mgfraser

Thanks Keith, why I thought it was in Asia I don't know!

Hello Everyone,

We are arriving in Dubai the day before getting on a cruise ship (Nov 17).

There are numerous good hotels, can anyone recommend a hotel near the cruise port?

Thanks!

Malcolm

Hi Keith,

My wife and I were on the Quest for three weeks last May/June cruising Norway and the Baltic.

This ship has the best standard cabins we have experienced so far with our limited cruising experience.

We have not been back to Crystal since we met you and your wife a couple years back on a Caribbean cruise. We hope to experience Crystal again in the near future.

Regards,

Malcolm

We were two couples and used Polina at http://www.tourpetersburg.com/

We were on the Quest last June, and had a wonderful three day tour with Polina.

She was excellent!

Malcolm

Hello Everyone,

We are arriving in Dubai the day before getting on a cruise ship (Nov 17).

There are numerous good hotels, can anyone recommend a hotel near the cruise port?

Thanks!

Malcolm

Hello Everyone,

My wife and I are contemplating an Azamara cruise, and are mostly interested in the quality of the meals.

We have been on eight cruises in the past 5 years: 3 with Celebrity, 2 with Oceania, 2 with Seabourn, and 1 with Crystal. We have enjoyed them all immensely.

Where might the quality of the food fit in based on our cruise experience above?

We have been on an Oceania ship that is the same as the two Azamara ships so we know mostly what to expect there.

Regards,

Malcolm

We stayed in one of the corner Sky Suites (S1?) right underneath the OceanView cafe and there was never a problem with noise from above.

Once in awhile you would her some scraping but never very often.

We would look forward to the location again.

My wife and I started to cruise in 2010 and have tried Celebrity twice, Oceania twice, Crystal once, and Seabourn once.

Our next cruise Jan 2,2015 is with Celebrity again.

In our limited experience, it is our opinion that Celebrity offers the best all around value per dollar. Food is good, great in the specialty restaurants and a free drink package (that we upgrade). We would also buy a beverage package even if we didn't get it mostly for free.

The people we have met on all our cruises have been equally great!

Malcolm

I am a scotch drinker, so I always upgrade to get the better single malts and

johnnie walker black rather than red.

I also like the better choices of premium bourbon and using the better gins in the martinis.

Malcolm

We had a Sky Suite that was immediately below the outside deck of the Oceanview restaurant on the Eclipse. It was a terrific location with only a very minor noise from above.

We will be on the Equinox early in the new year but in a Sunset Veranda, as much as we loved the Sky Suite we can't afford it this time.

We love sitting on the balcony looking behind us.

Malcolm

Oceania's smallest ship weighs 30,277 tons, dimensions 181x26 (m)

The Seabourn Quest weighs 32000 tons, dimensions 198x26 (m)

Above are the dimensions of the two ships, physically the Quest is larger in weight and length.

In passenger capacity the Quest is 450.

Oceania small ships passenger capacity is 684

Your 50% relates to number of passengers carried but in fact the Quest (physically) is a slightly larger (in weight & length) ship.

With repect to your first statement "If you have really been on Oceania...", members of this board generally believe what people state about there cruise experience. Since you have no basis in fact for making this innuendo I can only assume you lack simple manners.

Malcolm

My wife and I and another couple just finished a three week cruise on Seabourn (our first). We spent two weeks doing the Norway coast and a week in the Baltic with the hit being St. Petersburg. We have also done two cruises with Oceania.

We believe the food & service is superior on Seabourn, and of course alcoholic drinks are included on Seabourn. You also have a wonderful stateroom on Seabourn. certainly better than Oceania's small ships.

If there is a not great deal of difference on price, Seabourn in my opinion is much better.

Regards,

Malcolm

Hi dafne,

Very good review, we are leaving on a 3 week cruise on the Quest on Sunday,

June 1st, and looking forward to the food & drink.

Regards,

Malcolm

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I are departing on a June 1 cruise that sees us go to northern Norway as well as the usual ports in the Baltic, we depart from Copenhagen.

My question is to people who have visited these areas as to what clothing to bring? I am assuming that layering is the best option, but I would be interested in what to wear in the coolest temperatures.

Thanks,

Malcolm

Hi Everyone,

We are on the Quest for 3 weeks (June 1 depart) and this is our first Seabourn cruise.

The Spa Terrace looks like a wonderful place to sit and relax, does one have to pay to use it, and if so how much?

Thanks,

Malcolm

My wife and I are new to cruising, we have done two with Oceania, one with Celebrity, and one with Crystal this past year. We enjoyed them all, but the best value (by far) was on the Eclipse last year on it's trip from Miami to Southampton. We were able to afford a Sky Suite, because the prices were so low. We spent most of our time outside in the OceanView Bar. The service was wonderful! We got to know some of the waiters, life was good.

We are doing a 2nd cruise with Celebrity on the Solstice from Honolulu to Vancouver later this month and we will try a European cruise with Seabourn in June.

We will come back to Celebrity for more!

Malcolm

We have only cruised four times, once with Celebrity, twice with Oceania, and once with Crystal. We have two future cruises, Celebrity April 28 from Honolulu to Vancouver, and one with Seabourn June 1 in northern Europe.

We like trying all the lines and so far all have enjoyed them all. We will continue with Celebrity, possibly Oceania & never again with Crystal.

We really like the Solstice vessels and anticipate cruising Celebrity again. Celebrity prices were so attractive on our Eclipse trans Atlantic in the spring of last year we were able to afford a Sky Suite. This time in June we are taking a regular

balcony cabin, and spending additional monies on a premium drink package and eating in the specialty restaurants. We enjoy eating outside so seldom use the MDR, mostly the buffet, with a couple of specialty restaurants.

Of the four of course Celebrity is the least expensive and the best bang-for-the-buck cruise we have been on.

Regards,

Malcolm

Hello,

I am interested in tasting beer in Copenhagen, and have been told

to be sure to visit Mikkeller Beer Bar.

Can anyone suggest some other good tasting beer venues?

Thanks

Malcolm

Hi Everyone,

We are going to be first time cruisers on Seabourn leaving June 1,2014 on the Seabourn Quest for three weeks "North Cape and Baltic Gems".

Can someone offer us the referral coupon? mgfraser at gmail dot com. We are Canadians living in Toronto.

Thanks,

Malcolm