heatherbelle

Hi

ive done this journey twice including stopping at Pisa on the way back.

if you search on the Carnival boards for Luca+Livorno and Carnival Legend or Vista or sunshine you should find a detailed post that I followed.

in a nutshell, you take the free bus from the ship to Livorno town centre.  You then walk over the road to the newsagents and ask for bus tickets to the station and train tickets to Luca.

you catch the bus around the corner from where you were dropped off to the train station, and then take the train to Luca I think you change at Pisa central from memory.

to get to Pisa get off the train at Pisa Roma, you won’t have to walk as long, we made the mistake of going to Pisa Central and it was a 30 minutes walk.  Just check that the train stops at Pisa Rosa as not all of them do.  When you get to Luca you can hire bikes to ride around the city walks.  We loved Luca that’s why we went twice on different cruises.  Set off early and you will be fine.

i wil try and find the carnival post and pop back.

23 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

So we are well into Tuesday, and nothing on JH's FB page nor Carnival's website.  He had posted (yesterday I think) that some news would be coming soon - but he was cagey on details, as always.

 

Come on Carnival!  I need to study the ship layout and select ideal cabin locations for each class of cabin before I make a reservation the second you release the bookings!

There was a message from John yesterday on one of the social groups, saying he got it wrong and no announcement,  typical Carnival.  Hopefully we will find out soon, maybe they haven’t got all the ports sorted out as yet, hence the delay,

An article in the telegraph (UK newspaper) says it will be on Tuesday 8th January.  Bookings open 31/1/19.

The first thing to consider when looking at UK offers vs US offers is the t and c.

you can cancel your US booking and get price drops up until final payment.  However there is the tax on the drinks package/food package to add onto the first page price.

if booking in the UK no price drops or cancellation allowed without losing your deposit.

tips is another thing to consider, if you book in the UK you can remove so you can hand out cash to key people if you book in the US you can’t and I have read that you have to complete a form if you are unhappy with paying tips if you have had a bad experience onboard.

US prices tend to be cheaper once you have added everything in to compare apples to apples, pre-paid tips, drinks plus tax etc.

I think you have to ring to add air.

Hi

a med cruise on Carnival will not be a party cruise.  Not many Brits cruise with Carnival Carnival tend not to advertise here in the UK).  As a nation we are not alcoholics, don’t know where you have picked up that perception, but hey ho!  We did invent the pub though.

The hen parties etc in Europe where our teenagers go and drink to excess are no worse than the American kids going to Cancun and getting drunk there.  They are on holiday without their parents and kids in Europe can drink legally and travel overseas from the age of 18.

I have done two Carnival Med cruises and one Caribbean cruise and all three have been fine, all cruises were for 7 days or more.  I do remember one of my US friends having a bar bill totalling over a $1000 and drinking lots of fish bowl cocktails.

I have just been researching the exact same thing.  From what I’ve read on a Sunday there is only a small market and a few bars cafes open.  I am hoping for a sunny warm day and will probably head to the beach.  There are no buses operating to the beaches further afield on Sundays.

Hi

im looking at the Anthem of the Seas 9 day departures which leaves on a Thursday either 1st August or 15th August, Caribbean.  I can be flexible with flying in dates.  Also just looked at flight prices into New Jersey and I can get direct flights to there from where I live.

a double bed is fine.  I bet NY rooms are like those you find in many parts of Europe in terms of size.  We would want to fly in about 3 or 4 days before probably do the main things in NY like Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Empire State or the rock, Macy’s and anything else that catches my eye.  Just trying to work out pricing really, if it’s all too much, will go to plan B, a med cruise, but I’ve done those to death.  Pricing on Anthem seems a bit high at the moment, but we’ll see how numbers stack up.

13 hours ago, 138east said:

Could you provide the exact dates and flight times? Number of people?  Bed size requirements? Realistic hotel budget?  Manhattan hotels are very expensive. What are your sightseeing priorities?

