jcbdigger

Thanks for the info everybody, especially the hard information I was seeking. The relative merits on 'ambiance/friendliness' is an interesting discussion, but an area where opinion is going to be highly subjective.

Notwithstanding Beagle 5's comments about gratuities, it would still be interesting to hear from (I guess non Australian) Oceania cruisers about if the daily debited gratuities can be removed?

Our last few cruises have been on Seabourn (Quest and Sojourn) but we are toying with that idea of a cruise on the Marina mid 2020.  We are aware that Oceania is not fully inclusive and the differences that gives rise to, but we would really appreciate some additional information to help us make a decision.

Particular things we would like to know are;

1)      Cost of shore excursions – what kind of price points are these sold for (disregarding the optional O-life included ones)?

2)      Cost of wine/spirits/beer – The beverage packages look (to us) mighty expensive especially given that we are not big booze consumers, but how much roughly are individual drinks?

3)      Gratuities – Without wishing to open the perennial ‘should or shouldn’t gratuities be automatically added’ debate, we were taken aback at the daily amounts that will get added to the bill. On the suite grade and length cruise we are on we are looking at gratuities are going to add over USD$1000 to the on-board bill, which looks a bit over the top. Can you request that the daily gratuities fee be removed as you can on some other cruise lines, or are they totally obligatory?

Any more general comments contrasting the on-board experience of Oceania v Seabourn would also be welcomed.

Thanks in anticipation.

My recollection of the weather for our cruise last year was that it was warm and sunny most of the time. Although I think it was a little cooler in China,the first night it was pretty windy. The time in the Philippines was definitely warm during the day, high 20s.

Funny you should ask about the dock in HK. All our documentation from Seabourn said it was from Tai Tak but it got changed at the last minute. We didn't get a notification from Seabourn but luckily a few days before we left home I checked the port lists for HK online. And on the actual day from our hotel (the Island Shangri la) we could clearly see the Sojourn so would have worked it out then. However there were a lot of people who didn't and got understandably stressed and frustrated.

When we did depart from the pier at HK the Sojourn only got a few metres out when we had to return, a crew member had been taken ill and was evacuated.

We left HK in January and certainly there were lots of New Year Celebrations and displays which were fun to explore and enjoy.

We did this on the Sojourn last year, it was an enjoyable cruise, it ticked a few places off our list and some of the ports of call were interesting. I'd never been to China before. The 100 Islands were very pretty. Manilla is crazy - they don't seem to have road rules, just suggestions no one follows. In Manilla (where we were lucky enough to have a tour guide and driver courtesy of a friend) we visited Art in Island, a fascinating, fun 3D art gallery. At most of the Philippine POC you do get hassled quite a bit with people offering taxis etc, they're not unpleasant but it doesn't make it relaxing. Security can be an issue. What was nice at Manilla, where we stayed overnight, was to see so many crew members showing their family members around the ship. Our Cruise Director was Sophie so our time on board was fun with excellent entertainment.

So thanks to the nice people at Air New Zealand cancelling our flight home the day we arrive in BA, we now have two extra days to fill, so plan B is to go to Iguassu falls for two nights.

We will be disembarking from the Seabourn Quest which is scheduled to dock at 7am on Thursday the 20th of December. LATM have two flights to Iguassu from the nearby Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, one at 10.20am and one at 11.35am. Normally I would book the 11.35am but given the many reports about flight delays and cancellations I am wondering if I should try to go for the 10.20am so that we still have a fall back to the 11.35am if there is a problem. There are further flights but they are all much later in the day and would wreck our schedule.

Just to add to the fun, the last time we arrived into BA the cruise terminal was abject pandemonium and it took a while to find our pre-booked pick-up. LATM domestic check in appears to be one and a half hours before the flight. So if we cannot leave the ship until (being optimistic) 8am then making an 8.50am check in at AEP may be too tight. On the plus side though, Google says the journey time should be only about 18 minutes on a weekday morning, so on paper it may be feasible.

So that all boils down to two questions for those with any relevant experience or local knowledge;

1. Is a 10.20am flight way too optimistic to book for a departure from AEP?
   
2. Can anybody suggest an ultra reliable transfer provider?
   

Hi airtana We did several zodiac ventures in this area in 2018. Thorougly enjoyed them all. The Norse ruins in Greenland and the Prince Christian sound were highlights. yes they're pricey but being so close to the action (and icebergs) was wonderful.

+1 for West Quay Cars.

Used them for a transfer from Southampton, all booked and confirmed on-line using their Android app. Got to the pick up area and the app told me that the cab was on it's way, even tracks where the cab is before it arrives! Arrived 2 minutes early.

Good app, excellent service, highly recommended.

