garnet115

I booked a solo cruise a little more than a month out, and tours in Athens are fully booked - I have no ship excursion options.  Can anyone recommend a reliable operator to go from Piraeus to Athens to tour city, see the Acropolis, etc.?  I would have strongly preferred a ship excursion, but just don't seem to have the option here.

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

Find to the port of call boards and find private excursions. 

Thanks.  I am traveling solo and am uncomfortable going private - I don't want to get stuck somewhere alone if anything goes wrong.

Do they hold back excursion availability for booking on board?  I just booked a port intensive cruise for next month and am having trouble booking excursions.  Some of them are only available in languages other than English.  Trying to figure out what to do.

14 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

 

The bathroom thing in Italy is pretty good nowadays. Most are real and not just a hole in the floor LOL

 

  Hahaha - I was referring to the "weird bathroom thing" on Epic, not Italy generally!

Thanks for the advice.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback.  I am cruising solo and looking at a May cruise, so the weather and weird bathroom layout are hopefully non issues.  

The consensus seems to be that Italy/Greece is a better itinerary, so I will likely go with that one.  I'm a little wary of Epic, but on such a port intensive itinerary, I am less concerned about the ship. 

Again, many thanks for the feedback, and happy sailing to all!

3 minutes ago, Maanio said:

Oh in that case, my preference would be Italy Greece.

I did both because I am European and I think Italy Greece is more sophisticated than Spain and France for cruise itineraries. However both are huge ships and I would also prefer smaller ship. Are those available for your dates?

Thanks.  For the dates I am looking at, I think it is only larger ships with these itineraries.  I think the Pearl is doing a Greece Isles itinerary, but I wouldn't get the combo with Italy.  Your comment is helpful - I was leaning towards Italy/Greece, but feeling a little stuck because I want to see everything.  A lot of the Spain/France ports on the western med cruise seem more provincial beach town with less of cultural interest, although surely beautiful and relaxing.  Again, thanks for the input -  much appreciated.

Just now, Maanio said:

Do Both.

Have a nice day 🙂

If time and finances were no object, I surely would!  But for today, I need to choose. 😄

Which would you choose an why?  I've never been to any of the places on either itinerary, and having trouble deciding.  I'm leaning towards Italy/Greece, but would love input from the CC hive mind!  Thanks.

Are there times other than Black Friday when they run sales on packages?  I just booked a cruise for October, so no Black Friday before then!  

Thanks for the info.  

I know that NCL will allow parents to sign a waiver to allow 19 or 20 year olds to drink wine or beer on board.  Does Royal have a similar policy?  I could find anything when searching the website or these boards.

1 hour ago, kokopelli-az said:

This thread might help:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2561220-connecting-accessible-rooms/

 

 

 

 

Thank you!

My father is disabled and requires full time help of an aide.  He has always been an avid cruiser and would like to take a trip, bringing his aide with him.  Does anyone know of cruise lines that have adjoining rooms with accessible cabins?  They do not want to share a room, but his aide needs to be in close proximity in case he needs help during the night.  Anyone have experience with this or suggestions?

10 hours ago, gravitar said:

Are you on the Bermuda cruise on the 12th?

Yes.

It’s in my planner for next week on the Getaway as complimentary. Menu looks very similar - but not identical - to osheehans.

Yes, you will need to sign a waiver on board.  Doesn't sound like this will be an issue for you since the whole family is travelling, but word of caution:  when I sailed alone with my 19yo daughter in January, they wouldn't permit me to sign the waiver because we have different last names and we didn't have her birth certificate to prove I was her mother.  Even though we showed drivers licenses with the same permanent address and she looks like my clone, we couldn't get it done for her, which was frustrating. 

I have an upcoming trip in a studio cabin on Prima.  It's a port intensive itinerary, and it may be easier to get room service some mornings rather than try to get to MDR prior to meeting for excursions (I'm not big on the buffet).  Can you get room service in the studios?  The one time I was in a studio previously was on a 2 night cruise to nowhere, and there was not a room service option, but I'm not sure if that was due to the room or the short itinerary.

Thanks in advance!

8 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

10:00 pm. Except last night closing at 8:00 b

Great - thanks for the quick reply!

I will be on a Prima sailing of the Mediterranean sailing in late October.  I'm trying to decide if I should get the thermal spa pass.  Given that it is a port intensive itinerary with no sea days, I don't expect to use it during the day,  However, if the spa is open in the evening, I would gladly use that as a space to relax and avoid the reported indoor crowds in the evening.  Does anyone know if the spa is open in the evenings?

Thanks!

Thanks for the input.  May do the tour and sit out the monkeys while still hugging sloths.  

What are the interactions with the monkeys like?  Considering doing one of Victor's tours when we are in Roatan, but we had a bad experience with monkeys in the Dominican Republic.  We went to a monkey preserve where they gave you bowls of food to hold while the monkeys climbed all over you - they were really aggressive.  My daughter - who LOVES all animals - was really freaked out by it.  We want to do monkeys and sloths in Roatan, but are worried about a repeat of our DR experience. Any thoughts or experience?

Awesome! Thanks everyone. :D

Can the OBC be used to offset the daily gratuity charges?

I haven't sailed Anthem yet, but sailed on Breakaway several times, including a January cruise to nowhere and a February bahamas cruise. On the bahamas crusie, the weather was in the 60s by the middle of the first sea day - not warm enough for me to get in a pool, but my daughter was in her bathing suit as soon as I let her, and enjoyed it. Maybe we just got luck, but my recollection is that it was really only that first 1/2 sea day and the last sea day coming back that were too cool for outside activities.

My favorite part of the Breakaway is the Waterfront - I love sitting there during the day with a book and chilling out. The inside spaces can get crowded when the weather doesn't allow full use of the outside facilities, but they do offer activities in some of the other indoor venues like the theater, comedy club and fat cats. Also, if your looking for variety in dining, the Breakaway has a great variety of specialty restaurants (albeit for a fee). Personally, repeat food wouldn't sway me one way or the other in booking - cruise food is cruise food, and you get enough variety over the course of a week.

I have Athem booked for this coming February, mainly because I have seen the Breakaway entertainment so many times that I wanted a change. I am glad that Anthem is build for cold weather cruising, but am already concerned about the lack of outdoor space. I know I will miss the Waterfront. Also, my all time favorite cruise entertainment is Howl at the Moon on the NCL ships. I'm sure that Anthem has fabulous entertainment, but I will miss evenings at HATM.

Yes, still included.

Thanks!