littlelulu01

Yes, those are my favorite ships on Royal. Thank you for the added information.

 

Littlelulu01 - again thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate your information... I have also gone over to the roll call to start read that.. That roll call is amazing.

No problem. The various perks are difficult to figure out for sure but once you do it’s much easier to compare apples to apples.

Btw- for USA bookings- if you see a price drop anytime till final payment you can rebook at lower prices. I’m not sure the pricing would go down on this one though. And after final payment if you see balconies drop to a price you are comfortable with you can always upgrade. Just can’t downgrade after final payment.

Sometimes Ncl offers up a sail away rate. Right now those rates are the same price as pick your cabin with perks but close to sail date they can often be much less. In that case you would have to give up all the perks to go with a potentially much less expensive cruise rate. Might be worth keeping an eye on.

Ports visited are very well set up for diy. I’d say more so than Alaska. Many European passengers don’t even plan till they walk off ship. If you can get by with just the extra shore excursion credit, the inside stateroom is thousands less than a balcony or higher. If you book directly with Ncl or a Travel agent who utilized the upgrade advantage program you may end up with a balcony bid at the last minute. Just know that it’s not a gt so if you’re ok with an inside then I’d go for it. I’m perfectly fine in an inside. Husband couldn’t do it though. The perks can be changed up to five days prior to sailing. So if you decided to get a different perk there’s plenty of time to switch. With double shore excursion credits Some ports currently offer basically free excursions. Example with double excursion credit the Dubrovnik transfer bus and cable car ticket is $45. So that’s a free day. Athens hop on bus can also be free but you’d probably want tickets to Acropolis. Santorini has the Oia excursion currently at $75 so $25 with credit. Naples has Pompeii and Sorento for $119 so $69 pp with credits. Those are all priced less than diy but without the double credit they are much more than diy. Pricing may increase by sailing date but an example of what costs would be.

Re the food- I’d say it’s on par with rci. Obviously food is subjective. We tend to prefer speciality venues but the inclusive venues are varied and certainly good enough. IMO Desserts are their week spot. They look good but I think they taste like gelatin.

The thing I really like about Jade med is how simple it is. Very low key, easy walk off each day with no crazy crowds onboard, diversity of passengers, ship officers very visible, guest service very easily accessible. Set up pretty much like a USA land based hotel that floats to a new place each day. When you get off you’re immersed in the country. Get back on and you’re back to English usage. They do announce in a few different languages because of the diversity but most passengers speak English even if not native language. Even sail away may be different than they typically are. They may have the typical band and woo hoo dance party but it could easily be just some food on deck and Italian opera music for sailing out of Venice.

If you’re big on ship entertainment- it’s not typical either. Comedians are absent because comedy doesn’t translate well. They will have a few good bands on board and the nightly theater shows. Some trivia. the casino is typically quiet.

You can see pricing and hotels/cities offered for your Embarkation/debarkation port. Price is per person. For Rome it’s $145 pp so for two it’s $290 minus the $100 credit so $190. That includes transfer to the ship so not a bad deal but the hotel location isn’t that central. Airfare isn’t available till closer to sailing so I’m not sure what offers will be. $400 total so $100 pp each way but that’s off the Ncl price and I have read these tickets are highly restrictive. For airfare this means all can go fine but if there’s issues with delays then there’s potential issues. Ncl agent owns the tickets. Tickets purchased in a group and don’t have the same T&C’s as if you purchase a ticket on your own. Kinda like if you purchase a ticket on Expedia. Probably fine for within USA but not sure I’d chance multiple connections for a ta flight.

The Ncl ships excursions are priced very high. The distinctive perk potentially gets you double shore excursion credit so along with your latitudes discount some excursions are a better deal or even free. Some are still a better deal booking with a group on your roll call or diy.

If planning on ship excursions on a sailing far in advance who knows what the pricing will be. There’s a lot of distinctive voyage sailings. Figure there’s a good chance the excursion prices will be bumped up from the already high prices to account for the credits on any sailing a ways off.

