AliceS

Thank you so much, Daisi!   It looks like a village under a Christmas tree.   Looking forward to it.

On 5/21/2023 at 4:08 PM, Daisi said:

 

 

I would highly recommend the Colmar and Alsace trips. If you go to the same town we did in 2018 for the Alsace trip, it's a beautiful town like Colman.

 

Of course, if you like biking, the tours in the countryside should be great as well. We didn't have the option for the Basel trip, so can't fill you in on that.

Daisi,

I just signed up for the Alsace Tour.   It looks so nice and my family origins are there.   So happy that you said that it’s worthwhile.

On 6/24/2023 at 8:45 AM, moonriver54 said:

We're on the 30 September departure from Basel.

Me, too.  I’m with a couple from Canada, a couple from Florida and a friend from my town…near Pittsburgh.  We’re all doing Avalon’s add on to Como and Lucerne.

look forward to meeting you.

23 hours ago, moonriver54 said:

The ship's crew literally RAN ashore to grab our bags as we arrived at the Avalon Envision to depart on our "Danube Dreams" 8-day trip from Vilshofen to Budapest last month.  We arrived about lunch time...and we were invited to dine in the Panorama Lounge while awaiting our two rooms (two couples traveling together).  We didn't even wait an hour before the front desk staff had us checked-in and comfortably settled in our rooms.  We were VERY impressed with the amount of luggage storage space under both sides of the bed which would easily accommodate a couple of LARGE bags.

 

Something I really appreciated during our recent cruise was the ship's spacious 24/7 Club Lounge located astern on the Royal Deck.  I'm an early riser and enjoyed getting up and having a quiet cup of (EXCELLENT) fresh coffee while catching up on the news using the ship's FAST WiFi and my iPad, taking advantage of the spectacular early morning view.  I've attached a few photos of the Club Lounge below.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  Avalon Waterways is a CLASS ACT!!  They were just excellent from start to finish!!  We can hardly wait for our Rhine River cruise from Basel to Amsterdam aboard the Avalon Vista in late September!!

Looks awesome…..we must be on the same cruise?   We come to Basel from Lucerne.

Coffee first thing in the am is a must.   No caffeine makes a girl mean.    

We are on an extended stay in Lake Como, a night in Lucern, then the river cruise Basel to Amsterdam and a transatlantic from Amsterdam to FLL on Holland.   The main reason for the carry on is ease of movement with the wheels and knowing that I have essentials in the event that a checked bag is lost.   There will be travel by train as part of the Avalon package.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

Please tell me about the luggage restrictions on Avalon.   I usually take a checked bag and a carry on.   I like a few outfits, medication, etc in a carry on in the event that my checked bag is lost.   My carry on is the normal type with wheels.   What has your experience been with Avalon?

On 5/7/2023 at 12:07 AM, charliedalrymple said:

We are seasoned cruisers but have never sailed on HAL.  Our preferred line is Princess, and we really enjoy the broad range of activities offered onboard, particularly in the evenings.  We've heard that HAL has a limited activity schedule compared with other lines and that things tend to die down fairly early in the evening.  We are quite interested in some upcoming HAL itineraries (especially Antarctica) but are concerned that we might find it a bit "dull."  Can anyone comment on that?

I was on KONINGSDAM recently for 35 days and was very busy.   You may not enjoy my interests?   I played pickelball and bridge.   There were bridge lessons for beginners and intermediates and a duplicate game every afternoon on sea days.   I missed all lectures because they were at the same time.   The music was outstanding, but the shows in the theater at night were OK.   Decent comedian, but totally lacking in production shows…. Like Princess.   I had a great time.   BB King was amazing.

I wanted for someone to change my mind and share positive impressions of the Infinite Veranda.

That’s it.   Nothing to do with where you live.   I love Celebrity and thought this might be just me.  I can give you many reasons why I don’t like this cabin design.   I want to hear why you love them.

What am I missing?  Have an upcoming cruise on Equinox and Silhouette…..in a REAL balcony.

No Eden or production shows that are amazing, no 4 venues for dinner, BUT,   I have a real balcony.   I will be very happy.   What am I missing?   

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

It could be.    But after finally reaching Zenith after literally 30+ years it is very difficult to sail elsewhere and miss all the nice benefits, not to mention the cost savings of the benefits.  I also really like the Celebrity vibe so to speak, although that seems to be changing very rapidly post-Covid.  Like her or not whatever LLP did to bring in younger crowds sure seems to be working, at least on the ships I've sailed since restart.  I don't like smaller ships like the luxury lines (if I could afford them) as I am prone to seasickness.  The only other options I would consider at this point are Princess or HAL (Royal only if sailing with younger family members).  But again, costs me a lot more when I consider drink packages, internet, laundry, etc..  But it may come to that.

Celebrity has weathered Covid the best…..just not into these cabins?   

2 hours ago, rmalbers said:

I've said it before on here: it won't make any difference for the new people that have never sailed in a cabin with a true balcony, they just won't know any different.  People that have had and like balconies are aging out, basically every day, so it's just a matter of time and there won't be any IV discussions.  It just another change with cruising, and changes with cruising have always happened over time.  Other cruise companies are doing it also, it's about cost savings.  

Aging out?   Wow!   No other line has Infinite Balconies!   No one.   Going on the Equinox with 3 generations in May….they will all know what a balcony looks and feels like.   This particular cabin design just isn’t for everyone and Celebrity has bet the farm on it.   That worries me because I think that Celebrity has weathered the Covid storm the best.   My post was for someone to tell me why they love the Infinite Balcony and you say that I might just be ‘aging out’?   

