TravelinGert

3 hours ago, Spudd said:

You might like to look at Atlas Ocean Voyages. Very generous bathrooms, great food, smaller ships. Drinks and gratuities are included. You get 1gb per person for wifi for free. There is a free sauna (coed) and 2 hot tubs but not a full thermal suite.

Thank you will do! 🙂

8 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

All of the Viking ocean ships are essentially identical so it doesn't matter which one you cruise on.  Makes it easier as you can just pick  your itinerary.

 

DON

That does sound great right about now. So difficult to compare.

2 hours ago, Kay S said:

I'm not sure what a dad-bod is, but my husband is 6'2" and he manages fine in an R class regular shower.   I'm short.  No problem for me.

I was trying to be polite about his spare tire, essentially. Like a lot of us he's put on a few pounds over the years. Mostly because I'm not exactly as trim as I once was, either. 😉

3 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

If you ever decide to do one of Oceania’s “R” ships, where some “larger” folks find many of the cabin showers to be “too small,” here’s a proven strategy for enjoying the shower:

1. Only shower when the ship is underway in rough sea conditions.

2. Get wet and lather up completely with soap.

3. Under running overhead shower, spin around against the shower walls allowing ship motion to agitate you (just like a washing machine).

4. Rinse off thoroughly.

5. Towel dry.

BTW: if the seas are extremely rough, you won’t even need to go to the spa for that massage!

Oh my stars and little fishes this did give me a chuckle! Husband was not as amused. Some people just don't have a sense of humor. 😁

6 hours ago, Vallesan said:

We have travelled mainly on the R class ships and would only sail in PH on them as the lower cabins are just too small. On the Riviera we have sailed both PH and Concierge. Concierge is ‘adequate’ but PH is just that much more spacious with a much wider balcony.
 

We didn’t have much use for the butler on the Riviera, but then it was not only our first Oceania cruise, it was our first ever ‘modern’ cruise. We learnt as time went on that actually the butler was a ‘lovely’ extra. He would more or less bring what we wanted, olives, nuts and crisps instead of the canapés that we didn’t enjoy. One really rough night in the South China Sea we had tea and English muffins in the early hours of the morning. There were lots of other nice touches too. It’s just a case of ‘asking’ and it they can they will.

 

However, in saying all that there is 24 hour room service. We just found the PH suites just that much more ‘special’. It’s a ‘bucket list trip’ and you can do PH so I  would say go for it!

Hopefully CoolBlueGreenSeas won't mind me tagging onto their post here.

Please elaborate on size a bit. My husband is six foot six and dad-bod, so he takes up a certain amount of space just by necessity. I found videos of a six foot six fellow not quite so dad-bod who demonstrated he fits in the showers even in the Ocean View cabins on several different Oceania ships. This is going to be a big anniversary cruise for us so I really think at least a concierge veranda room, but that nice space in the bathroom in the PH cabins really looks nice.

On 4/12/2024 at 11:54 AM, donaldsc said:

Viking Ocean should also be on your list.

 

DON

I haven't even peeked at what Viking is offering yet. I'll take a look. Do you have a favorite Viking ship, Don?

On 4/12/2024 at 9:59 AM, mnocket said:

I've previously sailed on the Windstar Pride (motor yacht) in Iceland.  The small ship experience is certainly different.  I found that people who like a lot of different night-time entertainment options don't fit in well with Windstar, but those who enjoy good food, an intimate environment (you will know, and be known by, most every crew member and fellow passengers), a complete lack of crowds, and focus on ports, will love it.  I've just recently booked this cruise aboard the Windstar Spirit (an even smaller sailing ship).

overview (windstarcruises.com)

The only potential disconnect I see with your requirements may be the cabin size. If you can live with that, Windstar may be a good option. If cabin size is really important, and you would like more night-time options, you can't go wrong with either Azamara or Oceania. 

