vistaman

During a cruise fair I requested further information : you are able to book : full board , full board all in (drinks ) , full board with excursions and full board with all in and excursions complimentary Champagne is indeed Taittinger Brut

I am a wine "snob" - I cannot stand the fact red Burgundy is served in a Bordeaux glass for example - and during my 4 cruises on Regent I never had complaints concerning the wine service Usually I do ask to see the wine list during embarkation lunch i remember when i did order white Far Niente the sommelier said it was only delivered same day - very late - and not chilled enough ... during another cruise I said I like my special Champagne rather cold and all my further orders were very OK depending on the cruise there is a wine lunch and sometimes a Champagne lunch - imho it was worth the extra money but I cannot remember the amount

yes that is true - even a possibility only " full board" without drinks there is a cruise fair next weekend in Antwerp and i will try to attend despite I am unable to cruise during the next months

I heard the complimentary Champagne is Taittinger - not bad at all for complimentary bubbles imho

Last year I did 3 cruises on the Dawn and it was very good . This year my cruise on the Dawn was a disaster in full - especially the wine service was poor despite the chief sommelier was excellent a lot of mistakes in the various restaurants ranging from destroying a special upmarket Champagne in La Terrazza , red lamb in Atlantide some cold and lukewarm dishes ... the lunch buffet is far from"attractive" especially the hot dishes never SS for me again !!

I read in queens grill the dover sole is replaced by a lemon sole ???

I did 20 cruises on the Vistafjord - first one in 1990 - and only 1 on the Sagafjord , I did not like the atmosphere on her - it was a very closed society of favourites of the senior officers. The standards dropped heavily on Vistafjord as from the end of 1995 - the management of Cunard was a disaster later confirmed by experts. Cunard was a "toy" for the mother company Trafalgar House . Every cruise something was taken away as well ...and random promotions in the F&B department The refurbishment of the Vistafjord was done far too late one of the reasons I stayed on the Vista until 1999 were the single cabins however before the merging Royal Viking was better in those days. I usually was one of the youngest guests on board the Vista.

it seems R is calculating the single sup on the regular fare , not on the promotion ...

same for my refund

but i do not like the single cabins !

I am in delay to wish you a great time ... it seems next saturday you will be in belgium unfortunately not in my hometown ( boo to C HQ😛 ) but in that desolate port called Zeebrugge I am unable to visit the ship due to a very serious medical condition , must go to hospital on wednesday for further treatment If you do not intend to go to Bruges , i recommend you to take a taxi and ask to bring you to Zoute in Knokke , the most upmarket place on the Belgian coast - your lady will like the shops the shuttle will bring you to Blankenberge what is the opposite of Knokke zoute - the most common place on the coast opposite the local church in Zeebrugge there is a good restaurant but you have to book ( i am not receiving commissions )

i saw him last year on de Silver Dawn

very sorry to hear that sad news - the first time I met Slavko he was headwaiter in the speciality restaurants - unfortuntely the last time was a few months ago on the Symphony

it was very windy in belgium and the netherlands as well feeling sorry that you are docked in Ijmuiden - if a cruise ships will dock in Amsterdam and not a regular , they are unkind ...

sorry to hear that due to a very serious medical condition I had to cancel my upcoming cruise on her dep 19th September 2024 - ship is sold out - immediately my cabin could be sold to somebody on waiting list even after + 40 cruises : the full cancellation procedure so 80% is covered by the complimentary insurance ( for Europeans ) and 20% by my own insurance - lots of paperwork in German - for my doctor and myself i do have another cancellation on ms Europa as well - same procedure and sorry to say it : rather long waiting times for refunds by HL HLC backoffice does not know flexibillity and the compensations for the cruises cancelled by covid were " meagre" - I got a compensation however because I proved its regulation of only taking pax from Germany , Switserland and Austria starting up post covid was illegal ( confirmed by offices of the European Union in written) as a non German citizen it is very difficult to go to the law as well said all this : i got my cancellation by BA , the confirmation and the money in 5 days also on those "impossible" cruises reposition - only sea days HLC is imposing silly single supp. well the next 6 months no cruises for me at all and then it is wait and see

the cruise fares on Ponant did increase so heavily that those are not appropriate anymore for the product definitely Regent for me !

the Regent Grandeur is a beautiful ship !!! I had 3 great cruises on the Silver Dawn , the 4 th was rather bad - SS is going down : quality of food was not ok - service was poor upmarket Champagnes and wines destroyed by poor wine service My first cruise after the bankrupcy on new Crystal was not a success in full , mostly caused by the unpleasant single room. No SB for me anymore since 2016 - and Explora was a disaster wines were very poor The choice of drinks is more elaborated on Crystal and maybe the team of bartenders are also somewhat better but the wine list on Crystal is extremely expensive On Regent you do have more choices for lunch if the ship is in port on Crystal only buffet and hamburgers I have have to chose between the basic room on regent Grandeur or the Crystal sisters , I ' ll go for Regent The Regent Grandeur is one year old , the Symphony 29 .... the choice is yours ! Both lines do have "acceptable" complimentary wines - but choice is better on Regent.

