Cassicruiser

On 7/13/2023 at 1:43 PM, amygutman said:

Australia...ya know...sounds wonderful except it seems all of the wildlife wants you dead. 😆

Now - a Garden Villa is something to dream about as well!

Lol, I live in Melbourne Australia and have yet to encounter anything that wants to kill me.  Not in the cities anyhow.  Don't believe everything you see on the Animal Planet ☺️

My top pick port is Venice or Santorini

Top pick ship is any Celebrity ship, but hoping to love the Prima when we sail next month

More than happy with a regular balcony, and get excited when we can afford one rather than an oceanview.  I don't see the point of paying the big bucks for a suite, but each to his own.  

On 7/3/2023 at 5:39 AM, gumshoe958 said:

Taxis pick up from right outside the cruise terminal. 

Are there many taxis available, or is it recommended to pre-book? Thanks

Are there many taxis available at the port in Zeebrugge - I've heard conflicting reports so hard to get a definitive answer.  There will be 4 of us so would like to take a taxi into Bruges and arrange them to pick us up later to go back to the ship.  

If anyone is still on this thread, are you able to tell me how jerky the RIB boat is?  I get that it goes fast, and does donuts etc, which is great, but my husband has some back issues and jerky movements could potentially put him in spasm.  He'd probably be totally fine, but just wanted to know if it is or isn't a jerky ride with sudden turns, as if it is he'd probably skip it and do one of the slow boats on his own.

15 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

They are not overly plentiful so it would be wise to pre-book.
 

At Zeebrugge you have to take a (free) shuttle bus from the ship to the terminal as it’s predominantly a cargo port and no pedestrians are allowed in the dock area. The buses run frequently but to be safe you should probably allow 15-20 minutes from walking off the ship to arriving at the terminal in case you just miss one and have to wait for the next one to fill up. 

 

Cabs will pick you up from the terminal. I’ve never seen very many waiting there though.

 

Thanks for the advice, I didn't think about adding in time for the shuttle bus.  Sounds like pre-booking is the way to go, just have to find a taxi company that takes bookings.

I have the same question - we would like to take a taxi into Bruges, more economical for 4 of us. Are they plentiful at the dock or would we need to book one before arrival? Thanks

Thanks Hallasm - I'll be on a Norway and Iceland cruise so didn't think about Belgium being in Western Europe - you're absolutely right!

I just booked Your day tours yesterday for our South Coast excursion!  The reviews on Tripadvisor are glowing, and they have been very good at responding to my couple of emails, so am wondering if I should be concerened.  Hopefully we get a different guide, and have a different experience!

Has anyone else on this thread had a good/bad experience with them?

Can anyone who has docked in Zeebrugge tell me if taxis at the dock are plentiful, or if we need to book ahead?  And if you've taken a taxi can you get a return booked with the same driver to avoid having to find a taxi on the way back? Thanks 🙂

3 hours ago, brigand13 said:

 

Be aware that the provided Lipton tea isn't very good (flavor is kind of harsh and overly tannic because it's really more designed for making iced tea).  If your husband is at ALL picky, bring your own stash because the selection is pretty limited even in the buffet/observation lounge/etc.   

Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely bring my own stash of decent tea bags 😀

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Yup. For us, it was easier to stop by the buffet, observation lounge or food hall (depending on what side of the ship we were on). 

But then I'd have to get up and dressed. A cup of coffee in bed looking at the ocean go by, or in my pjs on the balcony is 👌

Bonus if it's good coffee, but if not at least it will tide me over till I'm up and out of the cabin 😄

On 6/9/2023 at 7:53 PM, dbrown84 said:

yes, you can request in balcony cabins.  They can be request in all cabins.  I can't answer about tea bags, but you could probably just run water thru it and catch the hot water in your cup, then put the tea bag in the hot water

Amazing thanks 😊 

On 6/10/2023 at 4:16 AM, BirdTravels said:

Just remember that there isn't much counter space in a balcony cabin. You will sacrifice a lot of your flat surface with the coffee setup. 
 

For us, the small space by the phone was filled with charging phones and tables, sun screen, make up. 

For me, coffee trumps counter space  😄 I'll make it work!

Are coffee makers available to request in regular Balcony cabins? We will be on the Prima.

I don't mindwhat kind, just being able to have a coffee in the cabin when I wake up and not have to get dressed to go up to Starbucks too early. would be fab! 

Also would the drip kind work for tea bags for my non coffee drinking husband?  Sorry not very familiar with drip coffee machines.

I did check that we weren't overlooking the walkway on deck 8, but we're a lot further forward than the infinity pools, mid ship just behind the forward elevators. That makes great sense about proximity to deck 6,7,8 without using the lifts, so that makes my decision! Will stick with the great cabin that we have! Thanks 🙂

This is completely unacceptable!  I am not usually a complainer, but for this I would be at guest services  letting them know how we and others feel about this, as well as emailing corporate.  The OL is not an extra pay area, so the use of that space is part of your cruise fare.  Not ok!

If it was a one night thing, I could let it go, but the whole cruise?!  Sorry this happened to you, it's so disappointing 😞 

Hi there - we have a Balcony cabin booked on the Prima for our cruise in August, on Deck 10 mid - front of the ship. I'm really happy with this location, and when we booked this balcony category only deck 9 or 10 were available to choose from.  I see that now some cabins on deck 11 , 12, 13 are available and I was wondering if there's any benefit to moving higher up at all? They're the same category so no difference in price. Thanks for any advice/observations 🙂

18 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

The cruise lines ability to move you to a different cabin relies on the availability of other cabins to move you into. So it's hard to say, as each trip will be different. Even if they block aside 10 OV or balcony cabins that can't be booked to reserve for Covid quarantine - what happens if you're guest #11? You'll have to stay where you are. 

 

It's that level of unknown which prevents us from ever booking a cabin we wouldn't be ok staying in if worst case scenario happens.

Makes sense - thanks for the reply.

Does anyone know - If you test positive and are in an inside cabin, do they move you or expect you to isolate in an inside cabin for however many days?  We would have loved a balcony but our cruise in August is a very expensive cruise, so we booked an inside as an OV or balcony is more than double the price of the inside, and we are usually hardly in the room. I'm a little concerned about potentially having to isolate in an inside cabin if we were to get Covid! 

Damn - if I'd known maybe I would have booked another way.  Ah well here's hoping anyway...

Oh great, thanks Birdtravels!

We booked through a big agency, so hopefully will still be eligible.  

If we are, would the button on my reservation on the NCL app be there as soon as we book or closer to sail date?

Excuse my ignorance - I had no idea you could bid for upgrades!  Do you have to wait for an invitation to bid?  Otherwise how/where do you place your bid, and how long before sail date?  Thanks for any info on this 🙂

11 hours ago, bilyclub said:

 

 

Anybody have any feedback on Mercedes ?   Last time I was on the AD the CD was Mike Szwajkowski  and he left Royal not to long after that.

We're on Adventure now. Mercedes is lovely - fun, great personality without being over the top, and very visible around the ship. 

No worries Cruzin-k 😄. 

And thanks Cruising Joe, that's great! Seems like Marvin is excellent from what I've read.

On 11/19/2018 at 11:01 AM, Cruzin-K said:

 

I also found him to be quite friendly, and chatted with him on a couple of occasions on the Adventure. No, he's not as outgoing and lively as some of the others, but he was nice.  The activities manager on the other hand, Magic Marvin was a hoot, and very outgoing. 

Do you know if they both changeover at the same time, or if Magic Marvin is staying on?