Torquer

21 hours ago, cruiser man 60 said:

I didn’t know anyone was stopping there due to risks but maybe the cruise lines are now accepting the risks, not sure I’d be comfortable visiting the area as the war could expand without notice. I know several lines cancelled all their itineraries for the area

I thought so also.  We were booked on a cruise for August 2024 to Egypt and Israel, among others.  It was cancelled, or at least totally changed to other Mediterranean ports that are not in the Middle East, so we cancelled.  I guess going to Egypt is safer than Israel right now, but I'm not sure I would want to be on a cruise to either in 2024; not necessarily for our safety, but due to the fact that the cruise could be cancelled or changed due to new events in the region.

Yikes!  If the Uruguay consulate doesn't know what their own visa requirements are, I don't know who would know.  You might try one of the visa services that supposedly get all the required visa for individual cruise passengers, but again, I am shocked that the Uruguay consulate doesn't know or can't investigate what their own requirements are.  @wallyjWhy do you mention Princess, since the OP didn't say what cruise line, or am I missing something?

Just to clarify further...if you just have Club Orange, you cannot eat at the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast.  Only Neptune and Pinnacle Suite guests get this privilege on the non-Pinnacle-Class ships.  This is one important difference between people who pay for Club Orange and those that get the benefits because of their Suite.  On the other hand, on Pinnacle Class ships, both groups get to eat in the Club Orange dining room, including for breakfast.

San Antonio is a relatively small working-class town with little tourism infrastructure (for example, there is only one hotel in the entire town).  I would definitely not expect to be able to find a cab willing to take you on a one-way trip to Valparaiso, which is 100KM and over a 1 hour drive.  You would also likely to have the same problem in the other direction at the end of the day.  I really think you should look at using a tour company.  I can highly recommend Chile Dream Tours, which we used on a trip this year to that area of Chile.

27 minutes ago, kirkc said:

Wow Torquer if you can find Veuve Clocquot for $35 a bottle let me know where…I’ll take a case. Goes for over $70 a bottle at Costco.

I just googled it, and clicked on "Shopping".  Several places are selling it online for under $50, but some for much more.  I have never ordered it to know if these places are reliable, since as I said, I am definitely not a champagne expert.

19 minutes ago, Ray4Fun said:

Hey, It happened last year. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2023/11/30/royal-caribbean-passengers-denied-boarding/71749345007/

Very interesting article.  I follow the forums for several cruise lines in addition to HAL, and never heard of this happening before.  It really is bad planning by the cruise line...if they haven't had sufficient cancellations within a couple days before sailing to cover all their bookings, they should start contacting people and offer them incentives to postpone their cruise.  Notifying someone at the cruise terminal is unconscionable.  The only case that it should possibly ever happen is if a room becomes uninhabitable at the end of a previous cruise due a water leak, fire, etc.

But I would never worry about this, since it is so rare, and I am pretty sure it has never happened on HAL ship.

FYI, in the Pinnacle Suite on our last two HAL cruises they gave us Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Champagne.  I'm not really a connoisseur of champagne, but it tastes pretty good to me.  I went online and I see it is worth about $35 a bottle.  On one cruise a few years ago, our TA comped us a bottle of sparkling wine, so HAL gave us this cheap bottle in addition to the real champagne that comes with the suite.  You could definitely taste the difference.  After that when our TA gives us a bottle of sparking wine, we have the Neptune Lounge concierge exchange it for a bottle of regular wine...I imagine that is pretty cheap too, but haven't looked it up.

I guess I am naturally cynical, but it sure sounds like a scare tactic by HAL to sell beverage packages.  I find it extremely hard to believe that two independent countries, the UK and Belgium, decided to simultaneously institute the same new policy that I am not previously aware of in any other port in the world.  Furthermore, although I distrust most politicians in making laws, this really doesn't make sense; I can see if they totally banned all alcohol consumption while in port like they ban casino play in many ports, but it makes no sense to ban direct purchase but allow indirect purchase via a beverage package.  Are they going to ban me from going to the mini-fridge in my cabin and having a drink...isn't that the same as a direct purchase while in port?  How about getting a drink from the honor bar in the Neptune lounge...is that banned?

I will be very interested in hearing what guests say actually happens while in these ports in the upcoming weeks.

