BarbaraEH

Will be in Dublin on 18 May 2024 on a stop on our cruise. We were planning to take the DART into Dublin from Dun Laoghaire but have just discovered that it will not be running on that day due to "essential engineering" according to the customer rep at DART. So, has anyone used the bus in Dublin? If so, did it run on time, was it clean and comfortable? Or would be better off to try getting an Uber or a taxi? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

On 2/22/2024 at 11:31 AM, karatemom2 said:

Have you downloaded the new Princess app? You can pre-purchase the WiFi there. It’s one of the options if you scroll through the main page. The web site isn’t much use these days except for excursion purchases - they seem to be shifting everything useful to the app. Once you download it, the login should be the same as you use on the website. 

Found it....thanks!

On 2/22/2024 at 2:09 PM, MissP22 said:

T Mobile is all we need in the Caribbean. Purchasing Wi-Fi on the ship becomes unnecessary as we can wait a day until we reach the next port. 

I agree, we've also always depended on being able to have access when in port except that it didn't work as expected in Europe even when in port. Plus, the cruise last fall was a transatlantic cruise with six days at sea for the crossing plus three additional days at sea between ports. There must be something we messed up so we're trying to figure that out. The folks at the Verizon store weren't any help and the customer service reps were even less help. Maybe we can get it together on our upcoming British Isles cruise...

On 2/22/2024 at 12:59 PM, NavyVeteran said:

 

This answer should work. Details follow:

Log in to your cruise on Cruise Personalizer. Select "Excursions". Pick any port and any excursion that doesn't conflict with one you already have booked. Select an excursion time and select all guests in your cabin. Select "ADD TO CART". Select "PAY NOW". You will see a list of the new excursion with one entry for each passenger. Select "PAY NOW".

You will now see an "EXCURSIONS RESERVATIONS SUMMARY". It will show for each passenger "Previously Made Reservations", "Previous Payments Received", and "Onboard credits applied", which is the information you are looking for.

When you are finished reviewing the information, do not select "Credit Card" or "PayPal" under "Make a Payment". Instead, select "Remove" under each of the excursions listed. Note that you have not actually booked anything and you haven't charged anything when you do this.

Worked like a charm! I now see that the credits have been refunded to our accounts. Thanks!

55 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

This is one of the most annoying things about Princess website. It always only shows the full amount of OBC for a cruise....so it ends up being up to you to keep track. However, I 'think' if you try and do a mock booking of an excursion--like you were booking it, but don't finish it, it will show you the available OBC to use for the excursion.

As far as a confirmation on the cancellation...I don't know the answer. However, you will see the excursions online that you have booked, so I guess if it doesn't show up as a booked one, it has been cancelled. 🤷‍♀️

I did try doing a mock booking but it doesn't show anything about the OBCs before having to click on pay/submit so I wasn't inclined to do that!! And when I was booking those excursions a few weeks ago, it didn't give me an option of whether or not to use the OBCs, it just included them. I may have to call Princess or wait until we're onboard to find out.

51 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

If this is all you need, then check your phone plan. With our T-Mobile, we have included international service and on port days, check our messages and if necessary, make calls. 

Given today's technology, unless someone owns a business and needs to stay in touch constantly, Princess's WiFi prices are absurd.  Don't forget to go to airplane mode when re-boarding!

Tried that. We did a transatlantic crossing with Celebrity last fall and used Verizon's TravelPass for when we were on land and the monthly international plan that is supposed to work on cruise ships. We were able to text only. Couldn't make phone calls or get on the internet or check emails. I don't know if we did something wrong but we were disappointed. This time we thought we would get a single device plan with Princess and also try again with the Verizon plans on one of our phones and see if we can get those to work. We love technology, right??!! 

5 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

Have you downloaded the new Princess app? You can pre-purchase the WiFi there. It’s one of the options if you scroll through the main page. The web site isn’t much use these days except for excursion purchases - they seem to be shifting everything useful to the app. Once you download it, the login should be the same as you use on the website. 

