rsverdier

Ok, I admit this is kind of a trivial question, but: is a shoehorn part of the standard amenities in an Azamara veranda cabin? Wondering if I need to bring one from home.

If I log in on Azamara’s website and go to my future cruises, I can buy beverage and internet packages, but I can also choose Special Requests. Under Bedding, it’s possible to e.g. request a baby cot, but there is also an option: Back To Back Reservation. What does this option do? We will be on a b2b in April.

Small amendment: if you want to do both Delft and The Hague, it’s probably better to take a tram (instead of a train) from Delft to The Hague. In Delft, the tram stop is right in front of the station, and the tram will drop you off directly in the center of The Hague.

Rotterdam to Delft or The Hague is very easy. For Delft: from the cruise port, just take the metro to Central Station (4 stops. You may also walk; this takes appr. 40 mins). From Central Stations, there are trains leaving every 5 to 10 mins to Delft. The trip takes 15 minutes, Delft train station is located directly on the edge of the medieval city center. Delft is a very small city; it is possible to walk the entire city center in 2 or 3 hours. From the cruise port to The Hague is even easier, since there is a direct metro from the cruise port (metro station Wilhelminahaven) to The Hague Central Station (metro line E). Total travel time is 40 minutes. If you want to do both Delft and The Hague, it's probably best to go to Delft first, visit the city, then take a train from Delft to The Hague Central Station (trains leave every 10 minutes, total travel time is 15 mins). From The Hague Central Station, you can take the direct metro line E back to the cruise port in Rotterdam.

You can easily do Amsterdam on your own. From the Rotterdam cruise port, walk to the metro and take a metro train to Central Station (just 4 stops). From Rotterdam Central Station, you can take the Intercity Direct straight to Amsterdam Central Station. Trains run every 10 minutes, and it will take you only 40 minutes to get from Rotterdam to Amsterdam. Amsterdam is a very walkable city; if you step out of Central Station, you're right in the middle of town. If you're not into walking, you can also take a tram or the metro.

As far as I can see there are no direct flights from SOU to BER but you could do it in 3h15 with a transfer in Amsterdam, for appr € 150 p.p. https://www.chaser.nl/zoekresultaten?uq=PmeaK2l07g7AR6i0oYoS&tt=Enkel&na=2&nc=0&ni=0&dd=2023-10-20&ori=Southampton (SOU)&des=Berlijn Brandenburg (BER)

The Holiday Inn hotel is in a better location, but it is located on a very busy street. If possible, ask for rooms on the back side, you will overlook a quiet body of water. From the hotel, it is easy to walk into the old center. From the Hampton Inn you either have to take a bike or tram 26 (tram stop is 2 minutes walking) to get to the city center.

According to the Dutch Hotel Star Classification, luggage service is compulsory only for five star hotels. Four star hotels might have luggage service on request. Sadly, Amsterdam is one of the more expensive hotel cities in Europe - although it's not as bad as Miami Beach. Have you checked the Pestana Riverside Hotel? It's a little bit outside the central canal zone, making it a little bit cheaper than other five star hotels in the city. https://www.pestanacollection.com/en/hotel/pestana-amsterdam-riverside

Hi, Can anyone tell me what brands of tonic water celebrity offers? Especially on the Reflection. Thanks!

I had the same problem; I wanted to upgrade our All Included package to a premium package pre-cruise, so I first sent an e-mail to Celebrity. They advised me to contact our TA for this, so I contacted her. She got in touch with Celebrity's local GSA, but they couldn't do anything either. In the end, I called Celebrity on their international Captain's Club telephone number (1-316-554-5961) and the they finally could book the upgrade. It took her 30 minutes to do so, apparently it was hard to book the upgrade under the CC tier discount rate that we are in, but she managed to do it in the end.

A return ticket from Rotterdam to Amsterdam by train is €40,20 for an adult in 2nd class (this includes the surcharge for the Intercity Direct service), in today's exchange rate that would be £35.08. Children up to 12 years old travel for €2,50 or £2.18. To get from the cruise terminal to Rotterdam Central Station, you could either walk (39 minutes) or take the metro. A single trip would be €4 or £3.49 per person (for a 2-hour ticket). You could also consider visiting other places like Delft or The Hague instead of Amsterdam. Since these are located closer to Rotterdam, the fare would be lower too.

Booking.com gives me plenty of possibilities during the cardiologists convention dates.

As far as I know, it is compulsory to wear face masks only in Greek Public Transport, so my guess is that they mean "ferries" when they talk about "boats".

In the Dutch version, it will 😇

Hmm, if I have to choose between an ocean view with a preferred layout, or a veranda with a less suitable layout, I think the balcony weighs heavier in that equation 😉

Thanks!

It's no show stopper, but I would prefer the bed to be closer to the balcony (and the couch near the bathroom), since in that case you have more room to dress when you get out of the bathroom. On a Celebrity ship, we'd specifically try to book a stateroom with that layout.

Are the stateroom layouts always the same? In May, I was onboard the Onward, where we had a veranda stateroom, with a layout that had the bed near the bathroom and the couch near the balcony. Are all Azamara veranda staterooms like that, or do they alternate the position of the bed and the couch, like Celebrity does - so with the couch near the bathroom and the bed near the balcony?

You just now passed my home, so I took some pictures 😇 Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Whispering Angel was available in the Ultimate Package on Onward last month as well oops - totally missed that there was a page 2 🫣

FYI: As of June 12th, a negative test is no longer required for air travel passengers to enter the USA.

We've been on the Onward in May and for us, it was no issue. There is ample long hanging space that you can also use for your shirts, blouses, t-shirts and pants. Bringing the fridge to the place it is in now means there is extra storage space for folded clothing, which we were very happy with.

Prepaid Visacards and Mastercards do not differ in acceptance from regular Visa or Mastercards. As long as you have enough funds on your card, they will work for payments. The only exception is that you cannot use them for booking a rental car, since reservations on a prepaid card are not accepted by the card issuer.

Next to the indeed very interesting option MAVIP mentioned, it’s also possible to do day trips to smaller historical cities in the vicinity of Rotterdam, like Delft (of the famous Delft Blue pottery, but interesting as a city as well) , Gouda (known for its cheese), Leiden (where the pilgrim fathers lived before they boarded the Plymouth for the New World. There is a Pilgrim Fathers museum, but Leiden is also home to a very interesting History Museum with a large Egyptian section) or Brielle. A day trip to The Hague is also a possibility. Visit the city center with its royal palaces, the Houses of Parliament, the Peace Palace or Panorama Mesdag, a painting made by the 19th century painter Mesdag that makes it look like you are on a hilltop overlooking the North Sea in the late 19th century.

The depth of the pool on the Onward is between 1.46 (front side) and 1.65 meters (aft side). At least, that is what the sign next to the pool said. 😉