MamaFej

13 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

But you don’t get Power Up points on the river cruises ……

That is very true.

However, if I limited myself to Celebrity, I'd miss out on all the wonderful places I've been and will go where X won't/cant bring me. If I limited myself to river cruises, I'd miss out on the wonderful places X can and will bring me. 

There are many types of travel I enjoy. Cruising with X is one of them. I've done that for 60 days this year. Right now, I'm eager to jump into the motorhome. 

Another vote for The Coffee Shack.

PapaFej's aunt and uncle live in Kailua-Kona, and they go to The Coffee Shack at least once a week. We always end up there when we visit them. Good stuff! 

Oh, funny! As I was about to post, my son walked in the room, wearing a T-shirt from... The Coffee Shack. 😂

3 hours ago, pghflyer said:

Just saying thanks for this thread and the contributors. We have never cruised Viking and recently started getting snail mail flyers but usually end up throwing them away... only to find (ha ha) a few days later we want to price something out and don't remember the code. This thread is very helpful for that - cheers!

Of you're starting to get Viking mail, you'll be sure to get more.

And more.

And more.

14 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

 

If you like the locks you have to try the Douro River. The locks are far more interesting there (including the tallest single lift locks in Europe at around 35m each) than the Panama Canal. And you don't have to compete with 2,000 people on the ship to see it all...

Another cool thing about the Duomo is that you go through each lock twice, and they are quite different from one another, giving you the opportunity to experience different locks from different views. 

I'll do the Panama Canal for the first time later this year, on a smallish (<700 pax) ship with lots of forward viewing. We have an aft cabin with a good-sized balcony. I'm looking forward to viewing locks from each vantage point. 

Thanks for the pictures @mahdnc. You're piquing my anticipation! 

Thank you, @Werangels. That information is very helpful.

On 4/23/2024 at 1:18 PM, Werangels said:

If you can I would do more.  Just to give some context - we did the sunset cruise on our first evening.  We walked the falls the following day.  We did the helicopter over the falls and the steam train dinner on the bridge.  We also did two night game drives which were fabulous as well as shopping (lots of local craft shops) and pool/relaxation time.  Seeing the falls from every perspective allows you to see the enormity of it.  
 

I will be honest, the cruise was the most disappointing part of the holiday.  We were there for a month.  

What was so disappointing about the cruise, please? We have one booked as part of a two month  trip. I'm okay with the cruise paling in comparison to the land portions of the trip, but I am concerned about it being a disappointment, 

Thanks. 

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Perfect way to travel.   Save the Caribbean for when you are old and want to stay closer to home.  

 

I'll be honest .... Africa is on my Bucket List --- I know it sounds lame but I want to go on a Safari.   Ugh... you can imagine me getting Iain out of bed for a trek across the Serengeti at sunrise.   OK.... maybe i leave him in bed to be eaten by a Lion.

We'll actually finally get there later this year. 

We'll cruise across from San Juan, Puerto Rico, then up the Amazon River to Manaus, Brazil. Then we will fly to Panama City and board another ship. We'll sail through the Panama Canal, and back across to Florida. We only have a few Caribbean ports, but I think that will be enough. 

-----

One of the things we are doing in Africa is five days at the Marriott Masai Mara, which includes up to two safaris a day. We are using a LOT of points, but I figure this is a fantastic use for them. I'd rather run out of money and points than run out of time, and time is ticking loudly! 

31 minutes ago, chemmo said:

Totally agree….Cruising is about seeing the world, fine dining, meeting others, entertainment and much more. However, for many, the best part is the opportunity to enjoy some quality couple time…As you say, the smile says it all…

Yup!

PapaFej likes to tell me that there are so many places in the workd that he wants to kiss me and hold my hand. 

We are strange travelers, indeed. We've walked upon 6 continents, and seen Africa from ships as well as from Gibraltar (we will actually go to Africa next year), we've been all over the South Pacific, we've sailed over the Arctic and Antarctic circles, the Tropics of C&C, the Equator, the IDL and the PM, we just spent 12 weeks in Asia ... but we've never been to the Caribbean. 🤷🏻‍♀️

On 4/8/2024 at 5:51 PM, mahdnc said:

 

Ruth (and @MamaFej),

 

Yes!  The first photo is of the inner corona and you can see the pink solar prominences.