I wondered if the new Andrew Weil Wellness program is now available on the Quest. If it is I'd be interested to hear any comments/reviews on it. I'm particularly interested in the yoga and meditation classes. We'll be on the Quest in August. Thanks.

Thanks for the comments and feedback everybody, it's been informative and fun reading them. I can see that my opening comment did convey a negative view of the Cunard table arrangements, but I think that was more surprise as I had assumed (clearly incorrectly) that going up to Queens Grill would somehow give more flexibility.

But hey, it would be a very dull world to go cruising in if every cruise line did everything exactly the same way!

So, undeterred, I think a request to join for a table of 6 will be the go.

Thanks again.

We are Cunard 'newbies' considering our first booking on the Queen Victoria.

Most of our cruising to date has been with Seabourn, and we really like their open dining model where you can choose not just when to dine and if you just want to have a table for two or if you feel like being sociable and joining a shared table that evening. It's a great way to meet a range of people on board.

As far as I can tell with Cunard in the Queens Grill you can pick what time you want to dine but your table, and therefore your dining companions, are pre-selected for you for the duration of the cruise. If that is the case, then my question is how hard and fast is the fixed table allocation thing in the Queens Grill? Is there any flexibility on where you can sit each evening, or is it all a very fixed regime of dining table allocation?

Thanks in anticipation.

We will be joining a cruise in Bridgetown in early January and we are looking to book a c.4 hour private tour of Bridgetown and surrounds and then drop at the cruise terminal. Then a week later a full day tour dropping off back at the airport.

Can anybody recommend a quality and reliable local operator who we could book these with? I have been in email correspondence with one operator (St.James Group) for several weeks but it's been like wading through treacle to get timely responses or prices out of them. Prefer not to wing it with taxis.

Any suggestions/recommendations gratefully received.

Thanks Don

Yes, backup is mega important. I am going to invest in some extra SD cards plus I will have my laptop with me and an external hard drive. I doubt backing up to the cloud will be practical on the slow links you tend to get on board cruise ships, but hopefully two levels of local backup will keep things safe!

Thanks for the input everybody.

So I head for the camera store with my son to advise me, he's a professional Cinematographer, and of course I wind up buying totally not what I had planned!

So how I have a new Canon EOS 700D DLSR married to the new Tamron 16-300 zoom lens. Which my son says is a 'proper camera and lens'! Amazingly after a bit of shopping around the cost was not that much more than the Lumix bridge camera I was considering.

Still learning to use it and buying all the accessories needed for the big trip, will definitely be going to the scheduled digital photography lectures on board!

Thanks again for the input folks, much appreciated.

Not sure if I should post this question here or the Holland America Line forum! But I think here is maybe the best place to ask first.

We are sailing with Seabourn for the first time later this year. For our next cruise though there is a Holland America sailing in 2015 that suits us timing and itinerary wise.

I am guessing that Seabourn will be offering on board booking incentives for further Seabourn bookings, but given they are all part of Carnival, does anybody know if they extend similar offers/discounts to Seabourn guests for Holland America Line bookings?

Hello cruise and photo fanatics, hopefully I am in the right place to find help with this one. We are doing Antarctica this coming season with Seabourn, so I am looking at getting a nice new camera ahead of time so I can practice and get familiar with it prior to the trip.

For previous cruises (in much warmer climates) we have in the past used a trusty little Canon IXUS 130 for stills. For video I have a Panasonic HX-WA30 which is one of those ‘gun grip’ style video cameras that is also waterproof which makes it fantastic for snorkeling – not that we are planning on doing any snorkeling in Antarctica of course!

Plan is to take these but given the nature of the trip I think the time has come to also invest in a more serious camera. Main requirement will be to have really good optical zoom capability, but on the other hand I want to get as close as I can to a ‘point and shoot’ camera that can still deliver really good quality pictures. I don’t want to spend ages messing about with lenses, so I am leaning towards a fully integrated camera as opposed to a DSLR, but I still want a lens that has as much flexibility as possible. I am no camera buff and have long since forgotten all about f stops and that, but I want a good camera that you don’t need a degree in photo optics to use!

After a little on-line research I have identified a new model coming out from Panasonic, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000, which appears (on paper) to offer the kind of combination of features I am looking for. It isn't cheap though and it’s maybe larger than I was originally thinking, but I guess you need to go a bit larger to get a lens that can do everything! There is a good review of it at www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-fz1000

So my question to the assembled experts here is, does this look like an OK bit of kit to meet the demands of an Antarctic trip? Are there any other cameras I should be considering?

Would especially love to hear from others who have done Antarctica (with Zodiac landings) and faced the challenges and delights of photography in that environment, but all input and suggestions gratefully received.