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alaskawdw12

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    Most Interesting Person You've Ever Met On A Cruise

    in Ask a Cruise Question

    Posted

    At a M&M, a lady from Canada showed interest in me when she heard I'm from Israel.

     

     

    Turns out her father was Jewish, part of the "kinder transport" (kids rescued to Britain from Austria & Germany during WWII).

     

    After the war he emigrated to Canada with his rabbi, and there he met a German lady, who came to Canada to work for a Canadian family. She converted to Judaism in order to marry him. All her family was left in Germany, in a small town near Frankfurt.

     

     

    Step by step, we found out that my aunt, who was a pediatrician in the same town, was "in charge" of all her (mother) family's kids.

     

     

    What are the chances????

     

     

    We still keep in touch today.

     

     

    Amazing!!

    שתהיה לך אחלה שבת! [emoji16]

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Most Interesting Person You've Ever Met On A Cruise

    in Ask a Cruise Question

    Posted

    Wow, that's pretty cool! When you think of so many scenarios that would have to have taken place, it's unbelieveable your paths crossed! It was meant to be. I guess we never know what's held in store for us when we sail and meet so many wonderful people.

     

     

    You’re so right! If I saw such a thing in a movie I wouldn’t believe it was possible...I’m sure the odds of winning the lottery are much higher than the odds that we would ever meet. We both had chills, it was just crazy (and magical, it was a Disney ship after all [emoji12])!

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Escape the Rubicon on Symphony open for booking

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We boarded in Barcelona. We’ve done all the ports before, so we went on this cruise just to explore the new ship and I must say she is impressive! Being a small ship person I hesitated about going on such a big ship, but it didn’t feel as crowded as I thought it would be. And we actually got that personal feeling with a lot of crew and guests.

     

     

     

    I really like the new decor that they have compared to the older ships.

     

     

    So glad to hear this!

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Portovenere and Palmaria

    in Italy Ports

    Posted

    I also enjoyed the walk up to the Castello Doria on top of the hill. It had a few spots with steeper gradients so it was a good short hike option. As marylizcat said the view from the top was great.

     

    There is also an interesting church......Saint Peter's Church which is not large but it is made out of the black and white stone which they have used to create horizontal stripes. The view from there is also nice....lots of steps.

     

    Walking around the streets and stopping for food is a great way to round out the day.

     

    I am actually stopping in Portovenere again this July but taking a private tour to see Vernazza and Monterrosso so will keep in mind the crowds there. I haven't been to either of those two towns yet.

     

    Julie

     

     

    Thanks so much for your reply! Sounds great!

     

    We liked Vernazza better than Monterrosso, because Monterrosso is bigger than the other four and felt more touristy. I’d personally prefer to go to a different village, we just didn’t have a choice because it was a ship excursion. But don’t get me wrong, it was nice! We enjoyed our time there. Just know that the minute the restaurants open - they’re packed! So it might be best to go knowing which restaurant you’d like to go to.

     

    Vernazza was really lovely, but at a certain point there were hoards of people there. Since you’re on a private tour I really recommend you get there early to beat the crowds.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Symphony 13th May 2018 review and compass

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    No, that’s fine.

     

    One night I had to ask them to turn the film off as it was after 12.30 at night and no one was watching. There are two aqua shows on that last till 11.45pm but didn’t bother me too much as I just watched telly on my iPad.

    Wasn’t that fussed with the Abyss there. It would of been nicer without it but wouldn’t stop me from booking another Boardwalk balcony.

     

    I didn’t get to go on the water slides, as the day I thought I’d do it was quite chilly and very breezy. They did look awesome and not much of a queue though this may change the hotter the weather gets.

     

    Johnny Rockets is Johnny Rockets. It’s fried food and is greasy. Only went due to being something different and have free cover charge.

     

    I was dancing to the 80’s night on the Promenade. That was great fun. I was also on the guys who had to fill in the blank on ‘Blankety Blank’. I got a inaugural baseball cap for doing that. I really wanted to go to ‘Battle of the Sexes’ but it was on at midnight and Rome was out next port so it was an early rise and shine.

