FoxyBride14

Thanks all for your comments. Lots of good info there.

 

The cabins on deck 2 seemed to be a little secluded. The only problem could have been if the non public spaces were noisy.

I stayed on Deck 2 in an outside cabin on the serenade. It was nice. Quiet and really easy to get on and off the ship since the gangway was right there. I would stay on that floor again.

I'm making a list of the hotels previously mentioned in this thread so I can check them out for our May 2016 cruise (dates not open yet for some of them-weird). But can anybody recommend a hotel that has Queen beds at a minimum? I know hotels in Europe are smaller than the US typically but we aren't tiny people and double beds aren't very comfortable!

I feel like Hotel Jazz had king size beds

We stayed a few days at the Hotel Jazz, very nice and a good price....also very close to Las Ramblas.

We stayed there too. Had a great time and it was a very nice, clean hotel. My parents are staying there too

Looking at this excursion for a summer cruise on the Adventure. The most recent review on the RCL site was not good, but older ones were positive. Anyone have any recent experience with this excursion and can share their thoughts?

I went on it 2 weeks ago. It was ok. I didn't feel like it was worth the $100 though. Maybe because I'm comparing it to Calabaza in Barbados, which was only $10 more and that was WAY BETTER.

You were basically brought to a small beach and hung around there for an hour maximum.

I just scanned through your review. AMAZING, I think you just convinced me that this cruise MUST include Venice!!!

 

Also...I just happened to look on the Celebrity website since their 2016 Europe itineraries are already out. What everyone's opinion of the Celebrity Constellation?

 

The itinerary:

Venice

Venice (til 1pm)

Dubrovnik

At Sea

Rome

Florence

Provence

Barcelona

 

With that itinerary, I'd be able to add a pre-night in Venice, and I'd like to do a post-night or two in Barcelona.

 

I'm not making my decision any time soon, but what's everyone's opinion of that?

That sounds like a really nice cruise. We went on celebrity last summer and we liked it. We sailed on the Equinox though. It was a great ship. Spend 2 days in Barcelona for sure! So much to see there and the food is delicious. If you do end up going - Barcelona Day Tours is awesome for after the ship. They pick you up, you go on a tour and then are dropped off at your hotel. I wish I could go back.

I think a 7/8 night itinarary is fine. I honestly wouldn't have wanted a longer one. But that's just me.

And I liked spending more time after the cruise in Barcelona. It was really nice being able to extend our stay and that the end of the cruise wasn't the end. I didn't mind opening up my suitcase again and staying at the hotel. In fact, that was my favorite part of the whole trip. I loved it.

My husband and I went on a western med cruise this past summer. We did a cruise from Rome and ended in barcelona. We spent 2 days before in Rome and 3 nights - 4 days after in barcelona.

I liked that we did a shorter 7 day cruise and were able to spend an extended time in Rome & barcelona before and after. I actually enjoyed my time there more than I did on the cruise because I felt like we were able to really enjoy the culture. And the food is way better in those European countries than on the ship.

We both enjoyed the Western Med itinerary. Rome was wonderful and I LOVED barcelona. Definitely get a ship that goes to Florence and Nice. we absolutely loved Nice. We went to Sardinia and Corsica too. Didn't really enjoy corsica too much. But Sardinia was nice.

Thanks again. Can you confirm there are no customs or immigration lines in barcelona when you get off?

There was none for me. All of my ports were in the EU. it was one of the easiest disembarkations that we ever had.

The surf at Dawn is very rough....it's pretty but if you want to go in the water expect to get knocked around a bit. The surf at Divi Bay wasn't bad at all....you still had nice waves and the sound of the ocean without being knocked down and the view of the sailboats heading out on ship excursions passing by.

Thanks for all that you wrote about Divi! I think that we will be going there on our cruise this month

Thanks for help. Do you know what is best way to get to barcelona airport from cruise - taxi or transfer shuttle?

Taxi should be fine. It's really close to the airport

How does Calabaza require payment? Cash, credit card?

I'll have to recheck my email but you leave your credit card to hold the place and you can pay cash the day of .

I found this port to be boring. Don't waste your money on the HoHo bus it wasn't really worth it. The town is eh. There is a ton of stuff about Napoleon on the island though.