I've downloaded the app but we don't like to enter credit card numbers or other personal info on our phones. May have to break down and do it though. Thanks!

I have an OBC question related to shore excursions...I booked two shore excursions back in January part of which was covered by OBCs so I got only a single charge on my credit card which included a partial charge for the one excursion and the full charge for the other. Now I don't recall which shore excursion was booked using the credits. I've cancelled one of those shore excursions but can't seem to find my revised OBC balance on the Princess website. Of course, the credit has not yet been posted to my credit card and may take a couple of weeks apparently. Does anyone have any idea where I can find my available OBC balance on the website? I've received no confirmation email from Princess regarding the cancellation...or don't they send a confirmation? Thanks!

Where can I purchase a WiFi package pre-cruise? We want to purchase the package a la carte as the Plus/Premier packages don't work for us. I can't seem to find it in my account on the Princess website and the FAQs don't seem to work which just keeps going back the main FAQ page so can't seem to get any info there.  And yes, I realize that the WiFi is now $24.99/day. Thanks!

On 11/8/2023 at 6:43 PM, karatemom2 said:

In my personal experience, our British Isles cruise offered a wonderful opportunity to visit castles, cathedrals and historical sites which was a huge priority for me. Just to give you a sense of what we were able to do on our 12 day British Isles cruise with 4 days pre-cruise in London here is a list of what we visited:

 

London: Buckingham Palace

              Westminster Abbey

              Tower of London

              Churchill War Rooms

              Shakespeare's Old Globe Theatre

              St. Paul's Cathedral

              Maritime Museum at Greenwich

 

Southampton Departure Day: Windsor Castle

 

Guernsey: Castle Cornet

                  WWII Sites and Museum

 

Cobh: Rock of Cashel

 

Dublin: Glendalough Monastic City

            Christchurch Cathedral

 

Belfast: Giants Causeway

             Dunluce Castle

             Titanic Museum

 

Liverpool (tour to Wales) : Conwy Castle

                                          Snowdonia Park

                                          Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

 

Invergordon: Dunrobin Castle

                     Cairn Liath

                     Falls of Shin

                     Dornoch Cathedral

 

Glasgow: Sterling Castle

                Castle Leoch

                Village of Luss

                Loch Lomond

                Trossachs National Park

 

Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle

                  Royal Mile

                  St. Giles Cathedral

                  Royal Yacht Brittania

                 

Le Havre: Omaha Beach

                 American Cemetery

                 Bayeux - for Cathedral and Bayeux Tapestry

 

Southampton Departure: Hampton Court Palace

                                        Stonehenge.

 

So, you can find that you will have ample choices of castles and historically significant sites if you prioritize those things for your ports and pre and post departure days. I will always remember our British Isles cruise as one of our most memorable and wonderful travel adventures!!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the info on what you can fit in in 4 days. We'll also have 4 days pre-cruise in May. I have several questions: Was wondering if your trips on your embarkation and debarkation days (Windsor Castle and Stonehenge) were done with a tour company that also took you to and from the port? If so, who did you use? Did you feel you really got to see those sites? I was thinking we would use two of our 4 days and take the train to Windsor and another day to Stonehenge so that we would have plenty of time to explore. But that leaves less time to see London. How late were you boarding the ship after the trip to Windsor? Did you also fly home the day you disembarked and went to Stonehenge? Thanks!

On 11/5/2023 at 10:32 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Thanks for your report.  It's a good opportunity to talk a little bit about hotel "annexes" in Rome and other places. 

 

In historic centers like the one in Rome, most buildings are classified as historically important and footprints often can't be changed. 

 

To get around this, some hotels will have a separate annex building to provide additional rooms for guests. These buildings are usually near the original hotel but may be situated with a less pleasant aspect (view) or be part of a more modern building (not in a good way). They tend to have less of the historical character and interest of the original building. This isn't unique to Rome. Even the famous Hotel Danieli in Venice has an annex building that lacks the same period charm and details of the original.

 

My own policy is to avoid rooms in annexes after a couple of experiences that underwhelmed me. Definitely reserve a room in the main hotel building, if at all possible. If there is not a room in the main building, or the annex is less expensive and you decide to go for it, be aware that it may not be to the same standards as the reviews you've read for the hotel.

