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Hi,

Our cruise visits Sorrento in early July and I was looking at independent travel arrangements to Positano and Amalfi.  One option I am looking at is the ferries that go from Sorrento to Positano, then from Positano to Amalfi and finally a return from Amalfi to Sorrento.  Does anyone have any experience of doing all, or some of these trips?  Does this seem a reasonable schedule for the day?  We are scheduled to be in port from 8am - 6pm so I was thinking about a ferry leaving around 9:00/9:30am, and booking the return to be back in port by 4:30.  It is a Sunday we will be there if that makes any difference.

Many thanks for any tips anyone can share.

We've received today the upgrade email for our Britannia cruise at the end of June.  Upgrade from Superior Delux balcony to a Suite is £690 per person, bringing the total cost to almost exactly the price they were at the time booked originally, and just a few pounds cheaper than available through the website today.  There are plenty of suites available.

All seems rather pointless really.   A similar scheme works with RCCL and you can bag a bargain there, doesn't look like that's going to be the case with P&O.

P&O have now added a section on upgrades to their web site explaining the scheme:

https://www.pocruises.com/upgrades

35 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

This has spread to Cunard as well. 

 

Have received offer for a June cruise,  minimum bid was very high , much more than half the of normal price difference. So Cunard don't want cheeky bids. 

 

What are minimums on P&O like.

There's full details on the Cunard web site.  I can't see anything similar on P&O yet, but I'd assume it will be added at some point and is basically the same scheme.

https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/stateroom-upgrade#faqs

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

My email arrived for my June cruise , note seems too late for earlier  April 7th cruise to be included in bidding. 

 

I was thinking of putting in a cheeky bid for upgrade from Q5 to Q1, but the minimum bid is £6650 per person.  So no thank you. OK this is a bit less than the £9200 a person full difference. But looks like Cunard dont want any sort of cheeky bids. Anyone prepared to bid £6650 pp to upgrade would most likely have been willing to pay full price.

 

Seems an odd strategy.  

We were so lucky a few years ago when we got the magic upgrade fairy move us from Q5 to Q1 for a Mediterranean cruise on Queen Elizabeth.  Having a suite that covered half the width of the ship with the wrap around balcony was incredible, we really did feel like royalty on that cruise.  Of course, we'd never expect that sort of upgrade again anyway, but there is a slight regret that with the bidding system, the upgrade fairy is well and truly retired.

We've stayed in Athens pre-cruise on a couple of occasions at the Electra Palace Hotel.  This was pre-covid of course.  It was a very clean, modern and comfortable hotel, well located within short walking distance for local restaurants, shopping, and a longer walk for the Acropolis, etc.  Transfer from the airport was by taxi, no booking, just taken from the rank, less than 30 minutes travel I think,  and another taxi from the hotel to port, maybe a 20 minute transfer, flagged down by the door porter on the morning.  I can't remember the cost of the taxis I'm afraid, but my recollection is that they were quite reasonable.

Thanks to everyone who has given suggestions on this.  We're looking at the hotel options and thought it might be nice to have a room for the day to allow us to chill and change later in the day ready for the long flight home.  Does anyone know of hotels in Boston that do day use rooms?  Or does anyone know if the site Dayuse.com is reliable?  The seem to have several options on there but I'm a bit cautious relying on a random website that I haven't come across before.

6 hours ago, Caroldoll said:

I am not understanding how to get a move up.  I have a real reason that Must get a move up to any suite higher than a Sky Suite.  What is the best way.  I will pay anything.

In that case just call them and pay for an upgrade.  Even if you get a chance to do a Move Up bid the chances of being successful for a suite are pretty slim.  If you need a suite just book a suite.

2 minutes ago, Ellan Vannin said:

Nope, it is currently showing  3 days( or actually only  prior to boarding for supervised test).

screenshot from uk site.

No problem - do it in three days and see how you get on.  Just letting you know Greece haven't changed their rules as of today - up to you what you do with that information.

20 minutes ago, britishcruisers2 said:

Still very confused as our 10 night cruise,( after September 5 rule change ) from Rome has a Greek port so self tests are not permitted but can we now take a monitored test three days in advance or is it still two?!

Any cruise to Greece is unchanged - test must be supervised and within two days prior to sailing.  As per Celebrity web site...

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/italy-travel-requirements/updated

2 hours ago, Caroldoll said:

We are on Summit which is Boston to Boston.  My friend lives in Canada and says a PC Covid is not required to get in to Canada.  This ship has several Canadian stops.  Do we really need this pre-cruise test.  We have all our vaccinations.

Your friend is wrong for cruises (may be different for other entry methods).  It's a Canadian government requirement:

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

On 8/12/2022 at 2:29 PM, vwlmember said:

From the website https://travel.gov.gr

 

7. What is the situation with cruise ships?

 

As of 14.05.2021, cruise restrictions have been completely removed, always imposing very strict protocols that apply to these activities.

 

 

The website for the Piraeus port authority https://www.olp.gr/en/# shows nothing under Covid-19 protocols that requires a negative covid test for entry. I can't imagine any of the other Greek ports requiring the test if Piraeus does not.

 

Very confusing information from multiple sources here.  We are on the Sept. 5th Beyond cruise to Greece and have no idea what to do at this point.

