clearlake_cruiser

On 5/29/2024 at 2:38 PM, windex said:

Hello , Can I buy a bus ticket directly from the bus drive

Yes, we did that from the free shuttle drop off outside the port gate, then a short walk across the roundabout to the city bus stop.  I believe the local bus fare was €1.50 per person & we paid with contactless credit card using an payment terminal onboard the bus. 

I agree completely with JBare above, great details re: bus numbers, the EMT app & route; exactly our experience too.

On 5/28/2024 at 7:40 PM, Mariester22 said:

The paid city center bus, so you have to be back at a certain time to get back to ship or are there multiple return times? Traveling with our four kids and trying to determine best way to navigate this port. We do not have excursion booked. Thought it was easy enough to explore/walk ourselves. Kids want to go to city of arts and science and see some of the old markets. 

Hi Mariester22,

We didn't use the ship paid city center bus. But I believe that they had multiple return times, with an announced "last bus pickup time" to make it back before all aboard. I think the city center bus would be better for visiting the central market & historic area. City of Arts and Sciences might be a trek on foot. Or you could use local transit once you're in city center. Check out the free app Moovit which has detailed bus, metro, etc ride mapping selections all over the world. Or Google Maps can do that for you.

*** Long post *** Maybe this will be useful to others arriving at Valencia for the day, seeking info on Taxi service from Muelle Cruceros (Valencia cruise pier for large ships)...

We just got off RCCL Voyager of the Seas May 1-16 2024 transatlantic ended in Barcelona Spain. For our Valencia port call, RCCL advised before arrival of only 3 options to get off. Pedestrians are not permitted to walk in the dock area (container port terminal): 1. Ship sponsored shore excursions; 2. Paid ship city center transfer bus round trip to downtown for $20 per person; or 3. Free bus transfer to port gate for access to public transportation. The ship implemented a free ticket system to manage crowds for the free bus to the port gate.

We had researched ride share app Cabify (like Uber) but they couldn't enter the port. We didn't know if taxis were only available at the ferry terminal Trasmed-Grimaldi which is outside the port gate & is where the free bus drops off & picks up.

Since we had an early independent excursion, and the port call was relatively short, we planned to get an early Free bus number & were able to get off quickly & then took a public bus for €1.50 per person. We had a 10 minute walk to our tour office which was all good. 

Unfortunately we failed to ask & RCCL made no mention of pier side taxi access, and we mistakenly assumed that fell in the category of public transportation. See below for signage and one-way taxi fare estimated costs to various locations.

Just called in to (800) 526-9723 to change/ update our amenities for upcoming cruise, and was disappointed to get redirected/ answered by a robot (without any option to press #9 as a Pinnacle)... Bunch of questions that didn't speed up the process. 10 minute hold time and then had to repeat my name and C&A number again. I don't see how this is an improvement?

Just returned yesterday from Symphony TA and also didn't get a final statement email. Just sent a request to royalguestrelations@rccl.com asking for it. Will follow up once received.

Onboard Symphony TA now, didn't know what happens if someone walks away from a slot machine without cashing out... Wife was playing video poker, another lady next to us (total stranger) gets up and leaves her machine. After a few minutes, the other lady hasn't come back. Her machine has $10 in credit & her casino account says Karen with xxx points. We ask another lady on the other side of us if she knows who it was but didn't. So I go to Cashier cage and a slot technician comes back with me. 

He says there's nothing they can do to put the credit back into Karen's account, and it will disappear. As soon as he leaves, the machine changed back to the idle state and I can't collect the $10. I didn't want to be accused of theft, but I was surprised they'd not make any effort to salvage the players funds. Oh well, live and learn.

1 hour ago, Airbear232 said:

Which dates are you on?  We’re on the Oct 8 out of Barcelona.

Hey Airbear232, We're on Oct 22 out of Barcelona (7-nights), and back to back on the transatlantic sailing. Hope you have a great cruise. If you can follow up later with info on MDR seating details, that would be awesome 👍

Hoping someone currently aboard Symphony can report back with how the Main Dining Room is set up.

Cruise Critic has an undated article that says Deck 3 and Deck 5 are traditional seating, and Deck 4 is MyTime.

We're trying to figure out where we want to request a good Table for 2 for Early seating on upcoming October cruises B2B. Don't want to be in the row of really close tables. 

Thanks in advance 

We had a difficult time May 4 disembarking Jewel of the Seas TA at Amsterdam cruise terminal with taxi service or Uber. Our hotel was Holiday Inn Express City Hall. Taxis outside were only interested in fares to Schiphol airport. We each had a large suitcase and didn't mind paying for taxi or Uber. However Uber could not find drivers & taxi quoted €40 for the very short trip (1.8km = 1mile). Fortunately weather was nice & we did it on foot but have never experienced such a problem with taxis & Uber.

