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kearney

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Posts posted by kearney

  1. 9 hours ago, weacat said:

    Thank you so much!  I would need to contact them directly because of privacy issues I would guess.  If you could quickly find out a direct contact number/email - I would really appreciate it.

    perhaps email contact info would save a very expensive call...?

  2. 15 hours ago, miched said:

    How much have you spent?   $10 tee shirts than no.  But if over the duty free limit then YES.  The purchases will be reported to the authorities.  
     

    I bought a Patek watch on an Island.   I declared it as I didn’t want it confiscated and also paying the penalty besides.   While paying the duty there were many others in the area.  They were being drilled by the custom agents because they didn’t declare the stuff bought on board that was over the limit.  The agent we were with said it happens all of the time and they get caught.   He was also interested in the watch we bought and called  the other agents over as he couldn’t believe that a watch would cost that much and wanted them to see it.  It was worth paying the duty as it was discounted and also very rare to find one.   
     

    As the verse in the Bible says “Pay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” 
     

    Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅
     

     

    My issue was losing the sea passes.... I expected to pay duty. As it happened ...it was the first day of the government shut down and the agent was more concerned with getting passengers processed.. But I did want to keep the sea pass from the inaugural sailing

     

  3. I have to point out that if you purchase a high ticket item... eg jewelry or a watch. The cruise line will send that information on to customs. Not sure how they do this now, but on Edge inaugural cruise... as we left the ship we were met by a member of the crew who took our sea passes and passports and took us down to customs so that we could pay any required duty. In this particular instance..we did not get our sea passes back.  Hopefully they don't hold onto them anymore.

    • Like 1
  4. 1 hour ago, Homosassa said:

    There are several things about t. Lucia that people who have never visited  are not aware of.

     

    Before visiting, look at a map of St Lucia and notice the road system.  There isn't much of one; mainly a single road that circumvents the coast line and cuts over from one coast to the other through the mountains.  The road is often narrow, twisty and very slow going.

     

    Excursion by road will take a long time.

     

    While many are horrified that the OP had to stay on the catamaran to complete the tour instead of being offered the option of returning to the ship, the fact is that returning by road would have taken much longer than sailing back.

     

    Also for anyone taking a shore excursion by land, be prepared for no publicly available rests stops. One that is available is not up to the standards (clean, flushable) that many are use to.

     

    Bathrooms are available at any tourist stop that involves admission (varying quality of cleanliness).

     

    Don't assume that air conditioning will be available on your transportation.  Even if a bus is equipped with AC, there is a good chance it will not be used as the bus navigates the grades and curves at slow speed.

    One reason I cancelled a tour was that it was a 6 hour tour... if anything went wrong.. it was a long way (long time) back.. your point about roads is well taken... especially if you want to see the Pitons by land.

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  5. A few years ago we went on a tour in St Lucia.. when we got back to the ship we learned that another tour had been in an accident and that the driver and guide were taken to the hospital..but passengers were treated on the ship. Later I did see a passenger with a brace on their arm. Ironically... I have twice scheduled tours on this island on subsequent trips... but cancelled both times.. I just had a feeling and was concerned about the level of care I might get there...should I be in an accident. On an earlier trip the US Comfort was in port doing surgeries which contributed to my concern. 

  6. I like both ships... and wouldn't hesitate to go on either... that said I prefer Silhouette ... I like the larger Sky Lounge with its expansive view. On Reflection a chunk of it was turned into suites so the view is reduced... I love going there in the afternoons ..especially when departing various ports. Reflection has a few more cabins so its capacity is about 175 additional passengers. These cabins are on deck 12... which is the pool deck on Silhouette. On Silhouette they have put some cabins where the ilounge was on deck 6... still they're on Reflection... and the card room is still on Reflection..but cabins have replaced that on Silhouette. some of the 'upgrades' on Silhouette are increasing the number of cabins... but still a bit fewer than on Reflection. The differences are relatively minor.  

