sabrefan

Going on a upcoming cruise on Konsingdam. Originally booked in a Veranda cabin on deck 8, now booked in a Vista Suite on deck 5. Just wondering which of these cabins has a larger balcony?

My wife and I went on our first Mediterranean cruise last year on the Oceania Marina from Venice to Monte Carlo. This a fantastic cruise, really loved Venice. One thing that struck me was no customs arriving in the Venice Airport and no customs in Monte Carlo. After the cruise we spent 2 nights at the Hyatt in Nice. Again no customs stop from Monte Carlo to Nice. Very sad what happened in Nice, the people there were very friendly and to think that a number of people lost their life's just in front of the Hyatt Hotel. My wife. And I have a cruise on Konsingdam out of Amsterdam on August 14th. We too are concerned about possible terrorists but refuse to let them win. You should avoid crowds if possible just as the U.S. State Dept. suggests. You should be aware of your surroundings at all times because you never know when a attack might happen. I would avoid all forms of mass transit as one example.

My wife and I will be going on our first HAL cruise in August. We will be going on Konsingdam out of Amsterdam. We chose this cruise for the itinerary as we will get to see Scotland, Iceland and Norway. We are also interested on going on a new ship as well. We are Elite members on Celebrity and have sailed on Oceania 4 times. I must admit I do miss the perks that I get with Celebrity. I don't know what the Oosterdam is like but I see that the Celebrity Reflection is in the western Mediterranean in May 2017. We have cruised on her 3 times and she is a great ship. We too always go aqua class on Celebrity. Blu restaurant and the. Speciality restaurants on Celebrity are all very good. Overall I think Celebrity is a better value than HAL. Although if I had perks with HAL I may think differently. We did Venice to Monte Carlo on Ocenia Marina last year and it was great. I think you have to balance itinerary, cruise ship, amenities and cost.

Going on Konsingdam out of Amsterdam in August. I am a first time cruiser on HAL. Do the slot machine accept and pay in $US dollars or Euros? Can you buy a debit card from the casino in advance for slot machines? I would prefer not to take an advance against my cabin.

My advice for trip photography would be this. A DSLR is only necessary if you want to do some creative photography which includes taking photos with more than one lens. Always a good idea to make sure your batteries are fully charged. If you encounter problems with your camera after knowing your battery is charged make sure your contacts on your battery and camera are clean of any debris. If you bought a new camera before your dream cruise, make sure you use at home a few times in order to improve your level of confidence in your new equipment. I also take a point and shoot waterproof camera with me as a backup and also in case it rains. Cheaper DSLR camera could be affected by rain.

Going on Koningsdam in August. We have a Vista Suite, is there a separate boarding lane in Amsterdam for Suite customers? Are all cabin classes available for initial entry at the same time on HAL?

I am a first time cruiser on Holland America, will be on the Konsingdam in August. Will I be able to find diet tonic on board at any of the ship bars?

Have been on Solstice class ships 5 times, Reflection (2)' Eqinox (2) and Solstice (1). Always have gone on aqua class. The big advantage here is separate specialty restaurant, Blu for aqua class passengers. Going on Konsingdam on 8/14/16, I hope this ship is as good as Celebrity solstice class.

Thank you all for the advice. My wife and I are both fit and enjoy walking, especially in cities. The ship stays overnight and we will take the Golden Circle tour on our second day. We will take this path walk up into the city.

Going on a cruise on the Infinity out of Buenos Aires in March 2017. What is the area near the cruise port like? Is there shopping and restaurants outside the cruise terminals? How safe is this area?

Just wondering what the port area in Reykjavik is like within walking distance? Are there restaurants, shops and pubs nearby? Will be stopping there in August while on the Koningsdam.

My wife and I will be making our first cruise on Holland America Koningsdam on 8/14/16 for 14 nights. We are regular cruisers on Celebrity and Oceania. Oceania has no formal nights and Celebrity just recently eliminated the formal night. How many formal nights can we expect to see on this 14 night cruise on Holland America?

What is the usual percentage of passengers who don't get dressed up on the formal nights on Holland America?

Going on the Infinity from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso in March 2017. I suspect our flight on Delta from Santiago to Atlanta will be late at night. Excursions with Celebrity after embarking and then back to Santiago airport don't look at that great.

Looking for local tour companies that may offer better alternatives. Also, should we stay in Santiago one or two nights before flying back to Atlanta? What is the typical taxi cost from Santiago to the airport and also from Valapraiso to the airport?

I have been on 3 different S class ships and all offered discounted specialty restaurant packages when you arrived on board. We are going on our first M class ship, the Infinity in March 2017. Does Celebrity also offer specialty restaurant packages on M class ships?

My wife and I will be sailing on Koningsdam on 8/14/16 cruise. We have cruised on Celebrity before and often buy a specialty restaurant dining package when we get on board. This will be our first cruise on HAL. Does anyone know if a specialty dining package be available on board or should I purchase before boarding?

