onthewater51

45 minutes ago, TeamCan said:

We did this except we took the 1st ferry over and had time to see the windmills without the crowds.  We then went on our Delos guided tour…amazing!  Afterwards, we had plenty of time for lunch and explore the town before catching the ferry back to the ship

Ditto this...

In 2018 we did the Greek Isles...Thoroughly enjoyed the Delos tour.  I'm not a history buff like my wife (Delos was her idea), but something about that place has stuck with me even today.  Just a fascinating place and history.

It depends on your expectations and wants/needs.

We have sailed on Grandeur since she was new in 1996 more times than I can count at the moment.  My wife and I love the smaller ships.  We are late 60s but still fit and active, and we don't enjoy the indoor facing design and mall atmosphere of larger class ships, and we don't make use of their features.

 We love the intimacy of Vision and Radiance class ships.  The ability to always feel and see you are at sea with outdoor views and natural light everywhere is why we cruise, not for rock walls and water slides.   When we bring our adult children and grandkids that's a diff story.  We book a ship that caters to them, such as the Oasis class.

But as I said in the beginning, know your expectations.  These are older ships, 25-30 years old so don't expect the newest of anything 🙂, maybe see a little rust here and there or worn carpet, but that doesn't mean it's a bad ship.  We consistently find the staff and crew are much friendlier and happier on the smaller ships.

Whichever you choose, have a wonderful and safe trip.

Bob

You know, I have long thought that RCI hires some of the best ship architects, designers, builders and so on. So, how can their IT dept be so consistently and even comically poor. Where do they recruit from, who does the hiring etc?   It is almost as if they just don’t care about that aspect of their business. 

27 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I think you will love Celebrity. While I still cruise mainly on RCI, I usually do a few cruises on Celebrity every year. Celebrity is a step up (not a huge step) from RCI in my opinion. I also like that it is focused on adults. We did a 9 day cruise on Constellation in January with only 12 kids on the cruise. Atmosphere is a lot different than RCI. 

Good to hear this...thank you.  After I booked it my wife started watching Celebrity travel vids on YouTube and she said lets find one for 2025 :)....I said no problem 🙂

6 minutes ago, onthewater51 said:

Hey BeccoBoo....Looks like we will be on that cruise with you.  We just booked Ascent for Jan 12, 2026 .  It will be our first with Celebrity, and while it's still owned by RCI group, it was a very reasonable price for a new ship.

 

 After almost 30 years we've started looking at other lines as well, though I doubt RCI cares.  We probably don't fall in their preferred demographic anymore.  My wife and I are both late 60's, don't drink or gamble and spend almost nothing on board.  We just like being at sea and spending our time together even after 41 years . 

Sorry, ours is 11 nights...must be diff from yours

10 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

Try Celebrity, we have Ascent booked for our anniversay 2026 January=10 days down to Barbados and St. Lucia, and it wasn't much more than our 7 day and cheaper than anything Icon nor the sisters could offer.

Hey BeccoBoo....Looks like we will be on that cruise with you.  We just booked Ascent for Jan 12, 2026 .  It will be our first with Celebrity, and while it's still owned by RCI group, it was a very reasonable price for a new ship.

 After almost 30 years we've started looking at other lines as well, though I doubt RCI cares.  We probably don't fall in their preferred demographic anymore.  My wife and I are both late 60's, don't drink or gamble and spend almost nothing on board.  We just like being at sea and spending our time together even after 41 years . 

I seldom read these types of live posts because I have the attention span of a gnat, according to my wonderful wife 🙂.  But I do like your writing style, I’m following 

I also completely agree with you about Miami port. I hate sailing from there. Traffic and terminal access via ride shares , etc is horrible 

Safe travels, have fun and looking forward to your post 

Bob 

“Major emotional damage “…..oh brother 

I agree prices are high, but what is really surprising me is the difficulty finding decent cabins, regardless of the price.

We've been looking at different trips and have searched out as far as possible.  Cruises are filling up so fast and despite the prices, people are booking.  I can't really blame any business charging high prices when demand exceeds supply.

27 minutes ago, steveru621 said:

RCI purchased some HD TV's without HDMI ports because they were cheaper,

Hard to believe, but I believe you. They must have gotten them for free.  OR, the cynical side of me thinks they want you to purchase their overpriced movies 😀

If you have an IPhone with sufficient storage download what interests you and get one of these adaptors.  It connects to a USB port on the TV, which every TV has these days:

Apple Lightning Digital A/V Adapter White MD826ZM/A - Best Buy

We use it all the time in our RV.  Works weather you have internet or not.  If you have an Android you'll need to get the appropriate adaptor and not the one above

Bob

4 hours ago, Dutch_Travelgirl said:

If you want to go from Amsterdam to Bruges, you will need to switch trains in Antwerp or Brussels.
There are 2 types of trains from Amsterdam to Antwerp and Brussels;

1) highspeed train Thalys/Eurostar; tickets are tied to a specific train on a specific time and day and you are assigned a seat. 

2) Regular intercity trains; tickets are not tied to a specific train only to a specific day. This means you can take any train from Amsterdam to Antwerp or Brussels on that particular day. Trains have free seating. 

