realnice46

I was looking around the Curacao tourist website (www.curacao.com) and found this map when searching for the ship schedules:

 

http://www.curports.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Cruise-Map-Downtown.pdf

 

It's only one page and easier to print and carry around. I did like the architectural map previously posted for the history and description of the buildings. I'm wondering if I could get one sent to me. We don't cruise until December, so have plenty of time.

Ditto, great maps!

BridgeMates and Nana57, you are both very welcome.

 

Keith

I second their comments. I never understand the negative posts to a question asked.

Usually at the end of November, around the 29th...that was last year, as I booked immediately!

 

 

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Thank you, I want to be ready.

When might Celebrity release it's 2019 Europe cruise schedule?

As previous posts have mentioned you can do most ports on your own except for St Petersburg. Try to book private tour for St Petersburg considerably less expensive than the ship tours.We loved Tallin ,Estonia very nice old city to walk around in.

Ideally plan to stay in Amsterdam a few days before or after the cruise.

Whoopie the shops and the casino are closed. My lovely wife is reading a book instead. What a great money saving situation. The beverage package is working. I love cruising!

We cruisers are so flexible!:D

We have a day pass for the Barceló. Is there public transportation from the port to the Barceló ?

Great ship and a great cruise! Did it last year and really enjoyed it.

 

Here´s a detailed review with tips, tour operators etc. Let it be a teaser for your cruise...

 

http://www.travellove.one/Our-Trips/Adriatic-Constellation-1---Ven/adriatic-constellation-1---venice.html

 

If we can help with any more information let us know!

 

Oliver

Thank you for the wonderful review and photos. It brought back memories of our favorite ports. We want to do Celebrity Europe cruise next year and the Constellation goes to our favorite ports but afraid we might be disappointed in the ship after sailing on the Solstice class, but you photos may have put those to rest..

I think it would be fun to read about various Select Dining experiences such as:

 

1. "Select Dining" cruisers who chose a large table the first night of their cruise and really liked the people they met so much that they decided to dine together for other nights of the cruise.

 

2. "Select Dining" cruisers who got along well with just a few of their table mates and asked them to dine together on future nights.

 

3. Cruisers who were invited to dine at future dinners with the people they were seated with the first night of Select Dining, but decided they definitely didn't want to do that since they didn't feel compatible with them.

 

When we had assigned dining years ago we met some great people and enjoyed nightly dinners together. However, we had some really awful experiences with a few people on other assigned dining tables so decided Select Dining was best for us.

We too ask for table for 2, they are close together so you can still talk to people on either side of you if you wish.

I agree Celebrity's website sucks as does Cruise Critics new site. Both very confusing.

I did do a search so hopefully this isn't a double post. When I did my first cruise ever it was on the Oasis and they had a great thread on things not to miss, hidden treasures (e.g. hidden balconies for sail aways etc), tricks about what to bring, what to ask for (e.g.robes as soon as you board) - hoping we can start something here.... great for us newbies! I'm also new to Europe cruising, we are doing the October 22nd 14 day Israel and Med sailing, so any advice in regards to what to pack, what not to miss would be great! Thanks to all in advance.

We love Silhouette mostly because of the staterooms on Solstice class ships. We are usually in concierge, we like the footstools on the balcony and the location of the rooms. There is wonderful extra storage above the bed, we put all our tops and tees folded up there. It is the width of the bed. In the bathroom there is a long cabinet, I usually bring some small baskets I get a dollar store to put all the little toiletries etc. in keeps everything organized and I just toss them at end of cruise. shower is also larger than most ships we have been on. I think the balcony rooms have all these thing too except for footstool. food a little better than average but then they are feeding a whole lot of people.

alright - so 78 views of people who either would like to see some tips or tricks or people who can give tips or tricks - either way, I think the thread can be helpful - is there nothing on the S-Ship class that people who haven't sailed before on them wouldn't find helpful? Thanks to all in advance!

We are just about to have dinner, I will give you some tips later this evening. I am sure you will get a lot of input. We are about to sail on Silhouette for the third time, we love her.

