Giantfan13

We will be in Istanbul in about 5 weeks and were thinking this exact thing. Thanks for letting me know before I asked.👍  😄

Cheers

Len

On 9/5/2023 at 9:13 AM, cruisemom42 said:

Len, I've used sharedshuttle.it which offers a shared van ride for 85 euros for up to 2 passengers from a hotel in Rome or at FCO to Civitavecchia. 

 

https://sharedshuttle.it/

 

Thank you CM, I just booked with them for the price you mentioned.

Cheers

Len

On 9/5/2023 at 1:42 PM, Another_Critic said:

 

I was on the same cruise.  👍👍👍👍👍

Us too

Cheers

Len

Sometimes. you may just have to bite the bullet and not look to book those suites et al. If you want a cheaper cruise, book an inside cabin. (Yes I am really suggesting it).

Also, as the new ships come in, the older ones tend to get a bit cheaper. Not all the time, but seems everyone wants to be on the 'new' ships, and for some of the 'older' ones you can find a bargain.

Cheers

Len

I'm sure this has been discussed before but I need some advice quickly. We are staying at a hotel by the airport, Hilton Garden Inn, and we need transportation to the port in Civi. We are 2 'older' seniors who just cannot schlepp luggage on the train so that is out. We had a shared van that took us in May, but we just got an email that they do not use vans anymore and only doing private rides. I have looked on several sites and most have rides in the over 100 Euro PP area. We are looking to hopefully, be able to share a ride/van but haven't seen any company that has a 'respectable' rate. 

Any suggestions would be most helpful.

Cheers

Len

2 minutes ago, Eddie Wilson said:

 

We love to hang at Solarium, and lounge, unwind as you say.....just not sure we can do it for a week.

Ha, I had to laugh because we used to say the same thing, but once we got used to doing nothing and loving it, we couldn't be happier doing it every day. If you hang--wherever- you will probably meet others who are doing the same thing, make new friends, and look forward to that every day. Again, you DO NOT have to do that every day. On a lot of the TAs we have done, they have brought in a guest lecturer who does lectures on most sea days. Check your roll call to see what others have planned or organized, mostly for sea days. Check a good book out of the library, learn to dance, and catch a few rays.

Cheers

Len

Funny aside, we have used several internet travel sites and we do not go back to several of them because when I call the agent I used, I never get them, leave a message, and MAYBE hear from them 3 days later. I would rather pay a few dollars more for better service, and I do. It's just a thing with me, as I ran a service-orientated business and customer service is what it is all about. I still carry that thru in most of my transactions with whomever.

Cheers

Len

Question on tipping or canceling the tips.

Say we do decide to cancel the required tips and prefer to do it on our own. Do we HAVE to tip whomever we want in cash? Can we tell Guest Services that we would like to tip X waiter a certain amount and that be added to our ship's account? and the same for whomever else we want to tip?  Just asking as if we had to tip in cash, that means a lot of cash being brought onboard.

Cheers

Len

We have done 7 TAs and we just LOVE the sea days. I guess to each their own and you make of it what you choose. The ship provides plenty of entertainment. You can go to your roll call and organize things to do on sea days. The solarium is a great place to hang out.

Many TAs have about 7 sea days in a row and we use them to just unwind. We LOVE to just find a deck chair or a lounge and just look out at the beauty of the ocean for hours on end. Again, that's just us. If you need to be doing something at every minute, and depending on the ship,  there are so many things going on.

We have another TA booked for Oct and another next year. Just never get tired of all those sea days.

Cheers

Len

We always stay on the ship whenever we dock in Nassau. I don't have much hair left to be braided.

Cheers

Len

Let me add to that also. We order frozen drinks a lot and have never been charged anything. 

Cheers

Len

Try using @@@@@@@. I got a great senior discount + a military discount. They are simply the BEST

Cheers

Len

4 hours ago, babbet1962 said:

We have a 12:00 o’clock check in time for Baltimore Cruise Port do you they would allow us to check in at 11:00

We have cruised out of Baltimore several times and we have never had an experience where, if we were there early, they would not let us check in. Obviously, nothing is written in stone, but for the most part the answer to your question would be YES.

