TheSkipper

I'm with Jeff. Dying would be my number one reason for giving up cruising! Other than that I'll be cruising as long as I can make it up the gangway.

In Chicago we had to pickup the bags, clear customs and them drag them to the ticket counter and recheck them through to Las Vegas. Customs took so long we missed our connecting flight and had to spend about three hours in lovely O'Hare. Good luck,

Looks good to me. Our sailing is not until September 30th so some of you will have filed reviewed by then. Counting the days.

OOPS, that's enough to ruin any Skipper's day!!

No need to drag your own towels. As you have already heard they are available. But, be aware, if they are not returned, you will most likely have a hefty charge on your shipboard account. :cry:

I think some other cruise lines could take a page from the Princess book as it relates to their repeat cruisers. The Princess "Elite" status include free laundry and dry cleaning, free unlimited use of the internet and a stocked bar in your stateroom (once only). There are also some other minor perks which are missing on many other cruise lines. I find we are doing more cruising on Princess these days because of the above.

For shear beauty, I'd also go with Santorini. Loved Florence and Venice and Vienna on a river cruise. Also enjoyed all the ports in the UK. I guess we have enjoyed all of the ports of call. Where are you heading?

No doubt about it, a world cruise!! The longer the better! :wink:

This is getting way too common place lately. So sad.

Hi Again Lisa, I vote 3,2,1. In that order. We did the UK on the Royal Princess a couple of years ago and loved it! Did it with another couple and we flew over to London a week early and rented a car and went to the Cotswolds to an old coaching inn for that week and toured the entire area. Talk about getting away from the city life! We then drove down to Southampton and dropped off the car and boarded the ship. Did almost all of the ports you listed and had a fantastic time. In France my wife and the other couple headed for Paris, but since I've been to Paris several times, I went to the beaches of Normandy and had an experience I will never forget! As a former Army Ranger and Green Beret the walk trough the American Cemetery will always be with me. Especially this time of the year, Memorial Day and the anniversary of the Normandy invasions. Anyway what we did in most other ports was to set up private tours via the internet. In Dublin we had a stretch limo that everyone stopped to look at as we drove about. Commented about this to the driver and his response was, "Well, Mr. Wynn, there are only two stretch limos in all of Ireland, and the other one belongs to the President." Ireland and Scotland were both fantastic as well. Oh well, I've made my choice. One thing you might throw into the mix, Celebrity has no laundramats on any of their ships. Having one on board means you can pack less and on a trip to Europe, that's a big plus. We have sailed three times on the Century, although she was just renovated, so not up to date on her. Nice ship, not too big or too small. Have sailed on the the Grand Princess too, so can fill you in a little on both ships. The Sea Princess is the one that was on fire a couple of months ago. We are considering her for our Baltic cruise next spring. I also lived in London for a couple of years, and like you, love it.

Lisa, Glad to hear the advice worked. We did a Northern Europe on Princess that began in England, first stop was Amsterdam where you are thinking of beginning. Hit the Fjords, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and I'm sure I'm missing some countries. Lots of ship doing this area, so you have lots of choices. Keep us updated.

Lisa, We have cruised most of Europe at one time or another. Ask yourself what is the ONE place you want to visit above all others in Europe??? That's your starting point. For example, we are planning our European cruise for next year around St. Petersburg, Russia, a place we really want to visit. So, that makes it a Baltic cruise. That's our starting point. After you answer the first question, make another post and I'm sure there are several of us who can help you with information.

Sailingrose, We will be looking for the same thing on Sept. 30, sailing out of Brooklyn aboard the Crown Princess. Flying into LaGuardia on the 29th and staying in a hotel near the airport. Looked up a couple town car type companies and it looked like about $60 to Brooklyn pier. Now, I can't remember what I did with the info, but will find it again with a search. We too are looking for a service that will pick us up at the hotel and get us to Brooklyn. Will let you know what we find out.

Merbert, Mixed reviews on the Shore Excursions in Porta Amador. The Panama City tour participants that I spoke to all said the same thing, they were just rushed through the city on a bus. No time to really see anything. Those who went back to the locks to watch nightime operations there seemed to enjoy their tour. When we tendered ashore there were thousands of very large dead bugs everwhere, underfoot. Really freaked my wife out. I guess they must have sprayed just before we docked.

Don't forget to factor in that you are disembarking from the largest ship afloat. How long is it going to take to get 5000 folks off the ship?? I would not chance it.

