aimhigh

No noise at all in 3041, excellent location too. 

No pilar in 3041 either

Hi @arlowood, we have just boarded the 21 Aug cruise and all indications are that the rotation is as I posted earlier (Asian Panorama is this evening). Will let you know!

5 hours ago, photopro2 said:

Hello to everyone currently onboard, especially those of you doing back-to- backs into next week. We look forward to joining you on Saturday 😎  

 

I was wondering if one of you could estimate or discover the way the Chef's Table menu rotation will run on into next week. We are not so concerned what the menus will be (we have enjoyed all we have tried so far!) but would just like to know, if possible, on which days the menu will be changed. 

 

Thanks in advance.

The menu(s) are in post 226 above and the rotation is Asian Panorama, Great Britain, Lotus.

@Jenal2, I think you have misunderstood the YouTube video.

With the greatest respect to Emma who created the video, the premise is not which cruise line has the best Sars-Cov-2 protections in place, but instead which are her top five cruise lines that have published Sars-Cov-2 measures.

Emma has considered her preferences and headline price (without a comparison of what is included in the ticket price) in order to reach her personal ranking. 

As has been said on this thread, no one knows what each line will eventually offer in terms of Sars-Cov-2 protection measures, so it is a paper comparison at best.

I am sure if price and preferences are eliminated, the (paper based) ranking would be very different. Viking for example has invested in twice daily testing with labs on board the ships.

Just trying to set the premise straight as far as I see it! 
 

Not really any of our business.

i f you a shareholder you could propose a motion at the agm, but otherwise as a customer your only choice is to buy or go elsewhere.

One thing to note is that there may not be a lift (elevator) at the station so you will most probably need to take your bags up a steep set of steps.

6 hours ago, uktog said:

Thanks, I cruise with another smaller line where the staff know you and its not an issue.  They do monitor sanitiser use but know who does not use it for good reason.  Other guests respect the staff monitoring and leave it at that.

Personally I take no interest in the behaviour of others as they enter the dining room.

This has been very helpful, I can see that whilst there was a lot I liked about Viking, to avoid issues for others, its not the cruise line for us if we are going to be seen as guests inviting trouble.

At least we learned beforehand, though I might just ping Viking an email to get their view as we have already been talking with them re food allergies.

Hi Uktog,
I don't think this is a case of one cruise line v's another, I think we all have to be visibly seen to be following guidelines for cleanliness and this means washing hands whenever you wish to eat at the buffet. 
Sadly the majority of hand sanitisers will not protect anyone against Noro virus or Flu virus mostly because they don't contain the right chemicals (some do) and secondly because they are used incorrectly - a quick wipe isn't good enough.
The best policy is to follow the healthcare recommendation of regularly, repeatedly wash hands for at least 20 seconds.
Like it or not, small cruise line or big cruise line, I suspect that enforced hand washing will become the norm for everyone who wishes to eat in the buffet.

On 2/20/2020 at 2:15 PM, janetcbl said:

On our recent ocean cruise everyone was stopped at the entrance to the dining facilities and “reminded” to either wash their hands or use the sanitizing mist spray before entering.

Sadly this doesn’t protect anyone from those who eat from their plate with their fingers at the buffet, lick their fingers and then handle tongues or fruit. I am disappointed to tell you that this happened lots on my recent Viking cruise and I have seen it on other cruise lines. I always ask the crew to change the serving utensils but they never speak to the offenders.

If you really care, wash your hands, use a napkin to handle tongues and do not think it is cool to eat food with your fingers.

13 hours ago, capriccio said:

We did the 10 day cruise on the Crown over Christmas last year.  In Bonaire we rented a golf cart (http://www.bonairecruisers.com/) and had an enjoyable day but since this is your first visit to Bonaire, you need to snorkel (or dive) off Klein Bonaire which is some of the best snorkeling in the world.  The folks at Woodwind (https://www.woodwindbonaire.com/) offer an excellent half day of drift snorkeling.  It was the best snorkeling excursion we have ever done anywhere.  If you're looking for a fun excursion in Aruba, check out Trikes Aruba (https://www.trikes-aruba.com/).

We have snorkeled twice with Woodwind over the years and have been very happy with our choice to be repeat customers. Be safe and be happy!

14 hours ago, broker1217 said:

 

........ I do remember seeing people not washing/sanitizing on their way into the World Cafe on last years TA in March. At the beginning of the cruise there were VO employees enforcing handwashing but as the cruise progressed there was not an employee making sure people washed/sanitized their hands. So unfortunately, there are folks who don't follow protocol.

 

 

On our recent Viking Sea cruise (West Indies) embarkation was delayed due to passenger sickness on the prior cruise.

A letter explaining the situation was given out as passengers arrived in the terminal, and there were announcements, but many passengers walked right past the sanitisers as they boarded the ship.

