I_r_a

>If you could design a ship what feature would you include?

Lifeboats.

Ira

> a $145 Tommy Bahama's shirt on a guy is pretty chic. And appropriate for chic night. <

How about a $100 shirt?

$90?

$24.95?

Ira

How about a $200 Speedo?

> this is the only [completely selfish] post on this thread.<

Ira

Hi BC,

The port for Rome is Civitavecchia.

Your cabin won't matter.

Ira

Hi M,

Make sure that you have reserved your transportation to the airport well in advance.

The cruise terminal is somewhat out of the way, and there was a definite dearth of taxis when we disembarked a couple of weeks ago.

We were told that some people waited as long as 2 1/2 hours for a cab.

Ira

Hi M&M,

>The inside room was $211 per person cheaper than we when booked. I asked my agent to contact HAL. I would rather have stayed in my inside cabin and received OBC for the $422 price drop...<

I just went through a similar thing with HAL.

Were you told that if you kept the room you would keep the DD and get $422 OBC?

That is not what they did for me.

Ira

A few Pix,

Greeter at the Arlington Hotel

At rhe Pig's Ear

Terrine

Pan-fried Cod

On the way, up the steep stairs, to the WCs

Ira

Hi Shel,

>We're hesitant to try an R ship due to all the feedback on the small cabins/bathrooms and overall age and condition of the ships.

We have just returned from a circumnavigation of Ireland on The Nautica.

The only negative feedback I have is that the lobster was overcooked.

Ira

Why should the age of a ship matter if it is properly maintained?

Hi all,

After an uneventful transition to ATL, a bumpy ride in an Airbus 330 brought us to DUB.

After a pleasant lunch at the cafe (Soup and sandwich €6.5, coffee €2, and a water €2) we bought a stamp at the reconstructed post office (https://*******.com/y7qfww9q ) and returned to the hotel where we people watched for a while until we were given the keys to our room.

Hi All,

Please forgive me for not reporting live, but a series of unforeseeable mishaps coupled with vindictive evil forces prevented me from communicating - to wit, I broke my computer and the ships wifi proved unreliable.

So, here I am, finally at home and ready to update you.

A quick Summary:

Lovely trip. Beautiful, well-kept ship. Excellent professional, yet friendly, service. Very Good to Excellent food (except that they kept overcooking the lobster - 3x). Beautiful country. Almost perfect weather.

Ask questions, if you wish, while I sort through photos, and begin posting details.

Ira

Hi All,

My Lady Wife and I shall be flying in a big silver bird across the ocean to Dublin.

I shall try to send back daily reports - it all depends on the ship's wifi.

Ciao

Ira

Hi C,

>We are once again going to Rome prior to a cruise, but I am trying very hard not to have this happen again and would like to be dropped at the ship. If anyone has any advice, I would be thrilled.

IIRC, taxis can't go inside the gates of the port. You have to take one of the shuttles to the ship.

Ira

Sorry to hear of your losses.

Go now.

It will do you good.

Ira

Also: The glaciers are melting very rapidly

>... P&O made a point of saying that their new ship IONA....

Iona cruise ship?

Ira

Usually we complain, so it's nice to laud them, now and then.

Some months back, I booked the Summit Bayonne-->Bayonne New England/Canada cruise.

At that time, they required a $900 non-refundable deposit, and offered $550 in freebies.

Today, they are offering Prepaid Gratuities, Premium Beverage Package and Unlimited Internet - about $2500 worth of stuff.

I expected that I would have to rebook, thereby losing my deposit and the stateroom I wanted.

But No!

They added on the whole pkg for about $1200.

Thanks, Celebrity.

Ira

..... the liitle milk type water containers they have at some hotels are awkward for some uses....more so with a paper straw!

I am intrigued.

Please, tell us more.

Ira

Does anyone know if there’s a formal nite on this cruise.

OceaniaNautica July 18, 2018

Hi R,

Welcome to the board.

Oceania is a "Country Club Casual" line.

The most they ask for is that gentlemen wear a jacket at dinner.

You will probably want to join the Roll Call for your voyage.

Enjoy your trip.

Ira

Hi S,

>Cost for a 12-day cruise is50% higher on Riviera. Is it worth the extra thousands?

I looked up cruises for May 2019.

I would not pay the extra.

Ira

Hi A,

Sorry to hear about the bad parts.

Happy about the good parts.

Ira

Thanks for a great read, Kazu.

Ira

>What is your favorite HAL ship ...

Prinsendam

Ira

Hi Wow,

Thank you for the correction.

However, I found this at https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/life-on-board/gratuity

"Rewarding good service every time it happens isn’t always easy. So, our Service Reward Programme is a simple, one-off way for you to say ‘thank you’ for all the service you receive. A discretionary amount of £7.00 is added to your on-board account for each night you are onboard (eg. a 2 night cruise would be a total of £14pp, and a 7 night cruise would be a total of £49pp), for each guest aged 12 and over. This helps reward the waiters and buffet staff as well as your cabin steward or butler, who greatly appreciate your recognition of their hard work".

Ira

Hi B,

>Also we like to to tip who we want to - so is this tipping per day added to your account mandatory?

If you consider that the daily gratuity is a service charge that is divided amongst the entire crew, and that if you refuse to pay the SC what you give to anyone crew member is usually divided amongst the whole crew anyway, I think that you would pay the SC and give a few extra pounds for superior service.

Enjoy your voyage.

Ira

>Why?

Because. :)

Ira

Thanx, Z.

Very helpful

Ira