caribnsnrklr
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Posts posted by caribnsnrklr
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On 1/26/2020 at 10:38 AM, terry&mike said:
I just returned from taking a group of 29 clients on a Diamond Princess Southeast Asia & Japan cruise. Below is information from a web site I set up for the group, to provide them with information. Now that the trip is over, I wanted to pass this information along, in case it is of help to other travelers.
Visa: No visa needed for US citizens.
Money: Singapore Dollar SGD and credit cards accepted. Tipping is not usual practice.
Average Temperatures in January: 77-86 degrees.
Special Notes: No eating or drinking (including water) on public transport; no chewing gum.
Arrival: There are several ways to get into the city from Changi Airport, including taxi, airport shuttle bus, MRT rail, and regular bus, they are all explained in detail here Airport Transfers. Given you may be tired from travel and dealing with luggage, a taxi may be your simplest option, running approximately $20-$40 usd (although USD not accepted) depending on time of day and destination; taxis in Singapore are metered and honest.
Hotels: I am booked at the Pan Pacific Singapore. For an airport hotel, I can personally recommend the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport.
Seeing the sites: you may want to use the "Visit Singapore Travel Guide" or "Citymapper" app to plan your time. If you like paper maps, Lonely Planet Singapore City Map is a good one and includes suggested walking routes. There is a popular Hop On/Hop Off bus in Singapore, and there are many organized tours for many different interests. Good sites for locating tour options are Tripadvisor, Tours by Locals, Viator, etc.
For a great food tour to sample street food from several vendors, hire William from withlocals.com Personable and interesting.
I plan to "DIY" here and see the city on foot, with the addition of an occasional subway ride. I have put together some walking routes below, and you are welcome to follow them on your own.
Sun., 1/5, Day 1 Walk, approximately 4 miles, walk from hotel over Helix Bridge, to Gardens by the Bay (just walk around outside part for free, or do OCBC Skywalk for approx. $7, maybe visit Heritage Garden or Cooled Conservatories), view Marina Sands Hotel (possibly visit Shoppes here for free, or can go up to Skypark for about $17 usd, buying tickets in advance is better), view Merlion, past Fullerton Hotel, over Cavenaugh Bridge (oldest bridge), to Boat Quay, then to Yueh Hai Ching Temple. Can consider adding in Chinatown and Buddha Tooth Relic Temple if up to it.
6:30p or after go to Lau Pa Sat/Telok Ayer Market to eat, order chicken rice, chicken & pork satay, “carrot cake” (carrot & radish dish), bring own napkins. View amazing light show at 7:45p & 8:45p from Supertree Grove. The view from the Lantern Bar on the roof of the Fullerton Bay Hotel is fabulous.
Mon., 1/6, Day 2 Walk, approximately 3 miles, walk past Raffles Hotel, through Kampong Glam/Arab Street area, through Little India, and to Orchard Road area to window shop (maybe visit ION Orchard underground).
Board Diamond Princess, between noon and 2p, sails at 4p; official Check In start time is scheduled for 12:30p. Should be docked at Marina Bay Cruise Centre, 61 Marina Coastal Dr., 5 minutes from downtown, access via metro or approx $19 usd taxi ride. Possibly ship could be moved to Singapore Cruise Center at Harbourfront Centre. Public transportation available to both piers, but taxi may be simplest.
Thanks for sharing! It looks like we are on the Grand Princess together 3/21!
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14 hours ago, erby2283 said:
You should be cruising about now so hopefully you had a wonderful time. I've commented on this thread earlier but now that my trip is almost two weeks away, I am becoming more and more nervous, especially after reading a review on trip advisor about my hotel and seeing this: Safety reminder: we were robbed in the early morning 6:30am on our way from hotel to tour meeting spot. Couple teenagers robbed our phone straight off my husband's hand and ran away. Stay alert if you head out in early morning or late evenings. Be careful when using google map on your phone.
