zdcatc12

A few weeks ago, we stayed at the Moxy Athens City Center. It is a Marriott property if you are a Bonvoy member. A 20 minute walk to the Acropolis and right across the street from the Omonia Metro station. Plenty of stores and restaurants around. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. There is also a top floor restaurant with a view of the Acropolis.

On 4/24/2024 at 9:03 PM, RuthC said:

Always sad when something like that happens. Happy there was no significant damage to either the pier or the ship. 
Loved that ship as the Ryndam. Spent a lot of very fun nights on her. 

Thanks for the link. 

I'm not sure that I would say that the pier damage was insignificant. It will require a good deal of repair.

Yes, I was on this. We were in the aft buffet, so did not feel it. However, I did mention to my wife as we were docking, that it seemed like we were pulling in faster than normal. Here are some better pictures. The first is after we disembarked, the pier, and the bow after we returned from our excursion. They did a nice, quick paint job on that.

 The ironic thing is that this was the formal night to meet the captain. I heard some good bantering going on that evening.

 It is a good thing that the per was built the way that it was, as if that bulkhead had been solid in the water, I believe that the damage would have been much worse.

On 4/10/2024 at 3:20 PM, StartrainDD said:

Hi Randy!

 

All dining is "Open."  We really liked our wait staff the first night and asked if we could have them every night.  6:30 is just right for our schedule.  We had two late tour nights where we arrived later and they saved our table for us.

 

No idea about "Steamers."  Security is much more relaxed except at embarkation, where everything appears to be scanned.  At most port calls no metal detectors returning to the ship.

  Thanks. Yes, we had good service the first two nights and poor service the next two, so we ended up eating dinner in the buffet the last three nights.

 My one disappointment, probably more than anything else, was the lack of selection for all things on the dining room menu. As this is the first European line that I have been on, it may be due to that, but I have never been on a cruise where steak was not offered at least once in the dining room, even just a flatiron steak that is offered every night on Carnival. I believe that beef was only offered two of the seven nights and neither of those were a steak. I also thought the appetizer and soup selections weak.

 Other than that, and some general disorganization that you have previously mentioned, I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, especially for the price, and I would sail them again.

 Twice a day cabin cleaning service is a rarity nowadays and I appreciated that they did that and also the fact that they had two people assigned to each cabin, so the cleaning was always prompt.

It seems like you ate at 6:30 every night. I assume that they had assigned dining times and tables or is it open dining?

 Also, if you know, are steamers allowed onboard. Not an iron, just a handheld steamer? Thanks 

16 hours ago, Acrusa said:

Can We Use a luggage cart on the DELTA SKYWAY from TOM BRADY INT TO DETA TERM 3

I didn't think that Tom Brady would already have a terminal named after him!!!!

Thanks for all of this. We are leaving on the 13th and will try to have an open mind about everything. So far the only ship excursion that I booked is the Santorini one that you recommended. All of my other ones, I have booked independently other than Milos, as I am having a hard time figuring out if it is even worth doing one there.

 I did not order a beverage package other than the one that comes with the fare that gets you beer and wine for dinner. I figured that as port intensive this cruise is, it wouldn't be worth it.

12 hours ago, MochaChip23 said:

@zdcatc12 Would you please share who you booked the tuktuck tour with?  

https://tuktukathens.com/

On 3/31/2024 at 10:10 AM, marazul said:

  So f you sail a Greek cruise line like Celestyal, they are allowed to vist only Greek ports.

Totally not true, as we are on Celestyal in two weeks and we stop in Turkey.

We are arriving in Athens on Thursday around noon for the cruise that leaves Saturday. For Thursday, we are just going to walk around for a bit and get some food, etc. Staying at the Moxy Athens Central. For Friday, I booked a three hour Athens tuktuk tour that ends at the Acropolis. I purchased Acropolis tickets that coincide with the ending of the tuktuk tour, as that is where it leaves you at. Then going to the Acropolis Museum after that, and then a walk back to the hotel. Nothing on Saturday, except packing for the cruise. 

Thanks for these. This is wonderful. I had a question about laundry. I couldn't find anything on the website. Are there self-serve washers and dryers onboard and/or the bags in the staterooms that you send off for the crew to wash and dry?

 Also, if you go on the website and view the "Know Before You Go" brochure, at the end of the brochure they list the itineraries and these do state which ports a tender is required. E.g. on your cruise so far, it shows that a tender was used in Santorini, Samos, Chios, Kos and Mykonas. And you will be using one in Kotor.

I booked with the cruise line and my e-ticket came in an email seconds after my final payment was made. If you booked with FlightCentre, they probably got yours after making your final payment.

On 3/25/2024 at 12:58 AM, StartrainDD said:

Sunday, March 24, 2024; Santorini, Greece

 

We visited Santorini once before, in 2012.  During that visit we really didn’t know “How good we had it.”  There was only one 2000 passenger ship in port, and with a car rental we pretty much saw the island.  Yet our friends had not been here before, and the ships tour “The Essence of Santorini” sounded like a very through overview of the island so we all booked that.

