mljatsea

Thanks for the many posts on this thread. You did a very good job of convincing me not to do a crossing in October.

DH&I are in San Miguel de Allende, when not in CA (or on a cruise ship.)

Hi Bonnie, I'm pursuing this board in San Miguel de Allende while deciding whether to book the Jan. 5, 2019 Journey to Cuba. We've probably passed each other on the Ancha! We're near the end of our winter stay and going to Uruapan and Patzcuaro for a few days next week.

Thanks for all the helpful information.

As someone who is considering a crossing in October I am quite concerned about this thread. My only other Cunard cruise was a crossing on the QE2 in 1996 and enjoyed it very much. This time it will be a return to the US after three weeks of touring in Croatia. We thought it would be a relaxing way to end a busy vacation of sightseeing. After reading this thread I'm wondering if we shouldn't just hop on a plane and fly home.

If we book we will be in the Britannia dining room. We haven't had an assigned dining time on a cruise in over the years. On the QE2 I recall an assigned table but some flexibility in time. Then there were two levels below the grills and we were in the higher of the two.

Our most recent cruises have been on Seabourn and I know it will quite different to be on a larger ship. So....do the crossing or take the plane???

Here is the review I posted on TripAdvisor:

"I contacted Carlos after reading all the great reviews on TripAdvisor. My only concern was that Carlos might not be our guide, especially when he replied that he would be in Belize and would come back early to do the tour for eight of us on a cruise stop. Indeed he did and we had a wonderful day that was the highlight of our cruise. We stopped for a volcano photo opp, then headed into Antigua where we boarded a "chicken bus" to the central market where Carlos picked up local fruits of interest. The walking tour of colonial Antigua was informative and efficient. We all agreed we wanted experiences rather than shopping. We visited a local family for lunch and tour of their coffee farm. Carlos had given us a time schedule for the day so we knew we would be returning to the ship with time to spare. The bus was clean and comfortable for the eight of us and driver Homero was excellent. Interestingly we were the only group from our 450-passenger ship to do an independent tour. They missed out!"

The lunch in the local home was a great experience and visit to their coffee fields. I had expected it to be out in the country but the house was in town and a 15-minute uphill walk to the coffee farm. The family was doing chores while we were there like washing clothes by hand at a stone sink. The house is built around a courtyard and their horse was stalled there. A very genuine experience. Carlos offers a visit to a local school as another option.

We are back from our cruise and the day with Carlos was the highlight of our trip. I had organized it for eight and there was plenty of room for all of us to be comfortable in the van. I'm sure it was much more pleasant than a taxi would have been on that somewhat lengthy trip. Plus Carlos gave us loads of information about his country and the area during our drive to Antigua. I have written a review of Guatemalan Guide on TripAdvisor under my Timarron name. It echoes all the other positive posts on that site.

Our ship didn't offer transportation to Antigua except with its shore excursions. By using Carlos we were able to do so much more than on a shore ex. Pace was perfect. No time for shopping if that's your thing but that was fine for all of us.

Of interest, the passenger dock in Puerto Quetzal was damaged some weeks ago and ships are currently docking in the industrial port. Only ship excursion vehicles were allowed to enter the area. The ship offered a 15-min. shuttle ride to the former passenger area which was deserted except for Carlos waiting for us. No taxis around but our ship was small (450 pax) and might be different if a larger ship was in. I don't know when it is expected to be repaired.

Couldn't have been more pleased with our experience!

We returned two week ago from a Panama Canal cruise that included port calls in Guatemala and Nicaragua. Absolutely no local currencies were needed, everyone took U.S. dollars. (That was also true in Colombia, Costa Rica, and our five ports in Mexico. I even had a few hundred U.S. with me in Mexican pesos; it was a waste to have gotten them.)

That said, what denominations would you recommend? I read somewhere about taking USD but not giving change. Not planning on making any major purchases.

Sdnich, we are booked with Carlos next month. I've been impressed with his efficient replies and his reviews on TripAdvisor. I'll try to remember to post on this thread after our return.

Thank you for a great review. We will be doing the canal on the Seabourn Sojourn in November. We did the canal on the Seabourn Legend in 2008 but all the ports are different this time. We will definitely be contacting Dora and Gio Tours. Bad news about Puerto Chiapas. Unfortunately I'm not able to see your photos--something about update for third party hosting. Can you tell me what to do so I can see them.

Many thanks.

MarionH and mljatsea - it is good to hear some feedback on TK. Were you asked specifically for your views on these meals, either on board or in your guest questionnaire, I wonder?

We weren't asked for any feedback onboard and nothing specifically about TK on the guest questionnaire.

Jenidallas--Dickies and jeans may work in Texas but seemed out of place on the ship. Perhaps OK when they served the TK rib dinner but they also wore them for the by-reservation Thanksgiving dinner in the Colonnade.

Just back from the Quest with several TK selections in the MDR. Not overly impressed. Seems all passengers were invited to the Colonnade over the course of our 20 days for the family style dinner. We were four who were well acquainted but would not have wanted to share that type of dinner with strangers. The food was good and familiar to Americans, perhaps not to others. Most surprising was the attire of the service staff in the Colonnade on the TK night--jeans and "Dickies" tops. We live in Fort Worth where Dickies are made and I can't imagine a restaurant, other than a truck stop, where servers would wear Dickies.