6 minutes ago, jules815 said:

We were originally booked in a IV room for the April 2024 transatlantic on Ascent. Since we'll be on the ship for almost 2 weeks with lots of sea days, I didn't want to take the risk of not liking this style of stateroom. There were a few SV's available for our sailing so I grabbed one on deck 11. Suites at this time are outrageous. We're actually really looking forward to the SV. Have read nothing but positive things about this location.

 

What’s a SV?

55 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Try a DPV. The DPV would be less than an IV. 

What’s a DPV

9 hours ago, davekathy said:

Also checkout Suites, Sunset Verandas and DPVs on the E class ships. Limited inventory for those but another option for a balcony. 

I hear you, but the cost is so much more.   I love the theatre on the E Class….fantastic.   The cabin storage and decor are beautiful….I just like to be outside on a balcony, not just open the window.   I’ll just take an ocean view, or sail on Solstice Class.   

I am so underwhelmed by this design, I will try not to ever settle for one again.   I will go to an ocean view, or upgrade…..no more infinite balcony.   I was solo…double cost.   The window made so much noise up and down… grrrrrrrrr, grrrrrrrrr……why?   I don’t get it.    It’s an ocean view cabin with a window that opens.

Forget it!

I will be following this thread because I am doing Basel to Amsterdam in September.   It’s wonderful to read your comments, notamermaid.   Thank you.

Just now, Florida_gal_50 said:

It's no more a fish bowl than the mdr.  I don't enjoy being stared at and I've never noticed that. The only people that might stare are the ones that didn't get brought up right and think to stare is polite.

Yikes…..Honestly, I didn’t stare.   It just didn’t appeal to me….to each his own.   Enjoy what you love.   I really was brought semi right?   
 

12 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Newer ships have an exclusive dining area, on older ships you get "priority seating." They say Club Orange has an "expanded menu", but it's really just one added item. Supposedly priority check-in and disembarkation, priority line at guest services, etc. As discussed here, a stateroom upgrade. Perhaps another one of the most noticeable is that on a very crowded ship you get the separate dining with no wait (or little wait).

Just thought that they might look like they’re in a fishbowl?   If you love it….go for it.

Please explain Club Orange.   Thanks

On 4/18/2023 at 2:19 AM, cruisemom42 said:

I really dislike HAL’s practice of bringing you wine ordered by the glass in a pre-poured flask. I know there have been times on this cruise (Westerdam) where I’ve ordered the very drinkable NZ Sauvignon blanc included in the HIA and they have substituted something else. But how does one protest without seeming ugly? Pouring from the bottle eliminates all such questions.

 

Elimination of the Wine Steward created this issue.   KONINGSDAM ran out of different Chardonnay recently…..I’d find my favorite at one bar and not another.   The dining room would pour what they had…..if you didn’t know the difference???   

Sent the email and had a reply very quickly!

I don’t have a fax….used snail mail, so I appreciate email.   Remember to bring a copy of your confirmation, I’ve had times when the credit was not on my onboard statement….no proof, no credit.

On 4/2/2023 at 6:57 PM, AE_Collector said:

We just did something we have never done before, cancelled a cruise. We have booked and completed 43 Princess cruises totalling 444 days. But, there is a first for everything. We have always been more than satisfied with our time onboard Princess but the combination of steady reduction of Elite Perks along with a bunch of other problems all related to booking with Princess has made us realize after 10 years of exclusive loyalty that we made a mistake. So, we’re starting over looking around elsewhere. No one or two or even three of these complaints are worth this drastic action but I didn’t bore you with all the rest of the apparently unresolvable problems and three attempts to discuss with Customer Relations has led to no attempted contact from them. We are more than disappointed.

I totally agree with your post.   My take is that Princess made it so easy to become elite with saying 15 cruises….counting very short trips…..created a problem for them.   They have to feed the beast that they created.   All I saw when cruising Princess were perks disappearing.   The onboard credit was a big loss for me.  $100 no more?   I have been cruising Celebrity and Holland and they have another higher loyalty level.   Princess needs to do that to get me back.   Not saying never, but no way with the same faithfulness.   

4 hours ago, canadarocks said:

Just spent a month on the Rotterdam... Deck 4 aft has lovely big balconies! 😊

Where are the life boats?   

On 4/11/2023 at 12:22 PM, travelholics said:

We were on Koningsdam for 5 weeks to French Polynesia in Feb and March and we were delighted with the food. Our waiter brought us a plate of vegetables for the 4 of us to  share each evening and the bread was delicious. Portion sizes were perfect, we always left supper feeling just nicely full. The Indian menu was also excellent and we interspersed with normal menu. Waiters did a good job on recommendations of what was tasty and fresh. Lido excellent choices and .again, special requests for types of fruit were honored, if at all possible. Nothing was too much trouble for any of the staff and we thought it our best cruise to date

 

I was on this cruise, too.   The food was terrific, but the waiters are being asked to do too much.

without the wine stewards, the wait staff has to do the wine, get bar drinks and serve the food.

That makes a difference.   Lido is very good.   The music was super good.   No production shows.

Embarkation was the worst EVER!

On 2/25/2023 at 2:48 PM, sunviking90 said:

We took Uber to Pearl Harbor in January and it was $22 usd including tip, so that is a good option if you’re comfortable using Uber. We were planning to take the bus back, but it was supposed to take almost an hour, so we ubered back too.

My Uber last month from Pearl Harbor to the ship was in the range of $20, too.