In June 2017, my grandmother and I will be tendered at Villefranche. We have a couple of decisions to make regarding this port. We either want to go to Monte Carlo or Cannes. We prefer Monte Carlo, however I have read that Monte Carlo involves a lot of steps and walking. My grandmother is 70 and has no serious physical disabilities, but she does have to take it slower due to her age. Given this information, would you suggest Monte Carlo or Cannes? We are also wondering the best way to get to Monte Carlo and Cannes. A lot of people suggest buses and trains...but that makes me VERY nervous given that our ship leaves with or without us. I've looked into ship offered excursions, but they don't allow a whole lot of time at Monte Carlo...very short time frames. Suggestions?? I appreciate any advice!

I wouldn't go to either, take bus to one of the beautiful hill towns such as Eze.

Unfortunately the other place would have been Nice, wonderful city very flat and lots to see. Maybe a possibility since you aren't going until 2017.

Thank you all for your information.

I have seen many threads as to what is included in classic drink package on Celebrity, but nothing recent and Celebrity's website does not seem very clear.This will be our first experience with the package. Are canned sodas, specialty coffees, fresh juices and bottled water included?

Decisions, decisions... I'm planning a family cruise next summer to celebrate our kids' graduations (High School and College). I know I won't get EXACTLY what I'm looking for, but I just can't decide.

 

Here are my top factors/considerations:

 

CRUISE LINE

 

We aren't huge fans of cruising. There, I said it. We've done Carnival (NEVER AGAIN) and Disney (not for us). We tried Celebrity a few years ago and have actually sailed with them 3 times (7 day Xmas cruise to Caribbean on Silhouette for all 4 of us; 5 day Western Caribbean on Constellation just DH, DD and myself; and 7 day Bermuda anniversary cruise on Summit just DH and me). If we are going to cruise, we would pick X all day long.

 

CABIN CLASS

 

Our last cruise was Aqua Class and we determined that was definitely for us! We loved Blu and never set foot in the main dining room. Aqua Class is a must.

 

SHIP CLASS

 

We've sailed on both S class and M class and while we liked both, we prefer the S class. Our favorite was The Lawn Club Grill, but alas, that is only on the Silhouette and the Reflection, which don't match our itinerary needs for next year. Our choices are basically the Constellation or the Equinox.

 

ITINERARY

 

This is a first time trip to the Med for DH, DS and DD. I spent 5 weeks in Europe back in high school and fell in love Cannes and Venice (also visited Rome, Florence). For me, if I had to pick just one port, it would be Venice.

My daughter's top pick is Barcelona and my son and husband are more easy going.

 

We prefer more port days than sea days, although a sea day or 2 would be fine to recover from the long days of sightseeing. Absolutely no back-to-back sea days, however. DH starts to go stir crazy.

 

PRICE

 

Price is a factor, but not a show stopper. I'm surprised to see the Constellation is generally more expensive than the Equinox.

 

DATES/LENGTH

 

We have to sail between mid-June 2017 and late July 2017. In a perfect world, I would travel over the 4th of July because it is a slower time at work for DH and me. We would consider anything from 7-12 days and would add extensions based on how long the cruise itself is. (We will, of course, fly in a day (probably 2) early so as not to miss the ship!

 

OPTIONS

 

So, here are my best options as far as I can tell:

 

Equinox (7 nights) departing July 1 from Barcelona with stops at Cannes, Florence, Rome, Amalfi Coast, Messina and Athens (AQ starts at $2299 pp) Pro: Celebrity, Aqua Class, S Class

 

Constellation (10 nights) departing July 3 from Barcelona with stops at Valencia, Florence, Rome, Kotor, Split, Venice (AQ starts at $3299 pp) Pro: Celebrity, Aqua Class, Venice

 

HAL Oosterdam (12 nights) departing June 28 from Barcelona with stops at Provence, Monte Carlo, Florence, Rome, Naples, Corfu, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Venice (Veranda starts at $2699) Pro: Love all the ports...VENICE!!!!

 

Writing this out is a first step. Opinions welcome. :)

Alas my choice of ship would be S Class Equinox , but 7 days is just too short, you lose a day at each end and just barely get settled. I guess it would be okay if you were going to add time at either end of cruise. The HAl itinerary sounds great, we love all those ports especially Naples and Dubrovnik. If you can spend a few days in Venice or Barcelona, wonderful cities.

