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This is all helpful info thanks! It seems like I should stick with my original first thing in the morning plan then.

I climbed in October and the early morning shade was very helpful. If you scheduled tour was Budva the cancel that worthless tour. Kotor itself is a DIY tour after the fortress.

 

 

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Can I ask why Budva is not a good stop?

Hi - I have read many times that it's best to climb to the fortress in the morning or early evening. Has anyone done this towards the end of May that can speak to the temperatures? The average is listed as only 67 -75 degrees.

We will be in port 8am-6pm but are looking at a tour in the morning and then possibly climbing the steps around 2-3pm.

Thanks!

I'm curious if anyone has used the "private journey" shore excursions Celebrity is offering?

Has anyone used a private tour company in Zadar that they would recommend? We are interested in travelling to Plitvice Lakes.

I would also be willing to get just a driver or taxi as we don't really need a "guide" for what we want to do.

I have found very little current information on Ravenna and I was really hoping someone had recommendations for private tour guides??!!

We would like to go to the Ferrari museum in maranello and then do a ferrari drive. The ship's tour would only give us time for the museum.

We will be there on a Sunday so a rental car is not an option for us. :(

Thanks for these helpful tips - especially about sunday car rentals. Any recommendations for good local tour guides?

We will have a 7a-7p stop in Ravenna on a Sunday. We have a group split on visiting the Ferrari Museum in Maranello and visiting San Vitale & Galla Placidia.

Thoughts on if it's realistic to fit in both if we had a private guide or rental car?

Is there a required boarding time for venice cruise if it's an overnight stay? We may not be able to board the first night until 6-7pm.

Anyone know why photography even without flash isn't allowed at skocjan caves?

We used Ekol tour and were very happy we did! It was a private tour so completely customized. We went to Ephesus and the terrace houses and then had lunch at a fantastic local spot and then went to a rug factory. Overall great day!

With the right planning you can do both. We visited the Acropolis and Ancient Agora and also had time for shopping in the plaka. We visited Ephesus and then went shopping in Sirince. I also thought I might be on ancient ruins "overload" but was VERY happy to have seen all the sights we did. If you go to Ephesus the terrace houses are a must!

We also used Privategreecetours with Nikos and were very happy with the service. Highly recommend him!

Does anyone know if they are still doing the 3 euro bus trip to Chania from the port? The ones posting ref this were all from 2011?

Yes. We just got back last week and the bus is waiting right behind the pier gates. There will be a booth when you get off the ship to buy the bus tickets and make sure to grab a map! The bus drops you off in the middle of town (20 min ride) and you need the map to navigate the few streets to the harbor.

Were the ATV rental places fairly obvious to find walking into town from the cruise ship?

Fantastic review and pictures!!

I'm disappointed to hear about the alcoves as our family has one booked for both sea days on our upcomign Med cruise. It does seem strange to have the alcoves facing inward instead of the water....someone must have thought it was more aesthetically pleasing that way.....:rolleyes:

Just got off Solstice yesterday morning and not very pleased with drink package. We had the Classic package and had consistant problems.

 

First time beverage pkg. - on Celebrity Solstice 3/25.

 

I am a wine drinker and found that the Cabernet Souv. and Merlot were both undrinkable on this ship. I am not a wine snob by any means but these were the worst wines I have ever had. If you have ever opened a bottle of red wine, and left it uncorked for several weeks, you knopw the "skanky" taste; worse than vinegar. On the 2nd day I complained to bartender and he got his manager who said there was nothing they could do. I asked to pay an additional $.50 a glass to get Pinot Noir and they said No, our package only allowed up to $8 a glass . You can not pay extra with the Classic package, but if we upgraded to Premium pkg, we could pay extra if we wanted.

 

Finally went to guest relations who told us there was nothing they could do. Sorry.

 

Then went to CellerMaster who said they were getting complaints so he would fix the computer to allow us to get Pinot Noir on our package.

