sailawaybellaluna

On 3/19/2024 at 10:33 AM, hobgoblin said:

Thats great all sounds very interesting!

Did you by chance go to Olympia on the Katakolon stop?

Are there taxis from the harbour can take you there? unfortunately it looks like all the ship trips are booked up for Olympia .

I could ask so many questions about this cruise !

Not sure if you're still looking for options on the Katakolon stop, but we had an amazing day there. We booked a private driver recommended through Rick Steves (and here on CruiseCritic) and we stopped at the ancient ruins, a winery for a tasting and lunch, and a beach club before heading back to the ship. We had six hours and 8 passengers in a Mercedes Vito Van, and the guides were so helpful and professional! Their website is Taxi Katakolon best tours to Ancient Olympia Greece - taxikatakolon.gr

Their email communication was very detailed, and I mainly worked with Takis is arranging it. 

I wouldn't chance it honestly. Something as minor as fog could throw a wrench in your plans and when disembarkation will begin.

In June we spent time with family in Copenhagen (we have relatives that live there, and we spent time with them after our Baltic cruise), and we all had various departures from CPH. Some super early in the morning, and some in the evening. There were a lot of glitches in terms of checking bags, security lines, etc. Not saying anything is bad about CPH whatsoever, but you have to allow a buffer for these things. To me, 10:45am is calling it way too close.

56 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Email to start then what’s app. 

Perfect, thanks! I sent him an email! 

1 hour ago, HBCcruiser said:

Sure! Please tell him (Jorge) TIffany gave you the referral. He is the best! 

 

Thanks so much!

Did you communicate primarily via email to arrange or WhatsApp?

Hello! I was on the same sailing as you were and have enjoyed reading your review.

I am returning to Ensenada in a few weeks on a Holland America cruise, and was wondering if you could share the information for your tour guide that went to the wineries? We've done the Guadalupe Valley several times, but I would like to try some new places and it sounds like you had a great experience! Thank you in advance!

Just returned this morning from the Discovery Princess and wanted to follow up on this.

Turns out we did have the plus package with all of the benefits and my on-board credit from the casino offer was still in place. I guess we just got lucky!

18 hours ago, rocker57 said:

I just refared my cruise for next year, had it at plus, was adding on Premier. I don’t know what kind of deal they have going on, but for a 10 day cruise, it was an extra $136. Considering that includes 2 specialty dinners that would of cost $200, I think that’s a good deal.

Wow, that is a great deal! And it seems like the same % of discount I received?!

16 hours ago, Eno said:

Be careful. I added the premium package

  for the third person in the cabin. After being on hold for 30 mins they came back with a much lower price than I expected. They said it was a promo code. I was still two weeks out from final payment and paid online to be sure there were no issues with final payment. Good thing I checked my reservation prior to final payment as it showed I still owed money. I checked and they changed the price for the premium package to what it should have been without telling me. My reservation was showing final payment not paid. I paid it and my reservation is confirmed. The call centre is ridiculous.  
I had another cruise for next year and called to have the premium package added again for the third and was told it’s already included, I know it’s not. Hung up called back and was told the third person can’t buy the premium package.  Hung up and third time I was able to add it. Not happy at all with Princess due to the call centre. 

What a pain! I agree the call center is ridiculous, and I've received quite a bit of misinformation from them.

I have everything printed showing it's paid in full with $0 due. I also have the itemized "Plus" items listed for each of the two travelers. 

12 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I'm newer to Princess so I wanted to make sure I didn't miss something!

But yeah, I just confirmed all the benefits in my app and printed them from the website so yay!

9 minutes ago, skynight said:

Bring hard copy paperwork with you printed from the Princess site which shows you have the plus fare. 

Thank you, I've done that. 

Just now, Itchy&Scratchy said:

if you bought insurance, that may be an insurance premium adjustment. 

I appreciate the possible explanation, but no insurance was purchased. 😕

I'm sailing on a 4-NIGHT Princess cruise very soon, and called today to upgrade from the basic rate to the Princess Plus rate. My understanding was that it would be $60/person/day. For a total of $240/guest or $480 for our entire reservation.

The agent asked for payment for $360 total, or, $180/guest. I confirmed this was for the "Plus" package at $60/day. And she said yes. I actually asked her to confirm three times. (Sidenote: I really struggle with Princess customer service more than any other cruiseline. They are very kind and polite, but the call center sounds like I'm talking and listening to 45 people all talk simultaneously and it's very difficult to hear and concentrate - it's so loud). 

Anyhow, while I'm on the phone with her I log into my app and go to packages where I now see the Princess Plus package has been "purchased". I ask if I still have $100 of OBC as a casino offer I initially booked, and she says yes, it's there.

