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Live Blog and some pre-cruse chatter- Constellation 7/21


Jim_Iain
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Hi Everyone! It’sbeen about 6 months since our last cruise and time to start another LiveBlog. I really enjoy doing live blogs and my family follows along to keep track of us. I also love hearing from outers on CC and always enjoy comments and recommendations.

 

Iain and I are now retired and will be doing a lot oftraveling and cruising for the remainder of the year. This trip is a little different from our regular cruise were we fly in a day early. We flew to Scotland, July 2 which is 3 weeks before the cruise to celebrate Iain’s Aunt Isa’s 90th birthday. We spent 7 days in Scotland with family and then flew to Barcelona for two weeks prior to boarding our Mediterranean Cruise on July 21 aboard Celebrity Constellation. After our cruise we will be spending a week in Venice before flying home.

 

A little about us for those who have not followed one of our other blogs. We live in Sunnyvale, CA which is right in the middle of Silicon Valley about 1 hours south of San Francisco. This will be our 24th cruise on Celebrity and 6th cruise on Constellation. We last sailed Constellation April 2017 on a B2B from Singapore to Rome. This was just before her last dry dock so will be interesting to see the refurb.

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We are currently in Sitges, which is a beach town 35 km south of Barcelona. It is known for it's beaches, night life and restaurants. The village is very walkable and cars are mostly prohibited in the tourist section.

 

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We chose Sitges as we first came her 29 years ago and use to vacation here with our kids 20 years ago. Some of the unique charm has vanished but it is still an amazing place. We celebrated our 29th anniversary at a garden restaurant on July 12th.

 

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Opera Singer to entertain.

 

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Hope you enjoyed Scotland - you certainly got wonderful weather! We’ll be joining you next Saturday - fly to Barcelona on Wednesday for three nights first and then we are staying onboard for the cruise after.

Wendy

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Interested to follow along. My wife and I and three other couples from Nebraska will be on the same cruise. Spending time in Venice and Florence post cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Wonderful to hear. When are you arriving in Spain? The weather is 80-85 during the day and 70's at night.

 

We were in Venice last year and really loved it. We contacted out host from Airbnb and they made us a nice offer to return to their property.

 

Please feel free to join in with your planning and recommendations.

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Hope you enjoyed Scotland - you certainly got wonderful weather! We’ll be joining you next Saturday - fly to Barcelona on Wednesday for three nights first and then we are staying onboard for the cruise after.

 

Wendy

 

 

 

We certainly enjoyed Scotland. As you said the weather was beyond perfect. A full week of sunny weather in the 70's and not a drop of rain. We booked a reception and dinner at the Dumfies House in Ayershire for Aunt Isa's 90th birthday party. If you haven't visited it after it was restored with the aid of Price Charles - it is a gem.

 

 

I am sure you will love your b2b. I wish we could have taken it but we have to get home for a R&R before our next cruise in September.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Enjoy! I was on the Connie for 3 weeks in May and June. She's in great shape and has a fantastic crew. Check out some of the special offerings in the buffet in the evening--they were bringing on local foods such as mussels.

 

Thanks Linda - I'm anxious to see how they re-modeled the Royal Suites. From reading your posts I recall you sale in them often.

 

The introductory e-mail I received from the shoreside concierge indicated the MCC was Joao. Was he there on your cruise? At least I believe it is a male.

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I’m following along for the journey; the Constellation is a favored ship.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks Vulcan - I also love the m-class ship. I sailed her last a year ago just before dry dock and she was showing extensive rust but didn't in the least diminish my enjoyment of the wonderful service.

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Had a wonderful day on Saturday. I'm a walker and was able to get in a good 10 mile walk yesterday along the coastline.

 

One thing to keep in mind while in Spain is that dining in the evening is much later than many are accustomed. We decided to go to dinner at 9:30 PM and didn't think to make a reservation. The owner of our first choice, which was half empty,calculated for 5 minuets before profusely apologized that they could not get us in but invited us back for tonight. We next tried a French Restaurant I had spotted. The owner said they were full but felt she could make room for us.

 

Had a wonderful dinner at Le Patio Jardin Terasse. We were first offered a complimentary Prosecco while we selected our meal. I chose from the fixed price menu as I preferred the selection better while Iain chose from the Ala Carte menu.

 

For starters I had a Roquefort and Pear Roseto (perfectly prepared) and Iain chose a Foie Gras Pate. Both were huge portions and I could have been satisfied with just the starter. For our main course I chose a beautifully prepared Salmon and Iain chose Sweet Breads (yuck). I loved the presentation and the little touches the Chef did.

 

Iain ordered a nice bottle of wine and I had sparkling water. By the time it came for desert we were both stuffed, but the waiter insist we share a cheese cake, as it came with my meal. He also brought us two appetite's. To us it was very reasonable at $90.00 but in California prices can be a bit pricy.

 

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We were amazed when we checked our watches and it was 1:00 AM. When we left we were shocked that the streets were so packed with party goers we could hardly get through the throngs of people. Since smoking is not permitted in bars people pour out of the bars into the street with their drinks so they can enjoy a cigarette. Found this strange as smoking is permitted in patio restaurants.

