sunshine nana

Baltics was my #1 out of 12 cruises. For DH it was #2 after Alaska. For me British Isles was #2 and we are doing it again next month! We enjoy excursions. We both love history and seeing new places more than scenery. We have not done Norway. We are saving that for when we are too old to tour much. All of our Med cruises have been great also.

We had a problem on our Connie cruise last March (5night). Before we left, we received an email from a concierge saying because of construction of Luminae, we would eat all of our meals in a specialty restaurant. (we were booked in a Celebrity Suite). The first 2 nights were ate in Ocean which was very good. The third night was Tuscan. For the next night, we had a reservation for Tuscan, but the concierge canceled that and told us that it was fully booked for a wedding reception for 50. We tried to get back into Ocean, but it was also booked. We asked the concierge and butler to get us into one of them for the last night and were told there was no room in either. We ended up in Blu for the last 2 nights along with all the AQ and many of the suite passengers who had been bumped by the wedding reception. It was very crowded and the food was not very good. We were not very happy. After reading about the off-on of Luminae breakfasts and lunches, we decided to just get a concierge aft cabin and try traditional MDR for our next cruise. We had great service and food in the MDR on Silly last Sept.

Be aware in crowds. Some of the pickpockets will crowd around or create a diversion like a child or a spill or asking you to buy something. Just avoid anyone not in your group and watch each other's back. Do not have a purse or wallet not around your neck. We were in a store and a woman left her wallet on the counter after paying. Another person in line said "she is on my cruise, I'll take it back to the ship." The clerk let her have it and of course it never got back to the owner. The woman lost her passport and several hundred euro.

I enjoyed your review. We were on the Baltic cruise with Princess in 2009 and it is my favorite cruise out of 12. We started and ended in Copenhagen. We took the train into Berlin which was very relaxing. We had a good guide, but found she wanted to talk more about the Berlin Wall than WWII which is what we were more interested in. We took her aside and she did point out to us places such as Hitler's bunker which has no markings at all.

We did DenRus in St. P. and it was a great tour. We had Anna who lived there during the siege.She may be retired by now. We did have a problem with Princess trying to hold back private tours in St.P until their own tours left. It caused a huge uproar documented on CC. It sounds like Celebrity does not do that!

We did the 10 night and loved it! I hate flying and it is so long from the west coast to our home on the east coast. Also, DH does not like sea days. He is a train buff, so we took the train excursion to the Pacific. Depending on where you live, you may need to add a plane flight to the total cost.

We have been on all three. All are great. There is no problem with the new suite class restaurant if you are not in a suite. You won't notice. Go with the best itinerary, cabin and price.

I was waiting in a TA for my agent to get me some foreign money from the back room when I overheard another TA telling a group of 4 women that" they WOULD be able to smoke on their balcony but the cruise line doesn't like it." I had a hard time not jumping in to correct her! What happened when they got on board and smoked??

Which cabin? We are on the same cruise on Royal in July.

Take the balcony! You may never get to Alaska again. We went in July of 2004 and it was 80* in Alaska before we boarded and never really got too cold on the balcony. I took a warm sweater so we could sit outside at night as the sun set very late. We have been on 10 cruises since then from Europe to Hawaii to Panama Canal and Alaska is still DH's favorite. For me it is #2 after the Baltic which is also great with a balcony.

Thanks for posting. We are on the same cruise July 20. We did the same in June 4 years ago and it rained every day! We are hoping for better weather in July!

We were on Connie in a CS in March and loved having the separate bedroom. The balcony was fine as we never had visitors. The furniture however was very old and worn. It was hard to get up off the worn down sofa and chairs. Because it was to Florida and Cozumel, we were outside most of the time and not on the furniture. My only complaint about the cabin was that the assistant steward who took care of the bathroom did not do a very good job. One day, he did not leave any toilet paper and another day, we had no shampoo or conditioner.The butler was always busy on another floor where there was a large wedding party (50) who booked the larger suites.

We will be on M class (Connie), If footstools aren't there, will the steward bring them if we ask? DH spends a lot of time reading on balcony and we both like to keep our feet elevated.

