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Hi!  So glad you had a wonderful experience for your first cruise!

We have about 60 cruises under our belt, on several different cruise lines, and, truthfully, we have never had a bad cruise or met a ship that we disliked.

Celebrity has a great product, and you would not go wrong sticking with them.  Their loyalty program is one of the best.  Just be careful if you want a traditional balcony as the newer Celebrity ships have an infinite verandah which is basically inside the cabin with a big window that opens.

On the other hand, you might enjoy trying some of the other cruise lines for variety of itineraries, dining, and entertainment.

If you enjoy daily lectures and enrichment programs, Crystal is noted for those.

If you bring children or grandchildren, Royal Caribbean is a must!  The newer ships are amusement parks with propellers!

Good luck with whatever you choose!

Thank you everyone for your quick responses and great ideas - with a few chuckles thrown in as well!

The “winner” is the poodle “Clo” who suggested I print out and carry the meds page from my physician's online portal (similar to My Chart) that has everything listed.  Now I will just use my 7-day pill caddy and refill it each week from my supplies in the ziplock baggies.

Safe travels everyone!

In the past, we have always kept our few medications in original containers while traveling to and from cruise ships.  Now we are getting older, and we need more stuff!  I buy large quantities of certain vitamins and supplements in jumbo containers.  If I packed all these bottles, they would take up most of my carryon!  Would it be a problem if I carry a 3-week supply of each pill in a labeled ziplock baggie?  (I will be flying in and out of Amsterdam and Chile this year.). Thanks for your help!

If you go to the Silversea board on this website and click on the thread started by Twangster called “Live from the Wind in Antarctica”, you can read a wonderful hour-by-hour journal of this man's experience on the Silver Wind.  It really gives you an excellent idea what to expect.  His photos are magnificent!

I very much enjoyed reading this travelogue and seeing the photos.  Twangster: Job well done!

I would like to contact a fellow Dolphins fan - Taxatty 

if you see this, please contact me at variousmail at BellSouth dot net.

thank you,

Ilene

We are debating the same issue.

I use the following logic to justify a drive-by cruise instead of an expedition cruise:

if I'm not setting foot on the continent, there is no chance I'm going to slip on the ice and break a hip!  LOL!

Additionally, there are good opportunities to mingle with the penguins in the Falklands.

If I were you, I would look for a Girona tour that includes Besalu.  If there isn’t one, find another couple to share a private day tour to Girona and Besalu.  Besalu is a MUST!!  If you happen to be Jewish, Besalu is even more important!

We can’t figure this out!  We saw a photo online of a Deck 5 verandah cabin showing the entire top of the lifeboat right below the verandah.  Of course you have a great view OVER the lifeboat, but these cabins should be less expensive, not more expensive.

Any ideas?

Exiting the terminal, we asked 5 different port personnel where we should go to catch the shuttle to another terminal.  We received 5 different sets of directions, none of which resulted in a shuttle bus appearing.  We were exhausted from dragging our luggage back and forth to the different locations.

Finally we asked a police officer who was directing traffic.  He told us there is no shuttle and suggested we take a taxi.  Best $10 we ever spent!

I wholeheartedly agree with the previous posters!  It's a gorgeous ship!

The 4 main dining rooms were so elegant that they felt like specialty restaurants.  No problems getting a table although there was occasionally a short wait.

I was prepared to hate the infinite verandah and ended up loving it.  I could close the bifold doors and sit there to read in good light when my husband was sleeping in the dark room.  When the bifold doors are open, there is a fabulous floor to ceiling ocean view.

The biggest disappointment was the lack of a sports court.  On Holland America and RCCL, my husband enjoyed pickleball games every day.  For that reason, we will probably not choose Celebrity for future cruises.

It's been a few years since we last cruised on Oceania, so we are studying this thread to understand and evaluate the current perk choices.

The cruise we are looking at for 2023 has several ports that offer 10-and 12-hour tours.  If we choose excursions as our “perk”, are we permitted to pay the difference between the $199 maximum allowed and the cost of the full-day tour?

Thanks for your help!  It's so nice to be on Cruise Critic again after a 2-year hiatus!

Just received cancellation letter for April 25 cruise on the Westerdam.  Mixed emotions .....

We share everyone's concern, and we too are disappointed that our upcoming cruise on the Westerdam will most likely be cancelled.

