ehogan

If you have time, drop off your luggage at the visitor center at pier 39.

It us on the second level and they charge $5 a bag. They are supposed to open at 9 a.m. But when we used them in Jan., they opened 15 minutes late.

We are sailing on the Opera in the summer and were wondering if the Casino offers poker, In particular Texas Holdem.

Also, would anyone know if cash machines are available to receive Euros?

Thanks in advance

We usually reserve our anytime dining time to avoid having to wait at all. You can do this the day of or the day before, but I think they only make particular times available for reservations. We eat early at 5:30 so there is rarely a problem getting a reservation.

On our last cruise (Sapphire) we reserved the same table for two for every night because we loved the wait staff.

It is best to reserve early for formal nights.

Fewer children perhaps?

We will be on the Opera in July2014 for our first time cruising during school holidays.

While we prefer early dining we also enjoy a quiet dining experience. Should we opt for a later seating?

Thanks in advance.

We sailed out of Galveston last year and had a similar problem...four hours delay and also missed our flight.

We were told this is very common in Galveston due to fog.

If we did it again I would arrive a day early and also fly out a day after cruise arrival but then we really enjoy Exploring Galveston.

Disappointed to hear that they have changed to dispensers. We are familiar with them on the Carnival ships and I have always found the shampoo/conditioner combination to be of poor quality. The Princess bottled toiletries were pretty good quality although a trifle hard to dispense.

I always bring my own conditioner and shampoo or if I am concerned with weight or luggage issues, purchase some at the embarkation port.

Thank you, that is very helpful.

We are sailing on the Opera June 2014.

Could previous passengers please tell me where the Opera will dock? I understand there are three docking areas in Southampton.

I am trying to book a hotel and arrange for car hire which might be influenced by where she docks.

Thanks in advance

On our last cruise on Princess this past July our account was charged in US dollars to the US denominated credit card we have. I understand this will be the same on our cruise to Hawaii in Jan.

This is a welcome change to their previous policy where they converted charges to CDN dollars at an exchange rate that they determined and which was higher than bank rates.

In our case they converted our charges to CDN$, then charged our US card, and then our bank converted back to US so we were hit with poor exchange rates twice. Princess did reimburse us after a complaint letter!

Anyway, their policy now is to charge your credit card in US$

We have also used National Express coach service to both Southampton and Dover. It is easy to get to their station from Heathrow and their service is inexpensive and efficient.

We just send a fax to the number provided for the cruise line, including proof of shares held, sailing info.

Don't assume all is well without checking. I faxed info June 5 and followed up with a phone call three days ago, they said they had my info but had not posted the OBC to my account. after my call I received a confirmation email that it was posted. The Pincess agent said it would show on My Personalized but I can't see a spot for it.

It is easier to do this with a Carnival cruise since it shows up clearly on your on line invoice.

As recommended by others, I will bring all my documentation on board just to be sure.

We will be in Venice and Florence in April and I am interested in buying some gold jewelry either on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence or the Rialto in Venice for the sentimental value as much as anything else.

Any insight on whether this is worthwhile? i.e. quality, price, hints on good jewellers. Or am I being unrealistic and everything at these locations is a tourist rip off?

titicaa8396:

Of the two tours we did with Through Eternity, I prefered the Vatican one. Mostly this was due to the guide, we had Danny on this tour and he was beyond fantastic, young, enthusiastic, well educated (Art History major from somewhere in New England) and crazy about Rome. The little side stories he told about some of the Popes and other Vatican related stories were amazing.

This is a very intense tour, five hours in total with a short half hour break in the middle: there is so much to see you will be overwhelmed. You could probably take a week to see everything in the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's, but he did an excellent job of the highlights.

The other tour, Roman Fora was also excellent with a very good guide. This tour is shorter and more relaxed.

If you could do both, that would be the way to go. I believe that the guide you get is pretty much luck of the draw.

If you are limited to one tour, though you should do the Vatican. Doing this on your own is almost impossible. We saw many with tour books, including Rick Steves' guidebook who were trying to listen in on guided tours. Looking into a guide book, then trying to match items to the book is just too time consuming and confusing.

We are already booked for the Rome at Twilight tour for our trip in March.

We used Through Eternity tours on our cruise in May 2005 and were very impressed with their service. Our tour guide Danny, took us through the Vatican and St. Peter's - this was a five hour tour and was excellent. I don't see how you could have any understanding of the Vatican without some expert guidance. Our other tour with them was the Roman Forum and Coliseum, again an excellent tour.