hurwitz5

We will be sailing on the Viking Saturn on December 6.  Our 3 days in Israel have been changed to 2 days in Malta and 2 days in Cyprus (instead  of 1).  Cyprus is close to Israel and Lebanon.  If anyone has been in Cyprus recently, what is the situation like there?

I sailed on the Queen Mary 2 pre Covid and I recall a book club on 2 sailings.  The book was listed on the Cunard website prior to the cruise, so that one can read the book ahead of time.   The book store - deck 8 - also carried the book.  Is there a book club selection for the November 26 cruise?  Title and author?  Thank you.

If we want to escape the winter weather in the northeast, we enjoy Celebrity Caribbean cruises.  We are there to enjoy the ship  - the new ships are 5 star resorts.  We have been to the ports many times, so we stay on the ship for the most part.  The new ships are beautiful with innovative design and many dining choices.  There aren’t many children on the longer Caribbean cruises, and we don’t sail during school holidays.  We sail on Viking when we are interested in excursions - an included excursion in each port is a plus.  We will be on Viking Saturn in December 2023.

We are still on the Viking Saturn December 6 sailing - Rome to Athens - 14 nights. Three days in Israel is being replaced by 2 days in Malta and an extra day in Cyprus.  Wonder how full the ship is going to be.  Does Viking give out that information?

I know that a land tour of Israel is preferable, but we were happy to see as much as we could during 3 days there.  We enjoy cruising and seeing snippets of various places.  We enjoy the comfort, food and security of cruising.  We know that we will be well taken care of in a clean environment. 

We bring along antibiotics and Paxlovid just in case.  Years ago I got the flu on board a Celebrity ship and the doctor gave me Tamiflu.  My ship insurance covered the cost; had to file for reimbursement after we got home.  Does anyone know if Viking Ocean ships carry Tamiflu.  My husband and I get a flu shot every year, but I got the flu anyway.

Pre-Covid we would cruise on Celebrity 2 - 4 times per year.  We did our first post-Covid cruise in May 2023.  Have one cruise booked on another line in December 2023.  Back on Celebrity in January 2024.  We’ll see how it goes.  Have seen some negative food reviews due to menu changes.

We are sailing on a Viking Saturn ocean cruise; boarding in  Rome on December 6.  We were supposed to dock in Israel for 3 days mid-December.  The ports have been taken off our itinerary. Viking has substituted 2 days in Malta and added an extra day in Cyprus (now 2 days there).  Not sure why Viking  would increase time in Cyprus since it’s very close to Israel and Lebanon, plus many war ships will be in the area. Hope they consider canceling Cyprus altogether and add time in Sicily.  Perhaps they are waiting for the situation to cool down, but it takes time to book a port docking and arrange shore excursions.

We had late dining, so the elite cocktail hour worked for us.  We had wine, beer, gin and tonic, and other included drinks - usually one or two alcoholic beverages each for my husband and I.  We also made sure to get cans of soda and water (unopened) to take back to our cabin. We did not have the drink package. 

We are on the December 6 cruise.  I agree about Sicily and I like Malta.  I am concerned about Cyprus.  There aren’t that many cruise ships sailing in the Mediterranean in December so I would think that Viking has quite a few options for changing ports.

We are on the December 6 cruise.  Malta is an interesting port.  Not sure how I feel about Cyprus because it is close to Israel and Lebanon.  Also, is there much to see for 2 days in Cyprus.  I would appreciate comments and/or recommendations re: Cyprus.

I am also a Mah Jong player and have played on many cruise ships (not Viking).  I always bring my card, just in case.  I have a set, but it’s too heavy to carry in my luggage.  We have 3 sea days on our upcoming Viking Saturn cruise in December.  It would be fun to play.

We will also be sailing on the Beyond in January.  On embarkation day, are there other places to eat for lunch - other than the buffet?

We have sailed on over 30 Celebrity cruises. Pre-Covid the ships had a number of Mah Jong sets that you could borrow at Guest Relations.  We will be cruising on the Summit from May 15 through May 25.  Does anyone know if the Summit or any other Celebrity ships have Mah Jong sets? Thanks.