I see the confusion, but this is the result of a poor translation into English of the second half of that sentence.  The restriction referred to here is the long expired restriction on cruise ships visiting Greece, not the pre-boarding restrictions .  A fuller translation would be along the lines of "restrictions on cruise ships visiting Greece are completely removed, subject to compliance to the strict protocols that apply to these activities."

Cruise lines undoubtedly have been informed separately in detail of these protocols, not relying on Mr Google to let them know.

That being said there is no confusion I can see on the Celebrity instructions, simply if you want to board a cruise going to Greece you need that supervised negative test.

Thank you - that's a really good tip to try the hotels.  We'll do that for sure.

Hi, my wife and I are cruising out of Boston this September and it will be the first time we have visited Boston.  On return from the cruise we have a late night flight out of Boston so are looking to make the best of the day rather than kick our heels getting bored in the airport.  Can anyone advise if there is a facility to leave our cases at the cruise port or any other suggestions how we might make this work?  We will be on a Celebrity ship if that makes any difference to facilities available.

Many thanks.

Meanwhile Canada is still in Covid World December 2021, with cruise rules that can make no difference to the spread of the virus at a practical level and no hint of any changes coming along anytime soon.  So frustrating as we look forward to our September cruise.

On 6/17/2022 at 2:34 AM, TheSweetPotatoQueen said:

Question. How are you getting to your hotel from the airport?

We used Cruise Control Transportation for the inbound transfer and then again to transfer from the ship to a Disney hotel after the cruise (we were staying a few days post cruise).  Happy to recommend this company, on time, efficient and friendly.

7 hours ago, GTO-Girl said:

You will be less than a mile to the port….😁.  
 

We are staying there next month.  It is a nice hotel and they have a shuttle service for a small fee.

 

Once you get off the ship are you going directly back to the airport?  If so you might want to pre-book a shuttle.  Some popular suggestions are:

 

*Cortrans Shuttle 

*Cruise Control Transportation 

*Cocoa Beach Shuttle 

*GoPort

Thank you.  We have booked the hotel shuttle now so all good for Sunday.  On our return we're spending a few days at Disney and have booked a transfer with Cruise Control Transportation, who has been very helpful and responsive to our queries.  So with our negative Covid tests in hand I think we are finally ready!

Great, thanks for the advice.

Hi,  my family and I are cruising for the first time from Florida (only done European cruises up to now), flying in to MCO on Saturday with the cruise leaving Port Canaveral on Sunday.  For the overnight we have booked Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Port Canaveral which looks very close to the port. 

Is anyone able to advise whether it is standard for hotels in the area, or better still if anyone knows for this particular hotel, to provide shuttle services to the ship on departure days or will we need to arrange our own transfer for the morning?  I've tried contacting the hotel but they're not proving to be very responsive unfortunately.

Many thanks.

22 hours ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Sounds like the requirement is for a beach with noise, herds, average food/drinks, q for facilities, with some snorkelling (St K is not great) and a shuttle minibus there and back. Then one will find all this at Carambola.  

Wow, bet you're fun at parties.

1 hour ago, blue_water said:

You will dock at Crown Bay which is to the west of Charlotte Amalie. The East End beaches have the best snorkeling and water sports and are obviously located on the east end of the island.

So if you want the closest beach that would be Lindbergh Bay (aka “Emerald Beach” for the Emerald Resort where you can rent lounges and find food and drinks).

 

Our choice for a nice beach with snorkeling, jet ski, paddle board and other rentals, food and drink and possibly music is Sapphire Beach. Taxi is ~$11/pp each way. There is a rental center for lounges, snorkel gear, etc and beach bar, and jet ski rentals are available at the marina…

Thank you, that is really helpful. 

Hi,  we're going to St Thomas with Harmony in June as a family (all adults) and it will be our first time at this island.  Ideally we're looking for a nice beach with some watersports (Jet ski, snorkeling, etc.) for the younger adults, and good sunbathing, food and drink, all within easy access from the port.

Can anyone recommend a good location for first-timers to visit please?

Many thanks.

Hi,  we're going to St Kitts with Harmony in June as a family (all adults) and it will be our first time at this island.  Ideally we're looking for a nice beach with some watersports (Jet ski, snorkeling, etc.) for the younger adults, and good sunbathing, food and drink, all within easy access from the port.

Can anyone recommend a good location for first-timers to visit please?

Many thanks.

18 minutes ago, Foody said:

We set sail on the 22nd July on the Anthem. Just been reading on RC website that we have to have a supervised Covid test within 2 days of boarding. 
Anyone in England booked this yet? Any recommendations/prices? 
We are in Manchester and I know a Randox shop has just opened in the Trafford Centre, looks like a PCR there is £65 per person and results in 12-14 hours. 
Thanks 

We're on  Harmony in 11 days and have booked an in store test with a local Lloyd's Pharmacy.  We fly on the Saturday and board on Sunday so getting the test on Friday will cover both requirements.   You only need the Antigen/rapid flow test, not full PCR and Lloyd's are doing these for £29.  

Edit to add - you leave the pharmacy with the test in your hand after about 20 mins so no waiting on emails, etc.

Hi.  We've done many Royal Caribbean cruises in the Med including on Harmony, but this year for the first time will be on a Caribbean cruise in June.  I'd be really interested in people's view of the differences we can expect between the cruises, for example: on Med cruises there is still a reasonable number of people dressing formally for Formal night, what is the experience in the Caribbean?  is the food broadly the same or does it reflect the cruise location? etc, etc.

Many thanks for any insights or experiences you can share.