We did the excursion in March 2024.  It was OK, but we felt it was very pricey.  We were booked on the third catamaran tour of the day.  Our tour started badly since their boat had engine problems so we stood in a corridor on our cruise ship for 45 minutes while we waited for them to decide if the excursion would run.  Ultimately it did.  The inside seating area of the catamaran was fine with plenty of room.  However, there was very limited outdoor area for seeing the glacier at the bow and stern, so it was extremely crowded and not very good for taking photos.  It happened to be foggy and rainy so being inside and looking through the windows was pointless.

I would say, if you have seen glaciers in Alaska or elsewhere, skip this excursion.  If this is your first time, it might be worth it.

Earlier this year, we used Chile Dream Tours in the other direction, from the airport to port.  We did a private tour of Santiago with their guide Sean.  The tour company was excellent with email communication and we would highly recommend Sean as a guide.  We paid $357 US for the 6-hour private tour for 2 people, and the transfer to San Antonio.  Obviously, it would be a lot cheaper for just the transfer without the tour.  Here is the link:

https://chiledreamtours.com/en/pre-and-post-cruise-private-tours-list/

I agree with Ruth.  Book both, assuming the website lets you, but then ask the Shore Excursions desk when you get onto the ship if you have enough time to do both.  If they say yes, and you miss the second one, they will have to give you a refund.  If they say it is too tight, you can cancel whichever you like least.

10 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Best bet is to book cabins on floors that are between 2 floors of cabins.  Never book a cabin above or below a bar or casino.

I am not aware of any Oceania suite, which is the topic of this post, that meets that criteria.  They are either under the spa/fitness rooms or are under the Terrace Cafe.  We have never had any serious noise problems at either location.  In the ones under the Cafe, you do sometimes hear tables/chairs moving, but the view from the wrap-around balcony more than makes up for that minor problem, in my opinion, and are the best suites on the ship (other than the OS of course).

US dollars are always best.  That said, if the ship is remaining in Europe for several weeks at countries that take Euros after your cruise, then tipping in Euros is probably fine since the crew members will have ample opportunity to use them in ports.  But even then, many crew members will want to send money back to their home so again, US dollars are probably better.  Tipping in specific country currencies like Icelandic Kronas or British Pounds are just making things difficult for the crew member you are trying to thank.

On 5/27/2024 at 12:50 PM, Guinazu2254 said:

a little nervous about going from Santiago to San Antonio on cruise embarkation day (asking for trouble)

I can't answer your questions about Valparaiso, but I will comment on staying overnight in San Antonio the eve before embarkation.  We actually did that on a cruise this year.  First, there is only one hotel in San Antonio, and it sells out far in advance, but you should be able to make reservations for a cruise in 2025.  The hotel Enjoy Casino Hotel is nice enough...about like a 3-start European hotel.  The rooms are modern and have a spectacular view overlooking the harbor; you can even get up real early and watch your ship sail into port from your room, then go back to bed for some more sleep.  Breakfast is included and the hotel rates are amazingly cheap.  That's the good part.

Now the bad part.  There is nothing to do or see in San Antonio other than taking a stroll along the harbor (there are seals and sea lions on the rocks to watch which is pretty neat).  There are also no restaurants you would want to go to in the entire town.  Your only choices for dinner are the casino restaurant and the food court in the shopping mall that adjoins the hotel.

So there are a lot more hotel options available in Santiago or Valparaiso.  But we thought staying in San Antonio was fine for one night, and we are going to do it again for our cruise in 2025.  It certainly eliminates all worries about your transportation in getting to the port on embarkation day.

11 hours ago, lcand1923 said:

I can’t see any preference if going from the Pacific to the Atlantic.  If going from the Atlantic to the Pacific, I prefer Starboard.  You can see the remains of the original French attempt to build the canal.

Just curious why you say you have no preference when going Pacific to Atlantic, but you do have a preference going in the opposite direction?  If the reason you prefer starboard going from Atlantic to Pacific is the remains of the French attempt, wouldn't you see this on the port side going in the opposite direction?

We have a full transit booked for 2025 going from Pacific to Atlantic, and just need to decide if we want to change our cabin to the other side.

On 5/25/2024 at 1:01 PM, Gibbie42 said:

Verizon doesn't really do SIM cards. But they do offer an inexpensive international plan for 10.00 per 24 hours that charges the first time you use it in that period. So if I'm in port and use my phone, I pay the 10.00 for unlimited data, text and calling for a day. But when I'm at sea and don't connect to anything, there's no charge. Just never ever connect to Cellular at Sea. No one covers that. 

