AnchorsAweigh2011

I enjoy the Solstice class ships and wouldn’t miss the Hideaway on deck 7 where you can grab a coffee and curl up with a good book.

You should also try and grab a burger from the mast grill.

This is my first post so don't know if I am doing it right or not...

 

We are taking the Seabourn Quest, Boston to Montreal, on 9/11/15. We will be driving to Montreal, want to stay in a nice hotel there, for 2 nights, that will let us leave the car and stay there again on the return on 9/21. Anyone know of such a hotel? If we stay at t he hotel, both before and after the cruise, is the car parking included?

 

Thank you for your responses.

Welcome to Cruise Critic LasVegasPenny! We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Montreal Airport, 6600 Cote de Liesse, Montreal, Quebec (877) 859-5095 in 2013 and they had a park and fly program. The hotel was excellent and I would stay there again when I am flying out of Montreal!

I would pick option B because of the newer ship and the better ports of call!

Barbados is my favorite southerner Caribbean destination because of Harrison's Cave and the pristine beaches.

My wife was also concerned about cave tubing, but she enjoyed her excursion caavetubing.bz. The tour guides were excellnet and I would rhighly ecommned this tour.

My Top 5 Tips for First-time Cruisers

1) You don’t always have to be doing something. It’s your vacation, so stop and relax. I enjoy sitting on our balcony and taking in the peacefulness of the ocean.

2) Have breakfast delivered to your room at least once while on vacation.

3) Read the ship’s daily newspaper or watch the cruise director’s channel to find out what’s going on, so you plan your day.

4) Treat yourself and eat in a speciality restaurant at least once while cruising.

5) Try something new on your cruise. Research your ship and ports of call before you sail, so you can enjoy every minute of your vacation.

My favorite meal is the blackened Angus ribeye steak in the Tuscan Grille. It's simply amazing!

Our tour cost $63 a person and we were 10 in our group. You can look up Marelvy Pena-Hall's reviews on Trip Advisor and you'll see what a great excursin she runs.

We just got back from a cruise on the Celebrity Equinox and I was pleaantly surprised to see that Celebrity had an excellent approach to unattaended pool chairs. If a chair wasn't being used in the last 30 minutes, the pool butler would remove the towel and freed up the chair. By freeing up chairs not being used, we were always able to find a chair on the pool deck. Well done Celebrity!

We booked a tour to the Miraflores locks and Panama City with Almiza Tours by My Friend Mario recently and didn't have to give out our passport information.

We went with Stingray Sailing and they were great. Check them out on Trip Advisor. The Stingray experience is amazing and you can stay on the catamaran for the snorkeling part.

We did the Limon Highlights 6-in-One Combo Tour and it was a great way to see Costa Rica!

We are booked with bz for early March and just wondered if the water is cold?

We just back and found the water to be refreshing, but not cold!

I did hear back from the company, and was told that your items are put in the van before the hike. Thanks to everyone that answered.

 

Another question...

 

everything that I read said to have thick-soled shoes for the hike. Do you wear those in the water also?

You will need watershoes with good insoles to minimize the impact on your feet!

We uswed the olympus tough tg underwater camera and got some amazing pictures!

We went cave tubing with Vitalino Reyes (.bz) and had a great time. Another couple withour group did the cave tubing and the zipline excursions and they seem to enjoy them.

We just got back from Cartagena a few weeks ago and we felt safe. We did a private tour with one of Marelvy Pena-Hall's associates and it was one of the most beautiful cities on our 11 day cruise.

We got back from Cartagena a few weeks ago and we went with Marelvy Pena-Hall's associate Ester. Ester was amazing and we enjoyed our time in Cartagena. Marelvy Pena-Hall'sexcursion is well-worth it!

My heartfelt condolences go out to Kristine and the entire Holleran famiy!

Both the Equinox and the Reflection are an excellent ships, so there isn't much difference between the ships. I agree with previous posters and the itinerary would be my deciding factor!

Here is what Celebrity does well and the amenities we enjoy:

1) Outstanding food and excellent customer service.

2) Hot Glass Blowing Shows.

3) The Fitness Centre. The views you enjoy from the treadmills are breathtaking.

4) The Mast Grill. You get to enjoy tasty bacon, cheeseburgers!

5) The Tuscan Grille.

6) The Hideaway Lounge where you can grab a coffee or tea.

7) Cafe al Bacio where you can get the best cup of coffee on the ship and complimentary pastries.

8) Cold towels when you return to the ship after a day in port.

9) The Classic Beverage Package. as part of 123GO

10) Well-maintained and modern ships.

We always enjoy the Tuscan Grille and look forward to forward to eating there!

What an amazing picture!

We’re normally pretty cautious with our credit and debit cards when we travel. We just got home from 3 weeks in Florida/cruising and have managed to have my visa card and my DHs debit card compromised on this past trip 

 

Why? Because we were lazy!

 

While in Cozumel, we decided to rent some scooters for the day. I usually preplan EVERYTHING, but this trip we were throwing caution to the wind!! (yeah, NEVER do that). We walked off the ship with some cash, visa card and a debit card. We did something we’ve never done before.... go up to a local vendor, with no reservation, and rent scooters. He didn’t take Visa and it turns out, I had $1 less than I needed to do the rental. Buddy says to other buddy “take these kind people to ATM”. Off I go. Used my DHs debit card in ATM, a couple of times, and it just didn’t want to work. Shrugged it off (NEVER do that!) and convinced operator to send us off, $1 short, with our scooters. That was the $750 mistake!

 

Once we got back from our scooter adventure, we purchased a couple of hats, using my visa, as we no longer had any cash on us.

 

Of note: Both vendors were right at the port.

 

When we got back to Fort Lauderdale, I used my visa to check us into the hotel (and it worked) and an hour later, I received the call from Visa security that my card was being used, in Boca Raton, and had just been declined due to inaccurate PIN. A number of purchases had already been made. Card cancelled immediately. Thankfully, we had my DHs card to get us through to the end of our trip.

 

Today (four days after returning home), I log into my banking site and notice multiple withdrawals done today, at banking machines. One, for $100, a quick call confirmed, was my DH. Then there were two others, for odd amounts...520.64 and 263.54. On the phone to the bank quickly confirmed these withdrawals were being done in Florida (hence the odd $ amounts – mine is a Canadian account). They immediately cancelled both our debit cards. Thankfully, we are protected from fraud so will get all this $ back.

 

We’re positive where my DHs debit card was compromised, as it was only ever used once on this trip and the scammers had the PIN. We’re not certain where my visa got hit, as they did not have the PIN.

 

Anyway, just wanted to share our experience. It’s easy to get complacent, but very important that we never do and that we stay diligent. Fortunately, we have simply been inconvenienced.

 

Safe travels everyone!

Thank you for sharing the information about your credit card and your husband's debit card. It's an excellent reminder that we should never be too careful when you travel.

I was so excited to find out that Cafe Al Bacio is located midship, right below my cabin! Am looking forward to heading down a couple decks each morning to grab a double cappuccino. Anybody know what time it opens?

I'm not sure what time it opens, but every time I wanted a coffee it was open