Will be watching for your review, Joe. Submitted ours of the Coral Princess and it should be up soon also. Glad you had a good time. We've sailed on the Zenith three times over the years. :wink:

Lisa, Wish I'd known about showers in the Spa. Never thought about that! My review has been posted so you will be able to read it soon.

Well gang we hit the house about two hours ago and I have to admit it feels good to be home. Looking forward to my own bed tonight. Disembarkation was a breeze, we were off the ship by 8:30 AM. Joined two of our tablemates in the luggage pickup area and shared a cab (Van) to the Oakland airport and were there by 9:15. Way too early! But, much better than cutting it too close. Flight was uneventful and our neighbor was at the airport to pick us up for the trip to the house. Overall a great cruise. Noticed some changes which I'll cover in my review. But I've got to tell you the Coral has the smallest showers I have ever seen on a ship!! Damn, they were tiny! And, we have been on lots of ships over the years. PEB and I never did connect aboard ship, too bad. Met up with lots of folks from another board two days before disembarking. Well back to the real world. I have a Stress Test at the Cardioligists tomorrow AM. How can I be stressed after a 15 night cruise?? Will check back in after I've had a chance to get unpacked, etc. :wink:

Don't you hate the last night of a cruise?? We've had our final dinner. The baked Alaska is finished. The packing almost finished. Weather has gotten much cooler as we head for San Francisco and our disembarkation. Great cruise, but then they are all good. Cruising is kind of like SEX, the worst I ever had was wonderful!! :wink:

Cabo was fun, but hot! We had a full day in port, most of the other times we have been there it was more like a half day port of call. Internet Cafe is in the Atrium and as I'm typing this they are doing the Champagne Waterfall thing and the music is approaching the threshold of pain. Off to bed.

Hi Guys and Gals, Cabo and then two days at sea and we will be in San Francisco and heading home. Had lunch with the Captain today as one of the 40 most travelled passengers (Elite Captain's Club Members). Very nice. Will check in again after Cabo.

Hello Again from the Coral, Up at 7AM and video taped our approach to the Canal. It is now 4PM and we just cleared the final locks and said goodbye to our tugboat Skipper. Took lots of pics and video, probably more that we will really want to save. Roe and I won the Trivia contest this morning! I guess all the time I've spent surfing the web is beginning to pay off. One quick squall this afternoon while we were having lunch. Other than that the weather has been great. Love this free internet and laundry service! Just may have to stay on board.

Hi Gang, On our fifth day aboard the beautiful Coral Princess. Forget that Crown Princess Headline, that's our next cruise. A day at sea, so I thought I'd check in with the Crazies! Weather has been perfect so far. Yesterday we were in Aruba, which was a little on the toasty (read HOT) side, but we had a fine time. Tomorrow we will be in the Panama Canal. Some are planning on being on the Bow ar 4AM, but I think we will miss that part of the passage. Will shoot video from our balcony when I wake up. Did not make the get togeher from that other board, so have not met PEB as yet. Food has been excellent. Stateroom is great except for the smallest shower I've ever seen on all of our cruise. Works fine, but don't know how some of the people on the ship get their whole bodies in at one time! Perhaps the are using the shower on the pool deck. Will check back in later in the cruise.

Well less than an hour now until our airport ride is due to arrive. So, very shortly we will be out of here and winging our way to FLL and the Coral Princess. My bag ended up overweight, so had to use a seperate rolling garment bag that I'd hoped to leave at home. So, now we have one large bag each and the garment bag. One more than I wanted, but what are you gonna do?? :huh: Got my portable DVD player and a selection of good movies in my carryon, so we should be able to pass the time OK. Delta has no movies on this flight which I find a little strange. Will try and log into this board from the Coral while on board. Thanks again for all the good wishes. Request permission to come aboard, SIR!! :grin:

Yes, we will meeting up with PEB and about 70 others who have been talking on another board. First full day at sea we are have sort of a "meet and greet" We will most likely be the last ones departing for this sailing. Leaving Las Vegas at 11:30 PM PDT tomorrow (tuesday) night for FLL. Arriving at 7:00AM EDT, so have a car rented so we can hit some of favorite spots in FLL and let the early birds get aboard the ship in that first hour mad rush and then board at our leasure. 45 previous cruises have not dampened our excitment about cruising, but we no longer feel the urge to be among the first on board! Guess it's an age thing. :wink: