wesail7seas

42 minutes ago, alidor said:

We were on Regent about 3 years ago and went through the tip of Africa and Capetown 3 times and it was fine all 3 times.    We were waiting for some waves and rough weather but it never happened.   We went in November.

Thank You. I appreciate the feedback.

17 minutes ago, ShaunDxb said:

The seas around the Cape are only very rough between June and August, the rest of the year it’s (normally) okay with the occasional Buster (what the locals call the sudden gales that come up from the south)

Thank you Shaun. That makes me feel better. Cheers

You too. I'm sure it will be a great adventure. 😀

On 2/19/2019 at 2:24 PM, Trend said:

Are you on the Feb 10 cruise as we are also booked.

Small ships rock more but if you were ok in the South American one around the tip I would think you would be fine here.

We  Are on the January 31st 2020 sailing on the Quest

On 2/19/2019 at 2:24 PM, Trend said:

Are you on the Feb 10 cruise as we are also booked.

Small ships rock more but if you were ok in the South American one around the tip I would think you would be fine here.

On 2/17/2019 at 1:18 PM, wesail7seas said:

 

Thank You Omega 1.

I was startled by the articles of the rough seas and rogue waves where Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean.

We were in Chile's southern point this year where Atlantic and Pacific meet and it was,shall we say, interesting,but not a big problem.

I will now stop reading articles,throw caution to the wind (so to speak) and embrace our aft cabin. Cheers.  

8 hours ago, Omega1 said:

That’s a tricky question and one which requires a crystal ball! Yes, the seas off the Southern Cape can get choppy - as most seas can. If you want to minimise the risk, go for middle/middle. Just to add a little context, we have just spent three weeks in the area and the weather was fair and calm so your aft cabin would have been fine.

Thank You Omega 1.

I was startled by the articles of the rough seas and rogue waves where Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean.

We were in Chile's southern point this year where Atlantic and Pacific meet and it was,shall we say, interesting,but not a big problem.

I will now stop reading articles,throw caution to the wind (so to speak) and embrace our aft cabin. Cheers.  

We are sailing on Azamara in February from Capetown,to East London,Durban, Richard's Bay and back to Capetown.

Our TA booked us in an aft stateroom.

I heard that it can get quite rocky going around the southern tip of Africa,in which case an aft cabin might not be the best.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks

You are very welcome. Now you can use that extra room to pack all the items you’ll need for the variable weather conditions and zodiac landings. Your sailing probably has an included parka like ours does, but you’ll want to look at the suggested packing list to make sure you have all the layers you need. Top of the list will be waterproof pants. Absolutely essential.

Yes,I see that the weather will never be boring.

I guess I will drag out the clothes I wore in Alaska AND Morocco! :ship:

Good Morning. We embark on our third Silversea expedition cruise (all on the Silver Explorer) November 5th. Our itinerary is very similar to yours on the Cloud - Valparaiso to Ushuaia. After multiple expedition cruises on multiple lines, I can tell you the only formalwear you will see will be worn by the excellent staff. Smart casual will be perfect. Some gentlemen might wear a coat for the Captain’s welcome dinner, but ties will be much rarer than penguins. Have a wonderful cruise.

Thank You so much Michael.

That's great! More room in the suitcases. :D

Hello Everyone,

This will be our first cruise on Silversea Cruises.

We will be on the Silver Cloud's South America cruise in October/November.

Can you please give me some ideas on whether we should pack formal wear,or if smart casual will suffice.

Thank You.

Marg,

We were told that if we didn't want to leave the ship in Shanghai, that we didn't need the visa. However, we were worried thet the Chinese authorities would change that rule and we would not be allowed to board. So we paid for 10 year visas through the company recommended by Celebrity. We did book an excursion for Shanghai.

 

I am not sure if the Chinese government has changed the policy or provided some flexibly for passengers arriving at a port for a short time.

 

After we did Shanghai, we discovered that a few hundred people onboard did not have visas and stayed on the ship with no trouble.

It seems that the best bet is to get a Visa.

Thank You for the information,

Marg

You have to get your own Chinese Visa. We did it last year and live in the Toronto Area. You fill out the visa form on line and print it out. Get your pictures taken at CAA or Costco tell them that you want a picture for Chinese Visa. You need to print out a copy of your Entire Trip example flying AC to Vancouver on (date and Airline number) boarding the Millie, give dates, ships and all airlines until you return to Toronto, I am not kidding the entire trip.

Ours was a 10 week trip and the file was huge and they asked to see

everything. Take everything to Visa center office at 1000 Finch are West, room 9000 North York corner of Finch and Dufferin

http.www.visacenter.ca

Hope this helps Sue

Thank You so much.

I really appreciate it.

Marg :)

We did a wonderful cruise on Millie last Fall.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=518503&et_cid=2531924&et_rid=17221689&et_referrer=Boards

 

Most of cruise was in Japan and we loved Japan.

Hi there,

We are doing the same cruise in October of this year and I have a question for you.

How did you handle the Visa for China?There seems to be a lot of speculation as to who,when and how,but no clear answers.

Did you arrange for the Visa yourself? Through an embassy or on line?

