cwtravel

I've done a few longer cruises with X (New Zealand/Australia, 2 Westbound TA's & the Eastern Med/Israel) and am wondering, where else do you want them to go? With the exception of Africa/South Africa they seem to have ships positioned throughout the world during the year.

In October I am looking at this combo as kind of a world cruise-

Fly from the US to Sydney, take the Oct. 8 Sydney - Singapore sailing which arrives Singapore Oct 22 on the Solstice then fly Singapore to Barcelona and take the Equinox TA Barcelona - Ft. Lauderdale which departs Oct 25.

The flights work out pretty good from SIN-BCN and the cabin costs for both are very reasonable. Since my wife & I both work time off for five weeks is the biggest issue.

Hello-

My wife and I cruise both Princess and Celebrity and are at the Elite level on both (more nights on Celebrity, more cruises on Princess). A couple of thoughts on your review:

- Embarkation lunch on Princess is the dining room on Celebrity usually Bistro on Five. Most Princess ships also have the International Café and some have Alfredo's, both usually uncrowded on the first day. We never hit the buffet first day.

- The Emerald Deck mini-suites have large, covered balconies on the Grand Class Princess ships but they tend to get booked quickly. This is generally our first cabin choice but we also like the Caribe Deck regular balcony cabins with the larger balcony. In my opinion the Sky Suites, though usually more expensive than a Princess mini suite, provides a much better cruise experience with the butler and now the suite only restaurant though some butlers are great (Gordon on the Reflection) and some are just ok.

- Frequent cruiser perks, again in my opinion are better, at least at the Elite level on Princess. More internet minutes (and they are tied to the length of the cruise unlike Celebrity) and the bar set up + unlimited laundry vs the # of items on Celebrity. I do like the day pass to the Persian Gardens Celebrity offers.

I also think overall entertainment is better on Princess and during US Football season especially like Movies Under the Stars. Nothing like watching the game sailing on a warm night with popcorn/hot dog and beer!!

Chris

I used Town Cars from Sydney Interntionl to the Park Hyatt and was very happy with the service. My guess is the cost should be about the same to the Marriott.

Our luggage did not make the connection to Sydney so we were a bit delayed getting out of customs/immigration but our driver was standing there when we exited. Took a cab back to the airport (also the international ide for a flight to Auckland) and the cost for the cab was not too much less than the Town Cars pick up.

Just off Reflection Saturday. No Global Entry. We looked and asked. If there is a line at immigration/customs, I recommend hiring a porter. Those that overpacked and needed a porter to carry their luggage got to cut to the front of the line.

Thanks, I will book the later flight. I'm a bit surprised there is a Global Entery line at most, if not all the terminals at Port Everglades but not at Port of Miami.

I am considering a 9:45 am flight in March after our next cruise on the Reflection.

The wife & I both have Global Entry/TSA Pre, I'm AA Advantage Gold so can check luggage quicker and will do walk off. If the Global Entry line is at Port of Miami, like it currently is at Port Everglads in Ft. Lauderdale I will go for the earlier flight. Am using AA points so cost is not an issue just a better departure time.

Have any recent returning Reflection sailers noticed a Global Entry sign at the Miami location?

Auckland to Sydney on the Solstice in March, 2014 with the eastern Med & Israel on the Silhouette in October, 2015 a close second.

My wife & I did our first suite (S2) in Feb. on the Silhouette. It was a treat as my bonus was pretty good and the suite was not that much more than an Aqua Class cabin (about $700 more per person). The new suite restaurant was not finished so we had unlimited speciality dining. The other nice perk was having the "Suite Beach" at Labidee.

We were back on the Silhouette in October for a Med cruise and went with a 2C balcony. I thought it would be a big disappointment after the suite but, given the long excursion days and cost the regular balcony was fine and the increased cost for a balcony was not justified.

I did purchase the unlimited internet on the October cruise and I think it was less than $250 with the Elite discount. I don't think it will be $299 for 7 nights.

Have a great cruise!

Budget, from their downtown location. Not urge if they are open on Sunday's.

I would recommend the Summit or the Pride. Since you are driving both Cape Liberty or Port of Baltimore are better/easier than NYC or Boston. The Summit give you two overnights in Bermuda and there is plenty to do for all ages. The Pride gives you beach stops at Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay. The weather should be good in The Bahamas or Bermuda in June.

Hello-

I'm sitting at the Rome Airport, waiting for my flight to London Heathrow/BWI after a wonderful cruise on the Silhouette. This was my 12th Celebrity cruise & second time on the Silhouette this year. My wife & I are in our early 50's and we generally cruise 2 or 3 times per year.

The weather for this trip was great, sunny & warm every day with very calm seas all 14 days. There was one night with a little ship movement but that's it. Service was good and the food was excellent, in my opinion.

We were able to make all ports including Israel. Haifa was great but the violence was starting to get bad in Jerusalem so I am not surprised the Israel ports were cancelled for the cruise departing today.

I have read numerous posts describing Celebrity in decline and, frankly I have no idea what people want/expect or what they are talking about.

I am currently on the Silhouette and The Porch is all seafood, all the time. It is not busy at all and the weather has been good, and warm since we left Rome.

While I like the concept for dinner, I don't understand why they changed from the previous menu for lunch. I think it would work better with the Panini's back at lunch & the seafood option for dinner.

It kind of depends on what ship you are on. If it is the Reflection 11,should be ok out of Miami. If it is any of the other ships, which all sail from Port Everglades, 11 is doable from Miami but not as easy.

