Nebr.cruiser

I know this may sound crazy and maybe not appropriate, but I have suffered from all kinds of allergies for 30 years, to the extent that it really affected my life style, mostly from horrible coughing, often so bad that I really hated going out in public. Years of doctor's, meds, nasal irrigating up to 5 times a day, etc. For some reason acid reflux medication helped somewhat. In May of this year I was prescribed Celebrex (generic form) for severe leg pain due to stenosis of the spine. After a few weeks, I suddenly noticed that I was not coughing at all--maybe a mild cough a couple of times a day, and most other allergy symptoms were gone--still gone. Truly miraculous for me. I still have occasional sniffles and eye watering; it's been a bad allergy season here. My doctor agrees that it is probably the anti-inflammatory part of the drug that has helped my allergies, especially the post nasal drip. I have not used a cough drop in 3 months (practically lived on them before) and have dropped two nose sprays, all nasal irrigation and some of my other allergy meds. I can't over-emphasize what a difference this has made in my life. And, leg pain is gone as well. Just something to think about. I do realize that Celebrex does have some side effects, as most meds do. Of course, check with your doctor!

The penguins were definitely the main attraction on our tour. Which is what we wanted.

Was this for a water ferry to Oia? Probably a good option for us, as we don't have to get off the ship really early, due to our long time in port. (having been there before, getting on tenders early if not on a ship tour is not easy). It probably would work for us. I have found a tour company that would pick us up in Oia and take us where ever we wanted.

We've been to Santorini before and really disliked the wait to get on the cable car. If we book an excursion through Celebrity, do they ferry you to the Oia area instead? Also, we get priority for the tenders then. We'd probably only do the on your own in Oia, because we have another specific place on the island we want to see, and we would book a local tour for that. (Kamari, since my sister lived there back in the 60's.) Our ship is in port from 8-10 pm, so we do have plenty of time, at least.

I'll see if I can find the company. I think we had about 8 in the van. The private tour you mentioned sounds like it would be great for four. It is quite a ways to the penguins and not a great lot to see on the way, although we did enjoy the scenery and saw guanacos. But the penguin colony was great.

We had no issues on our Australian cruise, but we also cruised to New Zealand on that trip, doing the 24 hr before tests, along, supposedly, with all other passengers. Many, many people obviously sick with lots of coughing, etc. on the cruise. All three of us ended up feeling not the best at the end of the cruise--we all tested negative however. Upon getting home, we all tested positive, plus I also tested positive for two types of influenza. The tests seem to have so many false results that I'm not sure how all that hassle helps. This was in March.

I don't remember putting it on the app, but maybe we did!

I don't know if this applies, but after a bad experience with Sim cards in Australia/New Zealand (they never worked for any of the three of us; possibly our fault? not being tech minded, ), we just used WhatsApp. Of course, we really only needed it to call family, especially my husband's 97 year old very anxious Mother. (WHy would anyone want to go so far away?)

We will be on the exact same cruise in December. We have done this itinerary before and had absolutely no bad seas--very calm. That was in December also. Of course, no one can predict things like storms, etc., ahead of time, but I never even noticed any problems with the current.

Although I don't remember the name of the tour company, we did a small group tour too. Personally, I don't think we would drive ourselves--so much easier with a tour. Ours was excellent and we saw a lot.

We're interested in this too--it's the only port on our cruise we have not been to before.

We boarded our cruise in late February. We did all of the above, kind of obsessed to get it all right. Boarding the Majestic, they just asked what the results of the test were (and just laughed when I said 'Positive' by mistake, I guess being flustered, in my mind positive meant good; I was actually negative) and never asked to see anything; no test, no photo, nothing. Of course it may be different for others, but none of the three in our party had to show anything. Much hoorah about nothing. On a later RCI cruise to New Zealand they barely glanced at our photo.

I do use washcloths but mostly to dry my face after the actual washing. If I'm wearing make-up I use Almay eye make-up remover pads, the oil based as I have to use waterproof mascara to prevent racoon eyes. Then either make-up remove cloths or just wash with my hands, depending on whether I have make up on or not. I dislike using cleanser due to the mess. On cruises I cut the cloths in half.beforehand.

