shoshona2

We were on the Symphony of the Seas in July and my son and daughter-in-law were very happy with the vegan choices.  We told our waiter and he called over the appropriate person in his section who oversees the choice of food.  My grandson has an allergy to fish and nuts, also.  We were wowed by the service and attention our table of six received.  By the way, when we are happy with the food we always tip in addition to the tips which are paid up front on our cruise bill.

Sheila

We haven't been on a Celebrity ship in a long time. What are the times for early seating and late seating for dinner???

Sheila

We LOVE Larry's Limo!!! We live in L.A. and our kids live in Ft. Lauderdale and we come into MIA. We have used them for several years and they are competitive in price with any other limo service. We also liked them on Facebook and get a 10% discount each time we use them. We had 7 of us arrive in MIA in June for our cruise and they picked us up in a Mercedes small bus. The kids were thrilled with all of it. Call them and check them out. We have used them over seven or eight times and they are always punctual and dependable.

Sheila

I'm glad you picked RCCL. Their children's program is wonderful and they really make the cruiser feel they are the most important person! My friends who have taken NCL, call it the "Never Cruise Line". We are doing an 10 day cruise on Celebrity June 30, 2017 to Greece. Enjoy your cruise.

Sheila

I agree with LFS517. I usually book my own tours on a regular ocean cruise, but I have been to Versailles three times and strongly suggest you go on Viking's tour. The first time we were there thirty years ago, we were able to enter and use a guide to take us around and had a leisurely time in the gardens. The last time we were there which was five years ago with our granddaughter, we did a private tour from our hotel and the driver/guide took us to the front of the line, bought our tickets and came back for us at a set time. The lines are very long (maybe because of terrorism they aren't as long now) and the tickets come with an audible tour. I don't know if Viking has a guide who will be taking your group around the Palace, but I think you should spend the money and go with Viking. On my third trip there, I finally bought the beautiful photo book of Versailles since I am at the end of my traveling days and love looking at it from time to time.

Sheila

So sorry to hear about all the recent problems with RCCL. We have been traveling with them for years and are now switching to Celebrity after our next cruise which is in two weeks. I guess they have become so big with all the new ships and their communication really sucks. My TA went to pay the balance due for six cabins for my big birthday with my family and they told her that they had cancelled ALL of my cabins. They NEVER contacted my TA or me to let me know that they had arbitrarily changed the date the final payment was due. We were very lucky since it was only 24 hours since they cancelled ALL our cabins and hadn't put them back into the system. Our trip is from Ft. Lauderdale and we live in Los Angeles. We had seven air plane tickets bought and paid for and I almost had a nervous breakdown. We are now Emerald and it looks like we will NEVER get to Diamond. Bye bye RCCL.

Sheila

to Cruise Critic Chris,

I enjoyed reading your review of the new Mississippi cruise lines. My DH and I have traveled around the world many times in the past 50 years and are now looking into "seeing America". I've checked out the cruises from Portland doing the "Lewis and Clark" cruise which were very interesting. My friends and I are really well traveled and most of my friends will NOT travel out of the country anymore because of the tiresome traveling and fear of terrorists. I think the people you interviewed were also afraid of leaving the USA for that fear and for getting good medical care. My DH and I carry medical evacuation coverage which is expensive and the average person doesn't want to buy. I just booked a cruise from Los Angeles to Hawaii and back to Los Angeles because I can't stand the airports and the jet lag that follows a long flight. Keep writing these articles because I love to be informed.

Sheila

My cruise on the Oasis June 25th is available on line right now as I paid the balance last week. Don't wait for your TA to obtain them.

Sheila

Thanks, kabux for the vaiuable tips for the Oasis. We are booked with our whole family to celebrate my big birthday! I remember the task of reserving show times for six people last time and now have to do it for 12. I was able to reserve a table for 12 for early dinner and then the younger kids can go to the children's camp for some great activities. We loved the Oasis even though our favorite cruise line is Crystal. There was always some activity going on and our four Florida kids are looking forward to their return to the Oasis!!! My DH and I will probably not even get off the ship since we have been to the ports many times over the years and hate struggling to get past thousands of passengers from many ships docked at the ports. I know our kids and grandkids will have a blast!!!

Sheila

We are in FL right now and used Larry's Limos and will continue to use them in the future!!

Sheila

Fran124fan

We've stayed at the Courtyard By Marriott in Dania over the years near the Ft. Lauderdale airport and people left their car there. Call up the Fairfield Inn and ask them. Also call up the Courtyard and ask them. The Courtyard has a shuttle to the Ft. Lauderdale port. If the Courtyard lets you leave the car and the Fairfield doesn't, you can always change your reservation. Our kids used to live in Dania but moved further inland two years ago, so we now stay near them.

Sheila

To the original thread starter: The price of $17.00 is about right for a shuttle from Miami Airport to Ft. Lauderdale Cruise port. Have you been to Ft. Lauderdale before. If you get in at 6:00 am and get a shuttle to the ship, you'll still have several hours before you can board the ship even if you are Diamond class. We boarded on a RCCL ship at 11:00 a.m. two years ago. Why not arrange for a service that will take you for a tour of Ft. Lauderdale. You can also find out if you can drop off your luggage at the ship early, take a shuttle to Ft. Lauderdale and then hire a cab to drive you around the swanky area of Ft Lauderdale. There are cabs all around the cruise ship area.