Basically I’m thinking it is an extra 250 mins Internet and phone call package. If the shore excursion credits and airfare/hotel credits work out to be a better deal I’ll book with Ncl but I’m not going to bank on it.

Pretty sure Ncl has a couple of shore excursions that includes the cable car and transportation. The first one is a walking tour and cable car ticket $95. The other one is transfer bus and Dubrovnik on your own with a cable car voucher $45. Imo Dubrovnik is easily done on your own with no need for a walking tour. Taxis are lined up at the ship. 10-12 euro each way to city walls. Taxi stand is just outside walls for return. Can split cost with another couple in line at the ship. Wall walk doesn’t take euro but cc can be used in case you don’t have any kuna. English widely spoken. Very touristy so no issues with language barrier. Port is very easy diy.

Do you have trip insurance? If so then call them. Travel guard was great at helping me. They did all the tracking, one assigned contact kept me abreast and arrangements for delivery to me were made. It also helps with making a claim for items needed for purchase. Good luck.

An inside for the Jade sailing gets you one extra perk. The ov and above get two extra perks. The beverage package on this cruise will cost gratuities. If you think you will drink more than $250 each then the beverage package is a good deal but they allow you to bring your own wine for $15/per bottle corkage fee and a good wine in port can be had for around 5-7 euro per bottle. The ship will have drink of the day specials. FYI The beverage package does not include bottled water, speciality coffee or canned soda, fresh squeezed juices. Even though, “free”, it adds $500 to your cruise total for this sailing.

All staterooms categories USA site bookings will receive the distinctive voyage perk which includes 250 mins Internet, 120 mins phone calls from your stateroom phone to anywhere, $50 per port per cabin excursion credit, $100 pre or post cruise hotel credit in Rome, $400 total airfare credit (have to book airfare with Ncl to get credit). Wouldn’t count on air and hotel being a savings but there’s a possibility it could be.

The extra perks are pick one extra for inside and pick two extra perks for up through mini suites. Choices are 1.) the ubp beverage package unlimited; fountain soda, mixed drinks, beer, wine by the glass. it’s $500 package gratuity for two on 14 night. 2.) Speciality dining package. 4 meals for two in speciality venues. $32 gratuity charged. 3.) An additional 250 mins Internet package or 4.) an additional $50 per cabin per port excursion credit. Note that Ncl excursion pricing is pretty high to begin with compared to diy so with the $100 total per port excursion credit many excursions would be free or almost free but other excursions are $$$ and can be done diy for less or the same even with double credit.

The balconies are pretty expensive right now. I’d be inclined to go with an obstructed ov on deck 8 and still get 2 perks. If you’re planning on ship excursions regardless of $, then the extra shore excursion perk credit is going to be of major benefit. If you’re both going to benefit from the alcohol package then the beverage package is probably biggest potential savings depending on how much you drink. Speciality dinners are a nice treat but the main dining room, 24 hour pub food, the buffet, the casual main dining room and an Asian venue are included in fare. They are decent to good depending on your food taste. speciality dinners definitely a notch above but certainly not critical for many.

The Jade has great viewing areas inside and outside so you will have ample comfortable public space to relax when onboard. There’s an excellent observation lounge at the front of the ship to sit and watch the sea. Likely on this sailing public space won’t be crowded.

I agree the ship itself shouldn’t be a factor for either sailing. Both being very Port intensive and both just the right size for ports visited. The Jade has the Haven and the ship was recently extensively refurbished. I think The Star was also recently refurbished. No Haven on the Star.

I see the Star sailing also has distinctive perk and also free port fees. Even so I’d go with Jade 14 night for earlier date /better weather odds.

If you could swing a suite great. I’ve sailed the Haven and non Haven suites on the Jade and loved them but I’ve also sailed in an obstructed ov on deck 8 and really liked the location and room we had. Priority tender and suite perks not so much a factor for these ports/ships. Either ship won’t feel too crowded at meals and public areas because many are off the ship all day and eating in ports.

