pthardy

We are doing a round trip Seattle to Seattle Hawaii cruise, with the last port of call being Victoria, BC.  We are from Vancouver Island so would like to disembark in Victoria rather than Seattle, so that we don’t have to fly back to the island from Seattle.  Has anyone done this, if so, did you have to get special permission? 

We are new to RCL and will be cruising with our daughter, SIL and grandchildren, age 12 & 15.  What is the dress code for children in the dining room for dinner, can they wear shorts?

We are looking at booking D410 on the Sky which is an extended angled balcony, is anyone familiar with the cabin that can explain what the balcony is like? 

Thanks

We have booked Cabin E438 on the Regal and wondering about noise from below, has anyone stayed in this cabin or one nearby?

Thanks

1 minute ago, john elway said:

Following,as we are on this cruise as well.

glad to see we aren’t the only Canucks on the ship!😎

Hi, there are a few of us.  We have booked a private excursion so am feeling anxious about this.

Thank you for posting again.  We have thought of you often and wondered how you were doing.  May all your wonderful memories together offer you some comfort!

We are on the Emerald in October, our scheduled arrival in Santorini is 7 am.  Can anyone tell me what time they might start to hand out tender tickets? Thanks

Our scheduled arrival in Santorini is 7:00 am.  Does anyone know what time they generally start giving out tender tickets, 1 hour before scheduled arrival?

Our condolences, Charles, we are very sorry for your loss.

Yes, there are wine packages available, but they won't give me the paper to be able to reproduce the T's and C's. And there are several different packages![/quote

 

Thank you, good to know.

Charles, do you know, or would you be able to find out, if you can still buy the wine packages? Thanks.

Does anyone know if the IC has almond milk for lattes?

Thanks for taking the time to do this, interesting to hear what is happening before we board in Shanghai. Hope your weather is nice in Alaska. Much better here today, we are on the north end of Vancouver Island.

It would all depend on what your interests are but I would eliminate the stop at the leather shop and the Temple of Artemis, which is just one standing column. We had not originally wanted to do a carpet factory stop, due to time, but I did find it was very interesting to see the process and how to tell the different quality of carpets. If you are more interested in history, I would drop the carpet factory and see more of the Basilica of St. John. We did not have time to see much more than the front and I would have loved to see inside.

 

With all of the stops we made, we were still back in town and at the bazaar by a little after noon so you could still see a lot and just not bother to shop, if that was your preference, and still be back in lots of time for all aboard.

Thank you, I appreciate your thoughts. We aren't shoppers so would probably forego those stops. Thanks again for your reply.

We use Ali (Ali Baba Taxi aka Ephesus Taxi Service) on our port day in Kusadasi last October. I did a lot of looking around and pricing and his price was very appealing and he had some good reviews on Trip Advisor. I thought it would just be a transport but it was a full tour stopping at Ephesus (the main attraction for us), Selcuk, Basilica of St. John, Artemis Temple as well as a stop at a carpet maker (where there was, happily, no high pressure sales pitch) as well as a leather shop with some beautiful products on offer. We decided not to go to the House of Mary due to time however, it was one of the options he would have taken us to see.

 

We highly recommend Ali. He was very professional and proficient in English as well as very charming. He had a great sense of humor and was very flexible and let us design our itinerary for the day. His van was very clean and comfortable and he offered on board wifi, as well. I think the cost was around 80 euros for all six of us (total, not per person) for approximately 5 hours. We were only in port from 7am until 2pm.

 

I blogged about our day in Kusadasi on my cruise blog and also have some photos there as well.

Our stop in September is only 7am to 1 pm, so wondering if we had to cut something out of the tour you did, what would you eliminate?

Thanks.

I have booked an excursion with Nigel at shoreexcursions.co.uk but am now unable to get ahold of him. I have sent him numerous emails and also phoned but to no avail. Has anyone had any contact with him recently and, if so, how did you reach him?

Thanks

Alison

We have booked an excursion with Nigel at shoreexcursions.co.uk, however, I am now unable to get ahold of him. I have sent numerous emails and I also phoned but to no avail. Is anyone else dealing with him and, if so, have you been able to reach him.

Thanks

Alison

We are doing a Gems of the Danube cruise with ScenicTours, this will be our first river cruise. Can anyone tell me how much, if any, time you have to look around on your own after or before taking the included tours.

Thanks.

Thanks, we are staying at the Renaissance and sailing out of San Pedro, so I guess we have a few options.

The two closest airports are LAX and Long Beach. The advantage to LAX is that it is large and there are lots of flights in and out. Long Beach is smaller, only 44 flights a day. Easy in and out--but if there is a problem with your flight--you may not get here or home unless than send you to LAX (which has happened to me when I was flying out of Long Beach to Seattle once.)

 

I would pick the one with the best flight schedule/cost for you.

 

From LAX I would take one of the shared shuttles--SuperShuttle or PrimeTime. From Long Beach, I think the shared shuttles, which have to be booked in advance, cost about the same for two as a cab. So, I would take a cab.[/quote

Do we have to book ahead for the shared shuttles out of LAX?

Thanks

Go see Michael at:

Off the Vine Wines

600 S Pacific Ave Suite #103

San Pedro Ca. 90731

(424) 224-2293

 

It's about two very short blocks from the Crowne Plaza...

Crowne Plaza is at 6th and Centre...Off the Vine is at 6th and Pacific...

Is this store within walking distance of the cruiseship terminal or do you know if their is a wine store near the Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach?

Thanks

Raging debate is putting it mildly...

 

I've lived all around the greater Los Angeles area all my life...I know these areas fairly well...I would NOT stay at this Best Western. I tried to help these folks out by being blunt with them...but, somehow, the one who's actually stayed there once and was willing to overlook the overwhelming negatives got insulted that I said one would have to lower their standards to find it "a great hotel"...Now, the other poster to that thread has taken to personally attack me. I was only trying to help. That said, I will push on...

 

 

 

It is definitely NOT in the "nicest area"...and it's not that nice a hotel. It's at least a couple of miles north of the nice, touristy area of Long Beach. It is surrounded by auto repair and auto body shops, sketchy retail and questionable apartment/residential areas. It is fronted by the Metro train line with a station across the street. The Best Wester itself is really a second class motel property--marginally acceptable as long as you are not expecting a nice hotel and are willing to stay in a very mid level motel, it is "okay" at bast--thin walls, few amenities...

 

That is okay with some people...Perhaps my standards are a bit higher. When I vacation, I like to feel like I am in a nice hotel with good amenities and public areas...and in a neighborhood where I feel safe and comfortable walking outside the hotel...and where there are convenient shops and a variety of acceptable to good restaurant choices. This Best Western is not that.

 

If you are sailing out of San Pedro--which, apparrently you are--on Princess, correct?--I would stay in San Pedro, preferably at the Crowne Plaza for convenience, otherwise at the Doubletree for atmosphere and surroundings...Both are nice hotels and much closer to your ship...

 

The reason to stay in Long Beach if you are cruising out of San Pedro would be if you had a little extra time and wanted to spend it at the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Queen Mary, etc. and to have the selection of Long Beach shops and restaurants. To take advantage of that, best to be in the prime area of Long Beach--in the vicinity of the Pike and Aquarium. The hotels I think are prime there are the Hyatt, Westin, Renaissance and Hyatt at the Pike...and, secondarily (a little farther away but still nice) the Hilton, Maya Doubletree and Residence Inn Downtown. That would be my short list for those wishing to stay in Long Beach for whatever reason (usually to sail from the Carnival pier). The area these hotels are in is a bit more upscale, convenient to all the attractions and a wide variety of nicer restaurants...and close to the Carnival pier. Long Beach changes drastically just moving a couple of blocks to the north of this area...

 

Good luck...

Thank you, I very much appreciate this and will be cancelling my reservation at the Best Western and probably book the Crowne Plaza or Doubletree.

Just booked this hotel for our cruise in May but now reading some reviews that say it is not in the nicest area and no restaurants around it, would the Crowne Plaza be better or should we look at something in Long Beach or another area near San Pedro?

Thanks

The two closest airports are LAX and Long Beach. The advantage to LAX is that it is large and there are lots of flights in and out. Long Beach is smaller, only 44 flights a day. Easy in and out--but if there is a problem with your flight--you may not get here or home unless than send you to LAX (which has happened to me when I was flying out of Long Beach to Seattle once.)

 

I would pick the one with the best flight schedule/cost for you.

 

From LAX I would take one of the shared shuttles--SuperShuttle or PrimeTime. From Long Beach, I think the shared shuttles, which have to be booked in advance, cost about the same for two as a cab. So, I would take a cab.

Thank you for the information, I appreciate it.

Sorry if this has been asked before. We are flying from Seattle to depart from LA on the Star Princess in May. Could you tell me which would be the best airport to fly into?

Thank you.