Califonria cruiser

Will my 16 year old be allowed to go in adult only pools/jacuzzis or does she need to be 18? Will she be allowed to go on the zipline without an adult present? (figure I can just sign permission?) Ice skating?

I would rather know ahead of time so can tell her or make sure I sign the paperwork so she can do the activities she likes.

Any thoughts?

Jenn

What are your favorite, free places to eat on Allure? Any tips?

Jenn

Thanks! Need to fatten him up : )

My 9 year old son wants to ride the zipline on Allure. What is the height/weight requirement?

Jenn

Am wondering if anyone has any thoughts on which port might be better to leave from?

I can get to either, obviously a flight and looking at mid April.

Is it easy to transfer to Galveston? I know Miami or FLL would be easy with uber, etc. but much closer.

Also, if the weather warm enough in both so we can use the pools?

Any other considerations I should think about?

Jenn

Is there a list anywhere that says which are the free restaurants and activities on the ship?

Wondering about the bikes, etc.

Jenn

Yeah! Wondering what age they start allowing this... Anyone know?

Jenn

My 12 year old is coming with us on our cruise in December and she turns 13 in Feb so I just realized she is the kids club that is for 5-12's for the last time. Is she allowed to check herself in and out if I sign that she can?

Jenn

I'd like to rent a car on Aruba. Is there only 1 dock where we arrive? We are coming in on Holland America in Dec.

Jenn

Bummer! I don't like booking with the cruise line, there must be something better to do in Samana. Will keep looking...

Not there for whale watching. Any other recommendations if I don't want to do a tour? I am thinking just a peaceful beach day.

Jenn

Thanks!

If we arrive on Holland America's ship where does it dock? How can I get to the beautiful island (Cayo) ? I don't like taking the ships private tours if I can avoid it.

Jenn

Any guess of water or air temp averages in December? Wondering if it is likely that we can swim that time of year. Any guesses?

Jenn

700 would be horrible. The Oosterdam only has 2 pools and I think 1 is adult only so I can hardly imagine!

Jenn

Am looking at the Oosterdam Dec 18th-28th sailing. Wondering what special activities they have for Christmas? My kiddos will be 6 and 12 so the holidays are kinda a big deal. Is it likely to have quite a few kiddos on the ship during these dates?

Any thoughts?

Jenn

Thanks! Was wondering since we are looking at leaving from Fort Lauderdale in December so heated pools sound perfect to me : )

Jenn

We went on Eurodam to the Baltic over the summer and the pool was heated to a very comfortable temperature, must have been in the high 80's. It completely surprised me, I loved it! Do you all think they typically would heat the pools if we did a Caribbean cruise also?

Just wondering... It was our first Holland America cruise so not sure if typical.

Jenn

I would not have been as happy with a set package tour as we wanted the flexibility of our own pace and seeing some non standard items. Pretty much all the main companies were charging an arm or a leg for a private tour (between 1000-1500 USD for the 2 of us for 2 days with the tickets we wanted and Tickets and Tours was way less! it was more than their usual 2 day regular tour, but you could add hours and attractions for a reasonable price). Some places weren't even interested in responding to me, kept redirecting me to a link with the "standard" package. It seemed very cookie cutter to me with most companies, but this one stood out for us. I emailed and all my questions were answered quickly and appropriately. They didn't promise and not deliver. They told me up front it was not a good deal financially to do Faberge in the daytime for just the 2 of us, but it was a great deal for the evening. I had a list of must do's and then some if we have time, and then the if the lighting is just so (great for photo locations, but if the conditions aren't right, skip it!)

Just FYI I went to St Petersburg in 1991-1992 and it felt like a completely different place. It was super clean, safe and very cosmopolitan. I loved it! There were so many museums to choose from, I felt like it was tough choosing what to do with only 2 days. In the 90's the food was horrible there, so much that I remember the lowlight was the food, this time around it was a highlight : )

Jenn

I would be happy to post my review on trip advisor, I honestly just didn't see the company listed there so don't know how. I can't remember exactly where I found a few reviews, it wasn't on trip advisor. Maybe here? I am trying to get through all my post travel reviews/info to pass along, there are so many to do!

