MLinFL

HI all -

We are going on our first Viking Ocean cruise in a couple of days and would like some information about the wine on board. My husband enjoys all different kinds of wines so he will be fine with whatever they have, but I only drink white zin. Will I find this on board? Should I bring my own? If I bring my own to the dining room and don't finish the bottle, will they store it for me?

Thanks -

Mary Lou

We are interested in cruising with Silversea and were ready to book the new Muse. However, I have read several reviews where people have complained that they can hear discernible sound from the cabins next door (TVs, conversations). This would make me very unhappy as I am a light sleeper and very sensitive to sound. Did they forget to put sound-deadening material between the cabins? I look forward to your comments on this topic. Thank you.

MLinFL

Hi -

We are booked on the Quest for a Christmas cruise this December. I am able to go online to their web site, log in and see that I DO have a reservation (shows name of cruise and reservation number). I can also book shore excursions, fill in paperwork and buy extras. What I DON'T see is my cabin number. Is there somewhere on this web site that I can see my cabin number? It was assigned when I booked - but I always like to make sure it hasn't been changed (like Princess did to me once.)

Thanks,

Mary Lou

For any on the newly revised/renamed Cultural Cuba cruise in November or December that think we should stay past 4pm in Key West, please retweet my husband's message to @vikingriver. His twitter handle is @johntowler. The next day is at sea & we've already lost two other ports. Least they can do!

 

 

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We are on the 11/17/17 cruise - and agree that it would be great to stay longer in Key West. However, I don't think Key West allows ANY cruise ship to stay to watch the sunset. But I will keep following this post to see if there is any update.

Mary Lou

We had 3 cabins on the 12/1 sailing and cancelled them all today. I cancelled over 8 hours ago as of this writing, and have yet to receive confirmation of my cancellation and my cabins are still listed as sold. I inquired back to confirm they received my email notice to cancel (Viking's process for these cancellations) and the agent said the cancellation backlog may take several days to clear out.

 

Whatever the business side of this becomes of this for Viking is TBD (I imagine they will be losing money on these undersold, over compensated cruises), but for those of you sticking with them through this unfortunate event, the good news is you will likely have much more room on the ship to enjoy for yourselves.

Were you able to cancel without penalty?

Just a little venting here - we are booked on the 9/20/17 Panama Canal cruise on the Regatta (San Francisco to Miami). We have been on many cruises but in all our travels, we have never been to Catalina Island. We were so looking forward to this stop - and now Oceania has changed this to a stop in Ensenada, Mexico! They told my travel agent it was because there were no excursions in Catalina (but they had several on their web site that they had been selling for weeks). I'm sure it is another reason. (And I know they have the right to change the itinerary . . . )

I've been to Ensenada. Not much there - in the past the ships have stopped there when they needed to fulfill that "foreign" port requirement on the cruises from California to Hawaii. I'm wondering if there is a way to find out the REAL reason for the change. :(

Mary Lou

Received an email from Viking and my TA today, announcing that Viking has received their permit to dock in Cuba, but no longer docking in Havana; instead we will dock in Cienfuegos, and spend three days there instead of two. Also appears that Cuban excursions are now complementary? Also received OBC for not stopping in Cozumel, and Belize. So excited now, much prefer the three days in Cuba instead of ports we have visited in the past. We will have two sea days to enjoy the ship. Love this new itinerary!

We are on the 11/17 cruise and got the same itinerary change. We too are happy about the extra time in Cuba and the extra sea day. We were in Havana in March so this is an extra bonus for us.

Mary Lou

I am looking for recommendations of private tour companies where I can hire a driver for a day for 4 adults. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks.

Last year after our Alaska cruise we booked with Totally Seattle Tours to take us around for the day after we got off the ship as our flight wasn't leaving until quite late. Kay was our guide and she was wonderful. I would recommend Kay and this company.

Mary Lou

We have two upcoming Oceania cruises. Although I have a TA, I submitted my request for the shareholder credit myself. Our first cruise - 2/25/17 - I received the SBC. I sent the request by email on 2/7/17 and asked for a reply. Here is part of the reply I received on 2/9/17:

"Thank you for contacting the NCLH Shareholder Benefit Desk – Oceania Cruises.

