Wdavid1019

thank you all very much!

Would please like advice relative to choosing between Westerdam and Neuw Amsterdam for an Alaskan voyage?  Obviously Neuw is newer but a little more expensive or Westerdam older but can get a better class cabin.  Always tradeoffs,  but although both ships did a retrofit in 2017,  I am guess I am asking is Neuw being slightly nicer overall since it is a newer ship worth going on relative to getting a slightly better cabin by going on Westerdam?  Thanks so much.

Media Coverage in Canada:

McIntosh's friend Melanie McGee, who was booked on the same cruise, said the group is unhappy with how Royal Caribbean handled the situation.

"They insisted over and over and over again that they were going to dock on Sunday, that that was going to happen. They absolutely put us into a dangerous situation," McGee said.

Scroll down to Tourists Stranded:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-natives-houston-flooding-1.4265525

I am just appalled by RCL total lack of guidance and response. I just empathize so much for those booked on the Liberty for next week; I can't imagine the anguish they must be going through. RCL's lack of communication is deplorable.

Carnival seems to be so much superior in how they are handling this. I have lost a great of deal of confidence and respect in RCL.

Konoka Falls is very nice and a more relaxing alternative to Dunns River Falls - much better for older people with a beautiful garden, - a hidden gem of a tour guide, super nice person and a safe driver: Suzette - was impressed by her impeccable reviews.

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g147312-d6438271-Reviews-Suzette_Tours_Jamaica-Ocho_Rios_Saint_Ann_Parish_Jamaica.html

This is a good idea for those touring on their own in Halifax or Saint John,

This year in honor of Canada's 150th Birthday admission to National Parks across Canada is free.

You can order a Discovery pass at https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/ns/h...it/tarifs-fees.

This includes Halifax Citadel which is right in downtown Halifax: http://pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/ns/halifax

And in Saint John - Carleton Martello Tower, though you cannot go inside due to restoration work, only tour the grounds and visitor center. http://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/nb/carleton

How far in advance can you book Ifly, Northstar, and my time dining reservations and the shows on the Anthem?

I have heard a lot of different stories on this.

thanks

We too were looking for an alternative to Dunns River Falls because we were travelling with my wife's elderly parents and there was no way that climbing Dunns River Falls was an option for them and they were not about to jump into the Blue Hole.

We searched for some alternatives. In the process of doing that we decided that we needed to hire a private driver and communicated with all the top rated tour companies on Trip Advisor - we chose TravelJamaicaTours as they responded comprehensively and quickly and outstanding reviews. It was a good choice.

We worked with Errol Bowen and decided to go to Konoko Falls, Discovery Bay, Ocho Rios and Scotchies for Lunch.

Konoka Falls is a beautiful tropical garden with a small zoo of local birds and animals. Your admission includes a guide who was very good. It is very beautiful and relaxing but it also as the name implies has a falls which you can also climb and nice views of Ocho Rios.

Discovery Bay is small stop where Christopher Columbus first came ashore in Jamaica and has some interesting machinery from Jamaica's history.

Scotchies provides delicious jerk barbecue.

Errol Bowen is first class, articulate and knowledgeable and with him we felt safe throughout.

He went out of his way to cater to our requests including finding a place to try unique Jamaican Fruit. It was a fun and an educational day.

You can customize your own itinerary with Errol and I recommend him.

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g147312-d1604979-Reviews-Travel_Jamaica_Tours-Ocho_Rios_Saint_Ann_Parish_Jamaica.html

Hi,

We are looking at the Anthem and trying to decide between certain cabins:

Do the V1 interior cabins have a couch or just a sofa chair and a chair at the desk and do the V2 interior cabins have a couch or just a sofa chair and a chair at the desk.

Any clarification you can provide is greatly appreciated.

thank you

Thank you everyone - good information!

We are going on the Liberty in early December with our parents so final payment is coming up very shortly, but our father is ill and may or may not be able to go. This trip is for our parents so we want to allow for every possibility of him going, but after we make final payment can another family member be substituted in his cabin or does Royal Caribbean charge you for a new person at the prevailing rate and the money for our father's fare would be forfeited.

I understand we can purchase insurance but I wanted to get clarity on this question.

We just booked our hotel in San Antonio where we are staying for a few days before we go to Galveston to catch the Liberty of the Seas in December.

We told the woman at the hotel we were going on a Caribbean Cruise afterwards.

Unprompted she said, "Are you going to Jamaica? Be careful when you are there, at the hotel, we hear so many bad stories of people being robbed and being victimized there."

She went on to say, "If you do get off the ship go on an excursion as most of the stories involve people doing things privately. But be careful we have had so many guests tell us terrible stories about Jamaica while visiting on a cruise."

This again was totally unprompted and she brought up Jamaica uniquely. Anecdotal, but cause for caution.

So I dug deeper to look at the actual crime statistics and warnings from the US Government:

https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=17248

There is a lot of important information on this page not the least which is this:

"Embassy personnel and private American citizens are advised to avoid traveling in into notoriously high-threat areas of Kingston including, but not limited to, Mountain View, Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens, Cassava Piece and Arnett Gardens, and Flankers, Canterbury, Norwood, Rose Heights, Clavers Street, and Hart Street in Montego Bay."

When I visit Jamaica it is somewhere I would never consider wandering off on our own and I stay vigilant and either take an excursion or a well reviewed private tour. It is the prudent thing to do.

