smmountaingal

2 hours ago, BigRedFan said:

I have enjoyed reading through this thread so much.  After having several 2020 cruises cancelled and pushed to 2021 & 2022 due to covid, I am looking at the different places I hope to visit once we can take to the high seas again. I have a nostalgic reason for visiting Portugal; my mother who passed away three years ago used to spend winters there.  She loved it and would often speak of all the wonderful surprises waiting around the corner.  She painted many of her memories of travel and I have quite a few of her canvases from her time in Portugal. 

 

I also recently watched a special on the History Ch. that focused on the Knight's Templar and all their holdings and influences in Portugal.  I would love to explore some of those especially the city of Tomar which seems so fascinating.

I have a rescheduled cruise set for 2022 that will visit both Oporto & Lisbon and I am hoping to get to Tomar as a day excursion."

2 hours ago, BigRedFan said:

 

Your mother's paintings are lovely. 

2 hours ago, BigRedFan said:

 

 

29 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

 

 

"As to hotels in Lisbon, I would check some of the web booking sites focusing in on price, location, etc., as fits your personal priorities and budget.  Get a booking down now.  Then check back later as you get closer to your planned travel dates.  As something comes up better, you can always cancel your earlier reservation.  For us with our five days there, having a central location worked well.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio"

 

Yes, I will seek a hotel or two very soon.  I am studying a map now to get familiar with Lisbon.  I agree to schedule something now and change it later.  I also need to work on my airline plans as I have a Delta ticket from this October to reschedule to next year.  Delta has just extended its "no change fee" through December so I am at liberty to make new arrangements.  Thank goodness I have some travel planning to work on again even if the actual travel is far in the future.

 

 

5 minutes ago, downsmead said:

In Lisbon we stayed at the Avenida Palace hotel which was centrally located and ideal for walking to anywhere in the city. Lovely breakfast, very helpful concierge, nice bar for a bedtime drink. So many restaurants nearby, we tended to stroll and see what we fancied eating. 
Overall we preferred Porto to Lisbon but thoroughly enjoyed both. We are planning to return to visit the Pena Palace and other outlying areas (we had visited Sintra on a previous visit). 
We had 3 nights in Lisbon which was enough to see the sights. I had a Lisbon guide book and had researched on line prior to our stay. Allow at least half a day to go out to Betlem and the Monasterio, easy to get to using local buses. 

This hotel looks lovely.  We like to walk and explore.  I will check this out.  I did download a city guide for Lisbon and will continue to check out Porto for that day visit.  Thank you.

I am so happy to find this discussion thread!  We are cruising out of Lisbon next April on the Celebrity Silhouette and I plan to arrive 3 days in advance to enjoy our first look in this city.  We also will have one port day in Porto.  I have much reading to do in this thread to gather information.  My first activity, however, is to identify a hotel for Lisbon.  I willingly will accept suggestions of others who have enjoyed this city.

Thanks

46 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

The only staterooms on the E class ships, Apex and Edge, that have true verandahs are the 1A's, the Sunset Verandahs and the Suites. All other staterooms have the “Infinite verandahs”.

Thank you.

I am looking for a discussion on how to select a cabin on the APEX.  I am used to a S class Celebrity Ships and prefer a real balcony cabin.  Can anyone refer me to a previous discussion or suggest how I look at the deck plans for something similar to an 1A cabin on Solstice class?

I thought there is a way to look online on the Royal site and actually put a 24 hour hold on a room.  Can someone advise me?

5 hours ago, Maplemoose said:

Yes, I would be very interested in the Cruise compasses as we have the same itinerary. Thank you for all the info! 

I agree that I would like the Cruise Compasses as well.  We are on this itinerary April 19th.  Thanks for this great review.

On 2/13/2020 at 4:06 PM, niksmom630 said:

San Juan is beautiful city. I took a lot of photos today, and posting will not be in any particular order..... but do take in a walking tour if you have the chance. Senior Frogs is literally right across the street from the entrance to the pier, so you’ll be able to recharge right before boarding the ship 🤪

 

Good to know where the pier is.  I thought it was right in the downtown area the last time we were there.

