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I think we should all calm down and I'll make us a nice cup of tea. Now where did I put those English Breakfast Teabags that I borrowed from Princess.

 

I hope they are not in my luggage lost by Princess / Virgin Atlantic, when I get my hands on those Customer Care $/&%"§§, I'll rant & rave then politely ask if they could send some teabags round.

THAT was funny!…to show our gratitude we should all pitch in and buy you a slightly used police T-shirt…

thanks for a good laugh!

Best wishes to you both and thank your husband for his service to our country.

Sweet

On both viking cruises (Last one a few months ago from Amsterdam) we were pleased with the way our laundry was handled…very well done…similar in price to ocean cruise cost for same service…maybe $6 for pants…less than $20 for a whole bag of stuff...

OP ..i too feel your pain…please let us know the results of your calls/contact with cruise staff…have a safe cruise.

Thanks for posting about your day in Paris, the city we love more than any other…..It was a great read with wonderful photos..GREAT memories for us!

we rent an apartment every year for the month of April and still can't get enough of the place…..

we are doing a transatlantic on the royal in September and even with the long bus ride, and just being there a few months ago, we expect it to be the high light of our cruise…

we saved our extra metro tickets from the last trip to get around quickly and we plan to use EVERY minute there wisely and savor every moment…

thanks again for taking the time to post.

PS: you'll be back!!

yup.. we have done it dozens of times.

So glad you got your contacts sorted! Really enjoying your Live, as always. Spare no detail, however picayune. Especially about the food. And the ship. And the ports.

EXACTLY what i was thinking….i am taking notes for our September transatlantic on the Royal!

I agree!! The Pacsafe products are easily recognizable and 99.9% of the pickpockets/thieves will go after much easier targets like fanny packs and backpacks. Thieves may grab your purse if you just have it over your shoulder but they know they cannot do a quick grab and run when you wear it cross body.

I haven't really talked with many pickpockets and thieves but your 99.9% figure seems a little high to me.

Really enjoining your report…and your OUTSTANDING sense of humor…looking forward to the next installment….safe travels

I have a slightly different take on PacSafe products. I wore a regular money belt under my clothes every time I went to Europe for 20 years (I think my current one is a Rick Steves belt, but any of them would do).

 

When I went to South America, I wanted a PacSafe bag to carry over my clothes and DH demanded (really, he was that adamant) that I not get one. His concern was that, in trying to pull or cut the bag off of me, a would-be thief would hurt me, knock me down, cut me, etc. His theory was that it was better to keep valuable things hidden in my money belt out of sight, and not to keep anything valuable on the outside of my clothes that might attract attention and which might end up in my personal injury. As for my camera, we decided that if a thief really wanted it, let them have it. That's why we buy trip insurance.

 

your husband is a REALLY smart guy…hard to argue the common sense in his opinion!

 

PS: i always enjoy reading your cruise travel blog

Are you talking about your toilet

thanks for starting my day off with a chuckle!

Hello,

We have tickets for an evening cruise on the Seine (leaving at 10), with an open date. I am wondering if we will be able to use this on the evening that we embark and remain in Paris overnight. I think I read that dinne is served at 7. Would it be reasonable to finish dinner and take the metro to Pont Neuf in time to make such a cruise?

Thanks for any advice.

Absolutely it is reasonable and incredible at night! …i am assuming you ship docks at port Grenelle, not on the outskirts of Paris as their longships do…

Just familiarize yourself with the metro station (which is not too a long walk) closest to the dock and you will be fine. Paris is magical at night. have a safe trip!

So as a special favor you still had to pay twice as soon as other cruise lines. I'm not interested in paying for their future ships -- it sounds too much like a Ponzi scheme to me.

Jazz, is a moderator different from a host? is a host required to be impartial?…i think it is a fair question to ask….and a simple yes or no would be appreciated. Is Cruise Critic ok with your pontifications as a host or moderator vs. a poster?

At this point i agree with Mark T and the others who say you crossed the line …as stated before, words are important. Change my mind…thanks!

Yes....Montemare is it. And as for the left bank, it is Quarter Latin and St. Germain des Pres that she read about.

 

Thank you Terry for this valuable info.

 

Never been to Paris before. Our only experience in Europe has been a river cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna and another around Holland and Belgium.

 

Perhaps we are in the same "business." Thirty-three years with one department and the last 14 at the top. At that time I longed just to be back on patrol. Since retiring I teach at the academy and manage a program for reserves.

Our career paths are amazingly similar…i started on my 20th birthday but after 4 years in the cold and snow i had a enlightened moment and deduced that living in Florida made getting out of the car in ..January at 0300... much more palatable.