Just back from the Quest where we spent Thanksgiving on the ship and just over a third of the passengers were from the US. The Colonnade had a reservations required traditional Thanksgiving dinner served family style ala the new Thomas Keller concept and we dined with another couple we'd come to know. Food was very good with only disappointment in the dessert. Only one option which was a thin wedge of a light pumpkin concoction. One person didn't like pumpkin at all and was told there was no other option, not even a scoop of ice cream. Hardly normal service for SB. The Restaurant offered a turkey entree on the menu but I think everyone who wanted traditional Thanksgiving, including many not from the US, came to the Colonnade and service did not seem up to par, perhaps because of the crowd.

Still, a nice Thanksgiving experience with someone else preparing it! There were Thanksgiving wishes from the staff.

My visa nightmare has ended with visas in hand to leave in one week. The problem was not with the Consulate but with the service we used since we live too far away to apply in person. Tack on $100+ pp to the regular fee and more if you need a rush. Also found a "passport replacement fee" of $30 pp tacked on at the end. When I called to question it they removed it, saying it's a "insurance" for your passport and unless you tick an obscure box you'll be charged. Bottom line--do it in person if at all possible. At least now I can sleep at night with passports/visa back.

If you have the opportunity to visit Colonia de Sacramento from Montevideo as we did on a Celebrity shore ex a few years ago I highly recommend it. Lovely colonial town, wonderful lunch included. We will be back in Montevideo next month and I see it is not offered by Seabourn. This time we will do a walking tour of the city and eat chivito.

 

I see no Brazilian requirement for notarizing within the state.

Did someone where you spent the summer refuse to notarize your Texas license? Or did you just make an assumption?

I would have thought any notary in the US would notarize a driver's license, esp. if you had shown other ID to the notary, or a lease, monthly mortgage bill, utility bill, bank statement.

I do hope you get your visa in time to go on the cruise. And that you have the opportunity to enjoy Brazil.

This from the Brazilian Embassy website and since we live in the Houston jurisdiction it applies to us:

Applicants living in Connecticut and Rhode Island, or Houston or Atlanta jurisdictions: The driver’s license copy must be notarized in the state where it is issued, the notary seal must be on the same page as the image.

A very expensive trip is on the line and I'm feeling nervous and annoyed. Accomplished my Argentina reciprocity fee in 20 minutes online just has I did with Australian visa earlier this year. Hope Brazil really wants us!

Our departure is just less that three weeks away. When I went online to check my order status with the visa service which has had my order for three weeks it didn't even show that the documents had been submitted to the consulate. When I sent an email to the service they responded with a reply that my "return by" date is Nov. 10--our flight leaves on Nov. 8! I had requested a return date of Nov. 1 and all the included travel docs showed our travel dates. Hopefully this will be ironed out promptly. If not, you will certainly see a post naming this service which was recommended by our TA.

Thank you for your replies I think we have a plan to do the day with our licensed guide and then taxi to Lapa for some early samba.

Our ship will be in Rio overnight next month but leaving at noon the second day. I have a private guide lined up for the first day but only 7 hours. We don't want to go to the evening samba show offered as a shore ex. Too many negative reviews on TA. Is the port near anything we might want to do in the evening that we might reach by taxi? I know dinner begins late in SA. Also, the next morning I think we will go with a shore ex to insure returning in time. Only morning choices are Christ the Redeemer, which we will probably see on the first day, or Sugarloaf. Would appreciate advice.

Many thanks.

Just opened a bottle from Emiliana organic winery in Valle de Colchagua, Chile between Santiago and Valparaiso. We picked it up on a transfer another CC person had arranged to join our Valpo-BA cruise in 2012. We had been on many winery tours but this one was special with lots of info about organic wines. Tonight we drank their 2009 Coyam which was wonderful. We loved the winery visit but our lunch stop took forever and we were very late to the ship. Recommend this winery if you have the chance to visit.

We are in the process right now and are using a service. Still difficult to make sure everything is correct before sending it in tomorrow. We were away from Texas all summer so had to wait until we were back in Texas to have drivers's licenses notarized in our home state. Do hope we have all in order when we ship passports off tomorrow! Expensive but we can't take two days to drive to Houston consulate.

Thanks for giving us something to anticipate on the Quest in November!

Pedro Werberg (http://www.amigodebuenosaires.com) is excellent. Knowledgeable, flexible and with excellent English.

We used Pedro in 2012 and he was excellent! Highly recommend.

Thank you for all the replies. We would never dream of jeans in the MDR but are relieved to see that things are a bit more relaxed since our last Seabourn cruise. Our priority is always the destination. Have done Cunard crossings with formal every night but to add formal wear to the Amazon luggage just doesn't seem very practical. DH will leave the tux at home.

We just booked our second Seabourn cruise. The first was on the Legend in 2008 and we loved it, however it seemed very formal in the evenings. I couldn't tell much difference in the way women dressed on formal and "elegant casual" nights. DH took a tux and we just don't feel like doing that for the Amazon. I know there are more dining options on the larger ships--we'll be on the Quest. Have things relaxed somewhat in the past seven years? Do hope so.

We paid the fee in 2012 and I recall that we paid it on arrival and it was stamped in our passports. Now it is done ahead online. Since then we have been been issued new passports. Does anyone know how we can show that this was paid? Bring our old passports?

Many thanks for advice.