bajacali

We also departed the Summit on October 28th. We had originally booked airport transfer as there were no tours with airport drop off available pre-cruise. We had planned to spend two nights in San Juan after the cruise but all of the hotels that I booked, cancelled us. Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Sheraton etc. We received notice of the refund of our prepaid airport transfer and noticed that they had added tour of old San Juan with airport drop off. We decided to book the tour with airport drop off. I think it was about $45.00 each.

We were number 3 group to depart the ship. Perhaps because it was earlier, we did not find too much confusion gathering luggage. We also did not find it hot but again, there were not very many people at that point retrieving their luggage in the terminal We hired a porter as we wanted to help out local workers and he escorted us immediately through customs. We did not wait in any lines.

Our luggage was left outside on the sidewalk by the tour bus and we were told it would be at the airport when we arrived. They were correct. When we arrived at the airport, the luggage was immediately adjacent to where we disembarked the tour bus. It was very easy to retrieve.

We embarked on our tour of Old San Juan with a 20 minute stop at the Fort along the way. We noticed a lot of downed trees, damaged high rises, homes etc during our tour. Old San Juan area was deserted. We saw very very few people in the area. Starbucks was open as well as Walgreens. We did not walk the side streets where the shops are as the tour driver told us he didn't think any or very few were open. We noticed that the police had the main street by the San Juan pier closed off. The US hospital ship "Comfort" was in port as well as a Viking cruise ship. Having been there a few years before the hurricane, it was surreal to see no activities or people along the sidewalks and roadways near the San Juan pier.

The tour guide was excellent and very enthused about tourists returning. He was very proud of his island and really gave us a good tour.

We couldn't tell which hotels were open other than the Vanderbilt. It looked perfect with no damage. I did notice a lot of damage at the Renaissance with work underway. We travelled on the road behind Embassy Suites and couldn't tell what shape it was in. Also noticed no line ups at gas stations.

The airport was crazy. It was so busy with the Summit and Royal C. ship in port and thousands of people coming and going the airport. As mentioned TSA pre check was closed due to K-9 explosive dog doing searches but all in all, I thought the lines went pretty quick. Again, no removing of shoes or opening phones or iPads through security. Air conditioning was good. Duty free, convenience shops, restaurants etc were all open but very busy. I waited in line 40 minutes for some refreshments. Our flight was with United and was delayed 30 minutes which wasn't a problem for us.

I also noticed a very long line of available cabs at the port when we departed the ship.

We were very happy that we took the tour with airport drop off rather than spending long hours at the airport. I thought that the departure went very smooth for us and the airport was no problem at all other than the crowds.

And the cruise was great!

Does that mean that it will be closed on the July 17-24th sailing for renovations? We will be on the July 17th sailing and were planning on it being open as a dining alternative during the cruise.

If they were to leave the embarkation port a day early, they would not have to do anything, since boarding would still happen on boarding day, and they would be simply canceling a port call. That is to say, anyone who decides to not board the ship on the 1st day thinking they will enjoy one more night elsewhere and just get on the next day, are on their own - it'd be considered "missing the boat" and up to them to catch up.

 

It's mostly Europeans who have such protections (and why we see a lot about Europeans complaining about the unfair higher prices they pay versus North Americans), North Americans may not have that coverage. In their contracts they get compensation for changed embarkation or disembarkation ports, and if "more than 2" ports of call are modified along the way.

 

Last fall for example, I forget what ship it was, but they could not disembark in Rome due to heavy seas and high winds, so Celebrity disembarked someplace else, and had to provide complimentary transport to the original port (by bus) and handle flight issues.

 

I looked for the european contract, but could not find it. You likely would have to make a "dummy booking" and find the contract then and then it may refer to the european consumer protection laws without describing them. It may not be in the contract, and instead is part of the various Consumer Protection Laws of the passengers who book (i.e. United Kingdom law). There is some part of the contract that stipulates their only duty is to transport a passenger from the agreed upon embarkation port to the agreed upon disembarkation port.

