J18ktleo

Rome Cabs is the best!

I used them to pick us up from FCO to our hotel, exactly on time and excellent price.

Then booked 3 cars for my group at two hotels to transfer to the port, all on time,

great service.

Booked another 3 cars for pick up from the port to FCO and were waiting when we disembarked at

6:45 am....

Professional

Helpful

Great vehicles

Wonderful Service

They are the best!!!

I started working with them on this cruise in 2019/2020 which was cancelled due to Covid, their service and responsiveness is excellent!

Calicakes,

Thanks for posting.

We're headed to Rome next week, 4 days in the city then board Reflection on the 26th so please leave us some great wines!

We're also doing a walking food tour of Trastavere, looking forward to that. 

All our tours are private and we did book an early 'before it opens' tour of the Vatican, hopefully we can escape the crowds!

Enjoy and will be looking forward to your updates!

2 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I was told Le Voyage isn’t included in the dining package.  Eden sells out quickly and although they hold back some spots for onboard booking even those fill quickly.  Our Apex sailing the Retreat Concierges had a stream of people on the first couple of days wanting a reservation in Eden, there were none

We will be on the Beyond TA in October and no openings showing for LeVoyage and Eden has only 2 nights with 9 30 open.  We booked Eden 6 months ago and Le Voyage 2 months ago. The only day LeVoyage had a opening before 9 was not our 1st 2nd or 3 choice but we took it. 

 

So we're on Beyond Nov 2023 (planning REALLY far in advance!) and thinking it's better to do it now so we can get what we want.

How much is Le Voyage and how far out do you think they might open up?

Thanks for the info....

Thank you!

I'm worried because we want to do Eden and maybe Le Voyage on Beyond, already done Le Petit Chef 5 times so we're good on that!!!

Maybe it's worth the extra money to book in advance?

We're in Suite Class so lots of OBC to use on?

19 minutes ago, canderson said:

Checked the specs on that one, and it's ideal for cruise ship use.  Be SURE to take the docs in case you have to convince anyone.

Thank you so much!!!

We are thinking about booking a dining package in advance of our cruise and have questions:

1. Can you use OBC to purchase the dining package before you sail?

2. Can you make reservations through the dining package before you sail?

Not sure it's worth it to go this route but never hurts to have the details!

Thanks 😀

We took this on Milennium in May, had no issues.  Now I'm concerned as headed to Italy for Reflection and have bought these for everyone in my group, why would they pull these?

I feel your pain re: trying to get back refunds and FCC's.

Celebrity cancelled our Galapagos cruise 5 days from sailing in 2019 with 100% refund and 100% FCC.  We rebooked for 2020 with FCC and cash, that was cancelled.

Then we rebooked for 2021 again and even though they were sailing 1/2 the itinerary was gone due to Covid so we cancelled.

Refunds were all over the map dollar wise and I was managing 3 pairs of reservations.

Took over a year and 100 booking confirmations to figure out the numbers along with a special person at Celebrity who worked exclusively with me to figure it all out.

Their refund system makes no rhyme or reason. 😰

On 6/4/2022 at 2:53 PM, janbear said:

Hello! Also from Las Vegas 🙂 I personally love that the suites have actual King size beds rather than two singles that join up to make a quasi-king. I sailed once with a friend on Celebrity in a shared cabin and wow those single beds were so narrow it was ridiculously uncomfortable - worse than a dorm room single bed! I would much rather share a legit king if I had to but that is just me

Having sailed multiple times on all the Celebrity Ships, Azamara, RCCL and Princess with girlfriends the twin beds aren't an issue. 

The beds that split into an L are old school (I remember that on my first cruise in the 80's) and the fact they are limiting the upper cabin/suites to unseparatable beds relegates those of us not sailing with a partner/spouse into the lower catagory cabins and that's not a good marketing tool.

Oh, well, will watch for their changes moving forward as I'm sure they'll make quite a few 'tweaks'!

Thank you for this review!

Being a fan of Celebrity and Windstar as my top picks, we were ready to book on VV two weeks ago.  I have a group of 50-60 year old ladies and we sail every year together, thought this would be a fun change for us in 2024.

However, what I found very strange is that they said their beds don't separate?  Considering they market to 'bring your friends' this means everyone has to be a couple? 

We were all prepared to book Rockstar Suites but this along with the fact the deposits are non-refundable was worrisome.

