zebra

21 hours ago, newxmascruiser said:

Yes exactly as we did. We also booked from the ship back to FCO when we disembarked. The driver was waiting with our name on a card. Same price. Was really good value to what others paid.

Also to note regular taxis aren’t available outside the ship, prebooked ones only, so the options are pre book, take the shuttle back to the port entrance and try and catch a cab from there, or lots of people took the shuttle then walked to the train station. Maybe a 15-20 min walk

 

I have one last Casa Sul Mare question 😄 You may or may not know the answer to this.  Do we need to bring a three pin adapter plug to use in our room or do you think Loris will have an adapter converting from US to Italian for us to use? 

28 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

Wow thanks!
How many nights did you stay? We will be flying in from US and will be jet lagged the first day, and we only booked two nights. Did you stay longer than that?

How far in advance did you book the taxi from the airport? And did you have to pre pay or pay at the time of the ride?

To answer on ride from FCO to the B&B .... we have just booked it.  We reserved the driver through Loris at the B&B and he said to pay the Euro 130 cash to the driver at the end of the trip.

1 hour ago, newxmascruiser said:

Great choice with Casa Sul Mare they were fantastic hosts. 
There is an old fort down by the port which you can walk around.

There was also a little street market right across from the property. We mainly just wandered around and enjoyed the bars and cafes in the sunshine.

Yes when you leave the apartment you cross the street and walk down to the port entrance, the shuttle picks you up there.

Loris even offered to walk our bags over with us. 

So excited to read this!  We will be at Casa Sul Mare in October before our Holy Land cruise. We were wondering how far it is to shlep our luggage from the B&B to the shuttle as neither of us are spring chickens 😄 It seems doable.  We are also needing to have our Covid testing done while there .... we arrive 2 days before the cruise.  Hopefully there is a facility not too far from the B&B.  Thanks for your great review!!! 

19 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

You do realize if you are both D+ You will each have a BOGO to use first and second nights?

No I did not realize that - that's awesome. Can we use the BOGO at both Chops and Giovanni's?

Thank you everyone for your replies and putting my mind at rest. 

As D+ we would like to use the BOGO on the first night of the cruise in Chops.  But when booking the 3 night dining package online it made me put in a time on the first night.  I dont want to use the package on the 1st night.  I would like to use the BOGO first and then the three night package sometime during the rest of the cruise.  Is this doable ...... combining the BOGO and the 3 night package?  Am I making sense 😄 😄 

We had a boardwalk balcony. Never again, certainly not in the hot, humid Caribbean, in summer. The humidity gets trapped in the enclosed area of the boardwalk, not like an oceanview balcony with cooling ocean breezes - it just makes sitting out stifling hot.

The only time we have been directly impacted by a hurricane whilst being onboard ship was during Hurricane Sandy when it made landfall in New Jersey on Oct 29th, 2012. We were in Boston Harbor and started feeling the storm impact shortly after. We were on the Jewel scheduled to leave that day on a repositioning cruise to Florida but instead stayed in Boston Harbor for 2 days while the slow moving storm was battering the area. We were being pushed against the dock 24/7 by 2 tug boats and didn't feel any movement on the ship, even tough the tug boats would get totally submerged by huge waves and then just rise up again ...... amazing to watch. We obviously had no access to outdoors and EVERYTHING had been removed from the outer decks. The storm raged around us, small boats/yachts piling up on top of each other but we felt entirely safe inside the ship. 

On 7/4/2022 at 1:40 PM, curly14 said:

RC air2sea.  1 844 278 9745

Thanks, so it's the same general number that one calls to make a booking?

Had anyone got the Air2Sea phone number to contact if you nned to call them because your flight has been cancelled or rescheduled? for Air2Sea

As I have never used my phone for this before I have a couple of questions. (I see conflicting responses re e-med and Navica) . We will only have one phone with us in Europe.

1. Does one of us log in, perform the test and then log out at the end - and then scan the QR code AGAIN and log in for the other person to test?  Or ....... when the first person is done can the second person go through all the steps all on the same phone connection?

2. What happens during the 15 minutes that they are waiting for the result to develop, will it disconnect due to the screen saver going black?  Sorry I'm not that smart with technology 😄 

6 hours ago, YVRCanuck said:

Don't know what cruise line you are on, but I think the protocol is the same for all cruises leaving Civitavecchia.  

 

A negative antigen test within 2 days of boarding is required.  Your boarding day DOES NOT count as one of the days.  So if your ship is departing on a Saturday for example, then you can have the test on Thursday or Friday. 

 

Hope that helps you.

