VivianK

Can you tell us who you buy that policy from? TY

I will look into that. Thanks 

We always buy our insurance within 14 days of deposit in order to waive pre- existing conditions. We would like to book a few cruises now, but even with refundable deposit you still stAnd to lose your insurance if you cancel which in our case amounts to quite a bit. I’m not referring to the Princess insurance which we always get. We get additional medical because cruise line insurance lacks in this area. Any tips what some of you” elders” due with this situation. Thanks 

Thank you all. Yes, phraseology off!

When you get the cruise with the drink package included it states soft drinks-minors only. Does that mean if you have the drink package and you're an adult, you would not be entittled to a soda?

Thanks for your help!

Thanks so much everyone. 

Does anyone have any idea when the Caribbean 2023 winter will be available to book? Thanks!

10 hours ago, Reel Love said:

Hi VivianK.  My understanding (and someone please correct me if I am wrong) is that as the ships are "revolutionized" they are changing to this new process where once you board, you can go immediately to your cabin to drop off your carry-on and pick up your key card.  You then have to leave the cabin areas so the crew can continue to prepare the rooms, or at least that was how it was on our Edge cruise which is the first time I have experienced this process on a X ship.  The Silhouette's first post-revolution cruise is Feb 14, 2020 so I guess I will find out on Feb 14 if this is correct   😄

Thank you!

On 10/14/2019 at 10:36 PM, Reel Love said:

Thank you for the tip, Jelayne ☺️    I hear you abut the lugging carry-ons around the ship.  Fortunately for us I think our next cruise (Silhouette Feb 2020) has the "go to the cabin to drop off your carry-on/pick up your key card option" so at least that eliminates one issue!

Hi, How do you know in advanceif the option is available? We are on the 2/23/20 Silhouette and would love to know. Thanks

Thank you everyone.

Unfortunately, they seem to have all the islands listed under Caribbean ports of call, but not St. Vincent. Since it’s the only one we haven’t visited we are excited to plan something. Has anyone gone on a private tour they would recommend. Thank you in advance for your suggestions. 

We're going in February and CC  sounds great. About how far from the port is the resort? We've toured the island already and would welcome a beach. Thank you.

I never met you or Carol, but have always enjoyed your reviews and admired the wonderful times you had together. So sorry for your great loss.

Vivian

Thanks so much. It did the trick!

I know you can search cruise critic boards but you used to be able to search just one roll call. How would I do that? Thank you.

1 minute ago, Nachosdelux said:

they are available on the "go anytime" menu

That's funny!

Thank you!

Thanks in advance for your answers. Do they serve prunes at breakfast?

Thank you for the information!

:D

Has Marigot come back since the hurricane? We like to shop there. Have the stores reopened? TYIA

I booked my first Celebrity cruise a month ago direct with Celebrity. The cost was $5900 with two promotions. Today, I moved my cruise over to a TA I am paying 4600 with no promotions or 5300 with the same 2 promotion at celebrity. They picked up my same cabins(we had 4) and my reservations numbers and everything stayed the same. Told me if prices goes lower they will just honor new price. Still can cancel and get my refundable deposit back until Feb. Can't get any more simple.

Any hints where to look for this wonderful TA, Thanks so much.:):D

Thanks for the hint. What is an InPrivate or Incognito windows. Thanks for the information

We have great friends from Canada too. Have traveled and visited each other for over 12 years. Also, wonderful friends from Australia we've traveled on cruises and land trips. You have to be lucky!!

Hi, Great idea! Where is the hold option in the reservation? Do you think the OBC on the original reservation would transfer? We got 200 OBC because our cruise was chartered.

Not sure if Celebrity will offer any options for three days in St. Petersburg. But, if possible with Celebrity or another cruise line, having three days there can be a very important option to consider. WHY?

 

With three days in St. Petersburg, the "star" of the Baltics, you can either do more in-depth for this famed city . . . OR . . . do a mix of two excellent days there (best only if done with a good private guide/tour arrangement) and allow one day to go to Moscow and back. Doing ALL that does require more money, time and effort. BUT, the rewards can be excellent!!

 

Need some added details, proof and evidence?

 

MOSCOW??: YES, the high-speed train connection does make a big difference for your logistics. I'll offer the various pro/con factors for your consideration on the question of doing Moscow . . . or not. My wife thought it was lots of money, but she viewed it as very much worth it after completing the trip as a "once in a lifetime" experience. If you have good private tours in St. Petersburg, you can see most of the great and excellent stuff there in just two days.

 

CON FACTORS: It's a long day! Leave the ship early (greeted by a small welcoming band dockside); get back to the St. Petersburg late. Moscow is a super large city of over ten million people. There has been huge growth in the suburbs of this city during the past decades or so. Traffic and time from the airport to the main downtown takes about an hour, but the train takes your directly into the heart of this large city. Since we had to drive in from the airport, we had a good feel as we traveled into town through the coach windows about the “new Moscow” with its suburban growth, commerce, advertising, capitalism, big box stores, etc.

 

PRO FACTORS: Moscow has its unique history, sights and sites, from Ivan the Terrible up through Lenin, Stalin and the new Russian leaders of today. After a long ride in from the airport on the outer edge of this large metro areas of 17.3 million (with 10.5 million in the city), we stopped at a new hotel for coffee/tea/break. Then, we rode the Moscow subway and saw a couple of their very unique and artistic stations. Stalin at the time called these stations “People’s Palaces”. This Moscow Metro was first opened in 1935 and now has 182 stations, 12 different lines,187 miles of routes and carries seven million passengers each weekday. It’s the world second busiest subway system. This subway ride offered a good sampling of real life for people who live and work in Moscow. We then saw more key places enroute, including the home of the Bolshoi Ballet, KGB Headquarters, various Stalin-era buildings, etc. Then we went to the Kremlin with its 19 historic towers. WOW, we were really there!

