Mimosa09
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Posts posted by Mimosa09
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For what it's worth, I just got another Vantage catalog (river boat cruising, land journeys & small ships). This company caters to Americans. Anyway, they are advertising small group journeys to Cuba flying out of Miami starting January 2016.
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Are you talking about these kind of earmuffs ? Sorry but I think they are hideous !
I LOVE my ear muffs! I have two friends I have skied with who think they are hideous! I think my ears are way more sensitive than most people and so I'm wearing something that keeps them warm. The ones I have were given to me as a Christmas gift from REI. They are Polartec and the strap is not on top of your head - it's in the back.
Thank you Sailor_Sally and Ducklite for reminding me to think about packing them for the North Cape cruise or our fall Canada/New England cruise.
-Rose
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We'll see you there! :)
Yesterday I pulled out my "Rick Steves Scandinavia" from a few years ago, and I'm thinking that it might be possible to do the "Norway in a Nutshell" route, which includes Flam, as a daytrip from Bergen. Of course, then we'd have to miss most of the stuff in Bergen, which also looks nice. Too many decisions! Good thing we have more than a year to figure it all out.
Well.... I found this thread you started back in February AFTER we booked our cruise on the NCL Star this past week in August (see you onboard!). So far your thread is confirming we made the right choice going with NCL's itinerary.
Although we are platinium members on Princess, their itinerary didn't include Geiranger Fjord, but did include Flam (Sognefjord). In 2007, we were fortunate to do a "Norway in a Nutshell" tour before our Baltic cruise. That tour with Nordic Saga included Oslo to Myradal, the train down to Flam to Balestrand to Bergen. It also included a side trip to a glacier museum and to Mundalsdalen (town where Walter Mondale ancestors are from). So we feel we have already had our trip to Oslo & Sognefjord - we are just repeating Bergen which has plenty to see.
As you can see from my signature we have cruised to Alaska a lot - so we enjoy seeing fjords & glaciers. (Also enjoyed the ones in New Zealand too!)
So, yes, look into one of the "Norway in a Nutshell" tour. There are lots of companies that do them. It would be one way to fill in the missing Sognefjord (Flam) portion.
-Rose
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The #1 complaint is no laundry? LMAO Really????
Can't anyone go a week without doing laundry?
7 days yes, but not on longer cruises or trips. As for the $75 for 3 bags of laundry, I was quoting someone traveling with children - I am not traveling with children, but I can sympathize with someone on a tight budget.
- Rose (who is now leaving on a 7 day cruise & is not washing any clothes, 'cuz I packed enough - longer cruises & trips I do wash)
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Simple solution is to let them do your laundry. It might be more costly but certainly better than washing clothes in the bathroom sink or over-packing. Frequent guests of a line often get free or discounted laundry service. (BTW placing left behind laundry on top of the machine was a frequent source of disputes among passengers on some cruises we were on. Apparently the owner of the clothes objected to someone handling their clothes even if they were late in returning to the laundry room:rolleyes:)
However, the bottom line seems to be that the return of self-service laundries on NCL is pretty unlikely.
Many people on many of the threads relating to laundry always seem to think this is the answer - let them do your laundry. It just doesn't work if you do some (not all) of your laundry in cold water and hang to dry. It doesn't work if the cost of the laundry is going to impact your budget ($75 for 3 bags of laundry! :eek:)
I have to say, we are going to take our first NCL cruise and if they removed the launderettes because of fighting going on, who am I cruising with? Vikings? LOL! But seriously, I can see them removed because of possible fire hazard.
Yes, it is very convenient to have a self-service laundry onboard when you want to use it, especially on a longer cruise or if your cruise is in the middle of your vacation - part of my vacation memories is a conversation with an Australian woman while ironing a blouse on a Princess ship. And on another trip, we boarded a ship with two bags of laundry after doing our own 'land tour' for 10 days. Popped them in the machines, did the unpacking in our cabin, came back - put some of the clothes in dryers and hung the pants to dry in the room. Nobody took the clothes out of the machine - no fighting occurred.