On 1/12/2020 at 9:02 AM, hrhdhd said:

The Captain's Club host will leave numerous voice mails for you to remind you of events. That will be in addition to the letter you'll get on the first day.

Some Hosts will leave you a message on your phone about Elite events, but in our experience, most don’t.  

We are on deck 12 midship on the Edge - under the pool area.  Will we be woken up in the morning with chairs and people moving around above us?  We are not early risers.  We have never had a cabin on such a high floor before.  Hope we have a peaceful cruise experience.  

We can’t print out luggage tags for our January 19 cruise on the Regal Princess, sailing out of Fort Lauderdale.  Are there luggage tags available at the pier - from the luggage handlers?  We have been sailing most recently on Celebrity and they mail luggage tags to your home.

We sailed on the newly renovated Summit in June and again in September in an inside cabin.  There was an outlet for my hairdryer by the desk that had a mirror.  I was able to sit and put on makeup and blow dry my hair. 

Hope Eddy Jenkins is still aboard the Edge when we sail on January 26.  We have enjoyed his sense of humor and his lectures on other Celebrity ships.  He has an amazing amount of information in his head about art and other topics.  He’s a very bright guy.  We have also sailed previously with Captain Kate and look forward to sailing with her again.

We have been on 20+ Celebrity cruises.  The prices aren’t bad if you (1) book a few months ahead of time; (2) book through an internet cruise agent; (3) don’t care about which cabin you have (usually book an inside guarantee); and (4) don’t take any extra perks.  The “free”’perks are not free - you are paying high prices for them.   We are Elite and enjoy the free drinks between 5:00 and 7:00 pm, the free laundry, and some free internet minutes.  We will be sailing on the Edge for 2 weeks this winter, when the ship is a little over a year old.  Last winter the prices were outrageous because it was a new ship - just wait a year and the prices are reasonable.  

On 9/25/2019 at 6:48 PM, LouTheGlue said:

Love that song...actual name is White Rabbit.

My husband and I are in our late 60’s and White Rabbit is on my husband’s playlist on his IPhone and it plays in our car.  We are baby boomers (grew up in the 60’s) but never did drugs.  The song is just nostalgia 

and puts us in a relaxed mood.  We will be on the Edge for 2 weeks this winter and look forward to a different experience than the other 20+ cruises we have sailed on.  Hope Captain Kate,, who is in the commercial, is still on board on January 26.  She was our Captain on the Equinox last winter.

We have done 20+ Celebrity cruises, but never a B2B.  We know the production shows will be the same for both weeks, but are the other theater entertainers different?

When I got up this morning to a sink full of dishes and a dishwasher to unload, and sheets to be changed and laundered, I was happy to think about the 3 weeks of cruising that we will experience in January and February.  We love cruising in the Caribbean to escape from the cold weather in the northeast.  We feel very taken care of on Celebrity cruises.  The prices for cabins go up and down.  Since we aren’t particular about which cabin we book, we watch the prices and book when the price is fair to us.  

I am not a shoe person, but when going on Caribbean cruises, even my husband takes 4 - 5 pairs of shoes.  We will be sailing on the Regal Princess (1 week) and Celebrity Edge (2 weeks) consecutively this winter.  I will take: 1 pair of flip flops (waterproof for the pool and beach, and used as slippers in the cabin), 1 pair of sneakers, 2 pairs of sandals, and one pair of flats (closed shoes).  That’s 5 pairs of shoes - at a minimum.  

kelmac Thoroughly enjoyed reading your comparison reviews of the 6 ships that you sailed on.  We have booked 3 cruises in a row for this winter: one week on the Regal Princess and B2B on Celebrity Edge.  I booked cruises leaving from Fort Lauderdale, so even though we have to pack after one week on the Regal Princess, we will take a cab or Uber from the Princess dock to the Celebrity dock.  I also thought about laundry.  Princess has laundry rooms and we are Elite on Celebrity, so laundry won’t be an issue.  We are looking forward to spending time in warm weather since we live in the northeast.