Rudydog

6 hours ago, Qcruise said:

No we only want all of our money held as future CC.......they at this time will only give us 50%

You'll get more than 50% back.  No one knows for sure right now, your TA was not given correct information or misinterpreted it.  Maybe you're getting 150% back?  They will let us all know soon.

Bradenton is not close to Miami, 3.5+ hours. Are you flying into the airport there the day of the cruise?

I know it is not close to Miami but this is what I need. Residence is in Bradenton.

Does anyone know of a private transfer service (not Cruise Connection/Escot) I can use from Bradenton to port of Miami, 8 people total, round trip? Thank you.

We used RomeinLimo for a recent day tour from Civitavecchia. Our driver, Nick, was wonderful. He was prompt (even early), full of interesting information, and a conscientious driver. Part of our day was a visit to Orvieto and it turned out to be a big holiday and festival while we were there. We had plans to meet Nick in front of the Duomo and because of the celebrations, the place was packed. But Nick found us, guided us and even found a wonderful restaurant for lunch for the seven of us. The vehicle was great too, very large and comfortable with good air conditioning. Would definitely use them again.

I was on the Journey, cabin 4005. My only complaint was the very small, tiny shower with a curtain that liked to hug me throughout. Noise was not too bad considering we were directly below the Cabaret. I would sail in this cabin again, though I would prefer a balcony.

Does the Celebrity Summit have a "chef's table" type of experience? And if so, can you reserve it prior to boarding or does it have to be done on the ship? Any idea of cost?

It's 10:30am and I am already home from my week on the Vision of the Seas. Helps to live in driving distance of the port. I want to write a review since my experience was so different from the reviews that I had read on CC prior to sailing.

I had a great time on this cruise, though it might have helped that I had low expectations. I sailed with my husband and two other couples, all baby boomers. We boarded around 1pm and it was very easy, on the ship and in our cabin before 1:30. Service was very good from the time we got on the ship until the time we disembarked, from our cabin steward to the dining room staff to the Windjammer staff to the bar service.

Our cruise may have been somewhat unique, as we had a medical emergency the first night at sea and instead of going to Roatan, the ship diverted to Cozumel to let the ill passenger off the ship. They decided to follow the rest of the scheduled itinerary and we wound up in Cozumel again, on our last port day. In between was Costa Maya and Belize City. I'm not going to write much about the ports as we didn't use any ship excursions and explored on our own. I will say that we rented a car in Cozumel and explored the "other" side of the island and absolutely loved it, a highlight of the trip.

The other unique thing about our cruise is that there was a group of Elvis fans on board and with them were seven (I think) Elvis impersonators and they popped up everywhere. That was a fun little extra. They had their private functions but a couple of times they performed in the Centrum. There was also a James Brown impersonator and someone who sang Ricky Nelson songs.

Our entertainment was pretty good. I should have saved my Compasses, as I do not remember anyone's names. There was a lot of comedy. The first comedian was very funny and then they had two Argentinian brothers do a really funny routine. The last night was a comedian who did a very short show combined with magic and he was just so so. There was also a very talented soloist, again, don't remember her name but she was excellent and I don't usually get impressed by this sort of thing. The production show was ok, missed the second one.

We went to the Love and Marriage show and watched (not participated) in the Quest and they did not disappoint. The cruise director, Rob, and his staff, especially Elvis, were excellent. My only complaint about the entertainment was that there were not enough varied things to do on sea days. Most were revenue producing activities (Bingo, Casino, sushi making classes, spa related things, etc.). There were no enrichment type of things like lectures. My previous few cruises were on Azamara and Crystal and they had a good variety of that so I guess I was spoiled though I knew not to expect it on Royal Caribbean.

We spent a bit of time in the Solarium, which is a relaxing adult only area for the most part. The Park Cafe is there, so there are kids around but all of the kids on board this cruise were incredibly well behaved.

The food in the main dining room was good, not excellent, but good. Some dishes were much better than others. But I think it was consistently good and the service was excellent. We also ate at Chops, Giovanni's and Izumi. I enjoyed both Chops and Giovanni's though ate way too much food. Izumi was just ok. I would not go back, it just wasn't anything special.

We received a notice that there had been a "small number" of guests on the cruise prior to ours who had symptoms of the Norovirus so were encourage to be diligent about hand washing. We saw crew disinfecting door handles and railings several times a day.

My biggest complaint is the smoking in the Casino. It's the only indoor area that allows it so I think every smoker on board congregates there just to smoke and as a nonsmoker, it was awful. There was one formal night in which the whole place was nonsmoking and what a difference!

I liked the size of this ship. If I had younger children with me, I probably would have chosen one of the larger ships with more bells and whistles, but for our purpose of rest and relaxation, this was perfect.

Sorry about the lack of organization here, but I wrote things as I remembered them.

I am currently on the Vision of the Seas and while this is only day 2, I am doing well so far. Staying away from rolls at lunch and dinner and had berries for dessert last night. Ate at Chops and managed very well. I was on a Crystal cruise in December and didn't gain any weight. My treats were shrimp cocktails, seafood and a few sweets here and there. Just don't stress over it and keep active.

I've been reading your posts and am so glad this all got resolved in the end. But you really should not have had to spend so much time and energy to get to this point. A good travel agent is worth their weight in gold. A big box ta, not so much.

I was just told that the official changes will be available August 17 for those already with reservations.

I am on the Journey right now and I can tell you that the food has been wonderful. We've tried the main dining room and several,of the dinner buffet options. So many good choices and service is excellent and food is very good. We probably won't try the specialty restaurants because I don't want to eat that much food. But I have heard folks on this cruise say they have really enjoyed it. It's after 2am here and I'm finally getting sleepy, so I apologize for any errors.

There is a lot of discussion on these boards about this question. Why not use a travel agent. YOu get the same price, or lower, you often get some extra perks and you are giving business to a local merchant in your area, assuming you are not using an on line site. If something goes wrong, which you never think is going to happen but it can, a good travel agent will be there for you. I know lots of folks that use travel agents, of all ages, and everyone has been glad they did.

I was on the Century in Alaska in June and loved it. Just don't expect a Solstice type experience.

This is why you should use a professional travel agent to book your cruise. Even if this had somehow happened (unlikely), he or she would have been the one on the phone fighting for you. Just my opinion.

Thanks for posting the wine list. I assume these wines were for purchase and not the ones included with meals? What kind of wine was included? What did you think of the cuisine? Do you have any menus that you can share?

You symptoms actually sound more like Mal Debarquement Syndrome.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mal_de_debarquement

 

Whatever is going on, I sincerely hope you get better soon.

Wow -- I sure hope not. I just read the link you posted and this can last years!!!!!

Wow Bruce -- I sure wish I had known this two weeks ago! Andrea, Bonine is available over the counter so you should have no problem getting it. I'm still feeling symptomatic but getting a bit better each day (or at least that's what I'm telling myself). Thanks for the support.

I recently used the Scop patch for the first time. Ironically, the waters were fairly calm, but I used it "just in case." I returned to land last Sunday, a week ago, and removed the patch. I have had vertigo symptoms ever since. It is terrible. I called my doctor and he said this is not an uncommon side affect. Basically, I am going through withdrawal. I feel dizzy, feel like my brain is in a fog, when I look down a certain way, or when I lay down, the room feels like it is spinning. I have not been able to drive in over a week! I think I notice small improvements, but it's still awful. I did a Google search and learned that many people experience this and there really is nothing to be done. I will never use the patch again. I'll go back to using Bonine and will stop experimenting with new remedies. I had no problems with the patch while I was using it, just after I removed it. Please talk to you doctor extensively before using the patch.