sentosa25

11 hours ago, reeves35 said:

Apparently there are quite a few baths in Budapest.  The only advice I have heard is don't put your head under water.  Two people I know went to the baths and both got very bad ear infections which meant they were unable to fly for a week.

I will bear that in mind, thank you

Can anyone advise me where we dock in Budapest please.

Son is in Budapest today and thinks we would really enjoy a trip to The Gellert Baths.

https://johnrieber.com/2018/11/03/taking-the-waters-in-budapest-peek-inside-the-baths-at-gellert-spa-hungarys-history-along-the-danube/

Hoping it might be feasible.

Thanks.

On 3/9/2023 at 4:12 AM, reeves35 said:

Hi Do you know if Travelmarvel offers a prepaid drinks package covering drinks outside of lunch and dinner?

 

Got my TA to check and NO, they do not offer a prepaid Drinks Package, you can order drinks from the bar.

I also asked about bringing an Iron on board and that is a NO

Queen of my Heart and Canal archive,

Thank you both for so much valuable information.

I had assumed it would have been a coach transfer for everyone at the same time, so great that we can do a little more exploring.

I'm all for coffee and cake in Budapest.😄

And great information about the trams.

We like to wonder along mostly doing our own things so the towns will suit us nicely.

We have decided against Salzburg and currently mulling over Cesky Krumlov.

Thanks again,

Anne

Thank you CPT trips.

That would be a good option, hadn't considered that.

Do you know if there is a Taxi rank near the port?

We have an airport transfer included , so would have to be sure we could make our own way to the Airport.

Oh Canal Archive and Steamboats,

Thank you so much for the suggestions.

I hope to be celebrating my birthday that day and want it to be a real treat .🎂

Hello Queen of my Heart,

hope you have lots of happy memories of Belfast 💖

Had a chat with our travelling companions and we have a couple of queries .

Did you do any of the Optional Tours?

Any included tours that you didn't particularly enjoy?

We want to try Cake and Coffee in Vienna, any recommendations?

We are planning on going to the Mozart Concert in Vienna.

What time were you off the ship in Budapest for you airport transfer? Our flight is not until 3 10pm.

Is the airport far from the town? 

Thank you .

Anne

Thank you so much for a great reply.

You have given me lots to think about.

We are going with another couple and are meeting up soon the discuss the cruise.

I am sure we will have more questions after that.

Thank you again,

Kind regards,

Sentosa

Should have said that this is a first River Cruise for us, very different from what we have done before, but really looking forward to it.

Hello Q om H,

We are booked on Polaris from Amsterdam to Budapest in the spring and I would like to ask a few questions if I may?

What is the evening entertainment like? Somewhere it mentions dancing, do they have live music?

Did you attend the optional trip to a Mozart and Strauss concert in Vienna?

The information I have been given mentions three dining venues, Panorama Restaurant ,Vista Lounge and Irish bar, did you only have two options? 

Thank you,

Sentosa

We have had the cruise of a lifetime in Iceland - fabulous!

 

Read more info in our travelogue:

https://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/Eclipse-Iceland-1/eclipse-iceland-1.html

 

Enjoy!

Beautifully written and very detailed review with wonderful photographs.

Thank you so much for sharing.

Anne

Also interested re flights out of MIA.

Can anyone confirm if luggage valet is available to be used for international flights (e.g. MIA-LHR) ?

I don't think so.

We tried to use it after a Transpacific arriving into Seattle in May and it seemed to be flights in America only.

The airlines that could be utilised were American, Delta, United,Jet Blue, Southwest and U S Airways.

Would be fantastic if it was available for all airlines.

We were also on the May 10th cruise. :) Great cruise!

 

sentosa25 - That's false about having to board so late. Boarding, depending on your stateroom type, will start the process around 11:00. We stayed over night before the cruise. Left our hotel at 10:30 and got out of our taxi at 10:50 to off-load luggage. Boarded the shuttle, and were at the pier by 11:20. Checked in and onboard by 11:30. ;)

 

We also had no trouble getting off in Reykjavik to meet our guide on time. We allowed plenty of time, got in line, and were off the ship in about 5 minutes.

We loved most everything about the trip. Beautiful and interesting ports of call. We especially loved Belfast and the surrounding countryside, Shetland, and Akureyri.

 

If you have not been to Edinburgh, I suggest you go there for your day in Glasgow.

Thank you so much for that information,

that is what I was really hoping to hear.

Were you originally given a late boarding time?

Glad you liked Belfast, did you manage to travel further,? lots of beautiful countryside here,and weather in May has been great.

Our daughter lives in Edinburgh, so will definitely be there. It is an amazing city, we love to visit, any excuse and we are there :hearteyes::hearteyes:

We were told on board that we had to wait for high tide to leave. Also, it was an interesting sail-in - the ship had to be backed in due to a lack of turning space at the pier.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Quite understand the need to wait until high tide to sail.

It's the fact that we have been advised that boarding will not commence until 4 pm.

If that is the case, stay IN Dun Loaghaire for a few days pre or post cruise. It's a lovely part of Dublin. The Royal Marine hotel has authentic older charm and excellent service. Two minutes walk from the Dart station so easy access to the Dublin tourist sites as well as the lovely small towns along the seaside. The Air Coach (not the AirLink) bus from the airport stops literally at the front door of the hotel.

