CanWeGoYet?

1 hour ago, nwcruiselover said:

No ginger ale, unfortunately.  That’s my favorite.

That's too bad.  I'm thinking there must be ginger ale on board, but just not in the soda package?

3 hours ago, bennybear said:

 
what town are you coming from?.  

Just traveling from Rome center / Torre Argentina to a hotel near the cruise port.  

On 1/28/2022 at 9:27 AM, Cruzin Terri said:

Not sure about a cab fare, but if you are talking about Central Rome, a company called Rome Cabs, which I have used many times charges 130 Euros for the trip to Civitavecchia port.  May charge a bit less to a hotel. The website is www.romecabs.com.

I hope this helps.  It is a flat rate as opposed to a taxi with a meter.  If you get stuck in traffic that meter keeps running.  

Terri

Thanks Terri, will keep them in mind.  I've been trying to find the cost of the typical cab fare as well, if it's in that ballpark it would definitely make sense to book a car.  

Any guesses as to what taxi fare should cost from a centrally located hotel in Lazio, to a hotel near the port Civitavecchia?  We are heading out the day before our cruise so not on a tight schedule for getting there.  

with you on wishing there was some middle ground for drink packages on Carnival.  I love the options on Celebrity - I just get a non alcohol drink package - since I mainly want the drink package for bistro coffee or bottled water.  But I do love the smoothies too that they will mix up for at any bar, too.  I don't remember the cost but it was far far less than cheers or any of the alcohol drink packages available on Celebrity.  I might buy a drink but it's infrequent.  There's no way I'd ever have more than 2 in a day.  Most days none.  

We disembarked a day early in Dover, after  getting clearance from the dept that handles disembarking early - on Celebrity.  Original booking for transatlantic on Carnival, but when  they cancelled the cruise, I found one on Celebrity that was nearly identical for dates and crucial ports.  To keep the wonderful airfare I had found I just booked with Celebrity.  

I would think it's too far a distance & too much could go wrong to try to fly out the same day you disembark.   But I have very limited experience with Heathrow or the journey from Dover to London.  If you are going to try to make the flight the same day you disembark, then by all means the transport by Carnival makes sense.  If you are going to have the buffer of flying out at a later date, at least consider the train.  If you are traveling to London on a weekend or holiday that would mean few to no commuters, then the train might still be an option.  We found one going to Victoria station, direct with no need to transfer and at a fantastic rate.  Just walking up to the window to buy tickets when we were ready to go, no advance registration at all.  The train was so comfortable and modern, we had our own booth so able to stretch out with our ridiculous amount of luggage and bought some of the nice refreshments that came around on a cart.  This was back in 2009.  We've decreased how much we pack a lot since then.  But the train staff were all helpful and no one gave us shade over our many suitcases, not even fellow passengers.  Had this been a commuter train that was packed however, I think it might have been a different experience.

Booked the starboard aft wrap, deck 4 on the Miracle, on my last cruise.  No issues at all with vibration, stale air, and not visible really from upper decks.  The downside would be not a lot of direct sun, but on a Mexican riviera it was warm enough in port / not  going to be warm no matter what on a pacific cruise when the ship is going fast.  

My favorite cabin - if finances weren't an issue I'd always book this suite.  

Not saying it can or will happen, but I'd sure be glad if the passenger vessel services act could be suspended.  Not sure what purpose it serves now.  

No, I booked way back in January of this year, before it seemed like we were all heading for this.  Will be keeping a close eye on the cruises that do go forward, and the payment due date.  Thanks for the heads up on the tour company.  My original plan was to fly back via Iceland Air & do a stop over there for a couple days.  A golden circle tour was the only thing I've booked so far, I better cancel it until I'm sure.  

It is so tough.  I don't think you are lacking in compassion.  It's just human to feel some distress over a vacation you looked forward to for so long, now being totally up in the air.

My cruise is set for August out of Dover.  I have no idea if it will go forward or who knows if the cruise line needs to change the embarkation port to elsewhere.   Bucket list cruise, very reasonable price for Baltic but it's still a lot of money.  It all seems a huge gamble.

15 hours ago, simplelife said:

We usually do porthole cabins. We need a little natural light and these do the trick, but for an interior fare. 

I am so grieving the loss of the 4K french door cabins on Spirit Class.  They still have them, but it's now a picture window rather than doors that open for fresh air.  What a deal for an inside cabin price.