 

Inside the Kremlin are three key “super stars”. First, was the State Armoury with its spectacular Faberge Eggs, plus so many carriages, crowns, gowns, jewels, etc. Second are the various historic Cathedrals within the Kremlin Walls, plus the Tower Bells, Icon art, etc. This includes the Cathedral of the Annunciation built in the 1480’s and having such spectacular wall murals and icons. Third, was the Great Kremlin Palace with its spectacular reception halls, inlaid wood floors, gold and more gold, fancy ceilings, etc. The Czars were crowned here, plus the current heads of the Russian government, etc. The size and scale of these areas are hard to describe in words, let alone reflect and capture the history that has happened in some of these rooms dating back to the late 1400’s. We have seen lots of great palaces all over Europe, but this is something above and beyond for the eyes, heart and brain.

 

Then, we saw more building inside the walls of the Kremlin. We went outside of the Kremlin Walls and walked next door to adjoining Red Square, seeing St. Basil’s and the re-done Gum Department Store. Red Square is so historic, especially having grown up seeing the military May Day parades there, visuals of Lenin’s Tomb, etc. Have the words “spectacular” and historic been used too much? Maybe, but it fits for many of these unique places. St. Basil’s was built 1555–1561 on the order of Ivan IV (the Terrible). It was the tallest building in Moscow until the completion of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower (266 feet tall) in 1600 inside the Kremlin Walls. To be able to “CONTRAST” and compare Moscow and St. Petersburg during these three short days adds to the benefits of seeing both of these great Russian capital cities. Each is a very different and special city.

 

Is one day in Moscow too short and limited? YES! You can, however, do and see lots in only that one short day. How often do you get to Russia? The Cold War might not exactly come back in full force, but there are going to be increasing and revisited tensions in future years involving Russia and getting access there. The key cruise lines have done this tour many times and have its details down well and timing perfected. Let me know any questions, thoughts or reactions.

 

Below are a few visuals for what is to see and do in Moscow. Hope that I am not giving you information over-load. Much depends on your personal interests for history, architecture, culture, etc. Below are a few of my visuals to illustrate the beauty in both great, historic cities.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 201,903 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here is one of the Kremlin Wall Towers in Moscow. It is a defensive wall that surrounds the Kremlin with its recognizable notches and the famed Kremlin towers. The original walls were likely a simple wooden fence with guard towers built in 1156. Between 1485 and 1495 a brigade of Italian architects designed a new defense perimeter. With an outer perimeter of over 7300 feet, the Kremlin appears as a loose triangle. Twenty towers survived to highlight the walls. Built at a different time, the oldest one dates to 1485 while the newest one was built in 1680. Three of the towers, located in the corners, have circular designs.:

 

 

 

Walking on the famed Red Square of Moscow can be thrilling!! This square separates the Kremlin, as the former royal citadel and the current official residence for Russia's President, from a historic merchant quarter. Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and all of Russia, because Moscow's major streets originate from here. The name Red Square comes neither from the color of the bricks nor from the link between the color red and communism. The name came about because of a Russian word that can mean either "red" or "beautiful". This word, per Wikipedia, has the meaning "beautiful", was originally applied to Saint Basil's Cathedral. Then, later, the meaning was transferred to the nearby square. It is believed that the square acquired its current name in the 17th century. Red Square was the leading stage and trade center for Moscow. Ivan the Great decreed that trade should only be conducted from person to person, but later these rules were relaxed and permanent market buildings began appearing on the square. After a fire in 1547, Ivan the Terrible reorganized the lines of wooden shops on the Eastern side into market lines and part of that transitioned into what is now GUM department store that adjoins this famed square.:

 

 

 

The domes of the historic church inside the walls of the Kremlin:

 

 

 

Private, personal tours can be worth it, especially in St. Petersburg. Here our group of four, with our guide, Jane or Zhenya from Anastasia, we are viewing and learning more about one of the two da Vinci masterpieces (Madonna Litta or Madonna and Child) at the Hermitage after an early admission. There are only 14 such paintings by this artist existing in the whole world. We did an early admission at the Hermitage, lessening the crowd battles and adding to the enjoyment in this spectacular place/set of five palaces AND museum. It is both! This Madonna and Child was probably painted in Milan, where the artist moved in 1482. The Madonna's tender gaze as she looks at her son, and the tranquillity of the distant mountainous landscape, reflect humanist dreams of Ideal Man and a Harmonious Life. Experts says the painting reveals great beauty in its coloring and composition. The painting came to the Czar's collection and museum in 1865 from the collection of Count Antonio Litta in Milan.:

 

 

 

Here is a unique angle for the spectacular fountains and water from the spectacular Peterhof outside of St. Petersburg. The greatest technological achievement of Peterhof is that all of the fountains operate without the use of pumps. Water is supplied from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. This elevation difference creates the pressure driving most of the fountains for the Lower Gardens, including the Grand Cascade.:

 

 

 

Here is an overall view of the size and scale of St. Isaac's interior in St. Petersburg. It is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in this historic city and was dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great. The cathedral took 40 years to construct, 1818 to 1858, under direction of a French architect. During Soviet rule, it was nearly destroyed and was made into a Museum of Scientific Atheism. It has been restored to its religious beauty/role. The cathedral's main dome tops out at 333 feet and is plated with pure gold.:

 

OMG, what a fabulous travelogue! Thank you.