For those of you who can use a ship's laundry for your clothes - hooray for you! I still cannot find pants that will not shrink - I still must hang to dry. And no ship's laundry is going to wash them in cold water and return them to our cabin wet so I can hang them to dry.
-Rose
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Well, here it is 4th of July. Leaving tomorrow for the Pearl which is sailing on Sunday the 6th. My relatives who are on their first cruise called Norwegian and was told they would be allowed only ONE carry-on:confused: As in if you have a hand held carry-on and your camera case you have one bag too many (what???)
We haven't sailed Norwegian before but we know that what the office tells you and what happens at the port is two different things. What say any of you who have recently sailed Norwegian? I plan to carry a purse, a hand-held carry-on bag with cosmetics, meds, jewelry & documents and a garment bag. Are they going to tell me at the port I need to check something?? This is what I carried on to the Oasis in January.
-Rose
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Thank you for your review. Can you give an idea of what the cabins were like, please?
We had a French balcony which is a large window that you can slide open if you want to (no actual balcony to step out on). There is a rail on the open part of the window - so you don't fall out. We were able to unpack everything & slip the suitcases under the bed, which was 2 twins pushed together - felt like a large queen.
There was a little table with two chairs by the French balcony window. There was 3 drawers & a cupboard to put your things away besides the closet to hang things. A desk & little stands on either side of the bed to put a few things on.
The bathroom was bigger than I expected - a cabinet under the sink (you usually don't see that on the ocean cruiser's balcony cabins) and the shower was larger too. The shower head could be handheld & there was a clothes line you could use for personal laundry.
You can see pictures of the rooms on their website. The boat was fairly new.
- Rose
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We enjoyed our Vantage river cruise in Myanmar (Burma). The one thing with which we were uncomfortable was all the different added gratuities. We don't mind paying, but factoring in one amount for the Program Manager who stayed with us for the entire trip, another for the local guide who was on the entire river boat portion, another for the daily guide they added for the two bus tours in cities, and all the bus drivers, etc. got to be a hassle. It would be more convenient to include this in the price or in a daily charge on your bill. How was this handled on your trip?
And, do other River Boat companies add gratuities in a similar manner?
Thanks,
Barb
In the documents they sent us before the trip was a section on suggested tipping guidelines. So then we knew what was expected for city tour guides (and drivers). On the boat we had a cruise director & a concierge (no program manager). The gratuity for the two of them was charged to our credit card & appeared on our final bill. We could amend this amount if we wanted to. In addition, there was a guideline for what to tip for the ship staff & crew which could also be charged to your account.
As far as I know from talking to others (this was our first river cruise), this seemed to be similar to other river boat companies. The only company I am aware of that includes all this in their price up front is Tauck.
Hope this answered your question.
- Rose
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On some other thread I found these pickpocket-proof pants:
http://normthompson.blair.com/p/mens-10-pocket-wallet-safe-pants/42760.uts
It took a while to figure out how to use all 10 pockets in a way that protected my valuables while still keeping some stuff handy, but once I did they are really great for travel. Don't guess they would work for women too well -- but you could have DH carry the expensive stuff for you!
Actually DH & I bought these wonderful Ex Officio vests. Labeled pockets on the inside of the vest - not a bunch of pockets on the outside. They worked great! Someone would have to unzip the vest in the front to reach in to get to a pocket. And DH is not carrying anything for me; usually I end up carrying something for him! LOL!
- Rose
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Again… thank you so much for your review! Can you tell me some more about the ports? Was there much leisure or "on your own" time to walk around and explore? Were you docked where you could walk around or did you need to take a bus/shuttle ? thanks! pat/pbnj
Hi Pat!
Guess you are starting to pack. May you have a great trip!
It was a mixture of taking shuttle buses and also walking. We were intent on taking the tours that were included but not everyone participate; some did things on their own. Towns I remember being able to walk on our own was Lyon, Avignon, Vienne & Viviers. I don't remember about Macon & Tournus. At Chateauneuf du Pape, we docked at a pretty little dock by a field - no walking there! But at least it wasn't at an industrial dock.
