wombie

On 11/22/2018 at 10:10 AM, mawvkysc said:

Thanks for that and all your efforts.  

Love your review! Thanks. I haven’t  been on Brilliance since 2014 so checking on a few things. Did you take photos of drinks menu? We are considering the non-alcoholic package. 

I am still concerned re hiring a car. I am travelling with my 2 adult daughters. None of us are confident to tackle driving an unknown car on, to us, the wrong side of the road. Our travel agent talked about town cars. Are they like Uber? We will need to be picked from a hotel near Universal Studios. 

We are cruising from Tampa but visiting Orlando before and after our cruise. What transport options are available? We do not want to hire a car as we are Australian and not confident to drive a car on the other side of the road. 

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am travelling with my two adult daughters. We are reluctant to hire a car as we are Australian and don’t want to chance driving on the other side of the road. Will need to investigate other options. 

We will be cruising from Tampa in January but intend to spend time in Orlando beforehand. What transport options are available to transport 3 adults and luggage from Orlando to Tampa on the day of sailing? 

Heading to pacific islands on Celebrity Solstice next week. I have only been to Lifou once when it poured rain so didn't get to explore the island.

Are there any private tours available? Are you able to hire a driver?

Any recommendations for us apart from snorkelling. Will definitely snorkel but would like to see more.

Hello again!

I am now looking for evening tours. I would love to add the TJ strolling tour from 7-10 pm. It takes you on a walking tour of St. Petersburg. Anyone else know anything about this tour?

I also have read some information from TJ tour for the other ports we are in for this cruise. Did you notice that they changed our Visby stop? I called and verified this changes.

What are the dynamics of the rest of this Roll call? My friend Linda and I are in our 60's and early 50's Linda is retired, and I teach special education. She and I travel often together which works out well, because my husband does not care for cruises. I hope we get to meet on the ship. It's always fun to have some connections before the cruise.

Beth

My husband and I did this same cruise last July. We were both 60 at the time. It was very port intensive. We did the Grand Tour with Alla tours in SPB. We had to meet the guide at 7.30am after having cleared customs. We had also lost an hour the night before due to time zones. The first day was HUGE! A Canadian guy in our group had a pedometer and we walked 16 kilometres that day! We were dropped back to the ship at about 5.45pm. We had discussed taking an optional add-on evening tour but decided against it when we looked at the itinerary for the first day. We are so pleased we did. After returning to the ship. we had dinner then watched/snoozed through the Russian entertainment onboard for the evening then headed to bed as we had to meet the guide at 7am the following day. Think carefully about it as we had 6 port days in a row and really needed that evening to regroup. :)

Loving your blog. We are cruising on Rhapsody when you return next Sunday. Did the ship change to Queensland time when you were in Brisbane? Last time I did a 5 nighter, we stayed on NSW time. Need to meet up with a friend in Brisbane.

Hi Nat and Mr G,

I would love some info on Airlie Beach please. Were there independent operators going out to Daydream Island or cruising that would return before the ship's departure time?

Alternatively, we are interested in the ship excursions. Maybe some people that you have met went on one of these. Any feedback? Positive or negative. It helps to make decisions. Thanks in anticipation.

So glad you enjoyed Giovanni's and the Chef's Table. They are amazing!

Look out for the paella barbecue on deck - delicious!

Enjoy!

Ros :)

Does the Solarium roof open wombie?

Is there anywhere to eat outdoors? (I've asked this before, but I'm hoping someone will say yes instead of no :cool: )

On our trip from Hawaii, it was mostly closed. There were a couple of times when they rolled it back halfway. Even when it is closed, it is pleasant as you still get the warmth of the sun. On rainy days, it could be pouring outside but I still had my swim. We even had aquaerobics ( free) in that pool every sea day at 8.45 but it depends on what instructors are onboard.

You can eat around the pool. It is light, healthy and fresh and open from early to about 6.30pm. :)

Solarium yesterday afternoon:

 

The Solarium looks so different. All the Egyptian decor has gone. I sailed on her back from Honolulu in Sept 2012 after the refit. The egyptian decor had been toned down but there was still some there. I loved breakfast at Park Cafe. It was also great for a little snack during the day when I didn't want to do the buffet or dining room or if you missed breakfast entirely!

I have booked for a Jan12 2014 cruise on Rhapsody I found the certificate and gave it to my travel agent. The cruise is not listed in these certificates so I hope I still get the discount. Do you know how that works? I gave the certificate to my agent after I accepted the original quote. Intending to pay the balance of our cruise this week.

Hi all!

 

The new Savings Certificates are now available on the RCCL website for Crown & Anchor members.

 

Amazingly, there are 27 cruises listed for our area this time! I couldn't find any change in the Terms & Conditions regarding the need to book the cruise during the 3 month period that the Certificates are available so if you have booked for any of the following cruises and are a member of the Crown & Anchor Loyalty Club, you may be entitled to a discount:

 

ALL 2014 CRUISES:

JAN 13 - Voyager - 11 nights - Sth Pacific

JAN 19 - Radiance - 8 nights - Qld

JAN 23 - Rhapsody - 9 nights - Sth Pacific

JAN 24 - Voyager - 11 nights - NZ

JAN 27 - Radiance - 7 nights - Tasmania

FEB 1 - Rhapsody - 10 nights - Sth Pacific

FEB 3 - Radiance - 11 nights - Sth Pacific

FEB 4 - Voyager - 9 nights - Tasmania

FEB 11 - Rhapsody - 11 nights - Sth Pacific

FEB 13 - Voyager - 14 nights - New Zealand

FEB 22 - Rhapsody - 12 nights - Sth Pacific

FEB 27 - Voyager - 10 nights - Sth Pacific & Fiji

MAR 6 - Rhapsody - 12 nights - Sth Pacific & Fiji

MAR 9 - Voyager - 18 nights - NZ

MAR 18 - Rhapsody - 10 nights - Sth Pacific

APR 18 - Rhapsody - 16 nights - repositioning from Sydney

OCT 11 - Radiance - 9 nights - Sth Pacific

OCT 20 - Radiance - 16 nights - Top End Syd-Perth

OCT 28 - Rhapsody - 11 nights - Sth Pacific

NOV 5 - Radiance - 17 nights - Fremantle to Sydney

NOV 15 - Rhapsody - 10 nights - Sth Pacific

NOV 25 - Rhapsody - 12 nights - Sth Pacific & Fiji

NOV 25 - Voyager - 13 nights - repositioning from Singapore

NOV 29 - Radiance - 14 nights - NZ

DEC 7 - Rhapsody - 10 nights - Sth Pacific

DEC 9 - Voyager - 11 nights - NZ

DEC 13 - Radiance - 10 nights - Sth Pacific

 

So, lots to choose from this time! :)

 

Gae