phillygirl63

Mura, are we not saying the same thing?

I just booked my 4 specialty restaurant reservations. My PCC explained that the limit of one reservation for each restaurant only applies to early bookings and is to ensure that each guest gets to experience each of the specialty restaurants at least once during the cruise. However, once on board, there is no limit as to which restaurant and how many times you may eat there (so long as a table is available), and you can change or cancel any reservation.

I prefer to have a plan, so reservations are a must for me.

I am on your sailing. You should go to the roll call for your cruise and ask there. There are quite a few groups already formed, and I believe there are still others looking for more to join them. I don't know if they are with Friends of Dave, but it's worth a shot.

Where are you from in West Virginia?

Miada, where in WV are you located? We lived in Parkersburg for 3 years and Hurricane for 6 years.

You should join the roll call and find out if there are others who are also using Insider Tours. We are using SPB, but we have opted not to do the Berlin tour. We are golfing instead and then hanging out close to the ship.

FYI, our ship is scheduled to dock in Rostock instead of Warnemunde.

We and another couple traveling together on Oceania's Marina from Stockholm to Amsterdam leaving on 8/21/15. One signed up for WAR006 Echoes of the past-Jewish Heritage and the other for WAR005 The Berlin Experience.

 

Any reviews on these tours? We know this will be a long day of travel/touring.

 

Also, and we wonder if we would be better off trying to get an independent tour to cover what both of these tours cover. Any recommendations?

 

Thanks,

Miadia

I am on your cruise. If you visit the roll call, there are already private tours forming.

We did the Cinque Terre while docked in Livorno and had plenty of time. This was one of the few excursions we booked through the ship as it basically was bus transportation to and from and tickets for the ferry boat rides to each of the towns. It also provided a guide who accompanied us and assisted with the ferry transfers. Very easy. As we had been to Florence previously, this was a very enjoyable alternative day. If your ship has a similar excursion, then I would recommend it as opposed to trying to do it yourself.

Here's a little humor about driving along Amalfi coast. We hired a private tour guide for the day. While driving along the AC, which is very narrow and winding, there were many people on scooters weaving in and out of traffic. Even as passengers, it made us very nervous. My 70-something mother said to our driver, "Oh my, there must be so many accidents along this road." Our driver replied, "Yes, in Italy we have many young organ donors."

Don't DIY it. Get a driver. You will enjoy your day soooo much more and you will live to tell about it.

Does your ship offer an excursion to Cinque Terre? This was one of the few excursions I booked through the ship (NCL), as it basically just provided bus transportation and a guide to help with getting our group on the ferries that took us to each of the towns. It was pretty inexpensive and was a great day.

I don't know if this was something you did on your prior visit to the Vatican, but on our last visit to Rome, which was our second time there, I got tickets to visit the Scavi Tour of the Necropolis below St. Peter's Basilica. It is located 40 feet below the Basilica and is where the tomb of St. Peter was uncovered. IMO, it's a must-see if you are not too claustrophobic. Check it out at http://www.scavi.va Best to write to the excavations office in advance for tickets as they only allow a limited number of people to enter each day. Their website outlines exactly what its all about and how to get tickets.

Our stop in Naples was one of the best days we spent on our cruise a few years ago when we sailed on NCL Jade. Like so many newbies, we did the expensive ship's excursions on a prior Mediterranean cruise with RCI. After that, I got wise, and went the private route, which is absolutely the best decision for anyone who wants to see as much as they can in the little amount of time you are in a particular port. We had 6 people in our group (myself, DH, DD, DS and my 70-something parents). We hired Your Tour in Italy for our private excursions for Rome and Naples. I can't praise this company enough. Our guide for Naples was Dominico. He was absolutely amazing. First, we drove along the Amalfi Coast, which is absolutely breathtaking. Not something I would recommend doing yourself -- too dangerous and the driver would not get to take in the views. Next, we stopped in Positano to stroll down the cobbled streets. Dominico took us to a great italian restaurant at the top of the mountain for an amazing lunch and homemade lemoncello. The views overlooking the coast were amazing to say the least. After that we continued to Sorrento to walk around a bit. Great little town with nice shops to explore. Finally, we went to Pompeii, where we met up with an expert guide (arranged by YTII). We spent a couple of hours there, and although it had been second time to Pompeii for my family, having an expert guide was so much more efficient than our first time with the larger group on the ship's tour. And, this private tour was much less expensive than the ship's tours.

This was my family's second time visiting the Naples port, but it was my parents' first time ever in Italy (or Europe for that matter). My mother still talks about that day and how much she loved it. I would do this itinerary again and again, and I would definitely hire a private guide (YTII especially for me) each time.

Thanks. Much appreciated.

jmo -- but i would choose alaska.

i would also choose an itinerary that includes glacier bay.

ditto!

