LEtue

That would make me happy!

I looked at the Celebrity offerings but RCI is usually priced better. Looking forward to seeing the itineraries.....

So then why do the hotels charge the same for single or double occupancy? All I am saying is that charging for double occupancy is the norm in the hotel business, just like in the cruise business. Using your explanation, the hotels should charge less since they don't lose that discretionary spending by a second person when only one person stays in the room. We don't hear people complain about paying for two people when they book a room as a single.

I agree that it is the norm however, I have booked multiple times at a rate less than double occupancy. :)

Double occupancy on a cruise ship is still a problem for me though and when I cruise solo I usually book Princess since they only charge 150% :D

Thanks! I have contacted Albergo Cesari and I am overwhelmed by the quick and detailed response. Since both hotels seem very nice with a good location, I am going to go with the less expensive hotel. Time in the room will be minimal.

Just stayed 2 nights at the Albergo Cesari in October and it is in a great location. We walked everywhere except the Vatican and as mentioned the staff is friendly and helpfull. My friend and I stayed in a room with twin beds and although small by American standards it was comfortable and very clean. It worked well for us and you should enjoy it too :D

Just returned from a fantastic cruise on the Serenade of the Seas which included a stop in Kusadasi. I organized 2 tours for our CC group and one was Ephesus with Ephesus Shuttle. They were fantastic to work with and we really enjoyed our day with our guide Emory. I had asked that we not include the carpet factory and the subject never came up on tour day. I would highly recommend them and our tour included Ephesus - with Terrace Houses, St John's Basilica and the House of the Virgin Mary. It was a great tour!

Prices seem high to me too :(

They only seem to be on the US website (and only the Eclipse cruises). They are not on the UK website.

I am able to view sailing from April through October (I think all ships).

I saved the PDF of the itineraries. It's on my home PC. I'll try and post it when I get home.

 

 

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That would be very nice!

So it seems that we won't be able to view the itineraries until the 11th - the same day they are available for booking?

I couldn't care less if the deposit is refundable or not, because I would never cancel!

Okay, that is fine. But others may benefit from the information.....

Just be sure to ask!

There is one very large cruise only agency that charges $100 to cancel and I know of another that charges $75 but if you book another cruise it is "waived". Point is, there are times when you have to cancel and if so you may be surprised if you don't ask up front or read the terms and conditions when booking on line.

There was also a recent Princess promotion with non refunadable deposits but I think changes were allowed - not sure.....

I'm finding the same thiing! I'm used to using a TA for Princess where it can make a big difference.....

I plan to book the Epic for October 2015 and will book through NCL for the convenience. If I have to make changes - I can cancel and rebook without any penalty :)

Dave4120,

 

Priority Check In is a benefit of Business Class or higher, and can also be a benefit of Airline credit cards and sometimes also for those with loyalty status. There's a dedicated line at check-in.

 

Your flight time should be fine.

 

Enjoy Barcelona!!

Depending on the airline you can add this to your ticket at check-in. I just flew from Rome last week on American/US Air and added it for $36. Along with my TSA Pre-Check (which I didn't think I would get on a flight to the US) it was helpful and I got overhead bin space :)

I put a courtesy hold on a booking last night before this promotion started. The same booking today gets $600 OBC but costs $605 more!!! What a deal!!!

I did the same and the inside cabin I held on the Allure is $582 more pp person today :(

I want to head back to the Med next year and sail from Barcelona - but I guess it won't be in RCI since the only option is the Allure and prices are really high!

Hi there, Has anyone caught a taxi from Messina to Taormina ??

 

Are there a lot of taxi's available. Can you get back easily. How much would it cost.

 

As there are four of us ship tours are working out very expensive so if its possible I would like to get there DIY.

 

Thanks

Yes, there were 4 of us and we took a taxi. There were plenty available and we negotiated a RT price. I wish I could remember how much it was but we did this in so many ports - that I would be guessing. The driver returned to pick us up at the designated time. Drop off was right in the town :)

Great port and we loved Taormina!

I couldn't post the link so you will have to type it in.

cruise line rooms (no spaces) dot com

Here is what the postcard from Princess that I got says:

 

National Cruise Vacation Week sale

Oct. 2-14 only

go to princess.com/sale

 

get up to 30% off plus prepaid gratuities, onboard spending money

campaign code PP4MD037

 

I will be checking to see if any of these goodies will apply to my Jan. 18 Emerald cruise.

Mine just arrived today so I will check prices again on Thursday :)

I got a card in the mail from Princess stating there is a sale starting Oct. 3 with prepaid gratuities and shipboard credits. I looked online but this is not showing yet. I'll wait until Oct. 3 to see if there are any better deals for our Jan.18 Emerald sailing.

