enymarsh

17 minutes ago, genealogyfan said:

I was looking into taking this exact cruise, glad to hear you liked it. About how many people were on the boat? I liked the option of being picked up and dropped off at the hotels too.

So, the weather wasn't the best: cool, breezy, cloudy at times, but it was end of April so we expected as much.  But due to the date/weather, I think there around 25-30 people... but I think in season numbers would be more like 40+

There are shady spots as well as sunbathing areas, plus there's  a below-deck area with male and female bathrooms and a couple of bedrooms we used for changing.  Due to the cool temps, the sunny areas were crowded since it was too cold to stay in the windy shaded areas... this would be the opposite on a hot, sunny day!

Awesome!! 

It was called "All Day Cruise - 3 Islands to Agistri, Monica, Aegina with lunch and drinks"  I found it on TripAdvisor and it was wonderful! They picked us up fom our hotel and delivered us back... it went from 8am to 6pm, with pastries and espresso and juice in the morning and a great buffet lunch with drinks all day!  

1 minute ago, luv2danc said:

May I email you or you me, for information on what sailboat tour you used?

Thank you!

Absolutely! If you're okay with posting your email, I'll email you the information 

we used NIKOS, +30 6907764126 (whatsapp) and he only charged us 20 euros from our hotel  in downtown Athens, to the pier.  He was trustworthy and spoke English!

Just now, enymarsh said:

We were just there a couple of weeks ago.  We were walking distance to the Acropolis from our hotel and we found an awesome driver to take us to the ship pier:  NIKOS, +30 6907764126 (whatsapp)  He only charged us 20 euros and came early when we changed the time.  We had walked to the acropolis, spent a couple of hours there, then upon exit, realized we had spent too much time to go anywhere else and just wanted to get to the ship... we had set up a pickup time for 90 minutes later but he was there in 15 min. after we called... Nice man!!!

to add to my post... we found NIKOS because we had taken a day trip on a sailboat that went to three islands and it included transport from Athens to the boat... they had sub-contracted with him to pick us and a few others up.  He had shared his business card with us before leaving us at our hotel that evening.  I'd highly recommend that boat trip too btw, found it on another site.

We were just there a couple of weeks ago.  We were walking distance to the Acropolis from our hotel and we found an awesome driver to take us to the ship pier:  NIKOS, +30 6907764126 (whatsapp)  He only charged us 20 euros and came early when we changed the time.  We had walked to the acropolis, spent a couple of hours there, then upon exit, realized we had spent too much time to go anywhere else and just wanted to get to the ship... we had set up a pickup time for 90 minutes later but he was there in 15 min. after we called... Nice man!!!

So, I recently booked a ziplining excursion with Tree Limin Extreme in St. Thomas and then my ship experienced a mechanical issue causing them to change our port times.  This is all prior to the trip but I had bood my ziplining tour for a time that I no longer could make so I was in a panic... I contacted this vendor with trepidation in my heart imagining that I was going to pay the price for not going with a ship's tour.  I just got a PHONE CALL from them!!!!  They were able to fit me into another time slot and so I am super excited to experience what National Geographic touted as one of the top 10 in the world for ziplining!!!!

24 minutes ago, day-day said:

Mainly because if a battery starts to smoke or catches fire it can be dealt with in the cabin.  It could get out of hand in the cargo area.

Thanks for the info!

On 1/13/2023 at 8:17 PM, smithmlmx said:

Regal has the night lights. Just remember that anything with a lithium ion battery has to be in carry on luggage when flying.

Tell me about this...?  I know they always ask about hazardous materials, etc. but didn't realize that lithium ion batteries were in that category.  What's the danger??? and similarly, why is it safer in the cabin... pressure issue? (always like learning new stuff)

On 1/13/2023 at 5:57 PM, We_like_to_cruise said:

This has been a great purchase and used successfully for the last week.

 

If you get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, this little guy senses motion and emits the perfect amount of light (brightness adjustable to three different settings).  We just hang it over one of the towel rack bars.

 

Much easier than trying to squeeze your hand out the partially closed bathroom door to prevent waking the spouse!  And if you turn on the bathroom light in the middle of the night that light is too bright.

 

Charged it once two weeks ago and have not re-charged it yet.

 

I have no financial interest in this company, lol !

 

https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Brightness-Rechargeable-Magnetic-Wardrobe/dp/B09YPT2DGV/ref=sr_1_24?crid=25B6AC24NMK1O&keywords=hanging+battery+powered+motion+detector+night+light&qid=1673649856&sprefix=hangingbattery+powered+motion+detector+night+light%2Caps%2C1685&sr=8-24

I absolutely LOVE this idea and already ordered one for our upcoming cruise!!!  The outlets are scarce and most times nightlights won't fit anyway, so this is perfect!!!

many thanks for these quick replies!!!

Can you just go or are there too many people???  Should we reserve "tickets"?

I just called and booked a cruise via telephone but told them I was getting my certificate but hadn't received it yet.  They booked the cruise easily enough asking me to pay only the taxes and government fees as a deposit.  Then, once my certificate was mailed to me, I called the number in that email to apply the certificate value.  