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Tip of the Day - Using Credit Cards in Spain

 

When using credit cards in Spain you are given an option of paying in your local currency or Euro's.

 

I did a little research and found that it is recommended you always choose Euros. You will get a better exchange rate regardless of what the establishment tells you.

 

When paying in restaurants they never take your card from the table which is the norm in the U.S. Europeans usually have a pin attached to their credit card while for U.S. Credit Cards they print a receipt that you must sign manually.

 

I have alerts setup on my credit cards so when I charge anything I get a text alert showing the amount charged in USD almost instantly.

 

It is also advisable to alert your credit card company of your planned travel plans to avoid any problems. This can usually be done manually via computer.

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I love the sound of your meal - and to me, the cost, seems very reasonable. We always pay in the currency of the country - much better exchange rate. We also have a 0% transaction fee for foreign currencies on one of our credit cards.

Wendy

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When using credit cards in Spain you are given an option of paying in your local currency or Euro's.

 

 

 

I did a little research and found that it is recommended you always choose Euros. You will get a better exchange rate regardless of what the establishment tells you.

 

 

True. I work in the credit card industry. The name of this “service” is DCC - dynamic currency conversion. It allows vendors to offer you a price in your home currency and make money on the exchange rate by marking it up. Wherever you are, always pay in the local currency (ie EUR in Spain) and let your bank handle the conversion. This cuts out the mark up of the vendor. The same goes for taking money out of a foreign ATM; never accept an offer from the ATM to be charged in your home currency.

 

Floris

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I love the sound of your meal - and to me, the cost, seems very reasonable. We always pay in the currency of the country - much better exchange rate. We also have a 0% transaction fee for foreign currencies on one of our credit cards.

Wendy

 

On our pre-cruise vacations we normally book with Airbnb and enjoy being able to eat breakfast and lunch in our apartment and usually go out for a nice dinner. Occasionally it is nice to just stay in and cook a nice home cooked meal.

 

I usually use my Chase Sapphire card which like you does not have a transaction fee and rewards with 3x bonus meals for travel and restaurants (includes Airbnb). Those miles come in handy for air transport.

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True. I work in the credit card industry. The name of this “service” is DCC - dynamic currency conversion. It allows vendors to offer you a price in your home currency and make money on the exchange rate by marking it up. Wherever you are, always pay in the local currency (ie EUR in Spain) and let your bank handle the conversion. This cuts out the mark up of the vendor. The same goes for taking money out of a foreign ATM; never accept an offer from the ATM to be charged in your home currency.

 

Floris

 

Thanks Floris - You explain it so well. I have taken the liberty to pass your explanation on to the Roll Call.

 

Would really appreciate any other suggestions you come up with.

 

Jim

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Thanks Linda - I'm anxious to see how they re-modeled the Royal Suites. From reading your posts I recall you sale in them often.

 

The introductory e-mail I received from the shoreside concierge indicated the MCC was Joao. Was he there on your cruise? At least I believe it is a male.

 

I don't sail in royal suites often, only when I get a good deal. Last one I was in was on the Summit in January. The suite was fine and we had an excellent butler. I'm not too impressed with what they did with the dining room area--really don't see the point of that bench thing. And of course they took out the cabinets with the art pieces. Other than that, I didn't see too much difference.

Wasn't in a suite on the Connie, so didn't go to Michael's.

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Excited to be on this sailing - Our 12th with Celebrity, but 1st on Connie and 1st Med itinerary. Should be great!

 

Really looking forward to the cruise. I'm especially looking forward to Kotor and Zadar. They will be new ports for us.

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Thanks Linda - I'm anxious to see how they re-modeled the Royal Suites. From reading your posts I recall you sale in them often.

 

The introductory e-mail I received from the shoreside concierge indicated the MCC was Joao. Was he there on your cruise? At least I believe it is a male.

 

We were on the Connie for 5 weeks in Feb/Mar. Joao ( yes male) was the MCC those were his first weeks as the MCC. He was very good, very helpful. I hope that you are lucky and Viktoria (bartender) and Erlinda (snack attendant) are still in Michaels, they are special.

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Tip of the Day - Using Credit Cards in Spain

 

When using credit cards in Spain you are given an option of paying in your local currency or Euro's.

 

I did a little research and found that it is recommended you always choose Euros. You will get a better exchange rate regardless of what the establishment tells you.

 

When paying in restaurants they never take your card from the table which is the norm in the U.S. Europeans usually have a pin attached to their credit card while for U.S. Credit Cards they print a receipt that you must sign manually.

 

I have alerts setup on my credit cards so when I charge anything I get a text alert showing the amount charged in USD almost instantly.

 

It is also advisable to alert your credit card company of your planned travel plans to avoid any problems. This can usually be done manually via computer.

 

Enjoying your review, Jim. I'm working on my first review now, and it requires even more time than I'd thought lol. Happy anniversary! I do want to add that it's best to use a card that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee, such as Capital One and some credit union cards. Some cards charge a hefty 3% foreign transaction fee. Cheers, Michelle

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