flcruiselovers

Yes the cabin we got on the Pride was on Deck 3, which are porthole cabins.  The problem I have is the agency website I went to , *****.com, only lists 2 categories of cabins.. balcony and non balcony suite, and only 2 prices.  First time on Windstar, did not know they had porthole cabins.

I booked a non balcony and got the porthole, no one informed me of this. Clearly looks like the 

price is the same on the website. When booking I was not informed, or even given the choice to pay more and get a full window view cabin.

WE just booked a cruise on the Pride and are very upset that Windstar and my agent did not inform

us that there are Porthole rooms in the front and they are NOT the full window view of other ocean view rooms.  Buyer Beware !  Looking for a refund but no luck.. Bad on you Windstar.

We were booked on May 29 sailing for 14 days.. a circle the uk trip including Dublin.. 

We were offered a cruise on June 22 for 14 days to norway and iceland, from copenhagen.

Those who aren't booked think this is fantastic.. those displaced cruisers probably not so much.

We understand the world situation and took it in stride.. but paid for airfare, hotels pre and post cruise and private shore excursions booked will all have to be begging for a refund.

Fortunately we are retired and can accommodate the change.  We feel good for the refugees, but don't think HAL is doing this out of compassion.. its business, and a PR bonus. The Volendam is an old ship and probably wasn't booked past 50% anyway.

would like to know how far a walkit is from cruise port to the Epic museum, or any bus info?

thanks

I am renting a car there from Orkney car hire in early june.

If you are flying in from the usa, the airline will verify and check your travel docs, including

any tests/vaccination requirements.  The time period 24/48 hrs is from your departure airport local

time.  American uses an app called verifly, and I think United uses Travelready program

Thanks for this info.. we will be there on 1JUN off of the Volendam Ship for the day.

Do you know of any tours than can be booked that hit all the highlights for the day, maybe in a small

group of 10 or so?

Thanks

Paul

We are 3 adults in town from 7a-3p on oct 4 on the NCL Epic ship.. would like to see one of the caves, Cave of ham or Cave of Drach.. which one is better? Can you do both in a timely manner?  Is Porto Cristo worth stopping at? I understand boats in the cave are not operation due to covid..?!

Can we take Bus 412 or Bus 416?  Which one is better?

IF we rent a car from your recommended "arash" agency listed, they have a 20 euro port drop fee.. where is there normal location for car pick up.. cant see it on their website..

Thanks!

From airport the Aerobus takes you right to plaza catalunya.. very easy and runs all day.. if you get a place near here it will save you on taxi.. for 3 rooms.. better off going to airbnb and see what you can find..?!

For cruisers who only have one day in port, I DO NOT recommend the citysightseeing hop on hop off bus. We tried to use it this month and had horrendous experience. We bought our tickets online and downloaded to my phone. The line at the stop by the ship was long, full of other cruisers. They had a staff member stationed there and I showed him my phone and he said wait in line. After 25 minutes and 2 buses, the driver refused to let us on because the tickets were not printed!! The staff offered no help in trying to get them printed. we walked around and found a university reception desk that helped us. 45 minutes later we are getting on the next bus. The top deck of the buses are always full, and the bottom are stifling hot with no air conditioning and only 4 tiny window vents for the whole lower section. The red line is thru a heavy traffic area and you could walk faster that the bus travelled , plus they wait at some stops 10-15 minutes.! The narration is very limited and they don't announce which stop you are at so its not easy to follow along on their map. We wasted all day sitting in traffic and didn't even complete one loop.. we got off at one stop and upon return waited 45 minutes for the next bus. DO NOT waste your money..and your valuable time!

My wife and I will be there May 8 on Navigator of the Seas. We are looking into renting a car or an all day tour.

In regards to my comments on the staff and cabin steward; I was not disappointed by No towel animals in my room, just stating some differences from other cruise lines. Frankly I don't care about them.

All we asked of our room steward was to have a full bucket of ice in our room from around 430 to 5 pm each day for our in room happy hr. We got ice 4 days and had to call for ice 3.

I don't care to become best friends forever with the staff and put them on the Christmas card list.. just noticed that they all seemed tired and didn't interact with each other very well..no one seemed to enjoy their job, that's all. I blame Carnival for they have cut staff on other cruise lines they own, so probably this one too..

Wanted to add that there were laundry machines on 4 decks.. free use of washers and dryers, irons, and free soap available.

Also the embarkation check for liquor in checked bags was very liberal..in carry on they adhere to (carnival corp) policy of one bottle of wine allowed per person.

Not sure how this helps as we have never cruised P&O. We are Americans just off our first Cunard cruise from Southampton. We have cruised at least 20 times over the yrs., on Celebrity, Holland America, Princess, NCL, and Carnival.

I put these in order of preference. Here are some observations from the Queen

Elizabeth.

First of all..there are two cruises going on at once.. the Suites and above with their own dining rooms and amenities, and everyone else. Guess that's why looking at prices Suites are so much more than balcony cabins.