My main complaint with the whole process was that my new cruise was so much more expensive that to stay within the budget dictated by the FCC, we had to go down to a 7-night (instead of the 11-night one we had cancelled) and move over to a regular deluxe balcony instead of the aqua class we had had on the 11-night.  

so I just (finally) rebooked... we'll be going in December of this year.  Had to downgrade dramatically in order to avoid spending thousands more just to use the FCC we'll be getting.  The agent had no problem booking it since we'll have time to get the FCC before final payment is due but we're pretty disappointed at the reality of the situation.  I fully understand why things have to be so much more expensive but our cruise would have cost almost double if we had stayed in the same category of cabin even by reducing the length from 11 nights to 7!  As it is we'll be spending several hundred more than the FCC even though we downgraded our category as well as shortening the cruise and visiting less desirable ports.

Good news is that in recent weeks, Celebrity must be doing a bunch of trainings since both of the agents I spoke with today were very well informed and had useful suggestions to make after I described my situation.  Only disappointment for me remaining is that they won't let you book a less expensive cruise and get the remaining $$ as OBC!  I mean, it is still going to get spent with them!

55 minutes ago, chucknmarilyn said:

You (or your travel agent) can call them if you have a cruise you want to go ahead and apply it to. I just did that this morning.

Thanks! Super useful information!

So, many of us, booked on Celebrity ships for early January watched in dismay as reports continued to spread about masks not being worn indoors, about crew members testing positive (apparently not having worn their masks) and itineraries and onboard activities either being canceled or changed, etc.  On our roll call for Jan.4th sailing of the Silhouette, someone asked if we could start a thread to share information and our experiences as we navigate through the redemption process of using our FCC's.  Anyone done this yet?  Anyone have information to share?

The buffet is open after 2:30

yes, of course, but eating that late and then having early seating wouldn't work for us so we will just have to have an amazing meal somewhere in the French Quarter - oh well, guess we can manage that,lol

Thanks for the info! I think we've learned our lesson and will definitely do this part of the online check in much sooner! For now, we are going to maybe do something in the French quarter during the middle of the day and accept that we won't have lunch on the ship, oh well, live and learn.:(

I can't believe I was so relaxed about my planning for this cruise (Dream, leaves in 3 days) and so when I went online today to print our boarding passes, I was dismayed to find out that the only boarding time left was 2-2:30. So do I have any recourse at all???? The only time I ever (in 27 cruises) arrived that late for a cruise was once when we almost missed the ship!

We also NEVER touch railings on stairways!!

I usually bring sanitizing wipes and wipe all touch surfaces in my stateroom...door knobs, toilet knobs, sink, remote. Things like the back of the chair that you pull out, drawer knobs, etc.. Yes, the cabin stewards do this, but I back them up myself.

I've been known to do this too if I remember,lol

I just read the "Just off the Breeze" report and have seen others where people get sick while on the ship or soon after returning. I know this is almost unavoidable with the number of people we come in contact with just being on a cruise. So besides washing hands often & using hand sanitizer what can we do to help protect ourselves? What should we pack to help soften the blow of the flu or an upper respiratory infection? So far I have,

 

Vitamin C

Alka-seltzer cough and cold or Theraflu

 

What else would be good? Also looking for preventative ideas as well.

We swear by Immune-C... it's a fizzy powder that you put into 4-6 oz. of water. It's made by the people who make Emergen-C but the Immune type is good for trying to avoid catching colds because it has the B and C vitamins but also D and minerals like Magnesium and Zinc. Even when I do get sick, it ends up being so much milder and ending so much sooner, like 3 days! I travel with it and use it every day for at least a week before my cruises as well as the week following.

I have suffered from motion sickness all of my life. I would get sick driving 30 minutes down the road as a child... lol. Bonine is wonderful and helps me a great deal. Only twice has it not been enough and both times we were in the middle of some rough seas. I get sick when there is a lot of rocking (like if we are high up or if we are bobbing up and down). I usually take a pill at night around 830 or so and by the time I go to bed, I sleep really good and don't usually suffer too many side effects during the day.

 

I am looking forward to this aft cabin. :D

So I am right there with you! I suffered most of my life, getting sick if I didn't drive, or riding on airplanes, etc. The very first time I went on a cruise (1998) I got on the ship midday and after a few hours turned to my husband and said that I was feeling so great I would try it without the patch - totally forgetting that the ship hadn't started moving yet,lol So that night I woke at around 4am feeling really, really bad. I put on a patch but it took about 4 hours to fully kick in so I sat on our balcony for four hours trying not to get sick, horrible! Now I take no chances and just put it on when I board during the afternoon. I have NEVER felt sick since, even on the worst of sailings, including during hurricane Wilma when it was hard just to remain standing in the hallways and the food venues were all empty!!!

So, not everyone likes the patch, either they don't like the feeling, or that you're not supposed to drink, (not too much anyway, haha) but I like it, it lets me enjoy the feeling of the motion of the ship without feeling sick. I also sleep really well with it. Bonine is loved by most, including my husband who had to use it once so you're in good company!

I love reading about all the different ways people deal with the motion issue. I for one am an experienced cruiser who has used the patch (scopolamine) for 19 years and have had amazing success (not for everyone) but the oral meds never helped me enough.

I love the aft location because the side-to-side motion is like rocking in a cradle for me. I dislike the front of the ship because of the up-and-down motion, which I can tolerate while on the patch but just don't ever feel 100%.

So, definitely will feel motion but you might find that you like it! especially for sleeping!!!

I am so grateful to you Saint Greg for making and posting that video of walking from the Hilton to the Carnival pier since that will be us come February!!! We are huge walkers and were hoping it would be doable, and you certainly helped make it so!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Can't wait, getting so very excited to get a taste of NOLA!!!!