milepig

5 hours ago, jgmc said:

In Kaiseki on the Muse, they cook in front of you on the heated grills, thus the food is more authentic and delicious.  I will not eat in Kaiseki on any of the other ships that cook in the kitchen.

 

This is true, but they lack any of the flair, all pretty perfunctory,

Reminds me of the former G gates AT Dulles.  Nicknames the bus station, which this resembles.

having dined in Kyoto, the Silversea version doesn't come close.  Not worth the upcharge. 

18 hours ago, BBGrace273 said:

Oh my goodness, are you KIDDING? Totally doing that, thanks! I leave 2 weeks from yesterday for a few days in Vancouver before the cruise, so I will put that on my list of things to do.

this is exactly our experience.  Uber takes you inside to a drop off point.  From there is is a short walk to luggage drop off.  Then its all flat, but a bit of a walk, until you reach the boarding ramp.  You need to a bit of stuff, like customs, really a formality, and Silversea registration. Not an issue, really.  Depaending of which level you board at, there can be a couple ramps.

The dinner at Ephesus exceeded expectations in every way.  The stroll from the buses, the music, the amazing dinner with good wine and plenty, the walk back to the buses through the lit trees, and being greeted by the crew on our return.  All amazing 

12 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

Monte Carlo is an interesting place to visit. If you've got a spare half a hour. 

or if you gamble.

It seems like there's not much to do there

except gawk at the rich people 

not dead yet, doing research

10 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

Hi,

 

As a basic game plan  I’d suggest that you base yourself in Nice and travel to MC the earliest you can on Thursday having researched how early you can store your luggage with SS.  

 

In very simple terms and just accept I’ll get heat for being direct but you are travelled enough to make your own rational decisions based on my bias and your research.

 

MC is a soulless Disneyesque place where people go to gawp at the rich people.  There is some things to see but I will not add any more value than what you can get from making rational choices via search on Google.  So my suggestion is that you make it just Thursday morning and pack in what you choose to see.

 

I’m not going to suggest lots of specific hotels other than to say spend as much of your budget as you can basing yourself in a really decent feedback rated hotel as close to the Old Town as you can.  The only one I’d mention is if you convert your MC hotel spend to the best you can do at The Palais on Les Anglais with a front sea-view room then the world would be your oyster or perhaps even The Meridian.  Hotels in Nice as a bad generalisation are not of the same international plush quality as MC but they are much much cheaper and have more character.  If you want to save a lot to forgo seaview then I’ve spent a lot of time at The Holiday Inn on Victor Hugo.  It’s a 10 minute walk to the old town and you will save a lot. But it  isn’t luxury but perfectly acceptable.  The have two mini suites on the top floor to smugle some booze back and perhaps a baguette and some crisps to - and enjoy a late night feed overlooking the roofs. If you contact the hotel and schmooze you might get a mini-suite for a good price.  We always used them because we were always telling the hotel manager how great his staff were and they caught on I was doing this and they rewarded us for every visit. 

 

I’d spend most of your Tuesday and Wednesday in the Old Town wandering around and eating and drinking there.  I wouldn’t plan. Just wander. There are museums and art stuff but to be honest … relaxing and soaking it all in is better.  You can really spend your day’ish in the old town and you will not be wasting your time.  Cours Saleya is the center of the old town and sadly the flea market is Mondays hence my arrival day question.

 

If you want an afternoon out on Wednesday - perhaps for lunch and a bit of lurching around - then a short low cost bus ride away is Bealiue sur Mer and Villefranche.  We use to have a whole winter rental in  Villefranch and it might be a place to head for Wednesday lunch overlooking the sea.  We’ve also  spent time In  St Jean Cap ferrat but it is really only good for a lunch visit whereas Villefranche has an old town. There’s a nice leafy market in Beaulieu.  If you have ever watche Dirty Rotten Scoundrels it’s almost all filmed in Villefranche to ape MC which doesn’t allow filming. 

 

Many American’s visit for a day or so and take their advice from other Americans and head for Eze.  Fine if you want to “Rick Steves” your visit  but you’ll be mixing mostly with tourists rather than the french. 

 

Anyway a braindump unspell checked starting point.  

