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Clay, We were segment travelers on the 2019 World Cruise. We sailed Sydney, Australia to Durban, South Africa. If your cruise itinerary should have to change, the ports of Mauritius, Madagascar, Mozambique and our finish in Durban were fantastic! FortDauphin, Madagascar was eye opening, the visit to the Botanical Garden there really opened my eyes to colonialism. Just the kind of ports a World Traveler should see! Enjoy the voyage😎😎😎

I did two different day tours with Tim Brown Tours prior to pandemic. Each was wonderful, very professional, well paced, and knowledgeable driver/guide. You’ll have a fantastic time!

Hi Clay, I feel as if I know you through all your posts! We each travel to learn things, and for me, HCMC and the Mekong Delta were living history. I vividly experienced it on the nightly news, with protests and bombings frequently reported by the media. I wanted the best experience I could find, and Xuan’s ratings were exceptional! It was important to me to have a guide with strong English command, with small group excursions a must. We toured with him two days, as a group of 7 people, picked up promptly at 8am and returned to the ship about 5 pm as I recall. It worked out to $90 per person, per day. Vikings port location was about 40-50 minutes outside the city, making MekongDelta about 2 hours to Ben Tre. It was a personal, professional tour. Additionally, I toured with Xuan on Friday evening, a night club and dinner. We walked the French Quarter, and experienced the Capitalistic approach to life for the young Vietnamese…..eye opening, when I think of our young men who fought and died there. I’m certain your experience will be just as thrilling, no matter with whom you tour. When I think of fantastic tours I have taken on cruises, a Guide on the Amalfi Coast, a young professional in Barcelona, an experienced driver in the south of France, a brilliant communicator in Madagascar, all exceptional, like these, Xuan stands out! I’m sorry you won’t have him as your guide. Whatever you decide Clay will be the right one for you! Happy traveling!

Hi Bill, It never crossed our minds to stay in HCMC. We were 45 minutes to an hour from downtown, but we had a fantastic group of 7, strangers when we loaded the van, but really enjoyed each other’s company and melded well over the three days. The excitement of watching the crazy scooters and then another time seeing the stillness of early morning in such a large, metropolitan area were memories we won’t soon forget. If you opt to stay in HCMC, Xuan will be happy to accommodate, I’m sure. I believe, based on what he told us, that he lives closer towards the Mekong Delta. We were further out, on the east side ofHCMC. He would also most likely recommend a hotel…..there are many. To go deep into the brush, jungle really, of the Mekong Delta was very enlightening. Bill, I’m of a certain age that I remember evening news casts from Saigon, Agent Orange defoliant in the Mekong Delta, and all around nightly reports of young, US GIs. Not looking to debate here, but that excursion was living history….in addition to our van, we used 4 additional modes of transportation that day, were entertained by singers, had a home cooked meal and could buy a few trinkets. A fantastic day for us. Whatever you do, enjoy it!

Outstanding! The highlight of our SouthEast Asia cruise! A gentleman, easy to work with and Xuan accommodated all our requests! Xuan is informed, enthusiastic, entertaining and a credit to his city and profession. Our four days in HCMC were filled with excitement and adventure…..from the cool Chill Sky Bar and dinner on Friday evening, to a once in a lifetime adventure through the Mekong Delta all day Saturday, followed Sunday by the ultimate HCMC tour/adventure to markets, a trishaw escapade, delicious lunch, Bitexco SkyDeck, Rex Hotel beverage break, lunch, etc…a memorable, fantastic experience! BOOK HIM! You won’t regret it!

While I think each of us needs to determine our own appetite for inconvenience, or worse, I’d like to give a brief example of why I prefer my cruise line to book air….we took a Mediterranean cruise October, 2018, on a different cruise line. The sea was quite rough, and we missed a port. The captain brought us to a more sheltered port slightly further North in Italy. As I recall, they allowed the shore excursion to Florence to go from the new port, and as the weather deteriorated, we remained in place, the ship broke free, the gangway pulled from dock…..a mess. We needed to wait for the Florence excursion to return, which they did. As this was the last night of the cruise, luggage was in the hall and people turned in early due to flights to US the following day. About 10 pm the captain announces it is still too rough to proceed to Civitavecchia and all those wanting to take a bus report to Guest services! Yes, that right, if you stay with the ship, you’ll most likely miss your flights!!! Lots of commotion, lots of buses to take you in a rainstorm over winding curves and cliffs, single lane roads to pull an all-nighter to the Rome airport. As someone with air included, we stayed with ship, were rescheduled and provided a hotel room when we disembarked….. It’s cruise line air for me!

