Maksim

Hello, everyone. Hubby and I are planning to do this same itinerary and are debating between the April 3 sailing and the one that sails on May 18th.

 

I know it will be warmer in Dubai and Oman during May than April. If the weather was your prime consideration, would you choose April for the slightly cooler temps? Decisions, decisions.

We are doing the same thinking. The price for May is way cheaper, but I heard the Vision is a nicer ship than Legend. Please let me know what you guys decide and what other pro's and con's you find out. Thanks.

Helen.

Sorry to be a pest, but one more question: can anyone comment on the spa /sauna/ steam area? This is another important part of our decision.

Thank you all for great feedback. Another consideration between the two is the weather. I was told that Dubai can be very hot even in April and possibly unbearable in May. If anyone traveled that route before, it would be good to hear. As to the price, I could book a suite on Legend for less than balcony on Vision. Should this be important and outweigh the difference in the ship layout, etc.?

Need expert advice. Exact same itinerary, from Dubai to Venice. Vision of the Seas in April 2017 and Legend in May 2017. A few concerns: both older ships, but lots of positive feedback. Afraid it will be too hot in Dubai in May, but Venice is warmer in May. Huge price difference, much cheaper in May. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thank you for quick reply. Actually this cruise is for next year. If anyone else took this cruise, please provide your comments and reviews.

We are planning on going RCL April 3-19 from Dubai to Venice. Love the itinerary. Is it a good time of the year to go to that region? Any comments for this cruise are welcome.

We were on NA in aft 5188. Very nice location. Sometimes we could feel a vibration, but I am not sure if this is specifically for the aft, or in general. Didn't bother us.

Just returned from Niew Amsterdam 12 days from Barcelona to Venice. :)It's $30 per bag, stuff it really tight. I was able to put a lot of stuff, even though the bag doesn't look too big. It was well worth it.

We booked VF also and got our assignment 10 days before the cruise. We got VB aft deck 5. Pretty happy about it, although never been in aft. Many people like it. Good luck to you!

Couldn't agree more! Love aft balconies and book them whenever we can! :)

Thank you and cruisinxpert for the encouragement.

This is our first time to Venice and we dock at 1 pm. Just wanted to clarify: are there signs to the people mover as you exit the ship and how much does it cost? It sounds like exact change is needed so I would like to be prepared. Does it take you in the heart of the city? Also, are there other options such as water taxi, etc. Appreciate the advise.

Thank you, Rangers! My family will also be on this cruise on August 8th.

 

I've been a little concerned about the ease in getting a taxi in Marseille. We have a reservation for a boat/swim trip at 9:30am leaving from Vieux Port.

 

This is a pretty port intensive trip - we did it 3 years ago and I believe there was an additional At Sea day.

 

Thanks for your tips! I may have questions for you, I just need a cup of coffee first. :)

 

Julia in Woodinville, WA

Hello Julia,

We are on the same cruise with you. Looking forward to it. Hope to meet you on the ship. Helen.

We did not do the hop on hop off. We did a private tour in Monte Carlo. From what I remember it should be easy to find. The dock is very close to things and it seemed you could easily walk to the palace and cathedral if you knew where you were going. I am sure the bus will be easy to find.

It was very port intensive and a bit overwhelming but we adjusted. I think it was good to have something planned most days otherwise trying to decide what to do each day can become overwhelming. We had tours booked most days for 8 am, which we just had to show up for. I think if we didn't have something booked it would be easy to skip something and then we would have regretted not seeing it. I would book private tours if you can. So much easier than bus tours and you can see twice as many things.

We used suntransfers.com for our taxi in Venice. Very easy to set up online. It was 90 euro but there were seven of us and 11 bags. We were docked the night before and some people were attempting to set up a taxi for the next day but they were closed. When we got off the ship the next morning there were plenty of taxis. The water bus is also right there depending on how much luggage it could work for you.

Thank you so much. We have private tours in some places and some on our own. Hope it works. My DH doesn't like too much pressure of tours and being rushed. Looking forward to it.

DW and I were in that cabin for a week in February. Unfortunately, I haven't any photos of the balcony or cabin, but both were average in size, neither the biggest nor smallest we've had. We absolutely loved the aft cabin and its view and have two cruises booked for 2016 in aft cabins, including 10 days on the Koningsdam. I'm sure you'll love it!

Thank you.

Nice upgrade. I have a VB aft booked for November because I didn't want to take a chance that I might get it. I haven't been on the Nieuw Amsterdam - only the aft on the Vista ships- so not sure how much deeper the balcony is but the view is mesmerizing IMO. Personally, I think the view is even better on the lower decks.