2 other quick thoughts on Paris…from your ship...at least consider walking down the seine to the "batobus" dock very near the tower…its a great way to see the city highlights from a river boat that makes a circle up and down the river with 6 hop on/off stops along the way…Get off at Notre Dame and from there you can do st. Germain area…..for 11 euros it is a great sightseeing experience, particularly at night…

viking always feeds you well but you got to try a real french baguette for a local boulangerie…they are everywhere...

i have always been impressed with the presence of the local Gendarme but pickpockets are always an issue there, as in every large city full of tourists.

i hope you enjoy it as much as we do…be safe, terry

Thank you for the advice.

 

I just found out that we will be only a short walk to the Eiffel Tower.

 

Can you please tell me where the artists' district is located on the west bank? My wife read something about it and wants to visit there.

where you are docked has a great view of the tower ...and it is an easy walk…farther than it looks tho due to size of the eiffel tower….

on the left bank (eiffel tower side) not to far away is a area called Montparnasee which is known to have an artists district…easily accessible from bus or metro from your location (let me know if you want route #'s…)

i think your wife may be talking about the area on the right bank behind the sac lacoure called Montemare….they have sort of a town square where there are always a dozen or so artists painting and selling their work…very much worth the trip, but again to maximize your time i would do a taxi ,metro or bus…metro probably being the quickest…

have you been to Paris before? my wife had to drag me there the first time…now its every year for the month, usually before or after a river cruise…

for us there is no cure for paris and i will be glad to help with any directions, or help you need.

best regards, terry

PS: given your screen name i suspect we were in the same business.

Hi Topcop;

 

My wife and I will be sailing that ship and tour in September.

 

If you are arriving in the Nord train station, you might be able to take the Paris metro "there and back" if you're departing by the same train station.

 

general hint... once at the metro station (or just before) look for an automated machine that sells tickets in booklets of 10 (cheapest rate)

 

Take care and I hope you have a good trip

 

MM

my wife and i spend the month of April every year in Paris, and my daily walks include a daily stop at the docks where the river cruise ships dock on Grenelle….IF and thats a big IF…you are familiar with the metro ...and all its significant stairs…. and ...you don't have a lot of luggage…the metro can be a good way to go.

we love the metro and use it several times a day …but in this case i would use a taxi.

Whilst I must admit that Viking do take time to address problems here on CC it is obvious to me that all they seem to do is apologise for misinformation given to their customers. Just another reason I would never consider them for any cruise in Europe.

"ALL they seem to do is apologize"…the word "all" seems like an absolute..

in our case…on our first viking cruise there was a mechanical noise repeatedly in our cabin that became more than a little annoying….never did get it fixed…and the on board crew really danced around with excuses…when i notified viking upon our return home they compensated us fairly…which caused us to cruise again with them...

The Royal was our least favorite ship. The design is odd. You do not know where you are until you are there. You can't see all the shops all around the deck from looking above. The sanctuary is in the wrong area. Oh yes you must insert your room card in your stateroom and leave it inserted. Otherwise you have no lights to use. Who come up with this crazy idea?

 

Amazing...

AND…... on both of our viking cruises the frig in our room was ice cold and more than adequate to handle the wine and beer.

warm beer can ruin an otherwise fine day!

I have seen them sold there however I always purchase it from my dining room waiter instead. They will be serving my wine & apparently there is some benefit to them for selling wine packages which I've read is getting additional time off. :)

 

Happy to share my experiences & wish that Princess did a better job promoting the wine packages. Even on CC where it's regularly discussed many are still not aware of it & without much onboard promotion Princess is missing out on increasing wine sales. :confused:

Thanks very much for your response…safe travels!

we have been thinking of doing a wine package for the first time... on the Royal TA in september…Do you buy the cards up by the horizon court on embarcation day at the wine display?…where else do they sell the cards?

as always thanks for the great info!

Thanks very much MaudeLou…i will do that today!

the only reason i haven't done so already is we have 2 cruises (both on princess) in line before the world cruise portion…

after almost 2 years of retirement i think i am starting to get the hang of it!

best regards terry

I really appreciate the OP and others who have shared their thoughts here…

we have reservations for a portion of this cruise from London through Australia in 2016.

The itinerary was just to good to turn down.

the highlight for us will be Australia (our first visit)…we have met so many wonderful Aussies in our travels. Your outstanding sense of humor, and your sense of national pride will surely make this a great adventure.

Because of the perks of so many Princess cruises we have done (living in florida makes that pretty easy) its hard to look at other lines, plus generally princess has always kept us happy.

we were on the sea princess years ago so it is really not reasonable for me to compare that cruise to current times….

BUT, you certainly have started me thinking again about options…at the very least i will be following the ships dry dock and refurb.

best regards

Thanks for your report.

 

By the way, the pens you win at trivia on RCCL last much longer than the pens you will at trivia on Princess.

Now thats funny! thanks for starting my morning off with a good laugh!