 

Take you questions from there. 

 

Jeff

 

Many thanks for taking the time for a great response, going into MC the morning of and dropping bags is a good plan.  as to Rick Steves, his books burn well.

 

 

7 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

Hi  … good start, I added some further info suggestions that will help me to help.  

 

A burning question that will be an instant decided is do you have a burnin desire to stay in MC as a bucket list thing.  If so answering would be rendered pointless.  🙂

 

Jeff

We're agnostic on that part.  Lots of travel websites say that one day in MC is plenty.  we are seasoned travelers looking for opinions.

7 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

Hi,

 

What day of the week and times etc are you arriving? Is it two days or two nights?

 

Jeff

Arrival is 10am on a Tuesday staying Tuesday and Wednesday night. Embarking on Thursday at the usual time. We will plan one great dinner, art/culture and just walking around.

we flying into Nice 2 days before departure from Monte Carlo (United flies direct from EWR, yippee) and are debating staying in Nice or Monte Carlo, hotels seem a bit cheaper in Nice.  Nice seems to have more variety of things to do, and transport the day of the embarcation seems easy.  Thoughts? Plusses and minuses?

Distilled water was provided and replenished by the butler without asking.  I called guest services before the cruise to order it.  No issues at all.

1 hour ago, caviargal said:

Agreed.  Tepid food, grossly underseasoned.  Atlantide at dinner was just poor.

we had no issues with Atlantide.  LaTerraza was gross.

On the muse I was left wondering if they have an expediter.  a number of our dishes should never have left the kitchen.  Lamb that was so overcooked you could tell just from looking at it.  someone should be watching plates as the leave the kitchen.

Atlantide was the winner for us.  Gareay filet, properly cooked.  La Terrazza was a disaster, overcooked and sent back, replacement was nothing but grizzle.  Experience was not well handled. The grill = all i remember was being frozen.

I'm sure they change, but all our WS excursions were excellent  great guides.

On 6/30/2024 at 8:45 AM, alainciao said:

There are doors in the glass walls on deck 10 to go outside on the way to the Observation Lounge.  I started every day in the Observation Lounge.  Small coffee bar.  We were in Alaska so didn't go outside that much but the outside areas are great.

??  If you were in Alaska you weren’t on the Ray.

On 3/1/2023 at 5:38 AM, marinaro44 said:

Windstar should update its system to allow you to book online using OBC from Windstar.  Especially considering the steep prices we're now seeing.  They're getting a lot of float from us.

No. The definition of on board credit is its credit to be used on board. That’s how it works. 

50 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

Went back and checked if they were European where everything that is under 5 Euros, Pounds, etc. is coin and those coins are used commonly there. No, it's an American and those dollar coins are VERY difficult to use. 😮🙄😏

The only place I’ve found when I stuck with them are vending machines. 

3 hours ago, MuseCruiser said:

Same here. Gross behavior. I missed the part about dollar COINS.  Make it hard to use!

My FIL told us to travel to Europe with dollar bills since “they all love dollars”!!

12 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

Always wonder if the service is the same for someone who is known to keep passing out tips vs those who take the cruise line at its word that gratuities are included?

I had the same thought. The post made it sound like cash was falling out of his pockets.  Our approach is to something the last day for those were great. 

8 hours ago, rojaan19 said:

 

Atlantis  -  I pressume you mean   Atlantide   and  Kaiser  for Kaiseki.  We also  like Indochine.

Indochine, which my phone can’t spell!, is great. Good spice level, and they can make it spicier, one night the short rib was quite fatty, but the pho made up for it. The noodle side as amazing. Kaiseki was also good, but lacked a certain flair that similar concepts have, the staff didn’t seem to be having fun. But great food. Go early if you want to sit at the counter, it fills up fast. 

12 hours ago, DavyWavey70 said:

I’m sorry to hear of your experience so far. Could you maybe offer a little more detail on why your Butler was horrible, the troubled dinner in la Terraza etc? I Hope things improve from here on in. 

Sure. He scribbled lots of notes, left and not much was accomplished. Didn’t lay eyes on him for days. We have a new butler for leg 2 and he has been amazing. Things that were impossible are no longer a problem. This is how it should be.