1 hour ago, Host Clarea said:

If you call to order, they will normally let your wife get by with the Refreshment package.

 

Royal does have some limited packages of spirits and mixers, check online to see if they are available for your cruise.

 

Simple well drinks around $9, blender drinks around $12.

Can anyone point to a posting that has the price list of drinks onboard?

3 hours ago, fscool said:

The main site that I use:

http://crew-center.com/cruise-ships-ports-schedules-2020

 

Specifically for CocoCay:

http://crew-center.com/perfect-day-coco-cay-bahamas-cruise-ships-schedule-2020

 

Just change 2020 to 2019 in the URL to see this year.

 

It's been pretty accurate (and depressing) for my last few cruises.

Thanks for posting.  I had to look around to find the 2019 list.  Here it is.

http://crew-center.com/coco-cay-bahamas-cruise-ship-schedule-2019

On 10/26/2019 at 8:15 AM, mac_tlc said:

Latest and greatest:

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2021_2022/19069859_Deployment_Opening_Schedule_20212022.pdf

 

 

mac_tlc

Thanks for sharing this site.  So great to have the summary of the ships!

On 7/31/2019 at 12:13 PM, sherin65 said:

Your photos are beautiful!!!!

 

Could you comment on how much I should expect to pay for a flight to Venice from the U.S.? We are cruising in June 2020 and I am anxious to book a flight but I am not certain when I can expect the best fares. Any experience you can share would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Sher

I booked airfare and hotels for this year through Delta Vacations.  I had a very difficult time finding affordable flights from North Carolina to Venice.  I knew I wanted Delta flights.  I tried something new and that was calling the Delta Vacations line listed on the airline website.  I am impressed.  I was able to book 2 nights in Venice pre-cruise, the exact flights I wanted in comfort seats, travel insurance and 2 nights in Barcelona post cruise for about the same amount of money I would have paid just for the airline tickets.

Through the Delta "bundling" of hotels with the airfare, they are able to present a very favorable price point.  I will most certainly use them again next year for our Europe travel.

1 hour ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Photo of the Car Rental Kiosk at Pier 91.  It is only there during the morning disembarkation to provide a shuttle for folks renting from the DT Seattle location of these three companies.

Very helpful.  Thanks

1 hour ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Gardyloo gave some wonderful suggestions.  The Woodland Park Zoo is amazing - a must see. 

 

If you do end up at the Boeing tour, the lovely town of Mukilteo is right down the road (follow the signs for the ferry).  There you could have a nice sit down lunch (Ivar's) and watch from your window seat a Washington State ferry load & unload cars and passengers.  If a sit down meal is not what you want, Ivar's has its famous fish n' chips bar outside the restaurant, so you could grab a fish n' chips meal and head over to the beach/lighthouse area and enjoy the scenery.  The fish bar also serves soft-serve ice cream!  (Tip -ask for a kid's cone if you don't want too much ice cream).  There is even a brewery/restaurant Diamondknot if you want to try a local beer with your meal.

Edmonds is another amazing picturesque waterfront town filled with beautiful hanging flower baskets, stroll-able streets, great restaurants and waterfront trails. 

You could also walk on to the Kingston ferry (from Edmonds) and grab lunch in one of the many small restaurants in Kingston.  A stop at Mora's ice cream is a must. 

More great suggestions.  Thanks to all.

28 minutes ago, Gardyloo said:

Time to the airport from Pier 91 - around half an hour.  Additional drive time from airport to Boeing plant (compared to from downtown) also around half an hour.  So maybe an hour all in.  If you can get away from the pier quickly, it should still be quite doable.  It's all in the numbers.

Thank you, Gardyloo, for this information.  I can explore my options just knowing I can make it happen in our timeline.

2 minutes ago, Gardyloo said:

Drop-off charge?  You bet, but shop carefully.  You'll find quotes all over the map.  The easiest (National/Alamo/Enterprise) is not necessarily the cheapest, nor even the quickest.  Be sure to add the cost of getting to the airport from the cruise terminal (AM) or from downtown (PM) when doing the math, and remember you're dividing by two couples.

If we go to SEATAC for the car rental instead of the downtown rental location and make the drive to Boeing start from there, how much time should I add to the equation?

