CU64

I fancy a Canada/New England cruise and decided to wait to book until after final payment, as it was too expensive when I first looked.

Guess what, only insides are left!:eek:

went last Oct RT Boston on Brilliance of the Seas (not my favorite line) with a

balcony and got the Chief's Table + 3 specialty restaurants/ loved the whole

thing/got great weather/ship just ok but we are not picky people.....would

do that itinerary again and the price was excellent!

While it is extremely easy to get to Rome by train, it can be extremely crowded - especially on the way back. Plus the Rome central station "Termini" is just crazy - loooong, endless walks. Should you decide to take the train, use St. Peter station instead.

 

The train you need to take back to the ship is the main commuter line to Pisa. The train can be very crowded. People are stuck in the isles like sardines in a can very often ;-)

 

Check www.civitatours.com as an alternative. They offer a shuttle/bus service to Rome and back for a reasonable price. Available as transfer only or with guided tour.

 

We did both already and found the service of civitatours more relaxing.

Recommend this absolutely/ much faster getting in and out of Rome/everyone gets a seat and not like the above regular trains/ I discovered this through Rick

Stevens' book and so glad we booked it

Same situation here. My wife doesn't remember the name of the ship for our next cruise. :eek::p

 

I bet that a big majority of couples, where one does virtually all of the planning and makes the bookings, the one who goes along for the ride hasn't a clue what deck they're on, cabin number not a chance. :D

so very true

We enjoyed the muesli in Blu also. I have seen it at the buffet too and occasionally in the Elite breakfast.

why it's good

A few years ago we had an awful experience when seated at a table of 6 the first night....2 of the people complained constantly and were extremely rude.

We asked to be moved after the first night and things were fine from the on.

 

This cruise I requested late seating, table of 10, thinking we could socialize more with others at the table if a few were rude, etc.

 

Thanks

Barbara

any more than 8 you will not be able to talk to people at the end unless

you are smack dab in the middle/ go for nor more than 8

All of you are making good points. I can see the pros and cons better now.

 

We did talk about Alaska in depth but decided in the next 2 years to just fly there and travel on our own.

 

It would help if DH would give me some input other than...."whatever makes you happy" and "I have no way to decide what I'd like or not like on a cruise".

 

I think that's called passing the buck! and not the kind hanging on our walls.

my husband had his nose in the air 10 yrs ago about cruise/went to Alaska 7 day on Diamond Princess, balcony of course......he was hooked/loves it now...

you can go back to Alaska many times in all sorts of venues

Personally, I would start there

I have read that the Aqua Spa cafe does a yogurt and muesli breakfast dish that costs about $5. The post suggested that for premium beverage package holders this was included. This seems strange as it's not a beverage. I would love this for breakfast as it sounded a nice low far Greek yogurt. Can anyone confirm that this is factual?

 

Sailing on the Solstice in 13 day time.

don't expect anything like Fage Greek yogurt/ nothing close, may be lowfat but sugar and nothing like the Greek lowfats in the stores today

We are sailing on the eclipse NYE, concierge class. We had a tough time deciding between aqua and concierge and in the end concierge won. I am contemplating changing for Blu and Persian gardens. The price difference is over $1000.00 and we figure we can eat at a lot of specialty restaurants for the difference. My question... I think I have read that you can buy a weekly pass for the persian garden even if you are not Aqua. Is that true?

biggest hype is BLU, IMHO

Barb

Since I eat mostly protein for breakfast and try to stay away from carbs and sugar, I did not eat any museli, 2 parfaits, no pancakes, or French Toast in BLU...NEVER have smoothies because of the sugar!

If eating sugar, it will be chocolate!

Altho the eggs were good, I have had equally good food in other venues on ship....try eggs benedict station on Connie!!!!!..some ships do have the waffle, pancake station that has nothing to do with BLU!

My BLU experience was on Med 12 day/Equinox May 2013.

We live in an area that serves a variety of interesting food and we cook at home with spices & fresh everything;therefore, I thought the menu was just OK, eating mostly fish; some of the other dinner dishes were not tasty and I left feeling unsatisfied...I am not one of those who "requests" items

not on menu.

Currently, I prefer CC cabins and specialty restaurants, Bistro on 5 is a well kept secret/some of the best salads on ship and wonderful crepes (had no idea before what they were)...I like the variety of other venues, including MDR, ....

