DrmnOfMaui

Thanks for this post - I came here to post the exact question.  First off you are going to love York!  An excellent decision for your pre-cruise (we are doing similar, making our way to Edinburgh for cruise departure). 
However, I'm wondering about a private transfer? We will be a party of 4, so split 4 ways it may not be hugely higher than the train refundable/First Class prices.  We arrive LHR at 11:45, and I was worried about the evening rush as well.  

I've googled a few private transfers, but they get horrendous reviews.  Does anyone have any tried and true London Private Car companies to recommend?

Ahhh.... the South Pacific! Thank you so much for your review. Some 8 years ago my husband and I did the same cruise - our first time away from our kids for more than an overnight :) Your review brought back so many memories! This trip remains one of my favorites and was so special for us. You've given me the itch to return. Thank you!

We are just off the Navigator and we found the food to be very good! I am vegetarian and the head waiter approached me within 20 minutes of boarding to work out menus and actually had menus sent to my room daily. He said all I needed to do was ask and they would make anything I wanted, or change items on the menu to work for me. I never made a special request (other than avocados at breakfast!) and had no problem finding plenty of appealing options to eat. The rest of my party ranged from vegetarian to no restrictions at all, and everyone stated the food was very good (in our opinion - I know food is subjective).

We also enjoyed the decor of the fresh Navigator and very much enjoyed our voyage.

Vegetarian from Sette Mari - from Buffet (I plated myself, hence it's not the most beautiful!)

My new love!! <3

We are just off the Navigator in the Med where husband, daughters and I dressed nicely for dinner nightly (he wore slacks with long sleeve button downs and occasional ties, I and the girls had short cocktail type dresses), however we actually felt over dressed most nights. Some people dressed similar, a few sport coats, but frankly I was surprised at the amount of khakis and aloha shirts or polo shirts. The Setti Mari was similar dress - very few sport coats. I did not dine in Prime 7.

Last year we traveled on Seabourn to the Caribbean and I think the Caribbean lends itself to more casual dress. Like one of the prior posts, slacks and Tommy Bahama type shirts should be fine for Caribbean.

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So, we cannot let the food issue pass without a comment. Arguably, Taormina has the best cannolis on earth. So make sure you have dessert :).

 

 

 

Hank

Best cannoli ever!! We are returning in a few weeks and I'm counting the days!!

This is at the Etna Pasticceria.

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We will be staying at the same hotel this August. The hotel offers a shuttle to St. Marks and From there we will walk!! We did this on our last visit and walked all over Venice in two days. You will find the most amazing back alleys, especially if you are lucky enough to get lost. :). I always love Terri's photos!!

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Peety3 mentioned what I was going to say... Backup! I get smaller cards (8 or 16) and use one for each day. I return to the ship and back up my cards to my computer, and then to an external drive. Then I put the card into a "used" case by day. So I have the original and backups!! I have only one card go bad ever, but this way I'm hoping not to lose anything.

I bring my tripod, it's a light inexpensive version. I find I don't use it often, but when I do I'm so glad I have it. I've found it doesn't help much on the ship though because of vibration.

I have a speedlight, but I leave it at home.

I use a polarizer filter during the day.

For selfies I use my iPhone.

Hope that helps!

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Yvie.... Thank you for your review! You answered so many questions and brought tips I would never have even thought to ask about. I have yet to sail SD, but your review just moved it to the top of our list!!

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I agree with the others that it is certainly personal taste!! And personally, we prefer little to no sea days. However my husband and I did have the opportunity to sail on the Sojourn in the Caribbean this fall. The itinerary had two sea days on each end with 5 port days in the middle. As luck would have it, all 5 of our port days were rain, hence, we had mostly sea days on the ship.

We did enjoy sleeping in with no schedule, but the days tended to revolve around lounging on deck, reading, doing computer (we did have the internet), trivia etc, all planned around breakfast, coffee, lunch, tea, cocktails before dinner, then dinner. Lots of eating and "haningout". While very enjoyable, I did go a bit stir crazy, and we will be sticking to port intensive in the future...!

We had a Caviar in the Surf last week at Isla Catalina in the Dominican Republic... best day of our voyage (even in the rain)!!

I will double check in the herald the number of nights you need a jacket. I know it was less than we thought it would be.

I think it was 5 or 6 nights of the 10 night cruise... I know first and last were Resort Casual.

Looking forward to your posts FKGirl!!

(Kim - Liv Life)

When my wife is on the hunt she goes to places that have more than 50,000 pearls at any given time. She will dump 500 pearls on the lighted table where she can start matching up size and color. Once she has a bunch she will then go through each one and look for the best quality. Might take you a half day but you can get a nice strand for less than you may think. This was taken last December when she came home with another bag of marbles. :D

 

Oh my!! It's pearl heaven!!!

I purchased two sets of pearls from a small store on Moorea 3 years ago. I've worn them almost daily and love them more than anything else I've ever purchased on a trip.

Find something you love, and wear it often!

Such an uplifting post. Love your attitude. Wishing you continued good health and a long happy life. :)

Exactly what Daisyloo said! Thanks for your post, it's a reminder to us all to live life as we go along. Wishing you continued love and health!

Wow... I hadn't heard about the Grand Canal and the gondolas. Here's a video from our trip just a year ago. The rest of my family was sleeping and these guys floated right under me. I'll never forget the sound of the singing!!

He really gets singing about the 22 second point!!

We had the greatest all day private boat tour in Corfu on the Nautilus Boat!:)

Below is a link with more information. Have a great trip to Cofu!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1598280&highlight=corfu

I didn't see this until after I posted!! It was your post that led me to book the tour. I can't thank you enough!!:)

Ahh, Corfu! Last summer this stop became the favorite of our trip. We are looking to do a Med cruise next summer, and enlisting the kids (teens) help, their first question is, "Is Corfu on the itinerary?".

Taking a tip from another CC member, we booked a day on Nautilus Daily Cruises, and had the most fabulous day.

Iakis meets you at the port and then tailors the day to your time schedule and desires. We had a long day and toured the Corfu coastline with stops in many little coves. Knowing I was a photographer, Iakis brought me to stunning locations and I'm still treasuring my photo memories.

In addition, he provides a traditional Greek lunch. Not just simple fare, but gourmet food including Saganaki (OMG good!), stuffed baby squid, prawns, salads, vegetable sides, and the list goes on. He has a grill that he pulls out on the back of the boat, and the meal is one we will never forget.

I'm a food and travel blogger, and wrote a full review here: Corfu with Nautilus Daily Cruises.

Cliff jumping on the Corfu Coast!

After returning to Corfu we had a few hours to wander around Corfu Town. The people were truly welcoming, and we spent most of our time chatting with vendors and locals alike. Here's the link to that post: Corfu Town and Balkava

Wood shop in Corfu! Really, really neat items to buy and the owner here was a treat! I asked if I could take her picture and she smiled, struck and pose, then threw her head back laughing and said, "I'm just like Cindy Crawford!!!" She hugged me as we left and made me feel like I had a friend in Corfu.

We loved this port!!

Shopping with the Chef!! We visited the fish market in Split, Croatia. The lady in the center shot was from Spain, and actually helped the chef bargain the price. Amazing to watch! The Chef had a price nearly agreed on and she threw her hands out and exclaimed "No!! Too much money!" and proceeded to reduce the price deal. So fun to watch.

Onion Rings!!!

I also recommend the Shopping with the Chef! We had a wonderful experience in Split, Croatia last summer (I wrote about it in detail on my blog - see Spirit link below). We ended up at the Fish Market, and my kids are still talking about it.

The onion rings? I had thought, "How can onion rings be so good?"... well, they can! We ordered them on the last day for lunch and the staff teased me about getting them. I wrote that story in the blog post to. I can say though, they are some of the best ever!

I have found that if you are ever even remotely wondering if something is possible, ask. Most times what you want you will receive.

And thanks for the berry tip! I'll be using that one on my next voyage (as yet unplanned... but hoping for Caribbean next December)

I put together our group of 17 (12 adults, 5 teens) through our Cruise Critic Roll Call. Because we had 17 people it made the per person cost very reasonable. Because our cruise left port at 3:30 the Nautilus picked us up at 8 and had us back to the dock by 3. It worked out great.

Sounds like you had as much fun as we did!! Still dreaming of our day in Corfu!!!

Bummed, just looked at the website and the boat gets back to late for us to make it to the ship on time since we sail at 3pm! And I don't have enough people for a private hire! Oh well, back to the drawing board for me!

We did a private hire with just 4 people and he arranged the times to fit our schedule! Give Vanessa a shout and see what she can do for you. If you hire the boat, I'm guessing they will do whatever you would like!:)

That sounds so awesome. Is it appropriate for a 6 year old girl? or is adults only? Also, unless the weather is bad, are the waters around Corfu calm?

Absolutely appropriate for a 6 year old! She would LOVE it! Iakis has a couple of inflatable rings to float on, but you might think of bringing something for her if she is not water safe. Many times we moored very close to shore as well, so she could play on the beaches. Not big sandy beaches, more of a thin stretch with some sand and rocks.

Also, if she is particular on food, he makes the most wonderful chicken. My kids were somewhat particular, so we did ask for the chicken. They ended up trying everything though!

Yes, the waters were very calm for our day of travel.:)

Here's a sample of the floatie ring he had onboard:

Finally got our photos edited... here are a few from our day with Iakis or... visit our blog for a full review!

Saganaki... something I've never tasted before, but it remains a highlight of our whole trip!

The kids (and dads!) loved the cliff jumping!

Now that's a view....

Lunch anyone??

You will have a great time!:) One tip I have is to ask your cabin steward to put some ice in a plastic bag for you, then carry to boat. Ice is a premium in Europe, there were many drink coolers filled with cold drinks, but no ice. Also, a water proof camera was great for taking pictures in the dark cave, where you go snorkling. I also used it to take pictures of the cliff jumping. Tell the Captain and wife I said Hello!

We did it!! Just back from our cruise 2 days ago, and this day in Corfu with Iakis remains a highlight of our trip. He picked us up right by our ship, toured us around for swimming and sightseeing, prepared fabulous food, and gave us a an all around wonderful excursion. I can't say highly enough how much we enjoyed our trip. I'll have a full report with photos up soon!!

Thank you so much for your original post and tip for this day!

OOh!! Excellent tips, for sure. We have the waterproof camera already, and I will remember the ice. My husband likes ice with his drinks, so that will be a hit. Would never have thought of it.

Vanessa wrote us back today and we are fully confirmed. The kids are really excited!

My kids are somewhat picky eaters, so I chose chicken and king prawns for the lunch. What did you have??

Thanks so much for the recommendation! I will definitely write about it when we get home.