lettienets

On 1/18/2023 at 2:54 PM, avd79 said:

 

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Hi everybody,  my husband and I are on this TA.  First TA for us, but not first time cruising the area.  We typically do private tours as we find them much better.  We are using Spain Day Tours also.  We have joined the half day tour in Lisbon to Fatima, that has been previously posted, so hopefully we get enough people to make it a go.

 

For Malaga we are going to do the full day tour called Malaga to Costa del Sol also through Spain Day Tours.  The cost of this tour 69 euros per person.  They require a minimum of 14 people (max 18) so I am hoping that we get 12 more people to join us and make it a go. The description for this tour is as follows:  "Visit the highlights of Malaga, explore the white village of Mijas, browse the charming shops in Marbella, and glimpse the luxurious lifestyle of the rich and famous in Puerto Banus.  This tour covers the highlights of the ‘Sunny Coast’, an ideal day-trip for those wanting to see the best of this famous stretch of coast in a small-group setting and a light atmosphere."

 

If anyone is interested in joining us, you can contact the tour operator directly at www.spaindaytours.com and ask to be added to Anna D'Alessandro's group.

I did this tour before to Mijas, Marbella and Puerto Banus. Very nice. Mijas town is so pretty. I discovered free wifi at the tourist office in Mijas at the time. And along the coast the views were nice. See how the rich and famous live. LOL

 

Finally booked my airfare. Have decided to spend 3 nights in Madrid and 2 nights in Barcelona. Home from LaGuardia to Toronto and I will book the Carnival transfer bus to the airport, which I have done before. Hopefully the ongoing construction around there is nearly done as it has been going on for years.

Booked in late Dec and finally got here to check in. Hi! Looking forward to my first cruise since the beginning of covid. 🙄

 

Hello to maryann2 Mary, Froufie Janet, nwcruiselover Nancy and repogirl49 Julie. Have to get used to our old names. It has been awhile!

And TravelerK Karen I think we have met before too. I would like to know about the 1898 Hotel. 

 

Seems like a very small roll call though I understand there are others talking on social media. Looking forward to this TA.

The ship looked beautiful on the Carnival zoom I watched with CEO Christine Duffy.  Lots of European flair. Gelato!

 

To all others, hello! Looking forward to meeting you.

lettienets Lettie or Loretta

I recently got off the Caribbean Princess, my first Princess cruise. Things bothered me on that ship like the small showroom, crowds and line ups and loud music. Now I read the same criticism here about Island Princess, the next ship I booked! Is this a trend on Princess to jam in more people and take away public space?

On Caribbean Princess people complained so much about having to wait an hour or more to get a seat in the theater, that the cruise line had to do some encore productions in the afternoon (not all shows) and the shows were simulcast in the Exploration bar (not the grand shows, must be copyright issue). So I am not impressed. I was always curious about Princess. I wonder why the cruises are more expensive if they don't have much added benefit. What is the added benefit for the price? And now I read the Island Princess has an inner gym, that is a first, no windows.

On 9/7/2019 at 10:21 PM, Underwatr said:

There are nice pens in the bars (ahem... 😈 )

Can you ask your room steward for pen and pad?

The original prices were directly found on the Carnival website. Balcony and Suites sold out in about  a  day and a half because the prices were so low. Prices for interiors  started rising after that. You had to jump quick on that deal but I swear it was there because the cruise was only scheduled on the day I reported it. 

I notice that on Carnival. A deal comes and goes in a day!

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1 hour ago, BoDidly said:

Yes but don't give Carnival in ideas 

 

1 hour ago, BoDidly said:

Yes but don't give Carnival in ideas 

Thanks. Mum's the word. Should tell Ncl. They are always looking for ways to be cheap! 

Do you still get a platinum gift on a six day cruise?

On 11/19/2018 at 12:13 PM, ProgRockCruiser said:

I'm not arguing with you about what they said, because I've seen it mentioned previously, but:

 

I do find it very odd that Carnival thinks this is a good policy: Hey, your friend can't cruise, and thanks for telling us ahead of time, but not only are we not going to give him/her their money back (except port fees), but we're also going to slap you with an extra fee because now you are sailing solo! 

 

Isn't that like double-charging?  Why aren't lawyers chasing after this with all kinds of gusto?

 

And really, you would think, from their point of view, they would want to encourage the earlier notification, rather than: Hey, if you don't tell us until the last-minute when you check-in at the port, which is probably more annoying for us, we still won't refund the cruise fare (again, except port fees), but we won't charge you any extra.

Singles always pay double for any cruise. If you go with somebody, you both pay. So if one cancels and claims it with insurance, the other person is stuck paying double. If the no show doesn't make a claim they lose their fare but port taxes are refunded. So it is still two people paying for the cruise.

On 11/18/2018 at 8:30 PM, Mikew0805 said:

Yeah the soda program. I think it is $7.50 a day for adults. Cheaper for kids.  Cranberry, Orange, Pineapple, Tomato & grapefruit all included and unlimited as well as the Sodas.

Are bottles of water included in bottomless bubbles?

I am booked too and get air one way with a charter company then home from New York on Air Canada. Sometimes if you check a search on Expedia, multiple flights for your whole fares you can find a good price. My US friends often book transatlantic air with Carnival and get good prices.

I think since the table cloths in the dining room disappeared, except for elegant nights, the dining room experience has gone downhill and the food just doesn't look as nice anymore. Not special anymore. So maybe we just think things aren't as nice ...

Is the new ship being built in Finland rumoured to do any northern cruises or Baltics or a TA including Iceland, Greenland ... like Legend did a few years ago?