We are going with a suite for this sailing. I justified cost with all the extra perks.

Not sure what stateroom type you’re looking at but a real bargain on the Jade that hasn’t seen a price increase yet is the aft penthouse. That’s a full suite room including butler concierge and separate dining. All the same perks as Haven - just no Haven access. Also eligible for all perks (you pay gratuity on beverage and dining package if you want them). In addition, the Jade has the distinctive voyage perk worth an additional 250 mins Internet, phone call package and an additional $50/port shore excursion credit. The $100/cabin per port excursion credit puts ship excursions within a reasonable cost realm. Distinctive voyage perks also includes airfare airfare and hotel credit, ymmv on that. Only 2 sf suites left and IMO it’s a really good deal for an Ncl suite.

Good luck with decision. The October Jade looks like a fantastic, although very port intensive itinerary. It borders on the end of season as is. I think any later is pushing it weather wise. Venice overnight on Halloween. Very active roll call with some excellent shared private excursion plans and some experienced well organized ladies running the roll call.

The 10 night Jade early October is currently priced better for non suites. Still a good itinerary but the Jade 14 night is one of the best I’ve seen in sometime.

Spa has no noticible change post dry dock. Around 6 heated tile loungers and the thasotherapy spa which is basically an oversized hot tub with curved slats to lay on and bubbles/no jets. That’s what the co-ed area consists of.

The sex specific areas include actual hot tubs with jets and bubbles, showers, sauna, steam, padded chairs and foot stools, television, locker rooms.

Jade and Jewel have similar spas. Pearl and Gem have nicer co Ed areas in their spas.

You might want to have them contact a different department within Ncl. Perhaps an email to guest services?

Not Ncl but an impressive customer service story: My daughter’s boyfriend was due back from deployment last year. They planned a vacation to Hawaii and I booked them a room at Aulani using my Disney vacation points. They purchased Alaska Airlines airfare. No trip insurance and both bookings with Alaska Airlines and DVC were non refundable/highly restrictive. It was a fairly inexpensive vacation in comparison to a cruise and so trip insurance was not even something that had been contemplated.

His deployment was extended after we bombed Syria last year. Alaska Airlines rescheduled both their airfares with zero fees and zero additional cost to switch dates-even daughter’s airfare and she was just a girlfriend.

Disney vacation club threw in some pixie dust and got them a room for the later date too. They ended up with a fabulous vacation.

I was extremely impressed how great both companies were willing to help. I had previously thought very highly of both companies but i’d have to say Alaska Airlines and Disney now at the top of my list for best companies. It wasn’t any hassle at all and both companies voluntarily offered up a simple solution without even asking when we called to cancel.

Best of luck to this family. I never knew how difficult it is for military families to plan in advance for something like a cruise. Certainly something I as a civilian, and someone who plans vacations far in advance to save $, had previously took for granted.

Sorry, if an employee is being paid a regular rate, tips are NOT part of their pay. Tipping in this fashion is an American thing. In Japan tipping your server is an insult meaning that they obviously are not paid enough because they work for such a cheap place.

 

So no, I have no intention of tipping someone who is making $15 an hour as a base pay to bring me a plate with a burger on it and refill my drinks. If it is that expensive to live there, they should consider moving.

BTW, adding gratuity automatically is grounds for challenging a credit card bill, and winning automatically because the price was not the advertised price and there were hidden fees charged after - and automatically added tips are not tips - they are fees if they are not optional.

 

 

 

 

And while you can tip the butler and concierge, they are paid a very generous salary. A concierge is in the same pay bracket as the hotel director and makes around $113K on average for their salary.

 

Now, I will agree that while they make their money over a 9 month contract, they also work pretty much every day for those 9 months and put in ****ty hours, so getting 3 months off (or popping a new contract) is just letting them have the same time off they would have had at a 40 hour a week job for those 3 months.

