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CaribbeanBound

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Everything posted by CaribbeanBound

  1. We were here last month, when teh actors were still there. They DEFINATELY add to the experience, but I would still recommend a self-tour even if they aren't there. It's a very impressive site.
  2. Don't know if this is the same, but it sounds like the trip we took last month while on Celebrity Summit. We only paid $69 pp due to a sale Celebrity had on their website. Other folks paid well over $200 each. The lobster lunch was quite good and it was at a cool building on the water that is rented out as a catered location. We lucked into good weather and the views from Cadillac Mountain were awesome. If it's fogged in, you'll likely visit an alternate site. The ONLY downsides were that you're on a bus with lots of other people and it takes awhile to get everyone off and back on again at each stop; and if you are on the wrong side of the bus you'll view less. If this tour takes the same route as ours, the better side is the left side (behind the driver).
  3. We always hit up Leonard's Bakery for hot malasadas. Almost next door is THE best shave ice place in Hawaii. We were in Lahaina in January and discovered Ululani's. Turns out they also had a newer location next to Leonard's on Kapahulu. They now have several locations. Ice is finest shave I've ever seen, with syrup made from real flavors, and homemade ice cream under the shaved ice. Broke Da Mouth!
  4. Interesting. Thank you. The extra night in Quebec makes sense, and since there is a lot to do in Quebec, it's not a bad extra day. Curious though what port will now be skipped.
  5. 5 years ago we visited The Porch while on the Reflection. We enjoyed a meal at The Porch while watching Greek islands pass by. We enjoyed the Seafood Tower (cold lobster, mussels, shrimp, scallops, and seafood salad) as an appetizer followed by lobster bisque and a lobster roll. The mussels are the tastiest I've ever had and everything else was also quite good. Most passengers never find The Porch which is hidden on Deck 15 next door to The Lawn Grill Club. Seek it out if you like seafood. Most of the restaurants are located on Deck 5. Lawn Club Grill and The Porch are on Deck 15. While the food in the Main Dining Room was quite good, we ate at the Lawn Club Grill and The Porch as a change of pace. The cover charges run $15 to $50, but discounts of 10% to 50% can be found most nights at one or more of the venues --- depending upon the current bookings. You'll find representatives from the restaurants each morning outside of the Oceanview Cafe on deck 14 at breakfast and sometimes at lunch. Ask them about any available discounts.
  6. We've taken The Bus from town to Pearl Harbor and back. Easy.
  7. I bid on 3 rooms. 2 rejections arrived 48 hours before sailing. The third approval/rejection never arrived. I was not upgraded, but I did not bid much above the minimums. We also had a packed cruise.
  8. Hiking Diamond Head is a great idea. Recommend you get reservations for when they open. It will be a cooler hike and you can watch the sunrise.
  9. Interesting. We never would have known. We were all over the system for 5 days prior to the cruise and it was working fine as far as we were concerned. A few delays but no big deal.
  10. Granted. Just letting folks know it was cheap, it was easy, and it worked flawlessly.
  11. Hey, for what it's worth, you shouldn't have any worries about taking pre-arranged tours with independent tour operators that receive good reviews on these boards. I wrote a VERY detailed review of a similar trip I took to your ports that I think you'll find very useful. Celebrity Reflection and 8 Western Mediterranean Ports Detailed information on cruising aboard Celebrity Reflection and the ports of Rome (Civitavecchia) and La Spezia in Italy; Nice (Villefrance & Monaco) in France; Barcelona, Malaga, Cartegena and Ibiza in Spain; and Gibraltar, United Kingdom. https://www.lavasurfer.com/info/western-mediterranean.html Feel free to post any follow-up questions.
  12. If you have interest in taking the local bus back to the airport from the cruise port, I can report an equally robust experience. Cost: $2.65 per person. How: After exiting the cruise terminal, walk around the left/West side of the Design Center Building (that building that is directly in front of you) and catch the Silver Line 2 bus at the "Drydock Ave @ Design Center Place" stop just around the corner. Get off at Silver Line Way (5 minute ride) and catch the Silver Line 1 bus (no additional charge currently) directly to the airport. It takes only about 10 minutes to get to the airport once on this bus and it has stops at each terminal.
  13. If you have interest in taking the local bus back to the airport from the cruise port, I can report a positive experience. Cost: $2.65 per person. How: After exiting the cruise terminal, walk around the left/West side of the Design Center Building (that building that is directly in front of you) and catch the Silver Line 2 bus at the "Drydock Ave @ Design Center Place" stop just around the corner. Get off at Silver Line Way (5 minute ride) and catch the Silver Line 1 bus (no additional charge currently) directly to the airport. It takes only about 10 minutes to get to the airport once on this bus and it has stops at each terminal.
  14. I ended up staying at the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Boston Cambridge. Location was great, just 1 block from the Lechmere Metro Green T line, which made getting around Boston easy. Breakfast was better than your typical hotel buffet. We had a room on the 6th floor on the street side of the building, right on the other side of the elevators. Did not hear any road noise, no elevator noise, and no train noise. However, we did hear the construction crew after 7:30 am working on road improvements. If I couldn't get a less expensive room closer to the central city, I would not hesitate to book here again. Getting to the cruise ship was very doable. We hopped on the Green T with all of our luggage, transferred to the Red T at Park Street Station, transferred to the Silver Line 2 bus at South Station, and got off at Drydock Avenue, walked straight through the building to the dock and boarded the ship. Cost would have been about $2.65 each if we didn't already have a 7-day pass that we bought at the airport when we arrived.
  15. Those cool midnight buffets, and extravaganzas, have been gone for about a decade. Maybe more.
  16. Totally agree. Downloaded my google maps last month.
  17. Maui is still a pretty island to visit. Hana and Haleakala are just two nice places to visit. Waimea is a big resort area with nice beaches. Lots of good places to eat outside of West Maui. We like Nalu's South Shore Grill in Kehei.
  18. Clearly, marketing isn't their thing either.
  19. YES, we Canadians are MUCH more likely to enjoy your USD tips than someone in the USA is to enjoy your CAD tips. If you tip $10 in Canadian Money, the Canadians get $10, but if you tip them $10 USD then we are really getting a $13.60 tip! Yes, we'll happily accept it (no matter what exchange rate we end up with, it's not going to be a 36% charge). If you tip CAD $10 to someone in the USA, they are only receiving a $7.40 tip less exchange fees. They will wonder what they did to piss you off.
  20. It is walkable. My wife walks from the far end of Waikiki to Ala Moana Shopping Center and from Ala Moana Shopping Center to Downtown once a week when we're in Honolulu. I'll walk part of that, but prefer to take the bus. The beach I was referring to is that gorgeous mile of sand on the Makai side of the Ala Moana Shopping Center.
  21. I don't opt out because: 1. it's the same address as their cruise emails 2. you have to opt in to get moveup emails 3. you have to opt in to get emails regarding powerup points In total, the three above represent about 1 email a week. Reasonable. I want to opt out of the 3-4 times per day fake sale spams. When my current cruise is over, I will indeed unsubscribe.
  22. You can jump a public bus along ala moana blvd (almost in front of the port) to Ala Moana Beach Park (15 minutes) or Waikiki in 30+. Frankly, unless you feel you need to get to Waikiki Beach (and I get it), I'd go to Ala Moana. It's large, generally less crowded, very safe beach.
  23. Correct. not the fresh squeezed in Aqua Spa Cafe.
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