sapphireblue

Excellent review!! Amazing photos! I was on the same sailing as you as well and am re-living this sailing along with you.

I laughed out loud about your heat wave comment. I heard from someone that this was the hottest weather in this area in the last 200 hundred years. I wasn't sure how correct this was. But your comment about "Heat Wave Lucifer" seems quite accurate. It was HOT!!!!

I believe we chatted briefly on the Roll Call page about booking with Milo. He absolutely offers amazing tours in Kotor. He showed us his Kotor 3 years ago, and I booked with him again on the sailing before this one (we were on a b2b). Like you, I highly recommend Milo for any tour he offers. His sense of humour coupled with his life experience and perspective on life in Montenegro was wonderful.

In Fira, Santorini, we also walked down the stairs with the donkeys. We did expect to have to dodge the poop piles, but found it ok. There were very few donkeys to dodge, thankfully, on the way down. Mind you - we did catch one of the last tenders (yikes - just a little close) so perhaps that is why there was little activity down. But the calves the next day! Ooooh my! Sure felt that. I know how you felt. ;p

Following along with the rest of your review. Thoroughly enjoying it!

Thank you OCSC Mike for your reply. That was what I was hoping for. Awesome!!!

So, I have a question about using 'one' device.

I have a cell phone and also an iPad that I will be bringing along. I will at times want to use my cell phone, and other times be using my iPad. Never using both at the same time. Is this interchangeable, with probably logging in each device as I need?

Several years ago, I believe I could use both, needing to log in each time I switched devices. Anyone have experience with this?

We used Milo 3 years ago on our first visit to Montenegro. He was as absolute delight. He was prompt in communicating with us before the tour, and was waiting for us as we arrived into Kotor, holding a card with our name on it. We took his 4 hour tour and we were entertained with his personal knowledge and sense of humour for the entire time. Montenegro was our favourite port of call. So beautiful and full of history.

We will be visiting again this summer, and have booked a tour with him again. Very highly recommend Milo. You will not be disappointed.

Thank you Steven. Lots of GREAT information. Very helpful!!

I would also be interested in hearing about your experience. I'm on the July 22nd sailing (same itinerary as yours), as well as the July 29 sailing.

Do you remember what terminal the Rhapsody used?

Agreed. It's not a big issue, but it's nice to get even a little perk or two when you enrol in Crown and Anchor. We've all been there once upon a time.

I am sailing with a friend this summer on 2 b2b 7 day cruises. She has never cruised with RCI before, and after the first cruise, will be Gold. What is your experience with this? Can she 'sign up' on the first sailing to get the Gold for the second?

We disembarked the Explorer, after a fantastic 7 day cruise to Alaska, 3 weeks ago today. Express walk off was from 6:30am - 7:45 am. We followed that group and disembarked at 7:50am. We had an easy walk off, claimed our luggage, thru Immigration and in a cab in 15 minutes. Because it was so early, there was no line up. There was one other Celebrity ship there with the Explorer. I think you will be fine with your 11:00am departure. The drive through downtown will probably be the only thing to slow you down a bit, but the highway is close by and will not take long.

I ate at the Dark Room last year as a Birthday surprise for a friend. We all loved the whole experience. We were given the menu outside and chose our meals there. We were told the vegetables and the dessert would be a surprise. We were guided in, holding on to each other and seated. The food was delicious and we had fun trying to figure out what vegetables and dessert we were eating. We spent a good amount of time groping around for our beverages and cutlery, which was hilarious because you really have to pay attention to where you place things. One of us dropped a fork, which of course we couldn't see, and were surprised to find our waiter right there with a replacement.

I agree about the washroom suggestion. We did need to use it before we left, and were guided, again holding on to each other, to the room which was beautifully lit with candles. Nice and clean.

You pay on the way out at a curtained area by the kitchen. I would definitely do it again.

Excellent review!!

I was also on this cruise and am really enjoying your pictures from your point of view - and found myself on one of your photos. :)

I agree with your thoughts on this sailing. Paul Rutter was a great fit for this type of cruise. The cruise staff was wonderful and very visible, and they sure tried hard to get things going out on the pool deck. The ship was in great shape, considering it's age, and I really enjoyed the friendly atmosphere on board.

Again, wonderful review. Looking forward to more.

What a great idea! I may have to steal this from you!:D

Please do! A lot of what I did to prepare for my trip came from someone else here on Cruise Critic.

I also followed and re-read the following thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1668619

This is an amazing resource filled with great advice and humorous stories for anyone considering and planning a Med cruise. Sherri does amazing reports of her cruises.

So excited to see this thread! All great tips and advice, thanks so much! On the longer cruises, did they repeat the dining room menus 2x each? We've decided to do MTD due to the heavy port schedule and will decide a day or two in advance if we'll hit the dining room or another venue (actually am SUPER excited for once that we can probably eat EVERYWHERE on board a few times).

There were no repeat menus on our 12 day Med Cruise. We always found something wonderful to order on each menu.

