ischeer

How far is the walk (with all of your luggage) from the water taxi dock to where you can check in at the airport?

It's about a 10 minute walk. There are no luggage carts available, so you will need to carry or wheel your luggage.

We are a party of 6, sailing on Jan 5. We are flying on Jan 4, but from 4 different airports (W. Mass, Chicago, Detroit, Central Ohio.) I am hoping we will all make it to FLL.

I know info has been posted before but we had planned to get the alilaguna blue line water bus from the airport to the cruise terminal. It seems a reasonable price and as we won't have enough time to see venice on foot this time, would mean that we get to travel the Grand Canal. However, I have just checked out their site and from 23/11 the water bus is not continuing to the cruise terminal , instead terminating at Zattere.

Does anyone know if this is a temporary measure (we will be traveling on 09/04/14?

 

 

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I believe this is a temporary, seasonal change. We used this route in Oct 2013 to reach the Hilton Molino stop, and I know the bus continued on to the cruise terminal. You will probably be OK next Sept.

But be aware that the Blu line does NOT travel the Grand Canal. It travels from the airport to the north shore of the island, then over to the Lido, then back to St Mark's, then across to the Giudecca Canal and over that canal to the cruise terminal. It takes close to 2 hours to make the entire trip.

We are on the Reflection in Jan. Our room is right off the elevator (AQ Room 1546). We are concerned about the noise. Is that a concern or am I too paranoid.

We have had 1540 on Equinox and 1550 on Silhouette, and no problems at all with elevator noise. I think 1550 may be one of our all-time favorite cabins.

Exploring old San Juan is quite easy, but do you have to do inmigration there? If so be aware that it could take some time before you leave the ship.

I believe that ships departing the continental US make San Juan their first port of call, so no immigration/customs is necessary.

Our first Celebrity cruise was in 1992. This was before we joined the Captain's Club. In those days, you had to pay ($15 I believe) to join. That first cruise shows up as an "Adjustment - 1 credit") in our Sailing History. Since it was a 7 day cruise in an Ocean View cabin, that would correspond to 1 credit under the old credit system.

They've been talking about it for years but no rumors that I've heard. As it stands now, the Elite perks are better IMHO than any other cruise line, including Celebrity. My concern is if they added another tier above, Elite perks would be diluted.

Hi Pam:

I wonder if that is really a fair comparison. Celebrity Elite is really comparable to Princess Platinum, in terms of requirements. Princess Elite is, I believe, the equivalent of the new Celebity Elite Plus. It seems that Celebrity Elite and Princess Platinum have very similar benefits

Ira

Celebrity has introduced Caribbean/Bermuda ports on many of their westbound TA's as of this fall. This is done at the expense of European port calls.. I assume the reason is to attract more Europeans, but as Americans, it makes the TA less appealing to us.

According to the Italian newspapers, environmentalists warn that the lagoon surrounding Venice is at risk due to its fragile ecosystem. Experts warn that the thousand-year-old wooden piles that prop up the city underwater would crumble like toothpicks under the weight of a 114,500-ton cruise ships like the Costa Concordia, Royal, Crown, etc.

 

An interesting statement from these "experts".

1) a 114,500 ton ship does not actually weigh 114,500 tons. Tonnage is a measure of space, not weight.

2) I was always under the impression that the wooden piles supported the buildings on land, not the water. Although I am sure there is some effect, it is hard to imagine the piles supporting either the water or the ship.

Which is far more important than cruising down the Grand Canal.

There are no ships that cruise downn the Grand Canal. Obvious if you've ever been there.

Anything out of the east coast or the Great Lakes. It is closer to home and I can drive to the port instead of flying in the cattle cars.

 

I go many for the cruise experience and the destination is just a bonus.

 

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Can cruise ships (especially the larger ones) fit through the Welland Canal ??

Pre 9/11 my daughter arrived in FT Lauderdale at 4pm and barely made it onto the ship.

I don't mean this as an insult or offense in any way, but on this subject, I think 12 year-old advice is useless.

3 voucher pp, that is generous for me. I usually have just one drink and stay at the Elite event for maybe 30 minutes.

 

Please don’t flame me for these few questions but……..

 

I know I can’t bring non-Elite friends ( not staying in my cabin) to the Elite function – but with a voucher what would keep us from meeting at another bar and I would use one of the vouchers to treat my friend to a drink?

 

Also – What would keep me from taking a drink away from the bar and to another venue – something that is not permitted at the Elite event?

 

I usually play by the rules, but in this situation, it seems like Celebrity has created some unique situations.

 

As the Elite lounge area is still offered to those who what a specific meeting place - seems like the best of both worlds to me. Many were against the vouchers - what am I missing?

 

M

Treating friend to a drink: Nothing at all. You are entitled to 3 drinks. What you do with the three drinks is up to you. Note that when the Elite event is in one fixed location (which only elites can attend) drinks are unlimited - there are no vouchers used.

Taking drinks away: This is done all the time. Some examples from our cruise: Taking unopened beers back to room, Taking a glass of wine into dinner (we were told this definitely cut into the wine purchases at dinner.)

Personally, we liked the system very much, for the flexibility. We could enjoy a drink out on deck, watching the sunset, when the weather permitted, or stay indoors if that was our wish.

In response to another question, vouchers (dated) were delivered in the evening for the next day.

For POCONOLADY and SKYSTHELIMIT:

I've been going back and looking at past posts that deal with the SUMMIT. As best I can piece together the information:

Some of the Deck 9 AQ bathrooms have been refurbished, others have not.

The refurbished bathrooms have showers with plastic (not glass) doors, and the new showerheads.

I doubt that the overbed storage cabinet is there. That would require a major restructuring of the room, and there didn;t seem to be any mention of it.

Don't know how this applies to the other M-class ships. Perhaps we need a new thread ?

Ira

we're booked in 1140 on the Infinity for our TA cruise May 1, 2013. Everything I have read says that this is the best of the aft A1 cabins. We're really looking forward to it.

We wil be in this cabin immediately before you (Panama Canal, 4/16-5/1). Picked up the cabin last week, when there was a cancellation. Our first time in an aft cabin, and we are excitedly looking forward to it.

Have you done AQ on the refurbished ships before ? We have done several TA's in AQ on S-class ships, and hope BLU is as good on the Infinity.

The A1's on Deck 11 are new (newly constructed) cabins, with new bathrooms. The ones on Deck 9 are refurbished. The Deck 9 are recessed (under the overhang), and will get little if any direct sunlight on the balcony. The deck 11 balconies are fully exposed, except for the 5 aft cabins, which have larger, partially covered balconies. We managed to score one of these (after a cancellation) for our upcoming Panama Canal cruise on Infinity, and are excitedly looking forward to it.

I know there has been much discussion on the alcohol and water packages, but very little (nothing ?) on the "Taste of the Vineyards" packages. Using sarafinadh's excellent OP, I came up with the following:

For the "classic" package, the per bottle cost ranges between $36 and $38, depending on whether you choose 7, 5 or 3-bottle packages. Yet none of the bottles on the list is priced (individually) at more than $35 !! (There is one exception, a $45 bottle).

The same for the "premium" package - per bottle cost $44-$50, nothing on the list marked more than $45 !!

What gives here ?? Am I missing something ??

Ira

April Fool ?

Where did you get the idea there was a seafood buffet? :confused:

There always used to be a seafood buffet on the first night in Horizon Court. We enjoyed it in Feb 2010, but it has since been eliminated. We missed it on the 3/11/2012 sailing.