Based on the updated policy wherein the NCLH Shareholder Benefit is now combinable with Oceania Cruises promotional amenity for reservations created on or after January 7, 2016, the corresponding shipboard credits ($100/per stateroom) have been applied to your upcoming XXXXXX sailing."

Then on 2/22/17 I sent in a second request for our 3/21/17 cruise and received this email reply today (2/24/17). Both emails were from the same person.

"Thank you for contacting the NCLH Shareholder Benefit Desk – Oceania Cruises.

Based on the updated policy wherein the NCLH Shareholder Benefit is now combinable with Oceania Cruises promotional amenity for reservations created on or after January 7, 2017, the corresponding shipboard credits ($100/per stateroom) has been applied to your upcoming XXXX sailing as a one time courtesy and gesture of goodwill."

I'm not complaining that I got the SBC both times - what I don't understand is why the replies were so different. Are they really saying that you have to book after January 7th to get the SBC for that year? So many people book their cruise quite a bit in advance, I'm surprised by this.

Comments?

Mary Lou

Hi -

I tried searching this forum but couldn't find an answer. Does anyone know if you can view your shipboard credits via Oceania's website? My cruise is in a couple of weeks and I would like to know if all my SBCs are available.

Thanks -

Mary Lou

Could someone who is on the Divina now tell me if they offer complimentary coffee in the regular dining room at dinner? When we were aboard in November, we were never offered coffee. No one in our group particularly cared about coffee in the evening, so we didn't ask but it was unusual to us that this was never offered. So, the question remains - is complimentary coffee available in the dining room with dinner?

Thanks -

Mary Lou

I am confused. Are you basing your statement of no complementary coffee based on the fact that you did not observe coffee pots and two, that people who ordered the coffee with a fee (expresso, latte, etc) was charged for it.

 

My husband is a coffee drinker and drinks it with his meals. On the Divina, free coffee was served to him throughout the meal and I had no trouble obtaining a free cup of decaf coffee at the end of the meal.

 

The coffee pots are there for the complementary coffee. I did notice that in my area of the dining room, they were kept underneath the serving station used by the waitstaff to prepare the ordered items for delivery to the table. When my coffee was needed, the waiter reached down and picked up the pot.

 

Unless the availability of complimentary coffee and tea with dinner has changed, one simply needs to ask for it.

Well, I found that a lot of things had changed in the last 18 months since we previously sailed on the Divina. But I will admit that since none of us particularly cared about coffee after dinner, we didn't ask. On the other hand we ate in the dining room every night but one and we were NEVER offered coffee at the end of the meal. So it might be available but it was not a priority of the serving staff, for sure. If someone has been on this ship recently and they served complimentary coffee in the dining room in the evening, I'd like to know.

Mary Lou

What was the price for the internet? Do I understand that you had an unlimited option?

Kim

I wish I could remember exactly - and I never received my bill at the end of the cruise. (I had been checking it via the TV all along, so when it didn't show up on that last morning, I didn't bother going down to Guest Services to get it).

If I remember correctly, you could get a basic package that just allowed you to get email for just one device for about $20 for the entire week. I went with the "middle" package that gave you email and web browsing - for 2 devices - for about $45 for the week. I think the highest package, which also allowed streaming was quite a bit higher but since I didn't need that, I just ignored it. The bottom line is that internet is much more affordable now than it used to be on the ships.

I will also add that I don't think these packages were actually "unlimited" but were for a certain amount of data. I used my devices quite a bit throughout the week and never came close to using up this data.

Hope this helps. If anyone has a more accurate account of the internet charges, please jump in.

Mary Lou

Which internet package did you use? Did you purchase it prior to the cruise or when you got on the ship?

 

My mom has the black card. Are there any discounts?

 

Thanks!!

We also had the Black Card due to the "Match" program. As a matter of fact, when we went to the cocktail party for the Black Card holders, there was only one person in the room that was there "honestly" - not because of the Match program.

We were surprised at the little extras we got because of the Black Card. On the first formal night, they delivered to our room in the late afternoon 2 bottles of champagne and 2 plates of chocolate covered strawberries. We ended up having a party with our friends the next afternoon to handle all of this. We got a certificate for a free dinner for 2 in the specialty restaurant (we chose Eataly and it was very good). We also got 2 chocolate models of the ship - solid chocolate! - and 2 MSC baseball caps.

It was fun having the Black Card!

