jaspersmommy

We were in Aruba last year and I was wondering what to do there, so I did lots of reading on the Ports of Call - Aruba board. I wanted to do something where I saw lots of the island rather than doing an excursion that centred on one place.

I saw quite a few recommendations on the Aruba board for Bully's Taxi. Bully has a comfortable, newer, clean, air conditioned van for touring. He will meet you at the airport and take you wherever you want. You can book him for as little or as long as you want - by the hour. We asked him to give us a good basic tour of the island, and he did. He knows exactly where to take you and shows you lots of hidden gems. Best of all, it's just your party on board (unless you plan to share with someone else), so you can stay as long as you like at the spots you like best. If you tell him the sort of things you like, he'll take you there. For instance, I love photographing birds. I told him that, and he took me to several spots where I got some fabulous bird shots.

The best part of all is Bully turned out to be a really special human being. He is an absolutely wonderful, caring person and he truly wants you to enjoy your day. I don't have enough space here to tell you how much he went out of his way to give us a great day.

Here is a link to a website with his contact information: http://www.arubabound.com/transp/bully.htm

Enjoy!

Just a heads-up re luggage valet. I tried to use it last year while on a Celebrity cruise (and I'm assuming the Celebrity program is the same as the Royal Caribbean one), and I got declined!

On that cruise, we had been assured that luggage valet was available to us. We filled out the paperwork a few days before disembarkation, and on the second-last day of the cruise I got a call from a customer service person telling me that we'd been declined. I was somewhat surprised and asked why. The rep couldn't really give me a good answer. She told me that every so many people that apply are randomly declined for luggage valet - apparently the airline feels it's smart to decline a certain percentage of individuals. We have no criminal record, our flight was straightforward... it was quite bizarre. There was absolutely no good reason why we would've been declined.

I'm just letting you know in case you're as lucky as I am and you need to have a Plan B in place. :confused:

So, I just wanted to make sure you realize that because luggage valet is offered, it isn't a given that you will be allowed to use it.

I've booked a suite on the Grand, and the online info said that suite perks include priority reservations for the Chef's Table. Does anyone know if they actually do give suite guests priority, or are they just blowing smoke?

I've booked Alaska on Radiance for June 2015. The itinerary is identical to the one we did on Celebrity 3 years ago. Hubbard Glacier is spectacular - you won't miss Glacier Bay at all.

I originally booked the June 2015 Alaska cruise with Celebrity. Once I looked at the Royal Caribbean itinieraries, I was really surprised at how much less their prices were than Celebrity's (at least in the suite categories). So, I thought to myself, why not try something new? I cancelled the Celebrity cruise and booked with Royal Caribbean. I hope I made the right decision!

Vancouver

*Try Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House. It's very good. It's not too far from your hotel either. If you want something waterfront and casual - try Cardero's - an easy walk from your hotel. If you like Chinese food, you will get some of the world's best in Vancouver. A lot of Hong Kong's best chefs relocated to Vancouver when the Chinese took over Hong Kong, and it really influenced Vancouver's Chinese cuisine. My first choice is Chinese every time I'm there.

*Not sure if you're locked into the Fairmont Waterfront with your cruise tour. If so, no problem - it's a nice hotel and great location. However, if you can switch to Fairmont Pacific Rim - do so. It's much newer and is a gorgeous hotel, just a couple of doors down from the Waterfront and close to the cruise port (walking distance).

*Definitely check out the Vancouver hop-on, hop-off tour (HOHO). It's the best money you will spend there. There are several routes in the City that you can take. You can get off anywhere along the way, spend as long as you want there, then get back on when you're ready. Google it - they have a website. Make sure you see Gastown and Granville Island. Both are very unique and well worth seeing. Also a must see - Stanley Park. You can catch all this on the HOHO.

Banff

*Try the Terrace Restaurant.

*Go to the hot springs... nothing like it. There is so much beautiful scenery there, anything you see in Banff will be great.

Lake Louise

*Lake Louise is a very small town, and it is one of the most beautiful places you will ever see. As it's small, there aren't tons of nice dining choices, but there are some. There are a couple of good restaurants at the Fairmont Lake Louise. One is the Fairview, and I can't recall the name of the other one I'm thinking of. The other one is a fondue-type restaurant with a German sort of theme. It's very good. Both are expensive - typical Fairmont.