I booked today the Europe Med. cruise from Barcelona  12 day May 30 and 13 day transatlantic from Barcelona to NY June 11, 2020 on Carnival Radiance (formerly Victory before refurbishment) 

There are 3 Med. cruises before the TA.

Got an email from Carnival yesterday and a call from my PVP

geckoaz Thank you for your review, we been cruising RC newer larger ships the past two and half years and going back and fourth in our minds should we go on the Breeze?

How was the food in the lunch buffet? Did you find there were plenty of choices, is there still a daily meat carving and was the food good?

 

Have you tried the late night pizza, our past experiences with Carnival pizza is standing on long lines waiting for them to make the pizza and nothing else to eat past 10:30pm, I gather this remains the same? (we don't sit in our room to wait for room service)

I am on Carnival Horizon transatlantic and there is a small late night buffet at 11:30-1AM Some salads, sandwiches, hot dogs, cookies, a few other things I can't remember. Only went once so far. Only been on 5 nights so far. The pizza is delicious. 4 or 5 choices of pizza.

 

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A travel blanket sounds like a great platinum gift. Hope we get that on Horizon.

 

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Ruth C

My sister once had a problem walking in a hotel to front door for cab etc and the hotel sent a person and wheelchair to her room to bring her down. She tipped the person.

 

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When I was on Spirit in Jan. the cruise consultant said you can get an extension for one year. I have one left to use by Nov so I am going to get it renewed one year closer to the time it 3xpires.

 

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In Jan. I was on Spirit and the solos met every night at 7pm in Galaxy and the host either made us a reservation in one of the dining rooms or we went as a group and lined up. Got in quickly. There were 8-12 of us most nights. Some had specialty dining here and there. It was the best arrangement so far. Twice I was on Jade about 5 years ago and no effort was made for the solos. Back on Jade in Sept. Will look for change.

 

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Ruth C, hi from lettienets Lettie (or Loretta). Long time since I have sailed Hal. Nice to see you are still out there. Hope you are well but I see here your walking is not so good. My last Hal were Alaska and Eastern Canada. Have sailed many times NCL, Carnival TAs on new ships coming over and RCI. Best regards!

 

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We will be on a ship that docks in Cadiz this coming July. We are there overnight, and would like to make sure that we get to Seville on the first day, knowing that we won't have to be stressed to get back to the ship. (We are planning to do a shore excursion to Cordoba on the second day.)

 

What is the best way to get to Seville on our own from Cadiz? We are fine with lots of walking and public transportation, if that is possible. Would love to hear what people have done and how it's worked out! Thank you!

I took the bus. You can walk to the station from the port. You can also walk to the train station. The bus had better times. I think the bus trip was shorter. Buy a return bus ticket. When you return from Seville, go to the ticket booth and reserve a seat on the bus. There is an information booth where someone speaks English and they told me to do this. Then you get in line for the bus.

 

In my case, I stayed overnight in a hotel in Seville. I returned the next afternoon.

 

Many cruisers did not reserve a seat. They told me the next day that there were too many people for the bus and they had to wait for the next bus. Some cruisers whose ship was departing and not staying overnight, had to take a taxi back. They did not have enough time to wait for the next bus!

 

 

 

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Sometimes I see a page like that on NCL when I put in one guest. Then when I go to buy, it doubles the price.

 

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This is the dumbest remark I've ever hear. Really? You must be a large stockholder. I'm done reading trash like this.

Holland America gives an extra day point for every $300 extra you spend on onboard purchases, Gratuities/service fees, excursions, spa etc. If you buy ahead of the cruise it all gets added in.

So it is not a dumb idea. You can gather a lot of day points to your loyalty account.

 

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Hi Loretta,

I really wanted to do Iceland. So now I am (and Greenland). I am doing Baltics and TA this year, and SA in 2020. Nothing in 2019, but eyeing the Panorama since it looks like it may come directly to Westcoast. Tell everyone Hi for me on the Horizon.

Who are you doing SA with in 2020?

I may also be looking at/checking out the Carnival repo cruises. There could be some interesting itineraries Some of the other flipfloppers are not interested in Carnival anymore but perhaps these repo itineraries may Chang their mind.

Got a big bus tour and safari booked with Cosmos in S Africa in July this year. A really expensive travel year. Going while I can!

 

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I have been home a week now from the Spirit Canary Is cruise. Unfortunately the weather was pretty chilly, windy or rainy in most ports. Except Tangier or Malaga.

I was solo on this trip and met up with other solos every night in the Galaxy lounge at 7pm. We were all nearly over 55 + This group varied in size from 8-12 for dinner. We had a great time as people came and went in the group. Some had reservations in the alternative restaurants some nights. We alternated from Windows to the Garden restaurant.

There were some good movies in the main theatre some afternoons.

The entertainment was good, esp. Elements and the major song and dance shows. There were three tenors, a female violinist, magician, hypnotist etc. And some game shows, marriage show, lots of dance classes and times for dancing.

I really liked this ship as it is not one of the giant ones. Comfortable, traditional decor like ships in past. Always seemed to be something going on.

Love going to buffet for the crepes after dinner. Lots of good snacking up there around 10 or 11pm.

 

I didn't eat at blue lagoon but the wings and things looked good. Stopped often to pick up a coffee or tea to take away. It is a long narrow area but does have a seating section in a corner too and overflow did sit in the bar next to it.

 

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I think it’s the Serenade TA in Aug. Are you still going?

 

You will enjoy the Journey cruise. I did a B2B (21 Days) on the Triumph in 2015. Lots of fun.

Hi Deb

How u doing? Many of the old regulars are looking forward to Horizon TA in May. Sorry you aren't doing this one. Booked 12 day Glory Feb 16, 2019. Unless something else catches my eye. What about you?

 

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