My wife and I leave on Reflection 2/27. We are driving to Florida from New York State two weeks before this cruise leaves. This will be our 6th cruise on Celebrity, always were able to get baggage tags in advance with no real problems on previous trips. My travel agent requested tags for us and nothing was received. I also requested via the web site and no tags. Last week I called and Celebrity told me that they had never been ordered. I told them that we leave for Florida on 2/14, they told me that the rep. could not put a rush on them. I understand cruise lines wanting to cut costs but how much can pre printed paper with adhesive backing cost the cruise line? They should easily be able to absorb this cost with their savings of fuel costs.

Thank you all for all your valuable input. After reading all the replies we have decided to stick with Infinity for this cruise since we are booked into Aqua Class will be at Elite status for this cruise plus we will have gratuities paid for. We will also get the standard 123 go drink package and $375 worth of on board credit.

My wife and I have also cruised on Oceania 4 times and we were on the Regatta on a cruise to Alaska in June 2014. Oceania has a good reputation but the ship just came out of dry dock and had numerous problems including no hot water for 3 days in our cabin. I am wondering about the Infinity having some abnormal problems just recently coming out of dry dock as well? Lesson learned here.

Currently booked on the Celebrity Infinity in March 2017 going from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso. Have read numerous bad reviews regarding Celebrity and the Ininity. I am at Elite status on Celebrity but not sure that makes a big difference. I am considering switching to the Crown Princess of Princess cruises. Some slight differences in itinerary. I have been on two previous Princess cruises in the past with no major complaints. Just wondering how people out there feel about Celebrity vs Princess?

Currently at select level of captains club, 14 more points then I will be at elite level. Going Aqua Class on an upcoming cruise in February where I will have enough points for elite part way through the cruise. Wondering if Celebrity will grant me any elite benefits on this upcoming cruise?

We live in Rochester, NY and are frequent flyers on Delta. We went on a Celebrity cruise last year from Sydney to Auckland. We flew to San Francisco on Delta through Atlanta and spent two nights in San Fran to help with jet lag in Australia. We then took Air New Zealand from San Fran to Melbourne. We spent a few nights in Melbourne before flying to Sydney for the cruise. We then took Air New Zealand back to San Fran and then transferred to Delta in San Fran to fly back home. Air New Zealand was very nice and had the best prices at the time.

We have been on 3 Oceania cruises so far and have another one coming up in October. One on the Regatta and two on the Riviera. We have been on the Celebrity Equinox twice, the Celebrity Reflection twice and we were just on the Celebrity Solstice this past February. We usually sail in Aqua Class on Celebrity and Concierge class on Oceania. The food on Oceania is better than Celebrity. In fact on this last Celebrity cruise I felt the food quality has slipped some. Sailing on Celebrity in Aqua class you do have Blu restaurant but it seems their menu never changes. Also, Oceania has no formal nights which I think is a great idea. Even though Celebrity has formal nights, I feel that people don't dress up as much as they used to. I will say this though that the specialty restaurants on Celebrity are as good as those on Oceania. Of course you pay extra on Celebrity for the specialty restaurants. The other nice thing about Oceania is because they have smaller ships their itinaries are more unique.

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Thank you all for your input and past experiences. Regarding going to Florence for museums, the Marina will be in port on a Monday. As I understand it most all museums are closed on Monday. Therefore it may be a easy decision to go. To Cinque Terra. Still doing so more research on this.

Phillygirl2, thank you for your reply. Currently I am looking at shore excursions for both tours through Oceania. The. Cinque Terra tour also stops at 3 or 4 towns. Weather in early to mid October should be perfect unless it rains.

My wife and I will be sailing from Venice on the Marina for 10 day cruise on October 4, 2015. After spending 3 days in Venice the cruise stops in Dubrovnik, Kotor, Taormina, Sorrento/Capri, Rome, Florence and ends in Monte Carlo. I know we will be seeing a lot of old structures on this trip and I am thinking that by the time we get to Florence it may be time to see some another type of scenery. This is why I am taking of going to Cinque Terra instead of going into Florence. We are in Florence on a Monday and have read that museums are sometimes closed on Monday. Photography is also a hobby of mine and I love taking pictures of landscapes and wildlife. Landscape photos of Cinque Terra on line look spectacular. Just wondering what others think of my logic regarding skipping going on a tour into Florence or not?

My wife and I will be sailing on the Marina departing Venice on 10/4/15. One stop will be Rome (Civitavecchia). Been to Rome before and want to do a different shore excursion. Trying to decide between two possibilities. One is a visit to Orvieto, Italy. This tour is 10.5 hrs.. The other tour is a visit to Bracciano Lake along with a visit to a local winery. This second tour is 4.5 hrs. long.

Any suggestions from members who have done either of these would be helpful.