jaykat

I have read that cruise ship shuttles take you from the port in Dunedin (Port Chalmers) to the Octagon, which is in the town. Are these shuttles free or do you have to pay? Will be there in January on Ovation of the seas.

We are very excited to be sailing on Ovation in December this year. Just got the email from RCI to say that there will be no Dynamic Dining on our cruise. Although the email said that we had pre-selected the DD Classic option (which we hadn't), I checked my reservation and it says "my time dining".

My question is: do we need to pre-book all our "my time dining" times for dinner every night now? We will probably do a 4 night dining package (haven't booked that yet) but if we do, can I choose which nights I do the paid restaurants? :confused:

Yes, the prices seem to keep going up and up.

 

In a hurry, I booked on the phone to RC yesterday morning. They are holding the booking for a few days until I have to pay the $400 deposit. I also got the $50 OBC.

But I was surprised to see that a whole lot of US websites are also offering the new Ovation cruises, of course with all sorts of much higher OBC's and other perks.

Bit annoyed because I had read that the US agents weren't to be selling the Ovation cruises until August - maybe I misunderstood. Now its too late anyway to change to another travel agent because all the good cabins/categories are gone.

Has anyone ever transferred their booking from RCL to another agent in order to receive more perks?

I have cruised before, but never out of Australia. I have learned from reading Cruise Critic that you can board cruises around 10.30/11am and that's what we have done in the past.

Next week, we are going on the Carnival Legend and during the online check-in, it asks you to select a boarding time. The earliest available was 1.30-2.30pm, which I chose. So I am wondering if I get to the port early, will I be able to board around 11am or will they make me wait until 1.30?? Any experiences with boarding Carnival in Sydney appreciated :)

My family and I (Dh, dd15, ds 12) have cruised twice before (Royal, Carnival) and are thinking about a Mediterranean cruise this year. I like the itinerary for a September cruise on Celebrity Reflection. I know that late September is not school holiday season for kids in US/UK/Europe as it is for us in Australia, so there would not be many (or perhaps any??) kids on board.

 

So my question is: would there be much for my kids to do on the ship if there are not very many other kids their age? (there are 2 sea days on this cruise)

I realise that Celebrity doesn't have the activities of some of the other cruise lines. Has anyone had experience cruising with kids in the off season? Are there places on the ship that the kids are not allowed to go? Also, I have read very mixed reviews of the entertainment. If there is not great (or age appropriate) entertainment, what is there for the kids to do in the evenings?

 

All input, suggestions and experiences greatly appreciated!:)

(and I have already had a look at the Roll Call for this cruise and there are no kids mentioned)

Great video.

Just one question - were there many kids on board? We are thinking of doing a Med cruise at end of Sept 2014 but concerned that on Celebrity there will be very few kids, and since there are not many facilities for kids apart from the kids club, it would be nicer if there were at least other kids for ours to hang out with (they will be 15 & 12)

Thanks for those reviews of the Reflection.

We are considering going next year, end of September.

My question to those who were on this cruise is: were there any kids? And if so, what is there for them to do on board this ship?

Our kids (age 15 &12) will be on school holidays here in Australia but I realise it is not vacation time for US, UK and European school kids.

Anyy thoughts would be appreciated. I really like the Sept 26 (2104) itinerary but am wondering if kids will be bored on sea days and evenings, since the entertainemnt doesnt sound great.

We are staying at Residence Inn and want to try to get to the port early for our cruise. The earliest hotel shuttle is at 11.30, which seems a bit later than we would like. How much would a taxi cost for 4 people from Residence Inn to the port? Also, the lady at the hotel advised that taxis are not allowed to drop people at the port before a certain time - is this true?!?!

Preston - we decided not to hire a car and instead have organised Michael from VIP limos to take us to the places we need to go (eg airport to hotel, return trip to KSC, one day shopping at Premium outlets). The cost for this was no more than hiring a car for the 3 days. We also decided that since we are from Australia and used to driving on the other side of the road, a car may be more hassle and stress than it is worth.

We will be in Port Canaveral before our cruise for 3 nights, from 30th December - 2nd January. Will there be anything to do on NYE? We are a family with 2 kids age 8 and 11 years, staying at Residence Inn, without a car.

Thanks, thats good to know. If we cant walk to the other places you mentioned, what transport options are there? Do we need to take a taxi or is there a bus, or do you know if Residence Inn provides some form of shuttle?

We will be staying at Residence Inn for 3 nights before our cruise in January. We were planning to rent a car for those days, but after reading this thread, I got a quote from Executive limo (michael) and found that it may be cheaper for us to get someone to drive us to the places we need to go (ie from airport to hotel, from hotel to/from KSC, to/from shopping at Premium outlets). So now that we probably wont have a car, I was wondering if there are any places to eat dinner near the Residence Inn, preferably walking distance. We will have 2 kids with us (age 8 and 11) so not too far a walk.... :)