Mimiya11

We sail in November. Since we are limited to 1/2 day in port and one of our group has mobility issues, we booked with Adapted and Seniors Tour Portugal who we are also using in Lisbon to see Sintra. We are going to take the Sete Cidades area tour. Will report back upon our return

I agree. The DB offerings (IMHO) never tempted any of us

Sad to read as we are touring with Heidi in November and I had just last week sent her an email with a quick response. I know you mentioned a very long day but was it a good long day? 🙂

Thanks for the reminder as I completely forgot about this post since responses were slim. And thanks for sharing your review which I will read.

We were on the Viking Star in March. We found a Panama Canal cruise that fit our timing better than Celebrity and wanted to try a Viking Ocean. We loved the size of the ship, easy to find nice spaces (well except for early mornings on sea days), the customer service, and the cabin. The food did not blow us away but we did have a few excellent meals and decided to keep to the buffet as we loved eating outdoors, had all the same choices as in the main dining room (including made to order steaks) and an amazing FREE gelato bar. We did find the ship a bit sleepy and seemed an older demographic (we are in our late sixties but enjoy 70's/80's/90's rock music so hung out in the Explorer's Lounge a lot). Other venues were more music from the 40's, classical (which was nice) and not much else so it is snoozy at night. We are not jumping ship from Celebrity so fast (going on a TA in November) and did not enjoy our one and only HAL cruise. Friends going on Azamara next month for the second time which they love.

We were on back to back cruises in March. A week on the Celebrity Apex (loved the space, but seemed hectic) followed by two weeks on the Viking Star (loved the space but was a bit too quiet). This was our first Viking cruise and after being on a ship with almost 3000 passengers followed by one that had about 900, we had a range of mixed emotions. While we like to try various cruise lines, we do end up booking more on Celebrity than others That is slowly changing. Having said that, if you are expecting a suite experience with a butler you will be disappointed in that regard. Although, as others have said, not sure what real value a butler provides when we found our cabin steward on Viking to be fantastic. On Viking, sure they have one included excursion per port, not all are good and you still are going on a bus with potentially 40 people. Our best excursion on our recent Viking cruise (and any cruise) are small groups that I booked privately. Didi Viking blow us away? As others have said, our expectations were so high. Not really But....having said that we did like several things. - Our penthouse veranda was spacious and comfortable. Balcony was always damp for some reason, so we rarely used our balcony. Plus their selection of movie options in the cabin was incredible. - Lots of lovely spaces throughout the ship. - We loved eating outside, so ate most of our meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) at the buffet which was surprising to us in the end as we never have eaten dinner at the buffet on any ship. But the buffet with its daily sushi bar, cold seafood bar, both prepared and freshly prepared items all that were on that evening's dining room menu, incredible bread, desserts and FREE gelato (lol) let us eat what we wanted, casually and outside! Is the food fantastic? It ranged from excellent to just ok. They did an amazing job meeting my gluten free husband's dietary needs. Celebrity still has a lot to learn in this regard. - Explorer's lounge music and drinks - our go to place for a pre dinner drink and post dinner entertainment. Having said all this we are really looking forward to our Sky Suite on the Apex for a Transatlantic in the fall. And then maybe try another smaller ship like Azamara just for variety 🙂

We are deciding on two options for a private tour and hoping for some input from recent visitors. Sete Cidades - Pico do Carvao viewpoint - Lagoa do Santiago - Sete Cidade Village - Vista do Rei Viewpoint OR Lagoa do Forgo - Pico da Barrosa viewpoint - Lagoa do Fogo - Caldeira Velha - Ribeira Grande Village Know they are both beautiful but appreciate some help deciding. Thank you.

Bumping this thread as I researching this port for a TA in the fall. Still waiting for a response to an email I sent Green Visions inquiring about a tour with a person with mobility issues. Any other ideas appreciated.

Thank you for this information. We booked Heidi for a TA this fall. She was quick to respond and described a fun and full day.

We were on the Apex in March where there was no dedicated pickleball court. Pickleball was set up and overseen by Celebrity staff on the rooftop garden for a few hours on a couple of sea days. As there was always a line up of people wanting to just try it or play, it didn't seem that anyone actually played one full game to allow people to try.