 

MizD, these are average contract payouts for NCL, some will be a little above and some will be a little below (and at least 1 Hotel Director is well above, even than most Captains):

 

Servers - $26K

Steward - $28K

Bartender - $45K

Butler - $63K

Concierge - $113K

Hotel Director - $113K

Captain - $153K

 

And based on Voyager's link I think they are calling a steward a butler, because that is in line with a steward's salary, not with an NCL butler.

 

And like I said, those are averages.

NCL pays an untrained security officer about $26K, trained average around $30K. Security chiefs make around $48K. Trainers depend on what skills they bring to the table, former LEO get better bonuses than former military. LEO with a lot of professional training certifications can make around $68K, but they won't stay on one ship long.

 

 

There are NO positions in NCL that exist solely on tips.

 

Having said that - Pay your damned gratuities automatically. This doesn't only go to the people you were directly helped by, this also goes to people you never saw that worked very hard to make sure you enjoyed your vacation. Did you see the vomit in the elevator or smell it? No, well then tip the person you never saw clean it up. Did you enjoy having a clean table in the buffet and the fact the drink dispensers were full and the desserts were in reach? Yes, then tip the people you never saw clean the table before you got there, who made sure you didn't have to find someone to get a drink, and who constantly moved those desserts around for you.

 

What you tip your butler and concierge depends on how much you use them. And I agree you SHOULD tip them if you use them and they provided good service.

I just disagree with the idea that you should tip them $10 and $5 per day per person.

I intend to use my butler a lot on our next cruise, it is 21 days with 10 sea days, normally we book extremely port intensive cruises. Normally about the only instructions I have for a butler are don't bring food to the cabin, we won't eat it, and we probably won't be in the cabin anyway. I get far more use out of my steward normally. And I don't need anyone to make plans for me or hold my hand for excursions, I almost never use the ship for them anyway.

For your Seattle dining- Purple is a fun venue. Varied menu, affordable, good food and service and nice atmosphere. I’d recommend making a reservation. Due to the location and decent prices they are always packed. Please report how the no tipping thing works for you if you dine there.

I’ve always gone with the when in Rome theory. If I want their service, I pay according to local customs and company recommendations. I’m not going on a cruise to fight a dsc tip, not going to Italy to fight a service fee for sit down dining, and not eating out anywhere in the USA and refusing to tip based on the local city, county and state min wages.

I totally see why the subject comes up so often. There is no standard like there is with dsc, speciality dining, spa... even when ships did the envelope tips they had a recommended standard for various positions. I get that It varies depending on use but that could easily be addressed on Ncl site and still be more specific than it currently is. People don’t like vague suggestions.

$100/2 = $50/7 = $7.15

$7.15 x 14 cabins = $100.10 x 3 (average # of occupants) = $300.30 x 274 (days of contract) = $82,282.20

 

That is $82,282.20 above their pay, not as their pay. And you are claiming that is the bare minimum that they should get as a bonus to their salary for simply existing.

 

 

And please don't use the "but you tip on land" BS. In Japan you don't tip because employers are expected to pay people a decent wage. In the US employers pay waitstaff well under minimum wage with the expectation that tips will make up the difference.

Well guess what, in the Seattle area you have Seatac, where servers make $15 an hour minimum. Do you think I plan on tipping when I eat there after my upcoming cruise? Nope. Not because I am cheap, but because tipping is supposed to be about going above and beyond, not about doing what is expected of you as the basic part of your job.

Good luck with your plan. I went to dinner with my girlfriends last week in Seattle. Wasn’t paying much attention and one of the gals divided bill by 4 and added 20%. I thought my portion was a little higher than expected but didn’t argue. Afterward I realized 20% was already charged. We didn’t notice and payed an additional 20% so accidentally paid 40%. You will likely automatically be charged the 20% with an option for any additional. If opposed to this then you can opt to eat at McDonald’s. many places now charge the gratuity flat out in the bill so you might not get the opportunity to stiff the servers.

