shipster60

We are flying to OKC, so there is always a connection to make. However, they show no connecting flights past the 9am time slot. When I ask for afternoon flights I get a message that says there are no flights in those parameters. I'll keep checking.

If this doesn't belong on this thread, please remove. Southwest opened schedules today. However, they have no flights leaving FLL after about 9:40 am. In their previous schedule there were many times in to the afternoon. Will they open afternoon flights later?

Im not the op but I was wondering too. Great to hear. Thanks!

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We're doing this cruise in November, but the other way. Can't wait to follow along and get some tips. Thanks for posting. If you've booked any private tours I'd love to know how they go.

Thanks so much, that helps!

We are booked in cabin 9137 on Infinity for a Panama Canal Cruise in November. I have checked the sticky, but the only posts for this cabin are from 2014. Has anyone stayed in this cabin recently. Is there a small cutout in the overhang over this cabin or is it more over it's neighbor 9133? I'm apprehensive about the overhang, but don't want to give up eating at Blu.

Since this thread has been revived, I'm hoping to get an answer about a stateroom on Infinity. Has anyone stayed in AQ9137? I have looked at the few postings about that room in the sticky, but they are all very old. From some pictures I've seen it's looks as if one of the cutouts in the roofline might be above that room. It could also be the room adjacent to it which is 9133? Any input is appreciated.

I'm not new to CC, but always book directly with airlines. I'm thinking of using Choice Air this time. My cruise isn't until November and I ordinarily wouldn't book a domestic flight this early. However, our return flight will be Thanksgiving Day. I'm tempted to book with Choice Air because I feel I might need to book earlier for the holidays. Final payment is in August. Will my flight costs be refunded if I cancel before final payment?

Thank you!

I do both, but I have found as time has passed and my number of cruises has increased, I do more and more private tours and limit my ship's tours to those ports where I feel it's the only viable option for what I want to do.

 

I love research, planning, and organizing, and I've found I'm good at doing it for travel now that I'm retired and have the time for it! The thing I like best about arranging a private tour is I control the variables...where we go, how much time we spend at each location, what we eat, and often who the guide is.

 

On my Equinox cruise in three weeks, I'm doing one Celebrity tour, I've organized small groups in other ports, and I'm taking two limited participation food/tasting tours I booked through Viator. The Celebrity tour is a L-O-N-G day on a ferry through the Panama Canal, and I just didn't feel comfortable trying to do that through a private vendor. On the other hand, in Cartagena I've booked tours I'm really excited about with a private guide who has rave reviews on Trip Advisor and here. Since I set up the tours, I was able to customize and make changes so the tour will be to my liking.:) I don't always want to see just the "most popular" sights, and arranging private tours allows me to skip some places and add others.

Is this a Panama Canal cruise on Infinity? If so, I would love to know about the private tours you organized. We're going in November and would love feedback after you go.

I always purchase the insurance at the time I make the deposit, and I insure only the deposit. That gives me the pre-existing conditions waiver and does not cost too much. I increase the value of the policy whenever I incur additional costs. I don't have to cover the entire cost of the cruise until final payment.

 

Carolyn

Is this with Celebrity Insurance or an outside company?

We are just back from our Rhine River Cruise. Your post with the pictures helped so much in planning. Would you be able to tell me how to post pictures. I use a Mackbook and I'm having trouble trying to post them. I wanted to post the Viking Daily for those wanting schedules.

Hi Jazz:)....from everything I have read, you are supposed to be able

to buy tickets on line to the Anne Frank House but I am leaving in less

than 2 months and the website continues to say "NO TICKETS AVAILABLE".

And when you don't buy them on line, the lines for getting in can be

hours and hours:eek:.....I don't want to stand there for that long.

 

I will keep looking. I emailed 2 tour companies earlier this evening

so hopefully they will reply back in a few days (if not sooner):)

and will walk around on my own if need be.

If you really want to go, I would keep checking the Anne Frank House site. I hear they open up some tickets online as it gets closer to the date.