What an exciting cruise you have to look forward to!!

We did a 12 day Med cruise last August which was by far the best cruise vacation we have ever done. We have typically sailed mostly Caribbean in the past, like you, and found that planning for the Med cruise was quite a bit of work. But what fun it was.

I LOVE the planning process and have to say that because I did so much research and planning, our whole trip went off without a hitch. I scoured through Cruise Critic reading all I could about the Port of Calls forums, as well as the Roll Call for our cruise. I read Rick Steves Med Cruise book and found that extremely helpful in planning. I had a binder set up with a plastic sleeve for every day. Each sleeve contained a paper copy of any bookings/reservations I had for the day along with cash needed (if payment needed to be done after the tour) and tips. I even had TP stashed in there, because using restrooms there are a tad different than home. :D I took that plastic sleeve out, put it in my bag and had all I needed for that day. No last minute scrambling.

Because it was our first time, we knew we'd want to do tours in most places. We looked closely at ship tours and other local tours to see what was the best fit for us. When in Italy, we found that tours booked with local tour operators worked best of us, and we found others in our Roll Call that had the same interests. That worked out fabulously. And sometimes, a ship's tour worked best for us.

Others here have already provided great information about their experiences with boarding in Southampton. Great advice! We boarded in Barcelona, and found embarkation to be very smooth with no problems. We were able to bring on 2 bottles of wine and 4 Litres of water with no issues.

We packed lighter than on Caribbean Cruises because of the baggage weight and it worked well. Dress on board was similar to Caribbean, perhaps a little less casual, but honestly - we saw all kinds and it was fine. What I would highly recommend, is to pay good attention to what kind of shoes you will wear when walking around on tours. And you will do A LOT of walking. I scouted around and bought a good brand of sandals that I knew would be comfortable. It was very hot when we were there, and didn't want to wear sneakers. That was a smart move and well worth the extra expense.

Activity on board will vary, depending on if you are at sea or at port. Sea days are like any Caribbean Cruise, but port days - we were off first thing, and arrived back well before the ship left - usually ready to have dinner and get a good nights sleep. As it was a port intensive cruise, many ports were back to back, and we had little energy left for any evening activities. The tours were that good!!

On our cruise, I will note that dining times were later than on Caribbean Cruises.

First dining was at 6:30 and late dining was at 9:00pm. Wow!! We did MTD and found that people were lined up well past 9:30pm just to begin their dinner.

Currency: USD on the ship. Euros in ports. We also learned that they don't expect tips quite the way we are used to. While we always did tip after a tour, we did at a lower amount that we would do at home.

Laundry: We did the 'wash n go' package that RCI offers, but I also did a lot of washing in our sink. I brought small travel laundry soap packets with me and simply used the towels (like someone also mentioned) to squeeze out the water and hung to dry. We wore our clothes several times. It worked great.

The great thing for you is that you a good amount of time to plan. Enjoy the process and have fun planning!

Perhaps it may not have anything to do with the operating system. I use a Mac and after reading the posts here, I double checked my SetSail passes to check to see what they said.

I had 2 Set sail passes printed out. Upon checking, I found that the Setsail pass that I printed out right from the website after completing all the check in information did not have the 'D' status on it (that's for Diamond.... I assume :) ). The 2nd one I had printed was after I received an email from RCI saying that my Setsail pass was ready to print. So I did. That one had the "D" on it.

So, it appears that maybe it has to do with when you print it out. At least, from my experience it did.

If I remember correctly, I believe when our children's cards were scanned when we got off the ship at port, they had a different 'bing' that sounded that alerted security to check for parents. And they did stop and ask each time. I liked that. Once they got older, the kids would comment how nice that the 'bing' would not draw attention to them anymore. :)

We stayed in that cabin on the Independence in March 2013 and loved it. We heard no noises at all. We liked the cabin so much we booked it again for the following year. Enjoy the cabin! Great location!!!

We are just off the Serenade 12 day cruise in the Med, and they had the preloaded drinks program running. We did not get an email letting us know in advance, so it was a nice surprise when we boarded.

Technically no.....but we were very nice to the photo staff and waited patiently, and was very understanding and thankful for their help and they let my sister in law be included in my in laws package. But there are also some tricks. If the package is purchased under you and your husbands room then be sure to swipe only your or his card when taking photos on the ship. (The photographers ask for a card to link it with a room) As for port photos be sure that either you or your husband are in the photo with your daughter. Then all those photos will be included In the package. They use facial recognition software so as long as your face is in the picture you should be fine. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I would add to this that it might be possible to pre-arrange this with the photo company directly. Last year when we sailed, I had a few questions about linking a room that our son was in (19 at the time) and in the discussion I was told that there would be no charge for him and the other person in the cabin because of his age. They also told me that if he were older (21+) they would offer the package for 1/2 price IF it is ordered in advance and linked with my booking. Now - that was last year. It might be worth a phone call directly to them to see if that is still the case. I doesn't seem to be advertised anywhere, and I was surprised to hear that this was available.

