Mathguy42

I've been told you go to the Immigration Offices. On the Dutch side it's located in a building about a half mile from the cruise pier, in the docks area, close to the industrial entrance to the port. They give you a graphic stamp that says "Sint Maarten: The Friendly Island." On the French side it's on the waterfront at Marigot close by where the ferry leaves for Anguilla. the office is located under a nightclub! Their stamp is that of the French prefecture of Guadeloupe, which runs the French side of St. Martin. If you're going on a bus tour, tell the tour guide you want your passport stamped on both sides of the island and they will take you there. Our friends did this on a cruise day-trip.

Thank you everyone. Looks like we get luggage tags only at the port. We made our final payment long ago.

I contacted our TA who said sending an e-receipt was normal when you book with an online TA. If you book with a brick and mortar TA you get tags in the mail. So it looks like that document that says "print and bring on board" is all we get. We did, and we will, so it looks like we have to do our luggage tags when we get to the pier. It's really no big deal, it's just the lack of consistency that I find astonishing.

This differs significantly from our last cruise experience on Celebrity where we got a printed booklet in the mail with our tags included. Also BTW, booked online, although directly with the cruise line. While we expect change, it doesn't look like there's any consistency here.

Is the specialty brunch on Divina worth the extra expense? I think they only offer it on sea days?

I searched these threads but can't find an answer to this question. Are specialty coffees and vitamin/juicer drinks included in the Classic Beverage Package? Thanks.

We did not get luggage tags either, just a one page e-document that is a receipt that says "Print and bring on board." Maybe because we booked through a TA and not directly with the cruise line?

We are checking out Celebrity Reflection ex Rome round trip. They offer an overnight in Istanbul and it sounds like a wonderful itinerary. We will probably spend three nights in Rome pre-cruise. Another chance to toss a penny in the Trevi fountain! We have been on the Millenium and the Summit but this will be our first on the Reflection

It does look like Celebrity is changing its itineraries for cruises out of Istanbul for 2016:)

In addition to a regular first-aid kit, we always bring a course of broad-spectrum antibiotic for each of us such as Ciproflaxin, and an opioid pain reliever such as Tylenol#3 just in case they should be needed. Of course you need a scrip for these but my doctor obliges when i tell him we are traveling abroad. We only ever had to use the latter, just once, on a trip to the Caribbean, where the item was also available OTC at pharmacies. We also always pack small bottles of Australian tea-tree oil and high-alpine lavender essential oils which are versatile and universal remedies for almost everything from wounds and insect bites to nausea, insomnia and burns, including blisters. Final item is a small thumbnail-size squirt bottle of superglue, which takes the place of a suture kit (ouch! painful!). Superglue was developed to close wounds in medical settings but because the doctors were sticking to the patients they abandoned it. So Superglue re-marketed the product for the general public and there you have a safe and easy to use suture kit for larger wounds. This has saved us hundreds on doctors' visits off previous cruises where we needed first aid and might have been taken to (expensive) sick bay or an ER off ship.

The final thing we always pack is proof of travel insurance that includes health situations. Having this can save you much, especially in Europe. Never go without!

Happy and healthy travels everyone!

Yes, be thankful you are not in Chicago today!

Never mind about the question. i just noticed Pied Piper have pulled the Istanbul to Istanbul cruise with Celebrity. when i went on Celebrity's website i discovered that they are not doing this cruise as originally advertised at all in 2016 or the ones they list have a changed itinerary. Santorini is being replaced as a port of call with Albania! Unbelievable. And No Thank You... :mad:

Thanks for your reply.

DH and I are looking at a Pied Piper Celebrity cruise Istanbul to Istanbul. If anyone has been on this cruise with Pied Piper I'd appreciate hearing your recommendations about Istanbul and shore excursions. Thanks!

All large cruise ships have stabilizers and the Caribbean is usually smooth at that time of year. On most cruises I have no sense of movement aside from occasional vibrations of the ship when docking or embarking. the only time I witnessed seasickness was on an Alaska cruise where we were in wild open water for a while. there were some green faces at dinner and only half the table showed up but i absolutely loved the movement and finally felt i was on the ocean. I always sleep like a baby on cruises. Maybe it's because when lying down, I do sense the movement just a bit but it does act like a lullaby and is totally relaxing. I packed ginger chews because i heard they worked well for seasickness but i never needed them and ended up giving them to a lady at our table who did!

