Lee & Mike's Cruise Notebook

[ottawapuppy]

Thank you so much for sharing! Your level of detail and pre-cruise planning is phenomenal. "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail" - a motto I live by as well.

Your Brilliance of the Seas adventure was great fun to read and I am ever more excited for my own Med Cruise this May.

 

I am glad the old links still work! We've had a couple of changes to the addresses since that original message.

 

Mike

[tiptop33]

Back to Solstice? That's great! We have listened to the 4 new podcasts already. Thanks for posting them. We just re-listened to the podcast on Solstice and got a laugh from the story of the 3 people waiting for the dining who "loitered" on three separate couches in the bar without getting a drink. Very entertaining (unless you were one who wanted to avail yourself of the Martini bar at the time). I'm not sure what's more fun, anticipating the trip, experiencing it, or recalling it. Sociologists are studying it, I am sure!

 

Rick

[ottawapuppy]

I'm not sure what's more fun, anticipating the trip, experiencing it, or recalling it.

 

Well, experiencing the trip seems to be the shortest part of the whole thing, so it is a good thing we like to anticipate and recall.

 

Mike

[tiptop33]

We will be visiting Barcelona in September for our cruise on Celebrity. We will probably stay at the Hotel Continental, even though suitcase-lining wallpaper and hot pink decor are not quite our tastes (yes, yes, I listened to the hotel part of the podcast one more time). Although this is our first time in Barcelona, we will only be staying two overnights. I am sure we will want to come back but how do you narrow the options with so little time? Las Ramblas and Monserrat?

 

Rick and Cathie

[Schplinky]

We will be visiting Barcelona in September for our cruise on Celebrity. We will probably stay at the Hotel Continental, even though suitcase-lining wallpaper and hot pink decor are not quite our tastes (yes, yes, I listened to the hotel part of the podcast one more time). Although this is our first time in Barcelona, we will only be staying two overnights. I am sure we will want to come back but how do you narrow the options with so little time? Las Ramblas and Monserrat?

 

Rick and Cathie

 

 

If you're staying at Hotel Continental, you'll see Las Ramblas naturally. If you're really interested in Montserrat, I'd do that, but really, do a day of the hop-on hop-off bus and spend the rest just strolling around the city. it's really beautiful. I'd save Montserrat for the next trip.

[tiptop33]

Thanks for the advice. I wonder how far in advance of the trip you booked your Barcelona Hotel?

[Schplinky]

Thanks for the advice. I wonder how far in advance of the trip you booked your Barcelona Hotel?

 

Almost a year. It's only 35 or so rooms and it fills up pretty dependable.

[tiptop33]

Thanks. Yes, we need to make our move. Cathie wants to use Hotwire for Barcelona (instead of settling for Hotel Contental) and I am hesitant (i don't know if her positive experience with Hotwire in San Francisco would be replicated in Europe). I know you guys have used Hotwire before. We would probably select three, maybe four stars and hope we get a good place!

 

Rick and Cathie

[Schplinky]

You might consider Priceline, too. I would only bid 4 stars since the correlation between North American standards is not direct. There are a couple of web-site you can look at to decode hotwire (http://www.betterbidding.com) or to see the hotels and prices people on Priceline are using (http://www.biddingfortravel.com).

 

Good luck to you. The only caveat I have is that both HW and PL guarantee a room that accommodates two so that could mean a double bed or two narrow singles. That said, the sort of hotels you'll get by bidding 4 stars or more are VERY nice. We would have gone the PL route if we returned.

[BEAV]

You might consider Priceline, too. I would only bid 4 stars since the correlation between North American standards is not direct. There are a couple of web-site you can look at to decode hotwire (www.betterbidding.com) or to see the hotels and prices people on Priceline are using (www.biddingfortravel.com).

 

Good luck to you. The only caveat I have is that both HW and PL guarantee a room that accommodates two so that could mean a double bed or two narrow singles. That said, the sort of hotels you'll get by bidding 4 stars or more are VERY nice. We would have gone the PL route if we returned.

