Catlover54

And I will join Europa for a Baltic cruise a couple weeks later, for the Ocean Sun classical music festival. We can both seek out the complicated and wonderful cheeses we seek and report our findings! 🙂 I've been reading up on some of the Baltic ports, and it looks like there will also be several opportunities to enjoy nice regional cuisine while on land, independent from ship excursions.

I forgot to add that it was not until we returned home three days ago (we had added on a few days in Scotland after the cruise, so there was a delay) that we found a big paper bundle from Ponant, which was mailed 2 weeks before the cruise by snail mail (we left the country 10 days before the cruise, so did not get it before leaving). It included luggage tags. My TA had no idea that we would be getting paper bundles (she had called a month before when she had gotten nothing, and neither had I, and hd been told everything would be electronic -- otherwise she would have had them express mail the stuff to us. It had a lot more information about excursions than what had been available electronically, in a beautiful 88-page pamphlet, but it made no sense to only mail the pamphlet out 2 weeks before sailing, since electronic excursions could be booked 6 or so weeks before. The billing for the horrible Kilmartin excursion we were on out of Oban indicated we would be split into two groups, with one going to the museum and the other to stones ("hundreds" of stones were talked about, and we saw 3), but we were all in one big group, and no one went to the museum. The paperwork made very clear that this is a French line, and that there would be classical music featured (but perhaps the Americans who did not know this were also traveling and did not timely receive it). But it did not commit to having excursions for Anglophones in English (which Americans may expect) so one needs to be prepared to be dumped into a big bilingual group with clumsy language toggling. . Oddly, however, the thick pamphlet it did not provide any details on where exactly in "Dublin" we were to board (as I said earlier, there were 3 options and we had to figure it out on our own ), and for disembarkation it just said port of "Glasgow" (it did not make clear that we would be disembarking in Greenock, a small town 45 minute drive from Glasgow proper, which many of the Americans were unpleasantly surprised about -- we had tracked that down by using a cruise ship mapper for L'Austral, just because we wanted to know where to rent a car and I am experienced enough to know that such details are important. More bizarrely, an erroneous " contact list" for a totally different cruise was included -- for boarding from *the port of Ponta Delgada*! A Barcelona company (Marmedsa Cruises General Agent) was listed as their "port agent". No wonder that even one of the Australian Anglophones on board, who was a travel agent of many years, could not figure out whom to call to get the boarding location.

Yes, more novices are employed (e.g., 2 of the bus guides we had said they had just started guiding last year). Pre-Covid, on our multiple SS cruises, SS never packed their buses full, as you say, i.e., there would always be extra seats, and never more than 25-26 people (usually less) on board an excursion bus that could hold close to 50. Other lines, e.g., "luxury" Seabourn, and Regent, have also started packing many of their buses more since the Covd faux "social distancing" ended. SS going "door to door" and all inclusive with many "free" excursions has aggravated this, especially since they have not lowered the excursion or cruise pricings. You will be on Ponant's new "star" expedition ship, so odds are good they will put their best foot forward, with top staff (and hopefully top cheeses as well :). Of course on an Arctic cruise, it will be mostly all about the scenery, just as my cruise was all about the wonderful music (with the rest less important).

I love soft, runny stinky cheeses! But on 6/7 nights and multiple lunches/breakfasts, there wasn't a single stinky cheese to be found (unless you redefine the word stinky). Maybe they had all been eaten up by the time we got to the restaurants, or maybe they were out. It's not that the cheeses were bad (I ate a lot fthem), they just weren't special. I had a better gourmet French cheese selection on the German line Hapag Lloyd last summer than I did on this French ship on this cruise. Odd, but it is good to know you had a suitably stinky cheese experience , so I won't give up hope!