Ship - Jewel of the Seas 

Deck - 8

Stateroom # - 8518

Stateroom Category – Balcony 

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard 

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Generally quiet, however balcony door whistling noise when ship was moving.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - Yes

Balcony View - 

Balcony Size? Normal

Was wind a problem? - Yes, balcony door whistling. Also with swells/ rough seas/ wind, the cabin walls popped loudly.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - not applicable 

Any specific problems with this cabin? - We had both sides of connecting cabins. We kept inside door between cabins open, but only 6 inches between door & bed. Also the outside balcony partition was solid & could not be opened ☹️

Any other comments? - Location on forward hallway was generally quiet. No noise from neighbors.

28 minutes ago, RatedPG said:

 

She filled in for Jamie F early this year.  Do you think she is CD on a more permanent basis?

Not sure... I just went down to Deck 4 where there's a photo collection of ship's management team, and it still shows Jeffrey Arpin as CD. When she introduced herself at the Welcome aboard show, she mentioned filling in but I didn't catch all the details. She's from Mexico and has a high-energy outgoing personality. Still don't know her last name, argh! 😟

Onboard Serenade OTS... Cruise Director is Jimena. I'll try to get her last name & post an update.

53 minutes ago, JennyB1977 said:

@clearlake_cruiser Do you have pics/video of 1108? There is video HERE, want to make sure nothing has changed since the video was taken. I'm booked in Voyager 1108 August 2023.

Hi JennyB,

No, we don't have any new video of 1108 but I watched the video you attached. It looks identical to how it was July 2022 for a Baltic cruise. Enjoy, it is a great cabin 🙂

Latest update... We skipped our day stop in Passau (arrgh) & squeezed under a bridge. No further issues expected.

Currently onboard Monarch Empress from Budapest to Amsterdam. We've appreciated all the excellent info on this chapter and the Rhine water level chapter. Just to provide an update today: we are hoping to dock at Passau in a few hours but we are worried about too much water!?! Here's the updated gauge chart. Keeping fingers crossed 🙂

We were in a CP balcony on Wonder April TA to BCN. We didn't know about the movie screen issue until shortly before sailing, and once onboard, we found out for ourselves it was really loud. Action movies with loud volume past 10:30pm. With all the 23-hour time changes we were already sleep deprived. Our original cabin was #12247, very close to the screen & speakers.

On 8/4/2022 at 3:03 PM, SpainAlien said:

Me too, I was in 1108

 

We're in 1108 on Voyager now, it is lovely! 👍🙂

Currently onboard Liberty. June 12 departure has 4,100 guests vs capacity of ~4,500.  Approx 1000 kids.  We had early Main dining but it is quite early at 5:00pm (We're by ourselves at a Deck 4 table for two & waiter said we could come later so we show up around 5:30).  We were curious about MyTime dining and were told now that they're running close to full, it is back to starting earlier (5:00pm) and Deck 3 is MyTime, along with some empty tables on Deck 4 as they become available. Enjoyable cruise with a great crew!

We were on Wonder TA & wife tested positive at BCN airport. If US citizen in Spain tests positive prior to return flight back to US, an alternative to waiting to hopefully retest negative is the Certificate of Recovery. This involves a telehealth doctor or local doctor certification in writing that you are "fit-to-fly" and you have your positive test result. Still requires 7 days of isolation from symptoms to be cleared.

https://www.mobidoctor.eu/

https://quick.md/documentation-of-recovery/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html

Please mask up on your flight home.

Had a minor delay at check-in from Galveston last Wed 2/23 boarding Adventure of the Seas with CVS test paperwork that I had printed.  The initial people said my printout didn't say "negative" clearly enough & wasn't acceptable so I had to step aside and log in to CVS MyChart to screen shot another version. There were several others in the same situation

Frustrated. Wife has a solo cruise booked for March, and earlier today was able to call C&A D+ number to get FCC applied, and they emailed an updated booking confirmation no problem. This afternoon, I paid the remaining balance online. The automated system no longer works, so I called C&A D+ desk to request confirmation and they said they HAVE to speak with the primary guest before they can send the confirmation??? ☹️ Makes no sense to me.

I visited A Coruna in July 2021, and went to the Tower of Hercules on a whim. I found out that tours inside the Tower (lighthouse) were already booked up. I'm not sure how to make an advance reservation but should be able to find out on the internet. I ended up doing a Segway tour https://www.eco-logicaespana.com/en/

which was great fun (small group). Highly recommend.

Can anyone onboard Jewel provide the current passenger count? We're booked on 1/15 sailing and curious to hear that data point. Thanks

Our December 12-19 sailing on Liberty did not have strict mask enforcement. It was uneven. We saw unmasked guests walk past a uniformed officer next to Guest Svcs who didn't engage or correct. OTOH there was someone outside WindJammer "washy washy" who enforced masks at the entrance & people who got up from their table to leave MDR. But many people walking around inside ship holding a drink in their hand thought that was okay.

DW was solo last week on Liberty of the Seas, and used Wash and Fold D+ benefit.  Paper laundry bag.