KBAJ

Thanks to all. You do make me feel a bit better. It was the only balcony type cabin available that we could afford. The true balconies seem to sell out VERY quickly... maybe something that Celebrity might notice?  Forewarned is forearmed, though and, at least I will be prepared mentally if it does happen. THANKS!!

I just read a review that stated their "infinite veranda" was locked shut many days due to weather/winds. We are scheduled to be on the transatlantic cruise and am worried this might happen to us. My claustrophobia is already starting to kick in. Can someone please share their experiences - does this happen very often? TIA.

Also curious if you had trip insurance and, if so, was it through the cruise line or a private company?

Are there Ubers in Barcelona?

Cyber Kat - I would be interested in how your accomplished the upgrade from the Viking economy fare to Business class.  Did you call the airline directly and pay directly to them? (can you say which airline?) 

Leenie, we did not have to hand over our passports during the cruise. We kept them in the cabin safe except for the time when we had the Irish immigration control staff come on board in Cobn and stamp them.

Just got off the Crown this week - embarkation/debarkation in Dublin - It appears that they've got their immigration issues figured out, (although not all the staff is aware of this as we had received a few different scenarios depending on who we asked!)  We only had to show up for our passports to be stamped once and that was when we got back to Ireland (the port of Cobh). Everyone met in the main dining room, numbers were given to you as you arrived. A long table with about 6 immigration officials was set up and groups of 20 or so at a time were called up, the official said "hello", asked a few questions, stamped your passport and we were off.  Easy peasy.

Thanks everyone! Why didn't I think of room service? ;-)

Hi all, Can anyone tell me from experience if there is a coffee maker in the veranda cabins on the Sky? On the Viking website it lists a coffee brewer under DV cabin benefits but not under V. However, in other places I read that the difference was basically the location of the cabin on board. Help! .... signed, an early morning caffeine addict...

Has anyone ever been on a ship where the Spa Passes have sold out? If they don't sell out, do they ever sell day passes?

We're on the same cruise but I hadn't read the horrible reviews - what did they say? Any tendering is always a pain but was there something special?

:confused: Taking an international flight into Milan for a three day visit to Lake Como area before embarking ship in Venice. 2 couples would like to stay near airport as we arrive late in the evening and travel to the Lake district on the next day. I'm looking for recommendations for such a hotel. I understand there are 2 on the airport property but can anyone reccommend others nearby especially with airport shuttle and/or breakfast included? Thanks in advance.

What service did RCI supply for the "service fee"? I'm the one sitting at the computer doing the research and making my own reservation on line. Maybe I should get on on-line booking discount.

Most of the time you can get a better bargain by booking your cruise through a travel agent. The cruise company itself cannot sell a cruise for less than they offer it to travel agents to sell. Granted, some TA may charge you more for their service, but often they are able to give you some OBC (on board credit) that booking through the cruise line itself will not.

First of all, while the IConcierge app is free, if you want to text others while on board the ship, each person must download AND THEN PAY a $10.00 fee. If you're not opposed to the fee, try to download the app BEFORE getting on the ship. We had the Internet package on board and, while I thought it seemed faster than other ships, it's still not as fast as home!

Secondly, don't waste your time trying to figure out the cabin television or IConsierge app for making reservations once on board. Half the time it wouldn't work for us. Just pick up your cabin phone and call the box office for shows, and restaurant reservation line for specialty restaurants. If you don't get reservations to a show you really want to see, do not despair. Show up about 35 minutes before the show and wait in the "standby" line. You'll probably get in. Lots of people make reservations and then don't show up.

Thirdly, be aware, if you want to use the sauna or steam room, you will either have to shell out extra $ and book a "spa balcony" or the $$$ and book a Haven room or BUY a Thermal suite pass. ($199/week prior to our cruise, $249 on board). There is no included sauna or steam room for regular passengers.

Any other questions?

Can anyone tell me if there is a sauna available for free or if the only sauna is in the thermal suite? and, what is the current cost of a thermal suite membership? Thanks in advance1 KBAJ

Just got back from Buenos Aires last week and was originally very nervous about this whole "blue market" dollar exchange. It wound up being very simple. We walked down Calle Florida and asked a few people calling out "combo" what their rate was and eventually decided what the average rate was 14 pesos/dollar (while the official rate was about 10). I was surprised, though, to find out that you could get a bit higher rate for $100 bills as i had read somewhere to bring smaller bills. We ended the cruise in Argentina so were cautious to exchange only as many dollars as we would need because, not even Argentinians want to buy back their currency! Same with Chilean pesos. Most restaurants, taxis, stores were happy to take our dollars but the exchange rate varied greatly from 12 to 16.

I recommend getting in touch with Ruta Valparaiso Tours -http://rutavalparaiso.cl/sitio_ruta_index_en.htm - ask for Cristian Blanco. He was able to pick us up in Santiago and design a schedule of private tours/dining for two days before dropping us off at our ship in Valparaiso on the third day. He speaks excellent English (he lived for a while in the states) and is just a really nice friendly guy!

I recommend getting in touch with Ruta Valparaiso Tours -http://rutavalparaiso.cl/sitio_ruta_index_en.htm - ask for Cristian Blanco. He was able to pick us up in Santiago and design a schedule of private tours/dining for two days before dropping us off at our ship in Valparaiso on the third day. He speaks excellent English (he lived for a while in the states) and is just a really nice friendly guy!

Just got back last week from our South American cruise on Norwegian and we stopped at Port Stanley. There were no hop-on hop-off buses there. There was a mini-bus service to and from the port and Gypsy Cove that ran supposedly every half hour. I think the cost was $25 per person. When we walked out of the dock area, we (two couples) saw a local driver and contracted with him. For $20 each he drove us out to the cove, waited while we walked out to see the penguins and then drove us by the other interesting places in town before dropping us off in the town area (per our request). This turned out to be perfect as the weather was very, very windy, cool and misty/rainy that day (it did actually clear up in the late afternoon right about the time our ship was leaving!) and we didn't have to wait for the bus to return. Plus he was great about giving us the scoop on what it was like to live there. We did not get off the ship first thing in the morning so perhaps we were just lucky in securing a private cab. He did say we were his 4th clients of the day. He told us that, when the ships come in, many employers give their non-essential staff the option of taking the day off so they can supplement their income by doing this. Kind of a win-win. I will say that we didn't see all that many penguins at Gypsy Cove and they were pretty far away - on the beach. There were two Park volunteers or staff at the viewing area to answer questions or perhaps making sure everyone stayed within the viewing boundaries. It was very pretty though and, in better weather, I would have really enjoyed it more. Have fun!

Thanks for your review.... can you tell me if there was a room service charge during your cruise? I have read various reports but nothing recent.

DH booked this cabin for British Isle cruise because, from deck plan, it looked like a larger balcony. From the few photos I have been able to find of that part of the ship, it looks like the balcony has a very limited view and may not actually be any larger than regular balconies... Does anyone have any advice or personal knowledge? Photos? Thanks in advance!