1 minute ago, Gardyloo said:

Let's assume you can be gone from the pier by 9:30 (should be easily doable) and at the rental car office by 10.

 

Drive time to Future of Flight/Boeing tour center - 40 minutes (could be less.)

Wait time before plant tour, say 30 min.

Tour, 90 min.

Total elapsed time from car pickup, 160 min (say 2 1/2 hours)

 

Lunch in Mukilteo, 10 minutes from Boeing plant, 1 hr.

Drive to airport from Mukilteo, say 1 hour 

Gas up and car return, 20 min.

Shuttle to terminal from rental car facility, 10 min.

 

Total elapsed time from Boeing tour, 2 1/2 hours.

 

So five hours all in, which means if you start at 10 you'd be back at the airport by 3.  I'd definitely give the airport more than 1h 20m; the security lines on cruise days can be hellish.

 

If you feel pressured, you could skip lunch in Mukilteo and just head back to the airport area after the Boeing tour.  Maybe head down to Salty's at Redondo for a late lunch or decompression drinkies before heading back to the airport.

 

Map, showing the various places:  https://goo.gl/maps/57zHxuzme5KwNfji7

 

Mukilteo lighthouse

 

 

Mukilteo lunch:  https://www.ivars.com/locations/mukilteo-landing or https://diamondknot.com/brewery-and-alehouse

 

Salty's:  https://www.saltys.com/south-seattle/

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for this example.  I believe we can be off the ship around 8am if we all request that early departure.  So that would give us time at Boeing and lunch.  Now I need to ask if there is a drop off charge to return the car to SEATAC instead of the downtown location.

I am trying to figure out a timeline on disembarkation day to get a rental car, drive to Everett for the Boeing tour and get to SEATAC by 3:30 for a 4:50 flight out.  Does this seem like enough time?  I assume picking up a car downtown would be faster than getting an airport rental, but we would have to keep our luggage with us.  (2 couples cannot use port valet service).

43 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

There are no rentals car at Pier 91.  There is a kiosk just outside Pier 91 during the morning disembarking hour which provides a shuttle van to the rental car lot located in DT Seattle.

Thank you, Ferry_Watcher.  I will make arrangements.

Can anyone comment on what rental cars may be available at Pier 91 or other information to get to a rental location?  We are planning on a one day rental at disembarkation to use for a drive to the Boeing facility.

Can you provide details of what is done on the first sea day as far as a Welcome Aboard event?  I think there is a reception.  What time is that?

As others have asked, copies of the Daily events would be wonderful.  We are embarking on 6/21.

Also, after you dock in Victoria, please post how that evening goes since it is the last night of the cruise.

14 minutes ago, jimmieg said:

 

In the cruise personalizer.  They sent email notifications that excursions, meals, beverage pkgs, etc were reduced for our "upcoming cruise." Usually promoted on the website, as well. Or you can just check periodically.

Thanks for the tip.  I went into my Cruise planner and it was easy to find.  I upgraded from classic to premium for $12 per person per day plus gratuity.  I would spend this just ordering the wine I want just through paying the difference.  Now I can have a larger selection of wine per glass!

3 hours ago, Tourist1292 said:

We got the 1 device internet streaming package. As we stay at 1 hotel and 2 Airbnb before and after the cruise, I brought along a RavPower FileHub travel router. It added a firewall protection to the connection and my family do not need to do anything when hopping from one lodging to another as long as they are within certain distance from the router. Only the router needs to be login to the internet. In addition the FileHub router also works as a network drive and a backup device. It has an SD card slot and a USB port that I can backup my camera SD onto a USB SSD without a computer and everybody can access the files on the SD and USB drive through an app on their phone/tablet to view the photos or play media files from it.

Thank you for your reply and this information.

1 hour ago, Tourist1292 said:

There is one "secret" I want to share. Don't be fooled by the ribbon cutting (Grand Opening) event of Tiffany Inc on the first day. My friend told us about it after their cruise last year that they were so lucky to have the "Grand Opening" sale at Tiffany on their cruise. It turns out they have that event on every cruise so as on Solstice last week.

Great advice.