Matcodixon

I can see why the fee is levied and necessary however, I think this charge should be detailed in the itinerary so the passenger has notice of it and who knows maybe it is? If not then I can see why someone could be angry about this.

That is a very reasonable answer. At least in the individual port information. Since that fee only applies to those taking the local shuttle bus out of the port, and not to those on private or Princess tours, that note should be made in the daily Patter. Or is it already?

FYI My Mediterranean cruise cost over 10K for the two of us. It was amazing and I still cannot see "getting angry" about a 5 Euro bus fee. Life is too short and you are on a Mediterranean Cruise!!!

But that's just me I guess. :cool:

The suggestion to boycott leaving the ship to protest a Shuttle bus fee is beyond belief, especially at a port like Livorno, the gateway to Pisa and Florence. For many, this will be their first time to visit there and are not about to boycott their time there over a 5 Euro bus fare. :rolleyes:

This thread should have been renamed " 5 Euros to ride the bus?"

When We were there we used a "transportation only" tour from Princess. It was not expensive and took us to Pisa and then Florence. No extra 5 Euro fee. It was a good deal.

I have never heard of a cruise company paying for bus fare on a local bus unless it was part of one of their tours.

JMNTBHO.

Your Photos and review bring back fond memories of my favorite cruise and favorite places. I really want to go there again.

When you look in the dictionary for "paradise" the definition is "See the Polynesian Islands"

( or it should be!) :D

Great photos and am looking forward to your additional posts.

On your next cruise perhaps you can sign up for the "ultimate ship tour"

I took this on the Ruby during our Mediterranean cruise and it was amazing. We went below the normal decks to see the inner workings of the ship as well as behind the scenes at the theater, into the laundry, print shop, kitchen, medical center, engine control room and finally the bridge. I am sure that you would really enjoy it.

Looking forward to your port reviews.

We have booked guarantees for our last two bookings and have also had great results.

For our Med Cruise, we booked a Balcony guarantee and ended up in a Mini Suite at no extra charge. There was also a price drop of $1000 PP as an extra bonus.. Yes this was initially booked almost 1 yr in advance.

For our upcoming Mexican cruise we booked another BF Guarantee. We were just assigned a great cabin just about midships on the Baja Deck. Hey there is still time, perhaps another upgrade is in the works?

Will continue to book Guarantees, however your results may vary.

I love your enthusiasm! I will never forget my first cruise. The Ruby is a beautiful ship and will never forget the 12 days on the Mediterranean we spent in 2012. I really look forward to the rest of your review as we will be on the Crown in December for the same cruise itinerary as yours. The Crown is a sister ship to the Ruby so we are really looking forward to it.

Thanks for taking the time to post this review

Dixon

They may have automatic cutoffs which not every iron passengers might bring on would have.

Exactly!

You have a great attitude and that is truly a blessing at times like this. Sometimes things beyond our control happen and we can let that spoil everything or make the best of it and move on. You will probably be flying into Skagway on a float plane and that should make for a memorable experience.

Safe travels and enjoy!

Dixon

PS I agree with the traveling to meet the ship at least a day early.

We were traveling with another couple and we rented a car on Bora Bora. Since the main island is only 22 miles around, It is impossible to get lost. Either the water is on the right or the left and if you keep going you will soon be back where you started.

We found a couple pf beaches with almost no one there, and did some great snorkeling. The water is amazingly clear and calm.

One other highlight was a stop at "Bloody Mary's" the most famous bar in the Polynesian islands. Definitely worth a visit.

BTW we did fly in and out of Tahiti and it was exciting to land there, seeing the ship in the harbor waiting for us. Another note, The Tahitian Princess was renamed the Ocean Princess a few years after our cruise. Love the small ships.

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to post.

Dixon

While I have (and do) enjoy the summit, we take a suite and get lots of perks, and yes she isn't representative of the Celebrity experience

as she is old now and needs serious updating. The service is great on that ship, so we come back.

 

We do however enjoy leaving from NJ. As you, we live on LI and it is great.

 

Thus far, IMO the solstice class ships are the best. Our favorites are the Silhouette and Reflection. We found Princess to be the "no frills" cruise line and extremely crowded. We rented a spot at the Sanctuary for the entire week we sailed as finding a spot by the pool in the shade was almost impossible. Chair hogs all over the place. The buffet was extremely limited, perhaps the poorest of all cruise lines we sailed on. The theatre, expecially on the Caribbean princess was too small for the crowds. We did like breakfast in Sabitinis and when she sailed in August from Brooklyn, did enjoy the no fly cruise.

You are obviously a big fan of Celebrity, but what does that have to do with a comparison between Carnival and Princess? Just curious..

Yes, on the Personalizer, choose what service you want and click "Select" and the price will be revealed. Do be aware that you don't have to pay until the end of the cruise.

Simply selecting it does not book it so you can go forward and book or back out if you decide it is not what you want for that price.