A few minutes after hanging up, an email pops through with an adjusted booking confirmation, now reflecting the additional $360 I've paid. It still shows my $100 OBC as well as an additional $7.46/guest which I just assume is an adjustment for fuel or port taxes...

So I call back again to make sure there wasn't an error, and that both guests have Plus and that my OBC is still in place. Yes and Yes. 

What's the deal? Is there a last minute discount for adding Plus? Did I somehow get "lucky" with this error? I don't want to rip anyone off, but I have already called twice to confirm pricing and packages and everyone says it's good to go?!

*ETA this is not a 4-DAY (3-night) cruise. We're definitely on for 4 NIGHTS!

Thanks to everyone for chiming in! And for the photo of the coffee menu - I appreciate it!

I'm a relatively new Princess cruiser (only sailed with them once), and it seems a lot has changed since I did!

I'm a bit confused and hoping someone could clarify: are coffee drinks such as flavored lattes, mochas, etc., included in the Princess Plus package? Would these qualify as free room service or Ocean Delivery with the Plus Package?

Does anyone have a menu of the current Princess coffee drinks?

Thank you!

I'm sailing in two weeks on the Discovery out of the Port of LA. The daily itinerary was loaded into the app, and I'm not seeing any live Latin music anywhere on board? Does anyone know if they currently have bands playing in the Piazza or elsewhere that may not be loaded in the daily?  Thank you!

5 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

A 3 night cruise sounds like you could have a party boat.  Thank you for the review. I hope you have better cruises in your future.

BTW, I'm almost done reading your Italy review and loving it! You guys take great photos! We sailed Carnival Breeze when it was new (2012) from Barcelona and the Vista (2016) from Athens and had a great experience on both!

49 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

A 3 night cruise sounds like you could have a party boat.  Thank you for the review. I hope you have better cruises in your future.

Thanks! Yeah, the shorter cruises are usually the party boats. I do expect the Bachelor parties, buckets of beer, etc. I think the repeated violence is where it crosses the line for me.

I read this post before my cruise on Friday, and decided to chime in now that we're back home...

After our last couple of Carnival Cruises I said, "never again". However, I'm platinum and like to play a couple hundred bucks in the casino, so we get amazing offers and perks and I think, "why not?!" 🙂

We took our kids on the Celebration at Spring Break and I was like, no more. The cost cutting (to me) means that nothing feels elegant or special anymore. But I wasn't going to get a bee in my bonnet about QR code menus or a lack of tableclothes (better for the environment)!

However, I completely agree with the sentiment that safety onboard, fighting and public intoxication has just gotten completely out of hand. 

We were just on the Radiance for 3 nights. A cruise I've done many times, both with my family, friends and just my spouse. The first night there was a TERRIBLE fight in our hallway. The person wasn't just intoxicated, they were clearly on something as well. It was violent and we had four security guards in our hall all night. Things didn't calm down until 2am. 

The next day a fight broke out in the casino, again, the security guards came running. 

During the show on the second evening the woman behind me was so intoxicated she dropped her glass because she fell asleep. Once she woke up, she was trying to hold down her vomit. She was heaving and her eyes were rolled back. It's hard to enjoy the love and marriage show with a cocktail running down your chair and the fear of vomit in your hair. 

It's really unfortunate, because we basically had a free cabin with onboard credit and free drinks and our expectations were low. We enjoy the Latin band, the casino, the piano bar...The cabin stewards and restaurant staff are always so friendly, hard-working, and interesting people that we enjoy talking to.

But the negatives for me have finally outweighed the positives. The last night my husband was going to gamble a bit while I went back to the cabin to pack up. He insisted on walking me back because he said it didn't feel safe. This was my 36th cruise, I'm in my 40s and used to travel all over alone for my job. 😞

I'm sad because Carnival sails so close to our home, and it's always been so easy. Our kids love the arcade and activities, and the cabins have a nice layout for families. For me it wasn't the unruly kids, but the adults. The crowd and the fighting has just gotten perpetually worse every time...

We've been getting similar casino offers on Holland America and Princess, and have planned the rest of our sailings this year on those two lines. We sailed in the Med the past two summers on Holland America (also casino offers), and had an amazing time.  We do have a 5-night on the Firenze scheduled (that ship looks beautiful!), but we're considering cancelling...

Just chiming in, as we have been to Ensenada quite a bit via ship and also driving from our home in Southern California.

We typically head out to Guadalupe Valley, as we love wine and the scenery is pretty and relaxing for a 30 minute drive. The buses usually give you the option to hop out downtown as well on the return journey if you want to shop. I believe most of the wine tasting excursions right now are limited to LA Cetto, Dona Lupe and sometimes Liceaga. 

