Live Blog and some pre-cruse chatter- Constellation 7/21

We were on the Connie for 5 weeks in Feb/Mar. Joao ( yes male) was the MCC those were his first weeks as the MCC. He was very good, very helpful. I hope that you are lucky and Viktoria (bartender) and Erlinda (snack attendant) are still in Michaels, they are special.

Thanks for the info. I hope Viktoria is still aboard. We sailed with her last year from Singapore to Rome and she was delightful and very attentive. I'm starting to really get excited as the cruise is only 5 days away.

I suspect others are beginning to arrive in Barcelona.

Enjoying your review, Jim. I'm working on my first review now, and it requires even more time than I'd thought lol. Happy anniversary! I do want to add that it's best to use a card that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee, such as Capital One and some credit union cards. Some cards charge a hefty 3% foreign transaction fee. Cheers, Michelle

Great advise. I'm happy that my Chase Sapphire card doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee. All of those fees could really add up quickly.

Tip of the Day - More financial advise.

Getting and exchanging cash can have many hidden costs. You can often get the best exchange rate at your local bank prior to leaving.

This year we opened a new checking account with First Republic. They refund ALL ATM fees worldwide. As a bonus they had a promotion on that if you deposited $10,000 they would give you a $500 bonus if you keep the money there for 3 months.

I made my first foreign cash withdrawal yesterday here in Spain. On withdrawal you confirm the ATM fee of 6 Euros for 500 Euros.

After being up until 3:00 AM on Friday night we had a quiet day on Saturday. I took a 15 mile hike along the coast. The temperatures and humidity really spiked in the afternoon hitting 87 F with a humidity of 89%.

We opted to stay in last night and cooked dinner for ourselves. Still being tired we were in bed by 11:00.

This morning we were awaken at 9:00 AM by a heavy thunder storm. It was quite spectacular as it is something we virtually never see in our area of California. The black skies have cleared after about 30 minutes and looks to be a beautiful day with blue skies and fluffy clouds.

I use a prepaid master card for a lot of my spending. Whenever I see the rate going up slightly I add money to it. Have dollar ones too - the minute the Brexit result came through I added money to them and paid off my upcoming cruises. Savings rates are so poor at the moment that this helps to keep the credit card bills down!

It seems that Google and Spain have a conflict and some of their services like Google News are being blocked. I use Google News as my main source of news so rely on a VPN to get around the restriction.

Really looking forward to the cruise. I'm especially looking forward to Kotor and Zadar. They will be new ports for us.

Yes, those will be new ones for us as well, having done land vacations at other stops over the years. Jim, would you guess the guests aboard will be mostly from US? Spain? UK? We are intrigued to see what that is like.

We are getting excited, too. We will meet in Michael's before too long!

Yes, those will be new ones for us as well, having done land vacations at other stops over the years. Jim, would you guess the guests aboard will be mostly from US? Spain? UK? We are intrigued to see what that is like.

We are getting excited, too. We will meet in Michael's before too long!

We were talking about that last night at dinner. We both think there will be a significant number of European passengers. I'm also thinking there will be a significant number of children.

We have sailed before on cruises with a large number of Europeans and about the only differences we notice is that the Muster Drill and announcements are made in all languages that have significant passenger counts.

Just a guess but I think there will many British, French, Spanish, German and Italian passengers as well as Americans. I believe that we also had a few Dutch and Belgian on our roll call.

The Scottish and Irish school holidays have started and the English and Welsh ones are about to so I think there will be more children, especially on a 7 night cruise.

Really looking forward to the cruise. I'm especially looking forward to Kotor and Zadar. They will be new ports for us.

We loved Kotor! Don’t miss the sail in (and sail away). Early in the morning, before most people are out and about, you’ll sail peacefully past beautiful scenery. Since you are walkers, consider trying to be amongst the first off the ship to hike up to St. John Fortress. I look forward to reading your impressions of Zader (we went to Split on our itinerary).

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The Scottish and Irish school holidays have started and the English and Welsh ones are about to so I think there will be more children, especially on a 7 night cruise.

Thanks for the information. I suspect we may have a lot of guests from those countries. I especially enjoy a cruise with a nice mixture of passengers.

We loved Kotor! Don’t miss the sail in (and sail away). Early in the morning, before most people are out and about, you’ll sail peacefully past beautiful scenery. Since you are walkers, consider trying to be amongst the first off the ship to hike up to St. John Fortress. I look forward to reading your impressions of Zader (we went to Split on our itinerary).