Thanks jkgourmet,

I am going to wait until I have confirmation which port it will be and then will book at least one night before the cruise.

We love the Royal Marine , and Dun Laoghaire is a lovely little town.

We live in Northern Ireland so this is a first cruise for us with no flights .

We will either take the Enterprise Train to Connolly station , cross the platform and use the Dart, or use the Aircoach to the Airport and then the Airlink bus.

Post cruise we will just head for home,probably using the Celebrity Transfer to Dublin Airport and then the Aircoach.

Sentosa

Belfast was a very interesting city. And our driver/guide had a definite point of view!

 

The itinerary always had the 10:00pm departure time, which was nice as it gave some extra time in Dublin. Also, it's a very short trip to Belfast anyway. I did wonder if it provided more time for dock workers to restock the ship, since it's not a very regular cruise port like Miami, for example, and they might not have all the capacity to do it quickly.

 

Boarding was available from approximately 10:30am (or maybe 11:30am) to 8:00pm. Disembarkation could occur as soon as the ship cleared. We were on the pier side of the ship and very early people were leaving with their luggage even though we had the overnight there.

Hello again TexSea,

I hope you enjoyed your Belfast tour never the less.

I am interested in your boarding times as we have been told that boarding will not commence until 4pm for the 10 15pm sail away, which means a lot of waiting about.

Reflection is due to dock at 6am that morning.

My TA has not been able to find out any reason for this late boarding as yet.

I do know that there is a possibility that we may be leaving from the new cruise terminal at Dun Laoghaire if it is ready by then. Dun Laoghaire is about 15 Km south of Dublin .

Hello Texsea,

Thank you for posting this.

We are doing a very similar cruise next May, but going to Glasgow instead of Belfast.

We live about 20 miles from Belfast, hope you enjoyed your day there.

I noticed that you sailed from Dublin at 10pm, we are also scheduled for a late sail away, in spite the previous cruise docking in Dublin at 6am.

Was there any reason given for the late sail away?

What time were you actually allowed to board?

What about disembarking in Dublin?

Thank you.

Sentosa.

Just off the Eclipse and we bought an Internet package.

We were just going to use our Elite minutes, but they had discounted the cost and were offering a second package at a well at a reduced price.

We did aTransatlantic and were delighted to find the speed was great.

You can not use your Elite minutes towards a package but will get Elite discount.

Did a B to B on Infinity in March

Wifi was usual flakey Wifi on first cruise.

Had a lot of OBC to use on second cruise so we bought the full time package (sorry, can't remember the proper name!)

Normal cost for 14 day cruise is $299, but we got Elite Discount making it $209.

We found the speed much quicker than the first cruise , but not perfect.

I could use What's Ap and Skype to keep in touch, send emails and pictures and could surf as well. At busy times, emails with pictures attached were 'queued' but did go eventually.

We bought one package between us and, for us, it worked out very well.

You can use as many devices on the package as you want (we used four, two tablets, two phones) BUT you can only have one device logged in at a time.

It does tell you if a device is already logged in.

I had the package on my account and my husband was still able to use his free Elite Internet allowance.

It worked very well for us and we would buy it again.

How do you go on if you want to do your own tour on the changeover day?

We are looking at doing a tour in Sydney after our Australia cruise before going on to New Zealand. What time will we be able to leave the ship and would we be expected to reboa red at a specific time. ??

We got our new sea passes between 7am and 9am and I had arranged a private walking tour for 12 of us in Valparaiso at 9 30am.

We met at the Martini Bar at 9am and walked off in plenty of time.

We were told we could come back anytime, bypass the check in line and go straight to security.

I am not sure you could go back to your cabin as they were all closed off, all announcements said you could make yourself comfortable in any of the Public lounges .

We were told the latest time to be back as we had to do Muster Drill again, that will all depend on what time you are sailing at.

Did a B to B in March from Buenos Aires to Miami.

Towards the end of the first cruise, we had a letter inviting us to a meeting in the Theatre to explain how things would happen.

After confirming your cabin number and that you were actually doing a B to B we were given a glass of champagne .( nice touch :))

On the change over morning, we had to go to the Constellation Lounge between 7am and 9am BEFORE getting off the ship , to get our new sea passes and security photos retaken.

I asked to keep my old sea pass and was told that I could not have it that day, but it would be returned to me, and it was , last day of the second cruise.

There was a special lunch in MDR , but most of us were out exploring Valparaiso.

On Infinity at the moment, and the Elite Cocktail time is 5pm to 7pm

Àlexandra is an AMAZING Captains Club Hostess.

Cheers Sentosa. Just noticed your upcoming. What a trip! Enjoy! :)

Thank you Jetlagged787,

have never done a b to b before,so a whole new experience for us.

We booked this two years ago, can't believe it is nearly time to pack and get organised. :)

 

 

Well, don't feel too bad, I had to go and look them up to see what you were talking about :o :D :rolleyes:

Yep mine came today at about 3pm UK time

 

I can confirm they do have an Expiration date of 03-Feb-2026 so don't think you have to worry about it expiring before you use it. I guess you didn't notice the year?

 

Already had something line up for my £20 and can confirm they work as its already spent.

 

Brand new set of JABA Rox bluetooth headphones on the way to me ready for my cruise

Woops sprocket 007,

I must have been typing as you posted, then I went back just to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me and it really was 2026 :)