 

I agree. Check the above mentioned sites (www.betterbidding.com covers both Hotwire and Priceline) to make an educated purchase as opposed to taking a wild 'stab in the dark'. I would stray away from booking 3* on Hotwire. Stick with 4* and above.....

[tiptop33]

Thanks, Lee. We noticed some of Hotwire's interesting features, like figuring star ratings from their own customer reviews (which may be as accurate as any other system, I suppose). I have found Trip Advisor's to be very accurate, but Cathie had great success with Hotwire on her SF trip, as I said. I wonder why you would choose PL over HW if you returned?

 

Rick and Cathie

[tiptop33]

Thanks! We appreciate the advice very much.

 

Rick and Cathie

[Schplinky]

Thanks, Lee. We noticed some of Hotwire's interesting features, like figuring star ratings from their own customer reviews (which may be as accurate as any other system, I suppose). I have found Trip Advisor's to be very accurate, but Cathie had great success with Hotwire on her SF trip, as I said. I wonder why you would choose PL over HW if you returned?

 

Rick and Cathie

 

Thanks! We appreciate the advice very much.

 

Rick and Cathie

 

 

I find that HW calls a hotel 4 stars that PL calls 3.5 stars. In other words, a 4 star on PL has a better chance of being 4 stars.

[Schplinky]

Tonight, we're recording our next podcast...

[tiptop33]

Got it! Thanks for clarifying this.

[tiptop33]

We will be sure to watch for it on iTunes!

[jtvmi77]

Lee and Mike,

 

My girlfriend and I are huge fans of your website. We've only recently been getting into cruising, and find the wealth of info on your site to not only be truly helpful, but also enjoyable to read/listen to. Over the last year we sailed on Caribbean Princess and Celebrity Solstice, and we certainly agree with everything you've said on the Solstice. When we were looking to book our second cruise, we listened to your podcasts, and your recommendations regarding Solstice leaned us to her. What a wonderful ship! We loved everything about the experience...food was great, the open public spaces were awesome, and I really felt relaxed afterwards.

 

I did a few cruises as a kid in the 80s (NCL Starward, RCCL Song of Norway, NCL Windward), but my gf was new to the experience as of last year. We thought that the info and pictures on your site were a great help in planning for both of our last trips. Now it appears that we are dedicated cruise enthusiasts. Our next trip is in late July of this year, on Navigator of the Seas. It's our first venture outside of the Caribbean, and first on RCCL for her (for me since 1986..so really first for me too :o) ). We're going to Sicily, Athens, Kusadasi, and Crete. I know you guys did a Western Med cruise. What, in your opininion, are some of the most significant differences for a trip like that versus the standard trip to El Caribe? I know time in port is one thing. Our trip is only 7 days, which is short for a Euro cruise, and has four ports. I'm thinking it will be a good way to get a taste of the Med, without being totally burned out by visitng city after city. I studied in the UK and France during my undergraduate and law school years, and know how tiring sightseeing in the cities gets. This is her first time to Europe.

 

Anyway, thanks for the great site.

[Schplinky]

I don't know about Mike but for me, the biggest difference is that I was exhausted from my vacation when we came home! You spend so much time trying to see all of the things you've read about for months and months that it gets really tiring in the moment. Good tiring, though; I'm not complaining. I think Mike will agree that we went to fewer events on the ship and went to bed earlier than we normally would. Unlike the Caribbean, you're not trying to find a beach bar and a corona. You're running from attraction to attraction trying to cram it all in because you realize that you're not going to be back next year.

 

My advice? I'd say choose one thing you want to do in each place and do that one thing. Then, have a long lunch in a place that does NOT print menus in 6 languages. Outdoors is preferable. Go buy your souvenirs at the local grocery store instead of at the pier. Break away from the ship tours and just wander around. Be adventurous and use local transportation. Learn a few phrases (or even print them out) in the local language. Google has a free translator for this. Carry a postcard fo the ship in case you get truly lost and cannot communicate that you need to get to the pier. Don't presume that U.S. cash will be accepted any more than the euro would be in the states. Drink the wine and eat the food in port. Write down the names of the things you loved (you will not remember) so you can find them back home.