*Even if you don't stay at the Fairmont, make sure you go there and walk around the grounds. The hotel is beautiful and it's right at the edge of the lake with amazing views.

*Make sure you go to Moraine Lake if you aren't going in winter (the road is closed as of October).

Calgary

*Calgary's a fairly large city with lots of good restaurants. I wouldn't recommend anything without knowing where you are staying. That would definitely influence restaurant suggestions.

*Am not a big Calgary fan, maybe someone else will give you recommendations for must-sees. Don't let anyone talk you into going to the stupid Stampede if you happen to be there while it's on.

Jasper

*I go there frequently and prefer it to Banff - nowhere near as commercial, much more quaint. Lots of good restaurants. Recommendations: Fiddle River Seafood, Tekarra Lodge Restaurant, Cassio's (Italian), Kimchi House (Korean). I also hear Evil Dave's is good, but have never tried it.

*Go to: Jasper Tramway - amazing views, Mt. Edith Cavell if you have transportation - an outstanding destination with amazing scenery and good hiking. Make sure you go to the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. The grounds are spectacular. If you rent a car, I would drive down to the Columbia Icefields or to Mt. Robson. Also worth seeing - Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake (and the boat tour to Spirit Island). Many places around Jasper will be difficult to get to without transportation. Even if you stay in town though, it's beautiful.

One last comment - if it were me, I'd spend 2 days in Vancouver and nix the extra day in Calgary. There really isn't much that I think a tourist would be all that interested in there. Vancouver, however, has tons of things to see and do. Just my two cents.

It is a nice problem to have - jump on it!

Last year on Eclipse I had the premium non-alcohol package and my husband had the classic alcohol package. No problem.

Check out the Hyatt House Ft. Lauderdale Airport and Cruise Port. While the Embassy Suites are good, I think Hyatt House is a much better value. I've been there in the past year and the suites look as though they are brand spanking new. They were huge and spotless. We had a great 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom and IMO it was much better than Embassy Suites.

The only one advantage that Embassy Suites has over Hyatt House is that it's closer to the cruise port and shops/restaurants. If you have a rental car though, that will be no problem. Hyatt House is just a few minutes in the car from everything you'll need.

We have been sailing only with Celebrity the past few years, and we've just booked two cruises with other lines. One is with Princess and the other with RCI. We haven't sailed either line before.

Celebrity's suite perks are good. I could definitely do without the butler, but I know a lot of people would disagree with me. I'd rather see the butler scrapped and have a few other more meaningful perks instead. Celebrity will be adding more for suite guests next year (and I imagine it will come with a cost).

I was really impressed with the suite perks provided by Princess. There is no butler. The other perks more than made up for it, such as a complimentary one-time mini-bar set-up, complimentary laundry, exclusive breakfast venue for suite guests and many other goodies. I believe that mini-suites don't qualify for these perks but full suites do.

When I was booking the RCI cruise, I looked around the website quite a bit before I could find suite perks. When I finally did, the first thought that came into my head was "surely this can't be it!". I'm still hoping that there are suite perks that weren't listed there, because there was very little of significance.

As I said, I haven't sailed RCI before, but I am very disappointed in the suite perks... they don't seem very competitive. However, when I look at the cost of the RCI cruise, it was much less than Celebrity or Princess, so I guess the extras come at a cost.

You might be surprised. Our cruise last year (on the Millie) it was in the 90's and sunny for all but 2 days - day of embarkation in Seward and our day in Skagway. There were people using the pool, although not many so you if you are so inclined, you would definitely be able to get a lounger. :)

 

We've done suites on both X (Sky Suite and Royal Suite) and RC (Owners Suite). I much prefer the suites on X. We don't use the butler a lot, but they have been wonderful assets - get DH a tux on one cruise, "doctoring" me on our AK cruise when I got a cold, making reservations for Qsine, giving us excursion tips. They've been wonderful. The RC Owner's suite was nice since there were 4 of us in the cabin, but I didn't like that lack of privacy - only a sliding curtain to separate the "master bedroom" from the sitting area/sleeping area for our kids. On X, the Royal Suite had a separate bedroom with a door for much more privacy.