Try this for Android:

 

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=com.gcm.princess.messenger

 

I think both windows phone users will have to user the browser

based messaging.

Thanks, I just downloaded it from that site. Free app. Of course, won't open until on board and connected to ship wifi. I know they just updated wifi on Crown during drydock.

We were on the Grand Med in Late August of 2012 and the weather was nearly perfect every day with one exception. The day we were in Athens and took that long climb up to the summit and the Parthenon. It was too hot for comfort that day.

Also, we were on the Ruby and the cruise was from Venice to Barcelona and there were very few children on board.

Afloat and just backed out of drydock

Here is something that was posted today in Yahoo Travel regarding traveling in Mexico: https://www.yahoo.com/travel/is-mexico-safe-for-american-tourists-right-now-118874480792.html

 

I think it presents a balanced view of the real situation travelling in Mexico. The good, the bad and advice for avoiding trouble.

 

The good news for people on this site is that the cruise lines are really, really good at keeping people from straying outside "tourist Mexico". Therefore the chances of being involved in problems are next to zero, especially in ship-sponsored activities.

Thanks for posting a very good article. Much of the recommendations here apply not only to Mexico but to most other foreign countries ( as well as many areas of the US) Great reminders of best ways to stay safe and avoid problems.

Dixon

Another one here adding to the "Thanks for taking the time to write such a great review" appreciation list.

Your comments regarding you daughter and how life moves on hit home indeed. I will always remember the great vacations we took together as a family. Now she is married and lives on the other coast. We will be together again for a vacation in 2 weeks, but it has been too long in between.

Enjoy making the memories.

Dixon

Then why did they try to get customers who wanted faster speeds to pay a higher fee for their internet. When many complained the program was dropped. They can provide faster more reliable Internet if they want to. They just want to make more money from it. Yes it can be done.

Of course it can be done. By launching a bunch of new satellites, like I said.. Your name suggests some sort of tech knowledge. You should know about bandwidth limits and the number of individual devices that can connect at one time. The current satellites that are over the oceans are not exactly state of the art. RCI was planning on launching one over the Caribbean to solve this problem, (it was a hot topic 2 years ago) but as of yet, it has not happened.

For heavens sake fix the darn internet. In this day and age it is preposterous to have such slow access. Put the International Cafe on all ships. IMHO it is one of the best features. Did I mention fixing the darn internet and WiFi!!

 

Cheers, Kenn

Read my post #192 on this string. It is not nearly as simple as it may seem. All cruise ships have the same problem.

Dixon

We stayed in both the McKinley lodge and the one in Denali and they were very nice and well equipped. We ate at the restaurants at both and they were quite decent.

Have a great trip!

BTW at McKinley we did a raft float down the Talkeetna river that was amazing!

Dixon

First I will add my name to the list that want Southern Caribbean cruises out of San Juan. (7 days?)

Lets talk internet speeds.

First there is no simple answer for this. For the non tech savvy, I will put this simply. The reason we have such great internet on land is due to either Cable internet service, Optical network service or 4G cell service which relies on having lots of cell towers properly equipped. There are also quite a few communication satellites that live over land.

At Sea there is only a few satellites and those were set up to provide basic communication to ships. Suddenly we have everyone with their portable devices, ipads and notebook computers that are trying to use a system that was never designed for that level of service. It is not possible to install cell towers in the ocean or run a cable to a cruise ship.

Someday there will be more and better satellites positioned above the oceans but the cost is very large and it will take time for that to happen. RCI has been trying to launch a new one over part of the Caribbean for several years and it still has yet to happen.

Until then it is what it is.

Dixon

Thank you, ColoradoBelle. Don't know you, but I trust your information more than that of the media.

I second that!

This realy is such a big lie! No tourists were in the line of fire! On the contrary, banks ere closed, it was a holiday. nobody there. GASstation attendents were warned, nobody there.

So your information isnot correct.

Thanks for the update Ine. I appreciate the information you post Regarding this much more than what comes over the Television news. As you can see We are headed there in December but I am not worried.

Please take the time to keep the CC board updated with the real information. You certainly have better access to it than most.

Dixon

Indeed! That is going to be very helpful.

 

Yes, there is only one credit card on file. When I logged in to all the rooms (I have the individual booking numbers for everyone) I see the OBC for each room.

 

So for simplicity sake, say Room X has $30 left but Room Y is -$100, does that mean $70 will be charged total because it's all on one account?

 

Thanks!

Ok I see the problem. I would check the accounts before the cruise is over and make sure that each room account has used the balance of the OBC. Since it is non refundable, there would not be a credit posted to that credit card for a room with a credit balance. Simply use a key card for the different rooms when purchasing anything to use the OBC credit for each room.

The good news is that you can easily check your accounts on a daily basis.

One other thing. This individual OBC that came as part of a promotion. If there is only one Credit Card on file, all the OBC will be on that account. There will be no separation Per Person.