MLinFL

I tried to delete this post but it wasn't obvious on how or if I could do that - but I was able to answer my own question.  The Captain was Luigi Rutigliano  - I found it on the Ship's Log that was given out on the last day.

I really have tried to search this information but have been unable to find it - so does anyone know who was the Captain of the Silver Spirit last Christmas (2018)?  I wanted to add this information to my cruise notes (thought it would be mentioned in the Daily Chronicles which I saved - but it was not).  

Thanks,

Mary Lou

We just returned from the 7/15 sailing on the Equinox.  We are Elite - but unfortunately, I neglected to print out the list of benefits.  There was a letter in the cabin talking about the free drinks in the evening and the cocktail parties and elegant tea, but no mention of any other benefits.  I was surprised when I sent out one of my husband's shirts to be pressed and it came back as "no charge" and also when I went to get Gelato on Deck 5, I was told that one scoop was free.  Don't know what else I missed out on since, as I said, there was nothing in the cabin to tell me.  I remember in the past they gave you coupons.

Since Suite 12014 on the Riviera is right next to the Culinary Center, does anyone know if I will hear noise from the classes held there?  I realize these classes are only held on sea days, but it is something I would know before booking.  Thank you.

Mary Lou

1 hour ago, baz48 said:

For those of you who bought a rotating globe in the gift shop, how did you get it home?  The sales clerk said it has some liquid in it so it might be a problem for carryon bags with TSA.  I don't want to put it in checked luggage if I don't have to.

 

Thanks.

Due to large amounts of OBC (mostly on Oceania cruises), I have purchased several of these globes.  I have always put them in my checked luggage and have never had a problem.  Although they do have liquid, it is not apparent (like a snow globe).  They are really cool.  Everyday when I look at mine, I'm reminded of our travels.  

Mary Lou

We have sailed a number of times on various lines. So far Viking is our favorite. That said, we keep reading about Oceania quality and experience.

We are looking at a 14 day Alaska itinerary on the Regatta. I would most likely be looking at entry level balcony on deck 6. The concierge level looks attractive but the price difference has me hesitant.

There are a lot of Alkaline options with various lines.

I would appreciate some feedback, my first hand, on Regatta as well as this ship in Alaska. I would also appreciate input on this level balcony stateroom.

Thank you

We have just returned from a 10-day Alaskan cruise on Regatta. I have been to Alaska on 7 other cruises, various lines, and I really don't feel that the Alaskan Experience was much better on the Regatta than it was on the other lines. Actually, I had better lecturers on Holland America and Princess.

The ship experience is better as it is a small (old) ship that is in reasonably good shape. The food is better than on the "mainline" ships.

That being said, we have also cruised on Viking Ocean and if you like that I'm not sure that the Regatta will appeal. On the Regatta - regular balcony room - the bathrooms are extremely small. The cabin is also quite small. Cabin-wise, Viking is so much better.

One other thing, I noticed that Holland America almost always had the best dock space. Probably because they (and Princess) have been going to Alaska the longest.

You will have to decide what factors are important to you.

Mary Lou

I'm posting this as I am wondering if any others have found that the Oceania experience has changed in the last year or so. This cruise (out of a total of over 70) was our 6th on Oceania and our 3rd on Regatta. Let me say that I still love the small size of the ship and the food for the most part was good. But the one thing that I noticed this time were the frequent announcements by the Cruise Director regarding Bingo and Slot Tournaments. Actually, I was surprised at how many times during the day she came on to remind us of the activities. We did receive the ship's paper, "Currents", each night, so didn't think all the announcements were necessary. I don't remember so many announcements from previous cruises.

Also, this cruise was the first one where they rolled out their new dinner menus - each night featuring a different country - but we rarely ordered from these items. I did find that the portions seemed quite large on some dishes. Since there are so many courses, I don't personally think that large portions are needed, but others may find this a positive thing. A couple of examples - in Toscana, I ordered a breaded veal chop. It was so huge that it covered the plate. I ended up sharing it with my 3 dining companions. For dessert one night in the main dining room, I ordered the Profiteroles (cream puffs) and received 3 of them and they were quite large. Lest you think I'm just an old complainer, I'm just stating my observations. Again, this may seem like a good thing to many, but it just doesn't seem like upscale dining to me.

Lastly, I know that they are going to be refurbishing these ships but the bottom line is that they are OLD and it appears that most of the refurbishing will be cosmetic. The plumbing is old - on the last two cruises we experienced problems with the toilets not working for a few hours. Also, on the last two Regatta cruises, we had an aft-facing balcony on Deck 6. The hallway between the back of the ship to the aft elevator is very uneven. You feel like the carpet is covering up dents and dips in the flooring. Very strange. I would like to see what is under that carpeting when they pull it up. :(

Mary Lou

Hilton Marina or W Ft Lauderdale ?

Can someone who is familiar with these hotels help me decide? I'm looking for a nice, somewhat upscale hotel with views of the water. I think that both of these are close to the cruise port which is another criteria.

Thanks -

Mary Lou

Thanks for all the advice. I did rethink my plans and cancelled the Royal Beach Palace Hotel. We are now booked at the Sun Tower Hotel & Suites. They have there own private beach. It's a little bit more than what I wanted to pay but that's ok since it's on the beach.

