lhall85917

Did you use a private tour guide? If so, can you recommend them? We are interested in going to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe as part of our tour but haven’t found an available guide who goes there.

we will be in Bilbao in April and would like to go to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. I contacted The Best of Basque guides and they are booked. Does anyone have other suggestions?

Just of the Emerald on a 5 day cruise 10/29/15 and had prepaid for the 430 min Internet package. I expected it to be slow and it more than fufilled those expectations. After two full days I had used less than 30 min, no access in the room and finally no access anywhere. Even the intranet i.e access to the Princess app had no connection either.

This was also impacting the crew,some of whom were on board to do some technical jobs (not related to internet). Spoke with the Intranet manager who said they

had a new provider which was being rolled out to all ships. There was no problem at all as far as his sevice as he gave us a full refund.

This may have been a teething problem but I would not want to buy a prepaid package until I heard some reports after this one.

We were on the same cruise and also were very disappointed in the internet service. Luckily, we are platinum so didn't pay for it. Both my husband and I commented that we would have asked for a refund if we did. Many times we couldn't connect at all, other times service was extremely slow. We did try from several different areas on the ship without any better service.

I know a lot of people prefer to get cash at ATM's as needed, but we use our credit card as much as possible and bring a small amount of cash with us. It's been a couple of years, so I hope it is still true, but in the past we ordered cash through Wells Fargo in any currencies needed before leaving. You don't have to be a customer of theirs and their exchange rate is fairly good.

If you order $1000 or more, there is no additional charge. Money is sent within 1-2 days. You have to be available to sign for the delivery.

We are platinum on both lines, but have more NCL sailings than Princess - leaving tomorrow for our 6th Princess cruise and have 11 with NCL. (In case anyone wonders, one of our Princess cruises was a 28 day from Sydney to San Francisco earning Platinum quickly). Last fall we sailed with NCL to Canada/New England and it will be a very long time before we return with them.

We don't ask for much, but felt service was terrible. The first night in the dining room the waiter just walked up to us and asked what our order was. No introduction or even semblance of being hospitable. There were several similar instances throughout the cruise. We mentioned this to senior staff during the past passenger party and didn't receive any follow through.

In our opinion, Princess offers a much better product than NCL at this time - this includes decor, service, meals, and overall experience.

Ha. Amazing how people see things differently. I was at that table and had a great time.

 

When two entertaining Type A people land at a table it can be difficult to get a word in. It happens.

 

The Hitler comment (in context) was about a young man trying to grow a mustache to impress his prospective girlfriend who later became his wife and a comment from her mother about his failure and who he reminder her of and the comment was met with cringes by the other family members present at that time.

 

The politician comment was in context to the failure to get a new cruise port in Charleston actually and we all know how hot that one is even though there was additional discussion about a similar difficulty with getting additional bridge access to the NC Outer banks.

 

The wait staff had a lot of tables and it seems so did our cabin steward so I agree things were slow but not bad.

 

Please feel free to judge yourself with a little more context. Personally I had a great time and no regrets.

 

Also on a side note the number of wedding aboard made the whole cruise very festive and it was magic to see happy new couples enjoying the cruise.

Yes, we all take things differently. I didn't feel the wait staff was slow, just couldn't seem to get orders to the right person and never offered refills on drinks. (not a real big deal)

As far as the table conversation, everyone has a different perspective. You are correct on the Hitler comment, but when you pair it with all the other conversations about guns, shooting animals, etc. that took place virtually every night, it just wasn't enjoyable dinner conversation from our perspective. If everyone else was comfortable with it, that is perfectly fine. My point is that we should have had an option to do something different if we felt uncomfortable for ANY reason.

A question....

 

Was anytime dining an alternative choice on your cruise? Maybe you should consider it as a good choice for you in the future...you can decide time and seating arrangements and only have to be patient until your choice opens up.

 

I am sure that seating arrangements are about the biggest headache a cruise has. I remember a cruise on RCCL where my husband and I were seated at a table for ten....only problem was that nobody at that table spoke English and they were part of a family party of about 60 from Puerto Rico. It wasn't like our surname indicated we might be hispanic, either. When we were finally moved it was to another table of 10, all young single females who probably were not thrilled to be sharing a table with 2 semi-geriatrics.

 

Seating is always hard, even tables for 2 are sometimes so squished together that you might as well be sitting at a long banquet table. The luck of the draw to find the perfect situation is one of the things that make's cruising kind of fun....

Yes, it was and we asked for that also as an alternative. We were told it wasn't available.

We (my husband and I) returned this weekend from our Fantasy 7 day sailing. This was our third Carnival cruise; however, the last one was 9 years ago. It was our 28th cruise overall. We don't have a particular reason for being gone from Carnival for so long, other itineraries and ships have interested us more in the meantime.

About 3 months ago we moved to the Charleston area so this ship jumped up high on our "must-do" list, how can you live near a port and not be tempted to sail from there?! Fantasy mostly does short sailings so we were glad to take advantage of one of the few 7 day itineraries.

