dabear

Cruisemom42: The hotels you suggested look great but I don't wish to spend $900+-/nt

Are you familiar with Hotel 55 or Hotel Manfredi ?

We also had very good lobster tail (or 2) one night in Blu on the Millie. The menu changes every night. 

Besides the Blu menu, you can order anything from the main dining room menu. We usually looked at that menu before we went into Blu. 

We were on the Millie in December & had stops in Nassau & Bimini. Since we have been in Nassau before we just wandered around, took a cab to Atlantis & went to the casino. Bimini was a pleasant surprise. There is a free shuttle to the main hotel or ends at a wonderful beach. You had a choice of  just lying on the beach or paying for a chaise lounge, umbrella etc. A bar, pool & restaurant were nearby. We heard the there is not much on the island but you could rent a golf cart for a day at the port & drive around.

We've stayed in the Spanish steps area. We're not limited to 4*, but prefer not to be in  "tourist class" type hotel. As we've gotten older we prefer a little more comfort.

We previously were antique shoppers, but no longer go that route. 

Cruisemom42. We've been to Rome 4 x but it's been a while since we stayed in a hotel for a few days(I recall last time it was near Plaza de Populo). We've done plenty of sightseeing in Rome.We're looking for a 4* hotel with breakfast included one night b4 a cruise with restaurants within reasonable walking distance. Shops for dw would be nice. Any suggested areas or hotels? Sightseeing a plus but not necessity. Always nice to be near Spanish steps or trevi fountain.

If you are using ff miles it is even a greater toss up. Since if the cruise cancels, our miles can be put bak into our account without a change fee. Thus we can pick the best flights & seats directly with the airline without worry.

We will second that the train trip (in the morning) from Anchorage to Seward was wonderful. Great sightseeing from the vista car. We , not x, paid for it, 

16 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

I would assume incompetence over conspiracy every time.

I think you are naive. 

We were on the Eclipse in 2018 and may have docked within the city limits but we were not near anything. I recall it was at least a 20-30 minute bus ride to the city sites & almost an hour for sites outside the city. There are very good multi-day tours available that include visitor visas, but they do not allow you to roam on your own. The tours did save time in avoiding long lines at museums and palaces.

There is a dock on the river that was very close to sites but it was only for smaller ships.

They were open on the Millie when we sailed in mid December.

My dw needed a haircut with her short hair last month. She used a stylist on the Millennium for $65 less 20% & said it was a terrific cut!

As long as its no more than 2 days before getting on ship, it's ok.

4 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Worth it to me to park at the port, no waiting on shuttles, etc…it’s very easy at Port Everglades..

That depends . Two weeks for our Millie cruise we departed from terminal 25 which is across the street from the midpoint parking lot & is an easy walk. However, we returned to terminal 29 which was far from the parking lot & we had to use the parking lot shuttle. 

We were informed of which terminal we would depart about one week before departure.

I was on the Millie 2 weeks ago. They had a live holdum table but I never saw any games at night. The program did say there were cash games (& possibly a tournament)also in the afternoon . Rake same as above post. On the other hand, we were on the Eclipse a few years ago & it had a mechanical game that was busy & for me, successful.

We were on the Millie 2 weeks ago in cabin9088. We did hear some noise from  the above deck early in morning and on occasion, late at night. 

We had same issue for our December Millie cruise. The Visa credit did show up in our account when we boarded the ship but not before.

On 12/8/2021 at 8:26 PM, canderson said:

Anybody else remember the master of the Martini bar on Constellation, Sudi?  Amazing talent.  I hear he's still running his own agency to supply bar crew to the lines.

I've heard the same. We were in the martini bar last week on the Millie. I mentioned Sudi's name and the bartender did a number of Sudi's tricks.

3 hours ago, zitsky said:

I remember someone saying you can use restrooms by going to the front of the line and begging to be let in?

 

And what happens if it rains?  Do they bring you inside?

We just were on on cruise departing from Ft Lauderdale. The terminal waiting area has a washroom, sorry.

Just off the Millennium (12/9- 12/13)which substituted Bimini inlieu of KW. Actually we enjoyed the laid back & friendly stop. We took a free shuttle provided by Resort World that goes to beach 360 where you can rent chaises, umbrellas, has food & bar. There also was a large pool available. The shuttle also goes to RW's hotel & casino. It was a nice beach day .

BTW a security guard said that Virgin bought the complex & when their ship is in port, the area is closed to the public.

1 hour ago, canderson said:

Anybody else remember the master of the Martini bar on Constellation, Sudi?  Amazing talent.  I hear he's still running his own agency to supply bar crew to the lines.

Absolutely, Sudi was the "best" . We enjoyed his show in making one or more martinis, etc. Last we heard was that he still had  bartending training school in Bali. We occasionally ask the current bartenders if they knew him . As more time goes by fewer do. 

We're scheduled to depart this week from terminal 25 & return in 29. Per our TA, there is a shuttle to take us back to 25 mid park

On 11/30/2021 at 10:38 AM, Guppy99 said:

ok...whether I believe that or not, it's still not how I like to play. I don't make a science of it, just "gut feel". People get far too serious about it.  The odds are always with the house anyway so you shouldn't play unless you are willing to lose, and you shouldn't play unless it is fun to do so.

Not true. In craps,after an opening roll the odds bet is the only "free" bet in the house. Further the amount of odds bet can reduce the houses edge to nearly 0. You should learn the law of probability ..

Las Vegas was built on people who play by their gut feel. 

Also besides the upgrade cost, do you know if the texas hold un tournaments in the casino were live or on a machine? We're on a cruise in about a week. Thanks.

On 11/23/2021 at 3:24 PM, Zach1213 said:

 

Heathrow isn't ideal, but changing terminals isn't a super big deal. Heck, as an aero engineer and plane geek, I looooovvvvve taking the bus between terminals at LHR because you get some great plane spotting in. Yeah, it takes 15 minutes or so, but really not a huge deal in my opinion. And I am saying that as someone who transfers, usually between T3 and T5, about 10-15 times each year (in addition to my times where I transfer within T5, which is even more often). 

While you've probably used Heathrow more than us, we've had multiple poor experiences, especially changing terminals & going through security a second time. We've had close calls even with 2 hour layovers. On the other hand, lufthansa once met us at the gate in Munich when the first of connecting flights arrived late, & escorted us quickly to second flight.