Thank you so much for your comments. This is our first HAL and first time aft. Perhaps someone else can elaborate on the size and how it's different from the side balcony cabins.

We just got our assignment from VF Guarantee to VB 5188. This is an aft cabin on deck 5. Has anyone stayed in it or another one close to it? Are those balconies larger or the same size as the ones on a side? I was hoping to get a higher deck, at least 6 if not 7 or 8, but I heard aft cabins are really nice. We never stayined in it but always wondered. Any comments are appreciated. Helen.

Mine just showed up. Booked VF and got VB on deck 5 aft. Have anyone stayed in the aft balcony? We never did. A lot of people like it. I was hoping for the higher deck, but at least I didn't get one of those metal railings. I wonder if these balconies are larger than the ones on the side. Any feedback is appreciated.

We are also on this cruise on August 8. (same as previous post). Thank you so much for the tips. I have a couple questions:

Did you use hop on hop off in Monte Carlo, and if so, was it easy to find?

Was it a bit overwhelming to be every day in port with only one day at sea?

How was transport in Venice to the airport? Did you book it through HAL, or just hired a taxi? If so, how much did it cost?

Thanks again. Helen.

When you book a guarantee you pretty much give up your right for a preference. I book them too so I get it. Usually when the categories are showing as sold out they are doing the assignment or it is truly sold out. I usually go onto a online cruise seller just to double check if it's sold out. Good luck on your assignment.

Thank you. I did go to other online sellers and they either don't show it at all or show sold out. I still think that HAL created this artificial situation on their website. Perhaps it will show availability again once the assignments are complete.

We are still waiting as well. No upsell offers. Sailing on the 8th of August. I keep checking my luggage tag every day now and nothing. I know that people on the same ship prior to us got their assignment about 10 days before the cruise. I actually sent them an e-mail stating what my preferences are in case upgrade is available and if not, what is my preference within the category I purchase, but no reply came in. We'll see. Getting anxious. The strange thing happened with this cruise. Never seen this before. I was checking the availability periodically to see what's available just to guess what my chances of the upgrade and there were plenty of cabins on all the decks. All of a sudden next day everything showed as sold out. Either they just blocked their system in order for anxious people not to look or they just wanted to show sold out in order not to provide any upgrades / upsells / cabin changes when passengers receive assignment. There is no possible way to sell all available cabins overnight. Any thoughts from anyone?

ours just showed up. Booked SY guarantee and got a SY cabin. it is a connecting one so hopefully that isn't an issue but happy with location etc. I figured we wouldn't get an upgrade as the prices have been above what we paid for almost the whole time since we booked. There was only a slight drop after we booked but we would have lots our explore4.

We are sailing on the same day with you but out of Barcelona. Still waiting. The strangest thing happened: I checked the availability via dummy reservation and there were lots of available balcony cabins in various categories. All of a sudden next day everything showed sold out. This is our first time doing guarantee and first time on HAL. Never seen anything like this on other lines. The other thing is that I broke VF as it was cheaper at the time yet they discounted VE and VH later on. When I called to see if I get upgraded, they said nothing can be done as my category is not the one that got discounted and to rebook after final payment will cost me more. We shall see what happens.

Thank you so much for quick replies. We are planning on taking taxis to town or hop on hop off in Monte Carlo, for example. Not likely public transport. I know how much I need for tours, it's the rest of it unclear. We usually take some snacks with us but sometimes buy lunches. In general we are not huge spenders but if something comes along like cute souvenirs, we might. The serious stuff I like to buy in reputable stores where we use cc. Thanks again.

Can anyone advise how much cash is needed if we are doing 12 days Mediterreanean with 6 ports on our own and 4 are already booked tours? I mean how much cash just for those on our own besides the tours? Thank you in advance for the advise.

Thank you, Ruth.

That explains it.

What a nuisance to have to scroll side to side to read a thread.

 

Maksim,,,,

If we ask really nicely would you consider setting your signature vertically rather than horizontally to save us all from the oversize layout on the page?

Thanks if you'll consider that. :)

 

Not a problem. Happy to do it, just not sure how. I set my signature per instructions and when I look back at my posts, they don't look strange or out of the ordinary. I will give it a try.

Thank you so much, Chloe. I received tourofitaly first and replied to them that I agree, but then email came from Aldolimo with the quote of 10 euros less. It's not much difference as long as we get good service. I kind of feel bad now to cancel tourofitaly as I provided our cell number and all that. What do you think?