Markanddonna

I mentioned my booking was a non-suite.

I just finished the booking with an outside travel agency. I won. Celebrity originally told me that I would have to pay the $700 difference, but the agent worked it out. They originally told him the same thing but he went higher up.

You two should be fine. I would look for a tour that both began and ended at the tram. They exist. I think it will be more than 22 minutes. We were fast walking for about 20 minutes from the middle of the street leading to the port (we exited our van right in the middle of the street.)

I was told the $200 would be the full deposit for a non suite cabin. Otherwise, it is just giving Celebrity a cash advance? That makes no sense.

I purchased a $100 pp (total $200) future cruise certificate. The onboard agent indicated this would be the deposit for my next cruise, and I needed to book it within the next 6 months. Got that. Now, I'm trying to use it for a 10-day cruise in Jan 2024, and the deposit is now $900. What am I missing? I will have to pay the $700 balance now. So, Celebrity said it was just to get a place onboard, which makes no sense. Why would I just give them $200 to keep for me with no other benefit? Can anyone explain this?

Bring your daily planner. It has the port agent's name and info in case you have an emergency.

The internet has good instructions on how to use the tram. I was told after this experience that rush hour gridlock is a daily occurrence. How does your tour suggest you return to the ship? Our experience at the end sort of ruined an otherwise very nice day. Some advice: stay together. One of the women in my group was off on her own after lunch when we had free time not far from the square in front of Hagia Sophia and was assaulted by teenagers. They tried to grab her purse. They didn't know who they were messing with and didn't get it. I understand women should not be alone in Istanbul.

My recent COVID experience in Europe was that you need to go to the pharmacy for most everything, including packs of electrolytes in powdered form. Most countries don't have drug stores like we do. Also, if you are seeking an antiviral, they may give you something other than Paxlovid. It is sort of the same but with a different dosing regime. We went to a hospital in Prague, and they gave my husband the antiviral without performing their own test, and he never was face to face with a doctor.

Like Cruiser Bruce said, the highly rated excursion companies work hard to keep on schedule and to get you back to the ship on time. That said, here are two caveats: Several years ago, the ship and local time were different.There was a little blurb in small type on the daily informing people of that. Good thing that our close knit group worked hard to get the word out or some would have been an hour late. That is the only time out of hundreds of ports I've been to where there was a time difference. If you are in Istanbul, consider looking for a tram-based tour. The rush hour traffic at the port is often severely gridlocked. Nothing was moving, so it didn't matter if you were in a car, on a bus or van. Only the tram was moving. We had to get out of the van and fast walk to the port to make it on time. We weren't confident that the ship excursions suffered the same problems, but they did. As it ended up, the ship was at least two hours delayed in leaving port. The crew told me that night that they all took the tram because they had been there before. Maybe we should be getting more excursion advice from the crew!

This is a problem for many newer ships as most still jam the buffet, pools and spas and fitness center on the same deck. They double the cabins and the decks, but add little room to these critical spaces.

It depends how well you handle heat and humidity. Do you enjoy opening the door to a wall of hot/humid air? Personally, I wouldn't unless I won the vacation.

It does depend on how many seasons you have to deal with and if it is winter, you might not be able to do the carry-on. Launder items in the sink or send them out. I also discovered on this past cruise that I could cut out my evening outfits and didn't bring my pretty dancing shoes. I don't dance all that well anyway!

Ah, reality. You noticed that minor detail, didn't you? And he has connections everywhere he goes and a budget to buy whatever he needs. I still love Rick Steves, though.

Dealing with missing luggage taught me a few things: - staying at an apartment/AirBnB is risky if the airplane loses your luggage. Like the OP said, you are sort of trapped at the apartment waiting for the delivery. We suffered through two days like that and when it was discovered, opted to go to the airport ourselves to retrieve it. That gave us the final day to sightsee. - Airtags are somewhat useful, but we knew where our luggage was without them. It doesn't really move most lost luggage faster when an airtag is attached. It still has to go through the system's bureaucracy. - Careful planning and online advice on how to use only a carry-on can revolutionize your travel. No more schlepping big bags through the airport, up a few stairs, over cobblestone, or up the stairs on trains. - You see the beauty of carryons only when you have gone through this problem yourself. Up until this past November, when ITA lost our luggage from NYC to Rome, I thought myself immune.

Having some cash is important on some trips and in some situations. The problem is that you won't know until you are in that situation. Taxis in some countries (Israel, Turkey, Greece, some central European, and most likely other countries) often ask to be paid in cash- sometimes US dollars. That happened in those mentioned countries in the half last year. The only critical time to have cash was last month in Prague- having coins for the toilets was important. Yes, you have to pay, and the old women manning the toilets have no mercy. Even the train station in Prague required payment, but a turnstile accepted credit cards! There are countries where we survived on only a credit card. In Auckland, NZ, we needed coins for the lockers. Having no currency, we asked at the desk, and they told us about the free lockers on another floor.