We just returned, Monday, from staying in Lucerne - flight from Zurich. Train station in Lucerne is right around the corner from the Blu. I had to laugh when suggestion was to bring your own washcloths - they were quite thin! Pillows were very flat as well, though you can request different ones as they have a pillow menu. They accommodated me with additional pillows. All in all, a very nice and convenient hotel.

 

FYI - weather was warmer than expected. We started in Brugge and cruised from Amsterdam to Basel. I didn't need heavy coat or layers til we went to Mount Titlis in Lucerne. Weather was beautiful, no rain and blue skies while on trip.

We're doing the same trip in April. We're staying at the Blu and flying out of Zurich. Did you take the train to Zurich? If so, did you buy your tickets when you got there or before you left the US?

Thanks so much for the review. We are going about the same time next year on the Eir. I was starting to get concerned that it was too early for tulips, and that's the only reason I chose April.

Thanks for the reply. This will be our first River Cruise, thanks so much for posting about yours.

We're going about the same time in 2016. Were the tulip in full bloom?

We went on two Viking trips this year.....not the specific cruise you are looking at, but we did the China cruise in April and the Romantic Danube in September. For all my travels I do all the planning and research. I then book with the cruise line directly. After I have everything booked I let my travel agent take over the booking so I get a HUGE discount on the cruise. We prefer to make our own hotel reservations pre and post cruise and we also prefer to book our air with mileage, but you can certainly use Viking for everything if you wish. One of the things we noticed when on the cruise was that those who booked their air with Viking (and they were the majority)....some of the people had odd flight times and some had to get off the ship really early in the morning to make those flights. When you choose your own flights you can get the flight times you want. Another thing we did was stayed in Prague (on our own) after our cruise, rather than book the Viking extension. The people who booked the extension with Viking went on a bus from Nuremberg to Prague and stayed in a hotel that was outside of the city....which was not very convenient for sightseeing in Prague. We booked our own transportation from Nuremberg to Prague (a driver, which we shared with another couple) and stayed in a hotel that was close to everything. The drive was much shorter than taking a slow bus. I think in the end the way we did it cost us less or around the same as had we booked the extension through Viking, and it was also more convenient.

 

Feel free to email me for more details.

How do you have your TA take over the reservation after you have already made it? I've seen others post this, and I'm not sure how to do that. I've made reservations with Viking for the Rhine River Getaway for April 2016, and have made the deposit. Can a TA still take over my reservation. Thanks!

We came extremely close to missing our flight out of London last year, only because there was an accident on the freeway and all traffic was blocked so our bus couldn't get through. Our bus driver finally found a way to exit and go around the mess. I'm not sure what would have happened if we missed it.

We did the bike tour of the island that was excellent.

Which bike tour? What time of year was it?

The Oyster also has a daily price-capping mechanism, which means that using it will always be cheaper than buying the corresponding one-day Travelcard. I posted a bit more about this here.

Thanks so much for all the advice. We will only be in London for a day proceeding out cruise, but does anyone know about the rest of British Isles, Ireland and Scotland, do we need Chip and pin cards there?

That's too funny! OSU? What years?

Yes, OSU. Husband, 1980, Son, 2009, Daughter in-law, 2008.

It's a Family Affair! Love our Cowboys.

Husband is DVM, my son too.

In general, you need a chip and pin for automated purchases, such as tickets from a ticket machine. Swipe and sign works fine as long as there is a person in the loop.

 

As a for instance, we could not buy Heathrow Express tickets from the machine on our last trip, but had no issues at the ticket window. From numerous posts on this forum, that seems consistent; chip and pin is ideal but not required.

 

If your credit card provider offers chip and pin and you can get it, it will probably simplify your life a little.

 

Where in OK? Please be a Cowboy or ignore everything I just said...:)

Thanks for the advice. Checked with our credit card and can't get one yet. Might consider getting different card. If by Cowboy you mean Oklahoma State, you bet. I bleed Orange and Black.

I don't know if this is the correct board for this or not. I haven't been to London since 1998 and I have never been to Ireland or Scotland. I've been reading on some of the threads that Chip and Pin cards are necessary for this Itinerary. We don't currently have a Chip and Pin card. Wondering if we need to have one before we leave for Europe.