Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

bl413

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    415

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Posts posted by bl413

    Caribbean Princess window suite F305 or F303?

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    We just got off CP and were in this cabin.

    Spotless - great location - beautiful room.

    Sadly there were a few folks that decided jogging at 5:15 am or 11:30PM was a good thing.

    It sounded like a stampede.

    It took 7 days & nights of complaining before Princess staff did anything. Then we found out

    "No jogging was allowed" LOL

    Breakfast at Sabitinis was nice - staff was great. But the same selections every day.

    We had complimentary dinner at the crown grill -- don't.

     

    We would have truly loved our room if it wasn't for the joggers!!!!

    Upsell Suite

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    After you sail, and have fallen in love with your window suite, please come back and tell everyone how much you hated it. There are far too few window suites in the Princess fleet and we need to keep the secret of just how wonderful they are to sail in. Location, amenities, comfort......shhh, please.:)

     

    Thanks everyone

    Sanctuary: Caribbean Princess

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    Hi all,

     

    Considering paying for access to the Sanctuary on the Caribbean Princess. Has anyone done this? Is it quiet? Is it crowded? Any tips/advice?

     

    Considering it as we are looking for peace, quiet, and an escape from large crowds.

     

    Thanks in advance!

     

    You cannot sign up in advance -- only if you are at a certain level.

     

    I personally don't think it's worth the money.

    But others may differ.

    I never had a problem finding a quiet spot .

     

    But look at other posts about using the Sanctuary

    Will I like Celebrity as much as Princess?

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    I absolutely love the four freshwater pools on most of the Princess ships and spend a lot of time in them, especially the adults only rear pool. We also enjoy dinner for two in the main dining room and buffet for breakfast and lunch. Delicious food and tasty deserts are very important. And finally we love comedians for entertainment, along with high quality shows in the large theater. Princess doesn't always hit the mark in the dining room or show quality, but gets pretty darn close. However, I don't know if I could live without those nice pools and spa.

     

    Does Celebrity Reflection have heated pools? I know they are saltwater, but are they really inviting? What is inside the spa? Is the food better than Princess? Do the newer ships all have comedians or late night comedy? How are the shows? And are the Solstice class ships just altogether prettier than Princess, or about the same? Do people have enough room to sunbathe on loungers on the pool deck?

     

    Thanks so much for your help. I'm debating between a Celebrity Reflection cruise and a Princess Emerald cruise this fall and cannot decide what would be best for us--a couple whose kids are grown and who look for a little fun in the evenings and a lot of relaxation during the days.

     

    Thank you so much!!

    We just returned from a 12 day cruise on Celebrity Silhouette and were very disappointed.

    We loved our last cruise with Princess in December.

    I would say overall Princess hands down ..

    We found ourselves eating in Specialty rest. instead of MD on Celebrity because the food was so poor!! The ship was a disappointment and we could not understand why everyone raved about how beautiful the Silhouette was. Again, compared to the Princess ships we were on there was no comparison - again Celebrity loses.

    The buffet on Princess - better

    The Specialty Rest. on Princess better etc etc.

    We won't sail Celebrity again. IMHO

    Celebrity drink prices onboard

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Tap water is available at all bars and restaurants for free. Bottle water has a charge. Brewed coffee and regular tea are free in all restaurants. Fancy coffees like a latte and any drinks from the coffee bar Cafe a Bacio are not free. Breakfast also has things like milk and juice for free

     

     

    So I'm assuming with the Classic Package specialty coffee at Bacio is covered??

    Evening Excursions in St. Petersburg

    in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea

    Posted

    What are the possible evening excursions to do inSt. Petersburg at night and which companies can offer those excursions? It seems like it'd be such a waste to spend a night in St. Petersburg but get stuck on the cruise ship.

     

    But, I'm a bit confused about the whole tourist visa thing, whether or not I can sign up with any evening excursion for St. Petersburg I can find or if that means only certain evening excursions are possible for cruising passengers?

     

    I know about the option for the folk dances and ballet that the recommended tour companies do for their evening excursions.

     

    But, I've read that the folk dances are only for tourists.

     

    I think it would be an singular experience to see great Russian ballet in Russia, but I'm afraid that the ballet offered would only be second-rate average performance performed only for tourists since it doesn't say which ballet company will perform on May 15, 2015:

     

    https://www.balletandopera.com/

     

    I've also found some other evening options but I'm not sure if those are open to cruising passengers and how worthwhile they will be if they are available:

     

    How much difference is there between St. Petersburg at night and during the day? There's some options like a canal boat ride at night and a city sightseeing tour at night that appear identical to the same canal boat ride and city sightseeing tour I would be doing earlier in the day.

