mjz

On 7/23/2023 at 11:15 AM, mjz said:

I'll be on the Avalon Panorama from Basel to Amsterdam embarking July 29th.  I'll post an update along the way.

I’m sure you’re well aware, but water levels are currently a non issue.  Have a great trip!  We’re enjoying ours.

8 hours ago, wgerr said:

My wife and I are scheduled to cruise from Basel to Amsterdam on the Avalon Expression, embarking on Aug 8. I'm getting very nervous that water levels will cause an interruption or even a cancellation of our holiday. I've called the cruise line and they are very dismissive of the possibility of anything negative happening. I've read predictions that the river will be so low by August that commercial river traffic will be halted and cruises may also be stopped. It's hard to get a reasonable expectation of what we may experience so I've signed up here after reading many of the posts. Watching for updates as our dates get closer!

I'll be on the Avalon Panorama from Basel to Amsterdam embarking July 29th.  I'll post an update along the way.

How do the chances of rain look along the Rhine through the end of the month?  In looking at two different apps (weather.com and the weather app on my iPhone), it differs.  I'm seeing some chances for rain along with cooler temps.  We're sailing from Basel to Amsterdam starting on July 29th.

8 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Unusually, Kaub gauge actually has a Wikipedia page in English. It is needs a tiny bit of updating, but the explanation of the significance is still correct: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaub_gauging_station

 

N.B.: For river cruising we need to look at the draft in a different way, i.e. there is only so much load you can take off a river cruise ship to make it lighter.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you for sharing the Wiki.  I learned something new today!

20 hours ago, notamermaid said:

My pleasure, AliceS. Thank you for saying hello.

 

Today is a beautiful sunny day around here, we have had cold nights and some rain which came down as snow in the mountains, not the valley or low hills. Looks like we may be fully in Spring now. Trees are blossoming, car is covered with yellow-green dust (pollen) and the tulips in a garden down the road look adorable. It is currently raining in parts of the Upper Rhine valley though.

 

Ships are out and about on the river of course, if anyone out there would like to post some photos in this thread to whet others' appetite for the Rhine please do.

 

Rhine levels still looking good for at least a week to come. Predicted to rise with Maxau showing it from 25 April, which will then give Kaub a nice rise again.

 

notamermaid

 

Hi notamermaid, I've been following this thread for awhile now.  I see Kaub referenced a lot.  What's the significance of Kaub?

We have an end of July trip sailing on Avalon's Romantic Rhine itinerary.  I've been following this thread since January and find it very informative.  Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

I would suggest three possible paths for you:

 

1. If you have a local agent you have worked with and they know and understand your preferences, that is generally just as valuable (if not more so) than their knowledge of the cruise line. A travel agent with overall experience can bring themselves up to speed, on a cruise line that is new to them, in short order. But knowing you and understanding your needs, is more valuable to you, as I see it.

 

2. If you do not have a local agent you work with, her is your second best option. Call a few agents in your local area (by referral, phone book, or simple search.) Ask them the following: "Have you booked any client on Windstar in the past 12-18 months? If so, how many cruises? Have you ever traveled on Windstar yourself?"

 

3. If method 1 or 2 won't work for you; ask for referral recommendations from friends and colleagues. Exceptional travel agents get a very good portion of their new clients via referrals. Travel agents who seem to only get new clients from social media and internet / goggle ads may not have a lot of long-term clients after the "great bargain deal" thrill wears off.

 

When doing your search, I would not assume that they need to have booked 20 clients, as Windstar is a small line, with small ships. Carnival, or NCL books more passengers in a day, than Windstar does in a month. I hope this helps. I know many of the members here can recommend agents the have been working with for years, and many agents post on CC often. But making that all public would destroy the integrity of these boards, in very short order. That is why we will seldom know who they are here.

I appreciate your advice, thank you.

Good afternoon. We plan on booking two suites for the August 10th, 2019 Scandinavia & Baltic Spectacular on Star Pride. I know that it's against policy to specifically name travel agents / consolidators on the forums. Other than Google, does anyone have first hand experience with the best way to identify travel agents or cruise consolidators that specialize in Windstar cruise?

We have friends that tried to do so last week as they needed to get home earlier than expected. It can be done. However, the last minute flights from Huahine to PPT were sold out.

Thank you for your advice.

We will be traveling to French Polynesia in two weeks. I'd like to be able to check my voicemail and return any urgent calls while away. I currently have an iPhone 6 Plus and I'm on the Sprint network. I can add on an international plan for my travel dates at around $1.60 which would allow me to call back to the USA at $1.99 per minute -- receive texts at $0.05 -- and send texts at $0.50.

Or, I could buy a Vini SIM card upon arrival in Tahiti. My phone is currently unlocked. Does anyone have any idea what it costs per minute to call the USA from French Polynesia with a Vini SIM card? I've gone to the Vini website, but I'm having issues figuring this out since I don't speak/read French. I've also Googled extensively.

I'm not concerned about data as I'll have internet access in our hotels and on our Windstar cruise.

I can also purchase a Vini -- Alcatel One Touch phone with SIM card duty free on Air Tahiti Nui for $25 USD. This comes with 17 minutes of local calling. I'd have to top the SIM off when I get to Tahiti in order to make calls back to the USA.

Many thanks in advance!

Having done this itinerary on WS would not book it unless it included Istanbul and Ephesus. They are two of our favorite ports of all time.