  7. As a side note, if you like to use the fitness tracker when walking on deck.... set it to indoor walk... unless you want to get a crazy map and get a reading of about 11 miles for a 30 minute walk. I did not realize this the first time I tried walking with my Apple Watch. The map looked like I was drunk walking and every few laps I got an alert that I had done another mile.... looked like I was breaking some kind of speed walking record. 🙂 

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  8. 4 hours ago, PatandStu said:

    One more quick question: does celebrity punch holes in the key card? On our last NCL cruise they did not, and we found it a nuisance to take it out of the Amazon holders we bought so cards could be swiped at each bar and restaurant. I don’t like carrying a purse and not all my sundresses have pockets. 

    They don't punch holes... I think there is an issue with the risk of hitting a chip in the card. I usually give my card to my husband to carry when I don't have a purse. 

  9. Not sure of a European trip...but for the Caribbean... few wear jackets, fewer suits and even fewer formal wear ...although we have seen a few. Frankly Covid changed the way I pack. It used to be that Day 1 'formal' night, DH would wear. jacket, tie, dress shirt, tie, nice pants and nice shoes... by the second one we were down to dress shirt, tie, nice pants and comfy shoes. With Covid and all the distancing... we dropped the jacket and nice shoes. The way I figure it... what are the odds of ever seeing these people again..and if you do.. are they really going to say... 'oh there goes the guy who didn't wear a jacket'. 

  10. 4 hours ago, peachcreamsicle said:

    I hadn’t considered Alaska, but will definitely suggest. The sheer number of cruise lines / dates available bodes well for finding an option that fits everyone. 

    you might check on of those online cruise sellers... there is one begins with "cruise"..... on this site you can select time frame, itineraries and cruise lines... and they will give you a list of options. That might be a good way to start... sorting through options... from there you can use your TA or go direct and see the best deal you can get. Note the cheapest times for Caribbean are during hurricane season also about a week after US Thanksgiving (but schools are in session), Alaska is always a bit pricier than Caribbean, but perhaps airfare between Toronto and Victoria might offset cost of flights to Florida or NY. I think New England cruises may be in the fall during school session.  I have used this to pick a few cruises..then I do a spreadsheet to track pricing on my preferred trip. Note... port fees in Alaska are much higher than in Caribbean... Don't forget the hidden extras of drink packages, gratuities etc.

    • Like 1
  11. 22 hours ago, Ukigirl said:

    One more, if you had to choose one specially restaurant which would it be? Oh and one day we hope to be in the playoffs again, Detroit Red Wings have been in the “rebuilding years “ long enough!

    Tuscan grill for the view, more of a steak house type menu with generous portions. Murano is more of a foodie experience..with table side cooking of some items..only place with real lit candles. I like both.. have not been to Le Petit Chef... seems even more of an entertainment focus. 

  12. For some reason this situation reminds me of when we built our house... My husband and I had totally different ideas and we had trouble coming to a consensus ... the builder's decorator seemed experienced at this problem... so she would select a few options based on colors I liked and then presented those options to my husband to chose. Come up with options based upon parent's preferences for itinerary and type of cruise experience they would like and then present options based on other family members timeframe needs.  Alaska on Celebrity might overcome lack of zip lines etc. Another thought is a Royal ship... for a Caribbean itinerary... The Freedom and smaller ships would have some of the zip line frills but not as much of the pizzaz and might be both less expensive and less kid filled....than the mega Royal ships. But focus on what parents want.

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  13. They usually have a deal for specialty restaurants on reservations on the first night.. consider sunset dinner at Tuscan grill....nice view out of the back while sailing down the Florida coast. Also the first night can be hectic in the main dining room as everyone gets into the swing of things. Try the Sky lounge when departing various ports for a nice view out the front. I am not a big sun person, so I prefer this to the sunset bar.  For a quiet drink try the Ensemble Lounge outside Murano Restaurant they usually have a trio playing. Martini bar can get crazy but fun.. if too loud... try the Passport bar on deck 3... still get the grand foyer entertainment..but just a bit less noisy. We love the S class ship... many nice spots to sit and read if you want to do so outside your cabin and the sun... the library is a nice spot. If you like to walk the track.. try doing so at around 7 am before it gets busy...