     

    There's another canal boat ride at midnight that sounds different than the daytime canal rides because you will see the drawbridges go up. But, a 2 hour canal ride starting at midnight will leave me too exhausted for the next morning.

     

    There's also these evening walking tours about the hidden St. Petersburg and Petersburg off the beaten track:

     

    http://petersburgfreetour.com/daily-tours/petersburg-off-the-beaten-track/

     

    http://www.viator.com/tours/St-Petersburg/Hidden-St-Petersburg-Evening-Walking-Tour/d908-5873RUUE

     

    To me, they don't sound that interesting but I'd to like hear about what others thought of these tours before I write them off.

     

    There's also the option of hiring a driver and guide for the evening, but I'm not sure how much you could do or see at night time- wouldn't all the sights be closed by that time?

     

    Finally, there's the option of going back to re-see the Hermitage at night despite seeing it earlier in the day because the Hermitage is on all the daytime excursion trips.

     

    If I go at night, will I run into all the same issues with the early openings where its super crowded with all the cruise passengers coming in at the same time to see it and with a lot of the museum rooms closed for the evening:

     

    http://www.baltic-cruise-blog.com/what-does-the-early-opening-to-the-hermitage-museum-really-mean/

     

    Otherwise, it seems like it'd be a lot of money to pay for to repeat the same experience that you got earlier in the day.

     

    And, do any independent tour companies offer this option or do the cruise ships have a monopoly on this option?

     

    You may not be interested but SPB tours does a Vodka Tour at night!!

    The Baltic ports

    in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea

    Posted

    e are arriving 5/27 at Frihamnen -- How would we get to the HOHO?

    Thanks

    If you care to know where you will dock in Stockholm, you will need to provide the sailing date too. Silhouette uses both Stadsgården (good) and Frihamnen (terrible):

     

    Vessel Arrival Berth Vessel type Status

    CELEBRITY SILHOUETTE 2015-05-11 kl. 09:00 S167 STADSGÅRDEN Cruise ship Expected

    CELEBRITY SILHOUETTE 2015-05-27 kl. 09:00 F638 FRIHAMNEN Cruise ship Expected

    CELEBRITY SILHOUETTE 2015-06-29 kl. 09:00 F638 FRIHAMNEN Cruise ship Expected

    CELEBRITY SILHOUETTE 2015-07-11 kl. 09:00 S167 STADSGÅRDEN Cruise ship Expected

    CELEBRITY SILHOUETTE 2015-08-04 kl. 09:00 S167 STADSGÅRDEN Cruise ship Expected

    CELEBRITY SILHOUETTE 2015-08-30 kl. 09:00 F638 FRIHAMNEN Cruise ship Expected

     

    I hope you picked the right itinerary! LOL

    Spending OBC

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    They told me when you get on board -- you can have them put the amount you paid already for ressies, as a credit on the Credit card you use on board! So I imagine at the end of the cruise you would see that as a credit on what you purchased for tours etc. Check with them

    Just Returned from Island Princess 12/7 – 12/18

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    We were on this cruise too.

    I must say I was pleasantly surprised after reading some of the negative comments on this board.

    This is our 4th Princess cruise and 1st on the Island. The ship was in great shape, the staff couldn't have been friendlier and more helpful. The food ( we typically are not cruise food lovers) was very good and many things were delicious! We sat in reserved dining at the 7:30 seating and can't say enough about Arnel and his asst. They knew all our names by the end of the 1st night and took excellent care of us.

    There were many activities on board all the time. Many different music venues.

    The comedians were the best in show!!! We had a lot of rain (3 days) but a few of them were sea days.

    The ports were OK. We have been to Costa Rica many times on the Pacific side and Puerto

    Limon is NOT a good representation of this beautiful country. It was beyond depressing.

    We went to the Sloth rescue center and rain forest walk --- still depressing --especially in the rain.

    We did the ship tour in Panama to Old Panama city - Don't.

    We did Dora's tour in Cartenga and it was very interesting --but there is no free time to walk around the old city by yourself.

    We didn't do anything in Orchos Rios - it was raining. But some cruise mates did the Bob sled, in the rain, and had a blast.

    We really enjoyed this cruise and all the wonderful people we met.

    We truly appreciated Richard Thomas (cruise director) going above and beyond to help

    all the folks that wanted to celebrate Chanukah have a joyous time with Latkes and Manischewitz wine !!!

     

    I don't think the ship was full and there was always places to sit. We spent a lot of time in the covered pool area and it was perfect.

     

    Again, loved the cruise --

×
×
  • Create New...