umpire30

1 hour ago, Kellyann said:

Tennesea, thank you for the awesome pictures.  It's helping me relive our wonderful cruise.  

 

ABSOLUTELY!  Enjoyed following your crossing while dreaming about our crossing back across the Atlantic on the Caribbean this November!  Again, many thanks!

Loving your Live review, TenneSea!  We'll be on the Carribean on her return crossing in November, so it's great to get a little feel for what the day-to-day activities are like.  Glad to hear it's been largely smooth seas until just recently.  We've been blessed on the other crossings we've done so fingers are crossed for our next one.  By the way, both my wife and I swear by candied ginger as a prophylactic treatment for choppy seas.

One question on the sea days--how often (and early) has the Promenade Deck been open on sea days?  Honestly that deck has been one of my favorite features on the Grand class (I think I'm identifying them correctly) ships.  Always figure that if I can get some regular walking in, along with basically avoiding the buffet, I stand at least a reasonable chance of returning home around the same size as I started,

Again, thanks for posting...great shots on the dinners have me looking all the more forward to November.

--Jim

Thank you, annmarz, for the review.  We're going to be on the Caribbean in November, and very much looking forward to a return visit on one of our favorite ships.  An older one for sure (but hey, aren't we all!) and there are so many features that make it special, including the full wrap-around Promenade Deck.  Sorry to hear you missed Turks & Caicos--personally love the walk to Jack's Shack with a quick swim along the way.

-Jim

1 hour ago, Robkat said:

After close to 100 cruises, we finally pulled the trigger and we've got our first transatlantic coming up in November this year!  

It is a westbound, and so, wondering whether we might prefer an eastbound, we also booked one of those for April next year.  

We are very excited for these new experiences, but along with that excitement comes some questions, so I'm hoping those of you experienced in transatlantics won't mind sharing your answers/suggestions or recommendations.

 

For the first of the TA's, we're flying to Rome. 

 

So, right off the bat, in thinking about preparing for packing:

 

1.  We bring a couple prescription meds, vitamins, supplements, regular first-aid kind of pills (ibuprofen, Rolaids, etc.) and cold/cough meds (in case). 

I usually count out the appropriate number of pills needed for the amount of time of the trip, and then re-package similar pills in small baggies.  

I'd read that someone said, that for international flights, everything must be in it's original bottle/packaging.  I'm hoping this isn't the case as it would mean having to bring/pack many bottles for the various pills.  

Could you explain how you transport these kinds of things ... not worried about getting on the ship, but for the flights and getting through international customs.

 

2.  Same sort of thing for various toiletries.  I usually put things like face moisturizers and other creams into smaller jars.  And then usually we carry on to the ships our toiletry bags (containing the jars) in our backpacks.  In the case of flying, we'll need to pack these in our checked luggage, so in not wanting to add weight to our luggage, what do you all do with these sorts of products to keep the extra weight down? (And this would include heavier products, like hair prods, that can't be transferred into smaller containers.)

 

3.  Any other pointers on packing for a longer cruise, especially to keep the weight down, with the flight up first before the cruise?  Not so much worried about clothing (we can figure that out), but thinking more about other "assorted and sundries".

 

4.  For anyone who has done a TA from Civitavecchia, will the MDR be open for lunch on embarkation day?  (If it matters, we'll be on Caribbean P.). Does the boarding process commence, as it usually does round 11am or so?

 

Thanks for any help or advice.  

 

 

 

I think we're on the same cruise--see you on the roll call?  Haven't had issues with the meds, but always take extra, just in case.  As for rough seas, we've found candied ginger to be very calming--always take some with us.   Actually. I recall the QM2 putting a plate of them out at dinner on an earlier trans-Atlantic.  Embarkation day lunch has become a regular tradition regardless of the itinerary.  Happy  travels!

And the salmon!  {which is pretty much available any time, but never seems as good as at the embarkation lunch}  Maybe just the thrill of being back on board, but REALLY looking forward to it!  Two weeks from right now on the Caribbean! 

Does anyone know if Carnival offers any options for transferring luggage from ship to airport in Charleston?  We are on the Sunshine in March and have a 4:40 pm flight out of CHS on Southwest.  We'd love to spend the afternoon in the port area without lugging suitcases all around.  Thanks for any help or suggestions....

--Jim

On 7/2/2019 at 2:31 PM, jbethel11 said:

The port is approximately 13 miles away from the airport. Here are various links to help you out!

 

https://www.cruzely.com/getting-to-the-charleston-cruise-port-without-a-car-port-transportation/

https://www.cruisecheap.com/cruises/port-of-charleston-driving-directions.html

Thanks!  Appreciate the links.

Looking into possibility of cruise next year, but have never sailed out of Charleston.  Not certain if we'd fly into Charleston and perhaps take a hotel prior and then a cab or shuttle, or if a drive from family in NC might make more sense.  Anyone sailed out of there before?  Is parking at the cruise port reasonable and readily available?  How far is it from airport to port?  Any help appreciated.  Thanks.

--Jim

Beating a dead horse, BUT....maybe the same folks who "updated" the CC website?

.....a lot of salads!

Since I found out it's not just me, I called Princess.

A REALLY nice gentleman (with a really deep voice, he should think about going into radio) called their IT dept., who were totally unaware of the problem. :confused: :eek:

 

It should be fixed within 24 - 48 hours. :D

They're still MIA from my personalizer.

Appreciate the feedback.

Jim

Anyone know if Princess is still doing the "On Deck for the Cure" walks? Going to be on the Emerald next month, and have always felt good about doing something positive while also burning off some calories. There wasn't a walk on the last short cruise I'd been on, so maybe only scheduled during week+ cruises?

I hate the jogging tracks on most all cruise lines but The walking/jogging track on the Royal is great. It has plenty of space and great views.

Should be a wonderful time this spring. Looking forward to the walking (and the lounging!)

Silly question, perhaps, but I was wondering if there is an area on the Regal where early morning walkers tend to take their morning stroll. I understand there's no Promenade that goes all around the ship, but I was hoping there was a spot where morning walks are frequented. Not a big deal, but I've found that if I avoid the buffet and take that morning power walk my clothes tend not to shrink over the course of the week. ;>)

Never saw any candied ginger on Princess, but on a crossing aboard the QM2 a few years back, they always had some candied ginger on the table at dinner time. I've been using it now for years....not really sure if it does anything, but I like the taste and haven't had any side effects...or sea sickness.

We sailed the Golden in Februrary 2005 out of San Juan.

 

The Southern Caribbean Explorer route and our ports were St Thomas, St Kitts, Grenada, Aruba and Isla Margarita.

 

Isla Margarita was substituted for Caracas beginning with the cruise before ours.

 

We would love to return to Isla Margarita!

 

Mike:)

Hi Russianmom.....My wife and I took a Southern Carib. out of San Juan somewhere around 1/11/04 and the ports above were the ones we had visited. I recall Isla Margarita had just been added because of some political/social unrest. I'm certain that was Jan. '04 as I was recovering from knee surgery that almost KO'd the trip. Perhaps by '05 your itinerary was different? Good luck with those photos.

Jim