Lyon - 2nd largest city after Paris. That is where we had a great lunch on our own after the tour. It was easy to get back to the boat. The boat was docked at a great spot on the river. We later went to the French Resistance museum that day - was easy to find and near where the ship was docked. The river access was like Paris - you could walk or ride a bicycle along it's banks in Lyon. As you can tell, we must have liked Lyon. When we cruised into Lyon (this is where the Saone joins the Rhone), it was at the tail end of dinner. It was lit up and very interesting! Probably my DH's favorite memory. Many of us stood outside in front of the lounge area and took in the lights of Lyon. Guess it made up for the "Illuminations of Paris" LOL!;)
Vienne & Viviers are little towns and we met our tour guides right on shore so after the tour, you could walk around on your own - or not take the tour and do your own. We figured we wanted to learn about the various places and the tours were included in the price of the cruise.
Avignon - We were docked right out of the walled city for 2 days. Since we opted out of the extra cost of Les Baux-de-Provence & St. Remy tour on the second day, we walked back into Avignon on our own to explore and shop.
I think of the extra cost tours - the Medieval Village of Perouges was the best.
-Rose
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Enjoyed your review! Sounds like it was a great trip! Just curious-how did the fellow passenger lose her neck wallet? I have one that goes under my clothes and now I am wondering if it is so safe???
She took her neck wallet off and placed it in her purse. She was fearful that someone was going to come up behind her and cut it off and take it (she is short in stature). She did this at the airport in Marseille so she didn't know if it fell out of her purse on the airplane or when she fell at the airport in Barcelona or if it was taken from her when she fell or during the walking to the transport bus in Barcelona. The Iberian airline took forever to respond to the Barcelona City Host re: the possibility of it falling out of her purse on the plane. After multiple calls, their response was it was probably in Lost & Found, but no one was going to check!!:mad: The city host was frustrated to say the least! The fellow passenger was told by the city host and the hotel concierge to report it stolen since there was that possibility and to get more action from the police in Barcelona. I think she wished she left it on.
It sounded like there is a worse pick pocket problem in Barcelona than in Paris. Two other fellow passengers had their pockets picked on La Rambla (just pocket change) the day we arrived.
-Rose
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As suggested by others on CC, I am posting a link to my review of our recent river cruise with Vantage in southern France.
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=256996
If anyone has further questions, I will try to answer them.
-Rose
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Although we typically take the premium drinks packages on both ocean and river cruises, we are not doing so when we take this cruise in Sept. This trip takes one through three of the greatest wine areas in the world: Burgundy, Northern Rhone, and Southern Rhone (Chat. de Papes). It also passes through the fields of Beaujolais, the fruity fun to drink everyday wine. All of these wines will be available, for local purchase, at prices far below what are seen in American retail stores. Viking does not charge corkage for wine brought aboard, so we are planning on using that benefit.
Our plan is simple. Buy great local wine, bring it on board, and enjoy. We will also add a cognac and sauterne (other french products) for enjoyment after dinner. If we occasionally yearn for a cold beer or gin and tonic to soothe the thirst, we'll just buy it singlarily at the bar, while mostly drinking incredible fine wines.:D
Yes! The wines in the area are a good buy (although some of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape are spendy at 60€\bottle!). I saw Chardonay @ 8€ I would be willing to spend. Other white wines were less than that & were good.
Hi to CelticMutt! We are on Vantage's Discovery II here in Avignon. We are just finishing our French Waterways today. We leave for a Barcelona add-on tomorrow out of Marseille. Found your live thread yesterday & enjoyed comparing our Vantage experience to your Viking experience on the same river. Thanks for sharing!
-Rose
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Hi Linda, We leave for France in 25 days. Thanks to you & this thread, it helped us select a river cruise company (Vantage) & this itinerary. In fact, I was just reviewing this thread for more information. We are trying to figure the logistics to see Carriere des Lumieres while on the cruise as I have read on CC it isn't to be missed & friends who traveled there recently concurred.
- Rose
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I have had some success with hanging a dress in the bathroom while taking a shower. It gets steamy & a lot of wrinkles come out. Have done this also with DH's sport's jackets.
- Rose
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Thank you!
