Stonewolf Cruiser

I went to the Cruise Personalizer for two bookings on Sky Princess for June 2024.

I could not find how to pre-pay for the internet package (1 device).

Can anyone point me in the right direction?  I was hoping to beat the price I Increase.  Thanks in advance.

If you are willing to consider other cruise lines, Holland America has an interesting itinerary that they run once each year.

I did a 25 day cruise this past Summer that included 2 stops in Greenland, 6 stops in Iceland, 1 day cruising Prince Christian Sound, multiple stops in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, 2 stops in Maine (Portland and Bar Harbor), and 1 day at the island of Saint Pierre.  The ship (ZAANDAM) did a complete circumnavigation of Iceland.

This trip required no international flights.  The cruise started and ended in Boston.  As I already mentioned, this itinerary is only offered by HAL once each year.  Hope this helps.

Does anyone have recent experience with Celebrity Xpedition cruises in the Galapagos Islands?

I am trying to decide between Northern Loop and Southern Loop.  Each cruise would be 7 nights and I am looking to do this in May 2022.

I am not so interested in snorkeling opportunities - my focus is more on shore exploration and wildlife.

Thanks for any help.

I would also suggest you consider the window suites located on deck 6, starboard side.  Stayed in F309 last September and it was great.  Super convenient to piazza, club class dining room, and theater.  Lots of storage space.  And the awesome suite breakfast at Sabatini’s.

Fantastic photos of Rome and Malta.  Looking forward to your Norway review - I go there next Summer.

Very interesting and helpful review.  Thanks for taking the time to post.

What type of cabin?

I am also new to Celebrity.  Thanks for taking the time to post a review.

On 2/24/2019 at 7:52 AM, deliver42 said:

Celebrity S or M Class has everything you are looking for. Nice balconies and sofas and chairs inside.

I concur.

I am elite level on Princess, but just returned today from my first Celebrity cruise (on the Celebrity Silhouette).  Stunningly beautiful ship and a very innovative design.  Crew very welcoming and officers very visible.

Back on subject - cabin seating.  I had a basic balcony cabin.  It came with a sofa (too long to be called a loveseat, in my opinion) and a very comfortable desk chair, with a fully padded back.  There was an oval wood coffee table in front of the sofa.  The balcony had two adjustable chairs and a good-sized round table.

2 hours ago, meh56 said:

I was contacted by customer relations today. She said she does not know why it is a problem now when they started this last May. She also did not understand why this was important to us and were we going to spend that much time in the cabin. She also asked if I wanted to upgrade to a cabin with seating. She said Princess is taking all complaints seriously. I explained we do not want to sit on the bed to have room service, read or relax and we should not have to pay more money for a chair.We have booked with another line that offers mini sofa in every balcony.  Ruby did not offer any balcony cabins with sofa. It seemed like she really didn’t care , we are only one booking.  She said it was not really about safety but about giving us more room in the cabin. Loved the picture...I understand this may not be an issue for a lot of other people but when we vacation we want to be comfortable in our room - even holiday inn express (and similar chains) have a desk chair and arm chair in the room.

Wow, what a terrible response from customer relations.  Doesn’t sound like she is the correct career field.

Although I’m elite level on Princess, I leave Friday on my first Celebrity cruise.

58 minutes ago, maggie777 said:

I hope that Princess cares enough about their customers to replace the chairs. It would have made more sense to remove a chair upon request. I don't recall being asked whether or not I wanted somewhere to sit! 

I agree completely.  Hope that management will have enough sense to reverse this decision.

On 2/12/2019 at 2:55 PM, USCcruisecrazy said:

You should cruise like you live life...don't sweat the small stuff.  Enjoy every day like it's your last one.  So many people let "stuff" control them instead of controlling the stuff.  

This is a great approach to life.  The older I get, the truer it rings.  Wish I didn’t sometimes forget to do it.

On 2/9/2019 at 12:45 PM, Giantfan13 said:

Maybe I can help a bit also. In December, we did a 10 day Med cruise on the Sinfonia, from Barcelona. After that, we boarded an RCCL ship for a trans Atlantic to Tampa, from Barcelona. So we had the situation you are talking about, back to back.

This was our second cruise on MSC but first European cruise. The first time was a disaster on the Divina, her first time in Miami and they knew nothing about American cruises. But we decided to try it again, maybe for the same reasons as you, price.