Thanks Karen...appreciate info

Hi, we are on Silhouette August 6 British Isles cruise too. We were in Bruges last August and we were able to see Madonna & Child, but yes they are renovating the church. Hoping they are a little further along this year.

Wilma

.....keep all invoices, emails and date/time/name of people you have spoken to 'just in case'. I don't think I would spend my money yet either....

 

Sincerely hope this is a genuine error in your favour.

Always a good idea to keep all copies of invoices and dates, times and person you talk to. this is also true for any company you talk to. Many of these companies record their calls and you can then have them reference information.

Shall be arriving at Le Havre in August with 12 hours to spend. Have given up the idea of going to Paris as it is a bit far off and we have been there so many times already :). I read from the web that we can consider going to Honfleur or Rouen. Would be grateful for any advice as to which option is better and ways of getting there. Thank you so much in advance!!

Depends on where your interest are. Honfleur is a beautiful port just to walk, enjoy lunch at an out outdoor café and browse in all the shops and patisseries.

If you are interested in WWII history a tour of the D-Day beaches might be your choice . Also if there is a tour to Mont St Michel very beautiful, but filled with tourists during the day and if it is rainy the lanes in the town can be very hard to manage with an umbrella.

With this itinerary for September 19-29:

 

VENICE, ITALY

AT SEA

CATANIA,SICILY,ITALY

AMALFI COAST (SALERNO),ITALY

ROME (CIVITAVECCHIA), ITALY

FLORENCE/PISA(LIVORNO),ITALY

AT SEA

AT SEA

DUBROVNIK, CROATIA

DUBROVNIK, CROATIA

VENICE, ITALY

 

would you recommend port or starboard?

 

Thanks

It seems like we always choose the Starboard side on deck 10 no matter our itinerary. We choose starboard because the smoking section is on the port side of pool deck on Solstice class ships. I suppose if you shoes a lower deck it might not be a problem.

We are booked on a cruise that has the above referenced ports of call. Any ideas of things to do on these port days? Any recommendations of tour companies would be great too as we have never been to these ports.

 

TIA.

 

Kim

We did a tour to Krka National Park, breathtaking. We had enough time when we returned to walk around the town. Check out photos on Trip Advisor. I think we did a ships tour, but I am sure there are some private tours.

One of the issues I have had in the past with X shore excursions is that the descriptions often don't match reality. So having honest reviews from people who have been on the excursions is extremely helpful. However, I have noticed a pattern and I'm wondering if it is due to X's infamous website follies or if people just don't know what they're doing. How many times have you read an excursion review and someone had written a review of the whole cruise? Or, even worse, a review of a completely different cruise? It's usually to complain about something, so they give it a low rating (the cruise) which ends up affecting the excursion rating. It's very frustrating. You see that an excursion has a 2* rating, you investigate and find out there was one 4* from a person who went on the actual excursion and a 1* from someone who had a bad experience on the cruise and placed their entire cruise review on the excursion. Anyone else notice this?

We have only done 1 X shore Excursion and we were pleasantly surprised. Last year one of our ports was Marseilles and I want to visit the village of St Remy and Les Baux and could not find private tour so chose ship's tour. although it was on a big bus it was very nice and as a complete surprise and not listed in the itinerary was a visit to Carrieres de Lumieres and old quarry that features works of art projected on the walls accompanied by wonderful music. I had read about but did expect to be able to visit. Breathtaking!

Are there seat cushions and blankets available at the tattoo. also are small backpacks allowed at the venue?

I have never been to Schiphol Airport before. My DW and I are flying in from the US, and will arrive in the AM.

 

We have prearranged a transfer to our hotel in Amsterdam.

 

Is there a central or designated area where all the drivers wait and meet those they are picking up after arrival?

 

When I get my bags, and go through customs, will I be directed to the spot where the driver will be waiting?

 

Thanks.

You probably should ask your transfer company that question to be sure, but usually they are waiting in luggage area with a sign with your name on it.

My wife is nervous that there won't be enough hangers in the closets. Is it necessary to pack extra hangers?

We usually have them take out the nice wooden hangers and bring us wire hangers, they take up much less room in closet. I do bring a few plastic skirt hangers that I can leave at end of cruise. also on this class ship there is great storage above the bed where we keep all our knit tops and polo shirts folded.