TMLAalum

I've bookmarked the car rental sites and am pleased to see both companies offer vehicles with automatic transmission!

Was parking difficult to find in old town Kerkira?

We had the same problem and searched all over the place for a convenient rental car location. Finally discovered that Avis has a location at

 

Catania Porto, Catania, R5N

Via Cardinale Dusmet Snc, Catania, R5N XX IT

(95121 ) (39) 095 537871

 

Looking up the location of this office..it does appear to be very close to port.

 

Hank

P.S. We would love to see a post from anyone who has rented from this location.

Googled it, found it, saved it!! The map on the site page shows the Avis rental office to be very convenient to the pier. Thinking about visiting Piazza Armerina, Enna or maybe Pantalica which all seem to be under 50 miles from Catania.

We will be in Catania in the fall and decided to simply rent a car from Avis (close to the port) for $73. Not sure we will drive to Taormina since we were just there in April....but it would be pretty easy. A nice thing about driving to Taormina is that there is a large parking garage near one of the entrances (this is the same area where the shuttle buses drop their charges).

 

Hank

For our last time in Catania, I'd researched rental cars, but only found agencies at the airport. I'd even reserved thru Avis, but cancelled due to the logistics and expense of getting to/from the airport from port to pick up the car.

We'll be back on the Silhouette in November 2013 and to Catania again. I would very much appreciate details of your upcoming rental. Thanks, Hank!!

Facing them to the ocean is not a perfect option either. You might gain a nice view but you are loosing privacy since the walkway is located directed behind the cabanas. Or in front, when facing them towards the ocean.

It would be easy to have the cabanas face seaward and build the walkway behind on the Reflection. But I do think that the cabanas are superfluous in terms of useability and pricing. How about a putt-putt course on the lawn?

I haven't seen his name mentioned on these boards lately but Kagan Kosagen's guides have come highly recommended by members of CruiseCritic. In fact, he's added a third guide for Ephesus and all 3 of them have been booked by members of our roll call for June 18. Yelda and Taner were reserved last summer and the newest guide in the fall. Kagan doesn't include carpet shops in his tours but does give the option of a mosque visit. I believe this is his website: www.privatetoursinturkey.com.

We were thrilled to be able to join up with our rollcall member who booked Taner- there are 8 of us and the cost pp works out to @44E at last year's prices and without admissions.

We're considering the Roma Cristiana HOHO 3-day for 25 euro that includes metro, bus & tram passes.

The 3-day public trans. pass runs 11 euro.

One of our friends who's traveling with us has never been to Rome and our thought is that the HOHO will give her a view of sites that we won't be visiting, e.g. the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, etc. Plus it will get us closer to some of the churches such as St. John Lateran that the other HOHOs don't.

We were on the Equinox Dec 12th. We had no recogizable problems. When you get up in the morning do you immediately make your bed? Tired of reading how bad everything is on Celebrity. Maybe some people should get a life and look at a half full glass. If you don't like it don't go.

Yes:)

Suggestions for improvements and comparisons of steward efficiency are not statements of "how bad everything is on Celebrity"!

M/M Bee, comments like the above, and those made on other threads, paint you as negative, judgemental people, when according to those who've met you, you are very pleasant in person. I'm glad you had no recognizable problems on our fabulous Equinox cruise, but please don't insult those of us who do raise issues. Thanks!

I think the OP wanted his cabin cleaned when he was out of it, even if he was not out that long.

 

Our experience in cruising (we are Elite too) has been that the room steward seems to know immediately when you leave your cabin and they seem to be invisible, doing their work in your absence. Our cabin has always been cleaned when we get back from breakfast. However, on Equinox in Dec, our cabin was never cleaned until about noon. We did not like that but we said nothing as we realize the room steward can't do everyone's cabin first. They could alternate their schedule though so they don't always leave the same cabin till last.

Not Elite, and only our 2nd Celeb cruise, but maybe we were spoiled by Nolan, our steward on the Eclipse, because our 2B cabin was ALWAYS cleaned while we were breakfasting.

We were on the Equinox in December, too and on sea days we'd leave for breakfast around 8 & return around 9 to an uncleaned room. Then we'd head out for an activity or two, return around 11, expecting that surely our 1C cabin would be tidy, and being consistently disappointed.

If the steward on the Eclipse could perform his duties so efficiently (BTW we were the one of the end cabins of his assigned group), why not the same standard of service on other Celeb ships?

