scungileen

Is anyone doing a post or pre cruise and staying at the Tel Aviv Sheraton.  I am curious to know if there is a U.S. electrical outlet in the rooms.  Also does the hotel have blow dryers in the room.

Thank you.

You made it so much clearer than anything I have read. Thank you for taking the time.

You are truly a source of unbelievable knowledge. So very helpful. Much thanks for your posts.

Thank you both for your answers. I didn't realize there was a visa specialist connected with Celebrity. I will give them a call. I am pretty sure that the author of this post is correct and that we are exempt. I was just concerned about how the authorities in Shanghai will know we are exempt and if we needed to present documentation, but the author cleared that concern up for me. I will make the phone call to Celebrity's Visa specialist just to be sure.

Thank you to everyone,.

Hi again,

First, thank you for the beautiful package of information and pictures. Second, thank you for giving me the appropriate links for the Shanghai Visa requirements. I do have one more question, if you can help. I do believe that my cruise on the Celebrity Millennium from October 13 - 27 does qualify for the Visa exemption for the 144 hour rule. However, I read something about having some documentation to show that we are exempt. Do you know if that is true and where would I get such documentation for the exemption. Does Celebrity provide you with it, does Japan provide you with it when you land there, does South Korea provide you with it being they are the last stop before Shanghai. I am so confused. I called the Chinese Embassy in NY and they referred me to an international phone number for Shanghai Immigration but they couldn't guaranty anyone would speak English. This is the most frustrating thing and it's a shame that Celebrity doesn't take better care of their passengers on something so important. If you have any further information, I would really like your input and help. Thank you again.

Thank you all for your input. Our flight is after 4:30 p.m. We were able to book with Jennyshtours.com. She was very knowledgeable about the times to get in and out of the cruise terminal and how much time we need to allot to get to the airport. She said we have enough time for a 3 to 3.5 hour tour and we stop the tour any time we feel it is getting too close for comfort with the return flight. Truthfully, she is only a little more than a transfer to the airport, so it was a no brainer.

Hi,

I am arriving on October 27th into Shanghai Baoshan cruise terminal for the end of my Celebrity Millennium cruise. We dock at 7:00 a.m. My flight is at 3:45, which means I should get to the airport by 1:30. Can anyone recommend a service where we can go to the airport (there are five of us with luggage) but see some of Shanghai on the way to the airport. If we get off the boat early enough, we technically have around 4 hours if we are off the boat by 8:00 a.m. I know that in the cruise terminals of most caribbean islands and some of Europe the taxis wait there to give people mini tours. Does anyone know if that is even a possibility and then we could have that person take us to the airport straight after? Thank you.

Does anyone have a sample of the Celebrity Millennium "Today" daily flyers for the cruises from Tokyo to Shanghai

Thank you for all of that information. We are not staying in Shanghai, We are going straight to the airport and then home to New York. Our trip is from October 13 to October 27. Would you mind letting me know if we need one and also where to look, Thank you.

Your review was wonderful. I have one question. Did I read correctly that a Visa for Shanghai is not necessary? We are doing Celebrity Millennium in October (Japan, South Korea and China). Our travel agent said we needed a Visa.

We are arriving on Celebrity Millennium to Shanghai before we depart for home. Our flight is at 2:30. At best we can squeeze in a quick tour of Shanghai on our way to the airport, if we disembark the ship early enough. Does anyone have a suggestion as to how we might see a few things (even if they are just a drive-by) before we head to the airport?

Hi, does anyone know if there are taxi cabs to bring you into Tokyo from Yokohama Port and what the cost for a ride will be?

Thank you to everyone who replied. I am in the process of booking my own tours with several companies - Veltra and shoreexcursions.asia. Quite frankly, some of the tours offered outside of Celebrity look more amazing and they will tailor them to your special needs. I feel bad for people who aren't computer savvy and are in this predicament. They are at the mercy of the cruise line.

