XuGator

We always tip extra also to our favorites but to those who claim that cash tips are "pooled" are a little off base. I have asked several people who we have left cash tips with about this (waiters, bar tenders, room stewards) and each of them almost laughed at the question. I am 100% sure that if you give a cash tip to someone, it stays with that person. They surely aren't dropping it in some community pooling pot to divvy up.

I also think there are many self-righteous people on these boards that should just focus on themselves and their tipping practices and not worry or preach what anyone else should do. We always leave the auto tips and tip extra but would never tell anyone else what to do. If someone else wants to remove them, then that is up to them. People cant go around policing other peoples personal decisions. Its really not your concern or business. We have met many European friends on cruises that flat out don't believe in tipping. Tipping isnt part of their culture or practice. It may not be ours, but who are we to judge what they do. All we can control is ourselves and can try to help others see the merit in the way we do things, but at the end of the day, its out of your control.

I think 10am is the perfect time if you self-disembark. Walk of the ship and there are ubers/lyfts abound. Airport is less than 10 minutes away and it is a small airport. I think you will have plenty of time. Last time we disembarked in FLL, there was a 930 and 130 flight. We played it safe and booked the 130 and were sitting around for hours. We would have made the 930 without issue. Just know exactly where you are going and you will be fine. We have global entry also but it rarely is all that advantageous at FLL.

13 hours ago, oceancrusin said:

Just my opinion, but I don't think any water should be 'premium'. Water is water, and paying for water is crazy. Again, in my opinion.

Ha I think Dasani was a typo on my part. Its almost always Evian

18 hours ago, jennyumaa said:

 

When do the ticketing options open?

It all depends on when you are going. Check out this post Jenny. It is a wealth of information and has everything you need to know.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187791-i22-k12543305-Colosseum_underground_belvedere_panoramic_tickets-Rome_Lazio.html

3 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Which, of course, is a very good reason to use them! 

Right  - I think that is a a good thing but just wanted the original poster to know that if they never receive them, its really not a big deal and easily correctable at the port.

On a couple of sailings we've been on, the Summit and Eclipse - they have had an impromptu auction on the first night near the retail shops. Both times they have offered the unlimited internet package for the duration of the cruise and the winning bidder always gets it for less than the retail rate. I don't think there is any way to bank on this actually happening though. It seems random

1 hour ago, mom says said:

As well they should, since the cruise ship tags may confuse automated luggage transfer at the airport. You aren't supposed to put the cruise tags on your bags until you arrive at your embarkation city.

 

The mailed tags are simply a convenience. Being self adhesive, like airline tags, they are sturdy enough. Easier than printing your own and then needing packing tape or a stapler on embarkation day. And once at the port, no need to dig around for a pen and fill out information for each bag. Just hand the bags over and go.

Yeah I dont think sophisticated airport machines looking for MIA or FLL or MCO are going to be "confused" by a completely unrelated tag for a cruise. Maybe the machines will get confused by my personal luggage tag also.  Point is simple: there really isnt any added convenience to these at all. You can add all of your tags after you land and Ill just have the porter tag and write our cabin number when we are handing them off anyways at the ship. These are intended to help the cruise line and make operations cleaner at check in. There is no advantage for the passenger

We did the same thing as Tbenson and surprisingly there were not many early risers at all. There were less than 10 people waiting for the first tender at 7am.

As others suggested - stay near Piazzale Roma so you can catch an early cab. We usually stay at the Ca Sagredo which is a 15 minute walk from there.

I dont think this exists and if it does, its not something your should depend on. Last month when we arrived at the CIV train station, we waited for about 30 minutes and didnt even see the 2 euro shuttle to Largo DP. We ended up just walking to Largo which really wasn't bad at all (20 minutes or so). After the cruise, all of the cruise ship buses took everyone from the ship back to Largo. So I imagine that if there were a direct station to port option, it would have existed afterwards also.  The 2 euro shuttles at largo transporting to the train station were plentiful upon return.

We booked via the official site also but its very difficult to get tickets. You basically have to book right when the ticketing options open. If you can get tickets via the official site, that is the way to go. Otherwise you will be paying for the same tour from a private operator, marked up 3-4 times. The combo tour including the underground and belvedere is a very nice tour.

Ive never really understood the benefit of these luggage tags. We always just have the porter tag our bags once we arrive at the pier. We write our name and cabin number and hand them off. I guess they are intended to just save a little time and work at the pier? Ours always seemed to get ripped off by the airlines anyways. Point is  - if you dont receive them, its really not a big deal and only takes an extra 30 seconds at check in.

Port Everglades and the port of Miami are 20 miles apart. This really is a non issue. Jump into an uber / lyft for an extra 15 bucks to get back to the airport. Its not like you are coming back to a different part of the state. I just did a Lyft Estimator for you- the port of Miami to Miami international is $21 dollars. Port Everglades to Miami international is $36 dollars. You are spending a lot of time on something that is a net difference of 15 bucks via Uber/Lyft

Fresh orange juice is definitely a premium package option.

The non alcoholic advantages are also significant in the premium package. The classic package only provides generic bottled water where premium offers dasani, evian etc. The premium also offers vitamin water and red bull if either of those interest you. We always upgrade to premium for the water alone.  The high end liquors and martinis are a bonus. As fas as price - it shouldn't be any different before you board unless they are running some type of sale. We always upgrade once on the ship.

Thanks dabear - that is good to know as well.

Does anyone have any experience with Apply Pay in the Baltic areas? We primarily use Chase and Amex cards and have never had to use a pin anywhere in Europe (so far). After calling chase and amex they both confirmed that we can hit enter to proceed without a pin on chip and pin termianls. Now - it sounds like this might be changing or not entirely the case in some of the Baltic areas. If that is the case - is the easiest thing to just load our cards into the apple wallet and use Apply Pay at these merchants?  I just wanted to see if anyone had any first hand experience with this.  Will Apple Pay be a viable substitute for chip and pin locations? Thanks

10 minutes ago, phillygirl2400 said:

Hi. I have had no problem canceling excursions online and then re-booking them online at the lower price.
As far as sold out excursions are concerned, I would not cancel something that was sold out. I’m not sure how the price goes down if it’s sold out.

Sometimes flash sales encompass every excursion and I was thinking that if I cancelled an excursion (that was currently sold out) that my 2 slots would show back up as inventory under the new flash promo price. It probably is risky though and best to call celebrity to see if that is even possible. Thanks everyone.

30 minutes ago, dabear said:

EuGator: we were in SPG in July, 2018 and had no problem with our highly rated tour operator. All the TO know they must be prompt and return you to the ship on time so I wouldn't worry. Also we were in SPG during the World Cup , so it was very crowded. Still no problem.

Great - thanks for the insight. This is the only port we were thinking that it might be best to stick to the ship excursion. This helps put us at ease.

It seems like a lot of people recommend private tours in St Petersburg.  Is this still the recommendation even after the US closed their consulate office in March of 2018 in SPB? It seems a little more worrisome to be on an independent tour if something were to go wrong. We definitely don't want to have to travel to Moscow if our private operator was late getting us back or if something happened. We generally always book independent tours but its seems a littler riskier here. Does everyone think its still pretty safe to do so? Thanks

Hi,

  I have a couple of questions about shore excursions booked in the celebrity cruise planner. If we have booked some shore excursions and the price drops before our cruise, is it easy to cancel our excursion bookings and re-book with the modified price online?

Secondly, if the excursion in question is sold out - would I be able to cancel and availability show back up online immediately where I could re-book or does celebrity have a wait list?

Thanks everyone.