Now I now this personally probably had their heads in their phones looking for the meeting point of their tour but man....it just feeds my paranoia. It makes me scared to take a camera or phone out to take a picture. I went ahead and purchased to different types of money belts: the usual type you see when doing a search on Amazon with two belt straps and two pockets in the front. But then I also got an EazyMate travel running belt - it's made more of spandex material and after wearing both of them, I seem to like it more than the usual money belt. I also got a travel belt wallet the loops around your belt and tucks inside your pants for my bf.
Also - do you guys feel safe leaving your passports and other things of value in your hotel safe while on tours? Couldn't the maids or staff just open the safe and take it while you're on your tour?Hi, yes we’re are traveling at moment and in Ibiza today. We were in Barcelona just a few days ago and we’re fine. Just keep alert. In the very early morning hours or late at night I would not be walking around with my valuables out and showcased. Be aware of where you are and if anyone is watching you. Not sure where you are staying but we have left our stuff in the safe before and if I felt concerned where we were ever staying obviously it stays on me in my vest or in slash proof crossbody in the front on my body with hand over. Like I said before, don’t make yourself a target and be aware of your surroundings and you will be fine. Have a wonderful trip.
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On 7/1/2019 at 7:06 AM, ginak1112 said:
The Edge is a real beauty and definitely not your Father’s cruise ship! We are loving the Infinity veranda. We leave it open at all times allowing us to have an expanded cabin giving us much more space. The blind gets closed at night giving us a pretty good blackout room albeit a bit of light coming in from both ends of the window. We have enjoyed a nice nap with the window open and loving the fresh air. What’s great is that you will have use of this space in all types of weather. When it’s boiling hot like it is now in Europe or when it’s too chilly like my daughter and I experienced on a British Isles cruise where we never went out once on our balcony. We loved Fine Cut steakhouse and thought the Rooftop Cafe was okay. It’s nice to get to choose from so many restaurants and enjoy an intimate dining experience. We are exhausted from our day in Capri so have slept in today and are now at the pool. We were lucky to get a shady spot because the pool was built with a very limited amount of that. Will check back later!!
Hello there, I wanted to ask what you did in Capri? We are heading onto the Edge 7/20 & 7/27 and one of our stops is capri. We are trying to get enough people for a private tour with private boat over. Did you do private or ship tour? How were the crowds on Capri? Thanks for any info!
Melody
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On 6/14/2019 at 11:57 AM, konatyme said:
We will be doing a Med cruise in 2020 and have been reading all the posts about security. My question has to do with cameras. We of course want to take pictures of all the beautiful sites, but I'm very concerned about how to secure our cameras. We have a Canon DSLR and a small video camera. Although each has a case that we ordinarily use, I'm assuming we're going to need something more secure. Are there slash-proof camera cases that anyone can recommend? And will that be enough? Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Look at Pacsafe brand . I have their sling for my canon rebel that screws into camera and slash proof. They also make cases too.
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We love Barcelona and fortunately for us haven't had any problems and have been there numerous times in last couples years (we were just there in april land trip for few days and going back in 3 weeks day precruise & 4 days post cruise) We always keep eye contact and are aware of our surroundings at all times. I wear a Scottevest security travel vest and thats where my passport/money and valuables go (Orvis makes some too now). Everything is in the inside of vest in secret compartments and zippered. I wear over dress in summer since I have the lightweight ones and under jacket in cooler weather. It gives me piece of mind and I don't stand out to thieves. Also, no jewelry since i don't want to draw attention to myself(if I have my wedding rings on they get turned into my hand and hand closed over something else or in pocket If I am in area concerned. My husband and I both traveled extensively thru Spain, Italy and Germany in April thru trains and not one problem. We wear EBags brand backpacks for suitcases and secure with locks so that to thieves see it and move on since not an easy target (even though nothing of value in there we don't draw attention to ourselves by leaving unlocked ) We've seen pickpockets trying to unzip bags of unsuspecting people which of course we tell them. If I want to carry a purse I carry a slash proof pacsafe one and that is my decoy as I joke because nothing of value in there since everything in my vest. For my canon Rebel (I know someone asked a couple pages ago) I have a slash proof sling (made by Pacsafe)that screws into base of camera. Easily seen that hard to get and no one has bothered me so far. We usually stay on Las Ramblas or Gothic area so we are moving around all hours of the night and never have been too worried. I really do believe if you make eye contact because you aware of your surroundings is a deterrent and have seen some move on that I thought might be a problem. Its funny to watch people moving thru gothic area and as soon as get close to Las Ramblas (locals too) everyone is switching backpacks and purses to the front with a hand on to not make themselves a target. So enjoy Barcelona it really is a beautiful place but be aware and take precautions with your valuables like you would Rome or Venice.
