snowyboy

I hope someone on May trip reports back please from Southampton

Appreciate these excellent follow-up comments by May B. That does not mean what we might have done is perfect for everyone else. The key point is to consider, AHEAD OF TIME, what you most want to see, do and experience. Do your research, gain added info, etc.

 

For us, the St. Petersburg canal cruise worked for well during our trip. For others, maybe that is not as much of interest or a lower priority. Lots of great options. Plan ahead, think about your overall plan, etc. Do not do something just because somebody else liked or enjoyed it. Fortunately, there are so many great options in Australia, New Zealand and other super places in the world.

 

More to come later on our group dinner last night in Columbus.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 136,329 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Just wasted an afternoon reading all your post, wasted is not right loved reading them all, now more confused than when I started we are doing New Zealand and OZ the opposite way that you did on the Solstice in November 14 we are also doing the Baltic on Eclipse in June14.

THank you for a wonderful read when you finish you blog please let me know as would like to read it all again. Thank you also for the tips for Oz & NZ. our route to NZ takes us from London to Dubai, Dubai to Auckland pick up ship Sydney to Singapore then back to Dubai then home to London.

John & Pam

I won't say 'told you so' because I'm just so pleased that you and your wife had a wonderful trip from beginning to end (apart from the Tasman crossing) and so appreciative that you took us all along with you. Every day was exciting and wonderful to read about and your photos are, as always, the very best. I hope that Penny is still enjoying her retirement now that she's back home again.

 

Now that you are back home and hopefully catching up on your time a little, may I remind you that you asked me to mention the Baltics towards the end of February. Terry, if you are able to give me a link to a blog that you may have done on your own Baltic cruise in the past, I would be forever grateful. We sail on RCI from Harwich (east coast UK) to Copenhagen, Tallinn, St.Petersburg (2 days booked with Alla Tours), Helsinki, Sweden and Visby (a Swedish island). We have done some homework and have an idea of what we would quite like to do, but would love to know what you enjoyed most about your cruise around that area. Any advice, tips, suggestions will be much appreciated.

Here is a link to great Baltic trip report http://www.thepreismans.com/baltic_2013.htm

Happy reading.

Hi everyone, I have a question re drinks packages...are they worth the money? we are un decided as to whether we buy a package or just pay on board ship. I am just a bit scared of having a massive bill for drinks at the end of our cruise lol ;)

Can you not get the 123 offer of free drinks??

Hi

I am going on a cruise over my 50th birthday:D, it will be my partner & I in one cabin with my in-laws in another. We have the drinks package & will upgrade to the premium package, while my in-laws will not have the drinks package. My question is on my birthday I want to buy a nice bottle of wine for dinner & I understand if I buy a bottle I get a bit of a discount having the drinks package, but can I give a glass each to my in laws, is this acceptable? if not I don't mind paying for the bottle but don't want to do the wrong thing.

Has anyone done this?

 

Thanks

Why not buy two at 30% discount or buy bottle for your friends and you still drink by the glass no problems

I never could understand why people have such a problem with following the rules and suggestions set forth by the cruise line.

 

I do not wear ties. I hate wearing ties. When I go to wedding I wear a banded collar shirt.

 

With that said, I'm renting a tux for the next cruise for two reasons: One, less to pack. Two, my wife asked me to. It's not a hardship to get dressed up for 2 nights, plus it's nice to do something "out of the norm" for us.

 

 

 

Another thing I need to comment on are those who mention how much money they spend on their dresses and gowns and how expensive they are! It gets me thinking back to one cruise we took where my wife made everything she wore for dinner. (Except for the shoes and stockings of course.) One evening one of our tablemates was commenting about her dress and how expensive it was and on and on about the quality, etc. So of course, the other women start talking about their outfits and how much it cost them. They get to my wife and she says, "Mine cost $28."

 

The looks were hilarious. Mainly because the dress she had on was gorgeous, but they couldn't believe my wife and I were so "cheap".

 

By dessert she let them know she made it herself and that the fabric cost her $28. She also went on to tell them how much the fabric in their dresses probably cost.. :D Oddly enough we didn't see much of those tablemates the rest of the cruise as they switched tables.

