hawkesbaynz

@LHT28 it seems I was lucky in comparison with @pinotlover 😄. Lucky I had the pancakes with maple syrup to fall back on. Enjoyed a Caesar Salad every lunch too. Cannot be held accountable for the booze though as we brought on wine at most stops having identified some decent brands on wine tours in Chile😊. The weather was great too. Anchored at Stanley and the the sail down to Antarctica @ Drakes passage was a breeze. Actually the best meal of the trip was at Bouza Winery in Montevideo. Did you visit there @pinotlover ?

We really enjoyed the excellent food that we had on the Sirena in November and Marina in February. DW would argue that there were limited options for her at Polo grill as she does not eat steak/lamb/chops but I could have eaten everything on the menu. Service was v.slow at the Red Ginger on Marina. Really enjoyed the Terrace Cafe particularly in good weather. However I cannot really understand the flame torched burnt breakfast bacon. Pure carbon. I wish they offered a Canadian Back Bacon style. Perhaps it is a cultural thing. However that was my only food complaint.

@Novastar we have booked our tours thru www.gowithguide.com & www.ToursbyLocals.com

@upwarduk beat me to it!

We went into Invergorden Sept 2020 on the Silhouette. Did a Celebrity tour to a fantastic castle in Nairn - Cawdor Castle. Enjoyable visit and lovely gardens. Imagine there are some super doors too!

Love the picture of the tatooe’d elderly chap standing by Our Cilla’s statue (#1979). Looked like he was wearing one of her wigs!

Passengers on Oceania, in our experience, were older particularly on the Florida sailing where the ship seemed to be a cheaper option than the old folks home. On a tendered port we were concerned that we would not be able to get off in an emergency wit h all the walkers and wheeelchairs.

Sail both. See no need to book Retreat on X at current rates so Aqua or MDR on X or Concierge on O. O is significantly more expensive. However for a bucket list rich itinerary I would book O. Most itineraries X. X better value and more like a resort with better entertainment and vibe. O is dull after dinner and we were in bed by 10. Prefer the pool on O. More relaxing and no DJ or clown of a CD. Food is great in the speciality restaurants, and buffet, on O but the MDR not outstanding. Always been happy on X. Recollect being bored on the smaller Sirena and watching a huge RC ships sail by and thinking that it would be fun to do a TA on.

Was enjoying pictures of the Aquarium until I saw the dolphin. Keeping dolphins in captivity is shocking. Am surprised it happens in Europe!

I would buy a box of teabags such as Yorkshire tea. All this ‘English Breakfast Tea’ malarkey is always a disappointment. As are the individually wrapped packets (I keep some in my work case if there is a shortage, but never the same). However the most important thing is the water - hot. And leave it for a minimum of a couple of minutes. Quality of the water is an issue too. Here in Southampton it is mediocre, good in Scotland but delicious in Ireland.

No in Britain we learnt about the Weimar Republic, King Charles l, and Norman Conquest. My mother taught me about The Irish Rebellion, Potatoe Famine etc. Countries choose the most comfortable and convenient syllabus. Oceania do an excellent Irish cruise too. Picqued my mother’s interest as it calls at Killybeggs where she was born in 1932.

She is being replaced by the Apex as the Southampton based ship in the Summer season.. Not bad in itself but the prices are astronomical. The Silhouette I believe is being based in Holland in the Summer and Caribbean in the Winter with shorter cruises.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/11/14/how-to-get-a-one-way-europcar-uk-rental-for-just-1-2/ Could you taxi to europecar at ?Southampton airport and pick up the car. I always give 1hr 45 mins to Gatwick. We always drive to Gatwick from Southampton where we live. My neighbour always get a taxi with https://www.vikingcars.co.uk/ I have used to get to the port.

Glad you had a good day from Southampton. DW sent a photo of the Apex as she went into town for an opticians appointment. Windsor was quite an adventurous day out from Southampton! Apparently 12% of people still use the ticket office. You can actually use the UBER app to book train tickets. Have just set up a link to my BA Avios account so I can earn points with it. Cruise Critic sent me an email yesterday with an article on What to do in Southampton. A few I was unaware. PS Love the photo. You have not changed😀

Great photos of Cobh and Spike Island! What are your plans for the Portland stop? We often have weekends in that area but usually walk the South West Coastal path on the Jurassic Coast. Also Dorchester is a much nicer town than Weymouth. Used to do a lot of diving out of Portland — strange place. I believe there are some decent walks though. Sure there will be some on the AllTrails walking App.