all prices in EUR - Smith haut Lafitte 2011 158 Batailley 2017 270 Pontet Canet 216 cocktails : 7,90 Glenmorangie 10 : 8,6 Glenfiddich 8,6 JW red 6,30 JW Black 8,7 Grouse 12 years 10,4 Wild Turkey 5,9 Jim Beam 5,9 Jack n 7 8,6 carafes wine : 25 cl Weisburgunder 16 sauvignon Blanc 17,5 Riesling 14 Cote du Rhone 12,5 italian Merlot 12,5 Champagne Jacquart 15 cl glass 9,9 rosé 11 Ruinart Rosé 109 Veuve C 76 Beer 20cl 2,9 30cl 3,9 half liter 5,8 DomPérignon 2013 210 Krug 395 Ruinart Bl de Blancs 120 Rosé Veuve C 2015 100 Grande Année Bollinger 2014 245 austrian riesling Singerriedel 126 imho very special i hope the above is helpful for eventual passengers ...

sorry for the delay - i was in hospital as a single you must book very well in advance on Europa 2 - a few suites are reserved for singles at 50% however those cabins are in various degrees ... so also a grand suite and a PH are in that system not all lower degrees sometimes they are opening more suites when bookings are weak a grand suite is the same size as a PH on a lower floor without the butler service try to book a double and pay double is maybe the cheapest i think a single on your cruise is 32,000€ not for my wallet... i am afraid i had to cancel my cruise in September caused by my condition. but maybe i will visit her in my hometown next week. i will have a look to the wine list ...and pass some €€€

i am always in a standard ocean stateroom being single🤑 on board Europa 2 in September , I will report back - aware there is a small group of Belgians

in a PH - i think - you do receive a full bottle of Moet and luxus canapes and 5 half liters of different drinks I think the wodka is Absolut - you better play safe and take a Grey Goose from duty free airport if you like the caviar "plain" the best serving is in the Yacht Club with free wodka there is also a daily free apero for dinner in the Yacht Club - main entrance probably Hapag Lloyd will do something for the Philippine crew on the ship as well in the morning the butler will bring you a plate of sliced tropical fruits, ( if you want more just ask) something sweet after lunch and some taster before dinner the best German Rieslings are from area Rheingau and Rheinhessen , a good producer is Weill, Schneider is not so bad - Baden and Franken are easy to drink wines however announced as "dry" "trocken" the Mosel area is the sweetest but the Austrians are superb Wachau and Kamptal area - the best is a wine "Singerrieder" in Germany better wines are "grossen Gewachs " in Austria "Smaragd " if the Austrian sommelier ( Manfred ? ) is still on board he would be delighted to give information if you are mentionning " a Belgian repeater " both the general manager ( 4 stripes ) as the hotel director 3,5 stripes will know me 😄 if Lisa is there as international hostess , she will take good care of you !

Congratulations ! and I hope you will like her I was invited on board her sister ( the old Europa ) in my hometown 10 days ago and I had a brief look to the bar and wine lists. A cocktail is now 7,8€ and house Champagne 12 € A bottle of Dom Pérignon was 220 ( and not 500 dollar as on crystal😝) - the US wines are not the cheapest ( so no Far Niente for me on Hapag ) If you want your mineral water "cold" order ice with it they bring you a tall glass with ice and a spoon aside make the reservations for the speciality restaurants asap - especially for the French Tarragon and Italian Serenissima for lunch you do not need table reservations - in the Tarragon the famous steak tartare is prepared tableside during dinner ( there are some other carvings done as well ) , for lunch it is prepared in the galley the gin tasting is free, the wine or champagne tasting is worth the extra money the girls ( there are men as well ) doing your suite will like you as English speaking guests😄 - most are from Philippines - i do give extra something in the beginning of the cruise as well despite the buffet breakfast is extrememly elaborated ( egg dishes must be ordered at the table ), on the menu of the MDR Weltmeere there are specialities ranging from a small steak tartare to goose liver wit orange sauce and go for a late breakfast in Sansibar once ... If you are a wodka drinker : that is not a speciality by Hapag Lloyd ! wodka cocktails are made with Moskowskaia , and there is Absolut and Grey Goose , however they do charge 11,5 € for a shot of Grey Goose . I suggest you bring a bottle on board - duty free? or a Ketel 1 - martini's are not the speciality by HL , imho with 4 cl you cannot make a decent martini ...one of the differences with other more US ships . I never drink a martini on Hapag. If there is a problem go to see the hotel director . I am on Europa 2 in september : Rome Dubrovnik : full house . sold out

i am not an architect same size as basic suites on Regent , SS and Hapag and separate restrooms as done by Ponant and Hapag

a few days after my arrival I was invited on the ms Europa ( the old one ) as past pax in my hometown Dom P 220€ , Pol Roger Bl de Blancs 145 and Churchill some 230 € Baron de L by Ladoucette a superb Pouilly Fumé : 120€ I really cannot decide what to drink on Hapag Lloyd .... 🙃

I am a wine snob - so Regent has a far friendlier choice - I never eat Asian so Nobu is adding no single value for me on Crystal. I also was disappointed about the buffet on Symphony . IMHO the Encore is a SB ship...