Did Celebrity arrange it,or was it actually necessary to have it?

Thanks so much,

Marg

I believe we had the same butler on the Summit. The only thing I do remember him doing is asking which show we'd be attending so he could escort us to a seat. That evening we walked up to the line of butlers standing just outside the theater and stood in front of him. It took an embarrassingly long time for him to snap out of it and realize that we were there in front of him for a reason.

 

We laugh about it all the time now, but we're still left to wonder what he did to earn a butler position.

Oh Oh...We will be in a suite on the Summit in a few weeks.

Do you remember the butler's name?

A journey filled with cultural highlights, overwhelming history and Italian Dolce Vita. Plus the beautiful Silhouette and her fabulous crew as the icing on the cake.

 

Starting in Rome with an overnight in Jerusalem this was one of our best cruises ever!!!

 

Please read our photo filled review on our private homepage. Take your time, sit back and relax. Immerse into the story and travel to places with us that at some points felt like a different world.

 

http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/Holy-Land-Cruise-01/holy-land-cruise-01.html

 

Hope you enjoy it! Let us know if you did!

 

Oliver & Birgit

Fantastic review with stunning photography. Thank You.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2238362

Thank You.That gives me a lot to think about. (and decipher. LOL!) :)

Does anyone know if there is an advantage to booking a future cruise while on a cruise?

Are there discounts or other perks?

I want to reiterate that my negative comments were very specifically aimed at Constanta...and not Romania as a whole. We have talked to friends who loved traveling around Romania so are convinced that there are places in the country worth a visit. So a 12 hour drive to another city might be a good option for those that enjoy 12 hour tours :). Having been to Constanta we think even 12 hours on a bus would be a better option then 5 seconds in Constanta.

 

Hank

Absolutely.

Originally,my question was only about Constanta.

Thank You for your replies.

It's a shame that the ships choose this port to visit.:(

Last year I made this document for myself. I searched for the complimentary wines and found some descriptions and reviews of the specific wines on Azamara Wine List. I found it helpful as I basically wouldn't remember all the descriptions after I got onboard anyway.

I removed the prices as they might be a bit misleading as to whether the wine is good or not. Hope it can be helpful for you all when choosing wines on board.

Thank You so much. :)

I wasn't that impressed with the morning Hristria ruins tour but in the afternoon when I spent four hours in the hellhole Constantia, I was sure glad I went to Hristia. Constantia does have one great church worth going to.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

A day on the ship is looking better and better....:(

I have read about some interesting Greek/Roman ruins near Constanta, if that kind of thing interests you:

 

http://wikimapia.org/9325418/Ancient-Greek-City-of-Histria-the-Romanian-Pompeii

 

Some people seem to have had negative experiences in Constanta (in the city itself) but I think there are more options if you look at doing something other than just staying in Constanta.

Thank You for that information,cruisemom.

On our upcoming Black Sea cruise on the Ocean Princess, we're taking the Princess all day excursion to the capital Bucharest. It's an all day trip with a significant amount of time on the bus getting there and back, but I think it will be a lot more interesting than staying in Constanta.

Yes,we have that option also,but the two hour drive there is somewhat daunting.

Unfortunately,with the negative comments about Constanta we might just have to bite the bullet and take that excursion.

Has anyone visited Constanta,Romania? :confused:

This was a new port added on a Black Sea cruise after the Ukraine ports were cancelled.

What I have read so far is not great, and any comments would be helpful.

Thanks.

This itinerary is unusual and finding worthwhile things to see is challenging in some of the ports. Not much info in guidebooks or even TA.

We aren't getting much help from Azamara.

Investigating cruise tour offerings for some of these ports raises a lot of questions which the Azamara people don't seem to have any info about. For example, the 2.75-3 hour jaunt to the Meteora Monasteries is described as being 8 hours in length, but there is no indication that there is a meal or even snack break during the long tour. Apparently, washroom facilities are primitive at the site (holes in the ground). They have no idea if the bus provided has a toilet onboard or if they plan to make any pitstops along the way.

From the Meteora website, it seems the monasteries shut down at 1-3 pm. The ship arrives at 9 am. If the bus gets rolling around 9:30, as it says in the PDF, this puts us at the site possibly as late as 12-12:30 at which time we must climb anywhere from 100 to 400 steps to the buildings, each one on a separate 'mesa,' for a very quick look-see, I suppose. How fast can you climb? This is a very expensive peek ($100+ pp)

Does this seem reasonable? Am I missing something?

How about that 30 min. $179 visit to Safranbolou? Is there a high speed train?

Getting a little frustrated with the lack of accurate and thorough information. I hope this particular voyage isn't going to get short shrift because so many people cancelled when the Crimean ports were cancelled.

My concern is that there is no information available at Azamara yet. Surely something should be arranged by now, only a month out.

I guess I will just have to console myself with wallowing in luxury aboard for most of the cruise (boo hoo :)

This is our first cruise with Azamara and so far I am really disappointed with the chaos and lack of communication.I understand that this was a change in the itinerary due to the political upheaval,but at this point we are five weeks from departure and are still missing a lot of information.

I hope that this is not how Azamara usually treats its customers.