Sheila

Just called Larry's Limos based on the recommendation of JohninDC above and Yelp. We are being picked up at MIA and dropped off in Plantation near our kids and it is the same amount of money that we have paid in the past for this service ($75 plus 20% tip). Our previous van service must have gone out of business. So glad I came to my trusted CC website. Thanks, John!!!

sheila

Hi,

We took the same cruise and loved it, also. We were portside and kept the drapes drawn during the three days in Bermuda! It really helped to keep the cabin cooler. Remember, the ship is one of the oldest in the fleet, but the only one that can go under the bridges in Baltimore without a problem. The staff was wonderful. We had some minor problems and I called the number shown on the telephone and within four minutes I had the problem fixed. As to hair, I wish mine could have gone frizzy, but I have this very straight hair and it was tough during the humid hot weather in Bermuda. Loved the two aerial programs in the Centrum. Saw it last year on the Rhapsody in Alaska and loved it there also. We were the few people who flew to Baltimore and it was well worth the two days of traveling. No one mentions the "Swimming With the Dolphins", but wanted to tell everyone it was worth every dollar it cost for our granddaughter to do it. She will always remember the fun she had.

Sheila

Just off the Grandeur! Had a very nice cruise. The crew was fab and very helpful! We had our 16 year old granddaughter with us and she really enjoyed it also! The Dolphin Quest was so wonderful! It was really worth the money! Any questions?

Sheila😄

H Steamboats and Hydrokitty,

When we left Moscow, I had a very young Russian man checking my passport at the airport. He looked at me and then looked at the year of birth and said, "This is not your passport"! I smiled and said it is my passport and I was 74 years of age. I guess his grandmother looked like a typical older Russian. We had seen many of them while sightseeing. Since I am from sunny California and most of us benefit from the outdoor life, my friends and I do not look old. I did NOT want to miss my airplane home and stay in Moscow one more moment than I had to, so I kept smiling and my DH did the same. He let us through Security.

Sheila

To Bitterman,

Thanks for posting and for the photos. We were finally able to talk to someone late yesterday on the 800# who was so very helpful and said that we would be about 15 feet away in the stands so we could watch our granddaughter. This is what I love about Cruise Critic Boards -- we have ways to exchange important info.

Sheila

Hi Hydrokitty,

We are getting to the end of our traveling days and were fortunate enough to visit St. Petersburg in 1990 when there were lines for food and toilet paper. The sidewalks and streets were all cracked. We took the ship's tour since that was the only safe way to get around. My DH was able to buy a Russian hat on the street from someone and sneak it back on the ship past the Russian authorities. It turns out it was a policeman's hat. Someone was able to make a quick $10.00. It adorns our hat rack along with other hats we bought on other trips. He passed the hat around the coach and people put money in it for the wonderful gal guide who was leaving us to pick up her little boy in the countryside where her parents lived. She started to cry and said to us that it was sad that our governments make us enemies but the people would like to get along with each other. Years later, when we went back the next time, things were booming and designer shops were everywhere. We took the river cruise four years ago so we could see Moscow and now I'm so happy we did. We took the Metro in Moscow and in St. Petersburg and people heard us speak English and got up to give us their seats. I asked our guide about it and she said that they were thanking us for coming to visit and showing us respect.

Interesting article, Di Princess. Thanks for posting. Wow, the last time we needed a Visa for Russian, it was a long process of filling in info that we considered really unnecessary. But, we did it and got our Visas in time. Now, they want fingerprints. I'm so glad we took our Russia River Trip four or five years ago. We got to meet the most wonderful young people working aboard the ship during their summer break. We had some meetings with them and they answered questions about their lives from large amounts of us tourists. They were so hopeful that Putin would NOT be re-elected and they would have a better life than their parents and grandparents. Of course, their hopes didn't come through and things are very difficult there. So sad!! Sheila

To 2specialkidsforme,

Go to http://www.tripadvisor.com and put in Bermuda and swimming with dolphins. You can read all the reviews there so you don't have to keep coming back here to read our posts.

Sheila

I did some more searching and even wrote to RCCL excursion dept. I found out on line that we don't have to pay the $309 plus tax for an hour with the dolphins for one of us to accompany our 16 year old granddaughter as we can pay the admission to the museum and watch her from a covered area. Hope this is true as we don't want to pay another $309 plus tax for one of us to accompany her. My DH went with her sister to one in the Caribbean when we took her on a cruise, but she was much younger.

Sheila

we are on the July 31st sailing of the Grandeur of the Seas. I tried to book the Dolphin excursion on RCCL's website and it said to do it when we board. I've emailed the excursion department and, if I don't heard back soon, will book it directly with Dolphin Quest. I don't want my granddaughter to be disappointed. Their website gives all kinds of options.

Sheila

I tried to book the Dolphin encounter on RCCL'S website, but they said to do it when we board. Do you anyone who did this excursion? We are booked for July 31st.

Sheila

We stayed at the W Hotel in Barcelona two years ago when we were doing the crossing on Crystal. We usually stay near the center of Barcelona, but wanted to be off a bit from the crowds. It is a lovely hotel and the views from the windows of the beach is magnificent. As a regular traveler, we were very prepared for any pick pockets as in previous trips to Spain and Buenos Aires. We were sprayed with some thing smelling like mustard and a young couple came out of nowhere carrying wipes and kept saying it was a bird overhead. I screamed at them not to touch us and ran back to the hotel. When we arrived the staff in the hotel said to please NOT take any passports out of the hotel, but to leave them in the safe until we checked out. The pickpockets are not dressed shabby, but look like any person of means.

Sheila

Hi Pema,

We have taken over 45 cruises in our lifetime and when we take our grandchildren, it is ALWAYS on RCCL! We just booked the Oasis of the Seas for our whole family because of RCCL's handling of our kids and grandchildren. Our 4 and 7 year old grandkids had early dinner with us went off to the children programs every night. I told my son to make sure he had some cash as tips to the staff for taking care of our precious ones! When we travel alone, we like to take Crystal!!

Sheila