On the Panama Canal cruise last month, there was a Bridge instructor and his wife lead creative writing sessions.

Enjoying your review. We were on the Apex last month in AQ suite and will be in a SS for a TA in November. So am also interested in your review of the Retreat deck, lounge and spaces. Loved the ship and all the various spaces. While we didn't try Fine Cut, we loved Eden and already booked it for November! Fine Cut looks like another must do. If you haven't tried yet, Eden Cafe is a great little spot for lunch when the Luminae is not open.

Just off two weeks on the Panama Canal (partial transit) cruise. We spent most of our days at sea, lounging and reading near the pool in the shade, daily afternoon walks on the walking track, shower, head to Explorers Lounge to listen to music, go to dinner, watch a movie in our cabin, repeat. In the end, we decided there were just too many sea days for us. Day activities offered included dance lessons, historian talks/lectures, bridge lessons, creative writing lessons, baggo, cards, scrabble, puzzles. None really appealed to us (but were well attended by others).

Good point. We have stayed in AQ before and while we love the ambiance of Blu, think we may be done with AQ because their menu needs work. Don’t see how they can call themselves healthy or clean eating yet serve varied deep fried unappetizing appetizers.

Oops and to answer your other question. Apex is a beautiful ship! It was packed with a very energetic group of passengers (a good thing) The shows were actually great, and some nice varied music venues to go to We ate lunch in the Eden Cafe a couple of times. Lovely small venue and quiet. The Eden restaurant was delish but pricey While we had the premium beverage package, it was disappointing to see that some drinks were even above our price point. Overall a fantastic week

Just off the Apex yesterday and we were AQ and in Blu. My friend was given the main dining room menus each night. No problem at all. The staff were fantastic. Ask for the sisters Fitri and Angelia. They were wonderful.

Thank you. We are going to Honduras before Panama. After your response, am just reading the fine print after the "strongly recommend" where it does make reference to visiting Panama first. Phew.......

Just bumping this thread up as I just got some additional documents and updates from Viking for our Panama Canal cruise on March 7th Now it says "We strongly recommend obtaining a vaccination for Yellow Fever" at least 10 days prior to enter Honduras. Guess we are not getting off the ship. Sigh.... All we were going to do is wander over to Mahogany Bay. Any recent cruisers have further insight?

YES DO it. Best meal we had while staying in Puerto Rico a few years ago. Actually one of our best meals outside of Puerto Rico too.

The IT system is crazy. Even when we booked in December and paid in full because of how close we were to sailing, we got a paid in full booking confirmation with invoice right away. Then a day or two later, got an email with a $400 balance owing! Umm no After calling Customer Service (the first time), the representative said all was good, then I got a new invoice sent to me that did not include all the perks! Each time I called Customer Service they sent me another copy of my booking. I kept the one that was correct, printed it out, just in case we board and something happens. But as far as you being in the Retreat, you get all the premium perks but I see why you want it shown on your invoice and boarding pass.

Current Promo has been going on for months now. We are boarding a cruise this weekend which we booked in December with the same promo of 75% off and OBC It said sale was only on for 24 hours. Well 2 months later..... The only thing is ...at the time of booking, it also included 3 perks (AI) and the price went up pretty quickly. Have not seen the A! included since.

Incredible. We will be boarding the Apex on Saturday as well. Not in a SS until the fall, but will keep a look out for the map dress. Cheers.

Our first trip to Hawaii was on the Norwegian's Pride of America. As a previous poster advised, it is a good choice as it starts and ends in Hawaii so not all those sea days. But....service and food were very average to poor. We focused more on the ports than the cruise itself, which was our goal. We have been back to Hawaii 4 times since that cruise (land) as recent as this past December. It was very expensive from meals to groceries to hotels so I would definitely do a cruise for your first time.

My husband has a wheat allergy, so is on a gluten free diet. There was always meals to choose. However, cross contamination is not an issue for him. As others have said, get the same waiter and they will let you choose your meal the night before. Just a heads up though, Celebrity's variety of breads is somewhat limited and others have posted that they even have brought some GF items on board (e.g. bagels, crackers, snacks). Not necessary of course but be prepared for toasted raisin bread being offered some nights. Eek.

I stand corrected. Not necessarily Carnival’s