 

 

This photo shows the middle to outer corona:

 

 

We watched the eclipse from Vienna, IL which is near the Ohio River off of I-24.  We had 3.7 minutes of totality.  The April weather made viewing conditions touch and go for many parts of America that were in the path of totality.  

 

I hope you are doing well, Ruth.

 

I presume you had very clear skies from your Princess cruise ship, MamaFej.

 

David

How kind of you to remember, David. 

This is my first time back to CC since before my 12 week trip that started in early January. I apologize for the late acknowledgement. 

Yes, watching the TSE from the ship was amazing! Princess did an absolutely remarkable job of making the experience as fantastic as possilbe, and they succeeded! From the scientists onboard giving fantastic talks (available later on-demand for the rest of the cruise), the Captain answering 68 unique written questions in.a recorded on-demand program, the captain recording another program the night before, showing the weather forecast, and how he planned to get us into a spot with 4% cloud cover, as opposed to the 30% forecasted in surrounding areas, telling us 5 days in advance that the Starboard side would face the sun, so people could choose to stay in their cabins* and view from their balconies, reducing on-deck crowds, having crew walk around with sunscreen for folks to use, having radio silence during the entire experience, to having another Princess ship come within a couple of miles of us, to the ship's photographers capturing the other ship during totality, so the 360 degree sunset effect was in the background. They truly excelled.

Outside of the eclipse, the 360 dinner was phenomenal! It's a 6 course meal with paired cocktails and wine in a dining room that's sort of like interactive La Petite Chef on steroids combined with the Cirlcevision 360 attraction that used to be at Disneyland, plus smell-o-vision, and live music. Really amazing!

Apparently Steve Wozniak is a umbraphile, too. He was onboard and gave a talk the final day of the cruise. 

As for the rest of the cruise... it was too big of a (beautiful) ship, too crowded, too LOUD, with largely indifferent service (with a few fabulous exceptions) and totally worth it for the eclipse at sea experience. 

*We were on the starboard side, but chose to be on the very top deck, so we could experience the 360 degree sunset effect. PapaFej staked out the best spot on the ship at 5:15 am, nearly 6 hours before totality, because he is awesome. We took turns holding down the fort until the eclipse started around 9. 

We now return you to your regularly schduled Jim & Iain are awesome thread. 

@Miaminice, how do you feel about your experience with Ann Tours? We will have nearly 3 months in Asia starting next month, and still have several places for which we need to plan. I see that Ann Tours is in many of the countries we will visit. I was also found reading about Ann and her family's history fascinating. Wow!

Many thanks, and I hope you fully enjoy your sea day. 

On 12/25/2023 at 12:51 PM, takemewithyou said:

Maybe join us next year on Journey?! Would love to see you! 

It may be a poor substitute, but I'll happily wave in the direction of oncoming passengers as I disembark the Journey on 22 December, 2024. 

👋

4 minutes ago, Carolfay said:

I like your attitude, too.  I don't look like Deborah Kerr, and I certainly don't anticipate meeting Cary Grant onboard, but I expect to enjoy fine dining in lovely surroundings and indulge my little fantasies - and exchange smiles with fellow passengers.

On another line, we met a couple on Evening Chic night who looked like they'd just stepped out of the late 1940's. Fabulous hair, makeup, and clothes. We were a bit surprised to see them similarly attired on other nights, then back up to top notch on the next Evening Chic night. They were definitely well above the minumum every night, and having a lovely time. They seemed more than happy to enjoy conversation with folks like us, complying with the stated dress code, but certainly not attired as nicely as they were. 

21 hours ago, Carolfay said:

Agreed.  But just as perspective, I watched "An Affair to Remember" last night (1957).  The first half of the movie takes place on a cruise ship.  Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr - yes, I know, times have changed.  But how beautifully dressed passengers were, and the way standards were adhered to and not whined about.  I think that is why some of us are still fixated on the fantasy.  And I think something has been lost.  The cruise experience, after all, continues to be a fantasy.  That's what they are selling in their brochures and their advertising.  OK, got it. I will do my thing onboard and be just fine with others.

This is a fantastic attitude. Do your thing. Enjoy doing your thing, and be just fine with others. 

There is no maximum, only minimums. If you want to dress like Grant and Kerr, by all means, go for it. If I happen to see you dressed that way, I'll very likely smile. 

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

And yet, the website also still shows Decoy and Conundrum as included in the premium package! So not just a poor move overall, but false advertising.  