 

 

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Sounds beautiful. I have it on our list. I'm wondering if our sailing is different from many as we do not arrive Zadar until 10:00 AM.

We have arrange a private tour in Kotor. I'll have to review what their original plans for the day are. The good thing is they said we could modify according to interest.

It has been a really lazy day here in Sitges today. We took a nice walk along the promenade this morning. We ended up walking to the very edge of the village.

I was feeling a bit tired and laid down for a nap. I couldn't believe how deeply I fell off and awoke 2 hours later. I guess it was a good idea as we could not get reservation to our favorite restaurant until 10:00 PM.

Tip of the Day - More financial advise.

 

Getting and exchanging cash can have many hidden costs. You can often get the best exchange rate at your local bank prior to leaving.

Or check w/ your brokerage firm. The firm I work for offers currency delivery and my clients haven't found a better rate at a local bank. Also check so see if they offer banking services. If you use them there can be some great perks included including ATM fees rebated and no foreign transaction fees when using cards internationally.

Or check w/ your brokerage firm. The firm I work for offers currency delivery and my clients haven't found a better rate at a local bank. Also check so see if they offer banking services. If you use them there can be some great perks included including ATM fees rebated and no foreign transaction fees when using cards internationally.

Thanks for the suggestion I will have to check out my brokerage firm.

Looking forward to your review.

Looking forward to your review.

Glad to have you aboard. I'm starting to get excited about the cruise, as we will be boarding in 3 days.

Tonight we will be enjoying an outdoor concert by the Cologne Chamber Orchestra of works by Vivaldi, Bach and Paganini at the Parish Church.

We booked this cruise a year ago and is the first 7 day cruise we have taken in a long time. Knowing that we would be in Scotland for Iain's Aunt's 90th birthday on July 5th we decided to use the opportunity to take a cruise. I went into planning mode to find a cruise that would work into our schedule.

I often use the "Fishy" site to do my preliminary research. I found this cruise on sale and was happy see the Royal Suit was only $700 pp more than a Celebrity Suite. It also came with a $500 Celebrity OBC. I put a hold on it and contacted a couple agents I often use. My favorite agent tossed in another OBC and the booking was made.

The cruise turned into a very popular cruise and the prices across the board have increased for all room types and it appears to be sold out with the exception of some concierge class rooms.

The table below will give a good idea of why it is so important that we check prices on a regular basis.

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we’re off in 2 days, looking forward to meeting all of you. One of the things we enjoy most about cruising is getting to know people from all over the world, from a friendly good morning to shared dinners and excursions. Have a great cruise, y’all !

It is amazing how quickly the cruise is approaching. Two more days!

Last night we attended a Chamber Music Concert at the Church de San Bartomeu 8 Santa Tecia by the Cologne Philhamonic. It was a well attended event but the heat inside the church was oppressive.

Today is a hot day with temperatures around 84F. The humidity of about 70% makes it feel even hotter. We just got back from a walk along the beach and soaked. Thank goodness our apartment has air conditioning.

That would be a nice overnight. I've yet to visit Istanbul.

It is or was a lovely city. I too was lucky enough to have overnight on board.

Sadly not on any itinerary now I think.

Enjoying following your journey again.

It is or was a lovely city. I too was lucky enough to have overnight on board.

Sadly not on any itinerary now I think.

Enjoying following your journey again.

I believe you are correct. I seem to recall reading that due to the unrest in Istanbul that they discontinued the overnight.

A peak at our apartment for the past 10 days. I’ve really enjoyed another AirBnB property. Just a block from the beach. Everything one needs including washing machine and dishwasher.

Our cruise [emoji568] leaves Saturday

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Jim, my wife and I are on the Silhouette TA with you in November. In the very small world department, a dear friend of mine will be on the Connie with you, so it will be a treat to follow your collective adventures live. Thanks for taking the time to do this blog.

Have a great cruise (looks like you've already had a wonderful time pre-cruise)!

Looking forward to meeting you on the Silhouette.

Judith

Jim, my wife and I are on the Silhouette TA with you in November. In the very small world department, a dear friend of mine will be on the Connie with you, so it will be a treat to follow your collective adventures live. Thanks for taking the time to do this blog.

 

Have a great cruise (looks like you've already had a wonderful time pre-cruise)!

 

Looking forward to meeting you on the Silhouette.

 

Judith

That is great Judith. Hope we run into each other on the TA. We really enjoy sea days so are looking forward to it.

Jim