Being from Vegas and enjoying the entertainment on a weekly basis the quality of the shows is all over the map for me, especially since Covid and I understand they have huge challenges with staff.

Thank you again for sharing!

41 minutes ago, divamimi312 said:

I was trying to book Octopus Aruba yesterday only to find out we don't dock in port until 9AM so it is a no-go for us.  Octopus Aruba told us it is about a 12 minute drive from the cruise port so if you get off the ship at 8 you should be good.

That's what we did...docked at 8, quick taxi ride over to Holiday Inn, it's behind them on the beach.  We left right at 8 and were there before anyone was at the Octopus Palapa.  Easy Peasy.  Was a great day, and this was my second time with them (once pre-Covid and this time again).

They do a fabulous job and take such good care of everyone!

1 minute ago, Whinenowine said:

Just one more thought.  Might be worthwhile calling  the 1-800-RETREAT line in advance of your cruise and noting your party size and how you'd like to sit.  Doubt they can do anything about it then and there, but they can note it so that hopefully the Luminae staff are already aware of it when you speak to them on the fist day as levramosis suggested above.

That's a great suggestion, and yes, I will do that closer to sail date!

Thank you!!!

31 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I would not trust that as being formally accepted by the cruise lines if they are "sold" in that manner.  The seller may receive something for them but I would question their validity with the people that purchase them as far as the cruise lines are concerned.  In other words, buyer beware.

It's totally legit.

There are many who have used it, and they explain how to do the transaction.  Both parties need to be on the phone with the cruiseline so the owner of the FCC's can release them to the buyer.

I think the cruiseline's might have changed their policies since they probably have thousand's of FCC's out there that are running out of time to be used.

And I have a friend who has already done this process.😉

There's a FB page where you can sell them.  They are usually at a 30% or so discount but at least you get something for them.

I want to thank EVERYONE for this thread!

I have a group of 14 going on Reflection in Sept, all are in S1's and S2's and many of us haven't ventured above Aqua/Concierge so we're very excited!

I think, if my group, all goes to Michael's for pre-dinner it'll change the atmosphere in there, for sure!

Just off the Milennium, no snacks at bars or anywhere for pre dinner, just at the Oceanview, which was sad.

Question: re: Luminae, since we are such a big group will we have trouble dining at the same time?  I wrote dining reservations to see if we can reserve a time for all of us but not sure that's an option?

Plus so glad to hear Luminae is great, one of my friends/group loves Luminae and said they want every nite in there, no other specialty is needed!

Any recommendations is appreciated!😃

Hi!

We are looking to book a tour that leaves from Palm Beach at 9am and our ship docks at 8am.

The tour company (Octopus Aruba) says the ships time is one hour earlier than the port time, it's been 2 years since I've sailed and don't recall if

the ship stays on their own time or changes for the islands.

Anyone have any input?

Also, used Octopus Aruba two years ago for snorkel tour and it was AWESOME!!!!!  Had a group of 10 and the service was perfect!

21 hours ago, chromered7 said:

I would have thought that you could negotiate a good deal for a party of 14? There are always private companies at each port , it just needs an organised member of your group to do some investigation. Happy cruising.

Yes, as I've said, I have been doing this for years.

HOWEVER, I am concerned about doing all the research, negotiations and planning to then find out we have to do ship sponsored tours!

33 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

You simply ask the tour operator.  Most require a credit card to hold space, especially if a group.  The important question is if the trip is refundable and those terms.   You can check out the operator's ratings on Viator, Trip Advisor, Expedia or other sites.

Thank you.

I've been booking tours for years and years privately and am very familiar with procedures and cancellation policies, especially since I usually have a group going with me.

I thought you were talking about 'cruise line' tours that don't require deposit...that would be the best!!!

32 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

On my previous Iceland roll call several of us signed up for tours together that did not require advance deposits.  I would also check into that.  

Was there a way to tell which one's don't require payment up front?

Wondering what the general thought might be?

We are a group of 14 on Reflection Sept 26 and wondering if we should start looking into private tours or should plan on having to do ships tours throughout?

Have spent so much time planning already when we were cancelled in 2021, not looking forward to having that happen again.

What's your thoughts?