You might consider avoiding looking over the balcony or at the wake of the ship if that might make you ill, but IMHO that is the BEST part of cruising.

Don't be nervous; you will enjoy every minute of it! I have never been on a cruise I didn't enjoy. Next one will be my twelfth.

Agree that passport stamps make memorable souvenirs. they can be found at most non-US ports in the Caribbean you just have to ask for Customs and immigration office. It's usually no more than a 5 minute walk from the cruise pier. They are free of charge and official, not souvenir stamps. if you have to pay, they are souvenir stamps and might be a bit more graphic or colorful. Same in Europe esp at the smaller countries, usually at the main tourist office. Some places that are UNESCO world heritage sites also have passport stamps such as the Galapagos islands and Machu Picchu. Over the years we have collected many :) stamps in our passports that bring back wonderful travel memories.

Public transportation is designed to be used by... the public. I have never felt unwelcomed on one of the buses and rarely have they been full.

 

Why do you take a cab when it takes business away from a rental agency? Why do you spend your money in one restaurant or shop when it takes that money away from some othwer restaurant or shop? For that matter why do you vacation with one cruise line when another could have used your business?

 

Go ahead and take a cab. I'll be on the bus chatting with some locals. I've had some great conversations over the years.

I completely agree. Public transit is public transit. And i am a member of...the public! If I use it at home am i not also allowed to use it whilst on vacation? The OP post has NO logic. I just wonder where they found THAT particular rulebook?:)

Ps This is not a roll-call but encourage anyone on this thread to check out the MSC Divina Roll call if you are on that sail.

Anyone else on this thread sailing on the MSC Divina for spring break?

Hi everyone: What works for me: I replaced dairy with low calorie almond milk and eliminated wheat bread and pasta from my diet. I dropped 11 lbs in eight weeks just by doing that! I also found a new tea with just 5 calories per drink called Bai5 and it's delicious. Of course I'm going on an Italian cruise line so it will be HARD to avoid pizza, pasta and breads, not to mention the gelatos!:)

We got the Allegrisima package as a promotion form our TA. My DH likes premium liquors so asked how much it would be to upgrade to premium. They would charge the FULL premium benefit cost so there's no point. I'll pack an orange squeezer for the OJ!

Hello,

we're a Chicago couple booked on the Divina out of Miami March 7th. I have a question about sea day schedules on MSC. Do they have enough variety? Do they have lectures or classes on board, same as other cruise lines? What kinds of activities do they offer? I've been looking for a copy of the daily schedule for one of their sea days but can't find it online.

Thanks

Ed:)

Stamps for passports are available at Monaco, Andorra, Liechtenstein and San Marino in Europe at the main tourist offices. Unsure about Vatican City... perhaps at the post office? Any suggestions? At most of these places, there is a nominal charge...:)

We had the PBP on our recent Summit cruise and it was the Best Deal EVER! Also, most of our savings was on non-alcoholic drinks such as at Cafe Al Bacio, smoothies for breakfast, specialty coffees, bottle water etc, Nice to have your San Pellegrino being poured out every evening as you arrived at table, nothing to sign etc. We had to show our cards but that was all. It made it like an all-inclusive vacation and i would do it again.

When you do the math, it all adds up:

Mimosa with breakfast: $8

Specialty coffee x 2: $8

Beer wine or smoothie with lunch: $8

Afternoon specialty teas x 2: $8

Pre-dinner cocktail x 2: $24

Wine with dinner: $20

Bottled water to take off the ship x 3 or 4 : $9-$12

Total: $90 min.

Cost per day of PBP: $54

we usually pick up an interesting looking stone and paint it with the name of where it's from when we get home (ziplock bags are great for this). Have a big glass jar full of our world travels!

No! You will not get the extra point for CC or AQ if you don't pay for the upgrade. Having a huge dispute with X about this now; I paid for an upgrade and they won't give me the correct credit, said I have to PROVE I paid for it, back in 2008!!!

 

You could possibly get an incorrect credit but I would not count it.

Yes! We got an extra credit because we PAID for Concierge Class in the first place, not because we got a free upgrade to Aqua Class...I never said we got an extra credit for that :D

Yes, you get it for upgrading to either Concierge or Aqua Spa, from any other category.

I just called Celebrity, and for no extra charge was "upgraded" from CC to AC on the March 10th sailing of The Summit, but it's a guarantee, which means we don't know what our room number is. I had to call in person to do this as Celebrity's website didn't offer an upgrade option on our reservation...:)