ak1004

Which lines would you consider top lines in addition to Scenic?

Keith, thanks for posting, everything sounds wonderful! When you say double rooms, are you referring to the entry level OV and veranda rooms that were 210 sqft on the previous version of the ship? What has changed? The rooms already seemed fine to me on the Symphony.

I was just going to mention it.. this would resolve all "capacity control" issues. I suspect that at $160, La Dame will be even more empty. Maybe they will be running some specials.. like book on board - and dine in La dame for free. (but then what happens if you cancel later? do you have to give the meal back?)

The big question is how SS presents itself as an all inclusive line and at the same time charges extra for two resturants? When we asked this question while on the Spirit last year, the answer was "capacity control". Apart from the question why La Dame and not Silver Note (both being small venues), there are many solutions to this issue. Oceania for example allows one reservation per cabin per specialty restaurant (2 for suite guests, more on longer sailings). Oceania newer ships have double amount of guests compared to Spirit, and still there are no issues to get a reservation. But on the Nova, La Dame is much large (double?), so now we know that "capacity control" was just an excuse. $60 or $160, doesn't matte, should be ZERO in an all inclusive line. They charge enough for the cruise itself.

Thanks for the review! What was less favorite on this cruise compared to your previous cruises? You mentioned food, was food better on the previous cruises? Which ships have you previously sailed? Are there significant differences between different Uniworld ships? We are doing the Empress in September, the longer version of your cruise (10 nights).

Thanks for the review! Many people consider Viking top of the line, but apparently this is not the case. Our friends took a cruise with Viking and then with Uniworld, and they mentioned that those 2 lines are in a different league. I know that most CC regulars are well aware of this, but most people who are not cruise experts consider Viking superior to other lines. I guess their marketing works. We also prefer not all inclusive experience (as non drinkers), but the irony is that more inclusive usually also means more luxury (less people in buses, better food and service etc). We will see how our first Uniworld cruise goes in Spetember.

We are on Uniworld River Empress which is 110m I believe.

So basically Kaub is the weakest link.. no matter the levels in other ports, once Kaub is below certian level (50cm?), ships cannot pass from Basel to Amsterdam. if this happens, they da a swap? Meaning that ships that go in opposite directions just wait on both sides of Kaub and then swap guests? This would require a serious logistics..

Sorry if this was addressed before, it's a pretty long topic, but why people are so focused on Kaub specifically? We will be doing Basel-Amsterdam with Uniworld on Sep.2, didn't see Kaub as one of the ports.

Well, we have the booking at $6,700 CAD. I assume this is the price.. It's $10,900 CAD now.. I still don't know if it was a mistake, or from time to time they have those promotions of Canadian dollar at par.. I have seen it couple more times since then.

Okay, got it, thanks. https://www.virtuoso.com/travel/advisors/search#query=pavlus&sort=SearchRelevance

Exactly. I understand that they want to wait and see if maybe I would book something before it expires. And I would - but we are fully book till the end of 2024. Maybe Allura will have something attractive and we can use it. But we also have another certificate that we got on our last cruise in May

How do you know if a TA (or the agency) is a member of Virtuoso?

I will have to remember it, but not much I can do at this point. In any case, I can cancel it anytime if they still not able to extend it 2-3 weeks before expiration.

This is correct. Directly from the certificate T&C: "Certificate cancellations are fully refundable up until expiration." However, our next O cruise is in November 2024, so we would definitely like to use it for 2025 sailing, hence the extension request.

My TA spoke to Oceania, they said they may be able to extend it, they said to check back just prior to the expiration date and will see about getting them extended

Thank you, but this was booked on board and no specific booking. And TA was not involved yet.

I believe they use a term "excursions credit". Not that it really matters.. and we all know that it's not really FREE.

Do you have their email?

And if 4-6 is still too many, there is always an option to book those "Executive Collection" tours where you have a private car and driver. Problem solved. Really don't see what's the issue.

Can the Future Cruise Certificate be extended beyond one year? We got the certificate last September, my understanding is that 2025 itineraries will be released mid September, so I probably won't be able to book before it expires. Was anyone successful in extending it beyond one year?

Agree. And if your current booking is was done at least 6-12 months ago, it is safe to assume that the prices already increased even before SM, so the gap between the original price paid and the SM price is much wider.

Yes, cruise only now assumes SM, have to get used to it..

Wow, this is significant! I assume both prices are for cruise only, no air?

And if you book a minimum number of excursions and get 25% discount, then it's closer to 1.2 to 1.3. But also don't forget that with SM you can book any excursion, including OE and OS, which you could not with oLife. So for people who used to book ship excursions or mix of ship and private tours, not much is changing.