 

Just because something costs you a ton of money, especially when it comes to clothing, doesn't mean it's worth that money.

Great post all true, you know the rules if you don't like them go elsewhere.

Dressing up part of the cruising traditions so many of our great traditions are going which is a great shame in MHO.

I have searched, could not find an answer so have decided to risk posting the question here:)

I am booked on a cruise in July 2104. Deposit paid and now I seem to be getting weekly emails from Celebrity letting me know that it is not long until I go and that I need to buy my drinks (and dining) packages. I have decided to go with the premium package but wondered what advantages (apart exchange rate fluctuations as I am in UK) there are in paying in advance?

Why not phone Celebrity and ask if you can have drinks package on 123 go offer worth a try. Sorry should had read all before posting You done it well done.

Same here, I booked with US TA because the price was better than the UK equivalent. I called the TA about the offer, she told me that there might be a slight change to the price but went ahead and contacted Celebrity. She was right - the price went down by $30!!

But what will the exchange rate be when I pay the balance in May, anyone got any suggestions on how to minimise the risk?

Buy Dollars from FairFX at today's rate at that's what you get on your card you then pay for cruise with card.

We are thinking about booking the Celebrity Constellation for May, 2014.

I have read some of the must do's for the Baltic Cruises but still don't understand what is so great about the Baltics.

I love to see nature and the mountains and snow vs. cities. I have my choice of doing Iceland and Amsterdam OR Amsterdam and the Baltics cruise. Am I the only one that does not understand why it does not really appeal that much to me to do a Baltics cruise. We have already done the British Isles, Norway to include Oslo and Copenhagen. Would it be worth going on a Baltics cruise to see Estonia, Russia, Finland and some of Sweeden. HELP..............WHICH DO I CHOOSE.............:eek::eek::eek:

Think you need to do Alaska we did it this year great

We sailed June this year loved it service second to none nice cabin loads of storage space food great.

There seems to be some debate on our roll call as to the drink package being unlimited per day versus a maximum dollar amount allowed per day. I know there is a maximum per drink, but is there a maximum per day?

I had drink package last year no limit except what you can take. :D:D

WHITE WINES

$ 7.00 – J&H Selbach, RIESLING, KABINETT, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany

$ 7.50 – Bollini, PINOT-GRIGIO, Trentino, Italy

$ 6.50 – Raimat, ALBARINO, “Castell de Raimat”, Costers Del Segre, Spain

$ 6.00 – Jean-Luc Colombo, VIOGNIER, “La Violette”, Languedoc, France

$ 7.50 – Ken Forrester, CHENIN BLANC, Stellenbosch, South Africa

$ 6.50 – St Francis Vineyards, CHARDONNAY, Sonoma County, California, USA

BLUSH / ROSE WINES

$ 5.50 – Beringer, WHITE ZINFANDEL, California, USA

$ 7.00 – Jean-Luc Colombo, ROSE, “Cape Bleue”, Cotes de Provence, France

$ 5.50 – Torres, ROSADO, Catalunya, “Sangre de Toro de Casta”, Catalonia, Spain

RED WINES

$ 6.50 – Cune, TEMPRANILLO, Crianza, Rioja, Spain

$ 7.50 – Rutherford Ranch, MERLOT, Napa Valley, California, USA

$ 7.00 – Montgras, CARMENERE, “Reserva”, Colchagua Valley, Chile

$ 7.50 – Ross Estate, SHIRAZ, “Lights Out”, Barossa Valley, Australia

$ 7.00 – Wente Vineyards, CABERNET SAUVIGNON “Heritage Blend”, San Francisco Bay, California,

USA

LATE HARVEST WINES (Lush & Silky)

$ 8.00 – Barton & Guestier, SAUTERNES, Bordeaux, France

FORTIFIED WINES (Rich & Refined)

