Balto Bob

We decided to stop worrying about what will be this winter.  Our January 2021 cruise is now January 2022.  We were not comfortable going until a vaccine was in our bodies.  

We are booked for January 2021 on our first Oceania cruise.   Hopefully, noting changes and we made a good choice.

Greetings all.  In Baltimore Maryland , we are under a shelter in place "order'.  Basically, we have our groceries delivered (about 20% higher in cost).  We had booked our first Oceania cruise for January of 2021, so we are hoping it will go as planned.  Best wishes to all.

I have been communicating with an Oceania agent.  Although he has been tremendously helpful, his price is about $2000 higher than some of the on-line companies for exactly the same stuff, O-Life etc.  That only causes me more hesitation on what is the best and safest way to deal.  

Is there any way other than hours/days on line to find what company will give you the best overage financial result when picking a specific cruise and room?

Yep.   For years, the only web site I trusted for honesty was based on our scuba diving.  Cruise Critic is always interesting, but most negative comments seem to be very personal, or caused by the writer.  It is often awkward to use comments to help you "make a decision".  Even with a perfect situation, if you approach it in a negative manner it may turn out negative.  We went with Oceania on this trip because of the itinerary.  Equal "perks" when planning Princess versus Oceania are close to the same $.  An example might be the "lack of lounges at the pool caused by people reserving them".  I can not accept the issue if you make a polite request of the crew, instead of attacking them.

Thank you both for your thoughts.  We are currently in Antigua and coming to a reality decision on the type of vacations we should take.  We have decided on Jan 2021 for  20 DAY Caribbean on  Oceania out of Florida.  Our choices were HAL, Princess, or Oceania.  Having used the others before, it was a decision to try a new one...Oceania.  Now I am working on what web site will get me the best price.  Can't decide until we return to the US and have decent telephone capability.  

We are seniors and have cruised before.  We are planning a (approx 20 day) cruise out of Florida in January or February 2021.  We both are "tired of HAL" so we looked harder.  We always go for concierge level and like to include laundry, wifi etc.   Both Oceania and Princess were considered and when you include perks to compare equals, the price is about the same for a 20 day trip.  We are leaning to Oceania and now it looks like they are getting bad reviews.   What would the experienced and experts recommend...Princess or Oceania.?????   THANKS!

Thanks. I found my roll call and it has been added to the CC site. So far, I'm the only one aware of it.

Yes, please add me to your Bon Voyage wishes list. Thanks to Cruise Critic, I found an unusually good discount on our accommodations. I've confirmed it is valid and registered with HAL. AND, I booked one tour to ensure we get it. Waiting now for others to join us.

I am rusty on the web site. I see this is listed, but how do I find it and start conversations? I would like to find others who would want to gather for 6 on a tour. Thanks

Bob-in-Balto:D

This may be too late, but just returned from a great barge trip with French Country Waterways in Burgundy. Everything was fantastic. I've never met a staff that worked so hard and so seamlessly to make sure the guests had a great time. The food and wines were fantastic. I just posted a review about our experience in Burgundy.

Where is the review??????

Caroldoll - you ask about luxury river cruise. If you are not including a barge/canal trip in your search, than read no further. If, however, a barge trip in the Burgundy region of France would suit you...then French Country Waterways should be considered. We have returned from a week on the Nenuphar. The best I can say is ...it started out as WOW and went higher as the days progressed. We have never received the quality and curtesy on any vacation, that matched the week we spent with them. Please consider this boat.

As most on here are aware, we barged on Nenuphar (also French Country Waterways) in Burgundy about three weeks before OKat did theirs. Our experiences were similar, although it sounds as if our meals were slightly fancier and larger....Nenuphar does not have a pool. We literally never saw a highway on the route we covered. Our captain was the wine and tour expert and with us every day. and YES we would definitely do it again.....it was the most exceptional, relaxing, and pleasant vacation we have ever had. ALBEIT my wife and I EACH gained six pounds in one week......I did NOT do a daily diary. The atmosphere and pace of life prevented me from even attempting to keep daily notes...

:D

I have completed a short report. The atmosphere on Nenuphar, after only one evening, caused me to go into total decompression. I did not document every day and event as planned. In fact, my wife took 95% of the photos. The report I completed will be available on FCW web site and the "Avid Cruiser". My comment here is that in my opinion, you could never take a more enjoyable, luxurious, relaxing, pleasant vacation than on the Nenuphar. Any questions or, if you would like to see a 6 minute video prepared for our friends...let me know.

I apologize for not fulfilling my goal of an in-depth trip report for Cruise Critic...:o

Thank you so much for your report! We are booked on the FCW's Adrienne in August and like you said there are not a lot of reviews. Any trip tips or suggestions?

Probably the best suggestion I have is to plan on being pampered as if you were still with your mother...and lose at least six pounds before you go.

Email me for anything specific and some photos. "RStern9007 at aol dot com."

Wow thanks for the report. I have longingly read their brochures cover to cover!

It is not often that a sales brochure is totally accurate. They are designed to sell. That is the world we live in.

I think I can say that, if I go through every page of their current brochure, as it applies to both French Country Waterways and the Nenuphar, I can not find a single statement that is not totally accurate. And..even this is an unusual statement for ME to make!

This Saturday I plan to take my copy of the menus we got from Tadek and see what I can do for our dinner. We both have about two more pounds down to go, so Saturday is my target.

There's fish in the foil packages...

I promised a trip report. Every time I start one, it sounds "too weak" compared to the positively perfect week that we spent with the Nenuphar team. The people, wine, food, attention to detail, and ambiance have actually created major problems for us. (1) I took the batteries out of our scale. I will put them back in about two weeks after we attempt to lose the weight that Tadek put on us. (2) The cost of wine in my refrigerator has gone sky high, as the anti-freeze we had been drinking no longer satisfies the changes in our taste that Matthew created, (3) I have used three tanks of gas in the car trying to find cheeses that even resemble the amazing ones selected by Jane and Louise. (4) Our suitcases stayed in the car three days waiting for Sam and Loic to show up to get them. Life for us will NEVER be the same. I dare anyone to spend a week on one of the French Country Waterways barges and not go home totally depressed!:D

Well, suitcases are out and open and we will pack in Monday. At this time, there are THREE, yes I said 3, other guests on the Nenuphar departing June 14. This is setting up to be the most private vacation we have ever enjoyed. I will update this thread when we return to Paris on June 20. Anyone out there wanting to take an unplanned trip ????????:D

For anyone headed out of the Baltimore area - WOW airlines is now going from BWI to Europe. I spent several hours changing my flight reservations to Paris. Going from the airline I had, to WOW, I saved about $2400. That's getting to be real money. It was worth the four hours effort, changing several things related to the flights. We are now just about 30 days out.

Well, time for another update:D

1. I got a large amount of our Euro's. We estimated what we would need for the days before, and the days after, the Nenuphar in Paris. With the good rate, I figured on doing it now and taking my chances it will not go lower.

2. Booked our pick-up at CDG airport. There are lots of discussion about Paris limo service not being dependable, so I booked one that did NOT take money up front. Worst case, we will take a taxi from airport to hotel if the car does not show. Service is "Blacklane" and is about 10-15 Euro more than taxi. Hotel for the first two nights in Paris is Hotel Regina, which is the FCW hotel of choice.

3. After cruise hotel is Hotel d'Aubusson for five nights. Their package includes museum and subway tickets

4. Other booked arrangements:

Eiffel Tower - it is almost impossible to get your own tickets on line unless you book four months in advance. You "have" to use a travel service, so we went with Viator.

Champagne Region for one day - Paris Champagne Tour company. Tour is all day and package includes pick up, breakfast, lunch, and drop off.

Moulin Rouge dinner and show - for the wife's birthday the day before we start the cruise.

So, we now have only three days open - Louvre, Walking Tour, and - visit with our son-in-law's sister and her family.

Any questions I can answer?

With the winter closing in on everyone, I thought it a good time to update on our plans for this June. First, Happy and HEALTHY New Year to everyone on CC. We have now confirmed our hotel in Paris with French Country Waterways (FCW) to cover the first two days and then our pick up to take us to Nenuphar. Then, when we return to Paris, we are going to a different hotel for another 6 days. It was FCW who suggested we do two hotels to better enjoy our time in Paris. I continue to be pleased and amazed at the amount of support and personal attention they give to clients. As an aside, if anyone wants to dip into their children's inheritance and do a bucket trip, the Nenuphar for 14 to 20 June still has a few cabins available. Join us? Well, now I need to go clean the snow off our cars.....

1. I will definitely put together a review of our trip on FCW. Note that I will not finalize and release it until late in June 2015, since I do not think there is internet on board. Actually, if I turn on my computer that week, I might be a candidate for divorce......;)

2. The link to the Nenuphar report that you posted is bad. :confused:

3. Host Jazz and I have been talking, both before I obligated so much of my kids' inheritance and now. So, CC has been a help. :D

4. For me, the Avid Cruiser team has also been a source of knowledge. I will see if my report can fit both formats.....

5. I will say that all dealings with FCW, so far, have been fantastic. Note that any fees paid are handled and processed in U.S. dollars, too.

6. Lastly, my wife is definitely the social person. By the time we leave the barge, everyone will be personal friend to her. I will likely not remember their names. :o

I have found another web site that is totally oriented to river and barge cruising. I may not post the web site here, as their web site also includes commercial links. If you would like the address, please post a note here. I will then impose on HostJazz to figure out how I may email directly to you. Note that the report (1) on French Country Waterways is "limited and old". It looks like my June 2015 report will have a lot of interest.....Then again, I may actually be the last one to find it....and everyone here is WAY ahead of me...:o

We arrive in Paris on Friday morning, June 12. We begin the barge trip on Sunday. So, for Saturday evening, we decided to do Moulin Rouge. FCW has not yet finalized the rates at the hotel being used for a meeting point. I wanted to confirm a hotel early, because of a possible availability conflict with the Paris Air Show. FCW sent me several suggestions for hotels. USING FCW suggestions, and reviews on Trip Advisor, I settled on Hotel dauBusson. Naturally, it is more than I have ever spent for a hotel, but all gloves are off for this trip....I asked the concierge about Moulin Rouge packages and they offered to set it up. Moulin Rouge did not have June arrangements available until December 1. I just received an email (Nov 30 here) confirming reservations and even asking about special event celebration, if wanted. So, the hotel seems to be a good choice. I'm posting this to both update everyone, AND show that FCW continues to meet all my expectations.