oakridger

I can see her approaching the bridge

I'm watching Terry! Thanks for keeping us posted! Wish I could be there in person! ~Nancy

All cabins on Viking Ocean ships are Veranda or better. ~Nancy

It's good you reported your concerns to the Manfredi's manager right away. Knowing the problems upfront will give them the opportunity to correct them. If they aren't improved immediately then you have reason to escalate up the management ladder. I certainly hope that isn't needed and the rest of your cruise is back to Viking standards! That goes for the weather too! Please let us know how things go for you. ~Nancy

Terry, I just went to the webcam and it looks like a gorgeous day! I've set my alarm and I'll be watching Symphony sail out. 7pm California time! ~Nancy

That's great that you and your wife could go on and visit! Thanks for the report and pictures. That double cabin with balcony is calling my name! Love the new bathroom with larger shower! ~Nancy

They are detailed in post #10 above. Basically, on the Tahiti itinerary the whole ship has only the plant-based food offered for the whole cruise. I wonder if the sponsor group brings on their own chef to supervise or provide recipes? I checked yesterday and the February 2025 cruise is listed as already sold out and waitlisted! The 2024 Costa Rica/Panama Canal trip is offering both separate plant-based meals and also regular Windstar meals in a separate dining room (?). I was going to take that cruise, but when Windstar told me about the food offerings, I decided to spend the week on Moorea instead. I do like my seafood and other meats! Good luck everyone! ~Nancy

Embassy Suites was shabby when I last stayed there in 2012! I understand that it has not been renovated since then!! It's a shame because it has a great location and cute pool area. Riverside is my "Go To" hotel now in Ft. Lauderdale. About $20 Taxi or Uber to the port. ~Nancy

It's so great to see the towel animals with eyes (and a nose) again! The last few years this has been a big pet peeve of mine that the HAL towel animals no longer have had eyes on the poor things! Eyes give them that extra personality. Some people have speculated that the paper eyes caused a laundry problem, but I have seen on other Carnival Corp. forums that those lines are still giving their towel critters eyes! 🤷‍♀️ The little Reindeer is new to me and very cute! ~Nancy

BB King's is a dance area with a band! ~Nancy

My last Crystal Cruise was on Symphony which ended in Sydney in April 2019. What a great memory @Stickman1990! I loved Sydney! ~Nancy

@TheKingD I live in the East Bay like @TER777 but even further from Fremont than she is so I have no experience close to there. Good Luck with your great flower idea! 🌺🌻 I'm going to check out @BEAV's florist suggestion in case I want to send something to my San Francisco friends! 🙂 ~Nancy

Thanks for the speedy reply @patrickmoran! Continue to enjoy the cruise and thanks again for sharing your trip with us! ~Nancy

I can't see it either!. Maybe it's a people from Tennessee thing?? (note my CC name) Ha Ha Hopefully @fstuff1 will come back and repost their review of the "excellent" small group tour!! ~Nancy

Would you consider taking one of the NHA Vegan cruises I mentioned in post #10? That sounds like a good solution to have the large variety and quality of food you want with a Windstar ship's crew service and amenities. Is there any reason you know of for a person who eats a vegan diet to NOT take that group's cruise? Thanks, ~Nancy

@patrickmoran I'm glad you recovered quickly and the weather improved. What do you think about your cabin so far? Do you feel the larger window is a good upgrade from port holes? Was the Delta Premium Economy flight comfortable for the ~8.5 hour overnight flight? Thanks, ~Nancy

I have had many flower arrangements on my cruises, and they have all been very pretty! The only flowers that pooped out in about a week were the roses, which I expected. I just removed the wilted flowers and the rest of the bouquet looked good for another week! Next cruise (14 days) I'll try @sambamama's suggestion to order on day one and see what they come up with! ~Nancy

Merry Christmas Roy! 🎄 I've been reading your blogs for years! Take care, ~Nancy

That is my lido desert/cookie strategy too! 😁

So, the tableside prep for Michelle's drink was 1- pour the gin in the glass and 2- pour the tonic into the glass? Ha ha.... that doesn't compete with a Champagne sabering for sure!! 🙄 ~Nancy

My first HAL cruise was on Zuiderdam in 2006 and my next Zuiderdam cruise will be on the TA in May 2024! I'm looking forward to being onboard to see the ship after all the renovations in the last 18 years!! Zuiderdam will be used for the world cruise again in 2024. ~Nancy

Yes, you did have a bad experience and HAL really did mess up letting children in that cabana, among other things. I did note that the advertised cabanas listed in the ad specifically say 2 Adults and 4 Adults in the retreats. The Lido cabanas are where families should be! "RETREAT CABANAS PRICING For two adults with two loungers"

Crown Princess is on the move at about 1:20am on Wednesday morning. 12/13/23 Bon Voyage!!