 

One further note: many people ask about the availability of triples in Rome hotels. Triples also seem to be located in annex buildings, probably because the room sizes are larger and can accommodate them. Just be aware of what you're getting.

 

 

We stayed at Hotel Smeraldo's annex for 3 nights in late October in a "Deluxe Double Room Parione" which included a king size bed, 1 1/2 bathrooms, and 2 closets.. The photos of this room on their website show exactly what it looks like. We were more than satisfied with the annex, the accommodations and cleanliness. Our room was overlooking the narrow, cobblestone street outside and the main hotel which is catty-corner across the street. It was well insulated so very little noise. Fully renovated yet had some old-world charm. Rooms tend to be small which is why we booked the Deluxe Double. Breakfast was included offering continental and American style options. Nothing fancy but enough to satisfy. All the pastries were from the Roscioli Bakery across the street. This was our first trip to Rome and we didn't have any idea what to expect but were pleasantly surprised and would stay there again.

On 9/14/2008 at 11:56 AM, cp556 said:

First cruise was Norwegian Caribbean Line's M/S SKYWARD, sailing from Miami to Cozumel, Cancun and Great Stirrup Cay. Sail date Oct 13, 1985. I'd booked a female quad share, and my TA at home had sent the payment to NCL, but not confirmed that my res was in order. So....when I got to Miami, traveling solo, I learned I had no cabin. I chatted with the purser and some other officials and ended up with an outside double cabin to myself.

 

When I got home, I confronted the TA, whose reply was "well, dear, these things happen". "Dear" realized that there might be a better way, and I ended up opening a successful cruise-only agency which I owned until I retired a few years ago.

 

Despite the goofs on my first cruise, I was indeed hooked. And remain that way!

 

I know that M/S Skyward sailed from Singapore for a number of years as Leisure World (and other names...I recall Shangri-La World). Wonder where she is now?

What a fun thread! Our first cruise was also on NCL's Skyward in the spring of 1987 for our honeymoon. It wasn't the cruise that got us hooked by any means. We had an inside cabin and the bed was a mattress on a wooden box base and there was a big hole in the wood that you felt like you were falling into. There were no other cabins available to move us to so the cabin steward tried to stuff it full of blankets and towels. Didn't work too well. Storms also caused cancellations of a couple of ports of call including Cancun where we were supposed to go on the excursion to Chichen Itza which was the whole point of the Mexican themed cruise. The storms were so bad that the staff wrapped the breakable items in the shops in the t-shirts and placed them on the floor. Ten years later my husband's brother convinced us that we should try Celebrity Cruises so we booked an eastern Caribbean cruise on Century and had a wonderful time. We enjoyed it so much that a few months later when we saw a photo in the newspaper of their new ship, Mercury, transiting the canal from the shipyard to the sea -- we said we've got to book a cruise on that brand new ship! So in 1998 we did the Western Caribbean on Mercury and we've been cruising ever since.

On 9/10/2023 at 4:20 PM, marazul said:

The hotels' own websites will have their official ratings.  I have no idea what the booking websites use, but I imagine they roughly correspond to the official ratings.

Before I posted my question, I checked our hotel's website but couldn't find anything about the stars. I was just curious so it isn't a big deal.

2 hours ago, marazul said:

HOTEL STAR RATINGS IN ITALY – EXPLAINED (SORT OF)

 

Hotel star ratings in Europe are set by some common regulations that each country adapts for itself.  In Italy, the national regulations can also be adapted by different regions or cities.  For example, the requirement of parking spaces for a 4-star hotel would be ridiculous in Venice or, for that matter, in Rome. 

 

This website has an excellent summary of the requirements for Rome (https://www.romewise.com/rome-hotel-star-ratings.html) and a translation of the national requirements (here). (Authors: Elyssa Bernard and Alessandro Bisceglie)

 

Here is their summary of the star ratings for Rome:

 

Minimum hotel standards for Rome Italy Hotels

 

According to decree mentioned above, you can be sure of the following minimum standards for Rome hotel star ratings (there are more requirements, but these are some of the main points that allow you to see the difference between star ratings):

• At a 1 star hotel in Rome: reception 12 hours per day, room cleaning once a day, minimum size of all double room of 14 square meters, change of bed linens once a week.
• At a 2 star hotel in Rome: same features as at a 1-star hotel but there must also be a lift/elevator and a change of bed linens twice a week.
• At a 3 star hotel in Rome: same features as at a 2-star hotel but also staff with knowledge of a foreign language, a reception open at least 16 hours, staff uniforms, internet service, and all rooms to come with a private bathroom.
• At a 4 star hotel in Rome: same features as at a 3-star hotel but also, in addition to daily room cleaning, the room will also be tidied in the afternoon, a change of linen every day (unless the customer opts out of this), laundry and ironing services available for guests,  double rooms at least 15 square meters.
• At a 5 star hotel in Rome: besides all the amenities and features of a 4-star hotel, a 5-star hotel must also offer a reception service open 24 hours a day, employees that speak a total of at least three foreign languages between them, single rooms of at least 9 square meters, and double rooms of at least 16 square meters.

 

 

 

 

 

Are the star ratings found on sites like Hotels.com or TtripAdvisor based on these Italian standards or some other system?

23 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

I've used Bob's Limos:  Rome Limousine Tours | Civitavecchia Shuttle | Rome Limo Transfer (romelimousines.com)

Thanks, will look into that one too.

4 hours ago, Girr said:

I used Rome HABI Cabs, and highly recommend.  Yes, the booking was done all on-line, but I'm sure you could call them.  They were on time, and were good on responding to my messages, and pro-active in sending me reminders about both trips.  The did not require a depot, and method of payment was cash at time of service.  

Looks like a possibility...thanks!

I tried to look into the Celebrity 3-night pre-cruise package a few months ago and had a number of questions that Celebrity couldn't answer like what hotel was included. I was told to send a message to their shore excursions group and never got a reply. So I started looking into booking it ourselves and it has proven to be less to book it all ourselves...almost $900 savings (based on the $1,444 price you quoted above) for the two of us and that includes meals which aren't included in the Celebrity pricing. I have spent quite a bit of time researching everything though so there may be a trade-off between savings vs. time.

I have seen a lot of mentions of Rome Cabs and Rome in Limo in this forum but both are already fully booked on the date we are to arrive in Rome in late October (we're arriving in Rome a few days before the cruise). I found good reviews of a couple of other services on TripAdvisor but wanted to also check here to see if anyone has used them. The ones I found on TripAdvisor were Mia Limo and LimousInRome. Apparently you book Mia Limo simply based on an email discussion and we're a little anxious about that. LimousInRome requires a deposit which is OK and possibly makes it seem like they are more likely to show up when we need them. Any other possibilities that anyone might offer would be appreciated too. Thanks!

29 minutes ago, cruisefan123 said:

We stayed at the Hotel Smeraldo in Rome last year.  Centrally located, close to Campo De Fiori, Piazza Navona, etc., elevator and most rooms were renovated recently.  Wonderful breakfast as well.  Keep in mind hotel rooms in Rome are small.  We were able to walk everywhere including back from the Colosseum and Vatican.  Great restaurants nearby.  Roscioli  bakery across the street.   No issues with safety.   Hope this helps. 

So glad to see great comments about Hotel Smeraldo...we're booked there for 3 days pre-cruise in late October. We knew it would be a central location but weren't sure about anything else. Thanks!

On 1/26/2022 at 12:01 PM, seapad said:

Has anyone stayed at the Doubletree by Hilton Rome Monti? 

First time to Rome. Or can someone comment what's the Monti area like? What's the feel, shopping, and proximity to touristic areas? 

 

Thanks! 

We are considering the Doubletree for our pre-cruise stay in Rome...according to TripAdvisor it is only about .61 mi. from the Colosseum. We want to be within reasonable walking distance of all the ruins.