mom2mybugs

Good to know. We did the same time for 11 am! I will say I was on at 2am, and it wasn't open by 210 Central, but it opened before 3am (midnight at the time ship time!). It was confusing but all worked out Jane

I've heard this bathroom is epic! Jane

So I guess just so everyone doesn't get upset, I will thank everyone and guide us back....I will be tipping private guides, it was more a question of how. I will definitely pull some Euros. Back to the ship. We have the drink pkg and I know gratuities are in there. I still like to give a little extra to great bartenders and wait staff who bring drinks to my pool chair, etc. I give dollars in the Caribbean... Can I still do that here since it's easier than a bunch of Euro coins? Or Euros for the win? Just curious what people do. Jane

I do know the tipping culture is very different, but I also know every tour I was on last time had the tip jar on the bus ready to go! Just don't have a lot of time pre-trip to organize ordering at the bank but want to be ready. Thanks! Jane

I will be enjoying reading, as it will keep me happy right up until I board on June 16! Our itinerary is very different than yours, but we will do Sicily and Naples! Have a wonderful cruise! Jane

We did this excursion a few years ago and it was fantastic! Jane

Rhapsody for us was June 2024! This June 2025 we are 6/16/25 on voyager Italy and Croatia! Jane

Hi! We are headed out for our 2nd European cruise through Italy and Croatia. I don’t remember how we handled tips last time. We usually have a bunch of $1s and use those with drinks. However, the euro coin thing is a pain. Can I tip with ones or do I need to hit an atm for euros? Will I be able to take the big bills and exchange for smaller currency at guest services? In addition, how do we tip on tours? American dollars or euros? Does it make a difference if they are rec tours or viator? Thanks! Jane

We are planning on an icon cruise next April. I decided to embrace the loud one day and booked one of the daybeds. I have a feeling we will spend a lot of time in the dome area... Just not in a swimsuit. Hoping overall icon won't feel overwhelmingly crowded. Jane

I assume you've been notified about the itinerary change for day 2 from Naples to Salerno. I was very disappointed since I'd gotten a good deal before. However I decided to go with a Viator tour instead. More expensive but a much longer and better tour of Pompeii. Jane

I’m still heartbroken over our majesty cruise. We picked it just for cuba and that port was literally cancelled less than a month before. It was too late to change flights, the weather was awful and they substituted naussau. Not a great cruise…we shouldn’t have risked it and just did oasis. Jane

We are sailing Vancouver to Seward July 25! Our first. Alaska cruise so will be watching for cruise compasses and any advice! Jane

Thanks so much everyone! I’ve been stressing because thats what I do at new ports and this would be the first time I’ve ever driven to a cruise! Jane

Me! We sail March 31 on navigator out of LA! Jane

Congrats on the anniversary and retirement! My husband has announced his from HF (southern suburbs) after the 2027-28 school year. Can't wait to cruise when it's not crowded! Jane

We are doing Italy/Croatia on Voyager in June. Probably won't live blog but will post some pics, etc. Let me know if you have any questions about the ports, etc, after we've gone! Jane

We are getting on the ship the day you get off for an Italy and Croatia cruise to celebrate my daughter's college graduation! Can't wait...our first aft balcony! This will be our first time on Voyager though we've been on adventure and will be going on navigator in April. Which Greek ports are you going to? We did Athens, mykenos and Santorini on our last Mediterranean cruise and they were fantastic. Hope you have a wonderful cruise! Jane

We had issues with an aft balcony on Voyager. We booked for 3 and then before final payment, one person dropped out. Originally you had to book 3, not 2 anyway. We turned it over to our travel agent, because we needed to know whether to leave it as a no-show, or could we get her off the reservation so we could fully insure our share. The first rc agent she talked to said you couldn't remove, the 2nd agent when she called back was immediately able to get the 3rd person off the reservation. Go with the travel agent to handle this!!! Jane

I love the southern Caribbean, and if you have 8 days and time to do it, it's almost always worth doing and often cheaper per day. Jane

Hi! We are planning a short 4 night cruise out of LA on navigator this April. We will be going with friends and staying at their house pre/post cruise in mission Viejo. We may or may not drive up the night before for convenience. Can anybody tell me if there's a convenient to the port hotel that offers parking? Or probably more likely, can anyone tell me how they port parking works? It looks like you don't have to reserve or pay ahead? Do you shuttle from the parking? Overall, how is the port in terms of delays, walking distances, etc? Jane

I'm a teacher married to a teacher in suburban Chicago. It kills me that they only do the calendar in January for the next school year.... You never know when they are going to move spring break. My husband's district went ahead two years and then promptly changed spring break and said they won't ever go more than a year ahead. This year my college student had March 17-21 off, I'm off the next week and then my husband is off the next week. I finally decided screw it and took a week unpaid off from my preschool so we can take a cruise over his spring break. It's a mess so I feel your pain for sure. The start date for him is usually mid August, and then I'm a week later so that shortens that end, and his end date is usually a week off from mine. I've given up trying to book our cruises together more than 12 months in advance, and I delay final payment until I have to! Jane

Thanks everyone. We ended up postponing this, but now I know some names to look for if we try again another time! Jane

Hi... We are planning a last minute long weekend trip over MLK weekend. Although we have 3 cruises planned this year, I don't think we can manage one here, so I just want to get outta Chicago and someplace warm. We are looking at Travelocity at all-inclusives. It's just my hubby and I for 3 nights, 3 ish days. Breezes is by far the cheapest, but they also talk about Hotel Riu and the Royal at Atlantis. Has anyone done any of these and are there any we must do/avoid? There are also non-inclusives at Atlantis as well as the grand Hyatt if these are significantly better. I just need to decide in the next couple days so any advice is greatly appreciated! We mostly want to be warm, read and sip nice drinks by the ocean. Not worried about water parks, or really touring Nassau. Jane

We also saw "interior cabin sale price" and "senior drink price". Lot of sales this pre-black Friday sale. We saved a ton on excursions and drink pkgs on all 3 cruises planned for 2025. Jane