On 1/24/2022 at 2:10 PM, q45lover said:

We were on the Dec 18 Wind Surf cruise that ended early for covid. One thing to take into consideration is that your dining room table record is one of the few ways they can hit you with documented close contact exposure.  There were a few passengers that tested negative but had been sitting at a dining room table next to passengers that tested positive.  Those documented close proximity passengers were then forced to have to quarantine for additional testing even though they had tested negative in the required daily covid test.  

And this is why we cancelled.  Group of 12 were to sail Jan 29 on Star Legend, if one is compromised the whole group gets hit.  We couldn't take that chance.

Sadly, this cruise was booked Jan 2020 for 2021, moved to 22...we are all so disappointed!

On 11/16/2021 at 4:12 PM, cruiseej said:

@Hlitner @WNcruiser Thanks to both of you. That does look like fun.

 

We're staying in a hotel on Great Bay (near the cruise ship dock), but I assume getting taxis to Rhino and back shouldn't be too hard. We might try it in the morning before we board the ship, if the timing works for us.

 

And if they aren't fully booked for cruise ship tours. I just looked found there are SIX ships in Philipsburg the day we depart, including the massive Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas (3,634 passengers), Holland America Nieuw Statendam (2,666),  Oceania Sirena (684), Star Legend aka former Seabourn Legend (212), and Star Flyer (170), in addition to the Odyssey.  Ugh.

Hi, hoping for some answers!

We are on the Star Legend in late Jan out of St. Maarten (it's now around 300 passengers!) and will be flying into the island, staying for two nights then boarding the ship. 

I looked at Rhino tours as we did something like that a couple of years ago on the other side of the island and it was awesome however they didn't respond to my email about booking for 12 persons and thinking it might be safer to just stay at our resort instead of wandering around.

Question...we have booked a ship sponsored tour in Bequira and St Georges, Grenada and all the info I read is pertaining to flying in and requiring negative tests. 

Since we're on a ships sponsored tour will the same requirements be in place?

Would not be happy to have to get 2 PCR tests on the ship since it looks like the islands are requiring PCR instead of Antigen tests?

Any info is appreciated...

wow, thank you for all the intuitive reading, I really appreciate it!

As one of those who says 'I'll wait a couple of years' before I get the vaccine, not even knowing which one will be the one that's good for most and for me, and understanding it might be the end of my world travel I am continually entertained by conversations talking about 'listening to the experts'.

Who are the experts?

Who designated them better experts over others?

How many contradictory statements/writings/rulings should be made before they are no longer considered an expert?

What we were told in the spring, when this supposedly started, has changed week by week by week with new information and new guidelines.

And the places with mask MANDATES are still seeing incremental rises in their infection rates so, is that truly a remedy?

First they said 'put on a mask and don't touch it', then they said wear it only outdoors, then indoors too then while you're eating (which means you touch it and touch it and touch it).

They said dining inside is dangerous but outside is ok now it's not.

The constant back and forth of information is mind blowing.

And the continual back and forth of data and 'new information' is as well.

2 almost fully EUA approved Vaccines and a couple more on the way.  Has anyone heard/read anything about what the differences are? Which one's work for whom?  I know that every single drug introduced has challenges interacting with peoples health and other drugs they might be taking, from everything I'm reading about these vaccines they're all good for everyone?  Although now the Pfizer vaccine isn't good for those with bad asthma issues...

Anyways, there's so many angles to this difficult and tragic situation.

I wonder if we can ever feel that we're getting some degree of 'real' information? 🤔

We are booked on the Flora, Galapagos 3.0 since we were originally on the Xpedition June 2019, cancelled due to government issues, moved to July 2020, Covid now July 2021, praying!!!

I remember reading some articles about doing the Galapagos from a hotel at one location and much of the issue was the tremendous loss of time traveling to and from each island.  We are lucky as we've just been transferring the $$$ we paid for Xpedition forward from year to year but for this trip of a lifetime I think doing it the right way is so important. 

We did Africa a couple years ago thru AMA, LOTS of money!  But it was so beautifully coordinated (and I'm truly a DIY person and organizer for everyone else too!), every little detail taken care of, all we had to do was fly in and out of South Africa...definitely made a huge difference!

If we do ever get the chance to go it truly might be Once in a Lifetime!

I had a client/friend booked on Windspirit Feb 2021 and when I got notification of cancelation the rep told me no benefits will be transferred, when they rebook it'll be as a new booking. 😰
Feel so bad, this client has had  4 cruises canceled on them!