 

My google search found 2 different cruise contracts, that are different, so Im no sure which is current, though I could tell both were North American versions, as they noted other nationalities may have different rules that apply. One had language that nothing is owed if modifications were made due to local authorities demands or local hostilities, however, which likely could fall into the Istanbul modifications

 

In any case, a good reason to have cruise insurance to help with such delays and changes if they might be critical to ones plans.

Thanks for your quick response. So am I to understand that North American's and European's would be treated differently by the cruise line should the embarkation port be changed? I looked at my cruise insurance and it appears that changes due to political unrest etc is not covered. Will just hope that Celebrity keeps embarkation from Istanbul and can live with no overnight stay if that is the result. Will continue to monitor this board as the information provided by members is very helpful. Thanks again

Where can I find reference in the passenger contract that Celebrity would have to cover travel expenses if they changed port of departure? I have looked and cannot find any reference to this. We are booked on the September 28th Constellation out of Istanbul and are most concerned. I am guessing that they may change the overnight and sail one day early but it would certainly be helpful if we knew ahead of time in order to plan our Istanbul visit.

Sorry, I meant September 30th sailing on Constellation out of Istanbul.

Its VERY doubtful they will make any changes to a cruise that starts and ends there. They would have to by contract cover the travel expenses of anyone affected by the port changes, and allow outright cancellations.

 

They can however, limit exposure by eliminating overnights, and unnecessary calls there, which seems to be what they are doing.

Where can I find reference in the passenger contract that Celebrity would have to cover travel expenses if they changed port of departure? I have looked and cannot find any reference to this. We are booked on the September 28th Constellation out of Istanbul and are most concerned. I am guessing that they may change the overnight and sail one day early but it would certainly be helpful if we knew ahead of time in order to plan our Istanbul visit.

What a great start to your review! Can't wait for more.

Really enjoying your review and photos! Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us.

Here are some assorted photos of Luminae food. Sorry they are not labeled.

http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/mabell85255/library/Luminae%20food%20photos?sort=3&page=1

Thank you for sharing. Time to shed a few pounds before our cruise in September.

We are new to Celebrity and have our first cruise booked with Celebrity for this September in a Sky Suite. We also have 3 other cruises booked for 2016 on Celebrity, all Sky Suites. The attraction of the sky suite besides the additional room size was the introduction of the new suite restaurant. We enjoy having breakfast and lunch on ship both on sea days and port days and were excited to have this special venue. This new suite restaurant was the deciding factor in booking the 4 cruises. The 1-2-3 and pick your perk offers were a bonus but the suite restaurant and description of a wonderful dining experience three times per day was the real draw. Needless to say, I will be very disappointed if Celebrity does not step up and provide what was promised and advertised. I will continue to watch the reviews and postings and will make a decision on whether to continue with our plans prior to final payment.

I don't know if it is has been mentioned yet but I just went into Celebrity website and notice there is a new face to the search function. I also noticed it this morning for RC. Sorry if it is not "new" news but it is the first time I have been into the site in a few days so thought I would mention it.

Thanks for sharing the new q & a's. Did it always reference "breakfast, BRUNCH and dinner"? I thought access to the new suite restaurant would be for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. Am I mistaken?

I certainly hope it is open for lunch each day.

Why not check the second Sticky, S-Class Cabin Informaiton?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=911018

Yes, I did that before I posted my initial question. That cabin is not listed so was looking for someone who may have personal knowledge of it.

1543 is under the Aqua Spa cafe and had really bad reviews on the Eclipse. I would book a different cabin and watch cabin availability as it gets closer to final payment. We took this cruise last year and we managed to snag 1610 as final payment approached.

Thanks very much. Sounds like one to avoid. We have an S2 booked with the 123 all inclusive offer. I was thinking to reduce costs with a AQ cabin but I don't know if we change to a lower category if we would lose the 123 offer.

I am wondering if anyone has information on Aqua Cabin 1543 on the Solstice.

