Things I Learned On Board

[cbb]

Just returned from a b2b Scand. Splendors & Artistic Sojourns late last night so be gentle with me! (Don't go thru Frankfurt airport if you can avoid it!) Crew was fantastic as always, ports were terrific, weather was fine (except for Amsterdam....gee, what a surprise!) but here are a few tidbits. (If they have already been posted, I do apologize, but being gone a month I did not read the CC site.) After the ships come from refurb they will all have fridges, the free water and soft drinks will continue and will be for all cruises (not just European) and there is going to be a concerted effort to improve entertainment starting with Marina and then to filter through the other ships. (Entertainment on the 1st cruise probably reached a new low). I do have to report that there were, in the 2nd cruise, FREE SHUTTLES IN ALMOST EVERY PORT!!!!!(Rumor was that it was because it was the reunion cruise;B. Binder was onboard) As you can imagine I commented very favorably on the shuttles on my critique. The few that did not were ports where one could walk off and into the old town center. Took some ships excursions and they were very well done and the leaders were highly educated and experienced. Used Alla for 3 days in SPB and had Julia which was one of the great experiences in our travels....she was wonderful! Any questions? I'll attempt to answer. Had a wonderful trip and rec'd either itinerary to you all! c

[wripro]

Great news about the port shuttles. I hope they expand this to the entire line.

[cbb]

I thanked several staff people for the shuttles and was told to make sure I wrote comments on my end-of-cruise questionnaire about the shuttles which of course I did as well as tell others to do the same. On the Scand Splendors cruise there were no shuttles (which made the difference between the 2 cruises all the more obvious) We saw another cruise line's shuttle schedule posted and one gentleman was very upset at O. He said he had paid a lot of money for his cruise and then saw a much less expensive company offer a free shuttle service. He was not a happy camper. Speaking of happy we signed up for a 2012 cruise while on board.

[happy cruzer]

Thanks for checking in.

 

What about the food? What restaurants did you dine in? Did you get extra reservations for the specialty ones? favorite items, no so favorite?

 

Did you also get juices for no charge in the bars? I know it says water and soda on the website.

 

so glad you enjoyed your travels. Will add Frankfurt to the avoid list :).

[Aruba]

Free shuttles in almost every port -- I'm envious!

[rahrah50]

Is there any way to confirm shuttles on an upcoming cruise????

[potterhill]

We have flown through Frankfurt several times and never had a problem.

 

Mo

[cbb]

We were sent through 3 passport checks and 2 security checks and each time we received an acknowledgment and a nice apology that it was "now set up that way." I don't know why, they didn't say, everyone was great but it was just the start of a very long day home. Several of our fellow cruisers were periodically seen off in the distance wandering around looking dazed. Bless their hearts I hope they made it home.

[Starlaker]

We were sent through 3 passport checks and 2 security checks and each time we received an acknowledgment and a nice apology that it was "now set up that way." I don't know why, they didn't say, everyone was great but it was just the start of a very long day home. Several of our fellow cruisers were periodically seen off in the distance wandering around looking dazed. Bless their hearts I hope they made it home.

From what I see on the news, there has been a heightened secruity level in Europe (particularly England, France and Germany) in the last few days due to a credible terrorist threat. You probably got caught up in that.

[cbb]

We also thought it was due to heightened security. We were also concerned about the news that French air traffic controllers might go out on strike. I asked the concierge about it and she said that O was watching the situation closely but that "no actions were scheduled" by the controllers for the day the cruise ended. Whew!!!

[no fuss travel]

How long did it take you to clear security then as we are booked through Frankfurt going to Athens and returning home from Istanbul next May. I just want to make sure we have enough time between flights.

 

Thanks.