There is a good chance you will be assigned drink coupons, which for me works better. This is usually done when there are a high number of Elite, Elite+ & Zenith level guest on board, and TA's tend to attract a high number of repeat guests.

There will be specific drinks you can get with the coupons from specific bars.

Chris

Greetings to our nearby "Ohio neighbor" in Tiger Town!! Not sure that I totally understand the type of cruise your friends are seeking. BUT, from late Nov. 2015 to late Feb. 2016, Silversea has its charming 296-passenger Silver Cloud doing lots in and around Cape Town and South Africa. We are on a ten-day, Feb. 2-12, 2016, cruise that goes up the South Africa coast to Mozambique and back to Cape Town.

 

For doing the West coast of Africa and ending in Cape Town, they have such a sailing in order to get down to South Africa from the Med. This ship departs from Málaga, Spain on Nov. 10, 2015. Let us know if we can dig out and/or share added info.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 117,038 views for this posting.

Nice trip Terry! Am looking forward to that review & your usual excellent pictures.

Chris

i believe the ice cream, which is really good with multiple flavored, I believe is open until 11.

Thanks. £40 per person is a bit steep, unless I could also use the facilities on my return flight. There is nothing yet on the LHR website. I am currently leaning towards the Gordon Ramsey restaurant, looks like they have WIFI, food, drinks for much less then £80.

Thanks for the info and yes, I have been looking at my options for the next few trips. One challenge I have had is the mileage piece since the majority of my business related flights the last 10+ years have all been domestic and most on Southwest. The good news is I have plenty of Hilton & Hyatt points and am at the Diamond/Plantium level so as an example got a nice upgrade to an Opera King @ Park Hyatt Sydney using points.

For October 2016 I am considering BWI/DCA/IAD-HNL-SYD, get on the Celebrity Solistice in Sydney (after my stay at the Park Hyatt) and then fly back to the DC area from SIN, probably through ORD or LAX on Cathay. Trying a dummy booking on AA.com or Oneworld has you flying all over the place. I also checked United out if IAD but they do not have a partner airline from HNL to SYD so the routing goes bad to LAX/SFO to get to SYD from Hawaii.

Also, does a Oneworld RTW ticket allow for a combo business/premium economy ( say business on AA to HNL, PE back from SIN on Cathay)? Not sure if my wife wants to spend $20k on airfare (though after her PE Qantas flights we will never fly economy over 6 hours, which is why we are on BA to LHR).

Thanks again

Thanks for all the info. What I need to do is crank up my Oneworld status. I am looking at a Sydney-Singapore cruise in October 2016 and will most likely fly Cathay/Qantas since they both have a Premium Economy cabin (if I need to buy the tickets). The wife & I really enjoy the international lounges and she was asking about lounge access at LHR.

I'm sure we will be fine @ T-5 for a few hours. Checking the Heathrow website I see plenty of restaurants where we can grab something to eat & some coffee.

Unfortunately I am only AA Advantge Gold/Oneworld Ruby.

I live near BWI so until the US Airways/AA merger I was a heavy Southwest user (still am) but after my BWI-Sydney Qantas flights I have been flying more out of DCA on US Airways. I will get to the Oneworld Emerald level by the end of this year.

Thanks for the follow up. The last time I was @ LHR I flew Virgin so have never been through T-5.

Chris

Thanks, looks like I will get to know T-5 very well.

Hello-

I am a AA Admirals Club member, flying BA through London Heathrow in October. The BA flights are all in T-5 (both from US to Rome & the return from Rome). Unfortunately I am not flying in business and, much to my surprise BA does not allow Admirals Club members in their lounge. When flying Qantas last year was able to use their Business Lounge both in Sydney & Brisbane.

I believe the layover going to Rome is 2 hours 45 minutes and on the return is about 3 hours. Assuming the arrivals and connections are on time is it feasible to get from T-5 to T-3, and back, to use the AA lounges? If not, how is T-5 to wait around for a couple of hours?

Thanks!

Thanks so much for the responses. One last question...is the World Traveler + cabin better/significantly better on the A380 vs. 767 on BA? The only premium economy cabin I have flown is with Qantas on one of their 747-400ER last year from Dallas to Sydney and thought for the price it was great! No way I would do a flight that long in economy.

I am definitely flying back from Europe to BWI so that leg will be on the 767, just wondering if the A380 IAD-LHR, which does cost a bit more, would be a better choice for the overnight flight & sleeping.

Chris

Hello-

Heading to Rome in late September for the Celebrity Silhouette. Since I am flying back to BWI and will do premium economy I will be on BA. I have two departure options from FCO, an 11:45am or 1:15pm. Given the issues with T-3 (and apparently BA cancellations) I am leaning towards the 11:45 departure but, how early would I need to be at the airport for this departure? The ship arrives into Civitavecchia on a Saturday.

If I do the 1:15 departure the connection time @ LHR is 1 hour 35 minutes, is that too tight for LHR? I have flown through LHR a few times but never made a connection back to the US.

Finally, heading to FCO I am considering taking the A380 flight from Dulles, which has an hour 25 minute connection to the FCO flight. Gets me to Rome a few hour earlier than the BWI flight & I could fly the A380. Would also be in WT+. Are the WT+ passengers off before economy and is an hour 25 minute connection, all most likely in T-5, too tight?

Thanks for your help,

Chris

Thank you.

Chris