mom4mom

Got off Enchantment 2 weeks ago and was able to send out my jeans and shirts in my wash and fold free bag of laundry for D+. Not just limited to PJs, underwear, socks and t-shirts. 

I always enjoyed my promenade cabins. Midship is always more stable the aft cabins. If you’re looking at the fall 2024 itinerary maybe we’ll see you onboard. 

Ricardo was prompt in picking 6 of us up at the port with our luggage for an overview of Barcelona to orient us for the next 2 days that we would be staying. We had a great overlook of the city from Montjuic where Ricardo pointed out the different areas and landmarks. He was a great driver and guide and we were able to recognize many of the sights he pointed out when we went touring on our own the following days. I highly recommend this company. 

Thanks.  I was never given that message to get tickets at the ticket office on that day.  Hopefully there will be no problem.  I'll try to come back here to post my experience so you will know for Dec.

I understand that it is free to get into the Acropolis on the first Sunday of every month.  We will be there this Sunday, 11/5.  How can we attain tickets?  I don't see anywhere to get them on their website.  Do we just show up?

They might be able to see if the credit card that it was charged to might reimburse them. 

On 9/22/2023 at 9:30 AM, UKCatFan said:

You should check into the tours offered by Barcelona Day Tours. They do a great job and will pick you up at the port and drop you at the airport. The best part is your group size will be 12 or less people in a small van compared to 50 people in a large bus through the ship. We used them the last time we were in Barcelona and will be using them again in April.

Sorry to horn in on another thread but I wanted to ask about your experience with Spain Day Tours. What time were you picked up from the ship after disembarking?  Were you just driving around for the whole 5 hours or did you get out at certain sights?  Thanks for taking the time to answer this. 
 

I agree that a tour with 12 vs 50 would be more beneficial. I’ve also seen on other threads where people book these sightseeing with drop off at airport and they are cancelled at the last minute when they don’t have enough to run them. I’d hate to scramble at the last minute. 

We’ve never been to CoCo Cay but it is a stop on our TA next year. Can our Diamond drink vouchers be used there?

40 minutes ago, keesar said:

We had a non-denominational service on a cruise.  Some Catholics on the ship  said "that does not count".  Actually, it was really nice seeing people of different religions all in one  group.

I've attended a non-denominational service that was not as well attended as a daily Catholic Mass.

Look into AirBnB. I rented a 6 BR, 3 BA apartment with an Acropolis view. We’ll be going in Nov. 

17 hours ago, Boatdrinknc said:

4 of us took a tour today in Athens using George’s Taxi Company. It was fantastic! Our driver named Stratos was a delight. He was a walking Greek historian and showed tremendous pride in his country. We started at the Acropolis where he gave us. 15 minute overview in the car about the history of it and how it related to European history. We went to several stops in Athens not listed on the tour where he gave us a history lesson on each one. It was all very interesting. We then went to the Corinth canal which was an another engineering marvel. We then went to the ruins and museum in Corinth where Paul preached to the Corinthians and learned interesting facts about Paul and his significance in the spreading of Christianity. He made several more stops on our way back to Athens. Stratos is a very experienced guide who planned everything very well. It was about an 8 hour day and we enjoyed every minute of it.

This is so good to know.  We have George's Taxi booked for a similar tour in Athens and Corinth as well as transportation from the airport to our hotel and then to the port 2 days later.  Did you get out at the Acropolis to walk around or just do a drive by?  I hear that everything is set up on a hill there and we are a group of 12 seniors who may have trouble walking uphill.  I hear that there is an elevator that will take us to the top.  I'd hate to miss some of those sites up on the Acropolis if we just do a drive-by.

6 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

I've been to Oia twice. First time -- took a "quick" boat to Oia (waited inside the boat more than 40 mins until the boat was full....), walked to the bus uphill, bus to Oia, where there was a short walk to the center. After 2-3 hours, back to the place where the bus to Fira was waiting, and on arrival at Fira, on my own. Waited almost 2 hours in line to go down with the cable car.

 

2nd time I was "clever". Booked the "Oia on your own" through the ship, priority tendering to Athinios port. It was quick and well organized.

 

I really don't remember if I had to go far to board the waiting bus to Oia. What I remember vividly is that the bus left us in a parking lot at least 10 mins walk to the center of Oia. We were given 2.5 hours to wander, and then walking back to the bus.

 

Same bus left us in Fira, and again, quite a walk to Fira "center" from the bus' parking lot.

Then you have to find your way to the cable car station.

We were given vouchers for the cable car, but we still had to wait in the long line....

We have booked this excursion with Royal Caribbean for Nov. perhaps I’m under the mistaken impression that this is a R/T bus transportation but we are given the option to get off in Fira to spend time there and take the cable car back down if we desire. If your’s was with Royal Caribbean, were you given the option on taking the bus back to the original drop off point?  If not, I might cancel this as I have no desire to use the cable car. 

Allure has it even in an interior cabin. It’s one of my favorite features!

Just now, OC PAT said:

Was that email just for the Odyssey Ship? I wonder if I did that with Vision of the Seasevents, I would be connecting with the right people.  TA will be working for his big dollars.  Thanks!  When we did our South Pacific Cruise they used part of the lounge.

I would address to visionevents@rccl.com

Just sign in to your account on royalcaribbean.com and go to manage my cruise. 

I prearranged with odysseyevents@rccl.com when I wanted alternate sea days to host private games and LCR for my large group on our Odyssey transatlantic last year. They gave us part of the dining room on the opposite side of the ship from their own game space. Your ship is much smaller but perhaps they can set some tables up just dedicated to your group. 

From what I’ve read, the only way to avoid the cable car/donkeys is to take a ship excursion that offers R/T bus after taking their tender to the west side of the island. I booked Oia on Your Own for my cruise in Nov. 

If you will be in Lisbon go here https://pasteisdebelem.pt/en/

Just subtract the taxes and port fees for one person and that will be the price for you.

8 hours ago, Daycare Provider said:

 

Would it be possible to get Miguel Corral’s contact information.  We are sailing on the Symphony of the Seas at the end of July,  We’ve never been to the his port and I’m looking for a guide.

His email is corralmiguel at hotmail dot com. Tell him Joan Sabino sent you. 

I’m wondering what day of the week you are sailing and if you are planning to do cruise line transport to the port. Adding up these costs along with Uber rides to and from an activity near IAH, it might pay to rent an Enterprise car and return it near the port as long as it’s not Sunday as they are closed. A precaution about the area surrounding IAH. The mall nearest there is not a safe area. 

This interactive aquarium is not too far from the airport.  You can sometimes get discount coupons on Groupon.  I bet you kids would love it!  https://www.houstonaquariumtx.com/

I completed booking this cruise last night and got my first aft-balcony.  Woo Hoo!  I'm going to try to set up a group booking so I can invite my church Senior Pals to join me.  I'm anxious to get back to Barcelona to see all that I've missed in the past.  We've been to all these ports already but it will be fun to visit them again.  I'm especially looking forward to Cadiz.  But the glorious sea days are what I most enjoy.  I will try to run some activities like a cabin crawl and LCR if I get enough interest.  These are great ways to get to know more people.  Please consider joining me.

I would look at the Vegan menu on the app and order what sounded good to me. I mostly had soups, salads or appetizers and they were fantastic. I’m not a vegetarian but get real tired of meat. 

Maybe because the virtual balcony never works properly. It pixelated all the time. They fixed it once but it quickly went out of whack. This was on our Arctic Circle cruise in Sept. I probably should have complained more but it really wasn’t worth it to me.