 

We were booked to go back on Seabourn in October, and cancelled right at the 90 day mark to avoid penalties, and 5 days later they cancelled all Turkey ports due to the unrest so we dodged a bullet.

 

Would wait until things developed further at this time, its not worth a 5% to me.

Agreed and I'm definitely holding off as we have time on our side. Istanbul is one of my favorite cities and I'd like my partner to experience it at some point. We'll see how things play out and I wish only the best for those in this region.

I plan on taking my partner on Windstar's Greek Isle and Turkey cruise in May of 2018 for his birthday. I'm hoping that Istanbul will be back on the itinerary by this time. Questions: When does Windstar typically release sailing dates for sale? Does Windstar offer discounts if you book a cruise while sailing with them? If so, we'll be cruising French Polynesia in three weeks and I could potentially book at that time if the price makes sense.

This past week, I was quoted $869.40 by Windstar for the drink package on my seven day cruise in September. I was told that this included the 15% service charge.

Thank you.

Good Morning, We conclude our Windstar cruise at 9:00 a.m. on a Friday in September. We were planning on taking the 11:30 a.m. ferry to Moorea. There's also a 9:45 a.m. ferry to Moorea. From those with experience, is this tight of a turn doable?

I'd choose Moorea every time over spending time in Tahiti, it's a far more relaxing and beautiful experience.:)

And that's what we have decided to do!

Thank you for the great suggestion Herder.

We chatted about this at dinner last night and we're going to head back to Moorea. After comparing the Hilton and Sofitel as well as reading reviews on TripAdvisor, I've booked an OWB at the Hilton. Now I wish I would have done two nights post cruise .... :)

I believe your departure is not at 6pm but instead at 11PM. Also, the arrival back to Tahiti is 8am not 10am. Since you will be already at the docks when you get back fro the Wind spirit cruise I would take a ferry over Moorea and spend the night there (?hilton moorea). This way you basically have all Friday and a lot of Saturday to enjoy Moorea. There are 2 ferry that go between Tahiti and Moorea, they depart thahiti at 9:45am, 11;30am and 12:45am. Keep planning

Thank you. We're on a charter, so our departure and arrival times differ from the standard sailing. I'm really leaning towards returning to Moorea and ending the trip on a bang.

We are cruising French Polynesia in September on the Wind Spirit. We arrive at 5:00 a.m. on a Thursday morning and the cruise departs on Friday at 6:00 p.m. We'll overnight at the Le Meridien Tahiti (SPG Platinum is the only reason we chose this hotel) prior to the cruise. The cruise arrives back in Tahiti the following Friday at 10:00 a.m. We have another reservation at the Le Meridien Tahiti for Friday night with our flight departing around 11:55 p.m. on Saturday.

I suspect we're not going to be wild about Tahiti or the Le Meridien. We could hang out and relax at the hotel the day we get back to Tahiti and then take a guided tour around the island or to the interior of the island on Saturday. Or, we could get off the cruise, take an 11:30 a.m. ferry to Moorea and return the following day around 5:00 p.m.

We do visit Moorea for a day on the cruise and have an ATV/Jest Ski tour booked with Moorea Activities Centers. I can definitely think of more I would like to do on Moorea, or just relax on the beach at the Sofitel.

Thoughts?

We are cruising French Polynesia in September on the Wind Spirit. We arrive at 5:00 a.m. on a Thursday morning and the cruise departs on Friday at 6:00 p.m. We'll overnight at the Le Meridien Tahiti (SPG Platinum is the only reason we chose this hotel) prior to the cruise. The cruise arrives back in Tahiti the following Friday at 10:00 a.m. We have another reservation at the Le Meridien Tahiti for Friday night with our flight departing around 11:55 p.m. on Saturday.

I suspect we're not going to be wild about Tahiti or the Le Meridien. We could hang out and relax at the hotel the day we get back to Tahiti and then take a guided tour around the island or to the interior of the island on Saturday. Or, we could get off the cruise, take an 11:30 a.m. ferry to Moorea and return the following day around 5:00 p.m.

We do visit Moorea for a day on the cruise and have an ATV/Jest Ski tour booked with Moorea Activities Centers. I can definitely think of more I would like to do on Moorea, or just relax on the beach at the Sofitel.

Thoughts?

Is the cruise in question the Bali to Singapore cruise?

Yes, correct.

Regardless of the fact that this sailing is a charter, the shore excursions are basically identical to other Seabourn sailings that have visited this itineraries

ports. Said excursions are to be scheduled via the Seabourn site, as well as spa treatments. The Seabourn site was happy to take my money for what I've reserved thus far. I had a basic question about an excursion and called into Seabourn, where I received rather terse treatment as well. After being left on hold for 15 minutes, I hung up and will just handle once on board the Odyssey.

I sense some frustration between the charter and cruise line respectively. However, I'm confident that the trip will be absolutely fantastic.

This is embarrassing to ask, but I'm not able to search topics within the Seabourn forum. Am I missing something? I could swear that a few months ago I searched topics such as "tipping" or "internet". Our trip is a few weeks out, and I would like to do some searches on this forum. Sorry if I sound like a total fool .... :rolleyes:

Please disregard. I just noticed the sticky.

This is embarrassing to ask, but I'm not able to search topics within the Seabourn forum. Am I missing something? I could swear that a few months ago I searched topics such as "tipping" or "internet". Our trip is a few weeks out, and I would like to do some searches on this forum. Sorry if I sound like a total fool .... :rolleyes: