BosoxI

If you've got the time, do it and find out. I can't wait to do a TA.

There's simply no way to predict sea states. We've done about 10 TAs and TPs. The roughest were going into Sydney and crossing the Bay of Biscayne. Really rough. Most have been very smooth, including northern Atlantic passages in October. On one very smooth trip our captain announced that a sister ship 300 miles to the north was being buffeted by heavy seas. It's a crap shoot. Personally, I like a rough day or two, just to make me feel I'm on an ocean, not a lake.

This sailing has gone missing from celebritycruises.com, but is still available on third party sites. Is there any reason why this would happen?

 

I'm booked on this cruise already and am freaking out that it's being drydocked or chartered or something.

I just found it on the X site with no problem. Suites re sold out, it shows. Don't sweat it yet.:p

Yes, we never travel with a passport that does not have at least 6 months left due to travel restrictions in many countries. it is sometimes a bummer, as we had a valid Brazil Visa that was still good for another 2 years, but had to lose it as we needed new passports....

Yup, and it's a bit of a pain getting a Brazilian visa. Ah, well. We weren't planning a return to Brazil anyway in the foreseeable future..

I had it on Reflection in December and Millie in October. The problem I found was that they put the lid on top of everything and between the moisture in the olives and the hummus or whatever, the chips were soggy (or else they were just really OLD).

You are so right. Those chips are as soggy and chewy as they can be

I don't believe we ever lost contact on the Eclipse's TA this past Spring. On other TAs we have lost the internet and TV for a day or two. I don't know whether the systems have improved or we were just lucky this last trip. We'll be on the Constellation in November, so I'll be interested to see.

Blu would be a nice bonus but not a must -

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That's the right attitude. Some people love it, others are not impressed. Personally, I thing Blu has gone downhill, but to each his own. We do like the venue, but the food...?

The OP has already said it's NOT a safety issue. I wouldn't go, just to make the political statement. Mexico won't see me again, either. Good for the OP who is definitely not being silly.

We are booked in 2015 for a 14 day cruise starting with an overnight in Venice. On the same day we get there it will be the Redentore Festival has anyone experienced this and have you any tips about attending. It will be our first time from Venice and there will be lots of fireworks and and decorated boats.

 

 

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You must be cruising in July and in some ways you are extremely fortunate. My Italian cousins insisted we attend in, I think, 2006 and it was most enjoyable. Apparently, it celebrates the end of a plague back in the 1500s or so. Fireworks, lots of boats and barges, and a generally good time was had by us, perhaps made better with the native guides. The downside is that it is really crowded and July in Venice can be very hot and humid with a lack of universal air conditioned buildings. Nevertheless, you'll be there at an important time and will appreciate the opportunity, i'm sure.

Delta wants about $700 pp round trip Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale or Miami in January. It's so ridiculous!

Gee, seems like a pretty good deal to me. In the middle of winter flying to a warm destination, that's how airlines stay in business. I live 1500 miles or so from FLL. If I were to drive, I'm sure it would cost the better part of $1000 plus the wear and tear on my car. It would be worth it to fly for another $400. Right now a round trip to SW Florida, pretty much the same distance as FLL for me, is costing $635. Now, that's what I call ridiculous.:D

I guess I am one of the luckiest cruiser in the world. I live in south Florida and am 20 some miles north of Port Everglades and 45 miles north of Miami. In addition, one of my daughters is a flight attendant for a major airline so I fly international fairly cheap.

Fairly cheap? or dirt cheap? If there's a seat, of course.;)

Two years ago we were having a problem with Celebrity and had a number of conversations with people in Miami. One asked when we would be on our next cruise and I told them it would be in January for our anniversary. The cruise arrived and nothing, not even the usual small cake, was presented. We were disappointed as we were and are frequent Celebrity cruisers. I mentioned our disappointment to someone on another cruise and the next year on our anniversary cruise we found a bottle of Chandon Brut (not the cheap stuff) and a dish of chocolate covered strawberries in our cabin. I didn't find a card so called Guest Relations. They told me that they were a gift from someone at Corporate wishing us a Happy Anniversary. Interestingly, we didn't tell anyone that this was our anniversary cruise. Life has a way of balancing things out.

Ah, but when you're approaching what would become Zenith, magical things can and do happen. :) Glad it did, you've spent enough time and money to warrant it.

Seabourn for one. I would think that other lines like Oceania do to

Thanks. Somehow I knew that without asking.;)

The fish is " ok" , but unfortunately unlike some other cruise lines, all of Celebrity's fish is frozen/ defrosted. Never fresh.

Both the MDR and Blu offer a nightly vegetarian entree

Interesting. Which lines offer fresh fish ?

Buy locally. I have been in the jewelry industry for over 35 years. I do appraisals all week long on items bought on cruise ships and in ports. Rarely do I see a client who has gotten a good deal. Usually paid more than they could have bought from their local jeweler. Research diamond studs before you go. Know what size, color, clarity etc that you want. I see a lot of poorly cut stones coming from the islands. Be careful. Ask for lab certs if large stones from GIA. There are a lost of BS labs giving out papers claiming the stones are higher grades and worth more than they actually are. I go to the " jewelry seminars" on board and try to keep a straight face. They are loaded with misinformation. Find a local jeweler you can trust.

This is excellent information. My wife will by a trinket or two on board but never anything more than a few hundred dollars or so. Buying stones in the Caribbean is a recipe for diaster unless you're extremely lucky or knowledgeable. OTH she has picked up some gold jewelry at reasonable prices in Istanbul after some extremely hard bargaining at which she both enjoys and excels. In a fine jewelry shop in Mykonos she found a beautiful gold bracelet which really looks like liquid gold, again after hard bargaining and still paying a hefty price. Fact is, the best deal she could find on a diamond solitaire was right here in Naples, Florida

Absolutely not, the traffic in Istanbul is terrible, especially in the middle of the day.

Very true. And the ride from the airport is rather long. Plus, the possible wait for luggage can be daunting. While I shudder to mention such things, weather and mechanical problems do occur. Please, OP, don't do it. Ooooops. I just read your last post. Good choice.

 

Brand bias is in every forum, that is part of the forum as a whole. Bosox admits he/she doesn't trust anyone, so why bother reading any thread that has comments about about a cruise line. Doesn't make sense to me, so I am curious.

 

Burt

 

So I'm not allowed to read for my own amusement or curiosity? What a narrow view of life you have. You just have to see for yourself, Burt, a thought so basic I'm surprised you struggled with it.

 

I am curious as to why someone who lives in Oklahoma calls himself Beachdude.

We've been a more than 40 cruises now, mostly on Celebrity and Princess, but quite a number on Cunard, RCCL, and several others. We've never tried Carnival or NCL. There are plusses and minuses to all of them, and, frankly, having read many of these posts, I can tell you I don't trust any of the comments. Why should I? I don't know any of you, so I have no basis to trust your insights. You may be right, you may be wrong. It all comes down to personal taste, so I guess I'll have to see for myself. :) Princess, Celebrity, RCCL, Cunard-I don't believe I can go to far wrong with any of them. Sure, none of them is perfect, and I can find something to complain about or dislike with each of them, but perfection in anything is rarely found, especially a midrange prices.

I wait until the night before the cruise and then buy nuts and maybe even Pringles. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I notice she helps herself once on board.

Funny, I have a 13 night Med cruise booked on Equinox for Sept 2015 and just this morning checked the price for a similar 14 night cruise on Princess for the same time with a similar itinerary, but the Princess cruise is $2000 more for an inferior balcony cabin.

 

Prices may have gone up for all the cruise lines, but apples to apples when I compare I'm getting such a better deal with Celebrity!

Happy for you but my experience is just the opposite. Princess is less expensive than X. Both are too costly at this point, so I guess I'll stay home. No big loss.:D

This is why we book early.

It's surely a crap shoot. Book early and see prices drop precipitously after final payment, or wait and see the ship fill up with nothing available. For me it all depends on how important the particular cruise is to me. Increasingly, no cruise is so important that I'd pay an outrageous price.

Agree,

 

Recently, my DW mentioned to a friend that we were taking a cruise to Denmark, Norway, Iceland, etc. and that woman responded with a very odd statement to the effect of why would you travel overseas with all the problems in the World right now.

 

Geeze, Scandanavia and the UK are not the Middle East.

No, but the USA is rapidly becoming a third world country. Better to be on a cruise ship in Scandinavia.:D Sounds like a nice trip. Have a great time

One of your mistakes or regrets will be traveling with relatives. :rolleyes:

 

A few times friends and relatives have joined us on a cruise because of how we would always talk about how great cruising is.

 

Problem now is that we are now trying to make it enjoyable for them and it just doesn't seem as if they were as impressed or enjoyed cruising much as we do. Sensing that we felt bad that they weren't enjoying it and it also affected that cruise for us. After the cruise they would politely say that they had a good time but none have ever booked another cruise or suggested to cruise with us again.

 

 

 

Recommending cruise lines or restaurants can be very risky business, can't it? It's not worth it, especially when your friends are spending thousands of dollars. We invited my sister and her husband to join us on a tour of a Princess ship that we were sailing on. I think it cost me $40 or $50 to have them come on board, see the cabins, public spaces, and have lunch. It was an excellent way for them to get a taste of life on board, and it cost them nothing. Later my sister confided to me that she wouldn't care to cruise. I would have felt terrible had it cost them big bucks to find that out on a real cruise.

Our veranda cabin for Sept 2015 went up $300pp! ...guess I won't be upgrading to CC:(

That's nothing. You should see what's going on with the 2014 Christmas cruises:)

What I do notice is some wild swings of the very high prices. I can't recall the exact figures, but on one cruise I'm tracking, the price dropped something like 39% and then within hours, it rose 50% or so. Gotta be ready to jump when the opportunity arises, but even the 39% reduction didn't make the cabin attractive.

If you get an aft AQ on deck 11 you will be facing sideways:D:D

Port or starboard?