louhut

Needless to say, dining preference is quite subjective. Yesterday I came off a B2B on Equinox, one week in Luminae and one week in Blu. For me, while there were one or two standout dishes in Blu, I really didn't care for either the food or the atmosphere in Blu. Over the past 10 months I've spent a bit over 6 weeks in Luminae on 3 ships, so have the menu fairly well committed to memory and look forward to an update in the coming months, but the mix of ingredient flavors and spices used in Luminae far better fit my palate than those in Blu.

 

 

 

I'll post more of my thoughts in my trip report, but I don't care for Blu's visual design nor am I one who enjoys the decibel level present in Blu--and admittedly in several very popular and quite fine landbased restaurants these days.Service wise, while dinner proved pleasent enough--other than the endless patter of waiter recommendations (twice i attempted to stop one then realized it was easier to sit thru the show then order as planned)--breakfast, with the absurdly specialized water, coffee, juice servers who dare not communicate with one another, I found to be pretty poor.

 

Blu seems to rely on massive amounts of butter and, especially in the soups, huge serving sizes, neither of which endeared it to me.

 

 

 

On land i eat vegan, while at sea I move to vegetarian/pescatarian. Luminae's menus, as well as the ability to go off menu and even off-off menu to chef's choice of Indian dishes, provide me with welcome flexibility. Aside from the occasional overly enthusiastic group table, or too many hard-of-hearing tablemates all leaning far back from their plates and yelling at one another ( not uncommon in Luminae or Michael's on some trips) Luminae provides the sort of staid atmosphere that I prefer.

 

 

 

Thus for me, moving forward I'll know that if I'm not traveling in a suite I'll most likely want a multi-night specialty package.

All I can say is wow. Most of us are not in your position to be able to book suites. I have booked inside to Aqua Class. I have always enjoyed our food. Options are available. I book out cruises based on the itinerary. This is the most condescending review I have ever seen. I am happy for you and your ability to book a suite. Most of us do not have this option. Your experience is different from most of us. I am really offended by this. I am sorry.

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Thanks Photopro 2 for the point that chef table can be seen as part of the on board enrichment ! I agree.

I ate at Chief table only once. It was wonderful and loved the cloud soup for dessert. Louise knew all about cloud soup and the berries that are used in it. It was a new experience for me. Also loved the wine pairings with the Silver Beverage package.

On my next Viking cruise with my sister, we will make more than one reservatiion for the chef table.

lackcreativity, very good point also. The two alternative dining spaces are perfect in complementing the great food in the MDR. I had great steaks and seafood in the MDR.

Loved loved loved the speciality restaurants. It felt so special and we had such good service. Also just eating in the The Restaurant was wonderful. The lobster night was great. Food on our cruise was over the top. The Silver Beverage was worth the money. The TA was so great as we got to really utilize the wonderful ship! Viking is wonderful.

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reality check ..... (just off SKY last week)

 

The phone in your room has access to the satellite system for making calls off the ship - this is $$ but the service is available.

 

Viking ships will connect your cell to the satellite system but unless you know what you are doing (and being charged) I do NOT recommend doing this.

 

Viking Ocean ships have free WiFi ... but the service it a wee bit less than what you might experience at home. I never tried to make a 'wifi phonecall' (which is actually in the technical world VoIP or Voice over IP). We had issues just getting e-mail reliably at times.

 

I could go into the technical reasons for this which I understand (when I worked I bought satellite internet service for ships) but bottom line is no, you probably do not want to simply pick up your phone and dial ......

 

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for the most part we were able to send/rcv e-mails via the ship wifi/satellite at no charge

 

I have verizon cell phone service and added one month of international access with 100 minutes and 100GB, 100 outgoing msgs and unlimited incoming for $40. We made several calls and used the data connection for maps in towns and did not exceed our limits being 'over there' for nearly 4 weeks total ....

When traveling on the TA San Juan to Barcelona I was able to FaceTime my husband at home using the provided internet. It was very clear. Good to touch base with home.

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I like the stairs. It is a help to balance the good food and keeping weight off.

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I'm from Tucson! Did you meet my friend Judy and Bob onboard who live in Tucson?

Yes I did. They don’t live too far from me. We had a lot of fun with them.

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Such a glorious cruise. Great weather, meeting wonderful people, eating great food and really restful time. Loved our 6 sea days. San Juan a beautiful start to our cruise. Barcelona a beautiful city to end our cruise. Came home to a glorious sunny desert day. Love this time of year in Tucson with all the trees in bloom. Back to walking the dog. Thank you to all who made this cruise so special. Would love to cruise with you anytime. Louise

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Sydney exceeded our expectations by far. It is a beautiful, modern, very walkable city with water and waterfront everywhere. Many ferry services to outlying areas or just across the harbor. Viking, as usual, provided water taxi service from the boat (when docked at White Bay) every half hour to Circular Quay. We were able to relocate to Circular Quay for Saturday night and that was a very welcome perk as from there the attractions of City Centre are readily walkable. It is far from cheap to move a ship about like that. Harbor Pilots, Tugs, Line handlers all have to be paid so thanks again Viking. A contingent went to the Opera House for the opening night of Carmen so had a short, glamorous walkabout in Sydney. We chose to wander about "The Rocks" and managed to find The Fortune of War, reportedly Sydney's oldest pub. Don't know if that is true but a fine old pub with a friendly staff and great local beers. The fish and chips was good too. When time came for sailaway, Aussie National TV, supposedly Good Morning America, and BBC had filmed the ship and news choppers were overhead as we departed dock at White Bay. We sailed under the bridge for the 4th time past the Opera House and then, as we approached the Navy Base, Captain Knutsen spun the ship 180 degrees and proceeded back by the Opera House (so those on the other side got equal views") and back to the Harbor Bridge. Then pivoted another 180 degrees and again headed for sea. A fantastic experience on board but it must have been amazing to watch from all the waterfront businesses and homes as well. It was the maritime equivalent of Tom Cruise's Maverick doing a "flyby"...Hope it shows up on the BBC and I am sure we shall see it on the World Cruise video. Thank you Captain Knutsen for an unforgettable experience. Just one of many so far... If you have any interest in ever doing one of these voyages, stop putting it off and go for it. It will not be cheaper in the future...;p:cool:

Wow! Having sailed from Sydney. It is such a spectacular sight. To see it that many times, so exciting. It is one of the most incredible sailaways ever, Following your wonderful trip.

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Just returned from Viking Star Barcelona-Rome. I used the Whatsapp app of my cellphone and called home every day, free and clear

Thanks ,looking into this.

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Today became another sea day due to high winds at Napier. I have to agree with the Captain's decision as the harbor at Napier has a rather tight entry. They say we shall have a bit of extra time tomorrow in Wellington. Rain is forecast. Probably will not be the last adjustment due to weather, etc. :cool:

I’m sorry you didn’t get into Napier. We were there for 4days after a cruise a couple years ago. We loved this town. We also have dreamed of living in this wonderful country. It was a really charming town. Am following your cruise and really enjoying it. Would love to do this also. Continue to have a good time.

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We are traveling in April with a friend who has never sailed on Celebrity before and he would like to bring two bottles of wine aboard into his cabin which is single occupancy. With this be allowed? Is the wine bottle allowance per person or per cabin?

It should be fine. It is supposed 2 bottles per room.

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I have bought CDs on cruises from people who have enhanced my enjoyment of that cruise. It always reminds me of a wonderful time and brings me joy. Most music venues that I attend they are selling CDs. That is a way for them to make a living. That being said 35 Euros is grossly overpriced. I have usually paid 10-15 US $. I also have never had one placed in my hand and then expect to be paid. I would have politely declined if the music was not something I would enjoy or a price I wanted to pay.

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well I just played with my iPhone 5 and found nothing in settings to set up WiFi calling ......

 

 

 

perhaps this came with an APP you loaded?????

 

 

 

or you can tell us where it is buried in the iPhone menus ....

You need a I Phone 6 or newer for WiFi calling. You can call over WiFi with on the ship. The only reason my husband upgraded was for this feature.

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The quality of the food on the Equinox was very good but besides the MDR & the main buffet there isn't anywhere else that I can think of to get sandwiches. They do a have place by the pool that serves hot dogs & hamburgers for a limited time. The Cafe al Bacio has some nice desserts that are complimentary but the Equinox was definitely not designed for people who like to eat at a lot of different venues. If there's some place that I missed on the Equinox I hope someone will chime in because we're planning on going on it again this year. It's still my wife's favorite ship & we sailed on the Oasis a few years ago too.

Just want you to know I still did not lose weight on our cruises. I seemed to find enough to eat to keep my fighting weight.

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Another here who is Elite due to our Diamond status on Royal. Question, does the internet work the same way, one logon that can be used on multiple devices as on Royal, or is it one package for 9be device? DH and I are both Diamond/Elite but really only want to get one package of we can.

 

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You can have several devices share the minutes but not at the same time. You have to log off one device in order to use another device. We did this and it wasn’t too bad.

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America's cup 12 metre race in St Maarten.

 

Best excursion ever!

My DH favorite one also.

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some of these are amazing, funniest thread i have found on cruise critic so far :)

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It is unlimited for each person. Each person has to have the package. Since April you have only to pay the difference plus 18% . You can get specialty coffees in Cafe Bacio. If you order a wine over the limit you pay 1.18 for each dollar that is over the limits. Martinis are over the limit but you can get many other drinks. It will be clear when you get on board. They also will try to get you to upgrade to the premium for 11 per day more. My husband had the premium package and I kept the classic.

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No.

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If I do remember. Some people got off for a 2 day excursion and met the boat at the next stop. It was expensive but were put on smaller boats. We had beautiful weather but some of the cruises had a lot of rain. We did this a couple years ago and things could have changed. It was an awesome trip

 

 

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My husband thinks they got off in Milford Sound.

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You do not dock in Dusky Sound. They cruise in and out. It is beautiful. We had an aft cabin and it was spectacular.

 

 

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If I do remember. Some people got off for a 2 day excursion and met the boat at the next stop. It was expensive but were put on smaller boats. We had beautiful weather but some of the cruises had a lot of rain. We did this a couple years ago and things could have changed. It was an awesome trip

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You do not dock in Dusky Sound. They cruise in and out. It is beautiful. We had an aft cabin and it was spectacular.

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Does the metromover stop close to the hotel? If so which stop would we board at? :)

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Also we did like Vina Del Mar when we toured after debarkation in Valparaiso Beautiful place with some nice hotels.

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We stayed at LeReve boutique hotel last year over Christmas after a cruise. It was very nice and a good location. Great breakfast in AM and happy hour in the PM. To our surprise we met several others from our cruise there. They arranged tours for us if you want them to.

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