cabin availability and price changes sent to your email at least daily.

There is a good chance that a cabin in the same category you booked will open up or that the pricing on a higher level cabin will come to within a few dollars of what you paid so you can "upgrade" for a minimal amount.

#2 Call Captain's Club. Even though you've not cruised Celebrity before you can join at the Preview Level via their website or probably via phone. Here is the Captain's Club #:1.800.760.0654 They're open til 8pm on weekends! They might be able to help.

I suggest that you look at cabin availability for your cruise, e.g. via the xxocity or xxpedia sites, which give you an overview of what cabins are vacant. See if there is one in the same category near to the one you'd booked that's acceptable to you and ask for it. If none in your category, do come up with a list of other, higher category cabins that would work for you and plead your case pleasantly. Emphasize that this is your first Celebrity cruise, explain how you carefully selected your cabin and how disappointed you are to find it's no longer yours. Have your documentation at hand.

Try to stay calm and sweet...Good Luck!

As has been posted, the timed passes are generally activated the first time you use them when you scan the pass over the scanner located at the pier. However, if you purchase the pass at the ticket office located at the Piazale Roma, we have noticed that sometimes the ticket clerk will actually scan and activate the pass as he hands it to you through the ticket window. This does not ever happen if you simply buy your ticket from one of the ticket vending machines.

 

Hank

This might have been what happened to us since we bought our passes at that ticket office!

Actually, you are required to scan your card (we have seen a few ignore this requirement) every time you get on a vaporetto. It is very simply (you just sweep it over top of the scanner) and, as long as your cards is still valid, you will get a green light. Once your card has expired you will get a Red light.

 

Hank

Yup. We got the RED X. We did try to buy a one ride ticket but the machine was balking so we took a chance and boarded anyway. Leaving the vaporetteo at San Toma was a blessing in disguise!

BTW we were there over all Saints weekend, and the crowds were beyond what we'd experienced the summer before. I wondered if we'd boarded a sardine can instead of a vaporetto!!

Despite the drawbacks we've done a Rome HoHo 2x. The first was the regular line and the second was the Roma Cristiania.

The only sites that the HoHos stop relatively close to are the Vatican and the Colosseum. Other highlights, such as the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona, can't even be viewed from the HoHo!

Of the 2, the Roma Cristiania offered more options such as the catacombs and St. Paul's church via smaller busses and a public transportation pass.

It was relaxing to hop on the bus for an overview of Rome after being jet-lagged for our last trip, especially since we had a Rome 1st timer with us AND the Roma Cr. bus had a stop right near our apartment on via Guilia.

The clock starts when you activate your pass. You don't activate the pass on the vaporetto. You activate at the machines located at the vap docks before you board the water bus.

We activated our 48 hour passes at the Piazzale Roma stop for the vaporetto to Murano, which didn't arrive til over 30 minutes later. Based on that our passes timed out sooner than we thought at the end of our stay in Venice when we were headed back from St. Mark's Square to return to the ship. We took a risk and boarded anyway, but our nerves took over so we left the vaporetto at the San Toma stop and walked back to the Piazzale Roma. It was a delightful walk along small canals and tiny alleys.

Not on cruises, but we've spent 2 weeks in Ireland in July in different years- cool and rainy on the west coast cool and partly sunny on the east coast.

Our best week was in early May with beautiful sunny days on the east coast for the first 4 days. Later in the week as we headed to Kinsale it turned cold and rainy.

It is what it is!!:D (hmm.. the smiley is wearin' the green!)

We've only been in a suite once (SS1) but received the survey. Of the two choices I prefer option 2 which is B & L in a special restaurant and dinner in specialty restaurants. We enjoyed the MDR, liked having a chance to dine in Blu and our complimentary meals in the specialty restuarants. I feel a separate dining area for Suite guests would be very isolating! Especially if it didn't apply to the Sky Suites, how many guests would actually be eligible- 44 to 60??

I must admit we've not yet tried Bistro on Five.

If Bistro on five is going to be changed, I'd like to see it become a port-of-call specialty restaurant featuring dishes from the region, e.g. Russian cuisine on the Baltic itinerary etc. rather than a "suite" private venue.