We rarely drink and I have never bought a drink on a ship. The Plus plan has never made sense to me if you don't drink. I also rarely drink pop and can get along fine without specialty coffee, mocktails, etc. I do usually buy a water bottle package, which is very cheap. I do the math and so far we are way ahead to just pay our gratuities and wifi--which is 50% off for us as Platinum cruisers.

Yes, all available free on board. Juice and lemonade not at dinner, but available at other times. Princess water package is really cheap; I usually get the 12 bottle package and it has been under $15. The free water on board is fine but I like to have a bottle with me without always having to go to a bar, etc. to get a glass of water.

We like NCL and don't feel that they nickel and dime any more than other major lines, but it does depend how susceptible people are to all the extras offered. (We also like a lot of other lines and have cruised on many. Never had one we disliked because of the cruise line). Otherwise, just don't buy the extras! Unless you really want them. We rarely drink, but be aware that on NCL the gratuities are not included on the drink package, if you get that. It adds several hundred dollars to your bill for the tips that you might not be aware of. Usually you can opt out of the drink package, but once in a while you can't. So we never book if that's the case. Tips on specialty restaurants aren't included either, but amount to very little, compared to the drink tips.

We've cruised the Med in May and weather was nice, from 70's to high 80's, as well as good seas. Of course weather and seas are variable. Crowds weren't too bad I would not want to cruise in summer because of crowds and heat. I'd love to try late September through October..

My sister sent in a renewal (expedited) in Dec. In early April she got notice that it was processed. As far as I know she hasn't received it yet.

My sister applied for hers in December and expedited it. (Renewal). Two weeks ago (early April) she got notification it was processed. As far as I know she hasn't received it yet. We were going on a long cruise/tour to Australia and New Zealand in late February and this would have prevented her from going. She had to cancel anyway for health reasons, but obviously you must plan far, far ahead if renewing a passport, even if expedited. If you can possibly get an appointment, or are close to, a passport office, right now I think this is the way to go.

I do, but then my husband rarely goes in the water. Even if he did, I'd feel fine leaving it in my beach bag on a chair, maybe covered with a towel or something, and in an area where obviously other cruisers are. I might glance over there a time or two, but wouldn't worry unduly. It's also not real new and my only big regret if it was stolen was losing the books because I go nuts if I don't have reading material. Of course I can read on my phone also, if I have an internet package. Ship libraries are ridiculous any more with hardly any books at all.

I had posted earlier about our concerns with strict medication policies in visiting Australia and New Zealand. We've been traveling and cruising for 50 years and have never done this before--just pills in a pill sorter box. We took our original bottles with Dr. verification letter, labels, declared everythiing, etc. Not once did anyone ask to see our meds, our paperwork or give us any hassle. I guess I'm still glad we did it, but the chance that you will be challenged must be very small indeed. We even tried to use the line where we were supposed to declare everything and employess routed us to a much shorter--well, really no line--line and whisked us through. All a relief, but I did regret all the room those bottles and sprays took up.

We are heading to Australia/New Zealand nest week. I've never taken my meds in their original bottles, but I am for this trip as well as doctor's letter, etc. And I willl declare everything. Since I take some bulky nasal sprays for allergies (prescribed) it's taking up a lot of space, but I'm not flying all that way and then chance not following the rules.

Thanks everyone. It's still an ongoing problem of course, with no clear path forward. The travel agent is not being too clear either, or helpful. Other aspects of this long trip are being cancelled/refunded fairly rapidly. It's the cruises that are the problem. Note that she is also booked on a RCI cruise to New Zealand that leaves in March, with the rest of us,. So it's two cruise lines we are dealing with. More advise always welcome!

the lotion was a large size on our recent Ruby cruise, and a great product for me.

I really liked the body lotion on our recent Ruby cruise. I don't like the shampoo/condition combo either. I bring my own conditioner, which helps.