Azspeed

22 hours ago, Kathscof said:

Good idea!  Get a hotel at least less than an hour by car to the port, as train strikes and other random “oh Italy” things can happen.....good luck and enjoy the trip! 

Exactly why we're waiting till August when hopefully things are back to normal. And then to be on the safe side a day in early and a flight next day.

On 1/17/2022 at 10:08 AM, NancyIL said:

 

Have you already visited Rome? I can't imagine being that close to Rome and NOT seeing any of it. If you haven't been there before, you could book a tour of Rome the day the cruise ends - with pick-up at the port and drop-off at an airport hotel.  The cruise line will offer one, as well as private tour companies.

Yes, we've already done Rome, so it's just a cruise for us.

18 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

You do realize that the airport (Civitavecchia) is 45 minutes away from Rome and the port is an hour away from Rome.  Staying by either the port or airport will not leave you close to Rome.

Thanks - The cruise is plenty for us. Rome not sight-seeing is not an issue. Just a place to stay convenient to the airport or ship.

One night pre and one night post cruise. Just a convenient hotel to the airport and the ship. Thanks for your thoughts.

Google says Okinawa Japan

I agree and I also like the combinable OBC and the military OBC.

+1

I'm a stockholder with both Princess and Royal Caribbean. Eight times with Princess I've received the OBC - no issues.

Only once in five cruises have I "qualified" for OBC on Royal (not combinable issues)

More Princess - less Royal for me.

Has anybody done this tour? My questions are related to the 5 night land portion. What is the quality of the train and rooms provided by Celebrity?

We're not super fancy...Holiday Inn grade and better is just fine for us.

Thanks

Exactly, this is itinerary driven for us. It provides the full "British Isles" package because it includes Wales. We have been to England and Ireland (Blarney Stone) but this enables us to see Stonehenge, Edinburgh, Versailles, and much more. I think we will do our best and as long as our cabin etc is not flooded with water or sewage, LOL...it will be luxury camping in a suite? ;-)

Mine does the British Isles which we previously enjoyed, but the driving force is the Norwegian Fjords plus Iceland...all new to us.

With regards to the ship, we have a mini suite so the hope is that it's well maintained. Most importantly I hope the bedding is fairly new since arthritis is now in play. Enjoy your trip.

I am not interested in Cunard..but thank you for the suggestion :(..I have enjoyed all of my Princess cruises and was extremely excited about this one. I also prefer a larger ship for a TA. But...this cruise is over $30,000 not including return airfare, cruise tours etc. etc. There seems to be more negatives than positives and I cannot imagine anyone lying about their experiences whether good or bad? I have almost a year to decide, and hope it works in Princess's favor and anticipate it will. No need to get snippy for someone doing their due dilegence.

You and I are in the same boat (literally) I have a deposit down on the Caribbean Princess for a Grand Adventure August 2016 for 29 days.

This itinerary doesn't exist on any other lines. Never had a poor cruise (58 on various lines) but 29 days is very different both in dollars and time compared to the typical 7 day cruise...every issue is magnified.

We've done 58 cruises (different lines) without a poor one, but after reading about the Caribbean Princess I'm a little nervous. I could easily ignore little issues, but we're doing a Grand Adventure of 29 days in August 2016.

So, would you do a long one on this ship? Note we're just average people with realistic expectations. Again, it's the 29 days that magnifies the issues in our eyes.

Anyone just off a cruise remember what they were or anyone know where I can find them?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Leaving Saturday.

Just off the Grand last week. Saw Interstellar and Birdman.

You may want to call Princess and ask about the status is of the Grand Adventure cruise. Our roll call for this summer's Norwegian cruise had a long discussion about how we would like to take the Rauma Railway excursion in Andalsnes, Norway, but week after week went by, and Princess did not post any such excursion on their website. We were not able to book the excursion independently because of the timing our ship will be in port that day. Luckily, a British passenger called their TA and was told that Princess was offering a Rauma Railway excursion, but it just was not showing up on the Princess website. A number of us booked the excursion through our TA's directly, but to this day, you would never know that this excursion was being offered because it's never been posted on the Princess website.

Good to know...thanks for the info.

If it's within your means, you may want to consider booking a mini-suite or above on the Caribbean Princess because those cabins have tubs with showers. The showers in the regular cabins are hardly big enough to turn around in. It's too late for me to make the switch now, but I would if I could.

Interesting you would suggest what I hope to do, but guessing I'll get shut out. Here's something I never knew about.

Looking to book the Caribbean Princess August of 2016 for a "Grand Adventure" doing the Fjords, Iceland, and British Isles. Princess informed me the itinerary would release around 3/19/15. Now after doing some internet research I see UK agencies booking the trip as of a week ago. (leaves from the UK) Doesn't seem fair to me - any thoughts from anyone?

A couple of thoughts...

There's actually a third choice for $20.00 PP. The Crab Shack operates on a sea day out of the Horizon Court. (king crab legs and shrimp in a bucket) etc.

Re the Crown grill: if you order a steak ask them to also bring lobster - N/C, but they've gone to MUCH smaller lobster portions.

We'll make diamond plus this December on the Quantum. Looking forward to it, but have mixed feelings about using the plus lounges. Need your opinion.

Numerous times we've been told by plus members they prefer the regular diamond lounge as it's more lively, fun and not "stuffy" like diamond plus. True?

Just got back from Alaska on the "new" Radiance. Prior to sailing I noticed a myriad of complaints regarding a lack of seating in the Windjammer due to the new specialty restaurants.(following is the most anal thing I've ever done in my life)

From the Windjammer in each corner of the room there are 4 doors, each leading to another adjacent seating area...which were virtually empty almost every busy time I was there.

Door #1 to the Boardwalk Hot Dog Stand - 14 tables and 70 chairs

Door #2 to Izumi - 19 tables and 68 chairs

Door #3 to Rita's Cantina - 18 tables and 72 chairs

Door #4 to the Windjammer Cafe Veranda - 15 tables and 72 chairs

What did we learn?

1. I loved the ship, but dislike people that complain about everything.

2. You might have to walk 4 extra steps with your loaded buffet plate.

3. Yep, I'm anal.

I scanned through the pages and don't think I saw these tips so here goes. We always take at least one (two if the kids are with) pop up hamper. They fold flat for packing and weigh almost nothing. When it fills up with dirty clothes I pack them away in one of the suitcases. It helps keep the room organized and makes less work the last day of the cruise when you have to have your bags out.

My other tip is to make sure you have a swimsuit either on or in your carry-on so you can enjoy the pools and hot tubs on embark day. It is the only time the pools and hot tubs are almost empty. Just make sure to have flip-flops or sandals, I forgot mine once and had my running shoes on, I almost burned my feet on the hot pool deck getting into the pool.

We also take the plug-in air freshener, we also take a small can of febreeze we spray the curtains, couches etc. and sometimes have to spray the hallway to clear the air from others.

Regarding your Febreze tip...here's something you probably don't know.

I'm a deputy sheriff, and many times we have to book some pretty unsavory characters into jail. We spray everything with Fabreze to INCLUDE the prisoner - It's a lifesaver!