cruisinpoler

Hello! Have any of you done this bike ride? I just had a few questions about the excursion. The one I am looking at is offered through Shore Excursions Group. Mostly concerned about the difficulty of the ride. We are very fit, but I hate riding in automobile traffic and want to be mentally prepared if there is a lot of uphill pedaling.

Thanks!

Jen

Hello! I have cruised with other cruise lines, but never NCL. How does embarkation day work? For most cruise lines we have cruised with, you receive a time window for arrival when you check in online. Is this how NCL works as well? What time does embarkation begin? We are cruising from Trieste, Italy and are staying in Venice prior to the cruise. We will need to take the train in (about 2 hours), and just trying to figure out our timeline. Thanks!

Jen

On 8/22/2018 at 6:19 PM, Tom47 said:

Azamara showers are very small, with shower curtains. We now bring magnetic clips to stop the shower curtain from billowing in. I bought them on Amazon

Tell me more... 

I can't answer to which side for many of the reasons mentioned above. But let me recommend that you are up and on an open deck at the front of the ship well in advance of porting in Malta. Sailing into this port is a wonderful experience! I see that you arrive there in the afternoon so you won't be there for sunrise, but I think it will still be beautiful. 

Hello! This will be my first cruise on Celebrity- I typically sail with Royal. Are passengers allowed to take non-alcoholic beverages such as bottled water or red bull onboard? If so, what is the limit, and should they be taken in carry-on bags? The CC website seems to say that this is not allowed, but what have people experienced in reality? Also, I have read that you can drop off your carry-ons in your cabin as soon as you board, then vacate the cabin until it is ready in the afternoon. Have y'all found this to be true?

Thanks!

Jen

Do any of you know how Royal will decide who gets bumped from cruises this fall/winter if the CDC requires reduced capacity? I would assume at least some of the cruises are 80-100% booked now, and if the CDC only allows ships to sail with 50% capacity, how do they decide who gets the boot? I wonder if it will be like what airlines do in an oversold situation- if you volunteer to take a later cruise, we will give you a voucher for $X...  Any ideas? 

Thanks!!

Thank you so much for this excellent trip report/review. I know it has been a while, but do you recall how long it took for disembarkation? I know you put your bags out, but do you recall if they gave the option for self-disembarkation? We are trying to catch a 3:30 pm flight from Beijing and have a pick up set for 9:30. Just trying to figure out if this is doable.

Thanks so much! We leave August 9 and I plan to post a review. Thanks!

Jen

Has anyone used this company? They do shore excursions all over Asia. We are cruising Japan and are looking into a few excursions with them. The prices are high, but I am finding that across the board in Japan. Just looking for personal experiences. Thanks!

We are sailing on Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas from Beijing (Tianjin) to Japan. Does anyone have info on the port- how far is it from Kyoto, what is the best way to get to Kyoto, is there a train station near the port? Is taxi prohibitively expensive? Any tour guide recommendations that will pick us up at the port? Is it better to take a train/taxi to town and meet your guide there? 

This cruise also visits Fukuoa and Sakaiminato, so if you have info or suggestions for these ports, I would appreciate it as well. We prefer to book ahead tours with private vendors rather than through the cruise line. Any vendor recs or advice is appreciated. We are looking at Triple Lights. 

Thanks!

Jen

Hi Sheila. My family and I are American English-speakers (my husband and part of the party are Vietnamese but grew up in the US) cruising on Quantum next summer from Tianjin. I understand the primary language onboard is Mandarin. Did you find this to be a problem? Are the announcements generally made in English as well? Are the shows in Mandarin? Trivia/games? We love Asian cuisine, so that is not an issue. Any tips/tricks/input you have would be greatly appreciated. It is difficult to find info on this cruise! Where did you stay the night before? We will have been in Japan/China for about 2 weeks before the cruise. Thanks!

Hi. My family and I are American English-speakers cruising on Quantum next summer from Tianjin. I understand the primary language onboard is Mandarin. Are the announcements generally made in English as well? For anyone in our situation who has taken this cruise, did you feel lost or have trouble knowing what was going on? Are the shows in Mandarin? Trivia/games? We love Asian cuisine, so that is not an issue. Thanks!

I'm sorry, the 24th of what month/year? Thank you!!

Hello. Does anyone have any idea when the cruises in Asia for summer 2019 will be out? Thanks!

