SbbquilterUT

We have made a 10:45 flight on Saturday morning with early walk off but the taxi line there can be awful. As it is the weekend and you are heading away from town we have not run into bad traffic. Wish you were at Pier 66 as it was a breeze from there.

Just off Apex - no problem with e-mail except when we were in areas like fjords. Did not try to stream anything so can't help there. There has been discussion about finding a favorable place near router to work.

Just last week they were 7:30/9:30 in the theater and some at 8:30/10:30 in The Club.

Viking does not have casinos.

If you like snorkeling, Bonaire is great.

Just had the opportunity to tender off the Apex and will say using the Magic Carpet as the launch is a huge improvement for those with mobility issues. No stairs to climb down into the tender as the platform is right at tender entrance level.

We opened a Charles Schwab account with funds for travel. The nice feature is refund of foreign exchange fees and it is in no way linked to our bank. It is ideal for withdrawing cash from bank ATM if we need cash. We do use a Visa card for many transactions as well and find touchless interactions make us feel more secure.

Welcome to sailing on Celebrity - we have always cruises with our refillable water bottles and enjoy the water on the ship. I have an issue with wasted plastic bottles so it is important to me. At home I drink RO water and the tap water was fine.

Yes you can board at your assigned time, always noonish in the past.

Congratulations - enjoy!

Just back from 19 days cruising plus a couple land pre cruise - managed it with carry on only and sent laundry out on board. I figure it as an expense of travel. Since I retired and we live a very casual lifestyle I do not even have enough outfits for much more than a week.

Quick response as I intend to do a better job in a review. Fly in early enough to enjoy Amsterdam - excellent city to walk and explore while getting used to the time zone change. We choose to fly carry on only and it worked fine for us. We take the train from Schipol to Centraal Station (€6pp) and walk the two blocks to the Doubletree hotel. If you need anything there is s small grocery store in the next building to the hotel. Cruise morning you are a short 10-15" walk to the ship if you want. Easiest boarding ever - maybe 15" until we were in our cabin. Apex is gorgeous and our Deluxe Interior on deck 11 was roomy and wonderful to sleep in. we had eaten a large breakfast so avoided the Oceanview that lunch crowd. There is a Cafe Al Bacio on 4 was my morning haunt and quiet early. There is another in the Oceanview which has longer lines as it is the bar as well. Food was fine though a bit repetitive after 19 days but as always the breads and croissants were lovely. We did try eating up there one evening and it was just a reheat of lunch and not very nice. The four dining rooms were each nice but I missed getting to know staff as we moved through. Staff was working hard but they are still understaffed and service was sometimes spotty. Food was fine and sometimes very good. Raw on 5 and Prime Cut were the specialty restaurants were tried and both were very nice. My big negative was the spa experience did not match the price point of a fine spa. The therapist was great and the deep tissue massage what I needed. But you were sent a note and a very skimpy robe to come to the spa with just the robe on and bring your change of clothes as you did not have access to the changing room or any part of the Thermal spa. The relaxation room pre-treatment was so small and full that there was not even a place to sit while I waited, just not what I had anticipated after being in other nice spas on vacation. Was anticipating some rough seas sailing so far north but we were fortunate this sailing. It was very warm in Amsterdam so could enjoy sail away from high up on deck 15 ( also the hot tubs outside there are great for sailaway). About an hour and a half later you will go through the lock to the North Sea, I found that interesting. Akureyri - charming little town that you dock right in. We walked off and found a bank ATM just 2 blocks away. Had reservations with Saga Travel for the Lake My'vatn tour (small group van) which was our coldest wettest weather but we got to see everything (needed gloves, hat, scarf and layers with rain coat on top). Iceland sites are a bit of a distance apart so tours last 8-9 hours. Our guide shared so much information about Iceland and the people to pass the time. We chose to walk to a restaurant in town for a celebration dinner - can highly recommend Rub23. By the time we finished dinner the rain was gone and we had sunshine and blue skies the rest of our time there. There is a charming Main Street of shops as well as a botanical garden all within close proximity to the ship that we explored the next morning before we sailed. Got some of the famous Iceland Salted licorice - DH hated it, so more for me. Our next stop was Reykjavik. We again toured with Saga Travels on a Golden Circle tour - pretty much your best bet with any of the companies offering tours as you go to all the same places and it is busier than the cities in the north. The falls are stunning as expected with opportunities to walk a bit at the National Park and falls. The weather was pretty mild so a long sleeve shirt and rain coat was all we needed along with our hiking pants which we wore every day. That evening we treated ourselves with a trip to Sky Lagoon - newer, smaller, fewer tourists (but no blue water) than Blue Lagoon. Easy trip by bus from the port to the bus station, then change of bus to the site. The time there flew and we loved the relaxation. And you must plan to go in to Reykjavik the next morning to walk the streets and see the iconic church and waterfront. Belfast - we booked a Tour with a Local Black cab tour which was very enlightening about the history of Northern Ireland and the Troubles. Finished up with a pub lunch at the Morningstar before returning to the ship. Our Tour Guide did not take credit card so he took us to a bank ATM to get pounds. Cork is lovely - I would love to do a driving tour of Ireland (both parts) after the taste we got on this cruise. You catch a train to the city right at the ship and we met our local guide. We saw so much and I wish had much more time at that port to go in to some of the sites we walked by. That holds true for each of the Ireland stops, not long enough. We also visited E. Dunnemore and enjoyed a sunny, warm day to roam this little community and walk along the seaside cliffs. If you can think of more specifics, please ask. We were fortunate to stay on for the 7 night Norway cruise and I can highly recommend it to see yet another beautiful country.

Just returned from it - hope your cruise is as wonderful as ours was.

Personally we were so busy enjoying Barcelona that beach time was not included - but there is a nice waterfront area quite close.

True - but even our personal item always has 2 changes of clothes, toiletries, pajamas and underwear for just that circumstance.

We have long traveled with carry on only - a 22" each and personal item. Limit shoes and any bulky items I reduce using compression bags (this trip is Iceland, Ireland and Norway so bulky stuff is coming along). We plan on rinsing wool shirts and hiking pants as they will dry overnight. Also utilize ship laundry. My wardrobe is very simple which is how I dress anyway. I have used bar shampoo and conditioner, started when I traveled every week for work, which helps with liquids. Will pick up body lotion before we board and enjoy our 19 nights on the Apex.

Do you have any stop at a US port before Tampa? We had a stop at SanJuan so Border Patrol came on board to clear us all before we could depart the ship that day. Made Tampa an easy depart.

We quite enjoyed our deck 11 Aqua on Millenium - the overhang let me sit out and enjoy even when it was raining. Being a cooler weather sailing we did not hear any noise from deck chairs.

Early August we saw more pink salmon running and bears fishing, in September it was the later black salmon and not as many.

I suggest you check carefully, my understanding as of last week, you still need a test to board but if it came up positive your COR plus copy of original positive PCR test will allow you to board.

Uber has always worked well for us - after you exit the terminal walk to the left to meet them.

I carry beef sticks, cheese sticks and nuts with no problems.

From what we saw they also need a copy of your positive PCR test to verify the date. I would also take the antigen test and see if it is negative - then no issues with accepting the COR.

Order whatever you want though extra entrees will have a fee. Buying the package just means you have a dinner there without any other restrictions.

SW Utah to Moscow for a fabulous river cruise.