aungrl

Very glad to hear this detail on your flight. Much more positive than I would have expected, given other reviews, etc. I agree, those prices across the Atlantic to Europe in old-style business class seats are very reasonable!

All of the above. And you would be great at this! I hope you pursue it.

Which cruise line was it? I've never heard of any cruise line requiring the use of a Travel Agent.

Loved all the photos of Greig's estate. It brought back lots of memories of our visit there a few years ago. At that time, the concert hall was undergoing some minor renovations, so our concert was held inside the house, on the piano in the living room. It was early September and the weather was gorgeous, but warm. By the time everyone crowded into the room, even with the windows open, it was pretty uncomfortable. But the pianist was amazing, and made it easy to (almost) ignore the temperature. Thanks again for posting so many pictures and doing such detailed posts of your trip so far. Looking forward to hearing more about Oslo!

I haven't been on RC or Celebrity in many years, but we cruised with both of them several times, several years ago, so take my comments with a large grain of salt. I don't think I'm qualified to comment in real detail, given how long it's been, but I'm happy to give you my overall impressions. The first thing I think is different between those two and Regent is the overall size, as well as the passenger-to-space ratio. The Regent ships have far less passengers than the other two lines, and they also allocate more space/passenger overall. To me, this makes the Regent ships seem very open and uncrowded, even at popular times in popular venues (restaurants/lounges). Regent is also pretty much entirely all-inclusive. There are a few optional excursions for which you can pay extra, but most of the excursions are included in the cruise fare. Regent also includes airfare, but will give you a credit if you elect to book your own air - which we've always done, so far. The food - and this is highly subjective - is of much higher quality on Regent vs. the other two lines. We've rarely experienced any lines for anything on a Regent ship, were always able to find a lounger by the pool, and found other passengers to be warm and welcoming. Another major difference was in the type and variety of entertainment on board. Regent tends towards quieter, less splashy entertainment in the evenings, whereas my memory of the other two lines is of big production-type shows on most evenings, with lots of cast members, costume changes, and a full light/sound system. In addition to differences in the evening entertainment, the larger ships of both RC and Celebrity have a wider variety of things to do, i.e., multiple pools, rock climbing walls, and - on the newer and bigger ships - many more choices. This is a generalization, but my experience with Regent is that the demographics skew older, with (far) fewer children, than on either RC or Celebrity. Something you might want to do is read several posts on the Regent board, which will likely give you a pretty good feel for what a cruise on that line would be like. We've really enjoyed all our cruises over the years, and would still sail on any of these lines as well as others, depending on itinerary, if friends asked us to take a cruise with them. That said, as we've gotten older, we've sailed primarily with Oceania and Viking - as well as Regent. All three of these lines have their pluses and minuses, with 'smaller ship size/better passenger to space ratios' being the most common denominator across them, in my view.

Yes, I have, although not in the Caribbean. Happy to answer any general questions if that would be useful.

Gorgeous photos, especially that first one! Thanks for taking the time to post.

Thank you. Very pretty! Are they shipping it to you or are you carrying it home?

Picture of the pelt?

We did the Tulum Mayan ruins excursion with a different cruise line before we discovered Viking, and the description above is basically identical to the one we took. So while I don't have direct experience with the Viking excursion, if it's as described, this was one of the best excursions of that entire cruise. Of course, YMMV regardless of cruise line, since so much depends on the quality of the guide.

This was our first Chef's Table menu several years ago and we loved it. I'm glad you got to experience it and enjoyed it, too!

This is very interesting. I think it would have a great deal of value if populated across all the various options. It also sounds like a lot of work! But thanks in advance if you do proceed with it.

Okay, thanks! I sort of had it figured out from the blue nose picture. Very impressed with that one, btw. 😊

Whoo Hoo!!! I knew they'd come through for you. So awesome! I can almost taste it now. Which one of your traveling companions is in the top photo?

Knowing that Viking monitors this board, I actually thought they might make an effort to have them on this sailing just for you! (Seriously.)

First question for tomorrow morning - pistachio buns?? Inquiring minds are waiting to know!

The gown is gorgeous and you absolutely can't beat the price!

Agreed - great hats! And very happy faces (you and Mike). Now the adventure really begins!

It seems to me that, if you'll be a nervous wreck on the day you're departing, and really do prefer a day-time flight, that you should fly in the night before and spend the night at either the TWA hotel, or another nearby airport hotel. That eliminates your primary concern, and you can start your vacation off relaxed instead of worried.

I have this exact same hoodie from LL Bean and love it for all the same reasons. It gets a lot of use both on cruises and just in general.

Have a great voyage, Clay! Happiest to Mike. Will be following along and living vicariously for the next two weeks through you guys.

Ah, I should have been more clear in my original post. I was commenting on Oceania from the early 2000 era to Oceania just BEFORE the pandemic. I haven't sailed on any of the Oceania ships since 2018 or thereabouts, and so have no idea of anything that may have happened to the good or the bad because of the Covid staffing and supply and other operational shortages.

Good point. And that's not an insignificant advantage.

This is our experience exactly. Prior to NCL, Oceania was far and away our favorite line. We sailed twice after that acquisition and began our search for something else. Sad, because back in the day, they were truly special, IMO. (Although we didn't mind the R-class ships.)

Thank you! Very clear, and makes complete sense.