Ragnar Danneskjold
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Posts posted by Ragnar Danneskjold
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We’d do Windstar again if they would change their smoking policies, and do something about lounger-saving. The crew were actually quite good, chow decent (more batch prep than on a lux ship, but still pretty good, especially the bacon!) Wines with the booze package quite good. Bartenders good (but limited bar opening times).
We took the galley tour and the galley was spotless, with the workers seemingly liking their jobs. The head chef actually showed us the recipe book for that night’s selections, and talked about how they focused on quality of their batch-prepared items. The head chef was from India and I asked him if they ever offered Indian dishes. He said no normally, but he would be excited to prepare an Indian dinner for us. So the next night I mentioned that to the waiter and was presented with the best Indian dinner we’ve ever had! All the nearby diners looked jealous 🙂
Shorex were weak, but that may have been mostly due to ports visited (southern Caribbean).
There were issues with generators that are fixed with the stretch and re-engining. Supposedly, all bathrooms on the stretched ships were refurbished.
WS does visit some interesting places, and is quite “economical”. My biggest complaint was with the clientele. I would consider sailing with them in areas not convenient to the southeast of the US. Waaaay too many smokers, and too much big-ship type behavior. Too bad really, because WS could be a good premium line if they would fix the passengers 🙂
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On 7/2/2021 at 6:56 PM, Jim Avery said:
Now Raggy, I have met you and you met or exceeded all my expectations. 🍺😎
Awww, shucks… -
4 hours ago, knotheadusc said:
Still dying to meet Jim Avery.
Never meet your heros…-
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How was the cigar and pipe smoking situation at the pool bar? They were at it non-stop from before dawn to late at night on our Legend Caribbean cruise a while back. Made the pool bar area and much of the pool deck uninhabitable.
PS - the cigarette smokers would hide their lit cigarettes under the table or lounger in the non-smoking areas and take furtive puffs occasionally. Tells you what sort of people cruise WS (more than once)….
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Yes, losing ~25% of your paid in full passengers due to red tape snafus does not instill confidence…
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Seriously though, I have a lot of cruise line stock and this contact tracing stuff is starting to worry me about the viability of cruising. All the lines need to clearly state their protocols in this area, for every port of call, and length of cruise, etc.
It may turn out to just be a tempest in a teapot, but we need clarity in this area.
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Columbia would be high on my list.
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Just hope that your WC doesn’t call at a place like Bermuda…. Imagine being dragged off your WC due to contact tracing and thrown into a small hotel room for two weeks while your fellow WCers sail off into the sunset.
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28 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:
@Ragnar Danneskjold How are you now? Any chance of you rebooking to go on the Aug 3 Bermuda Escape as I'd love to meet you!
Things are improving on the medical front. Hoping that the doctors will give us a thumbs-up to travel in the fairly near future. But I’m afraid this last round of contact-tracing “landmines” has scared us off of traveling to Bermuda. As others have mentioned, 14 days stuck in a small hotel room with ol’ Ragnar might drive DW over the edge 🙂
Once I read the trip reports from the June 15th cruise, I’ll be signing off the Bermuda threads.Thanks Bluesea for all the great information you have provided here!
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29 minutes ago, MRGACRUZR said:
The number that didn't make it count comes mostly from crew members so "confirmed", no but there are only about 330 on board with 450 crew. The only reports of quarantined passengers was one from the ship that apparently had a vaccine breakthrough. There was a Bermdan on the JetBlue flight from JFK that tested positive. It seems the contact tracking did not end up affecting any Viking passengers. It seems the 90 left behind never got out of the states. PCR test? Bermuda Travel Authorization? vaccination? Poorly executed paperwork?, passport?.
There is no way I can tell you anything that "confirms" or is "exactly". It's not the kind of info that is written somewhere.
At least it appears all of our CruiseCritic “family” made it aboard 🙂 The info exchanged here was invaluable. Easy to see how folks that aren’t on CC could have had Bermuda entry issues.-
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On the June 15 Bermuda roll call someone posted a document from Bermuda that says if you “sit within two seats” of someone on the plane to Bermuda that tests positive you are considered a “close contact” and can be put into 14 day quarantine!