$ 6.00 – Fonseca, LATE-BOTTLED VINTAGE PORT, Porto, Douro, Portugal

$ 7.00 – Taylor Fladgate, TAWNY PORT, Porto, “10 Year Old”, Douro, Portugal

BY THE GLASS in MDR MARCH 2013

CHAMPAGNES Be SPARKLING WINES

FANTINEL, PROSECCO, EXTRA DRY, "CUVEE PRESTIGE", ITALY

7

DOMAINE CHANDON, ROSE, "ETOILE", CALIFORNIA

14.5

DOMAINE CHANDON, BRUT, ·CLASS1C", CALIFORNIA

9

CODORNIU, CAVA, BRUT, "ANNA DE CODORNIU", SPAIN

7

PERRIER-JOUET, "GRAND" BRUT, CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE

18

WHITE WINES

CONUNDRUM, WHITE BLEND, CALIFORNIA 12

J. & H. SELBACH, RIESLING, KABINETT, MOSEL-SAAR-RuWER 7

BOLLlNI, PINOTGRIGIO, TRENTINO 7.5

RAIMAT, ALBARINO, "CASTELL DE RAIMAT", COSTERS DEL SEGRE 6.5

CLIFFORD BAY, SAUVIGNON BLANC, MARLBOROUGH 8.5

JEAN-Luc COLOMBO, VIOGNIER, "LA VIOLETTE", LANGUEDOC 6

KEN FORRESTER, CHENIN BLANC, STELLENBOSCH 7.5

ANTON BAUER, GRUNER VELTLINER, "GMORK", WAGRAM 9

MICHEL REDDE, POUILLy-FUME, "LA MOYNERIE", LOIRE 11

GRGICH HILLS, CHARDONNAY, NAPA VALLEY 16

BENZIGER FAMILY WINERY, CHARDONNAY, SONOMA COAST 6.5

CELEBRITY CRUISES, CHARDONNAY, "CELLAR MASTER", CALIFORNIA 8.5

BLUSH / ROSE WINES

BERINGER, WHITE ZINFANDEL, CALIFORNIA 5.5

JEAN-Luc COLOMBO, ROSE, "CAPE BLEUE", COTES DE PROVENCE 7

TORRES, ROSADO, CATALUNYA, "SANGRE DE TORO DE CASTA", CATALONIA 5.5

RED WINES

KENDALL-JACKSON, PINOTNoIR, "VINTNER'S RESERVE", CALIFORNIA 8.5

PONZI, PINOTNOIR, WILLAMETTE VALLEY 17

CUNE, TEMPRANILLO, CRIANZA, RIOJA 6.5

NOZZOLE, CHIANTI CLASSICO, "VILLA DI NOZZOLE", TUSCANY 8.5

RUTHERFORD RANCH, MERLOT, NAPA VALLEY 7.5

MONTGRAS, CARMENERE, "RESERVA", COLCHAGUA VALLEY 7

CELEBRITY CRUISES, CABERNETSAUVIGNON, "CELLAR MASTER", CALIFORNIA 8.5

BODEGA CATENA ZAPATA, MALBEC, "CATENA", MENDOZA 8.5

DRY CREEK VINEYARD, ZINFANDEL, "OLD VINES", SONOMA COUNTY 12

Ross ESTATE, SHIRAZ, "LIGHTS OUT", 8AROSSA VALLEY, 7.5

YANGARRA ESTATE, GRENACHE, "OLD VINES", McLAREN VALE 10

CHATEAU CASTERA, MEDOC. CRU SUPERIEUR, BORDEAUX 10

FREEMARK ABBEY, CABERNET SAUVIGNON, NAPA VALLEY 16

WENTE VINEYARDS, CABERNETSAUVIGNON, "HERITAGE BLEND",

SAN FRANCISCO BAY 7

How do you find out what rate Celebrity use? And where do you buy the OBC from?

Try the link above each OBC is worth 25$

I did buy OBC before sailing this year the exchange rate was so good I got 1.63$ to GB£ while the tourist rate was only around 1.52$

Right now its only 1.51$ http://www.celebritycruises.com/bonvoyage/category/viewProductDetail.do?cat=ONBDCR&coll=ONBDCR&itemCode=C171

I am punch drunk whoo what a great thread, anything on cabin 7221 Eclipse

Just sat here for hour reading this forum wonderful enjoyed every minute can't wait now for our cruise in June first one for us Alaska on Centery

It never was going for UK

Can this be applied to bookings already made and deposit paid.