 

With such a port intensive itinerary, I chose X in Alaska because for me it's a much more relaxed atmosphere. My 76yo mother sailed with us so I wanted her to be able to feel more relaxed also. My 13yo & 17yo were just out of luck on that cruise. They liked the RC cruise we took because of all the added stuff to do - ice skating, rock wall etc. They had a great time on that cruise, but it too was very port intensive and I was exhausted trying to fit everything in. DH and I will be back on X next year in a Celebrity Suite - port intense again, but I'll build in some extra downtime.

LOL... the odds of 90 degrees in mid-June in Alaska are miniscule (average is in the 60's), so I definitely won't be worrying about whether there's a poolside chair with my name on it! Lucky you getting weather like that...

I agree that the butler can be an asset if you need him, but we rarely do - so that's one luxury that I am fine with foregoing.

X is definitely our favourite line and would normally be our first choice. However, due to a number of factors, I still feel like RCI is better value for our needs on this one particular cruise.

In my opinion the Jr Suite and Grand Suite on RCCL while nice, are not as nice as the Sky suites and not even close to a Celebrity suite. Also no butler on Royal!

 

Both times we has a suite on RCCL we had banging of the pool loungers being put out every morning:eek:

 

We liked Royal but have converted to Celebrity.

Jelayne I get what you're saying, but I'm talking about suite sizes - not the total suite experience. In addition, for me - not having a butler is a plus. We rarely use the butler and I always end up giving them a big tip that wasn't earned (I feel guilty for not using the butler - like I'm taking money out of his pocket, so I leave a nice tip anyway). With regards to pool loungers, I don't think that will be a factor in a June Alaska cruise!

Thank you everyone for all your input. I hate to do it, but I think I will cancel the X cruise and go with RCI. The itineraries are identical, and it's a port-intensive cruise. I've put a hold on Grand Suite 1556 on Radiance of the Seas - it looks like a great option, and is significantly less cost than an S1 on Millennium. I think if this cruise had more sea days I would stay with X, but in this case I think RCI is a better value. I want to save my pennies for an extra-special vacation next year for our 20th anniversary.

BTW... we last sailed Alaska 3 years ago on Millennium. The S1 cost for 2015 is a few hundred more than we paid for a Celebrity Suite in 2011. Interesting... I wonder if the prices will hold.

I've booked an 7-day northbound Alaska cruise out of Vancouver for June 2015 on the Celebrity Millennium. We've done this intinerary previously on Millennium and we loved it. I was looking at Royal Caribbean's website, and I can a do an identical itinerary for signficantly less cost on the Radiance of the Seas.

I've never tried Royal Caribbean before. We are booked in an S1 right now with Celebrity and were thinking of upgrading to a Celebrity Suite. The Junior Suites and Grand Suites on the Radiance of the Seas seem like comparable staterooms.

Can anyone who is a veteran of cruising with both lines tell me what you think the major differences are that we would see if we went with Royal Caribbean instead? Would we notice a large decline in quality of food? How about things like service, amenities on the ship, etc.

Thanks so much!

I haven't been on the Summit, but I've stayed in CS 6104 on Millennium, and it would be virtually identical. I loved that stateroom. It was very quiet and had absolutely no "cons" IMO.

I know that some of the CSs on Millie had obstructions - If I recall correctly, it was window washing equipment - so be careful of that (that may have changed since they added the balconies). The only other advice I would give you would be to get a forward-facing CS. For instance, on Deck 6, 6104 is the forward-facing CS. 6016 is right beside it, but is not forward-facing. Look at a deck plan and you'll see what I mean. It's not a huge deal, and I would take a non-forward-facing CS rather than not have one at all. However, if both are open, take the forward-facing one. It's better to watch the upcoming scenery than to be watching behind you.

Some people complain about how high the sides of the bathtub are and that they are difficult to get in and out of. I had absolutely no problems with it. If you are fully mobile, it isn't an issue.

I spoke with the X rep today for quite some time and got info on several Alaska itineraries for 2015. Infinity had interesting 11 and 12-night itineraries. The 12-night one looks fabulous and has some new ports. It departed from San Francisco, then had 2 sea days, then Sitka, Juneau, Skagway, Haines, Tracy Arm Fjord, Ketchikan, sea day, Nanaimo, Victoria and ending in Vancouver. The price for an S1 was $9,030 CDN for two people (all in) and an S2 was $8590. I really wanted to do that 12-day, but I ultimately decided to do a 7-day northbound and then tack on a few days on land after arrival in Seward. We did that last time in Alaska, and I loved the combo cruise, and then touring around the state a bit. The cruise price was a little higher than I was expecting, but hopefully it will come down a little.