I did see the cabins aren't as large on Windstar, but I love some of their cruise options. If it were just myself size would not matter. My husband is a 6'6" dad-bod sort, so he at least needs a bit of extra space in the shower and bathroom areas. As much as I love those Windstar options, I may have to opt for something with at least better bathroom options for my husband's sake.

I've been looking at some of the 20-26 day cruises on Oceania and I really think we'd love the 22 day Istanbul to Barcelona on Marina although there is a 20 day on Sirena which also looks really nice over the period of our actual anniversary. They are a bit more than we had thought we would like to spend, but I think we could swing a concierge veranda on either cruise.

I want to love Azamara but the bathrooms are a concern. We could step up to the suites with larger bathrooms, but if we instead pick Oceania I found a video of a fellow my husband's size demonstrating he fits in even the Ocean View showers. My mother-in-law has now suggested we look at Regents Seven Seas. They do look very nice, but the pricing is a bit higher.

4 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

Silversea have a few that fit your criteria. However, recent reports are somewhat conflicting with quite a few people saying a drop in standards is happening.

We have one booked in the Med for an off season November cruise .... 10 nights visiting Italy , Sicily, Malta, and Spain. We avoided Croatia but there were plenty covering that area.

The pricing structure needs good research as to what floats your boat. A good TA would be worth their weight in gold.

 

Thank you for the reply. I have not yet looked at Silversea. I do have a TA I can talk to, but I don't really have good talking points yet regarding what I'm looking for. Hard to express looking for that certain je ne sais quoi and expect someone to just magically discern what is meant I think.

I look forward to hearing how you like your Silversea cruise. Friends just did a Celebrity cruise they really enjoyed and felt was a step up from their previous Royal cruises, so I had been looking at them. We did some river cruises in the US recently and I really loved the smaller boat experience.

Then I saw a video on a Windstar Med cruise where the Tips for Travelers fellow talked about how the focus for people on those cruises definitely seemed toward time on shore with the ship being completely emptied early and everyone out all day doing. Having more and longer port days was something we both loved about our smaller river boat experiences.

However, I have concerns about the size of the ship at that time of year in the Med, though I am in the process of researching how justified that is. Tips for Travelers mentioned experiencing the rolling of the ocean more on that ship verse recent Azamara or Oceania cruises which are slightly larger ships. I've been looking at those two as well, and they do seem to have some interesting itineraries offered in that time frame.

We are celebrating a very special anniversary in October of 2025. I'm hopeful someone can help with recommendations. My parameters:

Mediterranean Cruise - Ports in Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro, Sicily, France, and Spain of especial interest

Cruise Start Date between September and November 2025

Room must be reasonably large with decent bathroom size, prefer at least 250 square feet, can be smaller if bathroom is generous

Ideally include at least some drinks, wifi, thermal spa, and special restaurant if on a larger ship

At least 8 day cruise, prefer 10 or more

Prefer a cruise heavy with port days

Would like to keep the price around $14,000-$17,000 just for the cruise specifically

I've been looking at a Magic Carpet Sky Suite on Celebrity Ascent, a Concierge Level Veranda on Oceania Marina, a Club Spa Suite on Azamara Onward, and several options on Windstar ships. I haven't been on any of these before so I'm uncertain how to choose. Hopeful some of you will weigh in with suggestions and helpful comparisons.

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Thanks for answering my question. Glad you had a real good time.

 

Could you give some examples of the premium excursions that are now what are being provided instead of the hop on hop off buses?

Here's the excursion list from the boat:

All the no extra charge excursions are normally around $80 each person.

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

Enjoying your review🙂...great photos too.  I had not really thought about taking a river cruise here in the states but I may just think about doing one now.  Did you find the staff/crew/other guests were friendly folks (on the most part)? I sail solo and just wondering about it.

All the staff and most of the guests were very friendly. I think you'd have an awesome time sailing with the Countess as a single. My mother-in-law loved it.

