drowelf

Can you expand on your nice day ashore comment. When did you get back on the ship?

Yep, the track shows them going into the harbor and then leaving. Another poster stated that they made harbor, but did not anchor. The MS Europa is only 400 passengers, so I wonder if they are able to actually dock, which would be easier than trying to anchor in the harbor with wind and waves.

Thanks. I figured that might be the case from the ship track on CruiseMapper. If I remember correctly, ships don't make port about 1/3 of the time at the Falklands. I know that our friends on board are bummed about missing that port, as its one of the best for penguin excursions.

Can anybody on board comment if you made Port Stanley today? I've been tracking the ship to see if it makes it to the Antarctic this season and it was scheduled to be in port today, but cruisemapper has it cruising south at 17 knots at 13:30 local. It was supposed to be in port until 17:00, so I presume that due to the weather (20+ mph winds, 3+ meter seas) that was a no go.

While the fleet report has the Oosterdam at Port Stanley, either they left really early or did not even make port (😪). At 13:30 (local) cruisemapper shows it motoring away from Port Stanley at 17 knots. The weather looked pretty crappy with rain, 20+ mph winds and 3+ meter seas. Oh well, but they are off to the Antarctic peninsula and that the real gem of the trip.

If I only have to plunk down $200 for a non-refundable deposit on board versus I'm not going to be too upset if I lose it. Its when I have to put close to $1000 deposit on a cruise that I'm more inclined to have the option for that amount to be refunded if our plans change, especially considering that our average cruise is generally booked at least 9 months and often between 12 and 15 months out. Too much can change in that time frame.

To true, I also take hard copies of all the important reservations, purchases, etc. as well as having soft copies on the laptop that I drag along for emails and other stuff. Never pre-purchased casino funds either. I just bring the amount of cash that has been budgeted for casino table action. The DW simply charges slots $$, up to her budget, to the room. Its just treated as another charge on the room folio so no additional fees are accrued on those charged.

Should be a fun time boarding the Oosterdam in BA today. The Argentine World Cup team arrived back home today and it has been declared a National Holiday.

Should be a fun time boarding the Oosterdam in BA today. The Argentine World Cup team arrived back home today and it has been declared a National Holiday.

If true that would be great, as I don't drink alcoholic beverages and the DW generally only has a couple, if that many, per week on a cruise,

Everything, everyone has said is so valid. We have been doing cruises and land tours in Europe for over 25 years. We still have lots to see in Europe and don't expect to stop going anytime soon. One thing what we use cruising for is to visit places for a day and then decide that we want to go back to again on a non-cruise trip. This is also so much of Europe that you can not adequately see via cruise, as it only gets to the coasts. For example in 2019 we did a Med trip that ended up in England, touch on Spain and Portugal. Next spring we are doing a short Med Cruise and then doing another 10 days on land via car through central Spain and back to Lisbon. While we stopped in Lisbon on that cruise, we really did not see the city, as we took off out of town on a tour to other places, but what little we saw made us want to go back, so we will. Start off with one area and just keep on going. Its fun and can be a way of life!

Thanks, The price showing on the website is ~$35, is that comparable to what you saw on the Reflection? The website is giving me 25% off, so I'm probably going to bite on that one for at least 1 entry.

Me too. When I play tournaments on ships, my standard playing technique goes out the window. I'll split and/or double down on cards I never would when playing with real $$$. But still have my original Q that I started this thread with. On Holland, you can generally do a buy 2 entries and get 1 free. Anyone ever seen anything like that on Celebrity, especially after the restart?

This is exactly the kind of stuff that we need washed. We are undertaking a 10 day land adventure after our cruise and need to recycle some of the undies, T's and socks before we hit the road post cruise.

I thought so. Since I can't find the bag price on the Celebrity Website, is this a good deal for 1 bag? Since there is no self service laundry on Celebrity, we are more than likely going to have to do a small amount of laundry for underwear, socks and T-Shirts. How much can you stuff into a bag?

I was checking out things from an email I got about the Web Specials currently available until 12/16. Looking under the Gifts and Gear. I found Laundry. It lists at $40pp, but nowhere can I find out if that for a 1 shot or for the whole 14 day cruise. Anybody got any knowledge about this?

After a few experiences with paper straws, I invested in a couple of collapsible metal straws. They work great. The ones I got off amazon even come with a carrying tube along with a collapsible cleaning brush. Now I keep one attached to the outside pocket of the backpack for anytime its needed. It has a silicone rubber mouthpiece on one end to prevent your lips getting burned or chilled by the metal, after its sat in the drink for a while. When collapsed they fit easily into a pocket for carrying about the ship, if needed.

Considering that its only about 70 miles from Southampton to LHR you should not have a problem. The last time we debarked in the UK it was a Dover (which is about 100 miles) and we were at LHR by noon using the ships transfer.

Generally for a variety of things Paying some bills, checking email to deal with private tours and other details, general port research. Back before I retired, I would need to to occasionally service my clients while away. Once I got a phone call on Iceland, where I spent the late afternoon before we left port fixing issues via VPN and doing conference calls, although that only lasted until we left port and I lost Mobile Service, but issue fixing went on for a few hours more via ships internet.

I always bring cash spend on the table games, but the DW prefers slots and she just charges it directly to the room, subject to our gambling allowance and we settle with the ship at the end. I've never seen any surcharges applied to her slot play charges.

Yep, I black out everything except the account holders name (DW), the Stock Name (CCL or RCL) and the quantity owned. That is all they need. All other stocks, prices and what not have the black sharpie applied. Then I make a copy of that paper and send it in.

We generally pack all of that kind of stuff, with the exception of the ox monitor for any extended travel out of the country. We also have a small generic (6x6x3) first aid kit that gets tossed into the bags. Never know when you might need some bandages and other stuff for a scrapes from falls or other boo-boos acquired while exploring ports.

With the demise of fixed dining, we have not been tipping the dining room staff over the past several cruise. The main reasons being that we don't have the same staff always serving us and across all the lines we have sailed, service has been in a major decline. When I sit down at a table and ask for ice tea or soda and it does not arrive for 15 minutes, I'm not pleased with that level of service. The only staff we always tip are our room stewards and anyone who delivers food to our room. Other additional tips are made based on service received during the cruise. On our last cruise I tipped a couple of the bar staff locations, as they learned my preferences during the cruise after a few days. Entertainers that I really appreciate and attend several performance also get some tips. Other than that, the $$ we throw into the general pot as part of our daily charge are what they get.

Probably not, but it can not hurt to ask. My DW got a casino offer letter on the ship during our last cruise. We found a cruise we liked and priced it out, but when our TA attempted to book it, she found out that she had to book it via the casino department and once we got that pricing we said no way. The same cabin on the ship via the website was a much better deal than the casino offer even including the amount of free play they offered. So we just booked the straight website fair and ditched the free casino $$$.

Do you use a TA? If so it could be from them. Our TA just about always drops some OBC and a free specialty dinner or 2 onto our account for every cruise we book through her.