Good to know. Although the price of the cabin I put a hold on yesterday - increased in price today.

So, you may want to put a cabin on hold the day before the sale starts :rolleyes:

if I had 2 weeks I'd choose 1 week outside cabin for the cruise, then 1 week for a DIY land trip to include Denali.

Same thought here. One week in an inside or outside with additional time on land gets my vote :D:D

That also seems very high to me from NY.

Don't overlook NY to Milan and utilizing the train between Venice and back from Rome on your return. I saw some really low fares in the $600 - $700 range when I was playing with options for our trip this year.....

Princess

Day Port of Call Arrival Departure

1 Seattle -- 04:00 PM

2 At Sea -- --

3 Juneau 11:00 AM 10:00 PM

4 Skagway 06:00 AM 08:15 PM

5 Glacier Bay 06:00 AM 03:00 PM

6 Ketchikan 07:00 AM 12:30 PM

7 Victoria 07:00 PM 11:59 PM

8 Seattle 07:00 AM --

 

Holland

Day Port of Call Arrival Departure

1 Vancouver -- 05:00 PM

2 Cruise Inside Passage -- --

3 Tracy Arm 10:00 AM 10:30 AM

3 Juneau 01:00 PM 10:00 PM

4 Skagway 07:00 AM 09:00 PM

5 Glacier Bay 07:00 AM 04:00 PM

6 Ketchikan 10:00 AM 06:00 PM

7 Cruise Inside Passage -- --

8 Vancouver 07:00 AM --

 

 

Thanks!

I have only sailed on HAL once and I wasn't impressed either. However, for the two itineraries you are considering I would definitely pick the RT itinerary from Vancouver. The experience just isn't the same when sailing from Seattle.

I try not to base anything on a sample of 1 so I give the nod to HAL here.....

It has been awhile since we have had to purchase tickets for Europe.

 

We are looking to leave LAS (Las Vegas) on 5/15/15 for FCO (Rome) and return on 5/29/2015.

 

The best price with decent connections is about $1,450. YIKES!! Is this normal or should the rate go down a bit if we wait until Nov or so to purchases?

 

We were only expecting to pay about $1,200 each.

 

We may have to scrap this cruise if the air prices stay this high and just do Alask next Jun or Jul instead.

Don't know if you're still shopping for airfare but I can tell you that RT in and out of Milan and using the train to Rome can be a lot less. Just checked your dates and it is about $1200 RT. If you monitor the fares you may catch a sale for even a bit less.

My friend in TX and I are headed to Rome next month and we both caught fare sales on American - at different times. My fare from Tampa to Rome with one stop in Phily came in at $848 and hers from Austin was $936. We were prepared to go through Milan though - just to add to the adventure :) Airfare from NY to Milan is usually low too if you can combine it with a RT from LAS. Look at all of your options including driving to LA?

R/T from LAX to Rome is $873 on Nowegian Air but I don't know anything about them :confused: There is a stop in Copenhagen going and Stockholm coming back that would give you an overnight in each and maybe some time to see some of the city?

Good luck finding something that works for you!

I have only cruised on Carnival in the Caribbean but I wouldn't hesitate to book the May sailing that you are on. The itinerary is great and it includes Glacier Bay.:D

Have a great cruise!

Having done both I don't think you could possibly be disappointed with either - especially since this is your first trip.

Also consider your air/hotel/tranfer needs. I like to get the long flight over and relax on the southbound trip. Flying home from Vancouver gets me home the same day with no overnight flight :)

Consider the whole trip and make it work for you :) You will have a wonderful trip no matter what you choose :D

I would definitely recommend that you choose a southbound itinerary that includes Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay and one of the Princess ships. HAL is another great choice.....

This will give you great viewing and plenty of port time. It will work well for the pre-cruise plans you have to Denali and if you make future trips - you can do alternate ports with other cruise lines that can't enter Glacier Bay.

Check out the Coral, Star and Grand Princess and see if one of the sailings works for you :)

Have fun planning!

You don't mention where you are flying from but check all of your options - including other departure cities near where you live. Also, I have found that a one way flight from SEA to ANC added to RT Seattle flights comes out cheaper. Fairbanks may the same. Alaska Air has many flights leaving at all times of the day and other airlines are competitive when they run fares sales. If sailing southbound you may need to transfer back to SEA though and probably overnight. Still might be your best bet.

For 2015 I was able to get Tampa to ANC and directly home from Vancouver for only about $50 more than going back through to SEA, so it worked out well. But I was prepared to do the RT SEA with add ons. It is best to know what is a sale price so start monitoring dailiy (if possible) so you recognize a good price when you see it.