But we hope we're not the only ones who feel sad about all the employees in Asia in the tourist industries such as hotels, restaurants, tour guides, bus drivers, etc. who will be laid off and whose families will suffer.

It searches the topic, but doesn’t include the topic on this message board.

Thanks so much for the detailed suggestions.  You are so right!  In the past, I have brought half of CVS with me.  The more I bring, the less I need.  But it's better to be prepared!

I just read your entire thread in anticipation of our planned November 2020 cruise on the Westerdam with a similar itinerary.   Loved all your photos!

When you have time, could you please suggest any helpful hints, such as - is there anything you didn’t bring for this cruise that you should have brought?  Anything you brought that you really didn’t need (bathing suit!  Ha!)?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!

We visited Petra with our ship's tour, but when we researched it online, we found several other companies that will pick you up at the pier. First, look on the Middle East board of Cruise Critic for other travelers' recommendations. Or else google Petra Shore Excursions. No matter how you do it, this day will be one of the highlights of your entire cruise!

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Dvir Bar-Gal is excellent. Google him for contact information. I don't have it with me, as I am on vacation and not at home.

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The Crystal Serenity had a shuttle bus to the front of the Park in March, but I don’t remember if it was arranged by the cruise line or arranged by the port.

Also, when planning your trip, keep in mind that in many ports, passengers were not allowed to walk freely. We often had to take a port shuttle to the port gate in order to find our private guide or hire a taxi.

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Okay. Muscat. You could just sit on the ship and gaze at the town in its gorgeous mountainous setting, especially at sunset. We used Ali B. From Tours by Locals. He patiently explained Islam and Muscat to us. The mosque is outstanding, (although not as large as the Mosque in Abu Dhabi.). Be sure to have your legs and arms covered and bring a scarf for your hair. The new Opera House was closed that day, but the adjacent galleria of stores had excellent bathrooms! Then we drove up to the Shangri-La Hotel and Barr Al Jissah for great views. Stopped by the Sultan's palace and learned all about him. After the city tour, we visited the souks for fun shopping. (Your ship might have a shuttle bus from the ship to the souk entrance. ) Be sure to ogle the Sultan's two yachts which are docked at the port!

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Muscat is absolutely wonderful. Salalah pales in comparison.

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We were in all these ports 2 weeks ago. Maybe this info will help you decide.

Muscat is a magnificent location with mountains all around coming right down to the sea. We visited a beautiful mosque and shopped in the souks. Our guide explained Islam to us. There is a new Opera House but it was closed that day. Our driver took us up to the Shangri-La Hotel for gorgeous views. We also saw the Sultan’s Palace, and his 2 yachts were docked near our ship. We had a great guide from Tours by Locals. I can give you his name if you are interested.

Doha has an unbelievable skyline of ultramodern buildings. Our tour included the souks and a hospital just for falcons which are revered by the citizens. Also the Katara district with a new amphitheater and several other art and music venues. We ended with a visit to the brand-new Museum of Islamic Art in an ultra-contemporary building. I could have spent the day there!

Bahrain was also nice. We visited a museum, a fort, and a camel farm.

In all cities, we felt very welcome as Americans, and we were pleasantly surprised at how nice the people are.

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We are currently cruising from Dubai to Rome, and we transit the Suez Canal next week. No vaccinations were required. I will post here again about the mosquitoes because if there are any, they will certainly find me.

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In Walvis Bay, we did an excellent tour with another couple from our cruise critic roll call. The company we used was Turnstone Tours. They have an excellent website, and their pre-cruise communications were very professional. We chose the tour to Sandwich Harbor because we were interested in seeing the flamingos and other shore birds. In addition, it was fun going up and down some sand dunes in our Jeep. (I believe they also have a desert tour. ) They supplied a delicious picnic lunch for us. That day was one of the highlights of our Cape Town to Rio Cruise!

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We visited Pinnawala elephant sanctuary today. It was the most exciting shore excursion I have taken in 50 years of cruising.

The sanctuary itself is immaculately clean, and it is obvious that the elephants are well taken care of. The reason they are not released back into the wild is that their habitats have been diminished due to development, and there is no adequate area to release them to.

The highlight of our tour was several times this morning when they close the street and stop the traffic in order to lead the elephants down to the river for their bath. Please see photos on the Crystal Cruises thread entitled Singapore to Mumbai - The Adventure Continues.

The shore excursion was a little pricey, but well worth it! It was spectacular!

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