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CanAmBrit

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About Me

  • Location
    Canada/USA
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Seabourn, Celebrity, Holland America
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Antarctica

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  1. No jackets were provided on this Quest cruise last year.
  2. I agree with jjs217. There was much more to do in Santarem. We enjoyed a tricolo ride and Boi Bumba show there. Alter do Chao was a waste of time for us, little sightseeing, shopping or scenery. Hope you get to call at Devil’s Island. The prison ruins are interesting, the scenery is beautiful and animal life (especially the monkeys) is great!
  3. MJfromCA, where and when to sign up for bridge tours is usually announced in the Herald.
  4. There was a bridge tour and galley lunch earlier this week on the Quest. Kurt, the HD, says that there will be more galley tours for those who wish it.
  5. To reply to lincslady’s question, it is possible to find tours into the desert. We did a Seabourn tour into the Atacama desert yersterday from Antofagasta. Banquadamo is about 75 minutes from the city through the desert. There were two buses making the trip. Unfortunately, we were in the bus with a wonky microphone and a guide who spoke little English! Apart from “See a train on the left” and “A copper mine on the right” we did not learn much about the area. The other bus did not have the same problems. Passengers report that their guide was excellent. After a walk around the rather misnamed ‘train museum’ (it appeared to me more of a dead train cemetery) we were bussed another 30 minutes to Chacabuco where the English speaking guide combined both groups for an interesting walk through the long abandoned town. An hour and a half silent bus trip retraced the way back to Antofagasta. Most Seabourn tours offer water for those who would like it and often some other types of refreshments. On this 5 hour tour, however, where it was extremely hot, with a blazing sun and no shade, there was nothing available anywhere! Later we were told that maybe we could have bought some in Banquadamo but the guide was not sure. Fortunately, we had taken our own water but many passengers had not. We did report our disappointment to the Destinations desk this morning and I am sure that they will do their best to correct these deficiencies. ‘
  6. We were ashore the previous evening in the colonial centre of Lima having dinner at the beautiful Casa Aliaga ( the oldest still inhabited home in Lima). It was a Seabourn excursion and as we walked about 6 blocks from the bus there was no sign of upheaval or demonstrations in the old streets or close by any of the public buildings. There was a heavy police presence and we felt quite safe with, what appeared to be, many happy families enjoying the evening. Unlike the groups on excursions earlier in the afternoon where road blocks and demonstrators were the order of the day in the centre of Lima. We are still here with the port of Callao in lockdown and do not appear to be going anywhere soon. No sign of ‘heavy swells’ and awaiting the Captain’s noon update soon. Just attended an interesting lecture on what makes a failed state…. Peru?
  7. We are on the 79 day Quest Grand Cruise and we were also tested yesterday. Before dinner last night the Captain announced the good news that we could throw away the masks. We all did so with great relief, however, I suppose we are only good until our first port of call on Wednesday. One wit at dinner last night suggested that 389 of the 390 passengers tested negative and the one positive passenger was thrown overboard before the captain made his announcement! Jan, the CD, alerted us to the Sojourn as she passed us on the port side when leaving Miami, so we were the ones waving and shouting as you sailed by on Friday, shark b8.
  8. We had a very unsettling experience after cruising on the Sojourn in August that has only recently been resolved. The day after returning home my husband found an unexplained $161:00 Visa charge to our ship board account. After calling Guest Relations to find out about it, he was told that it would take at least 2 to 3 weeks to get the details. One month later we were told that it was for 6 large Molton Brown bottles of toiletries, 5 bottles of body wash each a different fragrance and 1bottle of moisturizer. We had noted the 4 (not 6) large refillable bottles, 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, 1 body wash and 1 moisturizer of Molton Brown toiletries in our suite bathroom, along with a note that said we may purchase said toiletries from the store in Seabourn Square but if we wished to take home the ones in the suite the cost would be added to our bill. Well, we did not want to purchase any of the products nor did we remove any of said items from the suite but we had been charged for them. (Why anyone would want to transport 6 large bottles of anything in a suitcase by air across the Atlantic is beyond me!) I wrote a polite letter to Guest relations disputing this charge and asking for a quick reversal of the Visa charge. It took another 3 weeks for an apology to be issued. We were told that it had been an accounting error. My husband attributes it to the suite attendants because there was no tip but I think someone on Seabourn is selling Molton Brown products on eBay! The whole episode has left a very sour taste in my mouth and many of my good feelings for Seabourn have been damaged. How can we, or anyone else, prevent this from happening again? Any suggestions are appreciated. Should we be leaving tips even though it clearly says “Tips are not required nor expected”? By the way, we finally got the money back last week.
  9. We took this excursion from the Soujourn in August. The blurb is, in essence, all true but the tour is no where near as grand as it sounds. The carriage ride into the woods is about 100 yards in a wagon pulled by 2 horses from the bus to the farmhouse. It held our party of about 25. The woods are a fairly small patch of trees but the truffle hunting itself was fun. All of us trailed after one non English speaking farmer and his dog. Our guide was there to translate and answer our questions and then we returned to the farmhouse, truffles in hand, for lunch. We did not observe anyone making the lunch as it was served in a separate facility holding two long tables. The food was simple but good and the wine flowed freely. The farmhouse and the outbuildings were very well kept, lovely plants, olive and fig trees as well as flowers made it very attractive. The gift shop was well stocked with truffle flavoured delicacies and lots of wines and fancy liqueurs which we samples freely! There was no “hard sell” The jars of truffle flavoured chicken pate that I took back to Canada as gifts were well received and enjoyed by the recipients. All in all it was a pleasant experience, but probably not worth the money that Seabourn charged. I believe that this same excursion can be purchased privately much cheaper but I have no details. Hope this helps!
  10. Last August we did receive the full 5 days FCC for the days we were quarantined despite NOT have Seabourn Sheild coverage. Your TA is wrong.
  11. We spent 5 days in quarantine on the Sojourn in August and were credited with 5 days each of future cruise credit commensurate with the amount we had paid for the cruise. This was communicated to us via a letter and a certificate of recovery on our first day of freedom!
  12. Nigerian shrimp at E&O plus Foie Gras anywhere!
  13. Thank you for some great laughs, Fletcher. My husband has travelled with a tiny stapler since cruise ships started this dreadful practice of having passengers print their own luggage labels!
  14. We hope to meet up with you on the Quest after Dover next year. Let us hope the Quest’s service difficulties are way in the past by that time.
  15. I do hope the Quest’s issues are resolved fairly soon because we are onboard for 79 days in January. We are also booked on the Quest’s Lisbon to Montreal trip next July and looking forward to meeting neighbours from Toronto unless the January cruise is a bust and we cancel!!
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