sammiedawg

No reservation, we just walked into Olde Hansa for lunch, we sat outside in the square. There were seats inside as well.

Kerby Tex, in Tallin we took our young adults to a charming midieval restaurant, Olde Hansa. They loved it, especially since the original recommendation came from a young person.

Helsinki- DIY, we bought the cruise ship shuttle bus into the city, then walked on our own to the Rock Church and the city markets. The city is not that big, we did not purchase the trolley ticket. Someone posted on the fortress, if I go back I want to see that.

Stockholm- walk off the cruise ship to the water ferry , go over to the VASA museum. Take the one that goes to Vasa first. See VASA which is a tremendous museum, then get back on the water ferry to the Gamla Stan, old city. Then back to the ship either on foot on via the water ferry. The ticket you buy is for all day.

Tallin use one of the walking guides either Rick Steves or a link on this board.

Denrus has lots of positive reviews under the port section. We almost booked them but chose SPB which was terrific. Do private tours for sure in St Petersburg.

Yes, I have been on the Grand, Golden ships more than once. There is a big difference in spaciousness between 2600 and 3100 when the common areas are sized about the same. You cannot hide 500 extra passengers.

Also, the Caribbean and sister ships do not have a covered pool. big drawback IMO.

We did 4 or 5 HAL cruises in a row, then we did Coral Princess last month for the second time. We loved it both times, very spacious. Next up is the Star Princess for the Baltics, we are with a group who chose between Eurodam and Star. We're fine with Star which has the better itinerary.

Princess will continue to get my business for the Coral class and the Grand class but not the Caribbean Princess prototype.

Per the Princess web site, both Caribbean and Crown hold 3080 passengers. Of course if lots of kids on board, the # swells on any ship. Our Caribbean Princess ship had 3200 on board and it was not even a holiday week where you would expect lots of kids.

According to a cruise booking site, both ships have 116,000 tonnage. I'm not aware of any Princess ship that holds 3600 but I believe future generation ships may be that size. Doubt we will be sailing them unless they significantly increase the space per passenger ratio from the Caribbean model.

Space per passenger ratio is a very valid comparison between ships, one of the few objective measurements out there. Everything else is at least partly subjective.

Choose Eurodam based on our dislike for the largest Princess ships, the Ruby has 3100 passengers with an extra deck of cabins , 500 extra people and no additional public space as compared to the standard Princess Grand class ships. Have not been on the Ruby but sailed the sister ship Caribbean Princess, too many people in a confined space. Bad space per passenger ratio. Not my cup of tea.

We have been on Eurodam and loved it.

Otherwise, both lines are very nice.

The train from Gatwick to Southhampton was not only easy but less than half the price of a cruise ship transfer. I dont remember the exact price but less than half.

It was a very easy process, we were on a train within a half hour of getting our luggage.

When we arrived in Southhampton, we could see the cruise ship so we decided to walk. It was about 15 minutes.

When we disembarked, we got a taxi back to the train station. We were going into London and those trains ran even more frequently.

We enjoyed it, it was mostly locals on the train.

The previous posts are correct on where to get the train, etc

It was a very easy train trip.

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I agree. I have to say that there are more discussions - and disagreements - on Celebrity's ability/desire/investment in keeping their ships up than any other line in this forum."

 

I totally agree that Celebrity boards have many more threads and discussion on the condition of its ships than other cruise lines I read about. This issue comes up over and over again.

While no line is perfect, keeping up the physical plant is very important whether you are staying in a motel, hotel, cruise ship.

We've sailed a half a dozen lines more than once, we did Celebrity one time and it is the only cruise line we complained about ship condition. We are not difficult customers but we expect clean bathrooms, cabins, decent plumbing fixtures, carpet and upholstery should be clean and in good condition. Its a health and sanitation issue. I dont think anyone making excuses would tolerate nasty conditions in a hotel or motel.

I hate to think what the back of the house looks like if the front of the house (cabins, bathrooms) is shabby.

Its not just what we see, but what we dont see

This review brings back memories of our only X cruise, the Century about 3 years ago . 18 months before it went in for refub.

I posted on the boards how shabby our bathroom and cabin were, I was too embarassed to go into details but it was nauseating. We turned in a list of items that needed replaced/ repaired the first day, nothing was done other than a nice front desk person called me to discuss things and someone came to look at the phone/TV. He thought they were fixed but they were not. . The telephone didnt work which meant we didnt have voice mail or wake up calls, the TV worked intermittently, the desk chair had a broken leg, the comforter and upholstery on the chair were stained. The carpet had a massive deep stain and the carpet was so worn it was not cleanable

We noted the outside deck carpeting toward the front of the ship, originally tan or gold in color, was literally black with dirt. Broken chairs in the Ren DeV vous lounge, when you sat down the springs were non existent. Chairs in the buffet area stained or had broken legs

I have a TA friend in another state who did not book this cruise for me, she cannot discount , she doesnt own the agency. She told me afterwards she was getting lots of negative feedback on this line as far as ship conditions go.

I guess nothing much changed in 3 years

We've sailed many lines, no one line is perfect but X is the only one we had this type of complaint about