Yes this helps - thank you!!!

I guess I should know the answer to this, but I'm confused 😄 Can we have our Cover test 2 days before the cruise in Civitavecchia or is it only 1 day before?

21 hours ago, pcur said:

Shared shuttle:  http://metroshuttleservice.com/Shuttle-Service-from-Port-Everglades-to-MIA.html before tip.  $25 pp

 

Uber:  $48 before tip.  Estimate: for up to 3 people 

 

Oh Wow, this is a great option too, thanks for sharing.

Thank you everyone for your input, it sounds like an Uber is a better bet.

We will be docking in Fort Lauderdale on the Odyssey in November but need to fly out of Miami (not FLL airport). My questions are:  Does RCCL provide a transfer to Miami airport from the ship? And if so, do we book the transfer onboard ship?

Faves: Curries and Naan for sure!  Although I wish they were a little more spicy. Also Fish & chips and the Caramel Bread Pudding, Ranger Cookies and the sliced dried fruit bread at breakfast.

Least Fave:  Any tough Roast Beef or overcooked steak.  Also do not like their dry scrambled eggs.

6 minutes ago, bob63005 said:

That sure makes my Alaska cruise that ends in Vancouver easier. Now if Royal would drop the test between the Land tour and the cruise or at least provide testing like a B2B.

 

This is is for international flights flying INTO the States.

Great news - now we just need the cruise lines to drop this requirement as well.

3 hours ago, Citrons said:

Escargot is not the proper name for an English speaking cruise. Snails is the correct name in English - Escargots is the French name which is not the proper name for an English speaking cruise. (Spanish was the 2nd language of the cruise).

 

I disagree with the black pudding statement as i have been on conferences in Ireland and Americans ordered black pudding and ate some - then they asked me what it was and they looked horrified and i agree that black pudding should be explained it is pigs blood on the menu to international visitors.

 

My brother and myself are vegan. My mam is not but she only eats chicken and no other meat/fish. That is why when she was eating the snails i went up to the WJ counter to double check what she was eating.

 

There was "vegan/vegetarian" items in the official stand but also there was vegan/vegetarian items at the "favourites" stand as well in the WJ which looked vegetarian or vegan friendly - but who knows because they did not have a "V" next to the label which I am surprised. I think they need to improve the labels with simple "V", gluten free etc in the WJ since they mix these food items like vegetables and gluten free stuff on the other counters - not just in the vegan or gluten free counters.

 

As for the desserts it is exactly why i only ate the vegan desserts on the cruise.

 

However the point is that the Snails should have been labeled the proper name snails on the WJ labels since its an English speaking cruise.

And how should Croissants have been labelled?

2 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Hi LB,

 

The free shuttles now drops off passengers at "Infopoint Varco port mobility" area...see attached google map. Numerous passengers who chose the free shuttles, especially those with luggages, were extremely angry because of this added distance. Frustrated passengers and first-timers to Civitavecchia, ended up taking taxis to the train station.

 

Yes, Port Link (red) & Cruise Mobility (white), both pick up passengers quayside/shipside...very convenient. 

* Walk left as you exit the terminal; corner of the building.

Are you suggesting/implying that folks staying in accommodations in Civi (with luggage) should also NOT take the free shuttle from the entrance TO the ship for embarkation as well?  Just a question .......... as I am confused.

1 hour ago, pcur said:

Thank you for validating this.  I was beaten about the virtual head and shoulders a few weeks ago about posting that RCCL had stopped testing between b2b cruises, and that I was propagating false info. 

We were on B2B's on the Allure on April 22nd and April 30th.  On April 29th we had to go to the MDR for our B2B testing for the next cruise on the 30th.  We disembarked on the 8th May. Those who were B2Bing from May 8th did not have to have Covid testing onboard. So we were the last cruise to do so on April 30th on the Allure.  

Great info, thank you.

Love those animal pics - where were they taken?  I also have a boarding question as we'll be on the Allure next week. Do they stick 100% to the boarding time? Just wondered if we arrived a little earlier after our 4 hour drive to the port if they would let us board or not. Thanks.

On 3/28/2022 at 11:34 AM, CityChickCruising said:

Feel free to ask any questions, you will love it! Feels so good to be cruising again, we are loving it. 

We will also be on the 22nd sailing and I have 2 questions - don't know if you an answer.  We will be driving from Tampa (4 hours) and will probably leave a little earlier to cover any longer stops. Question: what if we get to the port a little earlier than our allocated time, will they let us board or do we have to wait outside?  Also are the only options to book the shows on their app on the day of sailing? I guess this can only be done on arrival?