voyager1964

The reason for the option 1 timing (late October - early November) is that we wanted to stay at GBR before...

Could you please clarify this as the itinerary shows the Fjords from 7 am to 4 pm for both option 1 and 3...

An update: Contemplating a fourth option with Royal Princess from Sydney in early December 2024 (from 7th to 21st). Sydney 3 days at sea Bay of Islands Auckland Tauranga Day at sea Wellington Lyttelton Port Chalmers Fjords 2 days at sea Sydney What do you think about this option as compared to the previous three? Will this sailing/ports of call be crowdy? Thanks!

Yes, but unfortunately either only North island is covered (e.g., Royal Princess), or a luxury line (Viking, Silversea and the likes), which not only too expensive but also using a sort of a gangway with stairs. The only exception is indeed HAL's Westerdam, but it sails there in January and its itinerary includes Melbourne and Hobart, the two places we are planning to visit on ourselves..

I am contemplating a cruise to NZ from Australia and came up with these three options. 1) Celebrity Edge, 13 nights from Nov 18-December 1, 2024. Sydney, 2 days at sea, Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Auckland, Napier, Picton, Lyttelton, Dunedin, Fjords, 2 days at sea, Sydney. 2) Diamond Princess, 14 nights from October 26-November 11, 2024. Melbourne, 4 days at sea, Auckland, Tauranga, day at sea, Wellington, Lyttelton, Port Chalmers, Fjords, 2 days at sea, Melbourne 3) Diamond Princess, 14 nights from January 13-27, 2025. Brisbane, 3 days at sea, Fjords, Port Chalmers, at sea, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, Auckland, 3 days at sea, Brisbane. The Celebrity's cruise is ~ 50% more expensive than Princess's. What I need help with are these questions a) Why would Diamond spend 4 days at sea out but only 2 days in? Would they be seeking a less "wavy" path in Tasmanian sea? b) Would the January cruise be much more crowdy (in terms of both ship and ports) than the other two? c) Is it OK to visit NZ in Spring with those specific ports of call, or a much better experience would be in Summer (i.e., January)? d) Are Princess's itineraries in NZ worse than Celebrity's? DW has mobility limitations (no stairs), if this makes any difference. I would appreciate inputs and thoughts of experts. Thanks in advance

Thanks for your thoughts! A follow-up question: if we compare the Eurodam 11-days cruise in March with the same cruise but in February, how many more children should we expect in March? Like <100, 100-200 or still 200+?

Hello HAL cruisers, Seeking your help to decide between two itineraries 1. Nieuw Amsterdam (FLL, Day at sea, Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, 1/2 Moon Cay, FLL), from March 16 2. Eurodam (FLL, Day at sea, Day at sea, St. Maarten, St. Johns, Roseau, Castries, Basseterre, St. Thomas, day at sea, 1/2 Moon Cay, FLL), also from March 16. Due to my work commitments, I would prefer the first option, but am afraid there would be too many children as this is more or less a school break time. But, I am not sure there would be significantly less overcrowding on the second itinerary. What would experienced mariners advise? For a background, we have usually sailed with Celebrity, also tried RCCL, NCL, and, more recently, Azamara. My wife has difficulty with stairs. And, you can guess the reason for this cruise from my screen name:) Thanks!

There is no surprise the promised on-line check-in does not work. To me, its importance is related to spreading out the crowds based on the assigned check-in time.

Hello @groryjm I am sorry but I actually tried to locate the tapas place near Sagrada, not in Marseille. Although the bouillabaisse looks lovely too 🙂

Following up your report with great interest. Do you remember the name of that place? Thanks,

I see that they have finally abandoned the 2 pm earliest check in. Yet it is not shown on their website

I guess you get a lot of privacy with these balconies. Not only you are protected from prying eyes from above, but also from both sides 😉 Or you are not?

@Sleep7 Thank you so much for the detailed review! I noticed that the gangway was all stairs - did you get a chance to see wheelchair-assisted people on it? Thanks in advance

Thank you very much @cavaaller for your live review! I am sorry it did not get as much attention as it deserves, apparently due to the distraction caused by the IT transition. Did you happen to pay a visit to the spa/T-pool? A recent review (https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=698117) suggests that "They have cocktail servers coming in to serve guests which contributes to a rather loud and crowded atmosphere... Imagine it’s fun to be with your group in a private setting yet change the name of the Spa from Sanctum to Sorority House." Any observations to corroborate? Thanks

They appear to admit that the check-in readiness on May 15 is wishful thinking. Given their stubborn reluctance to start the embarkation process earlier, the real mess will greet you in the port in the foreseeable future. I would suggest arriving for embarkation as late as possible to avoid that mess, but then again you will be late to book the special restaurants. And the excursions.

There are blames for RCI/Celebrity-related data corruption being the reason for the Azamara's IT fiasco. Perhaps. The problem, however, is that they have been working for a week or so trying to sort out the existing bookings sailing in the next 30 days. I daresay those represent ~5% out of the 30,000 individual bookings they need to sort out. I guess the extrapolation and the underlying unfortunate conclusions are straightforward.

FWIW, there was a discussion on the structural vibrations on which a professional input was provided: Based on that discussion, I would excpect that 1) The vibrations in the Owners suites should go down as you go up, i.e., the maximum vibrations would be on deck 6 and minimum vibrations - on deck 8. Although anything is possible given the variability in the actual construction. 2) To get out of the resonance, a small change in the propeller/ship speed could be enough. That is, the OP may want to request a minor change in the speed (0.5 knot?) and see what happens.

Thanks for your review! Could you please clarify - I think you are in an aft suite - what deck is your suite.. Did you notice as much movement in the pool/spa area? TIA

Glad to hear that! The "rumors" are actually reports on Tripadvisor - you will find many such stories by searching e.g., for "carry on" in TAP Portugal reviews...

Could anybody comment on TAP carry on policy? There are horror stories about flight attendants demanding checking all cabin luggage, even in the business class...

I think he has invented the bidding for upgrade process that many cruiselines unfortunately copied

It is very difficult to get an unbiased answer to this question, because the underlying costs are very different..

This website offers some remediation in terms of accessibility https://disabledaccessibletravel.com/accessibility-alhambra/

The situation is a little bit more complex. How about ChoiceAir that is actually part of RCCL? I wonder what Azamara is going to do with this program and with the flights booked prior to the transition

I believe the original inventor was FDR of NCL 😉