scottygirl

Yes it is a cult ship. 

I saved $130 on excursions for my upcoming Hawaii cruise.

19 hours ago, QCAZ said:

We are on our way to Hawaii at this time ..... Vancouver to Hawaii.  Will arrive in Hilo tomorrow and have this tour booked:

Gil & Tina

Big Island Aina Tours

www.ainatours.com

808-217-7582 / 808-315-3097

 

Has good reviews and I booked it on-line and received a quick confirmation back.  They only take 10, but have 2 vehicles so will do 2 tours.  We booked early December and on the first tour, both tours filled I believe.  Will let you know after the tour if you like.   

 

Also there is a Hoppa on Hoppa off bus tour in Hilo, which I believe goes to many of the sights.  

I'd  love your thoughts on this excursion when you return.

Mahalo

13 minutes ago, mek said:

I'm on the same cruise - leaving for Vancouver this afternoon.

Have a great time! Would love to hear some details.

2 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Hopefully it will be as nice as last year.  We will be going to Ayrshire. 

I will be staying in Aberdeen with trips to Edinburgh and Inverness. Hoping for clear skies!

13 hours ago, truebrit1955 said:

I'm so excited, we board the Eclipse on our way to Hawaii on Wednesday, my sons and I are in an aft Concierge cabin on deck 10 and can't wait to start this adventure. We have only cruised on Carnival before and decided we would like something more upscale this time around. Really looking forward to it 🙂

Andrea

Can you report back about your trip?  We are on the Eclipse Hawaii to Vancouver Oct 3.  Enjoy your trip!

16 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

   

We were planning on staying with Iain's sister while in Scotland but later had to book an AirBnB because his niece left her husband and moved back home with her 2 kids.   We often use AirBnB so was our first choice in searching for a place.   I found a really nice 2 Bedroom cottage in Troon for $75 per night.   It really looks cute and is directly on the seafront.  Since we have an early morning flight out of Glasgow we opted to spend the last evening at the Glasgow Airport Hotel which is directly across from the terminal. 

I will be in Scotland at the end of May visiting family. Staying with my cousin.  Enjoy!

Following.  Have a great trip!

Nice job Paul!

Awesome! We did a 5 night Anthem cruise. Our time in Bermuda definitely wasn’t enough. Going back next year 7 nights NCL Encore. Would have loved to do Celebrity but none of the itineraries worked out. 

I would like to know this info too. I booked Select Dining at 7:15-7:30 each night.

Sounds like a tough couple of months for you.  Hopefully this cruise will heal your heart and mind.  Enjoy!

So sorry for your loss.  May you hold memories of your lovely wife dear to your heart.

2 hours ago, ghstudio said:

Just tried to check a few flights on both systems...."flights by Celebrity" and "choiceAir.

 

Flights by Celebrity could find no flights to/from two cruises, one in Europe, the other in Asia...and I was looking at economy and checked various dates on all flights.

 

ChoiceAir found one way flights from Europe (we are using air miles one way) but they are the same $2000+ charged by the airlines.  Apparently the one way fare agreements with the airlines have gone away, at least to/from us and European ports.  The system could find round trip's, but also at the same price as the airlines (as expected).

 

No I didn't try calling...both sites are supposed to work from the internet and it's painful to go over date options and airport options with a person....we are flexible and choose the least cost routing....and we have four departure/return airports we can use....and Tokyo has two major international airports, etc.

 

Have others had better luck with international flights.

I had better luck calling Choice Air.  They actually found flights on a "different system" for our cruise to Hawaii.  Might be worth a call. Not sure what the "different system" was so I can't help with that.

I love the ignore button feature

11 minutes ago, Summertime Cruiser said:

 

 

That IS simple math.  🙂

 

Hard to do the math when you don't know how much those things cost.

48 minutes ago, Paul Bogle said:

One other tip, if you decide to take a mini-suite try to pick one that sleeps four. The third berth is the sofa converted to a bed. The fourth berth is a pulldown above the sofa. If your third passenger doesn't mind the pulldown this leaves the sofa always available to the three of you to use. If the third person decides the pulldown isn't for her just let the steward know she prefers the converted sofa. You have nothing to lose.

We booked a M6 that sleeps four.  Thank you for your help!

8 minutes ago, crazy crazed cruiser said:

All depends on what you consider 'best' and 'value'.  All things equal it is basic simple math to figure out the relative cash value.  After that it comes down to a matter of which items the three of you personally value more.

Since I make a living as an accountant the simple math isn't the issue.  The issue is what the different perks cost if purchased separately.  Not every perk has the same relative cash value. I'm looking for the best bang for my buck and I believe the other posters have answered that question for me.

1 minute ago, Paul Bogle said:

Sauer-kraut is right, the mini-suite has a larger bathroom with a double sink and larger shower. The aft balcony has a much larger balcony that can easily accommodate three.

 

You may want to consider a mini-suite with large balcony M6 and get the best of both worlds. You won't have the nice aft view but you will have a balcony three can stretch out on and you will also have the larger bathroom. The price should be similar to the aft balcony.

I looked at the M6 cabins but the only available cabins are on deck 8 forward.  I was concerned about the location due to motion sickness also  it appears to be above the theatre.  

Three ladies on Encore to Bermuda.  Which would you select?  Price difference is nominal.

Thank you everyone for your quick replies!  I think I will chose the drinks and 3rd person free.  

3 minutes ago, Paul Bogle said:

The drink package applies to the first two passengers on the booking and takes two drinks per person per day to break even. Since you could choose another option instead of the drink package you probably need to average three drinks per person per day to offset the opportunity cost of another perk. If passengers one and two will average four or more drinks per day the drink package is the best value of all the perks.

 

 

I am sure that would not be an issue for us!

There will be three adult women in the room.  I was leaning toward getting the drink package and then sharing the cost of the third.  What is the value of the specialty dining?  Looks like that would have to be purchased for the third person also.  There is also third person sails "free" right now that appears to be a $399 value.  We have one person that always wants to be connected but personally I don't mind being disconnected for a couple days.

Considering booking the Encore to Bermuda May 2020.  There will be three adults in the cabin.  I am trying to figure out which perks give you the best value. Looks like we will be entitled to 2 "free perks".  Any help you could give will be greatly appreciated.  

2 minutes ago, wendyam76 said:

How lovely! How long is it since you last visited? Lots of changes here. We are actually going to be getting some cruises departing from Aberdeen next year.

Sadly it's been a long time, I was a wee bairn.  I still have a lot of family there and will be going with my 80 year old father.  What cruise line will be departing from Aberdeen?