I recently did the Marcelo Cheese Cave, and was very impressed by the tour. The scenery is beautiful and the food and drinks are great. Now a disclaimer: if you have poor weather, I really wouldn't do this tour. We went in February and it was very cold, windy and rainy. We stood out in the dairy portion to see where they milk the cows and were freezing and getting wet. The cheese caves are set on beautiful land with outdoor picnic areas but we couldn't enjoy them again, due to the weather. The owners had set up a lovely experience indoors, but it was still very cold. Even the bathrooms are semi-outdoor and we were absolutely freezing. Getting on and off the bus was a very muddy experience, and I felt so bad for the bus driver setting down towels to try and save his interior. If weather isn't an issue, I'd do the cheese cave again in a heartbeat!

I'm actually getting ready to go back to Ensenada and wondering if anyone has visited the El Cielo Winery? Any feedback on those excursions?

Thanks!

3 minutes ago, mskaufman said:

We went to Porvoo.  Good for a quick visit but not a lot to do there.  Here are a couple of photos.

 Thank you for the photos, it looks very quaint!

15 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Talinn was amazing for our 3 year old.

 

Please note that he's now 12, so this information may be a bit out of date and you should confirm with others here or on tripadvisor forums if the logistics  are still valid:

 

Tallinn was one of our favorite stops, and we really loved exploring its spectacularly preserved medieval center. Please note that this lovely city may be challenging for travelers with disabilities or families that use prams, since cars are not allowed in parts of the medieval center, and the cobblestones will make a stroller or wheelchair use difficult. Because my son has limited mobility without a stroller, our plan had been to take a pedicab around the city. There were some pedicabs at the port when we returned to the ship in the afternoon; however, the pedicabs were not yet available at 9 am when we left the ship. Instead, we took a cab to the top of Toompea Hill (this is where the lovely Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is located) and then walked down. Our son was able to climb the city walls (although the passage is very narrow and steep), and there were gorgeous views. In the main square, we found a pedicab, and we were able to take a very enjoyable 15 minute pedicab tour through the charming city.

 

Since our son loves trains, we also rode on a tourist train that departs from Kullassepa street whenever it is full and makes a 20 minute loop around the city. We were fortunate to sit in the very back, since we had a great spot to take photographs from the back of the train. We ate a delicious lunch at Gloria ( http://www.gloria.ee) , a charming historic restaurant with excellent duck and fish.

We also greatly enjoyed our visit to the Lennusadam SeaPlane Harbor Museum in Tallinn.

( http://www.lennusadam.eu/et/ ) . The sea plane name is a bit of a misnomer, since it is more of a general military museum with a lot of fascinating hands on exhibits, including a submarine you can explore and a flight simulator inside of a plane (my 3 year old really loved making the plane crash into the trees). Kids also love the simulated weapons and radio controlled boats at the museum. There is also an icebreaker ship outside that you can explore. It was a really interesting museum, and a highly enjoyable way to conclude your day in Tallinn for both adults and children.

 

We did a Baltic cruise and found a lot of great stuff for kids in Stockholm which is in the review in my signature line.  

Thank you so much for these wonderful details! I will look into exploring some of your suggestions a bit more! And I appreciate the information on the cobblestones / mobility. My kids will do fine, but I'm also trying to think of my father who is older and has some difficulty with hills and uneven surfaces. Thanks again!

18 hours ago, Sujormik said:

I’m looking into Visby also.  Haven’t seen the free walking tour yet but I did find a site suggesting you can do Visby OYO. https://backroadplanet.com/how-to-explore-visby-on-your-own/

Thanks so much!  Lots of great info there!

18 hours ago, cmph said:

@Sujormik just took a quick screenshot to show you what I mean. On Firefox, you can actually get to that red shopping cart button. That definitely never showed up on Chrome, but I wasn't really digging too deeply since the pricing was all I was interested at the time.

 

Thank you for sharing this! I thought I was losing my mind! I was in fact using Chrome as well!

13 hours ago, mskaufman said:

We were there on a rainy day and it was awesome.  We ate here.  It was quick, good, and didn't break the bank.

What a beautiful and quaint photo! What time of year were you there? Thanks for the recommendation!

13 hours ago, cruisewiscrrq said:

We had a foreign exchange student from Helsinki in 1998.  We have been there four times since then.  Assuming you only have one day on a cruise I will recommend the following.  First HOHO bus a good idea.  Second the Church in the Rock is a yes.  Another must is the open air market near harbor.  Another don’t miss is ferry to fortress island in harbor.  If you have more than one day there are many day trips worth exploring.  

Thank you for the great feedback! I appreciate it!