I checked the spreadsheet and there are no comments. I am interested in knowing the following:

1. Is the bed by the balcony door or bathroom?

2. Is the view restricted?

I have read that there may be window washing equipment close to this cabin.

Trying to decide on a cabin for our Hawaii cruise in September 2015. Cabins are limited. Would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone with information.

Thanks and Happy Holidays

We booked several HAL shore excursions as well as two private drivers for Rome and the Amalfi coast. The HAL excursions were well done in our view although the Sardinia tour was our least favorite. We really enjoyed the port of Calvi, Corsica. A lovely location. We were extremely disappointed that our visit to Monte Carlo became a tender port and due to rough seas we were not able to tender in Monte Carlo but the Captain made quick arrangements to have us tender in Ville France and offered shore excursions. Ville France was lovely however we booked this itinerary specifically because the ship was to dock in Monte Carlo. We were not made aware of the change to a tender service until the evening before arriving in port. Had we known that this was going to be a tender port for this cruise we would not have booked this itinerary. I won’t go into our reason in this review. Also due to visa issues for some passengers on the ship, we could not visit Tunisia. Instead we made a trip to Sardinia which was not a favorite for us. Our private tours – Lovely Amalfi Coast Tours and our private driver in Rome were excellent.

 

We were on the previous Noordam cruise to the one you've just done and had a wonderful time over 22 days from Venice to Barcelona. However, although it was on the itinerary, we didn't get to Tunisia either, probably for the same reasons you didn't. I can't quite understand what is really happening with that port as far as HAL is concerned. We were given Olbia, Sardinia, as a substitute but it was a bit disappointing - we thought somewhere like Malta would have been a much better choice, but who knows - perhaps they were unable to get a berth there. I have made our feelings known in the aftercruise survey.

 

It was unfortunate you were able to go to Monte Carlo as we had a wonderful HAL excursion there to St Paul de Vence. We did about four HAL excursions and the rest were independent, including a lovely tour to the Amalfi coast and one to the Cinque Terre.

 

Ozcruizer

I agree that Olbia was a disappointment. My understanding is that Tunisia has restricted visa's for Israeli citizens and as such Holland and other cruise lines will not visit the port until the issue is resolved. Our notice from the Captain stated "political issues" and that they were hoping to have the issue resolved prior to arrival but that did not happen. I do understand the reason for Holland's decision. Monte Carlo was our big disappointment. While we did tender in Ville France, taking the train to Monte Carlo was not an option for us due to my husband's mobility issues and because the Grand Prix was taking place, roads were blocked and closed and we were told that taxi's would have limited access and the cost would be extremely high to attempt the journey.

Thank you for this review of your Noordam cruise.

Did you enquire as to why there was no toaster in the Neptune Lounge?

I didn't ask but there was no plastic/glass dome over the sideboard. Muffins/pastries/cookies were on plates with plastic covers on them.

Thanks for that - will look into it. We have usually stayed in Rome for longer, and this visit is just for the day "between cruises"... Most of the roll call are planning to go to Tarquinia, but I have my heart set on the Vatican Museums - haven't been there for many years, and DH, never, I think. We really just need the transport. I can't decide how to do it! - Bus, train, taxi, etc. I love these problems!:D

Make sure that you buy the skip the line tickets ahead of time. Rome was very very crowded with tourists and lines were very long last week. The advantage of a driver is that they can park and travel on streets that other vehicles are not allowed to access. With only one day in Rome we would not have seen what we did had we relied on public transit or on foot as our driver/guide was able to quickly drop us off and pick us up frequently.

Thank you for your review!

 

I have a questions.

 

First, we sail in 2 weeks on the Nieuw Amsterdam with the Signature Beverage Package: how did you like the house wine?

 

Thanks

The house wine was limited and it was not great. I only had the Pinot Grigio. If you search the board, there is an extensive review of the Signature drink package posted by POA1.

