myotis

Perhaps Cunard should be advised NYC has five boroughs, none of which is called NY. Glad I read this post, as we were thinking Brooklyn port.

Happy New Year, see you all on board.:p

Does this apply to partial cruise also?

We remember fondly two cruises taken on the Clipper Odyssey when it was with Intrav. I am trying to locate who is sailing this ship today and cannot find any information. Can anyone give me some insight?

We recently made a tentative reservation for a Dec cruise, but now I have not heard back, nor can I reach this cruise line by telephone. Has anyone had recent contact with them regarding winter tours?

LaBoheme, I do hope you have a wonderful trip on the Odyssey. We find small ships, focusing on interesting ports and in depth tours and knowledgable lecturers an ideal way to travel. The food was varied and tasty. (Sorry I cannot say anything good about the coffee). The coffee aside, I rate this line as excellent. Enjoy.

Sorry should read 2016 brochure.

The new 2016 brochire received in today's mail. Looks interesting. Will take some time to explore the offerings, but notice free laundry and wifi included for odyssey Club members. Not sure about airfare though. Also noticed it was mailed from Washington. Thanks for the heads up. Looking forward to being aboard in October of 2015. 2016 is a little too distant, but who knows when we get a chance to read more. Question, are the black diamonds still an issue?

Yes, Shar I agree that this voyage over the Christmas/New Year Holidays is not a good time for some. Perhaps they will do it again at a different time frame.

In today's mail we received an "invitation" to a Reunion Cruise beginning Dec. 2014 starting in Kenya, Africa and ending in Sri Lanka. Have not had time to digest it. Also got the Odyssey Club winter 2013/2014 newsletter which confirms that the free laundry, internet and priority boarding for excursions have just been added benefits for members. Will have to take a few free minutes to read the mailing. Hope they do a better job of getting the information out.

A small matter, free laundry, but yes, quite a nice perk. Was this always offered to Odyssey passengers?

Here in the Northeast it helps thinking about upcoming cruises to warm areas.

Librarian: We received a pamphlet in the mail outlining these cruises. It lists fares for Odyssey members at a discount if you are booked by January 31, 2014. I really do not understand why not all previous passengers did not receive it as yet, but suggest you give them a call. We live in the USA, I work with the Fla. office, which is quite helpful. Hope you can sort this out. Happy New Year

Ontariotrekker, Is there a method to their manner of mailing? I believe you have traveled with VtA more times than we have. Perhaps that is why we got ours awhile ago. Sorry I cannot comprehend. I am sure it will come soon, but why not drop them a note. Happy New Year.

We traveled in forward cabins this past February and heard no complaints from fellow passengers. We will now be on the Jan 29th voyage starting in Santiago, Chile and terminating in Buenos Aires, Argentina in mid ship cabin. We will report back if we become aware of problems. Safe journey to all.

Cruiselover, Have you asked to be waitlisted for a more desirable cabin?

Librarian, I think you will find a cruise or two to your liking in the new offerings. Spain, Italy, France, Venice, the Dalmatian coast are a few places offered on the upcoming cruises. I am not sure why we received this flyer so early, but I was told the brochure is being prepared. Have faith and hang in there you will be pleased, I am sure.

I just read on another website that Argentina now is requiring hotels to not accept local currency as payment by foreigners. The reliable poster states that as of today there seems to be little enforcement of this new law. BUT, for future travelers it pays to keep abreast of the situation.

CruiseMom42;

As a member of the Odyssey Club, the preview brochure should reach you shortly. Enjoy your upcoming trips.

Just recently received the newest offering of 2015 cruises for VtoA. Lots of new places, very exciting and have signed up for an Oct. trip encompassing Spain and Morocco with hotel stays included. Look for the upcoming brochure, you will be tempted. Booked our trip through the Florida office, which were as usual very helpful. Oct. 2015 is a long way off, but just knowing we will be sailing again on the Aegean Odyssey makes us smile.

They are not recordings but amplification of the guide's discussion. Easy to use and very clear. When on occasion a problem arises with one, an assistant from the ship is on hand to correct problem or switch headphone. A wonderful system that I wish Swan Hellenic would adopt as it allows you to fall back to further examine or wander slightly away and still hear the discussion.

As I recall, all passengers are offered the same excursion at the same time. You will be assigned a color, usually by cabin classification and each group will be called upon to board. The calling to board by color will rotate, so that some days your group will be first to board your bus, and other days may be last. As each bus is fully boarded it will depart for the destination. This allows each site visited not to be overrun. Since this is a small ship, you never have the feeling of being overly crowded, even if several buses arrive together. Each bus will have a tour guide and several assistants from the ship to be on hand for any missteps or problems.

The inclusion of the excursions is an outstanding feature of this line. You are free of course to stay on board or make your own plans. Why you would opt not to join the planned trips is hard to fathom, since they are well organized and enable you to visit the top attractions at no additional cost or worry.

Rest assured, you will have a wonderful journey with well planned excursions. Reading up on the planned excursions can help alleviate your sense of withdrawal.

Bon voyage.

Sounds like there will be no problems. I hope for all this is the case this upcoming season.

I will watch your journey with interest, as our small UK ship, Minerva will stop at Ushuaia, Argentina Feb. 10 and 11th and then is slated to overnight two nights at Port Stanley on the 13th and 14th. We continue up the east coast with a stop at Puerto Madryn, Agentina and end in Buenos Aires. Hope your voyage goes smoothly as planned.

What is the current political situation for a British ship stopping at Falkland Islands? I believe it is to be a two day stay.

I believe there was some problem last winter with rough seas. Will these journeys encounter the same problems, or are the journeys to calmer sea areas? We loved our cruises with VTA and hope to sail with her again. Just wondering if some changes to the ship for more stability in rough seas has been done.

Thank you for this post. It is important that the public keeps informed and therefore more vigilant when sailing.

There seem to be restrictions on disembarking passengers also. I have emailed our driver's agency to see if they have permission to enter dock. If not, we will have to contact Swan's suggested agency just to get us outside the dock area.