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Thank you everyone for all the replies. I kind of figured that would be the case but wanted to make sure because I am not familiar with Celebrity policies. Some of the answers had questions and I guess I should have been a little clearer with my question (my apologies, youngest daughter graduated last night and only few hours sleep does not do well with me lol). I am booked and paid on the Edge back to back in July. The first week were are in a infinite veranda and the second week a deluxe inside (our veranda not open both weeks and honestly couldn't justify the money for both weeks veranda with europe itinerary). I just got an offer thru a company that works deals thru Celebrity casino (celebrity casino is one who originates offer for the middle man)to get a veranda for basically free for second week and pay only port fees. So I am staying on ship still for second week but want to obviously take the offer for the better room. I asked the question because I have in past canceled two cruises on another line for better offer and have had them keep my deposit and small penalty fee then give me rest of money towards a future cruise credit even though they state a stricter policy because it was thru casino department. I was just making sure that Celebrity didn't do this as well since not losing revenue on me truly "canceling"since I will still be on ship but I get that a loss is a loss this close to sailing . I don't expect them to feel sorry for me as I am not really canceling but moving up to different room so to speak and using an offer they generated to get people on the ship thru casino. So basically now that I understand thru the answers its truly a 75% loss of cash which for this ship and itinerary very steep so losing quite a bit of money or I wouldn't care usually I have to look at it like an expensive room upgrade and weigh my options. Thank you again everyone for your insight.
Melody
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Hi there, I am new to Celebrity with only taking one other cruise with them before. My question is has anyone ever canceled this close to cruise and wondering if it really is 75% cash loss or do they take some of the money and give partial future cruise credit like some other lines do? I am booked for a back to back and just got an outside offer my second week free room that is better. Thank you
Melody
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2 minutes ago, vtcruising said:
You are not the only one - someone else thought they had been upgraded to AQ a couple of months ago. Too bad they can't be more specific. Maybe you can get a good deal on an AQ cabin for your next Edge or Apex cruise, if you book onboard ! 😉
Thanks! Yeah I would probably book it if doing a caribbean sailing or something with less hectic itinerary so that we could enjoy.
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1 minute ago, jelayne said:
There are no Aqua Class cabins on Deck 6. On the app for some reason they apparently list all IVs together. I noticed this when we were on the Edge in AQ and just checked the app for our next Edge sailing where we are in Concierge and it shows Veranda/Aqua Class/Concierge.
Thats what I thought too about knowing deck 6 wasn't aqua. I just thought maybe my host added as extra. Bubble crushed lol. Its ok though. I know with the Med itinerary I wouldn't use the spa really anyway. Thank you for the answer!
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2 minutes ago, vtcruising said:
No, sorry, it's not AQ. They are must be just lumping all of the IVs together in one category (they are all AQ/Concierge/Verandas). I love the app, but but sometimes the info is a little off.
Lol, darn, got excited there for a minute thinking they added that for us. I loved all the regular dining rooms but would have loved to try Blu and the spa access. Thank you so much for clearing that up for me.
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2 minutes ago, vtcruising said:
Hi - you are in an infinite veranda - they have E1, E2, E3, E4 as categories. If there are other options left and you want to post the cabin number, I can look at your location, etc. Some of those deck 6 cabins are fine, others have partially obstructed views.
