Tommy3putts

Thanks for the great live blog and review. Very helpful. I did my first cruise on Rhapsody in Alaska back in 1997. Your trip brings back many great memories.

Cheers

Tom

^^^^^^this

Dittos to all of the above. WhatsApp is a good third party app. If you have an iPhone you can use FaceTime (audio or video) over Wi-Fi if the other party has an iOS device.

Cool. Enjoyed the video.

Anyone else want to comment it’s always welcome. Sometimes I feel like a lone palm on an island during a live review.

I’m here. Been here since the start. Enjoying this “Turf n Surf” review.

Great pics!!!

Cheers.

Seems the China Market demand isn’t as robust as originally thought. Will be interesting to see how other cruise lines respond.

These both look like great itineraries to me. I don’t think you can go wrong either way. It really will depend on what’s important to you and your family. I’ve been to Havana so I’d lean towards the Empress and the other Cuba stops, but that’s just me. I’d love to visit Havana again, but I’d also want to see the rest of Cuba.

FWIW I have a friend I met several years ago and he loves Cuba (especially Havana) and visits there several times a year.

We sailed the Empress to Havana in Sept 2018. It was a four nighter. I had a great trip. Empress is small and showing signs of her age. But would consider sailing her again for the right itinerary.

Here is a review I did several months ago.

Empress of the Seas-September 23-27; My .02

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=24703&share_tid=2548531&url=https%3A%2F%2Fboards%2Ecruisecritic%2Ecom%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D2548531&share_type=t

Tom

I’ve never seen or heard of any problems. I echo the gorilla pod recommendation. I don’t take a DSLR camera much anymore. I’ve found it easier to use my iPhone, gopro, and occasionally my DJI Osmo. I also use small table top tripods as well as a suction cup mount for my gopro.

There are tons of light weight collapsible tripods on the market for smaller lighter weight cameras.

Also note there is a CC forum on cameras and photography. See here

Photo & Camera Discussions

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=24703&share_sfid=118&url=https%3A%2F%2Fboards%2Ecruisecritic%2Ecom%2Fforumdisplay%2Ephp%3F118&share_type=sf

I do not believe Empress is on O3b. It wasn’t as of September 2017. But I found the Wi-Fi to be fairly good. I was even able to stream a college football game on my iPhone.

If you really want folks to read, Maybe a better description in the title would be nice.

Don’t you just love the “click bait” titles here on CC.

I can imagine the shock for the Silversea passengers when they find out they are sharing Coco Cay with 6500 others.

Or see someone in the MDR in shorts and flip-flops

Interesting news. Kind of all makes sense with RCCLs strategy of having RCI’s continued focus on larger ships.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Well done. Great pics and info.

Cheers

Tom

Thanks for letting me tag along on our cruise. Enjoyed your photos and the information. We sail on Bliss out of Miami in Feb 2019. Looking forward to seeing this new ship.

Cheers

Tom

Venice 2004, we show up from the UK with 2 bags each a small carry-on and a small backpack. We landed at Marco Polo airport at 10PM, we took the bus to the bus park, then we lugged the luggage over 4 bridges to our hotel on the grand canal, and I swore to never do that again. Max luggage is a checked bag and a backpack. Better is a carry-on and a backpack.

 

 

 

We are sailing with Tommy3putts this fall, after doing 5 nights driving around the south of France prior to the cruise out of Barcelona. I think cruising is awesome, but land vacations are mostly better in all ways to actually see and get the feel for a place. Well, we are not actually traveling with him, we will hopefully meet him on the cruise.:eek::halo::')

 

 

 

JC

JC

Looking forward to meeting you on the Symphony TA this October. It should be an awesome cruise!

Cheers

Tom

Here is my .02. I agree with the recommendations to try to do both. Cruising in a great way to check out new spots to do a return extended visit in the future. But cruising doesn’t have to be the only means of sightseeing.

Up until 2014 we did land based vacations of Europe. A series of Two week vacations of seeing mostly Italy. The trains in Europe are awesome. So we’d spend 2-3 days in a spot and then move on. The bad part is the never ending “bag drag” and “packing and unpacking.” Venice is the worst. I quickly learned and became a fan on the “one bag” travel concept. Wheeled luggage is not your friend.

Conversely, cruising is a much more inviting “unpack once” and let the ship take you to a new spot each day. The con here is a limited time in ports. That’s why we like the overnight itineraries when we can.

If you have the time I’d recommend doing a hybrid. For example in 2014, we did an 11 Night Med Cruise out of Rome. We spend two nights pre-cruise and one night post cruise in Rome.

This fall we are doing the Symphony Transatlantic from Barcelona. We are going over to Barcelona three days before we sail so we can really enjoy the city and surrounding areas before our cruise.

Bon Voyage!

Tom

This thread has now really gone to the dogs. FWIW never argue with the Chief, Chengkp75.

Thank you for sharing the photos. They are great. We sail on the Symphony Transatlantic in October. Looking forward to it.

If you spend any time on CC, you'll see much less important issues become "news worthy".

[emoji23]. That’s an understatement. There is the flare for the dramatic on these boards. It’s the “BREAKING NEWS!!!” Mentality that I so enjoy.

On the newer ships check your phone by your bed. I’ve see reports of a USB port on the side that supposedly can work to charge your phone. I can’t recall if it was the NCL Bliss or Symphony but I saw it.

This was a great live trip blog. Thanks for doing it

Cheers

Tom

We were on the Reflection in the Med in June 2014 during the WC. They set up a TV at the Sunset Bar. Great and very popular place to hang out and watch the matches, especially at night. Who knows if they will do that again for 2018.

Cheers

Tom

We are also on the October TA and purchased the UDP. It seems like a really good value, especially when lunches during sea days are included.

One question I have is whether Playmakers is or is not covered. I looked everywhere in the RCI and CC sites but could find nothing. On RCI, ther “Chef’s Table, Izumi or other culinary experience/activities,” are excluded. It doesn’t mention playmakers at all. So is Playmakers an other culinary experience? Does anyone know the answer?

Thanks

Cheers

Tom

I’ve sailed the Reflection twice. 2014 11nt med cruise and 2016 15nt WB TA. We loved the ship and service on both cruises. I would not worry in the least about the fodder you see on CC.