cstrycha

It doesn't make me want to cancel travel plans. If anything, it makes me eager to do more that is meaningful and enjoyable with loved ones, and that includes cruising.

I live/work near NYC, and suspect that if there would be a massive outbreak in my part of the world, my personal exposure risk is higher in day-to-day life than it would be on a cruise ship. Also, I was on my way to 1 WTC on 9/11 when it was struck by a plane. If anything, I'm even less afraid of death after that experience because I've viewed every single moment since then as a precious gift.

Worry is borrowed trouble. I have plenty of real troubles, and don't need to borrow any more.

It depends. We've been on 4 Princess cruises. The first in Alaska did skew somewhat toward a 50+ crowd, but there were some younger folks and a few kids. The next two in the Caribbean had many more younger people. Our most recent was last month in Europe. I think the average age was 50ish. We brought along our 25 year old neice who had a fabulous time, quickly finding a bunch of other twenty somethings to pal around with.

I think Celebrity skews older than Princess because it is more expensive. The most kid packed cruises we've been on were RCI. One was a record with 1/3 of the pax being children. It was spring break week, but really didn't feel over run with kids after the first day.

That is correct and why on my post I said they will not destroy Lemoncello if it is on your carry-on which of course it will be when you board in Venice. See ya soon in Venice :)

Just came off the Ruby, having boarded in Venice. There is a very good chance you can carry that Lemoncello straight to your room upon boarding. I quit drinking so we no longer bring wine onboard, but as recently as 2 weeks ago, our friends cruising with us were able to bring their duty free liquor purchases made in port directly to their state room upon embarkation. Many others were doing the exact same thing. Happy Cruising.

since I wear stretch jeans and knit pants ( without pockets ) yes I wear one on the ship. and as far as looking like a tourist off the ship because of a lanyard, I think all the shinny brand new tennis shoes in port are more obvious.

Yep. It's the shoes.

We will be in Venice in October and are thinking of attending Mass at St. Marks on a weekday morning (there appears to be a sung mass at 9am). I was wondering if any CCers have done this. If so, any advice? We know that dress must be appropriate, but have never attended services in Italy. (have done so in UK, France and Russia without incident).

 

I asked this question on our roll call, but there was no response. Hoping someone on this forum can help.

 

Jack

I do this all the time.

I'm Catholic, and typically looking to get to mass on Sunday anyway. But in port, we'll happily head for mass anytime, anywhere. When we were in Venice in 2007, a mass (in Polish) was just getting started as our tour of St. Marks was ending. Then later (early evening) we took the vaporetto over to Lido. A sudden rainstorm blew in and we ducked into the closest church. Not mass, but they were saying the rosary. Again we stuck around. I really appreciated the high school Latin.

On our TA, at a stop in Sardinia, we went searching for mass and happened upon an awesome choral concert. This was serendipitous. I make it a point when traveling to dress for church anyway, so I'm ready for whatever is happening. Even in the Caribbean, I'll throw a dress over my swimsuit. (Nice, cool & shaded church in St. Martin, steps off the beach, btw).

I highly recommend going to church services. It has made many a free or low cost excursion. It is generally a cool place to rest away from crowds and pigeons. I get as good a chance as any to mingle with locals during and immediately after church.

We'll be in Venice again in under 2 weeks, on Sunday. However, we will make a point this time of going to a different church besides St. Mark's.

Enjoy your time there.

Would it be obnoxious or otherwise frowned upon to order both lobster tail and steak? Its not even that I require that much food, i just like surf and turf :)

It would not be frowned upon at all. We went to Crown on formal night, which was also lobster night in the MDR. We were in the mood for beef and didn't care about lobster. In addition to the filets we ordered, they brought four lobster tails for the two of us without us asking for it. It was delicious.

My advice is to eat a small salad for lunch on the day you are going to Crown. It's a lot of food.

I cruise Because I AM a tightwad.

A weeklong stay at the beach in my home state will cost us more than a cruise. It will be more work for me too, and just isn't woth doing when the seas are calling. To save money whilst traveling we've done the following:

We waited until we were off ship and negotiated excursion prices with vendors on the street in Alaska. It worked out to half the price the ship was charging. Now we usually skip a special excursion altogether and walk, take mass transit or a cab to a beach or area of interest.

We'd underpacked one year, needing a few shirts for DH and some sunscreen. Not wanting to buy too much on ship, we befriended some crew and found how to get to the nearest wallmart in the next port. They know the cheapest ways to get around. They are the ones taking the free or low cost shuttles and now we do too.

We bring our Rick Steves clothesline and do laundry onboard so that we don't need to check luggage with the airlines if we are flying in. We have gotten by for 3 weeks on land in Europe this way. It's even easier onboard. Never heard a complaint that the same little black dress was worn on 2 formal nites.

We have three nearby airports to try from for low fares, and we take our local commuter rail service to the airports to save on parking fees.

We bring along our own snorkel gear and don't have to rent. This is as much for hygiene as it for frugality.

When I drank, we brought wine onboard from port to supplement what we would get onboard, but I quit. So that plus any pricey cocktails are no more on the sea pass account. Sobriety is far cheaper than the alternative!

If we're in port on a Sunday, we'll ask the ship for directions to the nearest Catholic churches and a schedule of Masses. We happened upon the most wonderful concert at a beautiful old church in Sardinia this way. The experience was priceless and also free.

With the savings, especially from not drinking, we tip very well and in the case of the cabin steward, upfront. This has twice furthered a relationship with the crew who took us fishing and along with them for some other adventures on their hours off.

Most times our sea pass account is only the automatic gratuities plus a portrait of the two of us. For maximum savings, I try to book the next one while onboard.