sailoruk

Hubby and I are having a discussion about smart casual for him in the evenings,   presume shirt and trousers are fine,  but he also wears trousers I.e. cargoes.,   a few extra pockets etc  , would anyone know if these are acceptable???

Thanks for all replies. :-)

Anyone sailed on the Serenissima recently.? Any pros and cons. Many thanks:)

Having done most rivers and loved them... the one we are hoping to do this year is the Douro. Does anyone know anything about the "Spirit of Chartwell"..... yes I do know it is a "barge" conversion. We have done AMA, Avalon, Viking etc but thought a smaller ship might be a bit different. Any comments greatly appreciated. thanks :)

Many thanks :)

We were on her about three years ago. It depends on the restaurant. The veranda restaurant is quite casual ( but not shorts). Still the same service for dinner i.e. waiters not self service. The main dining room just skirt and dressier tops or long pants. The only times you get more formally dressed is for Captain's cocktail parties.

Anyone been on Swan Hellenic Minerva recently and can advise on dress code (for ladies) . Do know there are two "formal" evenings, but for other evenings .Any tips greatly appreciated. thanks :)

Jut about to book for a trip on the Star Pride next month, do hope she is in the Med now....:-) any comments ???

Considering sailing on Star Pride mid June thru Corinth Canal. Any comments about the ship greatly appreciated. Also what is the dress code. Any comments on the "basic" suites, the sizes seems good but???

We are a mature couple but luv to travel so age demographic not a problem

How was your trip?

 

Hope it was a good one.

 

Carolyn

Hi Carolyn

Posted both on this message board and on Members reviews.

It is all a dream, now looking for another trip :o

I really misinterpreted the post. Somehow I thought that "ship tour" meant a tour of the ship they were sailing on rather than an excursion or tour off of the ship. My mistake. Actually, I do not like included excursions (aka tours) and prefer to book our own excursions using private vendors.

 

Thank you for the write-up -- it is definitely interesting and sounds like you had a wonderful time.

writing about tour of the ship - that did make me smile ;) and reminded me - something I forgot to mention - was that they have an open Bridge policy - anytime night or day!!!! Whilst sailing thru the Kiel Canal did go onto the Bridge, the "Pilots" of the Canal were doing their thing:)

The main pricing/inclusion issue I have at present with Compagnie du Ponant is the drinks are not included in the price (outside of meal times).

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but drinks are included with your meals, but are charged outside of meal times. For a presitge/premium cruise line, I find this a bit more dissapointing than the shore excursions. It's a feature I like on other premium lines. Not sure why CDP chose differently..? Still looking forward to my adventure in December though...

You are correct, wine was included with both lunch and dinner - there was always a choice of either a Red, White or Rose.

do agree that drinks could/should be included but did find the prices quite good. Tea & Coffee (not specialities) were always available from the bar - we were not told that but had to find out for ourselves :(

I think TC2's tongue was in her cheek. Regent includes shore excursions (but not the really good ones which cost extra.) I say "includes" but I really mean overcharges to include them.

The only time shore excursions have been included for us have been on River Cruises - anyway we normally like to do our own thing going ashore.

But even then I still think ship excursions are a rip off - but then that is my humble opinion :p

Thanks for the review. Would love more details in the embarkation issues. Considering this line for a future cruise.

Hi

the info we had read HMS Belfast Tower Bridge. We were dropped off by our taxi/cab and went down to that point only to be told, you have to be on the other side of the river (you could see it ) i.e. Tower Millennium Pier. At that point our taxi had departed and as we were a bit early, decided in our wisdom!! to walk to Tower Bridge to get to the other side , unfortunately once we got to the Bridge, there is a staircase going up to it, we started walking up, had to stop half way to catch our breath - even tho our cases have wheels - luckily for us two very nice young gentlemen saw our plight and in two ticks carried our cases up. We walked across the bridge taking our time, and then managed to go down the other side, cases going bump bump down the steps :p we walked along the cobbles and eventually found the pier , it is where people go on short river rides etc. We complained to the lady who looked at our ticket/passports, and she said "so sorry". We were then shuttled on a small boat back to HMS Belfast where Le Boreal was moored next to. Our luggage was taken from us before we got on the shuttle (i.e. small boat)at that point, and must say, once we boarded we were shown to our cabin, we had a look around it, then went straight to the lounge for Tea/Coffee, and once back to our cabin our luggage was there.

If they had only put on the documentation "Millenium Pier" I would have no hesitation in giving them 5* plus - as I had written earlier, we weren't the only ones who had this problem.

Anything else you would like to know, will try and give info about

Have recently returned from a short cruise sailing from London - Tower Bridge to Copenhagen through the Kiel Canal.

