fizzy1

Could someone explain to me what the difference id between a guarantee cabin and actually selecting your cabin on booking ?

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Yes Jody75. Igree

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No !! Don't cancel!!! Did our first cruise on Celebrity 4 years ago. Baltic on Eclipse . Only sailed with Cunard up to then . Just booked med cruise on Silhouette for Sep next year. Enough said

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Been with her for the past 2 weeks on Eclipse around the Baltics, got back on Saturday, she was fab

Thnx so VERY much . now if only the damn player works and the piano is reasonably in tune.

 

Harry

What makes it funnier is that it is true![ATTACH]258046[/ATTACH]

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

 

"When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do!"

Walt Disney

good for you,

Ditto to that fizzy! If we try to do everything the first time around, we will be left with no excuse to return for a second time around! When will you be traveling?

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

 

"When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do!"

Walt Disney

Middle of Aug, canrt wait, first cruise with Celebrity, infact first Port cruise, only been on two TA with Cunard and thats it !! scarry !!

LOL! I can so relate! You should see my travel binder. I have to pay extra to check it on the plane!

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

 

"When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do!"

Walt Disney

lolol !!!

Fizzy

 

Just a heads up on this Comfort Tour. Just be aware that it does not include two of the more frequented places in St Petersberg, St Isaac's Cathedral and the very popular Yusupov’s Palace. These are very popular places to visit. The price is very good, but you will be missing some of the highlights of St Petersberg.

 

Cheers

 

Len

thanks for the info Len, want to leave some things to do for when we go back under our own steam !! will make a note

Appreciate your nice and kind comments. YES!! That advance research and planning BOTH helps make things smoother during the trip, plus adds to the understanding for ALL of what you are seeing and doing.

 

We are looking forward to our first “down under” visit, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Celebrity Solstice sailing, departing Sydney, doing 14 days on this ship we loved in the Med in June 2011. We will be finishing in Auckland. Plus, doing some pre-cruise options for Cairns/Port Douglas, the Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef, then Kangaroo Island near Adelaide before departing from Sidney’s scenic harbor. And, probably post-cruise in Queenstown and stopping in Hawaii on the way home to break up that long, long flight back. Been doing lots to prepare during the past nine months and have over 600 pages of "stuff" on my laptop computer file for this trip. Fortunately, the Internet, plus lots of good books from the library, allows pulling together great info and options to consider. Much easier to do that prep these days!! Plus, wonderful info and great people on these CC Boards.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 92,491 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

WOW !!! thats one hell of a trip !! fantastic, cant wait to read your report

Hence my favorite saying that the planning is almost as much fun as the vacation! Good to know that there are other "fanatic planners" out there!

 

 

Dolfans

YES !!! the planning IS as much fun as the vacation its self !! infact a few years ago we had to hold back a bit on the planning as the vacation itself was becoming a bit of an anti climax !!!!! so we now know how much to prepare before hand and make ourselves go off piste sometimes !!

We also have our confirmed 2 Day Comfort Tour through Alla! She is wonderful and very professional. We are very pleased with the customer service we have received thus far. Can't wait until we finally get to meet her!

Same with us, great price, did u get quoted $275, hope so, if not , get back to them.Great price, cant wait

From our previous travels to these great cities/ports of Europe, here are some of my book and research tips. You might grab, maybe from your public libraries or ask for them to do a book transfer they can process for you, such super excellent visual books such as Eyewitness, Insight, etc. Rick Steves, Fodors, Frommers, Lonely Planet, etc., can work well, too. In my opinion, no one travel book has it "ALL", perfectly and completely for all of your needs. These resources, especially the visual ones, can help you better figure out your priorities, in advance, for what you want to do and see. That early research is very important. Don't wait until you get on the ship to "GUESS" what might be of interest. I always build a "file" on my laptop computer for each port stop with highlights from that reading and then pulling up stories/articles from the travels sections of the New York Times, Telegraph of London, Wikipedia, etc. All of those help to consider your many great options. Amazon can be very good in providing such books at reduced prices, plus some used books websites. Lots of great options!!! Especially in these days of the Internet, it makes things easier to research and plan ahead. You can use Google.com for great access to various text items, plus a wide variety of visuals and maps. One option for some private tour and other local options is to contract the tourism office in each of your ports. You can use Google.com and put in the search term such as "city/port name tourism office". Then follow-up to each of those office by e-mail, ask your questions, get their suggestions, options to consider, etc.

 

As you pull together this info, it easier to go back to read, re-read items, pull out key highlights using the cut and paste computer features, etc. We are doing New Zealand and Australia in early 2014 and I have already pull together over 600 pages of info, news clips, options, etc. Then, there are my photo files. I will search Google.com or Bing.com in the images section to look at visual examples for these key places we are going to visit for the first time. The visuals in both travel books and from the Internet really help get a "picture" for what to do and visit.

 

Then there is the question of what and how do you want to “ENJOY" and "EXPERIENCE" things in the Baltics, etc? Rush-rush and gulp it down like soda pop or beer . . . OR . . . sip and savor the moment like fine wine, doing people watching, sensing an enjoyment of life and the humanity, the architecture, history and charm? It's your choice. I just wanted to be honest and make sure you understand your options and timing trade-offs.

 

St. Petersburg Guides??

The honest truth is that there are a number of very good to excellent private firms in St. Petersburg. Most people liked their tour and will beat the drums and say theirs are the "best". Of course, they have only tried one and do not have much real sense of "comparison". It is my suggestion to write to four or five of the top firms, tell them exactly what you want, seek and love. See what you get back and which one is the "best fit" for your specific personal needs and travel style. Some people are very happy and satisfied with the basic, standard "formula" tour that is offered up. I am NOT a big fan, however, of "one size fits all".