I  typically make plans for every port, a cruise ship excursion is typically my last choice - but if its all that's available (only happened once in all my cruises - could find no private excursions at all offered in La Coruna) then I'd do a ships excursion.

I am moving away from itineraries I've done many times before, with my age & budget I am focusing more on bucket list cruises.  So fewer cruises, but hopefully to places I really want to see.  Although I did do a Mexican riviera cruise last fall - my 3rd time on this itinerary.  And in Puerto Vallarta we made it to the Botanical Gardens, and an absolutely wonderful restaurant there on site.  It was fairly inexpensive for an excursion as we did it on our own - the only hard part was finding a taxi not hell bent on ripping me off, getting there from the port.  But we made it, didn't pay more than we should have - and so worthwhile to see the beautiful grounds.  Even if you've been to a port many times - its still such a short time we are there on a port stop.  So my thought is you can go to the same port 10+  times and maybe still have plenty of things to see or do that are new.  

14 minutes ago, Banditswife said:

  I wonder what smokers do under a quarantine.  Yikes, time to quit I guess.

 

Wow.  I never thought of that!   Tough times.   If people smoke where they shouldn't, I suppose they could be hit with hella fines.  One instance where your odds of being kicked off the ship are low!

Rx meds, I'd say 3 weeks worth beyond what you think you need for the trip.  

A kindle loaded up with way more books than you think you will want to get to.

And this isn't something to pack, but I tend to book balconies and if you are stuck - having access to light and fresh air I think would make things so much more pleasant. 

I saw in the news where the couple ordered wine brought to them by drone. LOL.  

9 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

I, too, am a nurse. A retired RN. And there is no way in hell that I’d bring disposable gloves on a cruise. That’s about as silly as seeing all these people wearing masks that aren’t going to do them any good, since only a fit tested N-95 would work. I just carry my bottle of hand sanitizer that I use, after I have washed in cabin, but used hand rails to prevent falls. Alcohol based hand sanitizer are effective against Coronavirus. But make sure your bottles of hand sanitizer are new, not expired, as the alcohol in them evaporates over time, and makes the bottle useless. I also use Zoono, a 24 hour foam hand sanitizer that works differently in how it kills the germs. 

I understand it sounds silly.  I'm not sure I'd even choose to be on a cruise ship right now, with the wildfire spread of the virus even in the midst of quarantine & infection control measures.  What we know about this coronavirus is based on what is effective on other coronaviruses, but it is too new for there to be studies.  Hence the "novel" designation.  

As for it already leveling off in China, they have taken extreme measures to limit the spread.  Travel bans within regions that are heavily infected - preventing their citizens from leaving the area.  Also a high degree of testing & trying to limit the spread by enforced quarantines.   We are not restricting travel within the US, at least for now, and our capacity to test is nowhere near what it needs to be to even determine the extent of the population affected.  

2 hours ago, QBanQT22 said:

We're supposed to be sailing on 3/22 on the Magic and same itinerary. Did you notice any extra precautions being taken due to the Coronavirus? We're a party of 12 going and half the group is freaking out and talking about canceling. I have a 7 and 12 y.o. going and am not sure what to do 😣

Hand washing is so important, and more effective against viruses than hand gel.  It isn't easy though, getting from a sink to the MDR / seated & having your food with clean hands.  I know it is advised to not touch a hand  rail, but if seas are rocking I'd rather grab the hand rail & get sick  than have a broken leg, wrist or pelvis.  And then you need to pull your chair out, and pick up & read the menu.  Unless they are going to paper / disposed of after each use - avoiding the hand rail may be of limited value.  If I were about to go on a cruise in the midst of this, I'd wash my hands thoroughly in the cabin.   Then put on disposable gloves until after I'm seated, after I have set down the menu for good.  Remove inside out, taking care not to touch outside the gloves as you are removing them (I'm a nurse, this is how you need to remove gloves to keep from contaminating your hands anyway) discard in a paper bag that you can toss out after you  are done eating.  It may sound laughable but it's what you need to do to have clean hands at meal time.  Hoping at the buffet they have crew dishing up the food for the passengers.  Otherwise you grab a serving spoon & it may have been handled by 50 other people, with hands that may not be clean.  That's just to keep from touching germs that may sicken you, I don't know what to do about airborne viruses & the "stay 6 feet away from others" rule.  I don't think that's even possible on a ship.  

