cloverose

On 3/14/2022 at 2:52 AM, Tropiclady said:

Thank you. We are also cruising with Emerald.

We are cruising Emerald the latter part of May. As this is our first river cruise, we are not sure what to expect! 

On 6/11/2022 at 6:48 PM, mjmiller said:

In 2018, Emerald docked directly across the river from the Parliament building.  It should be Budapest Batthyány tér, Pier 1, 1011 Hungary.  If that isn't exact, it's really darn close.  🙂

Sorry for the off-topic question here, but we have never done a river cruise and are planning Budapest to Munich next May. Does it matter whether you choose port side for your cabin?

9 hours ago, hallasm said:

Doesn’t matter regarding views  - temperature might be higher in the afternoon.

Thank you!

We are going to Norway in June on HAL. We are looking at shore excursions tours in Alesund and Geiranger through Norway Excursions. There are multiple times for departures. I have read that views are weather dependent. I am wondering which I should choose—early morning, late morning, or early afternoon or if it would not matter. 

On 1/9/2022 at 2:00 PM, kdr69 said:

Just a thought but if testing protocols are still in effect and the train goes into the Yukon you may be required to submit a PCR Test prior to entering Canada.

We are on the waitlist for Chilkoot Tours in May. They said they would not reserve and charge until they know the requirements from Canada for this year's season, and would be in touch by email. Even with the new regulations announced by Canada today, we will have passed the number of hours allowed for a negative test by the time we dock in Skagway after testing to enter Canada and board the ship in Vancouver on Saturday. What a shame for Chilkoot Tours and those of us who want to do the tour!

2 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Bar is full. One table of Georgia fans. 👀

I can’t believe we forgot tonight was the championship game!! I was reading your fun, almost live -time review in anticipation of our Sunshine cruise from Charleston on the 17th and Hubby was watching Netflix! Just started 2nd half 😂😂😂Go GA 🏈

On 8/11/2021 at 12:41 PM, Bermuda C said:

We just ours today at CVS. We are vaxed so we could get the Antigen (rapid).  Very easy, in an out in 5 minutes and got the results in 30.  No cost

Same for us today at CVS also.

12 hours ago, stitchcreek said:

Had a look, but unfortunately they only offer one tour, which would be too long for us based on our flight time...

I am sorry this did not work for you. We have not done it yet but will on Oct. 11. Best of luck in your search!

We have booked Sunseeker Tours for an LA tour from the port that will take your luggage, provide a tour of LA nightlights, and take you to LAX or back to a port area hotel if you are staying there. I found them online. 

We are using Sunseeker Tours for a tour of Los Angeles when we get off the Joy on Oct. 11. They will take your luggage and deliver you to LAX at the end of the tour or back to a port area hotel, depending upon on which option you choose. We are staying in San Pedro as we are leaving on Carnival Legend the next day, but thought this would give us a tour of LA highlights and we have never been there before. I found them online. They could tell you if they could accommodate a scooter.

3 hours ago, bayoubabies said:

I know that Celebrity allows you to bring 2 bottles of wine onboard when you arrive. My question is...can you buy a bottle of liquor at the onboard liquor store to have in your cabin. I'm sure there would be a up charge of some kind, but is it allowed? We don't won't the drink package...we really don't drink that much and will pay as we go, but it might me nice to have a bottle in our room. Sorry if this question has been asked before, I seem to be having a problem doing any searching on this site. 

Is there a bottle size specification for the wine? Do you pay a corkage fee if you consume it in your stateroom?

On 5/4/2019 at 8:58 AM, mamathilde said:

I will be following along!  Can’t wait to see the new Summit in August!  

So glad I found this today! Spur of the moment booking for our anniversary during July 7th sailing. We haven't cruised Celebrity but once in 2015 on Eclipse Transatlantic. Thanks for all the info!

12 hours ago, MzShae said:

Happy belated anniversary! I'm enjoying your review so far & am looking forward to more.

Happy Anniversary! Thanks for letting us go with you vicariously! Looking forward to more!

1 minute ago, skrufy said:

Were on the repo cruise also. Our first time on a ship above the conquest class

We love transatlantic cruises! This will be our third. There is already a roll call.

4 hours ago, lasekeye said:

We have booked her first passenger sailing. September 2020, London to New York.

 

This will be our first mega ship (Legend, Splendor & Breeze are our previous ships).

We are booked for the first sailing, Europe from Copenhagen to Southampton, and the transatlantic following.  

11 hours ago, globalhoneymooning said:

Thanks, CloverRose. Was the onboard Cuban show an extra charge? I read another post indicating there was a charge on their sailing in 2018.

No extra charge. For the best seats, it is good to go early to the pool deck. The regular shows are good, too. The theater is rather small as the ship added cabins. You should go early to get good seats. The acrobats were especially talented.