The info we received from Ponant re embarkation started us off on a wrong footing - giving us incorrect info re boarding. Suffice to say we overcame that but made us look out for anything else that would be wrong.

Our booking through a local agent was extremely smooth - and we looked forward to sailing with this particular line for the first time.

Once we had boarded the ship, we found the crew and officers alike extremely friendly and helpful.

The cabin was on deck 3 forward which suited us, at least we got a bit of a walk going for meals or up to the lounges etc. A good sized cabin with a king size bed (two twins pushed together no doubt.) but comfortable. Ample storage space around. and our cases fitted under the bed with no problem. The bathroom is on the small side but a good size shower and then the toilet is separate - which is good. All with the usual complimentary soaps, etc. Bathrobes and slippers for use which is good less to pack . Balcony was a good size with two chairs and a table. Another plus was the good size of the safe . Constructive criticism to sit in front of the mirror - one couldn't get past. Complimentary bottled water, which was given continuously.

Loved the layout of the ship with a lift forward or aft if needed and found her "beautiful"

Had a couple of dinners in the main dining room (silver service) and must point out that the Maître D'hôtel put English speaking with English speaking etc. but we preferred eating up in the buffet. Liked the big windows to look out.

A good selection for Breakfast. Lunch was also served in both venues, but then again we ate in the buffet on deck 6, and occasionally sat out by the pool - glorious.

Afternoon Tea/Coffee served in the lounge with mini cakes and snacks.

Was a tad disappointed with the food. thought we were going to have a very good gastronomic experience.

Yes, the breads, cakes, desserts, pastries etc. were wonderful . Good choice of various salads etc., but the main course - mediocre.

Our main reason for doing this cruise was to sail through the Kiel Canal on a small ship. Wonderful.

We knew it was a French speaking ship and announcements were given first in French and then English, but definitely more was said in French than English!!

We did one ship tour - something we don't normally do but as we had on-board credit, wanted to use it up. Do feel tho, ships tours are a rip off, but that is on any ship anywhere in the world.

We were very lucky to have had the most amazing weather.

Would we sail with this company again,? they must sort out their information re embarkation - a major failure. Mores the pity as it is a beautiful ship.

I found the dress code on Le Boreal to be casual and relaxed, except for the Captain's dinner and farewell dinners. Most people wore something better than smart casual, others like me made do with black trousers and a clean top!

 

If you eat in the restaurant a lot, the dress standard seems to be a bit higher than in the rest of the ship - similar to what you'd wear out to a nice restaurant. Do you need a tux or evening dress? No.

 

In the bistro, anything respectably clean will do!

Many thanks for response, appreciate it .

Seems similar to the various River cruises we have done :)

Looking forward to our forthcoming cruise on Le Boreal next week, but trying to find out the dress code:

The following is what is on their website

"Dress Code

During the day, leisure wear is recommended. For the excursions, bring practical clothes and comfortable shoes. Evening attire is at your discretion - to each their own elegant style!"

Does anyone on this site have any further info about this.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

The Toilet is separate i.e. their own "cubicle" :)

We will be sailing on Le Boreal in May - counting the days,:D

Have been told by our TA that we will not have a problem with the language. I did high school French years ago but that was to far back for me to remember :o

Hi, SailorUk, go over to our roll call section and see....

 

Let us know!

 

Carolyn

Hi Carolyn

Have posted there, and so far no response, but will "wait and see" :)

We have recently booked to sail on Le Boreal from London to Copenhagen and only have just found these posts. On reading them cannot wait. :D

I wonder if any other CC's are on this trip?

We Have just booked this trip, anyone else sailing .

Is there much to see and do in Basel?

should we stay a day and incur hotel costs or fly out disembarkation day?

thks Frank

When we did our first river cruise - all those years ago:p we started off in Basel and went down the Rhine to Amsterdam. We stayed overnight in Basel and went to "three countries corner" (I think that is what it is called. )where you can stand on the border of Switzerland, France & Germany.

I can remember we bought something to eat and sat on the banks of the River watching our boat arriving

Eclipse.

Deck - 6

Cabin # - 6303

Class –

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – Balcony

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – extremely quiet

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – The top of the Tuscan Grill was visible at "ground" level - but didn't deter from the sea view at all

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - oversized for class - as it is the last cabin aft before sunset balcony staterooms

Was wind a problem? no. Fairly protected, as it was deeper than norm

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? Only really noticed soot on the rail towards the end of the cruise.

Any specific problems with this cabin?

Any other comments As it was aft of the ship it was a along walk which too us was good, gave us extra excerise

No, packages cannot be shared. If you want 2 drinks you need 2 cards.

Thanks, well that solves that. Hubby can drink and I will watch:p

Probably will not bother anyway with a drinks package