TheSkipper

Sue, We have done this several times using all kinds of transport up to and including a stretch limo. Since you are arriving so early, I think the car rental is the way to go! It will cost no more than two shuttle fares and you will be able to see some of the area rather that hanging out at the port for hours. Some of the car rental agencies have offices very near the port where you can drop off the car.

Hi Guys, Just looked at your site. Looks great. We love Celebrity. Last time we were on this ship we had a Sky Suite and took our twin grandsons (ag3 13) along. They live in Kansas and had never seen the Ocean let alone a cruise ship! We all had a blast! They loved the Butler service. I added your site to my cruise info section. Gotta get through this upcoming European River Cruise before I can think about 2007. Ed, Las Vegas

We have two timeshares and are RCI members. Never have found a good deal on an exchange for a cruise!! JohnG is absolutly correct. We trade ours to other local locales. Were in Hilton Head, SC a couple of weeks ago. Those exchanges work great, but there are too many good deals on cruises that exceed anything offered through RCI for a cruise trade. :undecided:

Good news, Sue. Hope to be joining your dance soon. Awaiting our docs for our European River Cruise scheduled for July 30th out of Amsterdam!

The Mexican thing sounds great to us! Been there many times and have sailed on Mercury 3 or 4 times, but if you get a group together have no problem repeating. I too like to plan these things ahead and block the dates. Already have our "primary" booked for 2006, but might squeeze in another "good deal" cruise later in the year. :cool:

Thanks for all of the input. I think we will have to try HAL very soon! For the person who asked about the Coral Princess, we have not been aboard her yet. She is scheduled for next May when we sail through the Panama Canal on her. If she is anything like our favorite ship -- The Diamond Princess, I'm sure we will love her. :grin:

Caught their show when they were docked in Boston. Looks like quite a ship. May just have to give her a try. So many ships, so little time!! :undecided:

You will enjoy the Paradise. She is a fine ship. Sailed aboard her about four years ago out of Lauderdale. The week prior we sailed aboard NCL Sky then disembarked and boarded the Paradise. Rooms aboard the Paradise were larger and more comfortable than the Sky and we had a fantastic time. Since this is your first cruise, you will never forget this ship! :cool:

Put a good book on the nightstand together with my travel clock and glass case and I'm at home! By the time Roe unpacks all of her stuff into the bathroom, I KNOW I'm at home!! :wink:

We usually use an online TA. Which one depends on where I can find the best deal at the time. Always give my primary TA the first shot, but he knows I'll shop it (just to keep him honest, if nothing else). With 44 cruises under our belts we know pretty much which ship we want and when we want to go, so don't really need the "advise" of a local TA. Being in landlocked Nevada, I've never been very impressed with the cruising knowledge of our local TA's. So, I usually use a TA in Florida or some place closer to the ships and who knows what they are talking about. We have never booked directly with a cruise line. We too get our insurance from a third-party vendor. We like an "arms length" relationship with our insurer.

Keith and Rita: Would you believe we have all the daily newsletters for everyday of every one of our 44 cruises? Yep, sealed plastic bins full of them. Kinda fun to look back on once in awhile. :cool:

Would you belive in all our cruising we have never sailed on a Holland American Ship?? Have heard nothing by good about the line, but simply have not connected as yet. How do they compare with the other mainstream lines -- Princess, Celebrity and RCI?? Would love to hear from those of you who have sailed HAL.

We have sailed the Century three times with the last in a Sky Suite. A Sky Suite is simply an oversized (somewhat) room with a nice balcony. It also includes butler service (another tipping requirement). We took our twin 13 year old grandsons with us and they slept on a sofa bed. A little cramped, but not too bad. Room on balcony for all of us to have breakfast served by the butler. Century is a great ship IMHO, I'm sure you will enjoy her.