 

At most bars they had no knowledge and wouldn't allow us to get it. However, in Dining Room, wine steward told us he had been advised to provide Pinot Noir for us; no further problem there. At Lawn Club bar no problem getting it.

 

Asked bartender at Martini Bar if I could get and he said no but got his Supervisor who told me that it was impossible to for me to get Pinot on ship in my package. He said the person (Cellermaster) had no authority to allow me to get this but we continued to get the better wine at many places but were rejected at many others.

 

So the main idea is that if your package has really bad wine you may be stuck with it the entire cruise and you can not upgrade by paying extra.

 

Another quirk is that when you get bottled water with this package when you ask for it you will get a quart+ bottle. This was very heavy to carry around. They have a much smaller Evian bottle but since this is listed as a premium water you can only get it with the premium package. This is in spite of the smaller Evian costing less than the generic larger bottle. Odd?

 

But the food (when they got your order right) and cruise was excellent.

 

Quality has certainly deteriorated since my last Celebrity cruise 2 years ago.

Thanks for the heads up about the wine in case people don't look at the wine list before they purchase a beverage package. However as other people have stated the restrictions/limits are clearly stated for all drink packages and you were asking Celebrity to break the rules. I'm not sure what point you are trying to make by posting how upset you are that there was not consistent rule breaking for you. And since you are upset about other people making assumtions, you should know that you are making one yourself by assuming a larger generic water costs more the a small Evian just based on size. There are a lot of factors that determine the price of a product: size, quality, vendor discounts, quantity discounts, branding, production costs etc.

I'm sure I've missed this somewhere, but what about the specialty beers? With the premium package do you get beers up to $12 or is there a lower cutoff for them?

 

Thanks for anyone with the answer

Celebrity's website says you can enjoy their entire selection of beer, wine and spirits up to $12 per serving.

How does the 15% gratuity included in the price of the package make it to the bartender serving you? I wouldn't want to stiff the person making our drinks but at the same time I don't want to pay 15% twice...:confused: Are the bartenders expecting you to fill out the slip with a tip?

I had a cross body camera bag, the size of a large purse. I went everywhere, including through security at the Vatican Museum. Absolutely no problems. But we're scheduled for the Scavi Necropolis tour this coming June so for that visit I will likely switch and take something smaller. The word is that things that pass through security at the Vatican may still be considered too large for that tour.

 

As for pickpockets, we all used cross body bags and paid attention. I actually used the camera bag for my purse. I noticed when we were at Trevi there were a couple of police officiers in the crowd surveying around. My guess is to discourage pickpockets. My DH was not allowed to carry his wallet in the normal back pocket area. I took care of everything in my bag.

 

Here's the bag I have: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Lowepro+-+Passport+Sling+Shoulder+Bag+for+DSLR+Cameras+-+Black/1180556.p?id=1218231018972&skuId=1180556

Thanks for the link! I've never seen a camera/purse bag like this and it appears it may fit both my needs.

Indeed... it is a Canon 7D and the lens that's on my camera most of the time is the Canon 17-55 f2.8 EFS IS lens. However, as you noted, in Rome, I also took along my Canon 10-22 ultra wide angle which came in handy for capturing many of the shots I posted.

Virtual - Did you have any problems bringing your camera anywhere? I am debating what camera and lenses to bring given the no bags rule in certain places, pickpockets etc.

Read the thread and loved the idea of Taormina and Castlemola. However in checking the prices they were very high for our budget. Does anyone know of a way to do it on a budget. It sounded great and I checked with the Astone brothers and a guide on the frommers's tour. both were very high.

Mary - Just an FYI Taormina is in Sicily not Greece. Maybe you posted to the wrong thread??

Hi - Our ship arrives in Venice at 9am on Sat and debarking is on Sunday. I assume we can come and go as we please during those hours or is there a curfew? Maybe this is a stupid question but I've never had an overnight port stop before :rolleyes:

We are on the Diamond for our alaska cruise and are interested in this as well. Is the only "secret" spot the sun deck as a previous poster mentioned?