Yes I do know that we are in infinite veranda, I just wasnt sure what the E meant. Thank you. I have looked up my cabin and saw someone posted that it has a partial mechanical piece from lifeboat obstruction which I am fine with. I just don't know if we have aqua class since it says that in stateroom details on app so we are confused because deck 6 shouldn't be aqua class but we are comped so not sure if we got upgrade added to our room? Not sure how all that works. I would think if this wasnt a aqua class cabin to begin with that it wouldn't say aqua class on app in stateroom details? Thanks for any help with that.
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Hello . I am fairly new to Celebrity and did sail the Edge in january but is was in a deluxe inside. I just rebooked for july cruise yesterday(had to cancel a september one for this ship) and went onto the app. When I click on stateroom details is says Vernada/Aqua Class/Concierge Class. Does that mean we have Aqua class because our stateroom is not in the aqua class area as we are on deck 6. Or this a general app thing and does not mean anything? Thanks for anyone who can help. We are E4- which have no idea what the E4 means either.
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I've got the December 4 early access too. Waiting patiently until midnight to see. My timer ran out at 11 though nothing is showing up online yet.
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23 cruises with carnival and never had such a bad experience. The hall in our section smelled like musty mildew and our room did as well. It gave my daughter and I headaches and stuffy nose. They tried ozone machine once and then basically offered to cover it with this fragrance cube rest of week. Was not a fun experience. They would call daily and ask how room was and would say same and then they would say they were going to call back. So I would sit there for an hour and no-one called so I would leave then there would be note in slot that they tried to contact me. It was kind of pointless everyday going thru this routine. Then the 2nd day in my daughter had bites on her legs (hadn't been off ship yet) so I thought well maybe mosquitos? Then walking behind her I noticed they were in weird straight lines and alot of them. Next morning I had bites on back of my legs too so I went to front desk to show them before we got off at port and tell them to please check and spray our room because when i goggled it looked like bed bug bites. They sent us to medical which he didnt even look at our bites just handed us hydrocortisone. They called later and said they changed all bedding and sprayed room but didn't find anything? The bites became less but they did nothing for us. It just really sucked staying in moldy smelling room getting bit by something that might be bed bugs and they did nothing for us but call everyday with no real solution. If this had been my first cruise with Carnival I definitely would not have been back. So anyone going on the Magic anytime soon beware of this room. Also tv does not work and cord for phone doesnt stay in wall so loses connection when trying to talk on it.
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Hubby and I reached 25th milestone last year, and were able to apply both today to the Carnival Journeys 15 night Panama Canal cruise in October 2019. Since this is the most expensive cruise we have ever booked, it will be great to have so much OBC.
The Milestone phone number is 877-225-8477.
Congratulations! Thank you for the information and phone number! Did you have the cruise already booked or did you do book and use both diamond perk and milestone at same time? I am wondering because I did book the Singapore cruise for next year and plan to add the milestone credit for that one but am not sure if I can ask for Diamond upgrade since I am already booked? Thanks
Melody
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my daughter just got the ocean club deal in her email after we got home from our cruise. My husband and I and she would like to book under this deal but she may not be able to go and the deal is in her name. Can we three book and if she cannot come do they make us pay more at the port? Just wondering if this has happened to anyone.
If its thru casino and she is the one the deal is for then no you can't use the offer. It should state that in the fine print that offer must be redeemed by the guest named in offer communication. Once it is booked it will still state (see below)
A valid and qualifying VIFP Club Member number is required from at least one person in the stateroom to be eligible for this offer. Promotional deposit for 1st and 2nd guest is non-refundable. Cancellation penalties apply.
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I am all about the Cloud 9 Spa. And what I have seen online about the Vista class, the T-Pool in the spa is much smaller and right next to the heated loungers. What Einstein came up with the idea to put a noisy spa tub right next to heated loungers that one lies on to relax? Look for yourself...that T-Pool is about 30 inches from the heated loungers. Compared to the Dream Class where the the T-Pool is much bigger and it's own room to contain the noise.
