zonap

We just finished the Northern Loop on Celebrity Xpedition yesterday and had a great time.  This was definitely one of our top 2 or 3 trips and we are pretty well-traveled.  The staff, size of the Xpedition (built for about 100 and sailing with 48 guests max), quality of food and service, and our fellow guests made this really special.  Would wholeheartedly recommend Celebrity.

3 hours ago, tennisbeforewine said:

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Fremantle and Perth, Australia

 

Although we were scheduled to arrive in Fremantle on the 22nd, we actually arrived at 8:00 this morning (March 21).  We had booked the Doubletree Hotel in Perth for two nights, allowing one day as a "sea day" to hang around the pool, walk the neighborhood, and just relax.  

 

Well . . . . that wasn't quite what happened.  This morning, our VERY highly placed source told us that Fremantle would NOT allow any passengers to go to a hotel, but had to go directly to the airport for their flights.  That would mean that we would spend two more nights on the ship and go directly to the airport on the morning of the 23rd.  This information was not made public, and when I asked about it at the front desk, the officer there said, "I think you know more than we do."  Finally the announcement was made by the captain (because people really listen to him) that only those people going to the airport would be disembarked - and the groaning and complaining rose to a crescendo.  John was a nervous wreck, but my "What?  Me Worry?" attitude just made me look at tonight's menu and say, "Wow, there are all kinds of things I'd like for dinner."  

 

An hour later, the captain came on again and told us he had good news.  Apparently Canberra, the national capital, had overridden the earlier decision and we could not only leave the ship, but go to a hotel.  Within a half hour, we had our carry-ons in hand, walked off the ship and onto a bus headed for Perth.  One of the nicest things was that Captain Jonathan, who has become a good friend, was on the open area outside the bridge waving at us.  I blew him a kiss and he blew one back. 

 

Half an hour later, we arrived at one hotel, took a taxi to our hotel, and here we are, sitting at a sidewalk table of the hotel's bar, drinking a beer and a cider.  As much as I love the ship, this does have a very relaxed feeling, and this evening we're meeting one of John's former students/tennis players for dinner.  Tomorrow is a lovely free day, and mid-day Rich and Ginni will join us here.  

 

On the 23rd, we'll fly Virgin Australia (which is operating domestically) to Sydney, and on the 24th we head HOME!  We're on United Airlines non-stop to San Francisco, where our rental car will await us for the four-hour drive to home sweet home.  I've always believed that "everything will always work out for the best," and although we're not home yet, things are looking good.  

Have a safe trip home!

Family who's been on the GWV safely got to Perth airport and onboard their flight.  Fingers crossed they get back home safely. 😷

Like Kitkat343, we sailed when there were fewer than a dozen kids last year on our late-August Alaska cruise. Given so few kids, they just mixed all the kids together and from what I could tell and hear from my daughter, everyone generally played well together and the crew let the kids help guide the days' activities.

That said, I was told by one of the Kids club crew members that when there are more kids on a more typical sailing, the age groupings are more strictly enforced.

Thats the problem, (not a very big problem) the do not disturb card is used in the door. You can also use the second persons key card. Just saying an extra card might be handy.

We just sailed in A728 while my parents sailed in A729 in August. We both found, upon embarkation, a white Princess key card (like the type used in the Princess lodges in Alaska) already inserted into the slot to keep the power on. We just left it in there the whole sailing so we were able to use the Do Not Disturb hangtag, no need to tear off pieces of the breakfast menu, etc.

And we liked the suite too - nice layout, good size. Just rained a lot during our sailing so we didn't get to use the balcony as much as we would've liked to - but that's Mother Nature for you! :)

@gwenmarie - no issue w/ AC. We were able to adjust the temperature to our liking (the thermostat is somewhat hidden - next to the door to the bathroom from the bedroom - kind of behind the closet.

Hey WVBill - we just got back from a cruisetour so I can tell you that they offer the option to leave some luggage to meet you on the ship but you are not obligated to do so. We chose to take it all with us as we (3 of us) needed more clothes for the 1 week than we could fit in 1 suitcase (we brought a total of 2 pieces of luggage). There were plenty of other people that did the same.

That said, definitely do the layering thing that everyone talks about. While in Alaska in the 2nd half of last month (August), it was around 60-70 degrees most days and anywhere from about 38-45 in the early parts of many mornings (7-8AM when you're getting ready for an excursion or the bus). We generally wore long pants (jeans) with long sleeve shirts, a pullover (a fleece or sweatshirt), and a jacket (waterproof/raincoat as it rained nearly everyday for at least part of the day). With that, we were generally a-ok. In the mornings, a pair of light gloves were sometimes helpful.

We just got off the Island Princess a week ago and sailed in a suite. This was our first Princess cruise - we have otherwise sailed in suites/Haven on Norwegian (NCL). After the first day or so, we were able to quickly compare the 2 cruise lines' suite offerings and for us, NCL wins hands-down. In particular, for us, NCL has had better food (taste and variety) than even the Club Class dining on Princess in their MDRs (and also better than Sabatini's for breakfast in our opinion) since NCL has their frequent promotion that includes free specialty dining for suite guests. Also, for us, we found we like NCL's entertainment better than what was on the Island Princess.

NCL also has a really nice Haven area on many of their newer ships.

Finally, NCL's priority disembarkation and embarkation for their suite guests (at each port) really showed how much better organized they are than Princess - at least based on what we experienced on our Alaska cruise.

The free laundry on Princess was nice, but the other perks on NCL just can't be beat for our family.