If it works the boat to Oia is a great way to do it and maximize your time on Santorini, but it can be iffy with some local politics overhanging it. I like you searched and searched, emailed and talked to quite a few people. When it is operating it is great but when it goes askew it can mess your trip up.

My thought process was this:

With all my research I did I did not have a 100% confidence that it would be running when we visited.

I looked at the number of ships in port and their arrival and departure times because the tram can be a real bottleneck if the boat to Oia is not running on that day for whatever reason, it could take us an hour or more to get up to Fira and then search for one of the few taxis or hunt down the bus station. All doable but at the same time fraught with potential complications.

As much as I am not a proponent of Ship Tours, I really wanted to maxmize our time in Santorini and take advantage of the early tenders that booking a cruise tour offers. We got off the cruise in one of the first tenders took the tour bus to Oia before it got crowded(a major consideration) and then the tour took us to the winery on the outskirts of Fira(Santos) that had great views and really nice wine. They then dropped us off in Fira.

I was really happy we did that as it went smoothly, glad we got to Oia before the crowds and the view from the Winery outside of Fira was an unexpected highlight.

Santorini is such a magical place and you want to maximize your time there and not have something go wrong. Ideally, the ferry/boat can work but from what I have learned that is not without risk.

I would be very wary of going in the afternoon to the Acropolis.

We went first thing in the morning in the first week of June and the temperature was ok. It was not crowded when we arrived but when were leaving after a couple of hours, it got much hotter with no shade available and hordes of people were arriving. It got crowded very quickly and we went by in the afternoon on a tour and it was scorching and even more crowded.

If you want good photos without an army of people, get there as early as you can. Taking a taxi to get there early in the morning is a good investment in my humble opinion given the costs and benefits, especially if you don't know if or when you will be back.

One thing to be cognizant of is where your Cruise Ship docks. The port of Piraeus is huge and bustling. Our ship docked as far away as possible from the Metro Station, a good 45 minute walk. We taxied in the morning and took the Metro back which was fine until we got to the Port itself. It is so busy with all the ferries going to all the Greek Isles. We got lost and actually took a taxi back to the ship as it was so hot and such a long way. Be aware of where you ship docks and if you are taking the Metro back give yourself lots of time.

I would second Cruisemom. In many cities like London, HOHO is an indispensable way to see the city and get an overview. Rome - not so much.

Walking is better and more efficient depending on mobility and the time you have.

The HOHO buses tend to skirt the periphery of many of the attractions where you then have to get off and walk to them to even see them.

The attractions in Rome like the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori are surprisingly close to each other - What you most want to see in Rome is not spread out over a large area.

Hi, just off Celebrity where they issued Tender Tickets - is the procedure similar on Royal Caribbean. If they do issue tender tickets are there any tips for getting them?

If they don't issue tender tickets do you just line up early or how do they do it?

thank you!

I understand that we will be tendering at the Bar Harbor port. We have a private tour booked for 10 am (the tour office is just a 15 minute walk from the port). Does anyone know if tender tickets are issued early in the morning or do we just show up at the gangway. If tender tickets are issued, how long does it usually take to get off the ship onto the port?

We completed a cruise on the Reflection last week and were informed that the questionnaire would be emailed to us and we had till one week later to complete the form. We have not received it. I phoned Celebrity and they said they sometimes have problems and gave me a link to celebritycruises.com/esurvey which is extremely short and general.

I know on Royal Caribbean that the questionnaire is treated seriously and has significant repercussions both positive and negative for the crew like the room stewards.

Any advice would be appreciated?

Celebrity's technology infrastructure is deplorable.

Thank you very much for your answers.

Just a quick clarification - to determine the number of tokens I need to buy: we will be traveling from the Eminonu tram stop to Levent - do I have to have a jeton for the tram to Kabatas and then another jeton for the funicular to Taksim and then another jeton on the metro to Levent?

Can you buy multiple tickets to the tram at the machines in the port that you can use over the time you are in Istanbul? Reworded: The tickets you buy are not date stamped and you then validate before each ride you take on the tram?

Some great ideas - Truly appreciate the help - thank you!

I had one other question: Putting up a clothesline in the cabin - where and how?

I cannot find any links to book on the santorini planet site - I sent a message through the contact button. Am I missing something?

Facebook page is where the bookings are done for Santorini Planet:

https://www.facebook.com/Santoriniplanet/app_132896805841?ref=br_tf

We have 3 people in a Celebrity Reflection Concierge Cabin.

In watching the youtube videos of the cabins I do not see a logical place to store the luggage. Can you store them under the bed, is there room, or does the cabin attendant have stuff he is storing under there.

Any hints or tips of how to best make use of the space available?

Thank you - any ideas are much appreciated.

There are fewer buses on Sundays. You can see the schedule at the bottom of page 17 here: http://www.cotralspa.it/PDF_Orari_Comune/_Ponte_Mammolo_%5BMetro_B%5D.pdf

 

You want the schedule for Villa Adriana/Via di V. Adriana/Via Lazio. The pink section is the Sunday schedule.

Thank you very much!

The one day-trip I wished we had been able to do was Tivoli and Hadrian's Villa. Unfortunately it is not easily accessible by bus on Sundays and I believe it was closed Monday.

 

Hi we were planning on going to Tivoli by bus on a Sunday. Could you please elaborate on why it is not easily accessible by bus on Sundays? Are you talking Tivoli in general or specifically Hadrians Villa?

Does the bus service run to Tivoli from Rome on Sundays or is it cut back drastically?

Any clarification would be greatly appreciated. thanks