Amado and Judy

Do you know if the cruise in Southampton will leave from the cruise terminal or the Princess QE terminal which is further away from the National Express Bus station in Southampton. Our plan is to take National Express Bus from LHR to Southampton. We plan to get a hotel in Southampton (hopefully under $150) for one night to avoid the possibility of airline delays from California to LHR. I remember IKEA was near the bus station, but never walked into the city center. Any recommendations????

Hi. Love the photos. We are on the ship next Sat.(3/25). Do you know if the ship had a night where you go up to the pool deck and everyone dresses up in white to party with the DJ? Trying to decide if I should bring white clothes this trip.

Aaaah, of course, Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse. That's a pretty long bus ride! I'd give serious consideration to taking a cab instead - depending exactly which bus connections you take and how timely they work out to be, you could end up spending 80-100mins each way by bus, whereas in typical traffic a cab would be 30mins or less.

 

That's an awfully big time saving, and if you can find anyone else interesting in dodging the crowds the cost (ballpark CAD$40 each way) can potentially be split between a few people. Pricey compared to a $5 day pass on the bus yes, but still a very cheap shore excursion overall as the park site is <$4pp!

 

Other good news - not as many ships as you fear. I assume you have to be docking Sep 28th, when five ships are listed (the busiest day of the year) - but the first three of those (Ruby, Grand & Star Princesses) leave before or as the last two (Bliss & Eurodam) arrive so the first set of pax will all be back onboard before the next batch get off. It's really only a two-and-a-half ship day in terms of how many fellow cruisers will be roaming the streets of Victoria at once...

Martin......I am still confused about #of zones to pay for when arriving at YVR airport and taking the Skytrain to Canada Place Waterfront station for Celebrity Solstice on 9/21 to Hawaii. Can we get a senior rate by buying a one time ticket at the sky train terminal in the airport? I know there is a $5cad fee added on but confused as to Zone 1 or 2 zones fare additional. First time to YVR via flying.....thank you for any info. The trainlink website was only confusing to me.

I assume you mean https://www.nationalexpress.com/en coach. Coaches run from Victoria coach station (about 300yds down the road from Victoria railway station) direct to Southampton (note spelling). Coaches also run from all the terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick to Southampton, if that helps. Should be about £15pp (or cheaper) and trip takes around 2 1/2 hrs. The coaches are comfortable, usually have a loo onboard and the driver will stow your luggage for you in the hold. I've used them several times.

 

 

Simon

Simon, if we take the coach from Victoria Coach Station to Southampton, is the drop off point in Southampton close to the cruise port where we could possibly walk to it? Thank you for your reply. jbainto@yahoo.com

We have not taken transfers from YVR to cruise dock and would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

Bobby, do you recall if the Imagination(Carnival out of Long Beach) had karaoke onboard?

should I upgrade to premium or just pay the difference? First, we are not huge drinkers and really have no specific preferences. I would like to try a few of the "specialty" drinks which are in premium but other than that am pretty fine with the classic package. Just wondering if people think worth the upgrade or just to pay as I go?

 

One other question - are the frozen slushy drinks served by the pool included in classic or premium?

 

Thanks so much. :cool:

The Martini Bar is premium pkg, the fresh coconut by the pool that you can have rum added to is also premium. The slushy drinks from the pool bar are classic as long as you don't order a "call drink like having your pina colada topped with Myers Rum, then it becomes a premium. It's all based on price per drink. Sometimes Celebrity will upgrade you for $100 to premium when they are offering a promotion OR get to know your bartender and tip him/her when you first order asking if they would be willing to take care of you for the cruise. then if they do, tip again at the end.