5 hours ago, mj_holiday said:

Thank you for this great info. Can you please explain the process for getting the COVID test. Like who did it and where. 

The covid test was really, really easy. First they sent a link via email where you set up a sign in and filled out a form for a covid test.

On arrival at the hotel there was check in with American Queen in a little convention meeting room area. As soon as we were all checked in we went to a room where they took samples for the covid tests. They were doing the rapid tests were really easy on us. It was a little tickle-y and that's about it.  

Later we got an email when our results were ready with a link. You signed into the website where you'd set up the sign in to get your results. You could just take a screen shot of your results. They even had the link set up so it signed you right in to your results without having to navigate around on the website.

The next morning you just signed in and showed them your results said negative, or showed them the screen shot. Only people who showed a negative result could join the rest for breakfast. When you showed them the negative result they gave you your cabin key which was also your boarding card.

I've posted more over in the American Queen Steamboat forum here. I do wish I was a better writer and photographer. Or at least had remembered to take some good photos of our cabin. If anyone wants any more particulars like photos of menus or our closet on the boat give a shout out.

On 5/8/2021 at 8:01 AM, Lois R said:

Welcome back😀I hope you will post something about your experience over on the RIVER CRUISE FORUM for us!!!

Just posted up a bit there, and there is more over in the American Queen Steamboat forum as well.

We joined those who had boarded before us in the Grand Lobby to sip our champagne and enjoy the view. 

After a bit of chatting with new friends we decided to have a walk around the ship. We got to see the beautiful Grand Dining Room all set for dinner that night.

And the Theater was ready for our evening show.

Warning - I'm a terrible writer and my photos are no better. But I wanted to share a bit about my first post-pandemic cruise experience. We were originally supposed to do this cruise on the American Duchess in March of 2020, but sadly our cruise was the first week cruises were cancelled so we had to rebook for this year. My husband, Mother-in-Law, and I boarded the American Queen Steamboat Company Company April 25th Lower Mississippi cruise of the American Countess. We were so excited to be out and about now that we are all fully vaccinated.

We boarded in Memphis after the overnight our package included. We were so disappointed to find out we weren't at the Peabody as we'd originally been assigned, but we made the best of it.  The Sheraton was clean and comfortable, just very plain, and we did have a good night's sleep prior to boarding. We did end up heading over to the Peabody after finding out there wasn't really anything much available for lunch at the Sheraton, and we loved seeing the ducks and eating lunch there. One of the staff told us we got shifted because they had limits on capacity during that time. Here's hopeful with everyone getting vaccinated those will go away.

The boarding process was smooth and carried out well. They gave us all our bus assignments and room keys as soon as we showed our negative test results before we could enter the breakfast buffet. The buses were timely and so spotlessly clean! When we got to the boat they passed out champagne and we finally felt like we could believe this cruise was really happening!

Found a different version of the Complimentary Wines and Spirits list.

I'm afraid I thought this was a copy of the Premium Spirits menu. Sorry.

On 5/9/2021 at 10:50 AM, wandb said:

I’m really enjoying your commentary and the great pictures. We did that Memphis to New Orleans Cruise a few years ago on the American Queen. We LOVED it!! It is a beautiful boat with a great crew and we thoroughly enjoyed the ports. That was, of course,  a couple of years before the COVID pandemic appeared. 

 

We had been scheduled to do the Pittsburg to Louisville Cruise last year on the Duchess. That one was cancelled of course, so we switched to June 13 this year. SO CLOSE!!!  Then my sister in Texas was diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer, and I will be there with her in June. 

 

So, another change. If all is well we will be doing the same cruise next June on The Countess!!  Therefore, I’m so pleased to see the pictures of the Countess. 

I agree with Seamus69—- the picture of the sunset with the flag is beautiful. 

 

Thanks for the time you you are taking to do this. 

I am so so sorry to hear about your sister and I hope her treatment goes well.