Bonine for me! I start taking it three nights before getting on the ship and continue throughout the cruise -- two tablets every night before bed. And, as an extra bonus, it helps to get a good night's sleep too. Never had any issues with drinking alcohol while on it either. No prescription necessary.

Given the ages of your boys, I would definitely recommend the Breakaway, as it offers some awesome activities on the ship for kids of their ages. I was on its inaugural sailing from NYC to Bermuda for my 50th birthday, and I wished I was younger for sure. The slides were incredible. Also, NCL is a great cruise line for families, as it is more casual and relaxed. No formal nights (unless you want to partake in the "dress up or not" evenings). My kids appreciated not having to get all dressed up just to go to dinner. As you can see from my signature, we have sailed on NCL a few times, twice with our teens. Although they were a bit older than your boys are now, they enjoyed it very much.

I would go ahead and book as soon as you have made a decision on which ship/itinerary. That way you will get better choices for your cabin(s). As the others have said, you can cancel any time prior to final payment.

I would also suggest booking a cabin that is close to the elevators and stairs, especially if you are booking on Breakaway. It is a huge ship, and can get a little confusing for your boys (and you for that matter) when trying to find your cabin. It always takes me a couple of days to figure out which way is forward and aft of the ship. NCL makes it easy though with having carpeting with fish swimming toward the forward end.

I hope this helps.

Anni, are there no taxis at the port in Rostock?

Has anyone played this course while in port at either Warnemunde or Rostock? DH and I are scheduled to arrive in Warnemunde, or it may turn out to be docked in Rostock (not sure which one yet) on Oceania Marina on Saturday, August 29th. We have elected not to do a long day trip to Berlin, and have decided to hang around closer to the ship and play a round at Golfanlage Warnemunde. I have already made a tee time for 11:00 a.m. Was just wondering if this course was worth playing.

Such a tragedy for sure! My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those people who perished and also the fellow passengers on that ship. It must be a very somber atmosphere on that ship right now. We did a floatplane excursion in Ketchikan just last July on our cruise in Alaska. It was such a wonderful experience for us. So very sorry their's ended in such tragedy.

Just curious why you would not just all stay in the same balcony cabin. Friends of mine took their 2 little ones (ages 3 and 1) and they stayed in a mini-suite on NCL which I believe had a bathtub. It saved quite a bit of money too.

Here's what I would do. And I'm just putting it out there for consideration. I would book a balcony and an inside across the hall and bring a sitter along to stay in the inside room with the children.

Kekilia, I appreciate your reply. I too am a very generous tipper. I think you may have misunderstood my inquiry. We have been on several other cruise lines, but this is our first with Oceania. Our upcoming cruise on Oceania was much more expensive than those other cruises, and the gratuities are included in that fare as part of the booking promotion. We are not staying in a suite, so I don't have to be concerned with butlers, etc. that are not normally part of the daily gratuities. I do still intend to give a little extra for service that I believe is over and above the expected. However, since this thread was started to inquire about the prestige beverage package and I plan on purchasing the prestige beverage package for my cruise, I wanted to stay on topic. I was not asking whether extra gratuities were acceptable, but how much $$ would be acceptable specific to a certain sommelier when you have already purchased the prestige beverage package. I am still waiting for someone to chime in on that.

Hi, everyone! I was reading through all of your posts on the excellent service provided by Lucas(sp?), and was curious. DH and I are booked on Marina for 12 days in August. Prepaid gratuities were included in our booking. We plan on purchasing the prestige beverage package. If we are lucky enough to receive the same great service from Lucas or another sommelier, I would want to give an extra gratuity for such service. So, my question is did you give an extra gratuity how much $$ would be acceptable.

Frances, I did know that the picture was of the vista suite and not my B1 cabin. I will definitely report back. Thanks.

Thanks, Frances and Stan & Jim for the pictures. I think we are going to enjoy those views and the oversized deck for sure!

Thanks, Orchestrapal. It is, in fact, too late to change our cabin unless we get an unlikely upgrade offer. I was not really looking to change our cabin -- just hoping to hear of others' experiences with these cabins.

Anyone stayed in cabins 8000/8001 on Marina recently? We are booked in cabin 8000 for 8/21/15 sailing -- Wonders & Windmills (Stockholm to Amsterdam) and would love to get hear your experiences. I have done a search on CC and there does not seem to be any recent discussions.

I have also contacted Elbow Beach about the cabanas. The price is now $495/day. Also, I think they are poolside and not right on the beach, but rental of a cabana does allow you access to the resort's private beach which has beach chairs and umbrellas. I just need to find out how far away the pool is from the beach, as I have one person with a little bit of a mobility issue and this resort is quite hilly and would create an issue for her. I would really love to hear from someone who has experienced these.