We got $250 in OBCs with our booking. 123 didn't apply. If you log into the website and go to Captain's Club then Exclusive Offers, you will find the OBC table for 2015 bookings.

I booked a 7-day Alaska cruise today for June 2015 and got $250 in OBCs. Log onto the website, click on the Captain's Club tab, and then click on Exclusive Offers on the drop-down menu. On the page that appears, click on the button for Priority Access for 2015/16 sailings (right beside the beautiful photo of Mt. McKinley) and a table comes up with the OBCs available. The amount is dependent upon number of nights and type of stateroom chosen.

I just called back again and finally got a certified vacation planner that was actually willing to go "above and beyond" and he found the rates for me for summer 2015. He said too that they are not in their systems (although they were earlier this morning), but he went and got the manual rates for me.

The consultant's name was Steve F. if anybody wants to call and get help booking.

Just called and talked with a certified vacation planner (after a LONG hold) and was able to book our Alaska June 2015 cruise.

Karen... i too want to book June 2013. I've called X and spoke to three different people since you posted... all are saying it's not possible to book yet as they have nothing on their systems for Alaska in 2015.

What number did youcall? Do you know who you spoke to?

Thank you!

You won't have a lot of glacier viewing, at least not up close, other than Hubbard. There will be a lot of other beautiful scenery though. Usually for a northbound, starboard would offer more views. It isn't as simple as that though.

As previous posters said, the ship does a 360 at Hubbard, plus the weather can negate the view on either side.

On our last Alaska cruise, it was a southbound and we got a terrific upgrade opportunity to a suite on the starboard side. I was hesitant to take it at first - fearing we would lose our views, but I ended up taking it. It was in early September. I found that by the time we got back on the ship at each port, got back to our cabin and cleaned up, it was dark anyway by the time the ship got going. So, nobody saw anything most of the time the ship was moving (other than the Hubbard day and while cruising through the inside passage between Vancouver Island and the west coast of B.C.). The scenery between the island and B.C. is great on both sides.

Therefore, if you have little choice left and your best choices are port side, I would not worry in the least. Take it. You will have some lovely scenery along the way.

I know that statements of "I will never sail **** line again" are a dime a dozen on Cruise Critic. But the underlying question of this thread is "where should I spend my vacation dollars?" and if a response contains a valid reason as to "not on ****" the admission that their opinion is based on a single experience does not make it less useful.

 

There is a hoary old expression I believe in: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Celebrity blew theirs with me--and if sharing that opinion on here makes me biased, so be it.

 

...and don't forget that year in and year out, Princess consistently tops the polls for "best cruise line for first-timers"

I can't agree with your logic. If someone makes a big jump from let's say a luxury line to a line like Carnival, I would totally accept their statement that there was no comparison between lines and that the luxury line was way better. The difference in the ship, amenities, etc. would back up such a statement.

However, when someone cruises a particular line all the time and then gets one cruise on a similar line under his belt, I am inclined to disregard it. The experience may very well be valid to the person who lived it, and I'm not saying that their perception is wrong. I'm saying that the "problem" can be isolated - you can't assume everything is bad across the line because of one cruise or one incident. EVERY cruise line has things happen sometimes that make passengers unhappy. No line is immune. I read reviews on here all the time, and I always figure that some of the big complainers don't realize how transparent they are. You really get an overwhelming sense that they are loyal to a particular brand and are determined to find fault with a different brand.

Interestingly, I did read your Celebrity review and it resembled nothing like I've ever experienced there... amazing that so much could be wrong, yet the company is still flourishing!!! Celebrity may have blown their chance with you, but it would be naive to think that there aren't people on other boards saying the same thing about Princess. I really hope that I go into my Princess cruise with an open mind, and just enjoy it rather than looking for fault.

And as for Princess being first choice of first-time cruisers... this post was looking for opinions of experienced cruisers. First-timers have nothing to compare it with!

There is an identical thread to this one on the Celebrity board right now. How timely for me since I really love Celebrity and have just booked my first cruise with Princess. After the first page of responses on the Celebrity board, I was scared enough to consider cancelling the Princess cruise that I just booked.