Just FYI when we got off the ship in St Petersburg there were at least 15 different companies that we saw and only one other family used Tickets and Tours that we saw so imagine not many people to write reviews this season. I would say the majority used the ships tours, maybe only 20%-30% used private companies and most of those people used SPB, Alla, and TJ. While I was looking, I was early the 1st day, I saw at least 12-13 other companies, too.

Jenn

Just following up as I promised. My hubby and I took a private 2 day tour with Tickets and Tours last month, I was worried since there weren't many reviews, but it worked out to be perfect! Best hidden gem of our trip. We had a guide named Kristina. We crammed in all the sites we wanted to see and moved at our own pace, listening to the info I wanted to know about. It was exactly as we wanted, not some set plan that we had to stick to. I'm thankful we did it that way. Kristina is normally a college professor in history, her English was superb and while I'm sure she could have answered all my history questions, we found out that we both had children the same age so I wanted to find out about schooling, maternity leave, daycare, etc. It was eye opening! We also discussed how Russia has evolved, I was there in the 90's so we talked about how it had changed and boy it sure has. I learned about the topics I wanted to know about.

First day: We saw Peterhof just the fountains, not the inside, had "fast food" lunch of bliny type thing at Peterhof, not memorable, but tasty and was quick. Then on to Catherine's with the Amber room and some gardens, saw Chesma Cathedral, walked around Nevsky for a tour of a few stautes/monuments. We took the metro, saw the Faberge museum in the evening so didn't have to do a guided tour, had coffee and pasties at I think it was Yeliseevsky's Deli. I had to laugh I will never look at my local deli like that. This place was over the top with fresh oysters in the salt water, marzipan, fresh pastries, 6-8 different types of eclairs, for any foodies you MUST go! The cakes here were better than France : ) Then, we saw St Isaac's at night and climbed up to the top, that was a hike but worth it for the views! Walked along the river for some nice views/pictures. Also, went to a book store since it had some nice views. My hubby is into photos so we spent more time than usual for the "views."

Next day:

River Cruise (highly worth it) because it is only the people on their company combining together to share a boat we had LOADS of space and no worried about our luggage. Maybe 12 people on a boat for 50? Then, Kazan Cathedral, Hermitage, Church of Spilt Blood, Smolny Cathedral (purposely left of the Peter and Paul Fortress, saw that on a different trip years ago) Stopped at the Stoly pie shop for a late snack before going to the ship. I loved that place! I wish I had bothered eating there the 1st day.

Hope I didn't leave anything of yet, I'm sure there are a few other things, will see them all when I get around to working on the photos!

I talked to a bunch of people on the cruise and it seemed everyone was happy with the tours they picked. Some people like the "standard" tour. Many people enjoyed the cultural evening events, but it was not for us.

My 2 cents.

Jenn

Just FYI in Copenhagen we didn't need any more than $5 for the whole time, every place we went took credit card. There always seem to be a deposit at some of the museum lockers which you seem to get back and also a few coins for the bathrooms. Stockholm I didn't exchange anything and we did it on our own. The only thing I did do, was try to exchange for a couple dollars to have money for the bathroom and locker which we did need and some sweet people just gave me the equivalent of $2 in change and wouldn't take anything from me!

I was surprised how credit card heavy it was. in all the ports we visited.

In Russia I needed the local currency much more, less credit cards, but if you go with a guide they can pay for your lunch, etc. and you pay them in euros, dollars, credit card, etc.

Jenn

Sorry for the confusion we are not DIY in St Petersburg, we are going on a private tour with an outside company not with the cruise line. Everywhere else we are DIY. I meant we aren't going with the cruise lines. I do think getting your own visa would be bonkers for just the 2 days.

I've been to Russia before, albeit in 1991 so am familiar with how it was then. AN amazing country and I've heard has changed a bunch, looking forward to seeing it!

Did you happen to notice if there is a laundry deal on the ship?

Jenn

Glad to hear you are enjoying yourself. We will be on there next month and am wondering a few things...

What shows/events did you particularly enjoy? Which nights were formal night? Also, we are DIY and wondering if there is a mad rush to get off the ship or if Eurodam has certain passengers off first? Are you noticing anything I should know about? We want to get off at St Petersburg fairly early with DIY and wondering how much of a mad house it is with customs and everything.

Jenn

How much notice do the companies truly need in order to get you a visa free/cruise ship type trip?

Just wondering how much notice is needed.

Jenn