CruisesOnMyMind

We did a private tour with TJ Travel (just DH, myself a guide and driver)...they were so flexible...we changed up things at a moments notice it was our private tour, they planned and suggested the main points of interest and we added some extra things that we wanted to do....Amazing trip of a life time with VIP service !!! I emailed many of the major tour companies... not only was Tatyana the first to respond but there was an immediate connection with her...By the time we arrived I felt like a good friend had been planning our trip...I couldn't have been more impressed....Thanks Tatyana and Julia !!

Like ^^^^ We had the same experience twice. Tatyana was fantastic. Our first time was the canned tour from the web site which was great. The second was customized to see what we couldn't on the first go around. We went back and forth with different ideas until we settled on what we were doing.

I am starting to come to terms with taking a long tour in St. Petersburg but really do not think an 8:00 am start is realistic for my late night family. I haven't found any tour companies that advertise anything later than an 8:00 start. Any ideas?

Just my idea......But.... are you planning on being in St. Petersburg regularly? If not I suggest you get up and out of bed for this once, maybe few in a lifetime experience.:eek: Sleep in on another day!

Thank you! If we do not book a tour and get a visa on our own, can we walk on our own around town?

We've used TJ Travel twice and have been very pleased. They will customize your day if you wish. They are very personable.

You can walk around on your own if you apply for your own visa which is costly and time consuming from what I hear.

Patti, when I was looking for flights our of LAX for our TA next Aug to get an idea on routes it wouldn't give me a Non Stop for the day we plan to fly out, so changed to out of Boston and got Non stop an very good price using E to air. We will fly Domstic Round trip out of Palm Springs to Boston and get the 9:30 FLT out for Copenhagen. Coming home we get the Noon flight out of Boston via DFW and be home by 6 PM if nothing changes.

 

Gay

I'm a little off topic with another airline but.......

Take a look at Norwegian Airlines for non stop flights from LAX to CPH at a very very attractive price. Use the calendar view as the non stop flights are not daily and will show you which ones are. Their non stop flights uses Dreamliners. Before Norwegian started these flights recently we always used A2S for CPH

After reading this thread I thought my sailing was "safe". I checked Royal's website and on 10/11/17 Rhapsody and Vision are both leaving Quebec City. The itinerary appears the same. Will Royal automatically switch me to Vision or provide various options?

They simply changed the ship name on my same sailing, so please check your cruises on Royal's website again. Our cabin appointment stayed the same.

It would be. Unfortunately I have other cruises in 2017 so I can only do one of these :(

It's a good thing as you couldn't book the TA if you wanted to.

Apparently everyone who is affected by the Legend, Vision and Rhapsody cruises will have until June 22nd to make up their mind where they want to transfer their 2017 cruises to and still get some kind of OBC and airfare reimbursement. Cruises were a long way away so plenty of time......

Problem I am having is they don't know exactly where their ships will be to choose a new cruise. I know Vision has to go somewhere after Oct, 2017, but at this point they don't know. Might be something I want to do, but will not have the option.

Talk about screwed up big time right from USA, Europe and Australia and beyond!

So how about they get rid of the drinks in the lounge and we get three drinks a day, any time of the day you want it, and any drink you want up to like maybe a $15.00 price limit and you pay the difference if the price is higher?

 

And if people want to hang out in the lounge just take the drink that you just got from a bar and bring it in there. This would clear the staff serving drinks in the lounge to work elsewhere on the ship and save RCI the expense of staffing the lounge.

I'm in for getting rid of the drinks in the lounge and having vouchers instead, however I think it should be:

D = 3 vouchers

D+ = 4

P = 6

Doesn't matter to me if they are to be used daily or during a designated happy hour.

Whether or not you use all the vouchers in one day is entirely your own business.

We're not from the UK but I just went through this a couple of hours ago with the 1st leg being with AC and the 2nd with United. I booked it in Air2Sea.

As stated United was not a problem with seat selection online. AC would not allow it.

I called Air2Sea and she stated we cannot get our seats until 24 hrs before per AC policy.

I looked on AC's site and it pretty much said the same thing unless we were members.

I called AC and had my seats assigned right away!:D:D

I am pretty sure when we flew from Venice to Gatwick on BA I did the same thing for seating. I would be extremely upset if I could not sit beside DH as I don't like to fly.

Bottom line is to call the carrier and ask. Could even inquire with them before booking I guess.

If you are booking the Rendezvous Hotel, you should use Argyle Street to walk up there from Circular Quay. We stayed at Sydney Harbour B and B the night before our last cruise and found that we had to walk up a lot of steps with our suitcases. we didn't research our route adequately.

Thank you for mentioning this. I have it noted now and will research the area ahead of time.

About a kilometre or a 1/2 hour walk.

 

One benefit of the Rocks is that you are close to Circular Quay and the ferry terminals, and a Ferry trip to Manly or the Zoo are, in my opinion, a must.

Perfect! The Rocks here we come:D:D

We will indeed take the Ferry to the Zoo. No idea what Manly is about but will googled it right away.

Thank you again!

Nothing wrong with either of those. The York is more central for your three days in the city.

 

If you are leaving from the OPT the Rondezvous is closer.

 

Rondezvous is perhaps slightly nicer hotel, but on balance I'd go the York for location. Less than $20 to the pier.

Thank you for your quick reply and input.

How far is it to walk into the city from the Rendezvous if we wanted to do that?

We're not shoppers so don't need to be in a big city atmosphere for the whole time.

Need help deciding on which hotel to stay at for 3 nights pre-cruise:

Rendezvous Hotel The Rocks or The York by Swiss Belhotel.

Looks like we can walk right to the cruise ship from the Rendezvous.

The Swiss looks very nice. Taking a cab to the ship is no big deal.

At this point we're planning on walking pretty much everywhere from either hotel. Might venture out on the train if desired.

Thank you for your help:)

Glad you got it worked out. Let me get my head into this. Cruise 1 is from NJ to Quebec, right? That cruise doesn't even fall into the purview of the PVSA, since it ends in a foreign port. Cruise 2 is from Quebec to NJ, right? That cruise also does not fall under the PVSA as it starts in a foreign port. When combined, they are NJ to NJ, which is a closed loop cruise, and legal under the PVSA. Even with an overnight in Quebec, these two together are fine, and since cruise 3 visits the ABC's, the whole shmear is good.

You have it right!

I just wonder how many people have tried to book this and have been told they can't.

Maybe this is why there is no Roll Call for the Quebec end of it.

Thanks. I am not worried about it. I just think it is funny that Royal keeps saying that you can't take it but every one else says that you can. I have the Anthem booked as a back up.

 

 

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I booked the 3 the on Jewel TA last week. The NC Rep wasn't sure it could be done. He supervisor was not in at the time so he contacted someone from RCCL on shore. He then realized it was 6 hours earlier there.

In the meantime his boss comes in and says a definite no to the first 2 that it can't be done. RC Rep said it was strange nothing is popping up on his computer not allowing it. I knew from here others had booked cruises only to find out later it can't be done.

Since he had sent the email off to headquarters he said he would let me know for sure later that day if they had a different opinion.

To make a long story even longer I had to check back with him about something else later that evening and he said he was talking with headquarters at that moment. Turns out it could be done so we booked them. I have the name of the person he talked to at headquarters. Not that it makes any difference whatsoever if it did turn out wrong.

Reason I asked here is because of course CC is a lot more knowledgeable then most of the reps. Now I do feel great that we are good to go.

Like you I had booked the Anthem previously because it took so long for the Oct st & 11th cruise to come out for the Rhapsody.

Legal because you are visiting a distant foreign port (ABC).

Thanks Bob for the quick reply....now would the 1st 2 legs only be legal. NJ - Que, Que - NJ?

So in boggling my mind reading this, I am surmising this B3B itinerary will be legal on the Rhapsody fall 2017.

1- New Jersey to Quebec

2- Quebec to New Jersey

3- New Jersey to Tampa ( ABC's, Grand Cayman + more)

Just verifying with those in the know.:)

We are sailing on the Serenade of the Seas this June, the Norway/Arctic Circle Cruise.