Yes, sorry, you are right - we would consider booking a local excursion, we just wouldn't want a one-on-one situation...It sounded like this lady is a private guide??

She is a private guide, but she is really wonderful. You do get a lot of time on your own with her. She isn't with you the entire time.

We did one tower, the one on the Nativity side. It was great! I recommend doing the tower. We went at 10am and it wasn't too crowded. It gets more crowded midday. You can do the tower whenever, but after you visit the tower you can see the church again.

Trying to decide on going to Caves of Drach on 9/13. Will be in port from 8-8pm. Am considering going to Soller or caves. How do caves compare w/ Luray Caverns or any of the following; Harrison's caves, Le Grotto Caves or Camuy Caverns?

Maybe I'm not a cave person but they were super boring to me. The little singing thing that they did there was eh. I felt like it was so silly for us to be hoarded onto the seats and wait forever for a performance. Then afterwards it took us a long time to get out with the huge crowd. I wouldn't go back to them

We did a tour with them in early August. Anna was our tour guide and she was wonderful. Very helpful and really very excellent. We did the full day barcelona & Montserrat tour. It was great!

What is it?

Are all passengers on the ship included?

 

Do all Celebrity ships have one?

Which ships? What dates?

 

Are all/most/some activities by special invitation?

Are more public rooms reserved for "Private Function"?

 

jls

I wouldn't specifically go on a cruise because it is the President's Cruise. We were on the July 26 Equinox sailing that was the President's Cruise. I didn't think that there was anything special about this cruise. The service wasn't better, in fact sometimes I felt like it kind of slacked (but maybe that's because we did Select dining instead of having a set time), the shows weren't better, and most of the special presidents events cost a ton of money.

The one event that didn't cost anything was that night in the village. While the concept was good, we felt that the execution wasn't the greatest. The food was eh, we basically spent 2+ hours (round-trip) driving in a coach bus for a mediocre dinner.

Thanks. Do you know how long the excirsion actually is

It's a 5 hour lunch cruise. I'm super excited for it

im looking to book calabaza for my cruise in august but cant find the price anywhere.can someone tell me the price per person? and how long the excursion is.hoping i can have time to do something else after the calabaza cruise is doen

It's $110 a person.

You will love it.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

I hope so! I think that I will - my husband almost had a heart attack at the price though - he was like it's HOW much. So it's our Valentines Day presents to each other, lol (our actual cruise leaves on Valentines Day).

Hi,

 

I can enter number of guests, dates and times, but then when I get to final screen where it would actually book all the info I've entered, all I get is an error notice that says something about "inventory not available". I suppose I'll have to call them to do it.

 

Also, we got free gratuities as part of a promotional deal they were running and I have select dining. A family member who also travels with Celebrity told me that she got free gratuities through her travel agent but was told that she had to select traditional dining. Are the rules different if Celebrity is offering the free gratuities? Perhaps I had better check on this to make sure when I call them.

 

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

Keith

This post reminded to do that! I did it now with no issue.

I prefer radiance class ships. I had the best service on those. We are booked with the jewel in February!

I just booked my husband & I on Calabaza in February. I hope it's as good as everyone says it is!

I use a pair of those "hidden arches" in every pair of flat shoes I own! They have a peel and stick adhesive on the back of them. You just find the right spot in your shoe (a little trial and error), where they feel the most comfortable under your foot, and then peel the backing off and stick them directly to that perfect location on the footbed of your shoe! I've never had them fall out! On occasion, I have gotten rid of a pair of shoes and have removed the stick-on arches after having worn them for years in that one pair of shoes and then placed them in a new pair of shoes and they still adhered very well! ;)

That's very good to know. I'll have to go and pick some up

Another "Tieks" convert here! I have a long history of Plantar Fasciitis, and have never been able to wear flats comfortably...until I discovered "Tieks" ballet flats! They are without doubt the most comfortable shoes I've ever had on my feet! The leather is so soft and supple! I do add a little stick-on arch to them for extra support. But I can wear my "Tieks" from the time I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night! And I am on my feet a lot all day long! I balked at the price in the beginning, but they have been worth every penny! My first pair (matte black) from several years ago, is still like new! I have added many colorful pairs to my collection since then! I love them!

 

 

How does the hidden arch support work? Does it fall out? I was thinking about getting that for my shoes when I go to Europe.