Not sure what you mean.  I have a Verizon SIM card in my android phone.  Yes, they do have the $10.00 per day plan, and I have used that on occasion.  But I wouldn't consider that cheap for a port intensive cruise of longer than 10 days.

2 hours ago, Fouremco said:

A SIM card purchased in an EU country will not work seamlessly in the UK now that it has left the European Union.

Perhaps true (I don't know for sure), but you can get a UK Sim card that works in the UK and (almost) all of Europe.  When we go to Europe, we get a sim card on Amazon from the Three network in the UK, before we leave.  It works great.  It does work in Switzerland; the only country it does not work in, that we have gone to, is Turkey.  You just have to shop around.  There are lots of other options out there too.

On 5/23/2024 at 9:30 AM, Mehroswitha said:

In the past I've never used my (US-based) cell phone when abroad. That may change now that I have new plan that includes free data and relatively inexpensive calls throughout Europe and most of the world.

I assume this means you have T-Mobile, which does have reasonable fees for calling outside of the US?  If you do have Verizon or AT&T, I would strongly urge you to simply buy a European SIM Card on Amazon before you leave, or as soon as you get to Europe.  They are very cheap; under $50 for 30-days with unlimited calling and lots of data.  By EU law, they work in all European countries.

2 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Were they not using the shore based ferries as tenders?  They can take up to 200 passengers each time.

They were using one shore-based tender in addition to the Nieuw Statendam tenders.  It did not help.  The problem was the long time it took to get one tender loaded at a time.

Be prepared for a very long wait to get back to the ship.  Last year we waited 1 1/2 hours in the line to get back on the tender at South Queensferry, which was the longest we waited on any  cruise.  The problem was they were only loading one tender of passengers at a time from the dock, while there were three tenders waiting in the water to pull up to the dock.  And it is a very long dock with plenty of room for multiple tenders at a time.  We were very unhappy with HAL's handling of this situation.

We love having a private whirlpool tub on our balcony when on a cruise, but there are only a very small number of cruise lines that have them.  Oceania was one of them that had them in their top suites, and the balcony tub is the main reason we are willing to spend the small fortune to stay in these suites.

We were devastated a while back when we learned that Riviera had removed them at it last refit.  So now the question is, did Marina retain her whirlpool tubs in her just-completed refit?  When we were in an OC on Marina a couple months ago we asked our butler, and he had not heard they were going to be removed, but we want a definitive answer from someone actually staying in OS, VS, or OC on Marina post-refit.

Suppose I want to research specialty restaurant reservations.  Here are the steps I use:

• Be on the main Oceania board:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/29-oceania-cruises/
• In the upper right hand corner there is a search box.  Type in:  specialty restaurant reservations.  On the right side of search box, make sure it says "This Forum" to search just the Oceania forum, rather than all forums.
• What will come up is search results containing ANY of those words.  You want results that contain ALL those words, so you want to use AND connectives.  You can type in the AND between your search words, but right below the new search box Cruise Critic has done it for you, and you can just click on: specialty AND restaurant AND reservations

If this doesn't work for you, tell us what you want to search for, and we can show you how to do the search.

We have had great butlers, and some not very good.  The worst one happened to be when we were staying on a cruise in the owners suite...it definitely detracted from the experience.

Interestingly on our last cruise, there was a 5-day art scavenger hunt where you were given 50 photos of paintings and other art work on the ship, and had to identify where on the ship it was located.  It was quite challenging since each photo only showed a tiny portion of the artwork.  Anyway, we saw one couple who had their butler touring the ship with them to try to complete the scavenger hunt.  Although it was nice to see a butler willing to do that, we thought it was cheating.

This is definitely one of the most remarkable sagas I have ever read on the HAL board.  It is incomprehensible that this error could have been made in the first place, then that the captain would publicly admit to it, and finally that HAL would offer compensation is also amazing.  I am guessing the fact the captain admitted to the mistake is what drove the compensation.  I am speculating that only people who complained actually got that letter offering FCC.

17 hours ago, clo said:

And a generic Nautica brochure.

Wasn't the Nautica brochure customized for you?  In February/March we were on a cruise on Marina.  The brochure we received had our names on it on several pages.  For the page about our accommodations it showed a photo and other information about our Oceania Suite including the room number for our suite.  We were highly impressed by the brochure....just like the ones on pre-covid cruises.