 

Definitely plan to get there a few days ahead if you can afford to. The time difference will play with you and it's nice to be able to get used to it. Itmight sound crazy but I tried shifting my habits b an hour a day the three days before we left and I think it helped.

[ottawapuppy]

I'd say choose one thing you want to do in each place and do that one thing. Then, have a long lunch in a place that does NOT print menus in 6 languages. Outdoors is preferable. Go buy your souvenirs at the local grocery store instead of at the pier. Break away from the ship tours and just wander around. Be adventurous and use local transportation. Learn a few phrases (or even print them out) in the local language. Google has a free translator for this. Carry a postcard of the ship in case you get truly lost and cannot communicate that you need to get to the pier. Don't presume that U.S. cash will be accepted any more than the euro would be in the states. Drink the wine and eat the food in port. Write down the names of the things you loved (you will not remember) so you can find them back home.

 

You should write travel guides.

 

Mike

[jtvmi77]

Thanks for the advice. We will heed it.

 

When you guys did the Western Med, did you have any ports that were some distance away from the "attraction" city? For our trip, RCCL lists the ports as Athens and Ephesus, when we actually stop in Piraeus and Kusadasi (that is where the water is:D). I was wondering if you guys booked your own tours in stops like that? I know you guys weren't in Greece/Turkey, but I think the M.O. for the Euro cruises is to offer a call at a port city that is some distance from the inland attraction (Rome comes to mind). I'm a little worried about making it back to the ship when there is a considerable distance to travel to the "cool stuff" (if I arranged a tour on my own).

I think for Sicily and Crete, we can just walk around on our own with no issue. I'm totally with you that it's best to get out and try to explore the actual country and not stick to the touristy spots. I'm going to work on some Italian and Greek phrases (Turkish too, although I imagine we'll be on a tour for that stop). When I was in France for a summer during law school, even though my French is atrocious (not being Canadian, my exposure is limited to a few years in high school:D), I found that people really appreciated the effort if you at least attempted to speak the native language.

 

Thanks again, and we look forward to reading more on your site.

[Schplinky]

We did that in Livorno for getting to Pisa, San Gimiagno and Chianti. We also did it in Villefranche to get to Nice, Monaco and Eze. A driver seems to add more stops to your day, in a good way. The other nice thing about a driver is you keep moving along. With a ship's tour, you move at the speed of the slowest person. I always get really peeved at the people who are constantly late to regroup on the bus.

 

My advice would be to get a private tour (as small a group as you can afford) but keep in mind it makes for a very full day. Don't plan a specialty restaurant for that night!

 

I would not worry too much about getting back to the ship. I presume you'll be getting recommendations from folks on the boards. These drivers know the score in terms of when to get you back. If you're nervous, you can set the time you want to be back an hour earlier than when you need to be.

 

simply put, the money we spent on private drivers on our Europe trip was the best investment we made. The ship makes you stop at a lot of gift shops that they get kickbacks for. I don't love that.

[tiptop33]

Lee:

 

I know that Cruise critic is full of posts somewhere for private excursions to Sicily, Athens, Turkey and all the other places in Europe mentioned-- but I am not sure where. Can you mention any strategies for searching CruiseCritic for these tours? For example are their special "port boards" or do you have to look at boards from past cruises to see what people say about each stop (Obviously a search for names of ports is another option). Any quick tips would be appreciated! Thanks.

[Schplinky]

No there are ports of call boards for most ports. Here are the ones for yours:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

[tiptop33]

Wow, that's perfect! Thanks, and best of luck to you on your cruise later this month! (what am I saying? Luck and fun cruises usually go together naturally-- unless you are planning a Mediterranean cruise and the volcanoes of Iceland are still making noises) Solstice is looking better and better....

[tiptop33]

I see episode 2 of the Carnival cruise is now on your web site. Thanks for posting it!