terry&mike

We sailed NYC to Southampton on QM2 last August 5, in Inside cabin 5030, which is located more forward that you are. It was a wonderful trip, and we rarely felt any movement at all. We loved the ship, the staff, the ambience, the meals. I have a review of our sailing, you can probably find by clicking on my avatar and looking at my posts. We enjoyed it so much, we came home and quickly booked another transatlantic sailing for late August 2023. Wishing you very happy birthday celebrations, and a wonderful trip!

Were you able to port in Guatemala?

I received an email from a CruiseCritic member (at first I was surprised, and then remembered my email is at the end of my signature) with a question. As someone else may also be wondering the same thing, I thought I should post the question and answer here. The question was in regards to me saying that the clothes were made at a "reasonable cost", and they were inquiring what I considered reasonable. A valid question, as this is subjective. We had 9 garments made - a traditional black tuxedo with pants and jacket, an extra brocade tuxedo jacket, 1 tuxedo shirt, 2 men's dress shirts, 2 dresses, and 1 blouse - for a total of $590 usd, this included a 3% fee for using a credit card. In all instances, we picked either the top material option or the second highest material option. We came in to the shop on a Monday mid-morning (Day 1), picked materials and styles, and were measured. We returned on a Tuesday mid-day (Day 2) and had our first fittings. We returned on Wednesday mid-morning (Day 3) and did a final try on, and picked up everything with the exception of the 2 tuxedo jackets which needed a further tweek. We returned Wednesday evening (later on Day 3) and picked up the 2 tuxedo jackets.

Thank you so much for the review! We are sailing the same ship on a similar itinerary in March, from Colon to San Diego direction.

We tried Azamara in 2022, and loved it. Booked them again for September 2023, and are considering another one for November 2023. We have an NCL cruise booked for March of this year, it's a rebook, but when it's done, I'm not sure of our future with NCL. If you look at our cruise history in my signature, you can see we've sailed a lot on the mass market lines, but I think we are moving out of them.

September 20-29, Hamburg to NYC transatlantic on QM2.

I love this!

We had read a lot of reviews of tailors in Hoi An before we left the U.S., and had a short list of ones we wanted to pop into to see if they clicked with us. The hotel we were staying in also gave us another name. We walked by or into a couple on our list, but we liked the staff at the one our hotel recommended the most. It is Bao Diep Tailor, and Dong made Mike's clothes, and Moon made my silk dress in the golds/reds. Our initial thought was just to have a tuxedo made for Mike, and possibly an extra "more fun" jacket. While visiting with Dong we decided to add the 3 shirts. Then, Mike saw the material for my dress and said "you should get a dress from that silk", so that happened. Later, while walking down a street we passed a tailor (not on our list) with a dress on a manequin that I liked the style of, so I popped in and picked the black and white material and had a dress made from this shop, as well as a white wrap blouse that I had been thinking of. This tailor was Lua Viet Nam Vi Na Silk.

The photos are while we were still in the fitting/adjusting stages, and without the proper shoes, accessories, hair and makeup (that last one is for me, of course!).

We sailed Cunard for the first time in August 2022, on a transatlantic on the QM2. We enjoyed the voyage so much that we booked another sailing shortly after we returned home, a transatlantic on the QM2 in September 2023. In December 2022, we were in Hoi An, Vietnam, as part of a 5 week trip we were taking through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. We had visited Hoi An briefly in January 2020, and remembered seeing the hundreds of custom tailor shops there, so we came prepared with ideas. Our excitement for sailing Cunard and anticipation of our upcoming cruise inspired us to order clothes from 2 tailors while in Hoi An. What fun we had! Mike had a traditional black tuxedo made, plus an extra brocade jacket, a tuxedo shirt, and 2 more dress shirts. I had 2 dresses and a blouse made. All done in 3 days, and at a very reasonable cost. We are now excitedly anticipating our upcoming Cunard voyage even more, and breaking out our fancy threads!

They will add excursions. We have a sailing in early September 2023. In December 2022, two of the ports had no excursions listed, as of yesterday those two ports had excursions listed, one port now has 6 listed, 1 port now has 9 listed.

Cruisemapper is not up to date on the changes. Previously our cruise, which ends on September 10, 2023, showed ending in "Venice" on Cruisemapper. As of today, our cruise shows ending in "Venice Marghera" on September 10, but shows the sailing departing September 10 to be departing from "Venice Chioggia".