Embarkation was really easy. We left home about 10:30 and arrived at the port at about 11:00. Traffic was starting to back up through the lines put in place because they hadn't started admitting cars yet. About 5 minutes later we were let through and went right to the passenger drop off area with no one in front of us. Another 5 minute wait on a bus and we were at the terminal to be checked in. I didn't check my watch, but I'm sure we were onboard shortly after 11:30.

Our first stop was the shore excursion desk to ask questions about a Nassau excursion. While we were there she noticed that we were on a wait list for a cabana at the private island and let us know one was available. It was very nice to see that our communications before arriving were in place once we arrived.

Next we stopped by the kiosk and added our Carnival gift cards. We bought these at Kroger when the coupon was available. Too bad we found out so late or would have tried to get additional ones.

Our final stop was to see the maitre d' about dining arrangements, but we had to wait until 1:30 for this. The dining arrangements were by far our biggest complaint on this cruise. We requested early dining with a table for 2 and were assigned late dining at a table for 10. The maitre d' took our request, but said that "2000 other people also wanted this so he would see what he could do." The first night we ate late after being told he would send a note to our cabin the next day.

Our note arrived letting us know we were changed to early dining but the same table. We accepted this and were happy to have early dining. That night we sat at the table and immediately felt uncomfortable. There were two men that dominated every conversation and despite our attempts to involve others in a conversation, no one seemed interested. That would have been fine, but then conversations turned to what I felt was offensive. One gentleman was discussing trying to get a bridge built in his area, but conservationists were thwarting attempts. He said he could take care of it, just line them up and shoot them. Perhaps this was a feeble attempt at humor, but given what had just happened in Charleston 2 days prior I felt it was in poor taste and he wasn't someone I wanted to spend the next several evenings with.

The next morning we asked again for a change to a table for 2 or to traditional dining. When our note arrived in the room it was for the same time and table. The next 2 nights we ate at the buffet just to stay away from these people, I wish we had been more assertive because the buffet just wasn't very good. The last three nights we went to the dining room and tolerated all of the gun conversations and Hitler discussion.

This was the first time ever in 28 cruises that we haven't been able to have a table for 2 for supper. I'm not really sure what we should have done, I know we should have gone to the maitre d' one more time with our concerns and then perhaps gone to guest services if it wasn't resolved. If anyone has suggestions for addressing this in the future, I would appreciate it.

Our three stops were Grand Turk, the private island, and Nassau. In Grand Turk we just got off the ship and roamed around. The beach is gorgeous there so we enjoyed taking a nice walk and looking around.

We rented a cabana at the private island. Although it is extremely expensive, it really added to our enjoyment of the day. We spent the entire day on the island enjoying the beach and amenities of the cabana. If you can do this, I highly recommend it.

In Nassau we booked the Bahama Brews - Bar Hop excursion through the ship. This is a new excursion, it was just being offered for the second time. It was a walking tour to three different places to sample beer and have snacks along with some information on Nassau. We really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.

We expected the Fantasy to show its age and it does. It is hard to go from being a balcony snob to staying in an oceanview cabin but I found I didn't miss the balcony quite as much as I thought, although it was hard to see out of the windows due to condensation at times and salt water deposits all of the time. The staff was very friendly and we enjoyed them. The dining room staff was friendly, but service could have been better. Virtually all orders were given to the wrong people at the table, we were never asked if we wanted drink refills - in fact, we had to grab our waiter quickly just to place a drink order before they would walk off.

We paid more for this cruise than we did for a balcony on Regal Princess last fall and didn't find that the value was there for this cruise. If we would get a bargain, we would do this cruise again, but we honestly felt that we paid too much for what we got.

That must be new. If you decide to try it, please come back and let us know how it is.

Yes, it is new. We were told on board that our cruise was only the second time it was offered. We did it, and really enjoyed it. This was a walking tour and the guide met us at the ship. We walked to a bar and had samples of three types of Sands beer and chicken wings. The guide gave us some information on pirates and their involvement with Nassau.

After that, we walked to a small art gallery and sampled three kinds of Kalik beer and had conch fritters. Here he discussed Junkanoo traditions. Our final stop was the Pirate Brewing Company, this is a local craft beer brewery. Along with our beer we had pretzels made at the brewery.

I would definitely recommend the tour, it was fun and a great way to enjoy a couple of hours in Nassau. Although it is a walking tour, the walk isn't too bad for most people. I definitely wouldn't recommend it for those that can't handle heat or have difficulty walking.

Thanks for posting this. We board tomorrow for a 7 day sailing. I am disappointed to see that the cabin wasn't very clean, but it is good to know you still had a wonderful time. This will be our first cruise on Carnival in 9 years and we are looking forward to having a nice cruise option locally.

Has anyone done this excursion in Nassau? There aren't any reviews. We did a bar hop in Cozumel and enjoyed it, but it was a private excursion, just not sure how this would be through the ship.

