Twitchly

More local music and cuisine. I’d love to be more immersed in the places we visit.

THIS.

There was a period there when I spent a lot of time with elderly parents and friends who couldn’t hear well, and I found myself bellowing in restaurants. I noticed the occasional glacial look from others but there was only so much I could do. Ironically, I find people with hearing loss often speak very quietly themselves, which makes my one-sided bellowing seem all the more idiotic.

1. Allow customers to pay in full for their cruise closer to the sail date. See other cruise lines for inspiration. 2. Mix up itineraries, regularly add new destinations. Keep it interesting. Those are the top 2 reasons I’ve heard for customers — current and potential — to book elsewhere.

What a worthy goal. I need to move there. Thanks so much for sharing your journey. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.

From what I’ve seen, their reviews are all over the map. So it’s likely they haven’t deteriorated since 2019; they’re just wildly inconsistent. That may be in part because, according to Wikipedia, they fly to more countries than any other commercial airline in the world.

That was very much not our experience. This past spring we flew Turkish Air to Tel Aviv, and then back from Amman, both times with stopovers in Istanbul. The flight out was dreadful. Uncomfortable seats, torn upholstery (I couldn’t put anything in the seat pocket because it had completely ripped out), filthy. The flight back, we were able to upgrade our seats and had a better experience. And all our flights were considerably delayed, more than two hours in one case. But the worst bit was dealing with their booking staff. I won’t go into all the gory details except to say their website is a malfunctioning mess and their staff was truly dreadful. We ended up having to file a dispute with our credit card company. TA has been around a very long time and is, I believe, one of the busiest airlines in the world. If you’re stuck with them, I strongly suggest upgrading your seat if possible. Their best reviews seem to come from folks who have done that. As for us, we hope never to use them again.

Another option: grocery stores. I always enjoy visiting grocery stores in other countries, and you can pick up a light meal for much less. Restaurant food in Reykjavík can be crazy expensive.

We wanted to avoid the busyness of Las Ramblas and opted to stay in a lovely older hotel overlooking the marina: Hotel Duquesa de Cardona. Good breakfasts, quiet, lots of character, nice views. Walkable to everything and it wasn’t far from the ship. We’d definitely stay there again.

No app called “Cruise Critic Community” for Apple. I’ll stick to the website for now.

In the Apple Store, the name of the app is “My Kind of Cruise”?

The frequent laundry in the hotel sink was by far my least favorite part about carryon travel.

Oooooooooooooohhh!!

We’ve discovered the joys of carryon travel, thanks to all the baggage problems airlines had last year. It’s especially easy on Viking Ocean with the laundry facilities. But we recently took small international carryons for a 12-day land-based trip to Israel and Jordan and found it surprisingly doable. Not sure I’d do it again, though. And in cold weather, nope. If I could carry a larger backpack like Rick Steves, maybe. But that’s a non-starter these days. I’ll bet Rick’s crew has to cart hefty suitcases with all their gear.

I’m betting on lost luggage.

I’m not sure when Viking started setting the new volume limit on its TVs. Hopefully it was after your neighbors’ experience. I remember reading posts somewhere (here?) from disgruntled passengers who were unable to hear their TV because they couldn’t turn it up high enough after the change.

I have certain items I prefer to line dry. Quite a few, actually.

That’s not unusual in parts of Asia. I quickly learned that one shouldn’t assume a lack of feet under the door meant no one was inside.

How tragic for everyone.

I can recommend 4019. Quiet except for our neighbor’s TV. (Since that cruise, Viking has thankfully lowered the top possible volume of the room TVs.)

Deluxe! 😄

Trade Routes covers a lot of ground going up the west coast of Europe. We’d love to do that one again.

We opted to use the robes, as did many other passengers. Walking to and from the spa or pool in a robe won’t raise many eyebrows; wearing a robe while lounging around in other public spaces might.

The train system was great years ago; I assume it still is. Only downside is not seeing the area when you’re underground. I would definitely try to get out on the water and tootle around. Great views. There are multiple ferries.

Intriguing. I’m especially surprised to hear Seabourn is significantly cheaper than Viking. Is this becoming typical, or is this a one-off? Which itinerary is it?