Im sorry but in Seattle, tips are expected and the norm. The minimum wage rate isn’t an excuse to stiff the servers. Have you any idea what parking, housing and the general cost of living is in Seattle? Go ahead and make a stand by stiffing the servers but probably best to let them know up front your intentions.

The butler and concierge are tipped positions and Ncl clearly states they aren’t in the dsc tip pool. It’s customary to tip them according to service rendered. It’s a personal thing and can vary widely. There’s no set amount but unless they did nothing to enhance your vacation they should be given something.

Everyone else is in the tip pool. If you feel like giving them a little extra fine but if not they’re already well taken care of in the pretty hefty dsc. These arguments about dsc not being tips are absurd. The recent email I got from Ncl about my upcoming cruise dsc increases specifically outlined that the dsc makes it easy for me to provide gratuity to staff.

We’ve done Alaska in late May, mid August and September. Mid August -daughter was in hs at the time and ran into several classmates from high school. Lots of multi generation families. May and September- I don’t think any kids her age and looked like about 20 little people. May and September The younger kids were fairly absent from public areas unless they were participating in scavenger hunts... with kids club. August sailing kids seemed to be with their families more so than the kids club. Many west coast cities have mid June summer break. Perhaps coincidence that daughter ran into several people she knew but it did lead me to believe many families on summer sailings are local.

Check the bookings - The Spirit is unlikely to be doing the UK cruises. Less than 12 months out and still not on sale. There is nothing for the Spirit beyond March 2019. People want to book flights for those overseas at the earliest time and for early April it is now passed (355 days). I think all these bookings are looking provisional by NCL.

 

I suspect the new brochure may not have Spirit in!

The Sun is also not available for bookings from March. Also Jewel, Jade, Sky and Pearl have no bookings available from November onwards.

Last big redeployment was announced in August, 2015 and affected many sailings from early 2016 onwards. There was a lot of backlash. Perhaps another big redeployment is in the works and this time around they’re not selling cruises on sailings until they get schedules finalized. It’s late in comparison to other lines but they seemed to sell the redeployment sailings with very little lead time in some cases. Sales on those new itineraries didn’t start till late August, 2015 for 2016 onward.

I suspect a ship will be based in Southampton for 2019 season and the reason why it’s not for sale yet hinges on a switch up of some sort.

Thank you!!!! That is exactly what I needed to know. Yes, Europeans 18-20 can travel without someone older. It still doesn't help my son unfortunately. It really stinks, I thought it would be a lot safer for him to see Europe this way than buses and trains on his on....... Do you know if there is any cruise line going out of the UK or Barcelona that allows 18-20 year olds? P&O or any other not American company?

Our daughter did a year study abroad in Florence. I don’t think there’s a kid in the program that didn’t take off just about every weekend to various other countries via plane train or bus. It’s part of the experience of studying abroad and they get the hang of it quickly. Before you know it you’ll be seeing pictures on fb of them jumping out of airplanes in Switzerland.... the parent orientation biggest safety stress point was to instill importance of following local laws and to stay out of trouble by obeying them and the customs of the countries visited. Public drunkenness is a big no no and probably the most common reason to get arrested and sent home.

That said I did take the kids for 2 weeks on the Jade after the study abroad program. It was an easy way for me (not her) to see some new places in Europe. By the time I picked her up from school she’d visited more countries than I’ve been to in my life and she was far more competent than me.

She met her boyfriend on the ship. He was 20 and traveling with a bunch of other 19&20 year old US air force boys on leave from the uk. They were not accompanied by their parents or anyone over 21. They were allowed to purchase alcohol without consent however they didn’t qualify for the ubp.

This is now national news. It was on ABC World News Tonight.

Yes. Just saw this. We have a big vacation next year planned on the Jade- similar to the cruise we took with you in 2016 (my favorite vacation to date). We’re still onboard but will definitely be looking at other passengers feedback going forward.

I think this mishap and how they initially reacted is really going to hurt the line. It’s a textbook PR case of what not to do.

I’m rooting for them to weather this storm and prove to customers going forward that they’re taking care of business proper. Probably a given that the Sun construction experience won’t be repeated.

The Haven is really the only way I got husband back to enjoying cruises. If Ncl’s profits go down their on board experience is likely to suffer too. Forum cheerleading can’t fill ships. Providing passengers decent food in mdr, excellent food in speciality, great staff & on board experience gets great reviews and repeat passengers. Cutting back on Haven experience dining quality... only makes passengers look elsewhere. Simply filling the Haven with bargain upgrades isn’t going to attract repeat Haven customers. If anything charge more for higher quality extras but now isn’t the time to cut back in order to make up for any losses this PR nightmare will likely produce.

Glad to see damage control was initiated. Hopefully they’ll analyze their future actions so they don’t need a reaction. When they do require a reaction they’ll fare much better if they get it right first time around.

The team that makes decisions to cut costs and maximize profits should meet with the team that protects the brand. A proper pr team along with a little more research on what makes the customers happy. Ncl has a great product. Not everyone is interested in a bargain rate vacation or an occasional upsell score to the Haven. Some of us are willing to pay extra for fantastic; vacations, service and quality. Would be great to see a little higher quality choices on offer even if they charge extra ie bumping up speciality dining quality and pricing. Sure they’ll complain. Those kinds of fee increases and related grumblings are expected but a vacation like what the Sun passengers got was not.

pre and post dry dock sailings are always less desired. The Sun pre dry dock was the epitome of this but not typically the case with Ncl or any other line. I think ncl’s revised offer shows they really are trying to make it right.

This would never have happened under Kevin Sheehan's watch.

 

 

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Idk how accurate this is. Under Sheehan Ncl had a pretty bad reputation regarding what they did for passengers when things went wrong. This initially carried over to Del Rio - remember the mass redeployment? but then I saw a major improvement and Ncl was in line with other cruise lines with how they treated passengers when ships chartered or things went wrong.

people don’t pay much attention to a company track record when planning a dream vacation unless it’s widely publicized and well known. Just like they don’t pay much attention to their cruise contract. They just assume they have the same rights as say you have with the Airlines. It’s not until something bad happens that they realize.

When others try and discuss any issues on a forum such as this the threads get muddled with a bunch of irrelevant posts going off track resulting in relevant discussion buried under claims of fake news or downplay of a serious problem.

I think Ncl delivers an overall quality product. Some aspects of how they conduct business are baffling though. This Sun construction at sea being a glaring example. I’m sure some on that sailing were not that inconvenienced. potentially passengers who didn’t use public decks, dining venues under construction and had staterooms far away from the chemicals and construction zones. 25% for them would likely be welcomed. Others seem to have been terribly affected with no reprieve even in their staterooms. For them 25% is laughable. I’m guessing Ncl would be willing to compensate them individually. But from a pr standpoint, the 25% overall discount looks pretty bad.

Same goes for the $25/$50 obc they now offer for charters and canceled sailings. People thought the $50/$100 was a slap in the face. Nothing screams idk about your business more than a $25 obc for an I’m sorry your vacation got screwed. Deciding to increase fees or cruise pricing is one thing and all lines do that- it’s expected. A public perception of Maximizing profits off of issues that seriously affect passengers like this construction cruise is altogether different and looks really bad.

Stuff like $25 credit for canceling sailings and the 25% credit for the sun construction cruise eventually gives a line a bad reputation and scares off customers. Some things Ncl customer service does is just awesome yet gets overshadowed with stuff like this. Idk what they have going on with their pr department and the powers that make decisions to go ahead with this level of construction on a revenue sailing or deciding to reduce obc to $25 for canceling a sailing. These departments need a little tweaking. I do know firsthand that some of their land based staff are empowered to make things right and are able to keep customers happy, me included, even when things go wrong.