    They did all the adult themed activities at midnight which I thought was a bit stupid when you have ports that we arrive in early to. Again, I think this was a Med thing.

     

    If I’m honest, the Chinese are the rudest people I have ever met either on the ship or off it. They barge pass everyone without excusing them self, they will get to the lifts before anyone else, whether you have been waiting longer or not. They are just not nice. I’m sure they are not all like that but the majority, unfortunately, were.

    There is a massive mix of nationalities. Everything is explained in English first and then Spanish. It’s just not the same for when I go across the water and do a Caribbean cruise. It’s more relaxed and more fun.

    I’d go on a Med cruise for the ship and ports but never for the people.

     

    Hope I’ve answered your questions.

     

     

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

     

     

    Thank you for answering all of my questions!

     

    Adult activities at midnight is really weird...we were on the Disney Magic on the Med two years ago and adult activities were the regular activities at the regular time. But maybe it’s different people on a Disney Cruise...half of the ship were Americans.

     

    So you were able to enjoy the ship despite being irritated by fellow cruisers?

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Symphony 13th May 2018 review and compass

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Thanks for the review and for the cruise compasses!!! I’ve been waiting to see more compasses, since the only ones on line are from the inaugural sailing.

     

    I have a few questions:

    How was your boardwalk balcony room interns of noise? And did the Abbys have a negative effect on your view?

     

    Did you go on the water slides?

     

    How was Johnny Rockets?

     

    Did you partake in activities?

     

    How did the makeup of cruisers effect your cruise?

     

    Thanks!! Sorry for bombarding you with questions [emoji23][emoji23]

     

     

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Portovenere and Palmaria

    in Italy Ports

    Posted

    Sorry, I don’t remember the name of the place where we had lunch. Just that it was near the water so had a nice view. I think we just looked at the menus and then chose. Only had some pasta and strawberries for dessert.

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

     

     

    Pasta and strawberries with a sea view - sounds good to me [emoji4]. I think we’ll stick to Portovenere like you and not try to pack in more.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Portovenere and Palmaria

    in Italy Ports

    Posted

    Our ship (symphony of the seas) will be docking in La Spezia. We’re planning on taking the ferry to Portovenere and hanging out there. We were in Vernazza and Monterrosso two years ago on our port day and didn’t love it as much as we expected with SO many tourists filling the few streets. I’ve read that Portovenere is less crowded, so hoping we’ll love it.

     

    I have a few questions:

    1. When we get off the ship how do we get to where the ferry is? (Our cruise two years ago docked in Lavorno, so we took the ship excursion)

     

    2. Any suggestions for Portovenere? Food, sights, etc.

     

    3. Is it worth taking a boat over to Palmaria? I’m having trouble finding info about shorter hikes on the island. All I keep finding is the long hike that circles the island and it’s too long for our timeline.

     

    Thanks so much!

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Symphony Late Departure Option?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    I don´t think so. Barcelona is the home port for turn overs. Civitavecchia is just an interporting port where only 1/3 of the passengers do disembark.

     

     

     

    steamboats

     

     

    Thanks for the reply. Since so much fewer people disembark in Civitavecchia I would have thought allowing people to stay onboard longer would be easier at that port than in Barcelona, since it has much less of an effect on the number of people onboard. Too bad...I think I’ll try to ask at guest services if they’ll let us stay for a fee.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Symphony: Looking for Experience with Rome Embarkation - seems a disadvantage?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Hi, we’re also embarking from Civitavecchia, so would love to hear what people have to say.

    What I can add in the meantime is that from googling the subject I found only positive comments about it. People wrote that because only 20% of the ship are boarding, it’s the easiest embarkation they ever did. People also mentioned the ship being pretty much empty, so there isn’t that rush you normally have and you can really enjoy the ship. Also, a few people wrote that they were able to go to their rooms to drop off their carry ons and roam the ship carefree.

     

    I think you’re not finding compasses yet because I’m pretty sure they haven’t started the Civitavecia embarkations yet.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Excursions

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Good for you....but RCI has a way with doing some weird math at times with their so called "sales".

     

     

    Yeah...An excursion I was looking at is now “on sale” for four dollars more than before it was on sale...

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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