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ARDXXX

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Posts posted by ARDXXX

  1. We are on the Nautica in October, I asked about the refit a couple of months ago and was informed that it would be done probably this June, and in plenty of time for our Cruise - I asked them again today and now informed that it has been put back to 2023 to which I expressed my disappointment as it was one of the reasons that we booked this ship, not to have a shower curtain on a supposedly five star ship like an old ferry.!

  2. Problem is of course is that when I booked which seems like eons ago none of this was an issue, it was a different world where there were none of these restrictions, can anyone remember?

    The upgrades were promised for all ships and having a stroll around town was welcomed with not a thought about paying rip off prices for excursions. And yes I do prefer some other lines especially Regent but I just liked the ports and the time of year when it was not too hot in the Med.

  3. Just been on the phone to Oceania - we will be on the Nautica for 20 days in October. I asked about this but they do not know as yet whether we will have to take Oceania tours or if we can just go ashore and do what we want. He said that (as we know) some Cruise lines that are sailing soon insist on ship tours only ie Viking but I pointed out that these were included as part of the Cruise package and did not incur extra cost, and that I was not prepared to pay Oceania rip off prices, and one of the main reasons I booked this Cruise was the opportunity to jump off the ship at the ports and have a stroll around. I then asked him if it was to be the case that we had to do ship tours are they then going to reduce the price big style to make them reastically affordable, or include them for free and he said they were looking at all options and would make decisions nearer the time. It will be interesting to see what happens. I am certainly not going to pay huge amounts of money for trips that you can buy for a quarter of the price elsewhere. Nor spend 20 days chugging around the Med without leaving the non-refurbished ship.

  4. Funny because Oceania staff informed me that Nautica will be upgraded probably this June and definitely before we go on our cruise in october this year, as I said that was one of the reasons we booked the cruise. Just shows that they probably cannot be trusted to inform their guests the truth or they do not know what is happening in their own company.

    • Like 1
  5. After waiting on hold for an hour I managed to have a talk to Viking re this. I was interested until I was informed that there are no connections , flights or transfers available from anywhere in the Uk to Portsmouth, even to fly to Heathrow. and takrn to Portsmouth .We live over 400 miles away so no thankyou from me. Apparently there is a lot of interest if you can find your own way there, I expressed my disappointment, it seems a bit hurried.

  6. I received Oceania's Tropics and Exotics brochure last week and on page 3 it states " Oceania NEXT & RE-INSPIRATION HIGHLIGHTS.

    The beautifully re-inspired Regatta, Insignia, Nautica and Sirena are better than new ships from top to bottom and carpet to chandeliers" which must be evidence that all the ships have now been done. It had better be true as this is one of the main reasons I am booked on it in October/November. It also states that " All suites and staterooms are entirely new on the four ships while designer residential furnishings from Baker and Donghia adorn public spaces."

  7. We took our first trip on Regent last year, went from Amsterdam to New York, over the top visiting Iceland and Greenland on the way, really enjoyed it although ( for us ) it was expensive - not for the millionaire's on board though!  We met a couple of Americans who had done a thousand nights with Regent!The food was excellent, you can have fillet seak and lobster every night if you want, champagne and high end spirits, even a bottle of champagne in your suite when you arrive. The suites are very plush with walk in wardrobes and there is a large choice of included excursions all included.  We have booked another three cruises with them as we really enjoyed the experience - No kids on our cruise that we could see. Dress code is smart casual, no formal evenings - meaning you do not have to wear a suit.

    Never been with SAGA yet although we have taken a bit of a chance and booked the Christmas Cruise to The Caribbean for 2022 on the yet to be launched new ship.

    I say a bit of a chance as we do not like the formal evenings but will have to put up with them or go to the buffet, and after booking I read that "dancing" is a popular pastime with dancing instructers for the elderly ladies, hope there is a decent bar we can retreat to!! and something a little livelier than ballroom! on the activity list.

    I think that SAGA will be a cut above Fred Olsen but more mid range than luxury. It looks to me that they seem to be trying to be in the same market as Viking with what they are offering, nothing the matter with that as we have enjoyed a few Viking Cruises. Hope this helps, cheers and happy sailing.

  8. Thank you for your clarification of the points, just as well I like a good glass of wine then!

    I was joking a bit about the dancing, I can imagine what it will be like, not for me either!!

    Seems like an awful lot of formal nights , might end up in the buffet for a couple of them.

    Might get a couple of drinks from the bar and have them on the balcony, try the odd G&T, Cheers!

    I am not expecting a Regent experience but should be miles better than Fred Olsen drinks package which is pretty poor. Although their wine was OK

  9. Does anyone have a copy of the all-inclusive drinks package list as I have just booked a cruise for Dec 2022 on the Spirit of Adventure  but I cannot find any details of exactly what is included - is it similar to Oceania and Regent where you have XO Cognac and unlimited Champagne? or more basic?

    And is the stateroom and its fridge stocked with any drink you desire?

    Never cruised with them before so a little apprehensive about the formality and " dancing" so looking forward to other enteraining!

    Thanks.

  10. Our cruise in april was cancelled and, before this happened Regent said that if we did not cancel and kept our booking they would give us 25% FCC that we could use for another cruise that we had booked. The amount offered was about £2500 which is much less that 25% of what we paid, they said that the FCC was only for the actual cruise portion of the holiday not the flights or port taxes, transfers, hotel or anything else that we had paid for. We decided to wait until they cancelled and asked for a refund which we are still waiting on. So I would take the money not FCC ( if you ever see it of course! )

    • Like 1
  11. Just been notifed that our Cruise from Los Angeles to Miami on 17th March 2021 has been completely changed. It will now be from Lima to Miami on 19th March giving us only 14 nights instead of 16 ( 17 counting the night in hotel in LA ), The only port that we are keeping is the disembarkation port of Miami!

    Apparently it is because California is refusing to take the Navigator because of emmision problems!

    I noticed my Cruise was not on the Regent site last week so phoned them and was reassured that nothing had been changed. Not a very trustworthy company.

    They have said that they will "compensate" me by giving me the amount that the missing two nights on board cost on a pro rata basis, and that will only be for a future Cruise Credit! - ie they are not going to give me anything for the entire upheaval, or I can cancel all together. Any thoughts would be welcome, thanks.

  12. Interesting debates, we are going to Komodo in Jan 2022 - thinking and planning ahead eh! on a Cruise from Sydney to Bangkok and this is one of the main reasons that I booked this Cruise as I have always wanted to see them. I have looked on the excursion list for this island and it is the only excursion available and it is "Free " ie included in my Cruise fare. So I expect it will be still on and no doubt the Cruise lines will have a deal to enable them to continue to visit.

  13. Usually they are pretty good but last November we flew from Heathrow to New York and after collecting bags and going to pick up point there was no one there, we waited for over an hour and a half before the reps arrived - after we had phoned ship so it does not work seamlessly all the time.

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