We booked Concierge to get an aft balcony on M class. Location was the reason. We have 123 and will use our substantial OBC for specialty restaurants if we don't like the MDR. Last cruise on Silly, our traditional MDR was great for food and service. We were in an S1 and could have eaten in Blu, but each night we checked both menus and chose the MDR.

We have been very happy with all our private excursions on 10 cruises and never been late. The only problem we had was in Koper when the private tour driver did not have the correct insurance and was not allowed to leave the port. It took an hour to get figured out and by then it was raining and cold. It was one of the very well known companies. All others from Hawaii to St. Petersburg to Le Harve have been great. We have made sure to take ship's tour in places like Rome and Berlin where the city is a long way from the port.

We loved Ocean Liner on Connie, and both specialties on Equinox but were not impressed with either specialty on Silly. There needs to be another choice to vote: it depends on ship and whether or not the dinner is complimentary which all of ours have been due to being in a suite.

This past March on a 5-day Connie out of Ft. L, we had a least one coupon for 15 washed items. Maybe it was 2 coupons, but we only used one on such a short cruise and that was only because we had spent 4 nights driving to Florida.

Would someone please post the fax number for sending for shareholder credit? Thanks

We were in Vancouver where we were supposed to be on the Grand's May 1-5 cruise which was chartered, then canceled (long thread a while ago). We walked around both sides. Mostly they were painting. One side was done when we left on the train back to Toronto on Tues. night. They were working on the other side. Maybe there were mechanical problems, but my personal opinion is the cruise was not selling well...We did benefit in one way; because of the lack of cruise passengers, Pan Pacific upgraded us to a very nice harbor room. Princess gave us each $15 toward another cruise for our loss.

We switched from Princess to Celebrity because the Ruby canceled Istanbul AFTER final payment, but way before embarkation so it was not weather or mechanical. We booked Celebrity, got to Istanbul and thought we had found our cruise line! We never went back to NCL after 2 cruises with horrible food and service in MDR. Now, with Celebrity pulling back on the promise of lunch in Luninae, where are we to go? Maybe Celebrity but not in a suite. We are booked on Princess in a mini-suite which is much less money than Celebrity in a suite. Also, there is a chance the Mar. 14th Celebrity Constellation will be chartered. This is too bad and does not make Celebrity look good!

Thank you to everyone who responded. The information was helpful. I think we may give Oceania a try!

Has anyone heard anything new about the Mar. 14, 2016 Connie cruise. It is no longer available for purchase, but we booked a while ago and have not heard anything.

We are looking at an Oceania cruise with a great itinerary and are wondering if anyone could compare the line to Celebrity. We usually book a Sky suite or a Celebrity suite, but on Oceania, it looks like we would be booking a veranda cabin. Could anyone compare: is Oceania worth the extra cost? Thanks

Thanks for the detailed report. I was most excited about having lunch everyday (even port days) in Luninae. Embarkation day especially! Otherwise, I don't see how it is better than Blu which is a small restaurant for breakfast and dinner. The one thing we really liked about suites on NCL was being escorted right to Cagneys for lunch on embarkation and having lunch there everyday we weren't off the ship at lunchtime. I dislike the buffet and we avoid it if we can. I think that is where people pick up sickness. I am surprised that Bvlgari and afternoon treats are gone with no notice.Prices are higher with only 1 0r 2 of the original 123...

We are also booked on the Connie Mar. 14 cruise and I am wondering if we are told that it is chartered and therefore canceled, if there will be any compensation from Celebrity? We were booked on a Princess 3 day out of Vancouver for May 1st this year and were told it was canceled, then we found it was chartered and then finally that was canceled. We had already made train reservations, so we couldn't change to the alternate they offered. Princess gave us a whopping $30 OBC for another cruise! I hope Celebrity will tell us soon if the cruise is going to be canceled. There does not seem to be a roll call.

We had a loud noise from our bathroom on Silly last Sept. and a man came and turned something on the shower and it was gone! Good luck.