I always buy pass to Persian Gardens for the heated lounges on every ship that has them (including Princess)....

Barb

We normally board about 11:30 or noon. Meet up with cruising buddies in the Martini Bar to get off to a good start. Meander over to Bistro on 5 for lunch--would not go near the buffet on boarding day :eek:.

 

Cabins are ready between 1-1:30 where we go to drop off our carryon bags.

 

Hang out, explore, and check frequently for luggage delivery so we can unpack.

 

Meet about 5 at Sunset Bar for sailaway.

 

Shower and change, hit Martini Bar at 7:30 for pre-dinner cocktails, dinner at 8:30--show? No show? Maybe a walk around the outside deck, then crash. Get up and do it all over again!

Barb

ship has lots of cabins unsold

We have C2 on Deck 9......would an upgrade to Century or Sky Suite

be worth it?....I would not upgrade unless location adequate...only interested in bathtub.

Any feedback appreciated. Thanks.

Barbara

Jakensshleysmom - generally with the package you will not even see a bar slip. Sometimes you will see one and sometimes you won't. So I just carry an awful lot of singles and five dollar bills with me and I tip cash on each drink unless it's a situation where I want to give maybe five or $10 to someone such as the dining room waiter. Being pleasant and generous to service people has always worked for me. But then again I once was a service person. And I understand the importance of tips. And I'm also Irish so I tend to get along with bartenders. :) since you also understand the bartending business, I trust you will have no problems.

Please and thank you without an entitlement attitude usually works!

Bab

Had AQ 1 on Equinox May 2012/Med Cruise...had bed by BR.....never again...

hard to get into closet/esp with twin beds/...the storage in those cabins, esp with two women who travel LIGHT, was awful/ bin over bed and then crowded by closet/ few drawers and no real nightstands/ saw cabins with bed by balcony and MUCH better if you insist on AQ...

gave up a CC for that "upgrade".......big mistake....BLU way over rated...

Barb

As you are in Aqua Class you could try the parfait in Blu. It is served as part of the "Blu Parfait". It is made with "low fat yogurt" and I am sure that they will be able to tell you if is Greek yogurt. They will certaily serve you the components of the "Blu Parfait" separately if you ask.

Barb

That sink may be "upscale" but it's a pain in the you know where. The water goes all over the place. Give me functional over upscale any day.

 

I had 9219 (inside) which looked just like the pictures and 9215 (CC). Both very nice staterooms. You do get vibration from the thrusters. Not really terrible, but you do feel it.

Barb

does anyone know if the inside rooms on Deck 9 are as nice as the one

in the pictures 1217?.....I could not believe the hand held shower and upscale

sink??? Wow/hope my C2 on deck 9 is as nice! and that we are far enough away from the throttle noise. 9212

Any feedback?

Thanks.

Barb

Just checked website yesterday/they have bargain prices for CC cabins/what I paid several months ago.....NEW reserves only..

April 5, 2014 date

Barb

much appreciated your info

Barb

check cabin location for noise above or below

may be why no one has booked it

Barb

April 7, 2014 overnight......can we get back on ship anytime that night?

Barb

Anyone know if the beds are ever by the balcony on Century or is the ship too old?

I prefer this but don't expect it on this ship. Beds by balcony on Equinox, AQ1 made the room soooooo much better/otherwise squeezing around the bed to get into the closet was a feat as we had 2 twins with an unusable nite stand/no drawers/ in between.......

as I have posted before, this cabin (upgraded from C3/big mistake) was the worst for storage I have ever had/including early days on Carnival and recently RC Brilliance of Seas......

Barb

Really? We couldn't fit ours on the balcony after we moved the toilet there.

best laugh I've had all day

Barb

some of the AQ cabins are below pool area and Jacuzzi noise

I would check that before I ever booked any cabin

personally, I think BLU overrated, much prefer Sp rest and you can buy a

Pass to Persian Gardens/ the panel in shower is very nice if that is important

to you

try it once and see what you think but check the cabin location

Barb

Cop Chef

Thanks for your current info. Much appreciated.

Barb

2 bottles of wine per cabin

I have never tried to bring bottled water or soda on the ship....

maybe 1 during check-in........surprised if they let you but then it

would never have occurred to me to have a case with a luggage tag

somehow, after paying for the cabin and possibly flying to get there, why would I decide to save money by bringing water & soda on board???

Barb