 

If you cannot use public transit, your transportation is going to be expensive.  Look at the map.  JFK Airport is in Queens New York.  The sights you want to see are in Manhattan, NY.  Cape Liberty is in Bayonne, New Jersey.  No one has posted about using any kind of luggage delivery service to JFK Airport.

Quote

 

 

13 hours ago, 138east said:

Could you provide the exact dates and flight times? Number of people?  Bed size requirements? Realistic hotel budget?  Manhattan hotels are very expensive. What are your sightseeing priorities?

 

If you cannot use public transit, your transportation is going to be expensive.  Look at the map.  JFK Airport is in Queens New York.  The sights you want to see are in Manhattan, NY.  Cape Liberty is in Bayonne, New Jersey.  No one has posted about using any kind of luggage delivery service to JFK Airport.

 

 

Hi

Bed size? Gosh I thought there only was one size, we need a double bed, I think in the US it’s a king.  Not bothered so long as we can both sleep in it.

i am looking at an August sailing.  I have no idea how much a mid priced hotel would cost in New York, hence my question.  We are happy to stay at any decent hotel, preferably one with breakfast included.  Usual brands we stay at include Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites, through to luxury hotels at Walt Disney.  Location is important, I don’t want to waste time travelling to see the main sights.  Obvious ones which spring to mind would be Empire State Building ground zero.  I have lots of research to do in this part of our trip later on.  I was hoping to start by working out where we needed to stay.  I have looked at a map, but you cannot get a real sense of scale compared to actually being there.

We are able to use public transport, but I don’t want to be doing this with suitcases in tow, but happy on public transport for sightseeing, used it all over Europe, including London.

Hi

I’m from the UK and never been to NY before.

we will have luggage and I’m looking for ideas on what to do before our late flight home as well as hotel help before the cruise.

we will be flying in and out if JFK and I have no idea in terms of both travelling time and distance JFK is from the port.

This will probably be our one and only ever trip to NY so I would like to see the sights.  I can research those separately, but I would like hotel recommendations somewhere central and cheap.

plus ideas on what to do on the day we get off the ship too.  Are there any companies you can leave your luggage with who will deliver it to the airport for example?  I don’t really fancy a ship tour with the masses.

Gosh that’s a hard one.  At a push I would say Kotor, purely for the beautiful sail in along the fjord like mountains.  Plus there are a host of trips you can go on if you want to go further afield.  If you want a tour check out Mladen Tours, we had a great day with him.  We went up into the mountains and to one of the costal resorts too.  My friend used him twice on her cruise and one of her tours involved a speedboat trip.

I’ve just booked too. Going on the 16th April sailing from Majorca. 7 night cruise 4 nights in a hotel, flights from local airport. JS cabin, all in less that £1400. I was looking at RCL sailing in the Caribbean and the 10 night NCL Med sailing on the 18th, but at the price Marella were asking, I thought I’d give them a try. If you don’t try you don’t know. It might be awful or it might be great time will tell.

The ship was previously the Celebrity Centuary, before going to China, so if you google that or search on cruise critic you can find lots of info about different rooms. Looks like the cabins are staying the same from looking at both sets of deck plans.

For info, if UK guests book onboard - we get price drops (its meant to be one - but I have claimed two on one cruise shhhhhh). Not sure when that 'perk' was added for UK guests as we usually book onboard, but its heck of a fab perk :-)

Thanks, I wasn’t aware of that and. I am cruising next month.

If it is so much cheaper, why not cancel the booking, eat the $100 per person penalty and rebook in the UK. Should still bring you ahead, if it is so much cheaper.

That’s what I did with a Carnival cruise one year. I had booked Early Saver, but I just rang Carnival in the US and they transfers the deposit over, in th end I didn’t loose anything.

US price and UK site are the same. The Spanish site is £200 cheaper.

I am looking at an 11 night cruise, so for two at the moment the UK site would be the best. Although there would be no price drops potentially. The ship is pretty empty, so I guess I have to out how much 11 nights drinks will cost and factor that in for a realistic price drop.

The sailing is 15/4 on Serande.