We tried the Conundrum for the first time on the Summit in October. We enjoyed it, and it is one of the  reasons we upgraded to PBP during the Black Friday sale for our upcoming cruises. 

Disappointing. 

18 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

I think my biggest frustration was that there were so many times they just never showed up and the ideal table went empty!  That's just not right.  I can see them catering to high level suite guests - heaven knows they are paying a small fortune to sail in those - but my real issue was with the guests themselves.  Totally inconsiderate.

I'm wondering if this happened, in part, because their suite included specialty dining. I'm not saying it's right, only possible.

It seems that it would have been polite for them to let the Luminae manager know when they would not be using the table, so that others could. 

Maybe "polite" was not a concern for them. I'm guessing that insisting on the same table each night, when it is not part of the deal paid for could be indicative of folks who don't spend much time concerning themselves with what is polite. 

I could definitely be wrong. 

22 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Bill the point here is we booked suites knowing what we would get, a butler, and then Celebrity takes them away. But we paid for a service we didn't get. Can we live without a butler, yes, but again we paid for one. If we had booked our first Sky Suite 4 years ago and it didn't have a butler, it would have been a whole different story because we wouldn't have known what we missed.

 

I do not claim to know for sure, but my gut feeling is that this is the goal. Suck up the concerns/complaints by past cruisers about no longer getting what they paid for, and gradually replace them with new customers who don't know the difference. 

Of course, in future years, those new folks will be complaining that they no longer get _______, and they will be replaced as well. 

I am not in any way saying this is okay, it's just what I perceive. 

10 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Some of us simply don't have enough vacation days so it's either don't go on vacation at all or work while cruising

Unless your behavior is affecting others (like loudly streaming or video calling) it's no one else's business how much or how little time you spend online.

On 12/9/2023 at 7:51 PM, robbinsca said:

If you want a treat in the level of service find Samantha from Zimbabwe. We had her as an Asst Waiter in the MDR, but also enjoyed her service and smile each morning on the fantail behind the buffet. Friendliest Cruise Staff member we have ever had!

We were on the Eclipse for 5 cruises earlier this year. Samantha was in Blu. She is an absolute delight!

Two of those cruises were in suites, and our waiter was Nitin, who was also wonderful. Our sommelier there was Bonny, who also says, "Oo la la!"

4 minutes ago, mawvkysc said:

That’s what I noticed too!

Hence the need for all the trees and plants to clean the air. 😉

7 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Good:

Starlink
E-Muster

 

Bad:

Food quality
Service due to being understaffed

Price increases

We have been quite impressed with the Starlink Internet. We tend to use it to plan and book future travel on sea days.

The new muster procedure is quick and easy, though I do wish they would program the bar registers not to allow drinks to be ordered until people have checked into their muster stations. That would prevent the every 45 minute announcements that get increasingly stern that people need to check in befoe we can sail.

The check-in process is also smoother and more efficient in our experience (9 X cruises since the re-start, and several other cruises on other lines). 

6 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

FYI, as @Joker54 pointed out, the new CEO is RCG.  When they replaced LLP, they stripped the title of CEO so now Laura is only the new President, not the CEO

"The Boss title got downgraded, so I'm going to downgrade almost everyone's onboard experience! Muahahahaha!"

-LHB, probably

Background checks are effective after someone has been caught. Before that: not so much. 

2 minutes ago, mrgabriel said:

Watching this ... this would be a ridiculous change. 

 

If they have removed soft drinks/pop from the Classic package, what's to stop someone from ordering a rum and coke and asking them to hold the rum or pour it on the side? 

Great minds think alike, and so do ours.

"I'd like a rum and Coke, hold the rum, please."

🙄

Is this a further example of X going out of its way to alienate customers, or is it a further example of incompetence? 

I'm hoping it's the latter.

The awesome staff onboard will be the ones taking any heat generated. That's not directed at Cruisestitch, who will undoubtedly be polite and kind. 

1 hour ago, SJD117 said:

This will a tough route to sell to new passengers given the current environment. Just a couple of months ago, i.e., before October 7, the Egypt sailings were sold out through 2024 and beyond. Now there are openings on every sailing.

We were booked with Viking for January 2025 with our very dear friends (including our travel agent). When others wanted to join the group, but the Viking sailing was sold out, Ama had just released a sailing, so we all moved to that one. 

Here's hoping that the situation becomes more teneble and it is both safe to live in and visit the region (mostly safe to live in).