I believe it is an hour to Rome Fiumicino Airport by taxi so you would be cutting it very fine. Our last two cruises (not Civitavecchia) were very slow disembarking although you would no doubt be off first carrying your luggage. Rometolimo is a good transfer company btw

@mahdnc the itinerary change was for a ?3rd November Singapore to Hong Kong. Just a change with an increased time in the stop at Chan May/Hue and a later arrival at Halong Bay. Actually a bonus as we will now have time to arrange a tour for Hue. @Captain-John I usually manage to book the flights 355 days prior by booking immediately at midnight when GMT & 1am if BST. Always online and have even done when on a cruise mid-Caribbean. Managed Santiago/Buenos Aires/Singapore/Hong Kong within the last year and all booked by 00.05 or 01.05. However on Sunday although I provisionally snagged seats on the website they went by the time I paid. Last night I called USA at 00.45 and spoke to a chap in the Manchester office by 00.50. Gave him all the details and he booked two seats with our 2-4-1. 90,000 & £800. I will need to do the same for the return and ask the rep. to link to this flight. Have a look at the Head for Points forum. It is a pain but worth it when you turn left for an economy price! Unfortunately DW refuses to fly economy now so If I did not do this I would only sail ex-Southampton.

Just got an email from Celebrity. Thought 'here we go'. However it was an itinerary change for a Solstice SE Asia cruise in the Fall. Reps should really be 'singing from the same hymn sheet'.. If they sailed like they run back office they would sink their ships.

Am on the 9th April 2024 sailing too! As anyone who uses British Airways Avios will know you need to book Tokyo flights 355 days out. I have been up the last two nights to 1am attempting to book the outbound flight in Business Class. Have been knackered at work Monday & Tuesday so will be well peeved if I do not use the flights. We did not lift and shift. We were twice on earlier sailings but cancelled prior when things did not look rosy with Covid. Hope that does not count against us. I think I booked the first week it was out as have a SV cabin which go pretty quick. I have actually paid for the cruise as needed to hit an Amex target (thus the avios) and am retiring this year and want all my holidays paid for. Bit daft as saving accounts are available. I have later X cruises I could move a FCC to. Oddly I can still book Shore Excursions on the website. I have actually already organised small group tours through Tours by Locals (thanks @MiamiNice for the tips). I was on an Oceania cruise in November which was oversold. They were offering generous inducements for people to shift. I think if I had purely booked the cruise, without the numerous moves and now financial outlay, I would be relatively happy to shift if i was given decent inducement. However I am not for shifting.

That’s a shame for people as Chile a fabulous cruise destination. We sailed out of San Antonio on Oceania but visited Valparaiso on a day trip from Santiago -outstanding! Puerto Montt, Castro and the Chilean Fjords are great. We originally had a cruise on the Eclipse Valparaiso to Buenos Aires but cancelled when they changed the ship to Infinity and the length of the cruise to 12 nights. Eventually splashed out much more on 20 nights with Oceania and did the San Antonio to Buenos Aires with Antartica and Falklands. It was DWs bucket list and well worth the cost. Personally I would consider changing to another cruise line for this itinerary if X are reducing the stops. HAL and Princess do similar as do Oceania and ?NCL.

You have not read the Oceania forum! People book that line specifically for the food….. and it is good! Never for the entertainment😮. I hate the term ‘complementary’ or ‘free food’. We paid for it like we did for the cabin and the officers salary etc.

Been a couple of times to HK. Prefer Kowloon. Just booked the Eden Hotel for our post cruise stay in November. Spent hours on Tripadvisor and hotel websites. Not as cheap as before and harder to find a free refundable rate. You’ll love it. Imagine this will be moved to Ports of Call page.

I have only heard good things about Virgin Voyages. Admit that the TV series was off putting but.... Shame they have limited cruise itineraries. Last year VV offered 7 night balcony cruises for ?120,000 virgin points for a couple in the Med. We have 150,000 virgin points and cannot anticipate using them for the airline as planned. VA mainly flies to the USA and we have done a few holidays/cruise there in the last several years and no plans to return. If VV offer the same deal this year I have allocated a week in September/October. Effectively it will be a free cruise.🤞 We are early 60s and mainly sail X but last two on Oceania (snooze).

In the UK you will be fine without cash. I just use Apple Pay on my mobile and do not carry wallet or cash. Tip a barman for bar service in a UK pub …. no. Tip a waiter who delivers food to you in the pub …. yes.

It was actually Kelp Beach on the Falklands we went to. Originally Berthas but cancelled as the penguins have been unwell. Photo of Infinity in Antartica.