 

Being an “All day” tour the meeting time was 8:15.  Our alarm was set for 6:00 and we went to the Taverna (lido) for breakfast at 7:15.  We ran into one of our friends who said they had a difficult time finding a table.  We ended up squeezing into their two-person table with the help of a few unused nearby chairs.  The omelet chef made me a very nice ham omelet.  The coffee machines are a little confusing but now I think we have them figured out.  One thing is they fill the cup just over half-way.  Try to put a ‘second squirt’ in the cups and they overflow…

 

We met our other friends and sat in the very back of the theater.  Celestyal doesn’t use excursion tickets like most lines, they just collect your ticket while boarding the tender.  Perhaps they will do the same thing with a bus tour if no tender.  BUT the announcements in the theater were made in several languages taking lots of time.  It was nearly 9:00 before we were told to head to the tender.  Being in the back, we were the first on the tender and grabbed seating for six rights near the entrance/exit, but out of the way of folks coming in.  This was very good as we were also the first on the bus once we reached the ferry dock.

 

Our tour was fine.  Tour guide was a local who has lived on Santorini for 20 years.  Bus driver knows exactly how to navigate the crazy roads.  During our time in Oya, it became so busy walking the narrow lanes became challenging.  Having ~6000+ cruisers in town is sure different than 2000!  Our visit to the black sand (really rocks) beach and the mountain top was not so busy, but the stop at the winery was crazy, with no place to sit and tour buses constantly pulling in.  We were brought back to Fira and walked to the cathedral.  From there we were on our own, but our guide gave us passes for the cable car to ride down to the tender port.

 

We visited the cathedral and didn’t get far as a group until our friends saw a jewelry sign they could not resist.  We split up and that point and began walking towards the cable car.  We looked at a few things along the way but made no purchases.  We found already a significant line for the cable car, so we joined the line.  It took us about 45 minutes to reach the front and enjoy the quick ride down the caldera.

 

Thank you for this. We are traveling in two weeks and I booked this a few days ago because of your review. I also know now to sit at the back of the theater before the tender is loaded!!!

I'm not sure if this class is still doing Alaska, but I took the Island Princess in 2012. That was a great ship for the itinerary.

On 2/23/2024 at 2:42 PM, MeHeartCruising said:

Given the cruise is in a few months, I would assume that NCL has sold out for all the other tours that cruise lines typically offer.  It's not that what you are seeing is all they offer.

 

If this is in fact the reason, most, if not all, cruise lines hold back some of the excursion slots to sell on the ship. You may be able to find something once on board, if that is what is happening here.

6 hours ago, ontheweb said:

But that other 10% must have been very interesting.

Yes, that is when we earned the money. Usually things are pretty canned, i.e. everyone on the same, route, speed, etc. It is when the thunderstorms and turbulence come along that we earn our pay!!

15 hours ago, clo said:

Whereas I'd pepper you with a whole bunch of non-security questions. LOL.

I wouldn't mind explaining anything about the job. I just hate it when the first thing that someone says is "That must have been a stressfull job"!!!!

On 1/28/2024 at 5:35 PM, capriccio said:

 

Having lived and worked for the federal government for most of our careers, we know better than to  ask and prefer not to be asked.  Even many retirees can't - and therefore won't - give a straight answer.

Yes, I retired as an air traffic controller in the FAA and I always hate when people ask me what I do/did. I try to get away with saying that I worked for the government. When they push it and I finally tell them what I did, the first thing that 9 out of 10 of them will say is, oh, that must have been stressful. I always hate that because I know that statement is coming and I don't have the heart to say that 90% of the time, that it wasn't!!!

I read an article recently about her being moved to Manhattan as part of an entertainment complex. Has anyone else heard about this?

It is still sad every time that I drive over the Whitman Bridge and look over and see her rusting away.

On 8/30/2023 at 12:46 PM, Dobby36 said:

They have a “premium” seat class that’s closer to the front of the plane than economy, is slightly more legroom, offers a free alcoholic drink during drink service (when available) and slightly earlier boarding. It’s generallly a good value but obviously not first class. 

As does Delta, with bag fees waived with a Delta cc.

On 7/30/2023 at 10:14 AM, little britain said:

What is a torch in the USA?? 😳 Scared to google it! 🫣
 

asking for a friend…

And definitely don't look it up in Urban Dictionary!!!

7 hours ago, Mary229 said:

There are a group of hotels 2.4 miles or less from the airport with shuttles that I prefer.  I simply like that particular neighborhood on that side of the airport (east side, Irving).  I have never used the west side hotels (grapevine).  Home2suites has a very reliable shuttle 

Grapevine is north. West would be HEB, Hearst, Euless or Bedford.

1 hour ago, MarkieMalarky said:

I would recommend a torch (or phone light) and go carefully

A torch? That has got to mean something different in Queen's English than US English!!!! Is it safe to say that is what we call a flashlight across the Pond?

On 7/9/2023 at 4:19 AM, alpencoolcruiser said:

If Santorini is high on your places to visit, then I would suggest choosing a cruise that would stay in port longer and not a rushed visit: We were on the Virgin Voyages - Greek Island Glow and they stayed from 9am - 10pm which then gives you more flexibility to plan your visit. 

Our Celestyal is from 0700-0030 and, as of now anyway, only has one other ship in port that day.