Roimont

On 9/19/2023 at 12:31 PM, bitob said:

I hired a private guide in Saudi Arabia for my March cruise on whisper. The guide told me to make sure I get the multiple day visa. I did ask why 

I am looking for a private guide for Saudi Arabia for my December cruise.  Can you please pass along the guides information and how you found them and any other helpful information. Thanks so much!  Also why did he tell you to get the multiple day visa?

22 minutes ago, 9tee2Sea said:

We flew from Los Angeles non-stop to Dubai (15-17 hours).  NCL put us on Emirates Airline  (2 day deviation).  Once we got our ticket info, I went to the airlines website to purchase seat upgrades ( exit row).  Our cruise ended in Athens ( another 2 day deviation).  We flew back from Athens- Los Angeles with 1 stop ( change planes) in London.   Do a search of flights from your home airport - Dubai and you will get an idea of cost, plus stops, and which airlines go that route.  Using NCL saved me about $2,000.  So even if i had 1 stop, I could live with that.  Have fun, it was a great cruise and an extraordinary adventure.  We did all NCL shore excursions ( even overnights in Luxor and Israel).  

Thanks so much for this information.  If we are lucky enough to get similar flights I would very happy.

On 7/10/2023 at 11:10 AM, 9tee2Sea said:

used BOGO for our cruise from Dubai-Athens ( Left /Arrived LAX.Los Angeles).  Once I got my airline info, I went onto the airlines website, paid for upgraded seats. We both sat together.  Got an email from the airlines to bid on a better upgrade ( like first class).  I bid cheap, so i didn't get it ( I knew I would not). Please keep in mind the airlines baggage allowance ( Size and weight ).  Some overseas airlines will not let you put your carry on in the overhead bin unless you pay.  Get a portable luggage scale to weigh everything, that way you will not be surprised with heavy overweight fees.

Can you please tell me what airline(s) did they use for Dubai?  How many stops?  I am looking at their Middle East cruise.

We are thinking of doing the Crystal Caves through Cayman Safari Adventures. I did a cave tour in Cozumel and it was breathtaking. This one says it's 4 hours. We'd also like to go snorkeling in the sea, possibly through Native Way Watersports and that's a 3 hour excursion. If we have from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. there, would we be able to do both? Or are we pushing our luck?

Did you end up doing both the cave tour with Cayman Safari Adventures? Would you recommend it? How did it compare to the cave tour in Cozumel? What company did you do the cave tour in Cozumel and would your recommend them? Thanks for your help!

Has anyone recently been on this excurstion? We are looking at booking this with Cayman Safari Adventures. Can anyone help.

Hi, can you tell me about your experience on this tour? Would you recommend it? Thanks!

For BA look at tours by locals. You pay by PayPal. We can HIGHLY recommend Andres. He took us around BA and then on his boat on the Tigre River to a lovely restaurant El Gato Azul(?) which cost extra but the beef was well worth it. Our group was 10 which was organized by someone on our cruise and we just joined them. Each of use paid via PayPal so no one was collecting money, etc. We gave Andres and the bus driver a tip in USD as well.

Do you have contact information for Andres? Does he have a website?

Thanks for your help!

Let me know what you are interested in doing, Send me Your email and I'll be pleased to suggest a few things. Hilarion

Can you post the information for Montevideo and Buenos Aires private english speaking tours here? Do you know of any private tours for Punta Del Este?

Thanks!

Which is the best part of a ship for getting a stable voyage? I fancy the aft suites but am worried about excessive ship movement. Do you pick up any ship noises from the aft?

Another thing to think about is which dining room you have dinner in. Some are in the back of the ship. Ask when booking to be in a center dining room.

We never did. The ship stayed on Eastern time the entire trip even though three out of four ports are in central time. It is something to watch for if you are booking tours.

Thanks for the wonderful review! So since the ship stays on Miami, when it lists times in port and says 8:00AM to 3PM since Roatan is now 2hours behind (they don't have daylight savings time) we will be in port from 6:00am to 1:00pm local time? Just want to make sure I booked my tour properly!

I just got a quote that the taxi rate from Port of Miami to FLL is $100.00.

 

I am checking Larry's Limo and LS Limo for prices now. I checked United Shuttle service and their rate one way from Port of Miami to a hotel in FLL was $69 one way for the 3 of us.

What were the other quotes. I need to do this for two people the opposite direction. Thanks.

The simple answer is it depends. The ship may stay on the local time of the home port or may switch to local port time. It will be listed in the Fun Times and as mentioned earlier will match the ships clocks.

 

I would suggest bringing a watch and set it to ship time if you're concerned. Be careful with electronic devices as they may change to local time automatically.

 

If you are worried about booking excursions, try finding the ports schedule which will show everything based on their local time.

 

 

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Thanks for the suggestion about finding the port schedule. Great idea! :)

Ships always follow local time. The fun times notifies you of time changes. If you're not sure look at the ships clocks, that's the time the ship goes by.

So you are saying that the times listed in port are local time? I know that on the day in port I will be able to find out which time they are on but before the cruise the hours listed in port for Carnival are local. It seems to contradict what other people are saying. This is so confusing and makes it difficult to plan my day and book private excursions.

It just seems like this should be standard not subject to random change. The minimum they should do is post what it is for each cruise as local time in port at least a month out. How can the cruise line not know when the ship will actually be in port in advance and share that information. I feel like the cruise line is trying to force you to book your excursions through them by varying this.

That is what I thought but I was getting conflicting information. Thanks so much for answering.

I am very confused about the times the cruise will be in port. I will be on the Glory leaving Miami next Sunday March 16th. Will the ship stay on Miami time and therefore the times listed in port are Miami time? Or will the ship change times because some of the ports are two hours behind Miami? When I call Carnival they will not give a clear answer and just say that the listed times are ship time but not what that is. Thanks so much for your help.

Thanks again tartanexile81. I will try one of your suggestions. I am sure my daughter will be happy.

I am sure we will enjoy ourselves SPacificbound. Thanks!

Thanks so much for all the information. I have been spending tons of time on TripAdvisor but it is hard to get information about the Christmas week. Cruise critic never lets me down. I looked at the site about Christmas in Edinburgh and it looks like there will be fun things going on. Unfortunately, we only have a short stay 23-26 then it is off to London. Hopefully we will be able to see a lot on the 23rd and 24th.

Do you have any recommendations for Italian food(for other nights). I have one daughter who loves it.

Thanks again!

Thanks for your quick reply tartanexile81. We are staying at the Apex Waterloo Place (hopefully it is nice). We were hoping to get out of the hotel for a bit and thought the only thing that might be open would be some restaurants.

Do we need any tickets in advance for things on the other days? Is Edinburgh a city we can tour on our own or do we need a guide? We are planing on using public transportation and taxis as we are not renting a car. Driving on the opposite side of the road seems challenging.

I will be in Edinburgh with my family for a few days that includes Christmas. I was wondering if anyone has suggestions of where to eat dinner on Christmas day. Any other advice would be appreciated too.