 

Regardless of which train you took, you will need to switch trains in either Antwerp or Brussels. Here you only have 1 option; a regular domestic train. Again, tickets are not tied to a specific train only to a specific train. You can take any train towards Bruges and there is free seating. 
 

Even though you have to switch trains, you can book your entire train trip in 1 booking. You can use the website of the Dutch national railway company for international train travel https://www.nsinternational.com/en

Or you can use the equivalent of the Belgian national railway company https://www.b-europe.com/EN

Fantastic info....thank you so much

Ok thank you.  It’s an ocean cruise with RCI and the itinerary just says Amsterdam
Looks like advance tickets are around 63eu per person 

So is a noon train safely workable?

We spent 3 weeks in Ireland in May this year. Loved it so much we’re go to visit  Scotland before this cruise.
 

 We’ll fly from Scotland to Amsterdam, visit Bruges post cruise, and then  fly home from Brussels.  Which again may be a train ride 

Hi All

We have a cruise that begins and ends in Amsterdam Jun 2024.  According to the itinerary we arrive at 0600.   

After the cruise we thought we'd take the train to Bruges. Can we get our tickets when we arrive at the train station or should we get them in advance. If we should get tickets now, what would be a safe departure time?

I've read a few things and don't see a big advantage to buying ahead of time, and buying at the terminal means we don't have to worry about missing our train.  

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Bob

On 8/23/2023 at 5:00 PM, Jerseygirl1416 said:

Prices are about 80% higher than what I’m used to paying for an oceanview balcony for cruises out of Cape Liberty. I won’t be booking anymore cruises until prices come down. We cruise this October and paid about 20% more than usual and that’s my limit. I have nothing else booked and will explore other vacation options. 

I am right there with you.  My wife and I have one booked next year but we aren't booking anything else unless prices come down a bit to something reasonable.  My feeling is this, just because we can afford something doesn't equate to a willingness to pay for it.   

This morning I looked at a 2024 Caribbean cruise on GOS.  It was over 3K per person for a balcony. Thats close to 7K a couple after taxes and fees. We love GOS and have sailed her many times going back to '96 when she was new, but I won't pay that for a ship that old.  

We have an RV and have been campers for many years.  We now plan longer trips.    As much as we love cruising, there's a lot to see and do out in this world that doesn't involve cruising and is far more affordable. We just returned from 25 days touring Tuscany and Ireland on our own for not much more that that GOS cruise.  Nope...won't be cruising for now at least

Hurley 7.    If you’re not in advertising then you should be.   There was no way I was gong to pass up a thread with this title.  That alone had me in stitches. You brought out an old guys juvenile mentality  😀. 

My wife and I took our very first cruise on Grandeur of January 1997, she was only a few months old and at that time I believe was the largest cruise ship in the world.  The moment we stepped on board and entered the centrum we just blown away at the beauty and elegance. Again, she was new, so everything was pristine.  

Since then, we have sailed on her about 4 times and like you with EOS, Grandeur holds a special place for us as well.  Thanks for the post, well done.

First off, thank you for your service   My older brother served during the Vietnam War    

We first saw one of these ceremonies some years back on Grandeur.   It brought tears to my wife’s eyes as her father was one of the first at Omaha Beach, and Battle of the Bulge if I recall correctly. Thankfully he came home 

Its  wonderful RCL does this and I hope they continue to do so for some time 

When we were on Oasis in January we noticed several venues had tables reserved for Hyperlink.  Never once saw anyone sitting at them.  When seating dwindled people eventually just sat there.

The positive tips and comments keep coming. I appreciate that.  

Yes, we love Jewel and Radiance Class in general.  Love the outdoor fantail seating.

33 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Is this the May 31st sailing in 2024, if so we have that cruise booked. 🙂 2 days after that one ends we will be sailing out of Barcelona doing a 9 night Western Mediterranean Cruise on Celebrity Equinox which ends in Rome.

It’s May 30- June 11 2024

Everyone is posting so many positive and exciting info Im really getting excited for this trip. The last European cruise we did was in 2019 to The Greek Isles, also on Jewel, and that was a blast.  My wife and I both feel that’s been our best cruise in 30 years of cruising. I’m starting to think this one may top that. 

I just booked it.  If anyone else is looking there were not a lot of cabin choices remaining, at least not in our price/category range.

Thanks for everyone's help.  Like I said, you were better than the phone rep. 

Great pics!   Im going to book it tonight.  

Thanks to both of you. Pompeysailor I appreciate the other cruise option, we just prefer longer cruises, especially since it’s a long way from home anyway 

Charles, thank you. You answered what the RCL phone rep could not 🙂 

Hello All,

Boy I hate asking questions like this, but here I am just the same.  We are looking at a 12-night cruise in May 2024 out of Amsterdam.  Its labeled Arctic Cruise and the RCL website gives what I consider a vague description for the following itinerary.   Would this be considered a Norwegian Fiord Cruise, because that is what we really are looking for.  I know there are other lines that do the fiords, but we need to sail with RCL because we had to cancel a 2023 trip and transfer it to one in 2024.

What do you think folks?  Thanks, Bob