I enjoyed your review. We are looking forward to one day in Rome on our next cruise, and I was wondering who you had booked as a driver, and what you did in Rome. If you prefer, perhaps you could email me at pnamcc (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks in advance.:)

We used LimousInRome with a very knowledgeable guide named Antonio. We only had one day to see the main sites and it was not enough time however Antonio did an amazing job of providing the highlights of Rome. We were picked up at the port and dropped off at our airport area hotel. If I were to do it again I would ensure that we had several days at the end of our cruise to spend in Rome.

Thank you for your review. Will you be posting some more of your cruise?

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank-you for the wonderful review. May I ask how long was the air flight from Toronto? We are also interested in a Med cruise and just wondering what we can expect in terms of flight times.

Because we did not fly direct to Barcelona or direct return from Rome, the flight was longer than if we had booked direct. We had free air with points and didn't have the option of direct flights. It was just over 7 hours to Frankfurt and then a 2 hour flight from Frankfurt to Barcelona and just under 2 hours, Rome to Frankfurt. Air Canada and Air Transat offers direct flight to and from Barcelona and Rome.

For some background, we are a Canadian couple in our 50’s/60’s who have only previously cruised with Holland America. Our itinerary was the Western Mediterranean - May 18th – 29th. This was our first time on the Noordam.

We flew business class from Toronto to Barcelona via Frankfurt and returned Rome, Frankfurt, Toronto. In Barcelona we stayed one night at the Hilton Diagonal Mar Hotel.We had an Executive Level room which provided access to a nice lounge with non- alcohol beverages as well as beer and wine in the evening after 6:30 pm, a good continental breakfast in the morning and a wonderful patio high above the city. The hotel is across from a large shopping centre that we enjoyed strolling through and is also a block from the beach. We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel for a cost of 35. Euro and a taxi from the hotel to the cruise port for a cost of 25. Euro.

Our cabin was a Deluxe Veranda Suite very close to the Neptune Lounge. We arrived at the cruise port at 11:45 am. Embarkation was very prompt with suite guests having access immediately. Our suite was ready upon arrival. We were invited to the Neptune Lounge for sparkling wine and snacks and shortly thereafter our luggage arrived. We also had a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine in our suite. We did not attend the suite party the first night and we did not attend the Mariners luncheon near the end of the cruise.

The suite was in good condition however the rooms are ready for some updating. While very clean and in good repair, the bathroom was showing its age. We have no complaints about the air conditioning or plumbing. Everything worked very well the entire cruise. Our room attendants were amazing and took very good care of us. As well, Celine, Homer and Kim in the Neptune Lounge were very accommodating and efficient and provided excellent service.

The Neptune Lounge offered the usual cold drink self-serve dispensers, deluxe coffee machine, morning continental breakfast, lunch time sandwiches and desserts and late afternoon hors d'oeuvres. Everything was fresh and perfectly presented. The only thing we missed this time was a toaster on the side board.

We felt that the ship was in excellent condition and very clean. Staff were continuously cleaning in all areas.

We did not eat in the Lido this trip so cannot comment other than when we did pass through it looked very busy. We enjoyed breakfast either in the Pinnacle or in the Neptune Lounge. When on the ship, we had our lunches in the MDR or from the Dive In at the Lido Pool. We really enjoyed the hamburgers and french fries at the Dive In. I don’t usually eat this food at home but for some reason really enjoyed them on this cruise. We found the new menu with fresh meat to be excellent. Service was fast and the introduction of a pager system made it perfect. We could place our order, order a drink and within minutes the pager would alert us to pick up our freshly prepared order.

We enjoyed dinner most nights at the MDR. We did however notice the reduction in staffing and its resulting impact on the wait staff that were run off their feet each evening. They did an incredible job however. We did feel that the taking of orders was rushed and there was little time for interaction. They work so hard to ensure that guests are well served. The food was okay – nothing spectacular. We certainly didn’t starve and always found something enjoyable to order.

We had dinner one night in the Pinnacle and it was very good. Service was excellent and we found the food quality good. Caesar salad was made table side.

