themnms

51 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Please read the tipping thread at the top of the board. Tipping is not necessary in Australia and New Zealand. It is not part of out culture. The people conducting the tours are volunteers and they do it because they love it. You could perhaps offer to buy them a coffee or a cold drink or snack to say thank you.

 Thank you so much. I did not want to offend anyone but do like to show my appreciation!

On 11/9/2023 at 5:16 AM, Torfamm said:

We took the free Greeters Choice walking tour offered by Brisbane Greeters yesterday and really enjoyed it. 
 

They offer free tours led by volunteers daily and it’s well worth considering 

 

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/whats-on-in-brisbane/brisbane-greeter-program

Do you tip them at the end? 

Hello All,

We are scheduled there 7am to 4pm. Anyone have recommendations? I am sure this is a tender port and my sister and I have never been. We are physically able but not necessary the fittest! Any idea , inputs really appreciated!!

thanks for this info! We are going to be there for 6 days. Any other tips?

Hello

I have a party of 6 arriving into Miami on the Carnival Horizon. Our flights leave from Mia at 5pm though international so we need to check in 2 hours before.

Does anyone have any input for a company to pick us up with luggage and offer a tour or everglades with a drop back to Miami airport about 3ish

Thanks in advance

Last time in Jamaica we were in Montego Bay and had a great day at Sunset Beach. Can anyone recommend a similar option for Ocho Rios that has a great pool/lazy river, drinks and food? Thanks in Advance. We will be on the Carnival Horizon in Dec

I am wondering why they are still sending out promotional emails for the Australia sailings. I went and booked a "great" deal and did not realize we could not travel to Australia. Not sure how it will work as it did state it was a  non refundable deposit. I would really love to go but all the research I have now done clearly looks like they will not open the borders

13 hours ago, pettums said:

This is very helpful. A long time ago on the dawn I got them to bring out a secret remote control to switch the inputs on our TV but that was just after the refurbishment and when they had removed the DVD players, and I got them to fix up a DVD player. 

We have used an HDMI and universal remote in the past. Most of the time we have been successful. Only one time it did not work and that was because we could not get to the HDMI

14 hours ago, june123 said:

we just got off the Star on Saturday after one of our best cruise ever x weather was great and we had no problems with missed ports or late arrival in port . She`s running lovely at the moment .

Hope this helps everyone xx

Great to hear!! We board on the 15th!!

On 2/1/2020 at 8:06 PM, pghflyer said:

Well, they did finally write me back this evening to confirm everything.  I have generally found Grey Line to be a different animal than these small 15 or less person tours. Actually GVTours also sells through Viator, so you could end up with them from there (just pay a little extra as they raise their price for the Viator referral fee).  I also consider the cruise line offerings differently as they are much more expensive and usually larger groups.  Anyhow, lots of variety for everyone.  I'll update this with our experience on this company.

So glad you got a response!  We used Greyline in Brazil a couple of years ago and the tours were fine. Just a few more people on them than we prefer! 

8 hours ago, pghflyer said:

 

You are lucky. I emailed them a few questions a month ago....never heard back.....went ahead and submitted a reservation form through their site.....never heard anything from them @ their supposed communication timeframe of "30-days prior"....emailed them the beginning of this week....nothing.......not a great start for a company we were hoping to do 2 tours with (Santiago-Valparaiso-SanAntonio; and PuertoMontt-Osorno Volcano-Petrohue-PuertoVaras). 

 

I guess with your 12 you have already filled their truck so perhaps not a good sign.  I am mainly just wondering if these are even going!!

One of my group have them booked in Puerto Montt also. She told me she used WhatsApp worked much better!! Re our group from Santiago, yes I think we got one bus as we are all at the DoubleTree.. Try WhatsApp

We found our room steward much more friendly and helpful last time than the butler. The tip at the end reflected this!

13 hours ago, mapleleaves said:

 

There's a Carrefour supermarket about 4 blocks away on Las Ramblas, a 5 minute walk.