Jen

Thanks Scrapnana (are you a scrapbooker?? me too!)

That is a great idea!

Hello. We plan to do a world cruise on Regent in a few years. We don't enjoy being hauled around on coaches with 50 other people. I was wondering how many of you book the ship excursions, how you have found them, and if the included ones are good. Also, how many of you book your own excursions privately (we do this on cruises, but this would be a massive undertaking for an around the world cruise) and how many of you just wing it and take a cab to the city or major site and explore on your own? I am guessing a combination is probably the way to go, but there are so many choices. Thanks!

Jen

Ship -Brilliance

Deck - 7

Stateroom # - 7672

Stateroom Category – 2-bedroom family suite

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – There was nightly noise from the Colony Club, but ended about midnight. Lots of squeaking/rattling on rough seas.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? -No

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Aft Balcony. The quoted size is misleading, as a large portion of the balcony cannot be used because of the corner of the ship. The balcony was big enough for one lounge chair, a small table, and two regular chairs. It didn't seem much bigger than a balcony stateroom!

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - normal to undersized... but I have not been in another suite so not sure.

Was wind a problem? -No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? -I did't notice it, but our cabin steward said that it could be a problem.

Any specific problems with this cabin? -It was nice. I felt like the space could have been better utilized for storage, but it was very roomy.

Any other comments? -6 of us stayed here. 2 families. The first was a couple with a 4-year-old who co-slept, so they had the master bedroom. It was very large and had a luxurious bathroom with two sinks and a tub, a vanity, and a walk-in closet. My husband and I slept in the second bedroom, which was a bit tight but fine for sleeping. We are small people, so that could have worked in our favor. With the beds pushed together, you could walk around the sides, but you would have to bend over because of the two loft beds (even in their stowed positions). Two bedside tables and a normal closet in the second bedroom. The living area was very large and spacious (read- a lot of wasted space). There was a fold-out couch which our 17-year-old slept on, a TV on a cabinet with a fridge, an electronics cabinet (with a PS3 i think) and 3 small drawers. There was a vanity with 6 small drawers on the other side of the room, and a small dining table with 2 chairs. There were 2 additional chairs. The second bathroom was the same as a regular stateroom. I felt like they could have given some of the living space to the second bedroom and some to the balcony, so you could at least walk around the side. Also, bigger drawers and more storage would have been nice. All in all, it was nice and we had plenty of room.

I am glad we booked the suite, because the amenities were very nice- daily happy hours in the Concierge club and priority tendering were my favorite perks. We were also allowed priority tendering FROM the port of Santorini, which was a huge deal since it was hot and the line was long! Priority disembarkation was nice too- we were led by our concierge through crew areas to get off of the ship. Also, the daily continental breakfasts and 24/7 access to espresso in the Concierge lounge were nice.

I highly recommend setting up a private tour in Malta so that you don't miss this spectacular port. We made the mistake of not planning for this one (We did private tours everywhere else on our Med cruise, which were awesome). We bought tickets for the City Sightseeing HOHO bus when we arrived in port and it was a madhouse. Pushy cruise ship tourists fighting to get on the bus, misinformation everywhere, and hot, sweaty misery. The lady who sold us the tickets told us the route we wanted (blue route) was 1 hour and 30 minutes, but it was actually supposed to be 3 hours. It lasted about 4. We had planned to hop off at Golden Beach for a while, but when we passed a couple of stops with passengers begging to get on but being turned away because there was no room, we thought better of it and kept our seats for the entire tour. So in reality, it is more of a "hop-on" bus, since everyone was pretty much afraid to "hop- off" for fear of missing the ship. The commentary was not very informative and our driver was stopped for speeding. In addition, the first part of this rout was not very scenic and there was a ton of traffic. Maybe the red route would have been better.

We met another couple on board the ship who did a private tour and loved it. I recommend finding someone to do this... the coastal parts of the island were beautiful and, if I had it to do over, I would have cabbed it to St. Julian and sunbathed on rocks, done water sports, and had lunch by the water. Also, If you want to see the set of the movie Popeye, you really can't do it from this HOHO. We had a little one who was interested...

Hi! We are going to be on the Brilliance of the Seas for a 12-night Mediterranean cruise (whoohoo!)