And, from reading the other Bermuda testing requirement docs, it appears that unvaccinated residents can fly into Bermuda without a pre-flight test. But the residents are “strongly encouraged” to get a pre-flight test…. And they have to quarantine after arrival. This must be how some of the positive tests at BDA are happening.
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1 minute ago, Jim Avery said:
three days? Ragnar kicked us out after one.....😱
Lois is welcome for more than one day…. -
19 minutes ago, TrulyBlonde said:
We stayed at Monarch due to the beach access for the little one and the lower 1st floor rooms for the s'mores and fire pit (also Grace Kelly can be taken out easily).
For adult time, I know my daughter would say to stay at Montage. I have not been there yet but I know it is her favorite.
I also have stayed at the Resort at Pelican Hill. Except for the gorgeous pool, I preferred Monarch.
You live in a great area for CA. Civil, good people, no riots or burning, great restaurants, good weather.
I live by the 3 day rule when it comes to houseguests. A good idea to review the resorts nearby in case they want to linger longer 😉
Thanks!
Haha, it’s the “1 day rule” if Jim or ho-hum visit 🙂
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4 hours ago, TrulyBlonde said:
My family lives in Newport Beach so this is a very special place for me. My little Grandson loves hotel resort living so it is a treat when Gramie comes to visit and we stay at one of these places you mentioned. The 3/4 day Disney cruise out of San Diego also works well. 😉.
We are thinking of staying a few days at one of the three for our upcoming anniversary, since we are still not supposed to fly. Which would you suggest for such a getaway? We are leaning towards the Montage, for its close proximity to shopping, galleries, etc. All are only a whopping 20-25 minute drive from our house 🙂 We’ve been to various events at the other two, so are somewhat familiar with them, but have never been to the Montage.
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If you bought Viking trip insurance you can cancel up until day of departure and receive a credit good for a year, for any reason. You have to call Viking and then send an email to a specific email address. I would not wait until tomorrow if you feel you should cancel. Better double check the wording on when the last instant you can cancel is.
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2 minutes ago, jtwind said:
Did the mystery about why there were less people on the first cruise than there was supposed to be ever get resolved?
Well, I just checked the flight we were supposed to return on on AA Tuesday. It was full just before we were due to depart a week or so ago. But there are 25 available seats now. This would comport with the ~100 folks said to have “missed the boat”.And very topical to the FB info reliability discussion:
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I’ve found it somewhat surprising that our little backwater nestled in the nether regions of Orange County, equally far from LA and San Diego, should have such a collection of nice resort hotels. It’s a great place to live, but I’m not sure why anyone would want to vacation here. Haha, perhaps we are too close to it to see it 🙂
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And for those that find ol’ Ragnar’s, ummm, aroma off-putting, these are just a couple of miles up the coast:
https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/california/laguna-niguel
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I was going to respond that I though the situation was resolved sensibly, with the people who had close contact put under tighter scrutiny. Then I remembered the New York Yankees situation…
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And since I am shilling for San Clemente, here’s the beach:
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Did I mention Jim and ho-hum are included as butlers? Sir hum doubles as sommelier and Jim makes a mean margarita.
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We have decided just to vacation in place for the next year or two. Why the heck would we want to go anywhere else:
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Though I’m much too lazy to research it, is this “quarantine after a contract tracing hit” a Bermuda thing only? Or do other countries require this?
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1 minute ago, TrulyBlonde said:
I am sure you and your wife are thanking your lucky cranberries today. 😉
Ha-ha! But no, would rather have braved the covid slings and arrows than to have had to cancel for medical reasons. Hopefully we’ll be able to travel again soon. But we will be much more cautious and selective in choosing a trip, given what has been learned from this comedy of errors…-
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Experience with independent tour of London?
in Viking Ocean
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Try Parker Car Service, we have used them several times, and they were very reliable. Still around. They offer private tours also. Ho-hum recommended them, so definitely top of the Mark…