The Sun Tower looks like a great place - do you know how far it is from the cruise terminals?

With most cruise lines, I can go to their web site and see what cabins are available and then book online. When I go to Viking, I can only see the prices and if there is or is not availability. Am I missing something or do they just not make this information available? Is there another online booking site that would show me this information?

Thanks,

Mary Lou

One more question about the Pinnacle Suites. I've seen the photos of the ones on the newest ships. The outside hot tub is something that appeals! Do all of the Pinnacle suites have a hot tub outside on the balcony?

Thanks, everyone for your replies. I'll check out your suggestions.

Mary Lou

Hi -

I was interested in booking a Pinnacle Suite. I went to HAL's web site and the highest suite I see available - on ANY cruise - is a Neptune suite. I'm guessing this is not the same as the Pinnacle suite. How do I book the Pinnacle?

Thanks!

Your entrance is on the inside. Your Veranda should be covered from the deck above. As ours was.

 

Dwight:):)

Thanks for the information - we hope to enjoy the American Queen again sometime soon.

You are correct. The cabin opens to the outside deck. It has an overhang above from deck 5. We were on deck 5 last Christmas and our cabin opened to the outside. You can check our deck layout on their website. We had aa great time and are booked on the new Empress Thanksgiving.

 

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Do the cabins on all the decks open to the outside or are some of them enclosed? As we only cruised on the Queen that one time, I don't recall. I tried looking at the deck plan but it still is a little confusing. We are thinking of going again, but this time in a cabin with a private veranda on Deck 3. It looks like this deck would be enclosed - does anyone know for sure?

Thanks,

Mary Lou

Some clarification, please. We traveled on the American Queen many years ago when she was new. I seem to remember having doors that opened to a common deck and also that when walking out the door to the hallway, it was not all covered/enclosed. We were in Cabin 419. Could someone tell me if this is the case? Or am I not remembering correctly.

Thanks,

Mary Lou

Believe you can use the OBC in the Casino. You do pay I think 5% but, you can buy chips, pay the 5% and then cash the chips in. 95% of your OBC is better than wasting all of it on overpriced stuff.

 

No, haven't been on Oceania but, pretty sure about the buying chips for the 5%. Anyone with more recent data is welcome to post if I am incorrect.

I tried that last cruise. Although the day after I used it in the casino, it showed as a credit on my statement, they later ADDED the amount back. You cannot use this in the casino. I had in the past on other lines been able to do this but was unable to on Oceania.

Mary Lou

I checked our mattress last night. It is definitely new, but I haven’t felt any difference, still the same comfortable mattress as usual.

 

 

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When we were disembarking from the Christmas/New Year's cruise, they were in the process of changing out all the mattresses. I thought the "old" ones were just fine - extremely comfortable, even - so I was surprised at that.

Mary Lou

Hi -

We are very experienced cruisers but this will be our first time on Silversea. We are thinking of booking Cabin 630. Someone mentioned to me that because it is close to the elevator (which is why we chose it), we would hear the noise of the elevator operating. I thought that there could be noise staying near an elevator but I was thinking more of the people who gather around it, not the actual elevator motor. Since Deck 6 is on the same deck as the Spa, I think it will be rather quiet people-wise. Does anyone have any thoughts as to whether we would actually hear the noise of the elevator operations inside our cabin - 630?

Thanks!

Mary Lou

So you are saying the reason is that the ship stopped in a US port before we disembarked? That sounds logical but I would have still thought that the authorities would want to see us and our passports at that port. We only showed our passports when we boarded - to the check-in desk staff. After that I put them in the safe until the day we disembarked.

I would think that the roster of passengers and crew would have been supplied to the US government at Key West. Didn't they have a scan or copy of your passport at check in?

Well, don’t they always scan your passport when you check in? If they just have to scan the passports at the beginning and provide this data to the authorities, why would we ever have to stand in line at the end of a cruise to get them scanned again? I live in Florida and go on 3 or 4 Caribbean Cruises a year and this is the first time I did not have to go through Immigration.

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You were already in the US as you called at Key West on January 3.

 

 

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We didn’t go through immigration there or in St. Thomas.

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I have been on many cruises so I was quite surprised that upon leaving our Caribbean cruise aboard the Quest on 1/4/18, we did NOT have to stop at Immigration when we disembarked the cruise in Miami. After we gathered our bags, we were just directed to leave the terminal building. Is this something new?

Mary Lou

Check out the latest MSC news from Cruise Critic:

 

Andrea Bocelli, Ricky Martin, Mario Lopez and More to Appear at MSC Cruise Ship Naming Ceremony

Is this event open to the public or is it an "invitation only" thing? We will be in Miami on the 21st prior to our Azamara cruise the next day. It sounds quite exciting!

Mary Lou

Unfortunately, you cannot use OBC for gratuities. You can use it for mixed drinks (or wine/beer outside of meals), items in the gift shops, as well as spa activities.

 

 

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We got off the Viking Sun November 24th - we were on the first trip to Cuba. We were able to use our OBC for gratuities. I specifically asked about this and was told that the policy recently changed.

Mary Lou