My question is- Will the ship change the time for Greece and Turkey ports to match the local time? Looks like the remainder of the cruise is within the same time zone (Spain, France, Italy).

Thanks!

I have searched the forum, but info about Malta beaches is tough to find. Perhaps because the beaches are not that great?

We are on a 12 day Med cruise in June and Malta is our last stop. We plan to do it on our own. I am concerned that we will be toured out and that a beach day might be in order. Would you recommend taking the HOHO to the NW beaches, or the local bus? There are 6 of us, so I think a taxi would be tough. If we do decide to go to the beach, which one would you recommend? We would prefer a nice sandy beach with less tourists and with restrooms and somewhere to grab a snack. Any recommendations? Thanks!!

I'm still contemplating that as well. We will be in Kusadasi early June and have a tour booked. I haven't cancelled my reservation, but I am thinking about it. Might be nice to just enjoy the ship that day worry-free. I hate to cancel a tour because of terrorism, because then they win. It's a tough call.

Have you decided yet?

Hi! We have not canceled anything. We decided to go on the cruise, and as of now are still planning on doing our excursion in Turkey. I hear what you are saying about the terrorists winning, but I do not take that into account when I am thinking of my family's safety. If we hear of legitimate threats or if the State Dept issues a stronger advisory, we will reconsider. We did end up purchasing the travel insurance through Royal Caribbean, just in case. It has a cancel for any reason clause in which you would receive 75% of your fare as credit toward a future cruise. But we have no intention of using it.

Have you decided? It is going to be an amazing trip.

My hubby won several hundred dollars and a free cruise in a poker tournament, and a friend won $20,000... but you have to spend money and have guts of steel to make money, and even then your chances aren't great!!

Hi! How far in advance of your cruise did you receive the concierge email? We are staying in our first suite, leaving in June, and I have not received one yet. Thanks! And thanks for posting about this, great to know!

We sailed to Alaska on the Crown Princess. Maybe it was the itinerary or the weather, but the atmosphere just was not as lively as RC. My last 2 RC cruises have been on the Oasis and the Allure so maybe I am spoiled/biased. I found the ship a bit old and tired, and the layout was not at all intuitive. We were still getting lost on the last day of the cruise. The food may have been marginally better, but I have never had complaints on RC. The pizza was delicious!!

I think Princess is very good, just a step down from RC in our opinions. We also sailed her for the itinerary and I would do it again, because it was a great itinerary!

We struggled with this as well. Of course we would travel somewhere, but we considered postponing Europe until things settle down. We are not of the mind that if we change our travel plans, "the terrorists win." We just want to get as much information as we can and make an informed decision about where we want to take our family.

After much deliberation and heartache, we decided to go on our 12 day Med cruise. We think the statistical chances of something happening at the particular time and place we happen to be are very slim, and things can happen anywhere. Who knows if things will get worse, and our kids would never be able to experience Europe. We are going, and we are leaving our fears behind.

It is wise to consider all the information available, and in the end we decided the minimal risk is worth it and is probably not much greater than it was before the attacks.

We may not get off in Kusadasi, but we will see. I have not canceled that tour yet!

The OP did correct herself. She initially said "ban" but corrected her post to say "alert."

I think we are wise to be aware of the situation in any area we are visiting. I am also very stressed about the warning and we are considering canceling our Med. cruise as well. If we do, we will still travel, but somewhere that is less of a hotbed right now.

We are waffling on this and have 10 days until our fare is nonrefundable. I doubt much will change between now and then.

On one hand, I do not want the terrorists to "win" by keeping us away. Chances are, nothing will happen and we will be fine. But, other attacks will happen and wouldn't it be better to lessen the chances of being in the wrong place at the wrong time by avoiding places with higher risks? I would not travel to the middle east or northern Africa right now. Added to the worry, we are taking our kids. If I want to put myself at risk, that is one thing... but if something happened to my kids I would never forgive myself (If I made it).

Things can happen anywhere. Car accidents happen all the time, people die... yet we still drive. Etc etc, I get it. Cities are dangerous. But the Department of State has intelligence and if they are saying attacks are imminent, isn't it wise to avoid those areas? But oh how I want to go on this cruise... we have a suite... Greece, Italy, France...

I don't know!! Let us know what you decide, OP. I think your concerns are valid and you have to look at the reality of the world today. We all do. We have to assess risk, that is just smart.