Have kept one since we started cruising. To date we have documented all 44 of our adventures. Each day I spend a few minutes entering the days events, port of call, etc. Fantastic when you repeat a ship or destination to go back over the diary and both bring back memories and help build anticipation for our next adventure. Coming up next the River Duchess, a river cruise through Holland, Germany and Austria and you can bet our log book will get a good workout on that one.

Not exactly a movie, but we were aboard Celebrity's Century when they filmed an episode of "The Nanny". Really enjoyed watching it when it aired after watching them shoot the scenes aboard ship and on the beach in St. Thomas. :smiley:

I can only address the Princess program. Their deposit is only $100 pp and you receive a $100 pp shipboard credit. You can transfer your booking to any TA you select and get the best deal that TA has to offer, so you have the best of the two worlds. The on board booking perks and the ability to search for and book the best price. Just did it for our May 2006 Panama Canal cruise. Did the original booking while on board the Diamond Princess. A couple of weeks ago I found a much better price and changed TA's, no problem. The new TA even gave us a additional $75pp on board credit, so we now have a total of $350 in credit (all confirmed in writing, BTW). The was the second or third time we have booked on board ship. It works great.

Based on our 44 cruises to date, I would submit the following: Best Cruise Line without regard to price - Silver Seas Best Popular Price Cruise Line - Celebrity and Princess (a tie) Best Food - Celebrity Best Frequent Sailers (Captain's Club) Program - Princess Best "Bang for the Buck" - Carnival Best Ship - Diamond Princess

Way to Go Keri!! Have a fantastic cruise, sounds like you have earned it! :grin:

Hi Jennifer, You will be OK as long as your expectations are not too high. Most upgrades, if they happen, as simply moving you up a deck or two and you usually end up way aft or way forward. Done it several times and you do save a couple bucks, is it worth it?? Who knows?? On the same sailing Sari2 was talking about, we were snug and happy down low and midships in an outside cabin and did not have a problem with the motion which did cause a lot of sea sickness. Roe's sisters were on the same deck very far forward and both got sick. Would the kind of "upgrade" be worth it?? It's a "roll of the dice", just don't expect too much. Enjoy your cruise. :wink:

Hi Lisa, I feel better now that I've read your review. We did not experience any of the crew type problems you had when we were on board in January. We had good bar service in the Wheelhouse (with snacks), but really did not have that many drinks around the ship. Never knew there was such a thing as a foam overlay for the beds, so after all my cruises, I learned something! I think I'll request one on the Coral next year. Did not hear about or witness any of the NO stuff and I think I would have heard about it since we put together a group of 38 folks on that cruise. I do agree about the buffet area being a zoo. But, I think I'm getting used to it. Glad you had a good trip overall.

No, the price is not set in stone. If you find a better price either on line or through a cruise line mailing, contact your TA and request he/she check for any price changes. Cruise lines change pricing quite often. I tend to do my own checking, but the ideal situation would be to have a TA who continues to look out for your interest after you have booked. Some do, but many do not.

How about -- "Can I receive mail aboard the ship?" :undecided:

You can also do it all my mail after printing the forms online. Not a big deal at all. :cool:

While in Amsterdam (that's where the Anne Frank House is located) try and do the Canal Cruise thing. Several companies offer these cruises and they are great! Been there and done that. In fact, we are returning to Amsterdam on July 30th to board the River Duchess and plan to do the Canal Cruise again as well as the Anne Frank house. Enjoy! :grin:

Hi Gang, While aboard the Diamond Princess we booked a voyage aboard the Coral Princess, Ft. Lauderdale to San Fran via the Panama Canal (15 nights). We knew at the time the pricing was only average at best, but planned to search for better pricing later. Our TA of course did nothing but accept the booking from Princess (kinda like a gift) and it would appear forget about us. I was on another web site a couple of days CruiseWeb.com and decided to check out their pricing. Got the same balcony catagory, additional pp room credits and to make a long story short saved $1,100 for a like and kind stateroom - Cat BC. The moral of this story is keep checking those prices!!