supersecdd

On 8/6/2023 at 9:47 AM, CDNPolar said:

 

The tour company that hosted us for Uniworld in Egypt met us at the airport.  On the bus to our first night in the hotel, we were warned very strongly, NOT to eat or drink outside of the hotel or off the ship.  Only water provided in bottles by the hotel or ship and never food on the street.  Their claim was hygiene was not there at all and that western stomachs were very weak in comparison.

 

70 of us on the ship and the tour together and two of us got sick only.

 

Our friend on second last day on the ship had to have doctor come to the ship she was so bad, and me the very careful one, got sick on the final day in the hotel in Cairo the day of the Pyramids.  I was so bad had to have doctor come to the hotel.  We were flying home next day but doc assured me the meds he was giving me would put me in shape to fly and they did.

 

Typical anti-diarrhea medication we use in North America will not work for Egypt stomach bugs.  Immodium (Loperamide) did nothing.  Nothing at all.

 

Yes, be careful.

 

Once you see the state of the streets and the food available, you will likely decide not to indulge anyway.

 

Not the cleanest cities I have ever been to - in fact they are the dirtiest cities I have traveled to yet.

So what medicine did you use when you were ill, if not loperamide?  

Debbie in Delray

18 hours ago, supersecdd said:

Chesterfield- We are from U City originally.  Who is your Dentist?  Perhaps we know each other or you know my relatives.  E-mail me! 

Debbie in Delray

Supersecdd at aol dot com

To Redwings1958. See above. 

On 2/2/2023 at 12:28 PM, redwings1958 said:

We are flying in on Wednesday, spending all day in Venice, Hotel in Venice Wednesday night, morning tour Thursday, Train to Ravenna Thursday afternoon;  Friday ,Ravenna and Bologna. This way we get 3 cities for 1 port stop

Chesterfield- We are from U City originally.  Who is your Dentist?  Perhaps we know each other or you know my relatives.  E-mail me! 

Debbie in Delray

Supersecdd at aol dot com

On 1/18/2023 at 8:54 AM, LGW59 said:

I’d not fret too much over it, the train runs very frequently and is very reliable, if you go after breakfast you can still get a good solid day in Venice.  This is my plan when my cruise ports in Trieste, plus I love the trains in Italy.

I love train travel abroad too, but not with my luggage!  LOL

Does anyone know when the Constellation will be refurbished?

19 hours ago, yogini06 said:

I sailed out of Ravenna May 2022.  We spent 4 nights in Venice.  Took celebrity transfer to Ravenna.  It’s about 2 1/2 hour trip.  
 

If I was on this itinerary I would go early to see Venice.  It’s lovely and not to be rushed. Board the ship and go see Ravenna.  A beautiful city known for mosaics

Did you have to stay in a Celebrity hotel to get the transfer to Ravenna?  Do you mean check in at the ship and then leave for the day to see Ravenna and get back on board before sail-away?

Debbie in Delray

19 hours ago, whitshel said:

So looking at a 9 night Constellation Eastern Europe cruise.  At 1st glance I thought it was great, the 1st 2 nights are in Venice aboard the ship.  But......they are actually in Raveena.  Soooooo, how do you make that work??  If Raveena wasn't more than 2 hours away it'd be fine but if you fly in on day one you really can't tour Venice at that point because you'll be tired and you will have your luggage.  If you wait til day 2 then you have 2+ hours there and 2+ hours back, is that worth it?  Should you waste another day an go in the day before, get a hotel.  But then you'll still have to go to Raveena  at some point and check in to the ship(what are check in times?).  Then the 2nd day do you go back to Venice or just stay on the ship? Probably too much to hope for that Celebrity would have shuttles going back and forth from the ship to Venice????  Whatcha all think?

 

I also want to know how it works with Ravenna since it is so far from Venice.

I am bringing a group of neighbors on this cruise.  

Maybe add the year to the title of this thread.

Where do I register for the Cruise Critic Party and why is it so hard to find?

I wish that CruiseCritic had forums for specific river cruise lines like they do for ocean cruises.  We booked our first river cruise for next year on Avalon and my single friend was happy to have no  single supplement.  We are also doing Globus' land tour before the river cruise, so it should be a really nice trip.  

I don't like the new CC website.  I find it more difficult than before.  Does anyone agree with me?

Also, why doesn't Avalon Waterways have a presence on CC?

Happy to see that Celebrity offers a Cinque Terre excursion that I like, as I didn't want a boat.  

Debbie in FL

Is the new Equinox done and in use?  Which Celebrity class of ship is it in?  Is the new ship worth seeing on a ship's tour that costs money?  

I will be in the La Spezia port and want to go to Cinque Terre, as I've heard so much about it.  I don't want a boat ride over.  Can anyone recommend a tour company for me?

I also will be in La Spezia port and want to go to Cinque Terre, as I've heard so much about it.  I know Lucca is supposed to be very good, but it's an area where more ships stop rather than Cinque Terre.  I feel this is my chance to see Cinque Terre.  However, I don't want a boat ride over.  Can anyone recommend a tour company for me?

1 hour ago, sharkster77 said:

For what it's worth, discussion in other threads seems to indicate Viking may have backed off from its "pay within 30 days" policy.  I wonder if numbers of bookings were affected.  Though I am booked to travel with Viking in the fall (final payment due 5 months before departure, OK with that), and would NOT book with them again given that policy.

I never did Viking because I didn't want to pay in full in advance.  When was it that it seems to have changed and was it different itineraries or only 1 sailing?

I've never been on a river cruise before.  We are considering Avalon and AMA for a May, 2020 cruise from Amsterdam to Basel and adding on Lake Como and Lucerne.  I know that Viking is a good line but don't want to pay in full for 2020 up front.  What are your thoughts about the two "A" lines?  We only drink a little-once a night; we like a Verandah/Balcony on a ocean cruise ship and we like good food and service.  

Debbie in Florida

What is the proper clothing and shoes (to remove I guess) to wear in China's temples and shrines?  Also, if we find a nice restaurant to go to, are a jacket and tie required for men and what about women?

3 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

I went to the roll call forum and there is no second cruise roll call, they are referring to the cruise after yours.  EM

Thanks so much!  

I am in the Edge October 11, 2019 10 Night forum.  It is not very active.  Some people think there might be another forum for the same Celebrity cruise and the 2 forums must be merged.  How do I find the other forum and how do I request the merge?

17 hours ago, jayde43 said:

Hi @supersecdd,   I have emailed Dvir and he has been replying to me.   The email address I'm using is: shanghaijews@hotmail.com

 

I'm going in February and he doesn't know if he will be there or back home in Israel.    I will keep you posted how my plans go.

 

Cheers Debbi 🙂

 

Please do keep me posted.  Supersecdd at aol dot com

Dvir finally responded to me.  I had the correct e-mail address; just no response!  Thanks!  

I'm looking to arrange a Jewish tour of Shanghai.  I've e-mailed Dvir Bar-Gal numerous times, to no avail.  I have info from Go China that is very old.  Can anyone give me tour suggestions, as we don't want to try it on our own.  We are looking at May, 2019.  

According to our guide, the city of Guilin owns the boats and refuses to change the menu/quality of preparation even though his company and others have offered a higher price. That was in 2014. Ask your guide if that has changed. A company like Tauck might even use a hotel that provides a box lunch with non-perishable food, you'll find out. There is nothing as amazing and as easily accessible as the Li River except Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.

 

Our trip in China was 4 weeks and one of the best we have ever taken. It was with ChinaFocusTravel, a smaller company than Tauck and one that specializes in China. I can recommend them, but I bet a Tauck tour doesn't let you ride trains! Do they take you out to the Silk Road? Conditions area bit rougher in the outlying regions. Our group had just 8 people.

 

I would choose a tour that includes both rivers. With so many huge and traffic choked cities, we were happy to see the countryside. Our guides also took us to places with barely any other visitors. My few encounters with locals were hilarious.

Yes, Tauck takes people on the train.

Thanks for all the info everyone! I appreciate it.

The Li River is most amazing, but bring your own lunch. The ships' lunches are disgusting even by the standards of really poor Chinese. Our guide warned us. No comparison to the excellent dinner we had in the city of Guilin.

Wouldn't it depend on the ship you are on? We are considering a Tauck tour.

Debbie in FL