No, no other comment on this subject. It was in answer to an attendees question about where the ships are going to port for Venice. Questions were submitted by typed request, and only seen by the presenters. The webinar was actually on the new booking system that is coming online with the transition away from Royal at the end of February.

Was just on a Webinar, and one of Azamara's presenters, Katie, stated that Azamara would "mainly be using the port of Chioggia for Venice for 2023". I also see that the sailing I am booked on (Onward, September 3-10, 2023) now shows online as Venice (Chioggia) for our disembark port, where previously it just showed as Venice. I haven't received a notice of this change for my booking, or for my friends who are also traveling. Oh well, we'll make it work.

I think this is an excellent gift to take home. The colors, patterns and sizes were plentiful, allowing you to find something for everyone. You can purchase scarves from silk cotton blends (cheaper) to solid silk hand woven by certain well known silk making families (top), and everything in between. The prices reflect the variety, running between $10-$70 for most anything in the entire shop; the majority are priced $10-$25. The prices seemed to run from low to high, starting on the right side and moving left down several long tables. I have far too many scarves already, so was not going to purchase, but could not pass up this beautiful silk cotton blend scarf for $10 below (in the photo it is laid over the small couch in our cabin). They also have some wallets, and a few other silk items, but the focus is scarves. Have an idea of what colors or price you are looking for because it is busy and people are jostling for space, and you only have about 20 minutes (likely). Actually, once you see the silk makers demonstrations, get your photos, you may want to wander a bit ahead of the group and make your way to the shop. The guide takes folks leisurely walking to the shop. They take credit cards, but you’ll do best to come with crisp newer US dollars cash in hand in $5’s and $10’s to make your checkout faster.

We just returned from sailing the Mekong for 7 days in the southward direction. We keep our standard travel vaccinations up to date (Tetanus, Hepatitus, Typhoid), and we have our Covid vaccinations up to date. We did not do any extra vaccinations, and we did not take Malaria medications for this trip. We did bring insect repellant and used it when needed.

The web site skurvish posted below is the official one.

We travel with our Covid vaccination cards, but we were never asked at any point in our travels for proof of vaccination, or for Covid testing. On Scenic, we were asked to sanitize our hands before entering the dining room each time. Upon entering a couple of the temples we were required to wear masks. On JAL (Japan Airlines), we were required to wear masks. No other Covid protocol on the trip.

I am excited for your journey next year!

That's a difficult decision!

Made it home on Thursday afternoon, smooth trip the entire way.

This morning we walked to the nearby Ben Thanh Market, to Central Park, to Reunification Palace, and around HCMC a bit, mostly just for a bit of exercise. We have returned to the hotel for a rest, and this evening we will head to the Saigon Airport to begin the journey home. Our first flight is Saigon SGN to Tokyo Haneda, 11:45pm - 6:50am (+1), on JAL. Then HND to DFW Dallas, 10:55am - 7:25am, also on JAL. Then DFW to TPA Tampa, 11:14am - 2:29pm, on American. All in Business Class, and all currently showing on time, so hopefully a smooth trip.

That’s funny, because now you have me so curious as to what the banned word could have been!

I’m so happy you enjoyed it. I did a post this morning about Ho Chi Minh City, but it is waiting approval from the moderator, so should be available shortly. We are headed home soon, so will be wrapping it up, unless there are some questions. It has been a great journey filled with cultural wonder, great food, and kind hearted people.

We departed the Scenic Spirit in My Tho, Vietnam at 8:15a. We had one bathroom stop along the way and arrived at the Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City at 10:30a. At this point, we said our goodbyes and split from the group. Some were headed to the airport, some were staying on at the Caravelle independently, some were staying on at the Caravelle as part of a continuing Scenic program. Mike and I, along with another couple, walked 15 minutes to the Silverland Yen hotel, located very close to the main market. We were all allowed to check in early. Interesting that in all the thousands of hotels here, they were staying in the same one as us. The hotel is well located and well rated, and offers a great value with nice rooms with breakfast and afternoon tea with snacks included. We paid about $158 total for 2 nights. Our dear friend, and likely one of the best guides in Vietnam, Xuan Le, came by a little after 5p. We went for sunset and craft cocktails at the Chill Sky Bar, then for a great dinner of seafood curry, duck breast, and lamb burger at Chanh Rooftop Bistro; all walkable from the hotel. We were fortunate to meet Xuan Le when traveling with friends in Vietnam in January 2020. He flew to meet us and guide us for tours in Hoi An and DaNang, and Ho Chi Minh City. He is one of the best guides I have ever encountered in my travels. Enthusiastic, knowledgeable, fun.