trishkri

Thanks. It looks like even the main boards here are different from when I’ve used CC before. So I hope this is how I reply now lol. Anyway I see a post from Romchek1/Larry in roll call but I still don’t know how to send him a message! Should I be starting a new thread?

Check the second from the top posting on pg 71. There is the link to the spreadsheet that he maintains that includes the info you want. Also read some of the other recent postings. Someone just mentioned a shore excursion they planned with room for more. Your best bet is posting any questions there.

Thanks. I registered for my roll call but I don’t know how it works. My auto message went on there a couple of hours ago. Do I start a new thread under discussions or do I reply to someone’s post?

Go to the roll call and start at the end. Find a listing from Romchek1/Larry, he has been maintaining a spreadsheet of all activities planned by those on the cruise that week. He usually adds the link at the end of his postings. He has a posting with it near the top of the last page of roll call posts.

NY Times posted a good summary of tourism in the Caribbean after Irma and Maria

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/travel/maria-irma-caribbean-tourism-island-by-island.html

I found this on an old posting. It lists the price as $89/person. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2445276

Slush has non-alcoholic frozen drinks on the classic package. Adding alcohol places them on the premium package (or pay the difference).

It was on the NBC Nightly news...

We just returned from Equinox. We saw men wearing shorts on every night of the cruise in MDR! Even on "Chic Nights"

 

 

 

Really surprised that they don't have any policy anymore.

When we were on the Equinox in Nov I saw males in shorts turned away twice from the MDR. One of the occasions it was a preppy young man of about 14 in a pair of nice dress shorts and a button down shirt (think Vineyard Vines). He looked far better than the gentleman at the next table that wore a photographer's (or fishing) vest every night.

On my Nov cruise on Equinox we had late dining and were on the wait list for early. I asked about switching when I boarded and again on the first night and was told that there was no room at the early seating and select was overbooked. I asked again on the third night and the maitre d told me to come 10 minutes after the early seating and they would seat my husband and I at random open spots.

They have already added it to 2 ships. At first I thought they would give it a longer trial on Constellation before adding it to any other ship, but seems Equinox was not far behind.

I wonder if they will make the change on Reflection and Silhouette since they already have fee-based burgers at The Porch one deck up. If you consider those two then it makes four ships with paid burger bars. I'm not counting the GastroBar on Equinox as it's not in the upper/open air portion of the ship.

On our last cruise my DH and I had a nice time at the concierge lunch and met two other couples we kept running into for the rest of the cruise. I liked the lunch but my husband was underwhelmed with the serving. When we finished our cabin was ready so we went and dropped our bags off. Then we explored the boat and stopped at the Oceanview for "second lunch" when the rush was over.

I work in Newport and saw the ship in the harbor as I crossed over the Newport Bridge. I didn't see much in the way of sailboat traffic then but it was fairly early. Lack of tender boats is probably the cause as you said. And yes, there will be lots more sailboat traffic this weekend. It always makes me happy this time of year when I see cruise ships in the harbor on my way to work. I am interested to hear what you were able to see and do in your limited amount of time.

I got a survey from Celebrity yesterday asking my opinion on potential changes to their Med cruises. First they had me choose my favorite among several different 7-11 day cruises. Then I had to rate my level of interest in several different ports. I have never done a cruise in the area or done research on the different ports so I don't know if the list included new stops.

Barbados--one word. Calabaza.

 

http://sailcalabaza.com/

 

 

 

Have a great cruise.

 

 

 

Gail :)

Book right away. They were booked up during my Jan '18 cruise a couple of months ago when I checked.

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Yes, was wondering the same thing... what is Abrigato? :D

Probably it is an Affogato - espresso and chocolate syrup over a scoop of gelato. Very yummy and a way to get a free scoop of gelato if you have a drink package.

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When we went two years ago we asked that question of our bus driver on the way to Mendenhall Glacier. He was a retired police officer that had been coming to Juneau for several years to work in the summer. His recommendation was to come early in the season. He felt that part of the whole experience is the attitude of the seasonal workers who run your tours, wait tables and work the shops. At the beginning of the season they are happy to be there and to be of help. By September they just want it to be over and go back home.

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We clearly have the same taste in food! Ice cream with every dessert, check. Dark bread in bread basket, my favorite! And I like the lamb shank and couscous dishes as well.

 

 

 

I am not much of a bread eater but love the dark bread in the bread basket. On our Equinox cruise last November I joked to the assistant waiter, Joseph, about missing the dark bread the night before. From then on we had half of our bread basket filled with it each night. It was both a curse and a blessing because I felt obligated to have at least one piece every night but didn't want to fill up on it.

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Does anyone know the rules for Alaska ports? I am not aware that the US has these prohibitions.

 

 

 

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If you remain within CONUS you are fine but both HI and AK have similar rules in both directions for agricultural products. I used to live in HI and would occasionally forget that I couldn't bring fresh fruit to/from the mainland.

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Panama Canal cruises on Celebrity are usually 1 way Florida (FLL or MIA) to San Diego so you would need to fly back. We did this on Infinity last year and it was amazing. I think there might be a couple of cruises that go into the canal and turn around and come back to FL.

The Ultimate Caribbean Cruise does all of the eastern ports of a Panama Canal cruise but goes back to FL. You can do an excursion that transits the Canal when you visit Panama. It also includes one of our favorite ports, Cartagena.

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I have just tried to do this but the system still asks for my credit card details, even though I have more OBC that the cost of the excursion. Is this because we haven't made the final payment?

 

 

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If it shows that you have onboard credit to use then you could be making the same mistake I was. During checkout turn on the button that says use onboard credit and then add in the amount of OBC you plan on using. Then proceed and it won't ask for credit card info anymore.

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Just a warning about Calabaza, they sell out quickly. I just tried to book them for our cruise in late Jan 18 and all trips are already sold out the day I will be there.

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My DH refers to it as Cafe Debauchery [emoji6]

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We like to bring bottled water on cruises because it's an easy to make sure we are getting enough water, but otherwise find the water served as drinking water just fine. It has to be tested and meet guidelines that are as stringent as municipal water systems on shore, so it is perfectly safe.

A PSA comment... Bottled water is regulated by the FDA, public drinking water by the EPA. Currently the EPA has far more stringent requirements than the FDA.

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We used the site where people list their Home when they are Away and found a beautiful modern house that was similar in cost to a crappy motel room. We stopped to see Talkeetna on the way up and picked up groceries since there is no convenient store up there.

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On our cruise out of Vancouver we arrived the afternoon before and stayed at the Days Inn. It was very basic but very affordable. ($92 incl taxes and fees for a double). We had a cheap, prepaid rate that I found on one of the European discount companies thru a comparison website. It was quiet in that section of downtown in the evening but we walked around and found a very good gastrobar for dinner. The next morning we got up and leisurely walked the two blocks to Canada Place, stopping at a Tim Hortons on the way for breakfast. Here's the view when we turned the corner by our hotel to walk to the ship.

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Another small plus to consider if you are thinking of doing the inside passage on the Millie is that the MDR is at the back of the boat with large, two-story windows to admire the view. We went in late May and had the late seating but still had plenty of daylight to enjoy the unbelievable scenery. FWIW, my husband must have mentioned every night at dinner on our last cruise on the Equinox that he liked the MDR on the Millie better because of the view and the less-modern feel.

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