Host Jazzbeau

Maybe they can make you something special blending those two! Kentucky Sunrise...

I see it with all the 'luxury' cruise line forums on CC. That's why I'm much happier on the premium lines, where people are happy with quality and not demanding perfection at every turn. 😀

Was this one of the graduation requirements? [writing prescriptions in griffonage so only pharmacists can decipher them...]

Of course Viking always marches to a different drummer, but on most cruise lines the '800' reps do not get commissions and their performance reviews are not affected by bookings they make getting moved to a travel agent later. It seems to me that the best approach is (1) do your research in enough detail that you know all that a consumer can know [if you're reading this you're already on CC, so good first step!], (2) book direct with the cruise line to get any further advice and clarifications from their agents [who often will know less than you at this point], and (3) then transfer the booking to a travel agent who will add their own advice and experience plus share some of their commission with you.

The way Viking keeps building river ships at a rapid pace, they may soon be able to line them up from A to B and let the passengers walk! 🤣

We didn't get our Scenic backpacks until after we had left for Europe [because we were taking a prior cruise] – but we wouldn't have used them anyway because (1) they are very heavy, and (2) too many identical backpacks is a recipe for confusion.

I rarely buy trip insurance from the cruise line because (a) their policies don't cover supplier default, (b) their policies are non-refundable [Allianz lets me shift a policy from a cancelled cruise to something else, and that keeps the lower age-bracket on the premiums], (c) I have found Allianz really good to work with on the three occasions I made a claim.

I believe you are correct Phil. Earlier statements all assumed that the IT separate would have occurred by now.

I do appreciate their solidarity with Ukraine. And hopefully the income from this 'charter' will finance renovations that avoid the problems of Ambience. Slava Ukraini!

Luckily Canada drives on the 'right' side of the road. But I agree with you. We rented a car at CDG and drove the peripherique to avoid Paris en route to Chartres – and it was still heavy traffic [combined with jet lag – not good...]

I agree that Scenic Gem is a wonderful ship. Its design was mandatory for that itinerary, in order to be able to dock in Honfleur – but the concept would work anywhere. Otherwise it is harder to make a valid comparison, because most of the 110m ships are older than the 135m designs [e.g. AMA] and thus seem dated. The real question is what an upscale line could do with a blank sheet of paper at 110m ['upscale' because they have fewer passengers per ship].

The ideal situation is what I found in booking Silversea. They have a direct link to Allianz with a flat rate of 10% for my age, which is considerably lower than the Allianz policy my TA sells.

Do you think that these conditions, which may become more the norm in future, will lead to move back to 110m designs? It's been apparent for several years that the 135m ships have more difficulties sooner and longer.

Thanks! The last paragraph makes me feel much better about my choice of 654. We are used to a little rocking and rolling [famous last words as we are set to cross the Tasman Sea...]

On our Iceland cruise I was very pleased with the Cruise Director's ability to switch from French to English and back. Rather than wait for the entire announcement in one language, he would switch every few sentences – and I have enough command of French to notice that sometimes the French version was fuller but sometimes the English one was. Felt very fair and efficient.

"Time will tell" what they come back as. I too am hopeful, but until they actually start sailing I will keep their return as an 'if.'

FYI my approach to 'live from' threads is to try to keep them more centered on the author's intention that other types of threads [which we all know wander all over the place, and which in general I think is what makes CC a community]. If the author engages with the OT post, it seems that they are ok with it – in this case since I was responding OT before @uktog had a chance to respond, I thought it would be courteous to check. This applies to any author on any of the forums that I moderate.

Follow-up article: Le Ponant Resumes Service After Major Refit

@uktog this discussion is up to you; I'll gladly pull it, but if you're ok with it I will contribute my thoughts: @Baynanno1 I have an iPhone 14 Pro and while the pictures it takes are the best I have seen from an iPhone it can't match my Lumix DMC-FZ200 with a 25-600mm Leica lens (and a small sensor, which is still bigger than the iPhone's). This camera only weighs approx. 588g (1.29lb) with battery and SD memory card – would it be ok for your wounded shoulder? [especially with a camera harness strap?]

Since you managed to have your vent without cursing this time, it will stay. But you have had your vent...

You sound like you want a Luxury cruise line. Azamara is Premium. Look into Regent, Seabourn and Silversea [and Crystal if they come back]

We haven't sailed yet, but because of the Azamara sale at the time of booking (lots of OBC rather than fare discount) plus the extra OBC from CW suite plus the goodwill OBC from change to Ravenna – we are taking all Azamara shore excursions.

Wanted to report back that our SAS flights (EWR–CPH and ARN–EWR) operated on time and our luggage arrived both times. We booked SAS Plus (premium economy), but our lowish bid for upgrade to Business was accepted for the flight over [we didn't bid for upgrade on the return because the biz seats on their A330 don't get good reviews]. Really liked the Business lie-flat seats on their A350-900. Thought the food in Business was the best we have ever had in the air – and the food in Plus was equally good. SAS Plus seems like the sweet spot (lounge access, priority baggage tags, comfortable seats, good food and service). Overall, we were very pleased with SAS.

We did this in 2019 on an MSC cruise that docked in La Spezia from 7:30 to 6:30, and we had plenty of time to enjoy Cinque Terre without fear of being left behind. I had planned the day based on Rick Steves Italy and found it quite easy. (Rick is sorry that he created the monster of overtourism in Cinque Terre, but his books still tell you how to do it.) We took the free shuttle bus out of the port, then a taxi to La Spezia Centrale train station where we bought a combo ticket (train pass plus Trekking Card to allow us to hike). The train was standing room only for the first 10 minutes, but lots of people got off at the first stop (Riomaggiore). We got off at the second stop (Corniglia) and hiked the Volastra Trail (which was steeper than we expected). From Volastra a free shuttle bus took us down to Manarola, where we had lunch at Capon Magru (highly recommended, and not listed in Rick Steves). We considered taking the train further to Vernazza, but the hike had tired us out so instead we went back to La Spezia and walked back to the port (interesting sights include the Garibaldi Fountain, Santa Maria del Assunta church, Castello di San Giorgio, and especially the Cathedral of Christ the King (very modern). We had left the ship a little before 9:00 and were back on board by 4:00. We enjoyed the hike (even though the first stretch was very strenuous), and felt that the combination of towns and walking through vineyards gave us the full flavor of Cinque Terre. If you don't do the hike, you would easily have time to visit as many of the five towns as you like. If the weather is nice and the seas are calm, the ferry is another option – but the train is quicker. We had heard that Cinque Terre is extremely crowded (thanks to Rick Steves!), and were worried because our MSC ship is one of those behemoths with over 4,000 passengers – but out early start meant that Corniglia wasn't crowded, and the need to hike to Vernazza kept it quite empty; Manarola was crowded but still enjoyable. In any case, I would strongly suggest you read the section in Rick Steves Italy (you can find it at your local library). He gives a good description of each town and of the options to get from one to another. Without that you are just stumbling blindly in a crowd of tourists.

I would say Yes to all the above, based on my May 2022 Seine cruise on Scenic.