As of July 29, no hot pots or kettles in the rooms.

But our balcony cabin was probably most comfortable bed we have ever cruised on, with duvets and wonderful pillows.

Big flat screen TV on wall with great picture and channel selection.

Small bottle of champagne on ice to welcome you on day 1.. nice touch!

Tune your tv to channel 40 (bridge camera) to hear announcements.

There is a storage drawer under foot of bed..another nice touch.

Many outlets in room but most are American type.

Room steward service was average compared to other ships..don't expect any

towel animals made each nite.

This Ship is exquisite, classy and well laid out. Most ships are a bit gaudy, glitzy and tacky. This ship is understated elegance.

The casino is quite small, and very quiet, but its a non-smoking ship, thank god.

The Library was most extensive we have seen on a ship. Used the internet briefly to check in for a flight, it was slow but managed to check in.. 75 cents per minute.

YOu can buy a coffee card for 10 cups of coffee that give you a 10% discount, still about $3.75 a cup. Coffee at lido and MDR is bitter, made tea drinkers out of us yanks!

MAIN activity on board with out a doubt is Ballroom Dancing. And most on the floor are quite good.

Formal nites were 75% Tuxes for men.

The Lido is casual, but you even see jackets worn there too.

The Service in the MDR was average to below average. We had late dining at 830 and often had to run to see a show starting at 1030. That is with a table for 8 that never had more than 6 at it.. They ask you 5 times if you want to buy wine, but never refill your bread or water glass.

We thought the food was only average too..perhaps we are not used to the British slant on the menu. Appetizers didn't look that appealing, unless you like the chilled soups.

I enjoyed the guest lecturers and comedian show. The dance troupe is typical.

Overall I found the staff to be polite and courteous, but not welcoming warm or energetic. Most are just putting in their time till their contract is over.

Shore excursions are overpriced, most cruises they are. In Flam Norway they sold a train ride for $126 each, but we just walked up to the train and bought tickets for less than half that.

This ship is incredible.. the rest of the experience puts it in line with Holland America in our view....

This is off topic, but maybe someone can tell me of a hotel that is walking distance to the cruise port.. we are leaving from berth 38/9 on Q. Elizabeth..thanks!

Upon consideration of our jetlag.. we are only going to go from LHR to

Windsor self tour and then drive to our hotel in Southampton. We have a car and hotel for 2 nites in Southampton.. On second day we will drive up from Southampton to Stonehenge and Salisbury for the day.

Even with the taxi fare from SOU to the cruise port, the car rental fare is much lower than turning in the car at city centre for some reason.

After the cruise we are looking at flights from SOU..the Southampton airport, and seems to be FLYBe is the airline to book on to Dublin or Scotland.. any experience on FlyBe? Thanks

We are booked on cruise July 22 but will fly into LHR on the 20th. Looking into a car rental one way to SOU the Southampton airport.Rates are lower to drop off at sou than in town of Southampton . Then we will tour Windsor castle and possibly Stonehenge on our way from Lhr to Southampton the first day. Not sure of travel times to drive this route tho

There is plenty of food.. but it is NOT like the main dining room, where you can order as much as you want.

Also.. if you order the tuna appetizer.. you will not get sushi grade tuna thinly sliced with wasabi as is the norm at most restaurants, instead its a chopped up blob held together with gelatin.. not good.

Last year the steak house was $35 each.. still the same?

We went on first nite for the free bottle.. 4 adults at one table.. they only gave us 1 bottle.. said its one per table.. we started to leave and they changed their mind.. how ridiculous.. $140 extra for 4, and they argue about a $5 wholesale bottle of wine..

I have come across 2 river cruise deals on the ms Mozart and other on the

Select Explorer.. and can't find much information on either one or the cruise line.

Both have no excursions, alcohol, or tips included.

Anyone with info on these Danube River cruisers, please advise! Thanks.

Sorry if I messed it.. but which boat is this a review of? Emerald cruise lines has a few I think.. and I am looking at booking one on the Emerald Sky..

I just booked a car at avis from their port location for the day.. will drive to Higuay to see the cathedral, then down to the Bahia beach area and maybe Altos too...Car was $25

I have found from 16 cruises on all the cruise lines from ports all over the world that its worth it to just wait to show up until about 230-3pm.. no lines usually just go right on. But you will miss 2500 people scrambling to get their first meal at the buffet..

Had less than impressive time on Miracle in June.. The wine special on first nite is 1 bottle per table, not per couple. We had 4 adults and they would only give us 1 bottle.. So we told them we would split up and dine separately to get the extra bottle and finally the mgr gave us the second bottle.. 4 adults pay the same amount as two couples.. so what gives? The tuna appetizer was NOT the sushi grade slices so common at good restaurants, but a chopped up pressed and formed patty that looked right out of a cat food can. You only get one appetizer, unlike the free dining room where you can have 2 or more. Steak had good flavor but was loaded with salt crystals.. First and last nite in main dining rooms are usually excellent meals without the upcharge and restrictions.

What is a fttf? how much is it? thanks...