On 4/15/2019 at 10:15 AM, globalhoneymooning said:

I'm sailing on MSC Armonia for the first time later this month and wondering if gelato is still free and will I still be able to order zero-proof cocktails and a shot of alcohol to mix in... or has that changed with the very recent drink packages news?

 

Also, how good is the Cuban entertainment onboard during the overnight in Havana? I've been researching Tropicana, Buena Vista Social Club and Cabaret Parisien and the reviews are so-so (overpriced, crowded, smoke-filled, etc). TIA

We thought the Cuban entertainment was very good. It was held on the pool deck on our sailing March 25. The costumes and dancing were beautiful. I wasn’t able to get good pictures because of the artificial lighting and wish it had been in the theater instead. The Tropicana show is so late at night that we did not book it because we had a full day of touring planned for the next day with a 9 am meeting of the tour guide. Cuba is beautiful! We enjoy it so much that this was our second cruise to Cuba, last August on Carnival and again in March. 

23 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

@cloverose if you are the only ship in, you will use Pier 27...the Cruise Ship Terminal. If more than one ship, you could be at Pier 35.

 

A quick Google search ("San Francisco Cruise Ship schedule") finds a couple of lists of ships in port. For example:

 

https://sfport.com/sites/default/files/Cruises/Docs/2019.pdf

 

http://crew-center.com/san-francisco-california-cruise-ships-schedule-2019

 

As we don't know what date you are in SF, can't give you the final answer.

Thanks, CruiserBruce! Your first link gave the pier as 27 for NCL Joy on Oct. 9. The second one is the one I saw yesterday but did not see the pier listed and did not know the schedule for two or more ships. 

5 hours ago, lab_love123 said:

I did a Big Bus Muir Woods tour, booked through Viator. Not a "private" tour, but a fairly small group. Also met around Fisherman's Wharf. It was really good. Comfy vehicle. Great driver. Muir Woods is absolutely breathtaking. 

 

cloverose - do you know what pier you're docking at? It's actually a very easy, flat walk along the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf. Should only take about 10-15 minutes if you have the time.

Thanks, lab_love123! We do not know which pier NCL uses in San Francisco and I could not find it online. We have not sailed NCL before but wanted to try them as the time suited our schedule. I googled the directions. We will walk if we have the time when we are allowed to exit the ship. Walking along the Embarcadero sounds like a fun way to see the sights along the way! We are excited to see Muir Woods and some of San Francisco as we have never been there before. So glad your tour was really good!

On 3/3/2019 at 9:58 PM, music said:

Hi,

Heading to the California coast soon and we are looking for a private tour for Muir wood trip from San Fran. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

We booked through Viator with Dylan’s Tours for small group tour of Muir Woods and San Francisco for next October. Meeting point is Fisherman’s Wharf, about a mile from the cruise terminal according to Google, so we plan to get a cab if needed to get there for 9:30 a.m. 

On 3/21/2019 at 6:17 PM, T.O.cruisers said:

People are more inclined to post a negative review than a favourable review. Go with an open mind.

We sailed the Armonia on April 25. We had a great time! We enjoyed the Marco Polo dining room for evening meals but did not get the expected service in the dining room at breakfast the first morning, so we went to the buffet for breakfast after that day. The dinner food was better than we anticipated after seeing pictures posted of dry fish and shriveled up key lime pie. I only ordered them because our waiter recommended them as “very good this evening” and they were. When I ordered the pecan crusted snapper the first elegant night, the waiter said it was “not as good as usual this evening” and directed me to beef rounds, which were excellent without the sauce I opted to skip. I believe MSC is making an effort to address the criticisms set forth on CC. The Cruise Critic party was well attended so others also heard their promise to attempt to provide good experiences for their guests. We will sail MSC again for the right itinerary and price.

On 10/21/2018 at 8:58 PM, riclop said:

The 12 drinks coupon is no longer offered.

On 4/4/2019 at 1:40 PM, saxkid said:

Keep us posted!

We had the 12 drink package on the Armonia March 25th sailing. There was a table set up to go to when you boarded if you were supposed to get the tickets. I signed for our 12 tickets each and we had no problem using them. They did not add any drink gratuities to our final bill either. This was our first MSC cruise and we were pleased overall with our experience. We only had a couple of hiccups the entire eight days. I think MSC is taking note of the negative posts and making a good effort to try to please new customers. We would sail again for the right itinerary and price!

1 hour ago, VgsBby said:

Following your review, we'll be boarding next week. Can you please let us know if they turn back the clocks at all.

 

Thanks.

We will be boarding next week, too! I also thank you for your live review. Please comment on food and entertainment if you have the chance! Enjoy your cruise.

Thank you! That will be a nice perk if we do get them!

13 hours ago, thetaro said:

ya, my e-ticket in may also says 12 drinks voucher.

 

It's probably just incompetent IT guys forgot to change the template that generates these e-tickets.

My e-ticket for Armonia March 25th also says 12 drinks voucher. First time on MSC. If we do get them for Fantastica Experience, what alcohol would it cover?