 

Others, like us, want things to be a little more custom. In our "planning process", I asked lots of questions (after doing some advance reading and research) and got back many good replies (quickly) from Anastasia that helped me get my arms around the many options in St. Petersburg. Getting your trip "flow" and "pacing" is very important for St. Petersburg. We were super happy with how it all worked in having a great mix for what we saw and how it fit together. Another key factor is their "flexibility". Once in Russia and doing the first day, we asked about a couple of "schedule adjustments" and they got things done in a smooth and excellent manner. One item was a request to stop at a shop to buy a Russian-style military hat and I asked about getting an early admission at the Hermitage to avoid some of the bus/mass crowds at the regular hour. Making things custom and personal was very important to us. Some firms are flexible and very responsive. Others are not that way, nor interested or caring. You need to determine what you want and need.

 

Just like there are many different sizes, styles and types of shoes, the same is true with private tour companies. We don't all wear and have same types of shoes for all needs, occasions and purposes. Below are a few of my visual samples to get folks prepared for the great glories that are there in St. Petersburg.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

oh Terry !! you are after my own heart !! we have always planned our vacations worldwide, like you, i thought we were the only travelers that did this !! We even go as far as reseaching eating places, making lists of three or four different restaurant choices in loads of different types of dining, eg, casual, formal, chinese, italian, spanish, mexican etc, etc.We generally stick to it and have never been let down ! sometimes we dont stick to it, but boy! has it been fun doing the research!!! Our holidays dont last 2 weeks, they last a year !! , happy travels, happy times, wonderfull memories !June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelonathat had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 114,555 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at: oh oh s

Speaking of ALLA, I just received their latest price list you might be interested in:

 

"Dear Friends,

Happy New Year to you and your families!

I am writing to inform you about availability of early tour booking discounted prices for our tours in St Petersburg!

Cost of St Petersburg group tours is:

St Petersburg Grand tour $325 is changed to $300 pp

St Petersburg Comfort tour $300 is changed to $275USD pp

St Petersburg 3-day Grand tour $420USD pp changed to $385USD pp

 

Our pricing policy for the early booking of the package tours has been changed as well:

1. Now we offer booking packages with as many cities as you wish starting form just 2 cities! It gives you extra package discount when booking 2, 3, 4 or 5 cities!

2. Our 5h Stockholm Grand tour includes both Vasa museum and City hall inside visits

 

Cost of our most popular 4-city and 5-city packages is:

4 city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn and Berlin 480USD pp

4-city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn and Stockholm 450USD pp

5 city package with St Petersburg 2-day tour, Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm and Berlin is $575USD pp"

 

We are going to SPG in July on the Marina. Alla asked me to post these price changes on CC. I receive no compensation, etc. Maybe a 'spasiba' when we get there. :)

glad you posted this, i too, was about to, been emailing Alla since our first enquiry last nov, fantastic service, just formaly booked with these excellent prices last week, cant wait

"Will you really be able to not see your family and friends for months at a time?" - debshomespun

 

Yeah - Finally a plan to avoid Uncle "lampshade" Robert.:)

lol !! if i was single, with no family, i would think it would be fantastic.Company when you want it, not when u had to !! new faces, new stories, great food, entertainment, constant change of sceenery, nice bedroom, library, casino, swimming pool, spa and gym, uuuggghh? nobrainer there i think!!

7193 on the Eclipse is over lifeboats (actually the largest ones - tenders)

 

lol !! at least its below us !! so we shouldnt see it too much when we are sitting down , am i right, please say im right

7147 is "yes or now".

It does not have a lifeboat below on Solstice, Equinox and Eclipse.

However, an open smoking area is one deck below.

 

Silhouette and Reflection have additional lifeboats that affected 4-5 cabins forward from the hump angle on decks 6 and 7 on both sides.

 

7147 is #6, so it's not too bad.

 

7147 is corresponding to 7194 on the opposite side.

 

we are in 7193 on Eclipse, never sailed before with Celebity, is our state room next door to this one on Eclipse too, with no life boat under ? Hope we have picked an ok room

Coming up for my first Celebrity Cruise, hence the query:

'Do the Celebrity ships (Solstice in my case) have a passenger choir, like the Princess Pop Choirs I have sung with on that Line?'

interesting.We are taking our first Celebrity cruise next summer.As i make my living teaching singing, i might see if i can organize a daily sing, as my husband teaches music too, so can play piano. That would be such fun and i can garentee that by the end of the 2 weeks we will be able to give a little concert. What fun !!!

Does anyone have or know where I can find a floor plan for the Duplex apartments, aka Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, located forward on Deck 10? Even a description if there are no plans available. One of the interests that I have about these apartments is the private elevator access. I would like to know where it is and how it "relates" to the rest of the suite. I am also curious as to the layout of the veranda with respect to the direction it faces and whether it is affected by wind since it's a forward facing suite.

thanks everyone, we are doing self disembarkation, so we should be faily near the front of the line if we have to wait for a cab, our flight to orlando is not untill 14:30, so if we have to wait an hour in the line, there's probabley more to keep us amused watching the hustle and bustlel at the port than in ANOTHER airport!!!

is there a set taxi fare from qm2 dock in NY to LGA, if not , what sort of prices have passengers paid so far, is it the same sort of price whether you take a waiting taxi or a sedan car

no problem, my friend and I, we are two staight ladies went transatlantic last year on the QM2 with our four friends who are two male gay couples, we had a fab time and thank god for us otherwise the evenings in the theatre would have been very low key and boring for the artists taking part!!!! go, you will have a great time, there were other gay couples on board apart from our party