This says it all. I went on a Roof of the World tour and was so glad that I chose it over the others

 

Sean :)

Were you affected by the altitude in Lhasa? We are skiers and get a bit short of breath with physical exertion such as lugging our skis and boots to the lodge at about 10k feet elevation. DH is about to become a septugenarian and I'm midway to that decade- we're in decent physical shape. e.g. just climbed to the top of the Xunantunich ruin in Belize- are there any caveats against seniors doing this tour?

Thanks!

For those who've taken Viking's Roof of the World tour, what were the highlights and why did you select this itinerary over China's Cultural Delights?

I'm leaning toward the latter, but my BIL's brother who's been to Tibet suggests that it's a once-in-a-lifetime destination that shouldn't be missed if there's an opportunity to visit.

Thanks for all input-

I love the idea that smaller groups are formed for the excursions/land tours. But how are they formed? Do you indicate if you prefer mild, moderate or strenuous levels?

Currently DH & I are capable of lots of walking, climbing stairs, etc. But who knows how we'll be functioning in 2013....If we are limited in mobility I'd hate to hold others back, but conversely....

Thanks for the link, Turtles06. I will say that Uniworld has inundated me with phone calls since I requested a brochure:mad:, but, hopefully will desist for awhile, since we're planning for 2013.

Just got a glossy brochure from Uniworld and pricing seems lower than Viking with cruising days shorter for the same length tours. Wine/beer bottled water included in Uniworld, but I think it's only wine at dinner w/ Viking.

I like the very reasonable air add-on option w/ Viking- nothing mentioned about this in the UW brochure, altho we may be able to use ff miles which would make this moot.

For those of you who researched both lines and chose Viking, what influenced your decision?

For anyone whose gone to China with both companies, what are your opinions of each?

Thanks!

When will Viking's 2013 itineraries be published?

We are hoping to use ff miles- what would be the logistics of getting from the airport to hotel in either Beijing or Shanghai?

Makes me wish I was on board with the four of you!

Your northern Ohio neighbor thanks you for your pictures and narratives!

I hope you enjoyed your Celebrity experience (barring cold eggs for breakfast;)) and look forward to your review being posted.

I experienced 3 of the 4 tastings offered on our 14 nite Baltic voyage. Each was worth the fee IMHO. Since DH no longer imbibes, I solicited fellow wine lovers via Roll Call and was joined by several CCr's who attended solo plus some couples. Each offering was educational and fun, although the pours weren't always as generous as at the Walk around the World tasting. The champagne sabering presentation invited audience participation and one of our group was selected!

The latest update can be found of Page 57 of this thread!

I just noticed that there are 2 roll call threads going for my next cruise: Equinox 12/12/11!

Is there a way for a member to combine them or does the moderator do this?

If there was a standard format required for roll calls that consisted of Ship and Sail Date without extra verbiage (I know- it's hard to contain one's excitement when a cruise is booked and it's very tempting to express it in the thread title, but it does confuse someone trying to locate their roll call if they aren't familiar with the search feature) that might help eliminate duplication.

The cruise lines may imply that if you don't do a shorex with them, you will need to obtain a Visa thru the Russian government. IF you have booked with a registered guide company, such as Denrus, Red October, SPB Tours, they provide you with a visa that takes the place of a personally obtained visa.

Heinbloed,

I checked out your link. Love the windmills- are they on the coastal route? My map shows an unmarked road off the 105 at Neubukow, up toward Kuhlungsborn, back down to Bad Doberan and then a road from Bad Doberan to Warnemunde. Is that the route on your blog? Can we reach the pier via this route and avoid traveling thru Rostock on our return?

I found the 104 between Lubeck & Schwerin on my map. The map is a few years old and shows the A20 under construction, but I hope it is complete by now. It would be a zip to travel that to Lubeck.

For some reason, I have my heart set on seeing Schwerin so I hesitate going to Lubeck first for fear that wouldn't leave enough time or energy to devote to the Castle & Gardens + maybe a boat ride on the Schwerin See.

What are your thoughts?

We have a rental car from 9am, planning to be back on the ship 13 hours later.

Schwerin is our first destination. Wismar is directly enroute back to Warnemunde, but should we deviate toward Lubeck instead? Or should we just concentrate on spending most of our time in Schwerin?

Danke!

Ok, TLC Ohio, how did you score such spectacular weather on your cruise? I have seen your fotos of St-P, Copenhagen, Bruges, etc., etc. and I have yet to see a cloudy day. Sure hope we are blessed with clear skies and smooth sailing!

One advantage of having a balcony that I haven't seen mentioned is being able to stumble out of bed at first light, grab the camera and get incredible sunrise fotos without having to worry about how you are dressed!