Cheers

Len

Since we are fairly new Diamond members, we enjoy the more laid-back atmosphere of the Diamond Club, and since so many here seem to think it is sort of passe, better for those who enjoy going. It is so much easier to meet new friends in a relaxing environment.

Cheers

Len

We had this exact cabin on the Voyager last year and we enjoyed it. We usually book inside cabins as we use the money saved for so many other things. With the VB, sure it is nowhere anything what a real balcony is, but we had it on all the time and it did give us a sort of window when we had none. You see exactly what the camera shows, so it is just like an oceanview cabin, that is made to look like a balcony. We did close the curtains at night as we prefer a dark room in the AM, but if you open the curtains there is a decent enough view. We have booked VB on our next 3 cruises.

Cheers

Len

As has been said, dress codes, well, there are no more dress codes. Wear whatever you feel most comfortable in. We have done quite a few TAs and we used to bring a dressier selection, but now, we rarely ever change to go to dinner except on dress-up nights, where I usually wear a button-down shirt and a pair of black slacks. MY DW will wear a fancier top and also black pants.  

This is more the norm now unless you want to get dressed up. You won't be the only one dressed as others do, but with luggage costs what they are, we always try and keep the fancier clothes to a minimum.

Cheers

Len

We also have done quite a few TAs and, as was said, you really cannot predict anything. Since you are doing a Southern route, the weather will be a bit balmier, especially as you get further south. But you simply cannot predict the seas. It is always best to have a warmer jacket, or sweatshirt, as evenings, while cruising, are a bit nippy.

Cheers

Len

We did a TA on the RCCL Enchantment of the Sea, one of the smallest ships in their fleet. We sailed out of Cape Liberty and the first couple of days were pretty rough, but after that, we were fine. We have done 7 TA's and this was by far the smallest ship to do it. We had some concerns about that, but again, except for the first couple of days, it was fine. We did meet a family while eating dinner, whose daughter was sick for the first 5 days. It is the Atlantic, and it is what it is.

Cheers

Len

Usually, the ships sailing out of Cape Liberty, sail from there all year. When their tour is over, they reposition them to a new area, and a different ship is brought in. The Anthem sailed from Cape Liberty for several years before it was moved.

Cheers

Len

On 8/22/2023 at 8:43 PM, doghog said:

What form of proof did you use?

I had past cruise cards that had my name, latitude number, and Diamond status. I just scanned them and sent them with the form.

Cheers

Len

On 8/22/2023 at 8:56 PM, LobsterStalker said:

...And what did that match entitle you to ? 

Anything worthwhile ?

Not really. I really haven't looked into their Gold class benefits, but no free drinks. Being Diamond on RCCL is better than Gold on MSC. Whatever we get is just a plus over the average MSC cruiser.

Cheers

Len

58 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

We use Allianz and buy a year plan as we cruise 2-3 times a year.

We also cruise 3-4 times a year but never really looked into a yearly plan. Is it really worth it? I heard if you file a claim it sort of negates other benefits. 

Any advice ?

Cheers

Len

On 8/21/2023 at 2:51 PM, firefly333 said:

Not sure which thing you heard? That they are bad at service? I tried twice to status match ... still waiting. I'll worry about it after I get moved. 

We have a cruise on MSC in a couple of months. We booked right with them, filled out the status match form, and in a day we received the match. We had to show some sort of proof we are Diamond on RCCL, which we did. At first, they didn't match my wife, but I replied to the email, and again, in a day, it was changed. Sorry to hear about your experience, I have sailed them 4 times and have never had any problems. 

Cheers

Len

They usually show the Network games, like the Sunday Night game, Monday Night game, and Thursday night game. They usually also show a could of games from the Sunday schedule, but, as was said, you ned to be up pretty late to watch the evening games.

Cheers

Len

There are usually 3 formal nights on a 13-day cruise. Depending on the ports and times of arrival and departure, 2nd or 3rd night, usually night 8, and then night 11 or 12.

Chers

Len