[westcoast]

Taking one across atlantic in april.. would like to know your experiences
please

[tomwed]

We went from Miami to Malaga, Barcelona, Pisa, Port City of Rome, and ended up in Venice [18 days] and the return flight cost more than a balcony room.
We left Feb 4 and the ocean was smooth. It was cold and windy on some days. I did everything in Europe using Rick Steve's advice right down to the Rockport shoe model he advised. We stayed an extra 8 days [it should have been longer]. Every hotel he picked was great.

[Carla B]

Sounds great. Was it cold when you reached Malaga and beyond?
Which cruise line?

[tomwed]

Originally Posted by Carla B

Sounds great. Was it cold when you reached Malaga and beyond?
Which cruise line?

It was Carnival. Spain was warm. It was snowing a little in Venice. From Venice we took a high speed train to Florence. There were flurries along the way. The cold doesn't bother me. I had a ski hat and gloves. I would much rather see Europe in the cold with no lines and discounts than when it's warm and the lines are long. I think. It was my one and only trip there.

Where are you going?

[Carla B]

Thanks. I'll have to rethink, cold vs. hordes.

[westcoast]

We are leaving from Fort Lauderdale to Ponta Delgada Portugal, Cork Ireland
Paris,Brussels, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

Got a very good flight back from Copenhagen $900 first class, Norwegian air.
Thank you for all your comments.

[2newyorkers]

I suggest you join the roll call on cruisecritic.com. A member of your cruise has probably arranged roll call parties, slot pulls, cabin crawl, tours, etc. It is a fun way to meet others on your cruise. I can almost guarantee there will be others from TV on the cruise with you.

[tomwed]

That's great advice. We only rented for a little while here before our cruise. I enjoyed getting up early and eating with a big table of strangers for breakfast and later being waited on for lunch [no buffets]. I met Villagers and talked to friends and relatives of villagers.

BTW, that sound like a great cruise. What cruise line?

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by westcoast

We are leaving from Fort Lauderdale to Ponta Delgada Portugal, Cork Ireland, Paris,Brussels, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

Should be smooth sailing to Portugal, but be ready for the Bay of Biscay. We take ginger with us, and pop an anti-seasickness tablet before getting up if rough seas are forecast for that day.

Have a great trip. We are doing Eurodam from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona late March.

[Ragman]

Originally Posted by westcoast

We are leaving from Fort Lauderdale to Ponta Delgada Portugal, Cork Ireland
Paris,Brussels, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

Got a very good flight back from Copenhagen $900 first class, Norwegian air.
Thank you for all your comments.

We are doing the same cruise with another couple from The Villages.

Second the motion on cruise critic roll call; good source of individual tours and on board fun. I think there are about 170 people signed up already.

First few days will be really warm and then much cooler as you leave the gulf stream. Good idea to layer your clothes. Princess also has on board self service laundries which are great (unless you are across the passageway from one).

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by Ragman

... on board self service laundries which are great.

Yes, best thing ever - means you can pack light.

Shame a lot of the cruise lines are dropping them as the ships get bigger.

[tomwed]

I've read about this packing strategy which seems especially helpful on a repositioning cruise. You pack old clothes. The ones you were going to get rid of and throw them out once you get there. You can pick up a suit jacket for what it costs to dry clean one on boars. I packed 3 sets of nylon clothes [not pants] that could be hand washed. Two sets were always drying in the bathroom. I washed clothes too but you have to do it at strange hours or get on line. We had an an 18 day cruise.

[Bavarian]

We are taking a Repo on MS Oosterdam leaving 21 March. Stopping in Funchal and a few stops in Spain, getting off in Rome. Will tour Rome for about five days before boarding MS Konigsdam for her first two cruises (Got a big discount for first cruise, but, The ship's crew will be breaking themselves in) can't see any problem with HAL crew. then drive around Italy and fly back from Rome on FFPoints. Wish we could sail back, no luggage worries. Not sure how we will like these new big ships, we will see.

We are Five Star so once we hit 4 star, free laundry. On World Cruise, we used the Laundromat, don't do it, sign up for laundry service if offered and work to your 4*. Now get not only half-price in Pinnacle Grill, but two free dinners, also free dry cleaning, good for Tux.

[dotti105]

We did a repositioning cruise in 2013 from Honolulu to Sydney.

Carnival was moving the ship to Australia as it's new permanent port. The cruise itself was 17 days. We flew to Honolulu and stayed 3 days in Waikiki to do all the Hi. tourist stuff. All our prior trips to Hi. were to Kauai or Maui and we avoided Waikiki. So this trip we did all the tourist stuff and loved it.

Once on board it was 12 days to Fiji. We stopped in Moorea, Bora Bora, Tahiti and.... I am forgetting one. 5 South Pacific Islands altogether before arriving on day 17 into Sydney.

We flew up to Port Douglas and spent a few days on the Great Barrier Reef, then flew back to Sydney to explore the city for a few days before flying out.

It was a fabulous trip!

The 1 way air fare from Sydney to Salt Lake City was a bit $$ painful, but we were able to trade in some FF miles and get first class flat bed sleeper seats. So much better for a 17 hr flight!!

The cruise ended up being the cheapest part of the trip. I bought "Early Saver" tickets through Carnival directly and with each price drop we received more on board credit.

When the final payment date came, there were lots of people who, for one reason or another, did not make their final payment and cancelled out. When that happened we were offered a corner balcony cabin with 40 ft of balcony and a walk in closet, jetted tub, separate living room. It was over the top! We jumped on that and had enough on board credit to cash it out and pay for all of our expenses in ports and in Australia.

You have to watch for the price drops and call to request the credits. But we ended up with the trip of a lifetime for a very very reasonable cost.

Makes me want to go again!!!!