What is interesting is that the cruise I am looking at is the same price on the US site as the UK but drinks are free.h

As others have said dont believe in these promos ,keep an eye on the final price , just for your interest with the UK offer my cruise was over a 1000 euros more than i was quoted on Spanish site ,and we have refundable deposit or price drop .

Thanks for that, it amazes me that you can have price drops on the Spanish site yet if you book with the UK you cannot so much for the Euro Zone!

here in the UK, we currently have a free drinks promo running. Is this ever offered on bookings made in the US. Whilst the cruise I am looking at is less on the UK sight with free drinks at the moment, I am aware that I can have price drops in the US up until final payment. I know it’s a gamble, but the cruise I am looking at is pretty empty and there are only 6 months to go. Trying to weigh up the options. It’s an 11 night cruise.

Easter 2017.

 

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I was on the same sailing, I agree with the vibration on the boat, which did affect us having a cabin aft on deck 9, so much so that we split in other cabins for 2 nights and after a third complaint received $200 OBC, this was on the second to last night of the cruise. I think it’s the design of the ship that causes the vibration. I seem to remember a similar noise on Carnivals Sunshine, although we had a forward cabin on that ship.

This was my first NCL cruise. I have previously cruised with CCL and DCL. I was worried about sailing on an older smaller ship, but these did not materialise. The only problems we encountered were the lack of staff working on bars, which led to long lines for drinks. Other than that I really enjoyed NCL. Yes the ship does look a little bit worn in places, but she is an older lady, the staff were lovely, food was great and all in all an enjoyable cruise. Yes I would go on this ship again, but I wouldn’t stay in the aft area of the boat. We also got a peak of the suites from our cabin steward on the last day and I can tell you they looked shabby and small what they cost, but I am use to newer shiny ships.

Last April I stayed in 9703 (inside aft cabin). There was a lot of vibration which I could feel as I walked to my cabin each night from the aft lifts, the further towards the back you went, the worse it got. We spent two nights during our cruise sleeping in other cabins it was so bad. It seemed to be worse when the ship was at speed.

One night when we were in the atrium, we could see the hand rails vibrating near the gift shops.

So I emailed the TA to ask for a price, as no prices listed on the cruise I am considering. The TA has replied saying there is an error on the website and the cruises are not available. I have politely emailed back and asked her to check the pricing on the 31/7,as NCL will be releasing them on that date;) I was looking at the July 28th cruise, anyone seen any pricing anywhere else?

We were in 9703 aft on the Spirit, the vibration was horrendous some nights, so much so, we spent two nights sleeping in other cabins.

You could feel vibration when walking down the corridor from the rear stairs and heading aft certainly on deck 9.

Anyone have a photo of the aft cabins when she was the Centuary. I know things might have changed but looking for a super large balcony for mum.

Of course this assumes

 

Exchange rate does not improve for UK - it will

The fact that the US drinks package is plus $89 per person and

you are booking under US law not UK consumer law

and our bank gives 10% discount so UK for us is cheaper

 

There you go

 

Price drops??? really the global cruise demand is record levls and this is a small ship with a great itinerary price rises to come so booked repo to UK excellent then Jade then Encore TA that will do for next year.

I should have made myself clearer, I am looking at the 18/4 cruise, so normal med itinerary, not the summer cruises which do have lovely ports that are not frequented very much by the others.

We will see how the prices go on the Easter cruise. I agree that the prices for Iceland will go up.

As for the dollar rate I hope your right and it does go up. I used a rate of £1 to $1.4, this is the best it's been for quite a while.

I am going to wait and see. I can do a MSC cruise for 7 nights in an inside for £690 each with drinks and tips on a new shiny ship, ncl for 10 nights is currently £1393 each with drinks and tips, so quite a difference. Saying that the longer I can stay on a ship the better.

So just priced up UK pricing vs US pricing on an inside including tips on drinks package and normal tips. It’s an extra £349 to book directly with NCL in the UK. So UK peeps check with NCL in the US first, plus you can claim price drops.