  14. We were also on that Reflection sailing that returned on March 13 2020. I do recall someone during the CC cocktail hour commenting that we would know we were in good shape..healthwise..if Grand Cayman allowed us in. I recall how crowded it was. This was one of our first cruises with wifi..and I kept checking Covid status.. recall hearing how there were three port workers who came down with it... sometime around the time we boarded .... on the drive home we learned that the cruise lines were cancelling all sailings after Mar 15..  the Reflection sailing that left the day we returned..ended up turning around a day or so later... as I recall ports were closing... we really dodged a bullet as they say. We did sail again in the fall of '21 and twice in '22... getting Covid on our last cruise.. last day... so no real hassle.. actually it made departure especially easy..and the Covid we had lasted a few days.. very mild vs the early versions.

    • Like 1
  15. The ultimate Southern Caribbean cruises are longer than 7 day cruises.. not really an issue for spring break.. A few years ago we went on an Easter timed cruise, it was a two week cruise.. we had perhaps 100 kids... vs passenger load of about 3000. Most of the kids were younger and British..I assume their break was longer than US breaks. Hardly noticed them... but our typical 10-12 night cruise has a dozen or so kids. We like the S class ships over the E class. The E class noise issues are mostly structural.. and there are a few cabins over the Club area that are impacted by heavy bass sound..or at least that was the issue on Early Edge ships. I suspect the entertainment is better on E class... the theater is spectacular.. We love the Sky lounge on S class with great views out front with large windows.. especially Equinox..since the view has not been impacted by the planned redesign which took some of that space for suites. Lots of nice quiet spots on S class ships.. they are very much alike..but Reflection has and extra deck with more cabins.. can't recall the difference between Silhouette and Equinox..except Equinox has the glass blowing where the Lawn Club is. and a few other differences.

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  16. Interesting post. We were on one of the maiden voyages for Edge and found the theater sound mixing was off... the vocals were impossible to hear and were drowned out by the instruments... overall impression was that it was too loud to be enjoyed. I thought that perhaps this was just because the ship and all the theater crew was new... The other issue was the loudness in the Martini bar. With all the specialty restaurants opening up to the atrium.. there were lots of complaints about sound disturbing diners. I find the S class less noisy although the atrium.. especially around the Martini Bar can be very loud after dinner...in particular... But they do have quiet options...like the Ensemble lounge or Sky Lounge

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  17. When we were on one of the inaugural Edge sailings. My husband noticed that when I was off on an excursion the captain kept the windows locked..for quite a while as the various windows on the ship were cleaned. The washer is a lot like a car wash ...with a high intensity spray, so you can see why they want the windows up. He thought that they were locked for an hour or more. I am not sure they do this every time they are in port, but it did annoy him at the time. 

     

    The comment about determining if you will like an IV based upon how much time you spend on the balconies in past cruises.. seems to be a good tool. I burn just thinking about the sun, so I am not a big balcony user and having the cabin go right up to the edge of the ship, was nice. For my husband, he prefers a regular, real balcony. I think this type of cabin would be great if sailing someplace like Alaska or Scandinavian fjords.. where you could get a great view regardless of weather staying in the comfort of your cabin.

  18. I have never seen behavior like that described ..on Celebrity... but combining spring break and St Patricks day is a deadly combination. In the past I search out when various colleges were having their spring break and then avoided those weeks...plus if sailing in the spring.. I stick with longer itineraries... 10-12 day cruise will weed out a lot of younger folks...although now with remote working..I suppose that strategy may no longer work. 

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