After having read many more responses now, I'm starting to realize that I should ignore some of the more strong opinions expressed on both boards. You can see loyalty to a particular brand really showing through from many posters. I also don't put much store in opinions from anyone that has only sailed a particular cruise line once. It's not that their experience isn't valid, it's just that the experience could be an isolated incident or that they had issues adjusting to a different cruise line. I'm thinking that I should listen more to the people who have sailed both lines frequently - they have a lot more experience to draw on, and probably have less bias. JMHO.

I will say so far that the cruises I looked at on Princess seem pricey compared to what I've paid per night on Celebrity (although I know a lot of different things can affect that). However, I am very impressed at Princess' itineraries - they are quite refreshing and offer more selection. I'm not sure what I'll end up doing, but after my initial panic, I'm starting to settle down a bit and think that I will likely have as good a time on Princess as I do on Celebrity.

Which Princess ship will you be sailing on?

 

I've yet to sail on Celebrity but I am now Platinum on Princess. I think they have a good product. Try the Sorbet in the MDR. If you're on a ship with a Crown Grill, you might want to give that a try. We loved it.

 

There is an extra cost involved but I really liked "The Sanctuary".

We are booked on the Grand Princess in a Vista suite. It's a fairly roomy suite with a huge balcony but the stateroom itself looks really dated. After sailing on Celebrity S-class, I'm struggling with going "backwards" to a dated suite (where the nightly cost is considerably higher than anything I've paid on X so far in a comparable suite).

I think I'm going to cancel and look at some X itineraries, although it doesn't look as though a Pacific Coastal will be an option :(

One thing I've seen complaints about many times with Princess is constant announcements over the PA system. Can anyone comment on whether those complaints were exaggerated? Are they really that bad?

%#$?>%^@$!!!

We have absolutely loved our Celebrity cruises. I really want to do a Pacific Coastal cruise in spring 2015. I was so disappointed to see that the Century was leaving the fleet in April 2015 as it had some nice Pacific itineraries which really interested me. Recent discussions on the X board indicated that several people had been told by X that there would be no more Pacific Coastal cruises, so I started looking elsewhere.

I ended up booking this past weekend with Princess. Now I'm wondering if I've made a horrible mistake.:eek:

Tell me I won't be sorry...

Many thanks Can786 and Bhopal21 for your input. I know the odds of price drops on suites aren't always great, but I've lucked out before and like to be prepared just in case...

The price difference right now between a VS and PS isn't very much, and I was wondering if I should call and switch to the PS. But, I really love a nice balcony and an aft view, so for the time being, I think I'll stay put.

Thanks again.

I haven't sailed with Princess before, and have just booked a cruise on the Grand Princess. I did a crash-course on the Grand in the 48 hours prior to booking and ended up going with an aft Vista suite (D736) on the Dolphin deck.

In the event that prices come down and a good upgrade opportunity comes along (and I'm not holding my breath), I'm trying to get info on other suites. Unfortunately, Princess' website shows the same photo and stateroom diagram for the Grand's Vista, Penthouse and Owners suites.

Can anyone tell me what the basic differences are between these three types of suites? For those familiar with them, are there any situations where you wouldn't want to upgrade from a Vista to a Penthouse or Owner's suite?

From what I understand, our current suite has a fairly large balcony. I don't mind downsizing the balcony a little, especially if the stateroom is better/larger. It's a Pacific Coastal cruise in late April, so I'm really not sure just how much we will be able to use the balcony anyway... but, I don't want to move to a suite where the balcony would be significantly smaller or uncovered. If anyone can steer me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

- Two (2) 50ml bottles Cognac - Courvoisier V.S.O.P.

- Two (2) 50ml bottles Gin – Beefeater

- Two (2) 50ml bottles Vodka – Skyy

- Two (2) 50ml bottles Scotch - Dewars

- Two (2) Cans Beer - Dos Equis

- Two (2) Cans Tonic Water

- Two (2) Cans Coke

- Two (2) Cans Sprite

- Two (2) .5 Liter Waters

- Two (2) 11oz Perriers

 

Last week I swapped the Cognac, Vodka and Scotch for 6 additional Beefeater and the beer, coke, sprite, water and Perrier for 10 cans of Sprite Zero.

 

Mike:)

Many thanks Mike! I appreciate it.