For the first 7 days, a crew member politely asked everyone to wash their hands as they entered the World Cafe, but this was bypassed by many if the crew member was replenishing towels. There were no such requests at the pool grill and I didn't see anyone sanitise or wash their hands.

I was amazed (disappointed) to see passengers sneeze into their hands in the World Cafe and then pick up serving tools; in the last few days I heard one passenger walk past those who were washing their hands and say in an arrogant tone  'we aren't still doing this are we?'; and people picked up fruit and plates and then put them back. It is no wonder that sickness spreads on a ship.

Is it the age of the passengers? ignorance? or just plain refusal to comply? 

Whatever it is, I always used a tissue when picking up serving tongs.

We used WhatsApp using Viking Wi-fi. Our phones stayed in airplane mode.

Simple, effective, no cost group communication.

Oh, what to choose?

First Cruise - mini suite on the Dawn 2004 Caribbean (Wife's birthday)

Australia and New Zealand - Sapphire Princess 2008 (25th Wedding anniversary)

Alaska land and Sea - Sapphire Princess 2012 (Another wife's Birthday)

The last two were amazing!

Russ

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Transport in central London is fully integrated so you can swap between buses and tube.

I would seriously consider the normal red London buses or even just walk.

There are some amazing bus routes that pass many of the key sights in one trip. There are many apps that can help route planning such as City Mapper.

London is very compact and you can see lots on a short walk.

I would only use the tube if I had too.

Also, the district, circle lines take a long time and central line is crowded.

Chattyme_99, Johno1234 and easyboy

I recently booked Hotel Maya with a cruise discount but did not have a code.

(I tried all the codes previously published but they didn't work)

So

I sent an email to the hotel, explaining I am on a forthcoming cruise and asked politely if they offer any discounts, to which they said yes, a Carnival Discount.

I then confirmed I would like to book with that discount. This was just for a room. I do not have a car and as far as I can see there are no tie-ins or catches. The staff are very helpful and pleasant.

So my advice is send the hotel a nice email.

Hope that helps

Hi

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions!

I think our challenge will be where to store luggage because we are staying in the Hotel Maya for a couple of days pre-cruise.

@Fishywood - Thank you for the link. Shame the tour goes right back to Long beach (where we will have explored pre-cruise) I will ask my wife if this is acceptable to her.

@Bigenna - This would be my ideal solution (explore, lunch then transport to LAX) But where to store the luggage!

@Red3lisa - I would like to explore the USA Iowa!

Thanks again

HI

We are sailing on Ruby in March for a 7 day Californian Coastal Cruise out of San Pedro and I wondered if anyone who has sailed this itinerary recalls whether Princess run any tours through Los Angeles after disembarkation that end at LAX?

Our flight leaves late afternoon so we have lots of time.

Thanks!

Ship time is usually the same as local time do your 'clock' will need you to keep track of the inevitable time zone changes

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Esprit, I agree, I don't understand the drastic change either. That is now 3 ports changed.

Our trip is not starting well. Our plane has just returned to Heathrow due to the nose wheel door not closing!

Esprit, I agree, I don't understand the drastic change either. That is now 3 ports changed.

Our trip is not starting well. Our plane has just returned to Heathrow due to the nose wheel door not closing!

We have just received notification that the two stops in Kusadasi have now been removed from the itinerary on our 14 day cruise sailing on 23 July.

Rhodes and Valletta have also been remove sadly.

We will now visit Mykonos, Kotor and Corfu twice each.

Safety first I guess but I was looking forward to visiting Malta!

I have to say, I find this thread bizarre, full of inaccurate generalisations.

It is true that in Churches and Mosques there are certain dress codes that mean shorts are often not allowed for both men and women (probably including capri trousers for women - longer dresses are often requested) and it is best to research individual sites such as the Vatican etc.

I am a European from UK and I have visited most of western of Europe. In towns and cities I see locals and visitors wearing skirts, dresses, trousers, shorts and capri trousers out in the streets, no issue. Younger ladies can also be seen wearing 'hot pants' - again no issue. but never in a church of course.

And just for the record, I have checked with my wife and she has packed summer dresses, trousers, shorts and capri trousers for our visit to ports across Italy, Greece and Turkey.

And us Europeans don't get offended when seeing people in shorts on a cruise ship (LOL).

So apart from showing respect by following the dress code for religious sites (which I presume is the same in the US?), where does this view of ultra conservatism in Europe come from?

Just check out sites you will visit before you pack and then enjoy yourself. You will love Europe!

I just hope Princess brings them back to Southampton sailings.

Despite a livelier set of passengers, they are a great weekend break.

I miss them on Princess.

Just received an email from Princess - Istanbul port call on 28 July changed to Rhodes but two port calls to Kusadasi on 27 July and 1 Aug remain for the moment.

That gave me a chuckle Don!