We're on the Nov 1st sailing. First time in Charleston for both of us.

 

Where is a decent hotel? Looks like North Charleston? We're NOT Suite people who can afford the $250 plus/night for the places near the Port!

 

We also will be driving & parking at the Port. Any suggestions re: "Once u get near the Port, don't miss the Right/Left turn at ......" Thanx! Joe

North Charleston isn't always the best place to stay. Try looking for something in Mount Pleasant. West Ashley is also a better option than N. Charleston.

Interesting approach and definitely an option for some people. Carnival, feel free to call me to extend our Fantasy cruise later this month! it's been about 9 years since we sailed with Carnival, that would be an awesome welcome back surprise!

I've tried the search but haven't found much information on these cabins. We are booking the Fantasy for a June cruise and are trying to decide if we should book an OV guarantee or pay a $100-200 more for a designated cabin. What is the worst OV cabin we could get?

Unfortunately, we are true balcony snobs but don't want to spring for a suite so an OV will have to do for this one. Just want to know what we are getting into since we haven't sailed on Carnival in years and haven't done an OV since our first cruise many years ago!

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our Radiance trip for March. On December 4, I received an email from Royal Caribbean that our train excursion that we booked had been cancelled and we will receive a refund. So far it hasn't shown up on our credit card so I emailed the shore excursion address given in the email and received notice a day later that they received my email and it would be processed in the order received.

It is now 3 days later, we still don't have a refund on our card and haven't heard back from the shore excursion department. Our cruise deposit was refunded several days ago, but I assume this comes from two different departments. Would anyone have a phone number to call and find out about this?

I am enjoying your review, as I posted earlier, we were also on this sailing. It is interesting to see things from other's experiences.

You mentioned "And every time we set sail, the opening bars of the Love Boat theme song were played over the ship’s horns. This was pretty embarrassing when Regal, still docked, would answer the single horn blast of departing fellow ships with our ostentatious little ditty. It seems generally out of place and over-the-top when leaving a simple port like St. Maarten’s." Our opinion was the opposite - I loved the horn on the ship and from what I could tell, others on other ships did too. While docked, I saw people on their balconies on another ship clap when it played. Even as veteran cruisers, we felt that this is one simple thing that set this ship apart from others.

We were on this same cruise and had a wonderful time, looking forward to seeing the rest of your review!

This is excellent information, thank you for taking the time to share. :)

We are flying to Perth to board a cruise next March. Tickets were booked with FF miles last spring and take us through Shanghai then Bangkok on our way to Perth. Originally we had a 2 hour layover in Bangkok then a flight arriving in Perth March 12. Our cruise leaves on the 14th.

We received a flight change notice that now gives us just over 24 hour layover in Bangkok and arriving in Perth on the 13th. The flight in to Bangkok arrives at 9:30 pm then leaves at about midnight the next day.

I've called United and the only thing they can do is get us in to Perth on the 11th. Fortunately, we are flying 1st Class and hope to be somewhat rested so this may not be as bad as we first thought if we arrive in Perth on the 13th. Perhaps we can take advantage of a quick Bangkok tour during our day there and see something we never imagined we would see!

Anyway...sorry for the lengthy post, but I'm hoping to get some thoughts on how to handle this and what might be good options if we do have 24 hours in Bangkok.

For others considering Valuetrips - we just booked the Hyatt Place through them for a stay in November. I filled out the request on Sunday morning and confirmation just arrived today (Friday). On Wednesday I emailed to find out the status of our reservation and didn't receive a reply. Yesterday I called the hotel and they confirmed that they had the reservation.

We won't do this again, not worth the uncertainty of waiting almost a week to get confirmation of a room. There are too may options for finding a room, not worth the hassle and uncertainty of using this method.

For 2 coffee card punches at Gelato you can get an alcoholic ice cream drink or for 1 punch get crepes...au natural, a la mode, nutty banana or spiced Washington apple.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but does anyone know what some of the alcoholic ice cream drinks are? I'm finding this information very useful for our Regal cruise next month! :)

I wondered if it might be a charter. So far Googling hasn't found anything. Oh well, time will tell but I would like to book flights with confidence!

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We did a similar itinerary two years ago on Princess and have the Sydney to Honolulu leg booked for 2015 as well as a 17 day cruise previous. The only thing I didn't care for was the 5 sea days in a row and that was mainly because it was on a smaller ship - Sea Princess. This cruise is in the Solstice which should offer many more options during sea days. If you enjoy cruising and don't mind some time at sea I'm sure you will love it!

This sailing is not showing up on the Celebrity website and several of our roll call members have been told it is sold out. It just seems a little odd that this would happen almost a year out and when we had seen availability in several categories last week. This is a trans-Pacific from Sydney to Honolulu.

This situation happened to us another time then the cruise was cancelled so I might just be paranoid but thought I'd see if any of you have any knowledge of what might be happening.

Celebrity offers a tour to Hobbiton from Aukland next year during our port stay but I am trying to find private options. Has anyone done this and have recommendations?