 

Does anyone know if Guest Services onboard is able to exchange U.S. Dollars for Norwegian Krone? We plan on getting some Norwegian Krone (NOK) before we leave but wonder if we have an excess left over, or need more, if Guest Services will be able to exchange the excess NOK for U.S. Dollars - and likewise, if we need more - can they exchange U.S. Dollars for NOK?

We did this cruise last year and it was absolutely fantastic. I can't answer your question about the Krone onboard as we never used them. We used a credit card or U.S dollars.

If you were platinum at the time of booking your TA should have taken care of your discount at that time. To get it now it will be repriced.

I agree, the TA should have applied it at the time of booking.

Suggestions: I would call the TA and bring this to their attention. See what they have to say. If not favorable ask them to cover the balcony discount in form of an OBC as they should have known what they are doing when you booked. If not favorable ask them to call resolutions to see if they can have it applied at the original price. Have them make it a 3 way call. One step at a time.

I have never seen this before. :(

 

Platinum Balcony Discount When Booking More than 6 Months from Sailing Date:

$ 50 * for sailings of 3-5 nights

$100* for sailings of 6-9 nights

$200* for sailings of 10-14 nights

$200* for sailings of 15+ nights

 

 

So, may I ask a question? We just booked the Rhapsody 13 night for next year under the "free gratuities" promotion. Am I still entitled to the $200 ???

No, you cannot combine them. The prepaid grat's is more than the balcony discount.

Hmmm, I think I'll refrain from commenting but very, very tempting having just reached Diamond level! :) :D Oh, what the heck!

 

I had someone comment to me about my double credit because I sail solo, first, I didn't make the rules, 2nd what business is it of theirs, 3rd do they think I like paying double???

 

I tried to resist, but couldn't, sorry! :D

Congrats on reaching D level:D:D

I agree you do deserve double credits for sailing solo because of paying double the price. Now the solos that are over 340 C&A credits do not pay double. Why should they get double?:confused:

Any waiter that looks at money and wonders what it's for must be very new. I don't think he'll do that again.

 

They like tips. And I don't try to fold it all up and be sneaky. I just hand them the money and say, 'thank you!'

 

If you prefer to tip at the end that's fine, but don't feel awkward.

Hmmm. Never thought of it as being sneaky by folding up the tip and discreetly handing it over in a handshake, so as not to embarrass or draw attention to those around us. It's a personal thing. We are not passing judgment on those that do not tip, however believe strongly in tipping for each drink.

Call and Cancel! No problem! Have a great cruise!

No No. OP are from New Jersey. They just need to call and have the grat's removed from the existing cruise. No need to cancel anything.

Edit to say, if you meant "cancel the onboard gratuities" than yes, just cancel them but not the whole cruise and re book.

Hi

My friend and I are cruising on the Serenade of the Seas April 8 2016 . On that dreary day of return we are going to need to get to Miami airport for our flight back to Newfoundland . Anyone else flying out of Miami on the 18th who might want to share a ride or anyone who can give advice on the cheapest route .Has anyone used UBER to get from Fort Lauderdale port to Miami airport ?

 

Michele and my BFF Lynn

If you don't get to share a ride, the cheapest way would be to get a cab to Fort Lauderdale airport, then take the free shuttle to Tri Rail station which is a couple of minutes outside the airport. Tri Rail will take you right to the Miami airport. It will be a short walk along the people mover into the airport.

Tri Rail cost will be $5 or less per person. Maybe someone could say how much the cab is from the port to FLL, but I believe it is under $20 for the 2 of you. This will give you an idea what taking a cab or shared shuttle would be otherwise from Fort Lauderdale to Miami.

Edited to say you could take the cab right to the Tri Rail station and skip the shuttle. Shouldn't be anymore than a couple of dollars more.

Thanks so much. I was interested in hearing about the larger inside cabins.

That is the information I was looking for!!!

Is there any downside to 3635 or 3639? I will likely try to book those or else the insides on deck 2.

These truly are nice larger inside cabins. Reminded me of a handy capped cabin except they can't be classified as these because of the step up to the bathroom.

Only negative I can think of is the longer walk from the elevators/stairwells.

No noise whatsoever from above from what I remember. So as far as the shower curtain goes. I really do not remember but didn't matter as the cabin itself was a treat for an inside.

Oh by the way OSKEE WEE WEE .....