I think it's a good idea to offer something tangible like this.  With all the negative news now regarding cruise ships, it's necessary to reward passengers who don't bail.  Should be happening across the board with all cruise lines.  I'm hoping this doesn't do lasting damage to this industry.  

17 minutes ago, wardamnweagle said:

I use these at my hunting camp. I don’t have running water in my cabin, but I do have power. I can heat up a pot of hot water, dump a stick in my thermos, and pour in. It’s one less thing to clean. 
 

I guess something else to add to the list. I mentioned bringing my French press and was reminded we are flying, so probably not gonna happen. 

It was really handy all around.  In the hotel for the day before the cruise too.  

The free coffee I've had in the lido or MDR has been ok.  The coffee in the bistro a little better, but being on a budget last cruise I didn't buy any there.  I brought packets of organic instant coffee sticks.  Handy for morning room service coffee - I just asked for hot water (like I was going to make tea).  Their room service coffee is generally hideous.  I liked my coffee better than anything they have on board, even the bistro.   Available on amazon, instacart, etc.  

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/27/health/us-cases-coronavirus-community-transmission/index.html

There are now cases spread through  the community here in the US, that had no contact with other people who were known to be infected.  An issue is the low number of tests done in the US and how our labs are just barely getting up to speed.  The 1st case in California took 4 days of the patient being ill & officials wanting to test, but there were no labs in the area that could do it.  The CDC would not, because at that time their requirements for being eligible for testing were not met.  (They required the patient to be so sick they needed intubation).  Also, obviously you can't treat or report what you don't test for.  S. Korea has done in the neighborhood of 60,000 tests, I believe only 500 or less have been tested for Coronavirus in the US.  

It's here, hopefully we can get a handle on isolating people who are carrying it.  Most people are not terribly ill, they can recover on their own but unfortunately they can spread it to more vulnerable individuals.

To me it didn't sound like it was a 10 day waiting period to cancel, but a 10 day  time limit on how long you could cancel & get a refund.  Which makes sense - my 3rd party insurance has a 14 day period where a cancel with refund is possible.  After that you cancel if you like, but no refund is available.  

It is a pricey outing, but to me it was worth it.  I  wasn't on a cruise stop, I found a vacation package with Iceland Air.  We also did horseback riding before hand.  It's been several years since I visited, but it was the big highlight of my trip.  It pays to be prepared - you can save a little money bringing your own towel over renting one there.  And make sure to wear a tight fitting swim cap - put your hair full of conditioner before getting in the water.  The water is heavenly but will make your hair straw otherwise.  There is lots of Blue Lagoon top quality shampoo & conditioner in the changing & showering areas to help yourself to.  There are buckets of clay mask to put on your face at the perimeters of the blue lagoon.  Bring a disposable water camera to use in the lagoon.  You can get a bite to eat in the cafe for pretty reasonable, just a serve yourself area from pre-made sandwiches, juices etc, but you don't have to eat in the expensive restaurant.   

Tip - if you want to bring home a souvenir lotion - you can buy it in the US mail order for less than at the  gift shop at Blue Lagoon.  The mineral lotion is so great, it works as well or better  on my eczema than some of my prescription lotions.  Saves on space / weight in the luggage,  too.   Buying at the airport I believe is the most economical, but that won't be in your plans.  

With the tour I had, it picked us up from the hotel & then we could take a bus back when we decided we had enough of being there.  They ran pretty often, just had  to make sure you had the right company & didn't miss the last one.  

• December 23, 2016
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On 11/11/2019 at 5:39 PM, Mike45LC said:

In Mexico, there is a chain of stores names OXXO -- these are like 7-11s in the States.  I sometime pay for snacks/sodas at OXXO with a US$20 and take my change in pesos.  They use a "decent" exchange rate of 18 pesos per US$1.  Although the official exchange rate is about 19.10, OXXO is fee-free.  My US$20 is treated as 360 pesos, instead of 382, a cost to me of US$1.15 for the exchange.  The OXXO cash register is set up to work with US$.

 

If I want to change US$100, I use a money changer.  But OXXO is just as good.

thank you so much!  I am wanting some pesos in case I want to take the bus back from the botanical gardens in PV.  And waited too long to get pesos here, they all want at least 2 business days & have to be  ordered in advance.