Room service was utilized a few times for coffee before the Neptune Lounge opened and one night for dinner. We did not enjoy our room service dinner. Perhaps it was what we ordered.

We had the Signature drink package as we booked our cruise during the Explore 4 program. Explore 4 included the Signature drink package (up to 15 drinks per day which included alcohol up to $7.00 per drink, specialty coffees, water, very limited wine selection and soda), $75.00 per person on board credit and an evening dinner at the Pinnacle. We enjoyed this package. While we didn’t come close to 15 drinks per day, we enjoyed the ease of using the card and not having to worry about receipts and charges to our on board account. I hope that Holland offers this again for future cruises.

Since it was a very port intensive cruise (only two sea days), we were off ship all of the port days and therefore we did not participate in on board activities. However the daily program showed many offerings from trivia contests, bingo, casino tournaments, dance and cooking classes, Windows classes, digital photography etc. The cruise director was very engaging and did a good job.

We booked several HAL shore excursions as well as two private drivers for Rome and the Amalfi coast. The HAL excursions were well done in our view although the Sardinia tour was our least favorite. We really enjoyed the port of Calvi, Corsica. A lovely location. We were extremely disappointed that our visit to Monte Carlo became a tender port and due to rough seas we were not able to tender in Monte Carlo but the Captain made quick arrangements to have us tender in Ville France and offered shore excursions. Ville France was lovely however we booked this itinerary specifically because the ship was to dock in Monte Carlo. We were not made aware of the change to a tender service until the evening before arriving in port. Had we known that this was going to be a tender port for this cruise we would not have booked this itinerary. I won’t go into our reason in this review. Also due to visa issues for some passengers on the ship, we could not visit Tunisia. Instead we made a trip to Sardinia which was not a favorite for us. Our private tours – Lovely Amalfi Coast Tours and our private driver in Rome were excellent.

For entertainment pre dinner we visited the Ocean Bar and after dinner each evening we really enjoyed the BB King Lounge. My husband is a musician and really enjoyed the band each evening. We hope that Holland America continues on this track to offer this music alternative on future cruises.

Disembarkation was very well organized. All in all we had a great cruise with no issues and our only disappointment was the Monte Carlo switch up. I will be writing Holland America about this issue. Otherwise it was excellent and we have no complaints.

Feel free to ask any questions.

My husband and I just returned from an 11 day Holland America cruise to the Med – May 18-29th. We had the good fortune of booking a private day tour to the Amalfi Coast with Giovanni of Lovely Amalfi Coast Tours. It was a wonderful experience. Giovanni is an incredible host who displays his true love and passion for his country and in particular the Amalfi Coast.

Giovanni promptly picked us up directly in front of our ship (Noordam) at 9:00 am sharp as we had arranged. He had a poster with our name and we were able to identify him immediately. After introductions we boarded his new and extremely comfortable Mercedes minivan. Although there were only two of us, this vehicle allowed us to have exceptional viewing from the windows, excellent air conditioning which we controlled ourselves from the rear, as well as great stability as we navigated the winding roads of this beautiful coast.

Giovanni took us through the Milky Mountain to the incredibly beautiful town of Ravello. From there we drove the coastal roads and visited the ever popular town of Amafi and the stunning village of Positano. The views were absolutely stunning with every turn. I don't think we have ever visited a place more beautiful. Giovanni narrated the entire trip and provided us with so much information along the way. It was without a doubt the highlight of our entire cruise. We requested that he return us to the ship by 3:30 pm and we were returned at exactly 3:30 pm.

Prior to booking with Giovanni, I had read some questionable comments regarding his company and I cannot believe that any of these comments were legitimate. He is without a doubt an incredible, passionate and knowledgeable guide with excellent and safe driving skills who will provide you with an amazing tour and day on the Amalfi Coast.

If anyone has any questions, just ask. You will not be disappointed with his company and services.

I attempted to upload a photo from the tour but was not successful.

Thank you for your excellent review. Your photos are amazing!

Amazing! Thanks for sharing this rare opportunity.