Mary Lou

3. No complimentary coffee served with dessert.

 

 

Hi Mary Lou......In response to number 3, do you know if you order coffee at the beginning of the meal (to drink with dinner) if it is included or must we pay?

 

Thank you.........Laura

I didn't see any coffee pots at all in the dining room. The only coffee we saw was delivered by the cup and we saw them signing for it. As no one at our table cared about coffee in the evening we didn't ask. I'm guessing if you want a latte or cappuccino they would bring it at an extra cost.

Hi Mary Lou, what did they replace the lobster etc with on formal nights? Thanks

 

 

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According to my notes on the first formal night my husband and I both had the filet and shrimp entree. On the second one, I had Beef Wellington - didn't note what my husband had.

They did have free drinks before dinner in the lounges before the first formal night.

We recently sailed on the Divina - 11/12 - 11/19/16. This was my 3rd time - previously 12/14 and 4/15. We had a great time and find MSC to be a great value for what you pay. However, I just wanted to mention a few of the things that I found have changed since our 4/15 cruise:

1. They did not serve lobster tail at either of the formal nights; if you wanted lobster you had the option of purchasing it any night - $19.95 for a whole lobster. Same with shrimp cocktail as an appetizer. This was only available for an upcharge of, I think, $6 or $7, not sure. One person at our table ordered this almost every night and the shrimp were very large.

2. No more lumpy pillows. In the past, the pillows felt like they were filled with little rocks. This time (which was right after the dry dock) the pillows were a solid material.

3. No complimentary coffee served with dessert.

4. Some of the shows were changed slightly but for the most part the same as in the past. However, they took out the Sinatra tribute and now have a "Queen" tribute.

5. I found the price of the internet to be quite reasonable - instead of charging by the minute, they had packages for the length of the cruise. Also, we were able to access the wireless internet from MOST places throughout the ship.

We would sail with MSC again.

Mary Lou

I'm trying to book a tour on the MSC website and I can read the description and cost of the tour but they don't say anything about the starting time - only the duration, so I can't tell if it is a morning or afternoon tour. Is there anyway I can get this information?

Thanks,

MLinFL

We also just booked this Cuba itinerary. It sounds wonderful. When I booked, I didn't realize that this ship was so new that it hasn't even sailed yet. We booked the 11/17/17 cruise - hope its really sailing by then. Excited!

We have friends that used the Yankee Trails bus and they had no problems. It picks up either at the Rural King parking lot or the Bealls on 441. Contact the travel company and make the arrangements. I personally, when heading out on such a long cruise would definitely go a day or two ahead. You sure wouldn't want the stress of a mechanical problem with the bus or a traffic/accident along the way to keep you from getting to that cruise.

Off the Equinox 12-night on January 2... Three new production shows made their appearance. None were of the "broadway" variety. Rather, they featured dancers, singers, and cirque-style performers in highly imaginative and entertaining productions featuring less-familiar music. The older crowd expecting an evening of show tunes were generally disappointed. The younger crowd was generally enthusiastic. There were three male and three female vocalists, all of whom could dance (at least to an extent) and about a half-dozen dancers. Nothing like the old-fashioned shows with four immobile vocalists backed by a dance troupe.

I think the above words about the differences in how the show was received was based on age is very true. I got the message very clearly during my week on the Silhouette that Celebrity is catering to the younger crowd - and there is no problem with that. I just wasn't aware that this was the case. As I am in the "senior" age category, I will choose another cruise line for future cruises. We were on Oceania at Christmas and that probably is better suited for us, although it is rather pricey. I guess I will have to do some "research" (book another cruise) to see if Holland America and Princess still meet our needs.

MLinFL

It's not that there wasn't any entertainment, but there were not any singing/dancing production shows. We had a couple of comedians, a singer, and 2 groups - a Beatles group and Tenors of Rock.

We just returned from a week aboard the Silhouette. We have been on this ship before and many other of the Celebrity line. One of the things we loved the most on Celebrity over all the other lines we have sailed were their wonderful production shows - often including aerialists. We were greatly disappointed to find out that there were NO production shows. Is this a permanent change for Celebrity entertainment? Anyone know?

Thanks - good to know I didn't miss something!

We are getting ready to board the Riviera soon. I just realized that I do not have a "boarding pass" like I would have printed out for other lines. I do have a booklet with all my information that my TA gave me. Other than our passports, do I need anything else to board?