[MomC]

Since we are from Denver, we often use Lufthansa to fly directly to Europe and then connect to other European cities. I have horror stories of taxiing for 45 minutes after landing and finally having to disembark on the tarmac and have buses take us to the gate--one time it took 1 hour and 15 minutes to disembark after landing. I have found, though, that IF you land and have a gate for disembarkation that 1 hour would be sufficient. I never allow less than 2 hours, however, because you never know which your flight will have. It's a big airport, also. You can sometimes spend up to 30 minutes walking to connect (or you have to take a train). Hope this information doesn't cause you too much worry. It's just my experience, but I have connected through Frankfurt at least 10 times over the past few years.

[PaulMCO]

I fly thru FRA at least 15 times each year. It is one of the worst airports in the world -- with LHR being the worst.

 

You must allow extra time in connections:

 

Busing -- not enough gates. If you are flying a US carrier forget about getting a gate. Mainly because they cannot have them occupied for several hours on a turnaround.

 

If going from international to EU connection you need to allow extra time for:

 

• passport control
  
• security (especially if non business) the line can take up to 45 minutes
  
• Long haul from C or B to the main EU gates in A
  

One hint if can do it -- take the Sky Shuttle.. Passport and security lines are generally shorter.

 

On leaving back to the US - you may (not always) have a second screening for USA flights depending on security that day.

[Kruizefan]

Don't go thru Frankfurt airport if you can avoid it!

 

Yes, Frankfurt is bad but Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle and Madrid are worse and to be avoided!

[cbb]

Paul MCo is correct. We deplaned down stairs at Frankfurt; evidentally there was no gate available. Then took the bus, which was waiting for us, through most of the airport (and, at times it seemed, most of the city) until we got to check in. There were 4 kiosks if I remember that the agent asked us to use to check in & print out boarding passes if necessary. Several of the older passengers obviously were uncomfortable doing this so another agent stood there and guided them through the process. We then had to go to an agent who checked us in and double checked seat assignments, then through several passport and security check points. Finally we arrived at our gate, sat for an hour, then were told that because of problems with planes arriving and not enough gates our gate had moved (just 3 away.) Of course, there were people who wanted to secure overhead space so they began to stand in line which worried the rest of us so then we stood in line as well. Gate agents had to repeatedly tell us that they were boarding passengers in a certain order. I swear some folks are now trying to get fridges into the overhead spaces and then get angry when it won't fit. It's no fun flying anymore but the agents couldn't have been nicer and the actual flights were great.

[no fuss travel]

So if my flights stay as now given, I arrive in Frankfurt at 11:30 am and leave Frankfurt at 14:00 which gives me 2 1/2 hours that should give me enough time on the flight over. I should be able to clear customs and immigration in that length of time and get to the next flight.

 

On the flight back from Istanbul I arrive at 7:55 am and don't leave until 13:50. That gives me almost 6 hours in between flights. Suggestions on what to do to wile away 6 hours?

[no fuss travel]

Yes, Frankfurt is bad but Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle and Madrid are worse and to be avoided!

 

We have been lucky each time we go through Heathrow. We are usually through customs and have our bags within 30 minutes of arriving. Maybe it is the time the plane arrives from Vancouver, I don't know. We had one time where we were through customs and had to wait another 20 minutes for the luggage to make it to the carousel.

[Druke I]

We much prefer Heathrow to Charles de Gaulle, which has to be the worst airport we've used.

 

There is great difficulty getting from one area to another even when being escorted by airport personnel. They seem not to have able to overcome the bottleneck created several years ago when that terminal collapsed!

[Kruizefan]

delete

[Kruizefan]

 

On the flight back from Istanbul I arrive at 7:55 am and don't leave until 13:50. That gives me almost 6 hours in between flights. Suggestions on what to do to wile away 6 hours?

 

 

I would go to the Spa & Wellness at Steigenberger Airport Hotel (EUR 24,-)

[RJB]

We flew thru Zurich yesterday and also had 3 security checks. And we were in transit from Nice. But it moved pretty fast. I guess new rules are in place. Arriving in Heathrow 3 weeks ago was a nightmare. Almosr an hour to clear passport control. Try to keep smiling.