wheezedr

One reason that the Island and her sister the Coral, both small by modern mega ship criteria, remain as important elements in the Princess fleet is that they were built as Panamax ships at a time when only the old locks existed.  If you desire the old locks experience, which I highly recommend, then your choice is limited. They are very good ships for scenic cruising and the lack of some “bells and whistles” is actually a plus for some of us.

3 minutes ago, Luv2cruz1000 said:

What is the cost per person?

Says $39.00 on the menu

Best deal is that we picked up medallion at the port.  Then after we purchased Plus on board we received the $10 credit even though we had never actually paid it.

One thing I might suggest is to book a dinner reservation at one of the many rooftop restaurants which look into the Acropolis.  Set it up to arrive pre sunset, but so you will still be there as the sun sets and the Acropolis is then lit up.  Quite an impressive site.

Did this last October.  Took maybe 40 minutes on a weekday.  Just grabbed the first cab at the cab stand.  Think it was ~$45.  

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Reading this and other threads in the past many months, it seems the overseas call center is even worse than when it began.  I wonder if the deterioration is tied to them being given more things to handle, coupled with language barriers and inexperience?

 

It seems only expert guests who know the rules, ins and outs, exactly what they want, etc, can have reasonable success with call center.

Actually expert guests generally avoid the call center at all costs.  If the APP fails to do what we need, we will work via the website or use a CVP or TA. 
As to the medallion, pickup at the port may add a few minutes and it is not worth spending frustration time on the phone .

We sat down to lunch after boarding and purchased it while seated in the MDR.

Once got my assignment while on the flight to my cruise.  Was going in a day early and had a plane change in Chicago.  Checked my email and there was the cabin. Don’t worry at the worst they will give you a pillow and a blanket to use in one of the lifeboats.

19 minutes ago, eppler said:

Was there an issue with traffic at the port?  I have this picture of going the final quarter mile in an hour because everyone is doing the same thing.

No problem but it was the Monday of Columbus Day so not sure if that made any difference.  We followed a group of taxi’s all together. I think I said Tuesday up above

Looked at all the options when we made this connection in October.  Ended up just grabbing the first taxi at the cab stand outside the station .  Door to door so lot    less luggage handling. Cost was 45.00 on a Tuesday AM.  That should give you a comparison number.

There are risks. We cruised from Buenos Aires to Santiago.  The ship came to  BA from FLL with its last stop in Montevideo. Departing from BA our first scheduled stop was also Montevideo.  A handful of passengers on both segments decided to do Iguazu Falls OTO leaving the first cruise in MV and returning when the second segment stopped there.  A monster storm blew in, and while we were able to depart BA in rough seas the Captain opted to skip MV on his way out.  Those 6 never did rejoin us as they could not get to the Falklands and then we were 4 days in Antarctica.  The original plan sounded good but weather can affect everything.

From recent personal experience.  In Oct we sailed out of Red Hook (Princess), so a longer trip from Penn Station.  We boarded, same day, an Amtrak from the BWI station.  Trip was a breeze and much simpler for us than flying from BWI to LGA.  Should definitely work well from Delaware.  I use Uber a lot but for this trip just grabbed the first cab as I came out of the station 

I have made this trip on multiple occasions and in many differing segments as I live in the Bay Area (born in SF before they even dreamed of BART) and have cruised out of both pier 27 (the current dock ) and pier 35 (the old dock) as well as traveled to and from SFO to often to count.  We usually use Bart to the Embarcadero and then walk the mile to Pier 27, but I have no time constraints like you do for the airport, as I can plan my BART trip to allow for the time I need to walk to the pier for embarkation.  Have also used it to go home, usually works fine but there was the day a construction project ran well overtime.  Thank goodness I have friends who are available at the last minute as BART would have added two extra transfers and 45min to an hour for one of their Bus Bridges. I also have no time I must be home by.  You also do not want to use the F-Line streetcars.  They are designed as an antique surface trolley system and are not set up to handle luggage well.  It can be done but it is not easy.

Uber or a taxi are really a matter of your comfort and ease with the locations and systems.  Taxi pickup is right at the terminal, cost will vary primarily by how much stoppage time is wasted in traffic but that should be less of an issue on a weekend.  In general UBER is cheaper but if they surge a lot at a mass pickup point like the cruise terminal the cost can actually exceed a cab.  Depending on when you enter the pickup time you may have a short wait.  Also both Taxis and Uber will drop you at your departure terminal.  SFO has multiple terminals so let the driver know your airline.  BART brings you into the international terminal and depending on your airline you may have a few minutes of additional travel time in the airport itself.  Enjoy your cruise but make your outbound trip easier without stress.

Another benefit of purchasing on board is that you can use your OBC to pay some or all of the cost.  Of course that depends on how much OBC you have.

Lamb is generally available in some form but then  we do not consider it “exotic”.

@SPacificbound you gave a very nice explanation of how to avoid scanners. I also am on my third ICD and currently I also avoid scanners but for a very different reason.  I avoid them because of the annoyance of their triggering and then having to subsequently still have to be patted down.  That now occurs with regularity when in the past it was a rare airport, Heathrow, that was set so sensitive.  The brief moment you are in a scanner does not constitute a problem for your device.  I have reviewed that very issue with multiple electrophysiologists, as well as with Medtronics, my particular device maker and in the medical literature.  It is correct that a magnet can be used to turn off the ICD function, but removing the magnet then allows the function to return.  That is why an anesthesiologist can set a magnet over your pacemaker so the electrocautery does not trigger it and then by just taking the magnet off the ICD function is restored. The brief moment you cross the scanner threshold is thus of minimal if any risk. The annoyance of the scanner alarming is a bigger pain

What is the best address to give Uber/ Lyft for the Brooklyn cruise terminal 

Nothing different from previous posters but one more vote for the Coral, as doing the historic locks really gives one a better understanding of what the original builders faced.  Also you really do need to read The Path Between the Seas as others have noted.

Everybody’s different. A lot will depend on your desire and expectations. Each cruise line has its loyalists and detractors as well. 

I really like to calculate the exchange rate of my travelers checks using my slide rule as I find it much quicker than my abacus.  Oh I’m sorry, I got lost in the wrong century.

I would stay in Athens city center. There are so many things to see and do as well as many restaurants.  If you can, book one of the many rooftop restaurants for a dinner which spans sunset.  It is awesome watching the sun go down over the Acropolis and watching the lights come up

Much of Europe is driven by a north south axis.  On recent trips to Scandinavia, cash was more trouble than useful. However as you drift down to the Med you find more situations where vendors still want cash and may actually refuse CC’s.  Definitely required some Euros this spring in Portugal.  
To the OP I would look at the timing of that excursion. If it is day one and your time may be short then I fully understand your concerns, but if it is later in the trip then I would still encourage the Local (bank) ATM approach as it is simple and really very convenient to not haul cash with you.  Without knowing your personal finances I will point out that multiple of the full service financial companies offer ATM cards with no service fees attached

As above just stop at local ATM in port. If you are organized you can plot out the closest BANK  based ATM.  But no fees if you carry an appropriate card

Showed up for me in a 1/2 hour from the time I emailed it yesterday.  Not bad.

Used to buy photos regularly. Ran out of walls so now skip that expense