What were the issues?

To start, the waiting area at the terminal in Miami for Haven guests was much too small, leaving a large number of guests standing and waiting until we could board. Once we did board, we were brought to the Epic Lounge, which, like the terminal waiting area, was much too small for the large number of Haven guests brought up at 1 time; again, there was insufficient seating, insufficient food (they were bringing around sliders & fries), and David (concierge) had to shout to be heard.

After the Haven area tour and a quick lunch at the Epic Club, we found David and made reservations for dinner at Cagney's for the first night. He told us he'd make it, that it'd be no problem, and then we never heard from him again that day. Assuming we had reservations (for an early dinner), we went to Cagney's right when they opened, and were told that they had no reservations for us. Thankfully, we went early so we could be seated (when we finished eating and were leaving, there was a wait).

Oh, and one other thing - on Day 1, the Haven pool and hot tubs were not available to use - so daughter was very disappointed.

That's how Day 1 went. By Day 2, we found out that most shows were booked solid and there were only standby seats. Thankfully later in the week, David was able to work some magic and got us in to see Cirque Dreams and Blue Man Group. But throughout the rest of the week, we noticed that at the Haven concierge desk, the people working the desk didn't always know and just took messages to pass on to David, or just dialed the phone for us to other places onboard, like the spa (if I knew that's all they'd do, I could've done that from my cabin by myself).

Butler (Jomar) was ok. One time for room service he wasn't available, so got regular room service attendant and couldn't get anything other than basic room service menu items (e.g., no french fries with our burger, hot dogs and sandwiches - only chips), and then not even salt & pepper were brought up with the trays throughout the week. But he did bring a few extra treats for our daughter - like a bowl of M&Ms that really made her day.

Now, did any of this totally ruin our trip? No, but we felt this Haven experience just wasn't up to par compared to previous NCL suite experiences (Dawn, Gem, Jewel). So, to us, the question is really - why did we pay so much extra?

We just came back a couple of weeks ago from the Epic (in Haven). It was a disappointing experience, even after we gave our feedback on Day 2 to the Assistant Hotel Director, Carolina, and Director of Guest Services, Irma.

For the $ we paid, we were very underwhelmed by the experience, and in fact, our previous experiences in non-Haven NCL suites were far superior.

So, for our future cruises, we are looking at other lines - probably premium/luxury lines. Too bad for NCL b/c our daughter loved Splash Academy and like I said, we had wonderful past experiences (in fact, our daughter's first cruise was with NCL).

If there are certain restaurants you know you want to try on a certain day, then do go ahead and book them online ahead of time. Otherwise, the concierge is your friend! Our concierge last week really helped us with a lot of restaurant reservations as we waited until boarding to make any of our reservations. With UDP being so prevalent now, we found that specialty restaurant reservations really filled up quickly, so it was worth it having the concierge on our sailing. If we didn't have that suite perk, I doubt we'd have eaten at many specialty restaurants due to our dining time preference/requirement (we have a young child so we eat early).

The Blue Man Group is free, but is not going to be on the Epic any longer (perhaps already done as of this week). The Second City comedy show is free, as well as a hypnotist, Legends in Concert, and some of the different game shows each night (like Newlyweds Game). If there's something you might be interested in, start making reservations online as soon as you can. We found that many of the shows (and all of the ones we wanted to see) were sold out/on standby only by the time day 2 rolled around on our cruise.

For shows that you have to pay to see, Cirque Dreams & Dinner was really wonderful and IMHO, totally worth the $29.99 or $39.99 you pay to see it. While the dinner was only average (nothing spectacular, but not horrible/terrible by any means), the show was really great - loved by my whole family (5 year old and my husband).

We've done the 2 bedroom family villa/suite before and are sailing in one again next month. The 2nd bedroom is a lot like an inside room, and fits 2 average adults just fine (double bed size). That said, not sure how your BiL would do given his height, but I'd imagine that'd be the case even in a regular stateroom.

On the plus side, the suite perks are great!

I emailed Riu Ocho Rios directly yesterday and received a reply today about getting a day pass directly from the hotel. Here's what I was told:

"With reference to your query i wish to advice you that day pass i 90 usd per adult and 45 usd per child under age 12ys. The pass is from 10 am until 6 pm and each clients need to take with them a valid ID."

This looks to be about $20 (USD) cheaper per adult than going through Shore Excursioneer, and the child fee is much cheaper. However, you'd have to book/figure out your own transportation to/from the hotel and port (supposedly just about a 15 min taxi ride).

Hope this helps!

Looking for the same too! Trying to decide between Riu and Jewel Runaway Bay for the day we'll be in Ochi.

When my DD was little and we needed the whole milk, I went to Whole Foods and bought the shelf-stable Organic Valley whole milk (the only one I can find from horizon are all low-fat - 2% or 1% type). Unfortunately, that meant getting them in the quart-sized tetrapaks, but then I just put them in the mini-fridge after opening them (had the room steward empty the fridge upon arrival in the room).

Now, when we travel, since my DD still likes her milk all the time,

we just bring the Horizon, Organic Valley or Costco milk in the juice-box sized boxes. Yes, it means 1 heavy luggage full of milk, but then she's happy when we go on excursions, etc.

For us, it's all about the suite perks. The crew, especially at the specialty restaurants and for suite passengers, are warm, friendly and go above-and-beyond on a frequent and regular basis.

The prices, itinerary and ships are nice too, but being in a suite and having a vacation with those perks really make it a great vacation for our family - and something we really look forward to after saving up for months. :)