Hi,

I am not new to cruising, but I am certainly new to tour companies only offering tours to individuals below the age of 80. I have just booked a cruise to Japan and S. Korea for my family which includes my 81 year-old mother (she will be 82 at the time of cruising). I was about to start booking my tours when I saw a restriction on all of the tours in Hiroshima against individuals over the age of 80. I called Celebrity and they said that it was not Celebrity's policy, but the tour company they use. In my opinion, that is a nice way of Celebrity backing away, but in reality if they choose to use a tour company that age discriminates, then they also agree to discriminate. My dilemma is that any of the off-ship tours I am finding leave much later than we dock and therefore bring you back to late for embarkation. I am perplexed as to what these elderly people do in this port. I was told you have to find your own tour. Is that a decent way to handle your passengers who are paying a nice amount of money to take a once-in-a-lifetime cruise. It's simply horrible. I know I can't be the only person who has come across this problem. unfortunately, Hiroshima is not the only port, it's Kagoshima as well.

Can anyone give me some guidance without breaking the piggy bank as to alternative ways to your in both Hiroshima and Kagoshima? I would really appreciate your help. To say that I am very disappointed in Celebrity at the moment is putting it mildly.

Thank you. I will post under the category.

I am about to rent a scooter for my mother for our trip on the Hamony leaving out of Rome. I have two questions:

1) Scoot Around is a bit cheaper than Special Needs at Sea, but they are telling me that if I want damage protection it is an extra $5.00 per day and if I want damage and loss/theft protection it is an extra $10.00 per day. Anyone out there use them? If so, did you buy the extra protection packages? Do you really have to worry about theft?

2) How are these GoGo Sport scooters on cobblestones? My mom can't walk long distances and I know the wheelchairs are terrible on cobblestones. Is the scooter better than nothing? I know it is not a smooth ride, but do they at least get you around?

Has anyone rented a scooter for sightseeing and used it in Aix en Provence. I am concerned that the scooters will not work well on the cobblestones, if there are any. I am not even sure there will be cobblestones, but I know that a regular wheelchair is hard to maneuver on cobblestones. Thanks for the input.

I am also scheduled to go on the Harmony of the Seas. We are going the week of July 7th. My mother has mobility issues and we are visiting Cinque Terre which can be difficult to visit as there is a lot of walking and travelling by train or ferry. However, I was lucky enough to come across Papillion Tours and I spoke with Sharon who was wonderful in tailoring our tour to my mother's needs. You should give them a try.

So, I am booked for the Harmony of the Seas on July 7th out of Rome. I have a party of 9 people. We are all on Dynamic Dining. What is this? When I was on the Allure, when it first came out into the Caribbean, we were second seating with an option to do some of the specialty restaurants. Can someone please explain to me where we can eat every evening complimentary. When I call Royal I get different answers all of the time depending who you get. I have been told our rooms needs to be linked, and then I have been told there is no need to link as we are not assigned a dinner table. I have been told we can eat in Silk and Grande and then I have been told those are the dining rooms for set seating. So confusing and I booked directly with Royal not a travel agent. HELP!! I need to understand because I am the designated reservation maker when the 90 days prior arrive. Thanks.

Thank you so much for that information. I did not realize that the Allure and Harnony are going to operate like MSC cruises operates. On MSC you can get on or off at any given port. I understand that you are saying the Allure and Harmony make that only possible in the ports of Barcelona and Rome. You seem to be very knowledgeable. Can I ask you if you had a set dining time. I booked too late to have a first or second seating. I am very confused about the Dynamic dining. From what I can see there are a few restaurants that are free of charge and it seems I can book my group in those restaurants for any given time. Can you shed any light on the restaurants or the process. I would really appreciate that. Thank you again for yoru help.

Hey fellow sailors, I have looked over this forum and I can't find a compass for the Allure from Rome to Rome. I am going on the Harmony of the Seas in July and the compasses for the same itineraries are usually very similar and I need a compass so I can figure out how to pre-book my shows and dinners. If anyone has their old compasses from their cruise on the Allure Rome to Rome, please post it her for me. Thanks in advance.

We are a group of 7, possibly 9 and we want to tour Provence and Cassis while on our cruise vacation. Can anyone suggest a great tour guide and what they saw while visiting.

Does anyone have a great guide for Barcelona and then one in Palma De Mallorca. We are presently 7 people and we want a great tour guide with a great itinerary. We don't want to miss a thing.

Does anyone have a great guide to take us to Mr. Etna and Taormina one day and a great city another day. We are already staying in Catania. We have one extra day and we don't know what city to explore. We also need a good guide.

Thanks.

Has any one out there used a great guide to drive them to Cinque Terre and show them around. I am interested in a tour that does not involved a lot of walking in between sites as we have a handicapped person. She can walk around when at the destination, but we can't walk from one town to the other. Please help.