I have had several haircuts done in the spa on the ships, and have to say that they've been the best I've ever had. In chatting with the stylists each time, I've learned that they have to have about 4 years of training including apprenticeships (or similar) before they get hired onboard. They seem to have a lot more knowledge and skill than the ones I use locally. In fact, I am considering again, to wait until I board the ship on my next cruise, to have my hair cut.

You have a number of good options, as listed by other posters. Amtrak only runs 2 times a day, as already posted. I believe you'd have to grab a taxi to the train station. It is a beautiful relaxing way to travel to Vancouver. You travel right along the coastline from just north of Seattle right into southern British Columbia. The train makes several stops, but they are minimal. There is a snack car for your convenience. We use the train sometimes for a weekend getaway to Seattle and love the relaxing mode of travel. You arrive just outside of downtown Vancouver, and will clear Customs and Immigration there. A short taxi ride will get you to Canada Place Pier or hotel if thats what you have booked. Free wifi on the train. :) If you book early enough, you can usually get some kind of advance booking price.

Quick Shuttle bus service runs more frequently but also has more stops, and picks up right at SeaTac Airport. You will stop at the border, remove your luggage, go through Customs and Immigration, load back on the bus and continue to downtown. It does take the most direct route possible, again with multiple stops. Free wifi is available on the bus.

Car rental is also easy depending on how you like to travel. The airport is just south of Seattle, so if you drive during rush hour times, you can expect delays as you travel through Seattle (the I5 drives right next to downtown). The drive is pleasant and scenic. You have 2 options to go through Customs and Immigration. You can stay on the I5 and go through the Peace Arch crossing (prettier with the Peach Arch and gardens) or take the 275 exit (otherwise locally known as the 'truck crossing' but more frequented by us locals and just as many lanes as the Peace Arch crossing; often faster). Car drop off is downtown. There should be no problems with car rentals if you're visiting. They are used to many tourists travelling across the borders, and can identify a car rental by the plate. They are also used to having people fly into Seattle, and drive to Vancouver.

We usually will book our flights out of Seattle and will drive down to begin our vacations. Flights out of or into Seattle are usually a lot less expensive than Vancouver. There are a lot more taxes and fees to pay when a flight is transborder. We have often paid about 1/2 the price to travel from Seattle.

I hope this information helps a bit. Your date of arrival, your timing and preferred travel mode will depend on the best fit for you. If you can, come a few days early. There is SO much to do and see in Vancouver. It really is a beautiful city.

Happy planning!!

According to the information on this link:

http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/about/cruiseandtourism/cruiselineschedules.aspx

the Radiance will be at Canada Place Pier on July 11 and 25th.

Any of the above suggested hotels are excellent. You will love Vancouver!

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. How exciting!

It looks like you might be on the August 15th sailing. If that's correct, you're welcome to visit the roll call for that sailing:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1876815

(I hope this link works :) )

The roll call is a forum where people on a particular sailing chat about that sailing, share ideas about their ports of call, and sometimes arrange tours together. If there are enough people, a Meet and Mingle is arranged by Royal Caribbean for the group to have their own get together.

Have fun planning. It's a wonderful itinerary!!

We stayed in 9320 on the Navigator a number of years ago. We liked it so much, that we booked the same cabin on the Explorer a couple of years after. It's very close to the elevators, but just a little down the hall, far enough that there was no noise from that area. Excellent location.

Any you'd like to share? I'd love to get some ideas for funny poses since I'm travelling with three noobies including an 11 year old boy. Don't need 100 pics of us all staring straight into the camera. I figure I'll give the kid the bunny ears at embarkation, but, other than that......

Oh - I hear you. Two years ago, we tried to take a lot of 'nice' pictures (otherwise known as staring right into the camera) and were disappointed with most of them. Inevitably, one of us either had their eyes closed, we had an odd look on our face or we looked too robotic. Last year, we could only manage a short repositioning cruise on another cruise line, and for the sake of an annual family picture, we sought out a photographer for a quick few photos. My DD and I were the ones who instigated the whole thing, and at the last moment would make a face. My DH and DS were unsure of what was happening with us, and their faces reflected that. When we found our picture the next day, we absolutely doubled over in laughter as we looked hilarious. We paid the $25.00, and had it framed. It was THE picture to see in our home. And that's how it all began.

This time round, we would tell the photographers that we don't like the normal posing pictures and wanted fun / silly ones. They would position us somewhat, and just before they'd snap - we'd pose, or do what we agreed on quickly. We'd salute, snarl at each other, blow in each others faces, whatever came to mind - we were just our usual silly selves. What perhaps added to the pictures, was that they were always on formal or dressy nights. Most of the photographers played right along with us and had a good laugh. We now have the best photos ever! Yes, we did take a few nice ones in between as well. Our kids were dreading taking pictures, but ended up having a blast.

Unfortunately I don't know how to post pictures to CC so I have none to show you. I suggest that you just be your fun selves, and be spontaneous. :)