Traansatlantic Questions, Celebrity Constellation, April 11

[impala1ss]

I have never taken a transatlantic repositioning cruise before and have several questions.

 

Will we be allowewd to bring alcohol and wine on board? How much?

 

IN a port, will we be allowed to bring liquor and wine on board?

 

Estimation of temperature on cruise.

 

Best way to get to Orlando from Hamburg, Germany.

 

SHould we fly from Hamburg to Orlando, or go to another airport and then fly to Orlando.

 

Thanks for any assistance.

[kitty9]

On Celebrity you are allowed two bottles of wine per CABIN, and alcohol, if found, will be taken. If you purchase any kind of alcohol in a port, it will be taken when you go through security, and held until the end of the cruise. The temps will get cooler the further you get from Florida.

 

Why do you want to fly from Hamburg to Orlando when the cruise leaves from Miami? Are you planning a pre-cruise Disney stay? The drive from Orlando to Miami is anywhere from 3 to 4 hours.

 

The best way to get to Orlando will probably be from whereever you depart in Germany, to either JFK or Newark where you will have to change planes for Orlando. Or else you can go from Hamburg to London and change to a flight to Orlando. You can do this on either British Airways or Lufthansa. I do not believe you can fly directly from Hamburg to Orlando.

[wg6530]

I have never taken a transatlantic repositioning cruise before and have several questions.

 

Will we be allowewd to bring alcohol and wine on board? How much?

 

IN a port, will we be allowed to bring liquor and wine on board?

 

Estimation of temperature on cruise.

 

Best way to get to Orlando from Hamburg, Germany.

 

SHould we fly from Hamburg to Orlando, or go to another airport and then fly to Orlando.

 

Thanks for any assistance.

Come over and join the roll call for the cruise. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=999909 the thread is now 26 pages, so you may want to skip toward the end then catch up later. We have helpful people for both sides of the pond. There are several posts about airfare. Many people seem to be flying via MIA. Somebody posted info about a Celebrity charter to MIA. Others are using air berlin. I connect at Newark on Continental.

 

At embarkation, I believe each cabin is allowed to bring 2 bottles of wine (assuming 2 adults per cabin). Other alcohol and later purchases are not supposed to be allowed (may be held in storage until the end).

 

I've done 3 TA cruises. Weather and sea conditions can vary a lot. We were lucky enough to have nice weather on our first two TA cruises (mid to high 60's IIRC). Our third featured rough seas, wind and some rain. Hoping our luck returns in April.

Wendy

[pris993]

We were on the Celebrity Equniox last summer in the Mediterranean, first port was Athens. There was a duty free shop at the port, we bought some wine, scotch and a 6 pack of beer. Another passenger saw us buying liquor and reminded us of the rules. I acknowledged I was aware of the rules, that I felt it was the luck of draw. Sometime it passes, sometimes it doesn't.

 

When I went through security, the screener asked if my 6 pack was coke. I said yes and that was it.

 

When we stopped in Turkey we got another bottle of scotch in the duty free right at the port. No one even asked.

 

In Israel we got wine as well.

 

So if you are willing to take your chances, sometime it works.

 

I can tell you I don't recall when I last had to turn over a bottle.

 

As long as you are not bring on unreasonable amounts, generally it passes.

[Hlitner]

There are several options for flying from Hamburg to Orlando. If you can get a reasonbly priced flight directly to Orlando that would be your most convenient option. You also might want to look at the cost of flights into Miami (MIA) or Ft Lauderdale (FLL) which can sometimes have better pricing on international flights. You can than rent a car (car rental prices are reasonable in Florida) and drive to Orlando which takes about 4 -5 hours and is an easy drive on excellent roads. My only caution is that when you are booking your own air to connect to a cruise, make sure you arrive at least 1 day (or more) in advance because of all the uncertainties of dealing with the airlines, weather, luggage handling, etc.

 

Hank

[TooManyShoes]

We were allowed to bring on 2 bottles of either wine OR CHAMPAGNE.