Yeah, we were on Horizon inaugural and bought spa pass. Not good. Pool is smaller with no neck jets and was hotter than regular hot tubs. Some days couldn't even get in it so hot. They had to keep calling maintenance .The only good thing about being with loungers in same room is you could get up from pool and go right to one and bonus no guy snoring on lounger (yes it has happened many times to us lol)because of the noise of people talking in pool. Not a good idea on Carnivals part. I will be on magic first time next month and also in october (with spa room yeah) so hoping better. Horizon does have new buffet stations which are nice and new elevator system that takes some getting used to. Nice ship but not for spa area. I know someone mentioned casino, we didn't like the casino slots either. Very high (6.00-8.88) max denominations and weird machines. Vista at least had good slots. Had a great time though and do love the ship but some things make ya scratch your head and say hmmm lol.
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I tried to upgrade to aft wrap and they would not let me. Was limited to extended balcony on the Miracle which might have been maybe 2 foot deeper but not enough room to allow lounge chair.
That stinks! Well hopefully I plan out best way to use the upgrade then if we don't use the 3/4 guests. Would have been nice to be able to use for wrap
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You will be able to apply your 25% OBC on any cruise from number 25 to number 49. If you get a letter about it, (I never got one after cruise 25, cruise 50 or cruise 75). the letter may say it must be redeemed in the next 18 months. In reality, they are very flexible about this. I applied my 75% OBC on my 93rd cruise in September that had already been booked. I phoned the milestone desk and they were very cooperative. I would give you the milestone phone number, but it is on my desk in Florida, and I am now in Copenhagen, Denmark. Congratulations on earning the milestone reward.
Thank you so much for the info and the congrats on my milestone! I can't even begin to image 93 cruises so Congrats to you! Looks like we are on Breeze transition cruise together.
Melody
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Best to do it on a longer cruise. We used on for Hawaii and the other for a 14 day relocation cruise
That's a good idea. I might break it after all. I do want to use for Hawaii next year and am waiting to book because says new bookings only.
I also am interested in the post about highest balcony cabin and restrictions? So I could book a oceanview room and use upgrade for premium vista wrap? I thought class in class ( like inside to inside ect.)
Thanks everyone for the answers!
Melody
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The two programs are independent of each other. Once Diamond, or maybe even now, you can call the Diamond Desk and ask what the process is.
Thanks, I will give them a call after I turn diamond then ( I don't have the diamond number). I will wait on the booking I was looking at for this.
Melody
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I just did a search on Carnival's website & I don't see anything that would restrict you from using both your Milestone OBC & your Diamond fare discount on the same booking. But I would call customer service to verify this before you book. Congratulations.
Yeah I didn't see any restrictions either but you never know. That's why I thought maybe someone on here has done this before and knows answer for sure. I will have to call I guess and ask (but you sometimes get different answers depending on who you talk to on there too lol)Thanks for the Congrats! Been on my bucket list and happy to finally be close to getting it!
Thank you all for help and answers!
Melody
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Hello, I was hoping someone might know the answer for a question I have. I turn Diamond on my September cruise (Yeah!!!) and my October one is my milestone. I see that in benefits it says diamond benefit of either cabin upgrade or 3/4 guests sail free. I have read the milestone you can get 25% off that persons future sailing of choice. Actually I think I have 2 questions now. How does that work for the diamond 3/4 guest? Do the 3/4 guests have to be in same cabin? Also can I book same cruise and use 3/4 guest free and milestone credit for me? I also read on Carnival website that applicable with new sailings only. I wanted to secure a room for next year on Hawaii cruise for birthday but thats the cruise I want to use these benefits for. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Melody
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I haven't received the email either. Wondering why!
Singapore - tips and things to do
in Asia
Posted
I am looking forward to it too and will be on to Rome as well. My DH is staying home as it’s too long to be away from work for him. My friend Tanya is joining me for this cruise.