The garden villa has umbrellas. Otherwise pretty sure the other staterooms don’t. Very easy to pick one up if needed. Last year we had umbrellas in Southampton and still got completely soaked. Went to a sporting goods store and picked up rain pants which we of course didn’t need other than the one day that we didn’t have them. Umbrellas don’t do much good if windy. A good rain jacket with hood and pants that dry quickly instead of jeans on rainy days should do the trick. I had a great Marmot rain jacket that folded up to nothing for packing. Husband picked up the exact jacket in Scotland for half the price I paid in the USA. The puffy jackets that squish to nothing can be worn under a rain shell if cold temps. Both those items together take up about the same luggage space as an umbrella.

A couple years ago many cruises called on Turkey. Ncl announced port changes omitting Turkish ports very early on. They replaced with some great ports and times in Croatia and Greece. Celebrity Hal and carnival kept Turkey port of call even after repeated bombings and specific warnings to cruise passengers and cruise ports. I know by the time Carnival omitted Turkey they just replaced with sea days. Not sure what the other lines got. I ended up canceling my celebrity sailing and kept the Ncl itinerary. I think Celebrity ended up canceling around the time the government ordered all non essential military out but before overthrow attempt?

Ncl never said the replacement was due to safety concerns but I’d trust their intell and track record over other lines. Disney was the other line that canceled early on. It was a shame because the previous year i had a wonderful time in Turkey with my kids and was really looking forward to returning with my husband but I was thankful we sailed Ncl and that they were ahead of the game with ability to still offer a great itinerary.

Early June you may have more Americans onboard but they’ll still be likely less than half. A lot of UK passengers and a smattering of German, Italian... not too many younger kids. This passenger mix makes for a civilized and orderly cueing process.

Your kids will likely find the others their age range pretty fast if they participate in the onboard activities.

I think many families plan cruises at the end of their kids study abroad terms. It’s an simple way to collect them and then have an easy vacation without lugging their bags around.

Definitely noticed Americans had planned out their days well in advance and other passengers were comfortable figuring it out when they stepped off the ship.

There’s still a party atmosphere but not much overconsumption. My college kids had fun till the early morning hours but I was ready to crash after long port days. Made pulling them out of bed early a bit difficult.

Dubrovnik 10-13 euro taxi fare to walled city from the ship. There’s cash machines readily available in the walled city or most places take cc. There’s entrances to swimming areas along the wall.

Athens grab a taxi at the ship. It’s about 100 euro for a tour or 20 euro each way for ride to Acropolis. Acropolis and plaka lunch can take up a good chunk of the day.

Santorini- what previous poster mentions. You can add 5 euro to boat/bus ride and get cable car ticket in advance. This option is actually better than ships excursion which tenders to further port and gives less Oia time.

Recommend taking a look at ports of call boards. Also not to plan full days. Depending on the heat it’s nice to have a half day and then back to the nice clean ship for swimming, some sun and rest.

Mykonos actually has a beach of sorts right in town. Bring your ship towel.

So sorry to hear that your camera and more importantly your photos were taken. I don’t use a fancy camera, just my iPhone which was taken in Venice. I was so thankful the photos appeared in my cloud.

Do you have trip insurance? I was reimbursed by travel guard insurance. It took several months but I was successful.

I had to chalk up to a learning experience as well. I was furious with myself and the theif for a couple hours and then had to just accept that it could have been much worse and the theif must have needed more than I did.

EIther area would be nice.

 

For the views I think I would go with Savoca although Taormina is a charming town.

 

 

Given picking one I would do Savoca.

 

Keith

Thanks for your opinion. I was leaning towards The Godfather tour but your beautiful pictures and descriptions of Taormina had me second guessing. We splurged on cabin in part because of double shore excursion credits so for the first time we are going with ship excursions almost exclusively.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I know many folks love the mega ships but from your descriptions the Spirit sounds like my kind of ship. Hope to sail her one day.