Paul73

Quick question: we board in Miami for the cruise around South America. On previous cruises I run first thing in the morning and then stop by the coffee bar and get two lattes "to go" to bring to our room. I've heard that Regent no longer provides "go cups" for coffee. Is that correct? I hate to have to balance two coffee cups walking around the ship at 7am. Thanks

The geo-location function of my iPhone pictures says the port city was Hiep Phuoc. Hope this helps.

We were on the Neptune world cruise this year. We moored in a container port about a 30 minute drive to downtown Saigon. I'm a runner and there was absolutely nothing outside the gate to the container port. I ran a few miles into the hinterland, then back to the port. We took the overnight stay in Ho Chi Minh city. Great city tour, very nice dinner, nice hotel stay with high speed internet. Viking also ran a daily shuttle from the ship to the Opera House, right in the center of the downtown area. Hope this helps. Paul

We just returned from a Viking Pharaohs and Pyramids trip to Egypt with a post-cruise extension in Jordan. We didn't see any anti-Israeli or anti-American graffiti or demonstrations. We felt safe the entire trip.

On the first day they stock the fridge with one bottle each of scotch, bourbon, gin and vodka. We asked our cabin steward to change to 2 scotch and 2 gin and that's what happened for the rest of the cruise. There are also a few beers, sodas, mini-bags of peanuts and a chocolate bar, which can similarly be modified to meet your desires.

For the average 2 week cruise it's in the low 60s. For longer cruises the age goes up because it's harder for working people to take 4 weeks or more off. On the recent world cruise the average age was about 70

We're taking the Pharaohs and Pyramids River cruise in Oct. After our post-cruise excursion in Jordan Viking booked us on Turkish Air out of Amman Jordan to Istanbul to change to another Turkish AIr flightd. So yes, Viking books passengers on Turkish airlines..

We were on a 3 day port visit to Mumbai this spring. 20 of us contracted a private trip to Taj Mahal with Memphis tours. They did an outstanding job. Memphis tours met us at the pier, drove us to the airport, provided the airline tickets and facilitated check in. Flew to New Dehli the afternoon our ship arrived. They had a bus waiting for us there and bussed us to our hotel in Agra. We were at the Taj for sunrise in the morning, then returned to the hotel for breakfast and pack. Bussed to Fort Agra, guided tour, then back to the airport and ship. Total cost was under 1000 per person. The following day we booked a small group tour of Mumbai, also with Memphis Tours. Most highly recommended.

We went from Mumbai to Agra/Taj Mahal with a private group of about 25 and it was never an issue

Cruising Denise: if you like rocky coastlines similar to Maine and Big Sur, CA, it's an interesting trip. Yes it's a long day. You make 2 stops where you have about a half hour to walk around and photograph rock formations. We did a lunch stop in a small town where we had the opportunity to walk around a bit and pick our own restaurant for lunch. We stopped at a quick stop and saw some koalas high up in a tree. The drive down was scenic and sit on the left side of the bus. The ride back was on a highway and much faster than the ride along the coast. Beautiful country, but a long day on the bus.

The port is in an industrial area with nothing in the immediate vicinity. I went running in several ports and this one is pretty desolate.

There were wine tastings about every 2 weeks during the WC. No charge. They did fill up quickly, but several times we put our names on a wait list and they did a second wine tasting the next day. We did a rum tasting and a scotch tasting. No charge. I don't know about mixology classes.

Deec: The Tripmate summary mentions you're not covered for a loss due to "financial insolvency." When you read the detailed policy on-line you find: "FINANCIAL INSOLVENCY means the total cessation or complete suspension of operations due to insolvency, with or without the filing of a bankruptcy petition, whether voluntary or involuntary, by a tour operator, cruise line, airline, rental car company, hotel, condominium, railroad, motor coach company, or other supplier of travel services which is duly licensed in the jurisdiction of operation." So Tripmate does not cover bankrupcy. To simplify travel insurance I buy an annual policy from Allianz. It covers travel before, during and after a cruise. Max reimbursement is selectable up to $15k per person (covers spouse, too). More than adequate for a river cruise. I purchase a supplement for a higher cost cruise if I'm not willing to risk the difference between cost of the cruise and insurance coverage.

We just finished a world cruise and joined after the first segment. All the people who started on the first segment got to select their excursions before we did. We got about 75% of what we wanted and waitlisted for the others. Of the waitlisted excursions we got another 20%. In 4 of 53 ports we did private tours. Another consideration in joining later is that the world cruisers have formed friendships for drinking and dining. You'll be the "new guys." But I assume there will be more people joining with you so that may not be a negative and may not matter to you. I recommend you make a list of your "must do" excursions and call Regent to check availability.

We're at-sea on Viking Neptune. Entry door opening is 6'8". Ceiling is 7'. Bathroom door is 6"4" Shower spray is adjustable. Full up is 6'6" and it's removeable so you can spray whatever needs more water.