Got a new suitcase for Christmas. Just laminated the luggage tags today and pulled out the snorkel gear. Guess we will start the packing in earnest tomorrow. Anxious to learn how HAL is so special :D.
-Rose
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On a post in the "Balcony Horror Stories" thread (post#295), Erex pointed out that the ashtray on their balcony wasn't emptied everyday. So this person made a point of having it emptied everyday and cleaned. They felt the unemptied unclean ashtray could be a cause for lingering odor & unwanted wafting to other balconies of non-smokers. This was a RCCL ship before they changed their smoking policy.
So my question is - how often do the room stewards empty out the ashtrays on balconies on HAL?
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Not everyone disagrees with you. My wife and I book on HAL because it has a more lenient smoking policy and we know many others that do the same and who. like us, would move to another line if things changed.
Since HAL has the most lenient smoking policy, I am curious as to where you would go if/when they change their policy?
Cunard?
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The casinos were not open when cruising Glacier Bay on Princess. I don't think they were open on the Infinity when cruising Hubbard's glacier either. Hubbard's glacier is spectacular in my opinion.
- Rose
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Princess - only does RT trips from Seattle. Doesn't permit time to explore on land
Ok, I'm confused:confused:. I know Princess doesn't just do RT out of Seattle to Alaska. Our very first cruise was out of Vancouver on the Sapphire to Whittier. And yes, it went to Glacier Bay. Plus we added on one of those land tour options and saw Denali.
-Rose
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I agree that there is no wine listed under $7 worth ordering. I can see us using the beverage card for ordering Perrier ($2.95) or one of those coffee speciality drinks (I think they were $6.95). My understanding is the drink needs to be $7 or under & no, you can't pay the difference. Hope I'm wrong. Have to wait and see from the experience of those who will be using this card soon.
-Rose
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Hi there,
Glad to see you are safely on your ship and seem to like it. Read on the key thread about getting the head set transmitters. Are these head sets working well?
And thanks for posting while you are cruising. I haven't been able to manage that on any of our cruises........
-Rose
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I know this isn't a secret tip but.....
Since it is 9/11 I would like to share a historical fact about the Golden Princess. We heard this story on our very first cruise aboard the Sapphire. This is a second hand story but the gentleman was very convincing.
It seems he & his family were on a European cruise aboard the Golden Princess (Mediterranean?) during that fateful time Sept 2001. When the cruise ended (& other cruiselines face the same problem) the passengers were faced with how to get home when all the flights going into the US stopped that day. This man told us that the Golden Princess allowed their passengers to remain onboard until they could arrange flights going home. The ship didn't just stay in one port but traveled to other ports to assist US passengers getting home. He told us other cruiselines just disembarked their passengers & let them fend for themselves.
This gentleman was forever "sold" on Princess. He saw true customer service with that experience.
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I just returned from an Alaska sailing on the Golden Princess on Sunday.
I was having issues with the shower curtain attacking me while showering.
I attached two hangers to the bottom of the curtain to keep it from grabbing me.
See the attached photo for details.
There is a bit of water that will escape from the shower so put an extra towel down to collect it.
If this helps someone, then great.
Enjoy your cruise.
Thanks,
Christie
Thanks Christie!
I love this tip. I will using this on our next Princess cruise. I keep forgetting to bring something to weigh the curtain down - this tip doesn't require me to pack anything.
I love the Golden Princess. Had a great cruise with my mom to Alaska some years ago. The souffle desserts were delicious! Glad to hear she is holding up.
-Rose
Can help with Ålesund & Norwegian Fjords:-)
in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea
Posted
We just got back from the North Cape cruise on the Norwegian Star (ended Friday June 26th). Thought I would jump in here and say that Norwegian was offering this excursion for $199pp. We did not take it so I don't know if there was a luncheon offered like sippican describes.
We did take an excursion offered in the Geiranger Fjord (Overland tour with a hike to the Briksdal Glacier - 9hrs). That excursion included a luncheon, not a buffet but served at tables. As you suggested, we asked the guide if the bus could leave us off at the top of the waterfall walk. He was willing to do so, but as we got closer we changed our minds as we were already tired from the hike up to Briksdal. Thank you for suggesting it though.
-Rose