On 5/8/2021 at 10:38 PM, ericosmith said:

Great pictures!  Was there a charge for the Premium Spirits list?

Yes. I don't actually know all the charges but I think I have a copy of the Premium Spirits list. I'll check for it and post if I have one.

On 5/8/2021 at 6:09 AM, ontheweb said:

Could you comment on what was allowed and what was not allowed on excursions from American Queen Steamboat Company.

 

TIA.

They normally have a Hop On Hop Off bus at each docking which allows people to visit whatever they like around town which they aren't doing in the circumstances. They also normally have for fee premium excursions.

They arranged with some of the premium providers to be tested regularly and only have those who had tested negative interact with the passengers. Those were the only available shore excursions and they included them no charge since there was no Hop On Hop Off.

I'd say half the usual shore excursions were available but they made sure there were plenty of opportunities for everyone to enjoy all of them. 

As far as what actually went on during shore excursions, all the cities we visited masks were still required so of course the cruise like had to ask us to comply. The cruise line's agreement with the CDC to sail meant they had to keep the buses used to get to all the shore excursions to 50% capacity. 

We didn't do all the shore excursions, but we did a lot and had a grand time. So good we're doing another cruise on the American Countess in the fall.

On 4/29/2021 at 10:00 PM, grandpalarry777 said:

Does anyone know if any cruise lines will allow a person who cannot take the Covid vaccine due to health conditions to get an exemption from the "vaccinated only" cruise rules if they have a negative test?

Up until July you can sail on American Queen Steamboat Company sailings with just a negative test. After they're requiring vaccines.

American Cruise Lines may allow you to sail with them on a negative test only but it will depend on date of departure and where it departs from, or so I read. Double check that with the cruise line, though. They may have updated to requiring for all 2021 cruises.

Cunard according to Travel & Leisure Magazine: 

Cunard's initial cruises will be open only to UK residents who are fully vaccinated at least seven days before boarding. Voyages departing on the Queen Elizabeth after Oct. 2, departing on Queen Mary 2 after Nov. 13, and departing on Queen Victoria after Aug. 28 will not carry the vaccine requirement.

Could only find where Norwegian is requiring vaccines through October 31st so far but they could always expand it.

Couldn't find anything on Princess other than vaccine required for cruises this summer.

Seabourn is requiring them for cruises out of Greece this summer.

Silversea is requiring vaccines except on cruises from Australia currently and UnCruise is going to require them except if you sail the Galapagos.

Celebrity, Victory Cruise Lines, Crystal, Virgin Voyages, Grand Circle Cruise Line, Windstar, Regent 7 Seas, Saga, Lindblad Expeditions, Oceania, Viking, Royal Caribbean, and P&O as far as I could find will require all pax be vaccinated going forward.

Just getting out and about is a real treat right now. Just returned from sailing on one of the first cruises allowed in the US. I was on the third sailing of the American Queen Steamboat Company's American Countess. We were all so thrilled to be out of the house again and the crew was so happy to be back at work. It was one of those my isn't this a great time to be alive moments for sure. We had such a good time we'll be back aboard in October.

Now we're starting to think about what we might want to do next year. Really tough deciding what to do right now, though. We had a wonderful short stay in New Orleans at the end of our cruise, so we want to go back for a longer visit. We've wanted to do an Alaskan cruise for a while. We also have some international destinations like Croatia and Italy on our wish list right now. Decisions, decisions. But oh so happy to have travel decisions to make again all the same.

This is the only sad photo I have of Tuesday's Breakfast Menu

Egg Benedict - you could ask for two if you wanted:

This is Brian, the best Breakfast waiter ever. He says honey that serving is too small so order another one! Bet you can guess why I liked him best! 😄

My husband's omelette plate looks more substantial

Forgot to take a photo of the dinner menu on Monday, but did get some photos of our food:

And the best part:

Lunch on Monday:

Grand Staircase near the Entry 

Library

Bikes waiting to be checked out

Game Room