Hey Dcsam! Please look at the train!!!! It goes from downtown Anchorage, there are a few hotels within walking distance, to Seward. The down side is it leaves at 6:45am! It’s once a day. Consider purchasing tickets for the glass domed car, the views are spectacular. But, book early for best seats. When I went, the trains were not running due to border closers (Covid) but check the Alaska boards. I was on Princess, and they did buses from Vancouver to Seattle. I hope to go again soon. I thought the Seward area was spectacular !!

Hoping a cruiser with experience can help me. We will be on Viking Orion in March 2023 and have 3 full days in Ho Chi Minh. That’s Saturday 8am until Monday 6pm. Am I wrong if I think we will be right in the city to dock??? I’m thinking how itineraries usually list two cities if we dock away from the prime location, for instance another cruise says Seville(Cadiz) Spain, meaning docking in Cadiz and a distance to Seville. How should I plan our time? Will Viking offer excursions each day? Will the included tour be offered each day? I appreciate any insight you can offer. I enjoy all your posts! Thank you.

Honestly, I’d wait until next week and call….holiday weekend staff may not know the proper procedure. This doesn’t sound like the AQV that we know. good luck.

I was on the Countess, sailing August 16. When we took a tour of the pilots room, I saw a whiteboard noting 163 passengers, 85 crew. Capacity is 245.

The Port of Havana location allowed us the opportunity to visit President Abraham Lincoln sites. AQV did an excellent job planning a full day focusing on him. It made me realize how pivotal his personal life was in what he brought to his only elected office. This itinerary caused us to add a few days and travel to Eisenhower Presidential Library and today it’s Harry Truman Library. Our stop to Hannibal was cancelled due to low and crowded river conditions. As a result, we spent two days in Grafton…..not sure I’d want to do that again. Happy traveling!

As cruise starved travelers, we opted to book an AQV cruise last December, after Hawaii cruises booked on Princess, HAL and Viking were each cancelled. I was very discouraged and thought about US mainland cruising. The American Countess fit the bill. Quickly booked, with minimum research, we sailed last week, Chicago to Alton/StLouis Missouri. We expanded our trip by doing on our own inChicago for two nights and also added 4 nights on our own post cruise… But, you’ll want to hear about Countess. Chicago hotel was adjacent to Grant Park, a short walk to Institute of Art, and other downtown activities. Check in was easy, bus ride, although long due to traffic, was uneventful. The boat was ready when the group arrived and many staff were out to greet us. While the boat is small, 3 decks plus an open rooftop deck, they pack a lot of excitement into the space. The bar/lounge area seemed spacious with high ceiling and 3 crystal chandeliers. A comfortable Theatre held superior entertainment of vocalists and quartet band. The band also performed most evenings in the lounge. The dining room was beautifully appointed. There is still something about linen tablecloths and napkins, assigned seating, two sitting dining…..and the food was exceptional. My steaks and filets were all prime, and honestly, better than my dinner at Morton’s Chicago! A friendly staff aimed to please. High marks all around . Our inside cabin was compact, small really, although the bathroom rivals Viking Ocean in efficiency Lots of counter space and a really great glass enclosed shower! A very outgoing cabin attendant was always eager to please. The included excursions were a surprise! Well run, and covering the basics of the area, we learned a lot about Midwestern life. Additionally our fellow travelers taught us about other parts of the country! So glad we chose the Countess and hope to sail with AQV in the future!

Good evening! Just packing up from our week on Countess and discovered there is ironing board and iron in the closet! You should be all set. Never heard of any mention of laundry, sorry. Food, service, tours, and entertainment were all fantastic!!!! You’ll have a wonderful trip!

Wanted to update regarding my Princess OBC refund. I received it earlier this week by check for the amount I calculated, which is great. Today by email, I also received my folio printout as requested. It looks totally different from the medallion app recording, but it all added up. Hope everyone is as fortunate as I was ….

Perhaps it is a Royal Princess problem, but 4 couples traveling together in Alaska cruising June 18-25 of this year. We each received $700 on board credit from our travel agent. Additionally, due to landtour itinerary change, Princess gave $200 per cabin non refundable credit. As we had a beverage package, Internet, tips and a specialty dining night, and had of course pre booked our excursions in Alaska to guarantee we got what we wanted, each couple had in excess of $600 credit remaining. While we did take screen shots, we have been unable to get statements or credit card reimbursement, a check, or any kind of refundable credit. Since we individually were unsuccessful in making any headway with Princess, at Customer Service’s recommendation, we have contacted our travel agent. I'm beginning to think Small Claims Court may be in my future. Honestly, this isn’t hard……the bookkeeping must be a mess if they did this to everyone on the ship, It’s hard to believe that 4 cabins traveling together is an isolated incident.