Go right as you exit the hotel, walk 2 blocks, take a right onto Las Ramblas and it will be on your right after about 2 blocks.   ( the Boqueria Market is only 2 blocks further)

 

I think there was a 7-11 type store across the street from the hotel.

Perfect and thanks so much for the reply!!

On 1/14/2020 at 2:40 PM, pghflyer said:

Interesting.

 

I think this will likely have limited success against citizens of other countries. More I think the South America section here on CC is a little less active than other areas, but what do I know.

 

Nevertheless, I contacted them on Jan 05, and after not getting a response went ahead and made a reservation anyhow on Jan 08.  Still have yet to hear anything from them on that original question, and their automated responses indicate we shouldn't expect to hear anything from them until 30 days prior.

I booked my group of 12 for the transfer and tour. It did take two emails but they responded. Since we are on the same sailing I cannot review them yet!! !!

For those who have stayed there is there a supermarket close by?

2 hours ago, lanceholt said:

This is per cabin.  We find that we use the concierge a lot and that makes a huge difference in the quality of our cruise.  A good concierge can ease so many things for you on your cruise, and we reward that.  We use the butler for room service and of course he/she provides the usual service delivered in suites.....last really great butler we had has been promoted to concierge.

thanks for all your help!!

12 hours ago, herdingdogmom said:

It will be clearly stated on your account once onboard, but I think it will be non refundable.  Use the OBC for dinners, drinks, excursions, spa, etc.

We were given specialty dinner, drinks etc!! 

4 hours ago, lanceholt said:

We take  14 day cruises, nearly always in a suite.  We tip according to service.  We once had a butler who was horrible, so he got no tip.  Likewise we once had a concierge who appeared only on last day of cruise....thinking of her tip obviously, she always got nothing.  We tip a very good concierge $150 or above and tip a very good butler $100 or a little more.   We also tip our steward around $50 and more if he is very good.  YMMV.  There are no "rules".  

Is this based on cabin or PP? Just wondering. We did a suite once and left approx the same but the butler had the 150 and concierge 100. This was because we felt the butler was more on point!

Hi

We were given 3 of these from NCL as our cruise cost dropped dramatically after full payment. I have looked all over and these do not say non refundable. My question is may I use them towards the gratuities?

Thanks in advance

that is great to know. I could not find that information anywhere and we fell in love with them on the Pearl! 14 days will go very quickly on them!!

On 8/23/2019 at 5:20 PM, Stealthdog said:

We did the museum pass this summer for our stay in Venice post cruise.  Definitely worth it.  They have several options for museum passes.

 

My partner had a good time with the spa on the Star.  It was one of his favorite spas on NCL.

 

Kotor is very easy to do on your own.  Walking to the city walls and buying the tip separately is definitely doable.  Hope they port there on your cruise!

Hey, Saw your note on the Spa. Does it have the heated loungers now? We loved them on the Pearl and the Breakaway. We are taking the Star for a South American cruise in Feb and wondering if we need to get Spa Passes.

Thanks in advance

39 minutes ago, BTromboneFrack said:

My wife has mobility issues too.   They do have handicapped parking right next to the elevators, however, they were already filled up when we got there.   It was easy to get to another parking spot and do a short walk.  Carnival is great at getting handicapped people into the right lines and through the system.   

 Thank you for the information!! That is good to know!

I am sailing with my Grandmother so will park at the port as I have to get her mobility scooter out. Does anyone know if they have handicapped parking. Will it be easy for me to get to the terminal with her. Last time we sailed from Nola she did not have mobility issues.

thanks in advance

nice list!!

thanks

>>We liked the indian dishes they had on the buffet.<<

 

Glad to see these are still available. We're going on the Jewel next month, and were last on that ship many years ago. Whenever we were in the mood for "something different" at the buffet, the Indian dishes always filled the bill.

I have always enjoyed the Indian offerings.

Does anyone know if Cagneys still have the mini sliders as an appetizer? They were my absolute favorite on the Pearl and the Sky, but no so much on the Breakaway