 

To answer a few of your questions, there are stark differences between MSC and any other American cruise lines. Most passengers (about 90%) will be Europeans and there will be enough that do not speak English. If you are English speaking, you will be seated with English speaking passengers at dinner, menu will be in 5 different languages and all announcements are in 5 different languages. 

Just our take on major differences--Service was good, but crew doesn't know how to smile unless smiled at. They do their job, very well, but as to friendliness, it isn't even in same ballpark as an American cruise. We had a waiter for 10 nights, never smiled, never knew our names etc. When we got on RCCL, EVERYONE was happy, smiling, cheerful. To us, it just made for a better atmosphere. 

Food was good, but very small portions. As I said, service was good as we were usually done with dinner in less than 90 minutes. There is NO coffee or tea after dinner. If you want that, you pay for it. 

Shows were short and sweet--everything is visual so all can understand and view. A couple of Operas also are included and that is up to you if you want to view. We did, but we are not Opera people and were sort of bored. 

Maybe one of our biggest 'complaints' if that is the right word, and it has nothing to do with MSC, just the European people per se and I truly do not mean to insult anyone, but to Americans, they are just plain out rude and do not partake in many of the social graces we do. Like I held a door for a lady as we were going thru and she never even acknowledged me. When  elevators open, they just rush in, never even allowing people to get off. People are always pushing to get ahead, enough so, that I had to sort of yell at this little old lady to get out of my back pocket and stop trying to pass me by, while just standing on line.  I understand it is a cultural thing, but we found it very offensive.

Then there are the continual people disembarking and embarking at just about every port. You sort of get used to luggage in the hallways every night.

So, all in all, we still had a good cruise. We adjusted to many of the things we weren't accustomed to and had a good time. Would we cruise MSC again, YES, but if lines like RCCL had the same prices as MSC I would always do RCCL. It was just more cheerful, friendly and made everyone around you happier. Isn't that why we cruise?

 

Cheers

Len

 

Thanks for the helpful information.  I am considering trying MSC for the first time.

On 2/8/2019 at 8:46 AM, BobbyBuoy said:

I like the appearance of the "S" Class ships , such as the Reflection, with the beautiful bow and stunning white painted hull, etc.

On the other hand, IMO Edge has little if any beauty. That "Flying Thing" hanging from the side and the blunt, retro bow certainly do little to enhance the 

appearance of the Edge. What do you think ?

I agree.  I think the “S” Class ships have the most beautiful exterior styling of any cruise ships currently in service.

51 minutes ago, Ep010835 said:

 

When one doesn't do a particular thing but finds it necessary to rag on people who find that particular thing important, I have to wonder about the spirit in which the comment is offered. Seems pretty darn high minded. Offering a condescending "to each his own" is a nice touch, too. 

Well said.

4 minutes ago, BigTimeCruiser said:

   I do not understand how removing the chair in anyway enhances the customer experience or safety.

Totally agree with you.

I agree with the previous posters who complained about the missing cabin chair.  The longer the cruise, the more of an issue this becomes.  It could be a cost-cutting move or an attempt to spur people to book higher cost cabins.  Either way, I think it's a mis-step by Princess.

Maybe in the future they will issue inflatable chairs at check-in.

I usually attach two luggage tags to each bag, just in case one gets torn off.

I just noticed the time out problem today.  Frustrating.

We thought the Bayou Cafe was a nice change of pace, and our servers were excellent.

Thanks for posting the close-up photos.  More elaborate than I realized.

Tour participants are not allowed to take photos.

A ship’s photographer will go along on the tour to take group photos at various stops.  Afterward, you will be given a copy of all the photos along with the other gifts.

Thanks for a great review.  You provided a lot of useful tips for exploring Sydney.  I plan to spend 3 or 4 days there prior to a NZ cruise.  Your information will assist in my planning.

I took this same tour last May.  There is lots of walking, standing, and crowds to deal with.  There will be some stairs and uneven surfaces and cobblestone streets. Security lines were not unreasonable as our guide was usually able to expedite that.          

As already stated, tour vehicles can only get you a certain distance from attractions, and then everyone has to walk the remaining distance.  There was a nice lunch break in the middle of the tour where we got a good meal and a rest break.

I’m older than you and there were people older than me on our tour.  You’ll be fine.

Enjoy, and be ready to take lots of pictures.

Thanks for the review.  Also really enjoyed the photos.  I'll be on the Crown in June.