On our 17 day (2 B2B) cruise last Jan and Feb, we stayed onboard quite a bit, partly because we had already been there and also because some ports just weren't all that interesting (Jamaica for example.) The ship with the passengers was overcrowded so we got to see a quiet, laid back atmosphere. How nice!

The problem is that many who have been to Nassau more than once are hesitant to leave the ship and often don't. To many, it isn't a desirable port, therefore the cheap rate.

We are forced to compare apples to oranges, even on cruises we took less than ten years ago to today's offerings. Ships are way bigger, there are more passengers, the dining experience has declined markedly (unless you eat in the specialty restaurants), the typical passenger has changed, lots of alcohol and excessive drinking sometimes prevail because of drink packages, and the cruise lines are attempting to decrease their expenditures to make up for the COVID years. Cruising is a lot less appealing to me than it was ten or more years ago. Our last cruise (Celebrity TA) was fantastic, but most of our cruises are meh. Maybe it is because, like many of you, I have been to lots of fantastic places and have so many experiences to which I can compare. I have come to appreciate land travel much more.

I met missionaries who were going to Vietnam via cruise ship.

Almost never, esp in Israel where they give you an ID card to carry so your passport is not tracked by other countries who hate Israel.

The decision to go with an agent boils down to final costs. I wouldn't book with an agent if the total savings is less than $100. An agent who charges a fee, likely nonrefundable, needs to do way better than a $100 difference. With some research on these boards, you can easily find your own hotels and tours on your own. I would definitely get travel insurance but never accept the one offered by the cruise line. Fewer benefits for the money, unless you are REALLY old. That is when most travel insurance gets really out of control. The cruise lines don't base the policy on age. Both ports are great. Know that Rome is at least an hour from the port while Barcelona is just minutes away. You should find lots of advice. Also look on the Tripadvisor forums for advice. (under "more.")

I just received three checks totaling the full amount requested. My husband came down with COVID and had complications because of preexisting issues. Here is how we had success: 1. Not only did I keep all the receipts, but I also submitted a table of the various expenses with a code corresponding to each piece of paperwork. It likely made their job much easier. They sent us the checks about three weeks after we submitted. 2. I requested a letter from the doctor in Poland stating that she recommended my husband return back to the USA for treatment. 3. Nationwide was very good about payment but was no help while we were in a crisis in a country where we couldn't speak the language. Not everyone (that includes the receptionist at the hospital) speaks English, despite what people might tell you. Their team in Krakow never returned our call. They were supposed to be locating doctors who could speak English. I did my own research, found our flights to return home, and did the rest. 4. If you have to return home while you aren't feeling great, be sure to arrange airport assistance. They were all fantastic- four airports! We couldn't have made it without their help.

I just received three checks totaling the full amount requested. My husband came down with COVID and had complications because of preexisting issues. Here is how we had success: 1. Not only did I keep all the receipts, but I also submitted a table of the various expenses with a code corresponding to each piece of paperwork. It likely made their job much easier. They sent us the checks about three weeks after we submitted. 2. I requested a letter from the doctor in Poland stating that she recommended my husband return back to the USA for treatment. 3. Nationwide was very good about payment but was no help while we were in a crisis in a country where we couldn't speak the language. Not everyone (that includes the receptionist at the hospital) speaks English, despite what people might tell you. Their team in Krakow never returned our call. They were supposed to be locating doctors who could speak English. I did my own research, found our flights to return home, and did the rest. 4. If you have to return home while you aren't feeling great, be sure to arrange airport assistance. They were all fantastic- four airports! We couldn't have made it without their help. 5. Yes, I did respond with a positive review on InsureMyTrip. People who have actually used the insurance should be the only ones giving reviews.

No, different cruise line. I was on the Constellation in April and would have given it a 5 star. I think I did!

I looked just this morning for the reviews on a different cruise line. I wanted to see if reviews since mine were overwhelmingly negative. They were. 38% rated the target ship a one star. Here's my takeaway. Cruise Critic ratings probably should be modified because of the "age factor." Older ships that are/were well-loved have inflated ratings. More up-to-date reviews are often more negative because the industry continues to suffer from the lingering problems from the pandemic and permanent cutbacks. Cruising also is more mainstream, and society hasn't become more refined and agreeable. I recommend anyone looking at reviews to do a statistical analysis. Look at the last 33-34 cruises and make a simple tally record of the ratings. Then, just multiply their totals by 3 and get a percentage. Examine what the reviewers say and look for typical comments. I used the OMNI calculator and discovered the overall satisfaction rate in the past half year was 47.7%. Since the ship's beginning sailing, the ratings were about 76% satisfaction. The CC editor gave it a 4.5 out of 5. https://www.omnicalculator.com/math/average-percentage#the-weighted-average-of-percentages Shows you how the reviews are now quite inaccurate!