Thank you for your additional input, Jazzbeau! I had read many of your, JP Albany's, Aussieboy's, and others' comments about Ponant (not many can contribute as it is a small and French line, so limited demand). I went in with eyes open, ready for potential problems, but eagerly looking forward to the music and maybe a new culinary experience (with baguettes :). The music more than delivered (e.g., nightly concerts, where I only expected 3-4!), despite the long-winded intros as well as in-between commentaries only in French (especially after the Anglophones' mutiny led to the CD hastily putting together written programs), and this heavily drove my 4/5 rating. What was surprisingly disappointing were the lame excursions (the one from Belfast excepted, as that was English only), especially compared with another ship that posits itself as bilingual , luxury Hapag Lloyd's Europa 2, which separates German and English excursions, and the reception's "it is not possible" service and poor communication to the point of making things up (definitely not something I see on HL -- Germans tend to demand more precision). The food was of course disappointing overall other than the crispy baguettes and hearty brown breads, but realistically I (not DH) could eat 3 meals/day with just great butter, cold cuts, smoked salmon, and jam (not all together), if other aspects are good. Note I did not mention cheese, because the cheeses served also disappointed. Frankly, also, the dining service (rather than the food) on this ship overall was better than on our last experience on "luxury" rated Seabourn a few months ago, despite numerous glitches, and we were thankful to be able to eat without battling to get a refill of our wine, and not a single soup was served to us inappropriately cold. I am still attracted to Ponant's itineraries, and the Azores have been on my bucket list for a long time, so will keep it in mind. Maybe if I book well enough ahead of time we could get the Owner's Suite, with a very desired bath tub and properly distributed space (we had originally done an OS on a Ponant Carmen focussed cruise, but had to cancel due to Covid issues), and perhaps better service to go with it. We will also consider a Smithsonian voyage, but not Backroads, as we are no longer in the good shape we were in for many years to do Backroads level hikes like we used to.

Here is my recent official LONG review of this one-week, classical music emphasis cruise (our first cruise on Ponant). Overall rating by me is 4/5 (though DH wanted to rate it 3/5). We will still likely give Ponant another try, since we realize each ship within a line, and even cruises on the same ship can provide different experiences. But if we do, it would likely be on a cruise that stays in a port all day, so we could reliably plan private excursions (and/or where Tauck mostly takes over the ship and dominates with Anglophones). https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=699343 I would be happy to answer any questions people have about my admittedly limited experience, and/or provide clarifications.

Once your country passes legislation banning tipping of individual workers in appreciation of what they do, visiting Americans will stop tipping. The questions (rhetorical) that come to my mind, however, are: 1. Why have tips not yet been banned? 2. Will the bus driver, valet, waiter, and tour guide in the UK (who BTW likely cannot afford luxury cruises and never will, tips or no tips) be happier or unhappier if tips are banned? 3. Will service workers have more incentive to do a great job (instead of a mediocre one, i.e., enough to keep their salaries and not get fired), if tips are banned? We are drifting off topic, of course, and as usual when money is discussed, and gunnywife (the OP) likely has gotten enough points of view for her to make a decision about how much, if any, cash and what kind, to bring to the UK on her upcoming cruise. Gunnywife, I hope you have a great cruise in the British Isles!

I just got back from a three-week combination land trip and cruise (parts of Ireland, Whales, and Scotland). We always carry local currency, (some we bring in from prior trips, or get at an ATM), for excursions, musicians, and small businesses and vendors, though we use credit cards at bigger establishments. We took several excursions (both from our ship, and individual and group land tours). Though no one was sticking their hands into our faces awaiting tips, and everyone from top to bottom has a decent salary, life can be expensive for lower middle class and even middle class employees, especially in urban areas. So tips we offered were greatly appreciated, never rejected, and always met with a smile (especially by underappreciated and lower salaried tour bus drivers who navigate narrow winding roads, often with no shoulder and heavy uncoming traffic, with great responsibility to not drive off a cliff). This is no small task, and unless the drivers were awful or hostile, we gave them solid tips (even when we did not, for various reasons including guide self-described relative affluence, tip the tour guides, unless they were exceptional). Street musicians also appreciate a few coins, which you cannot offer without local currency.

Thank you for your detailed report. It absolutely is unprofessional and annoying for cruise ship servers to interrupt to "say their piece", and yet it is becoming increasing common. But the anger and rudeness expressed by Monsieur Seat Cover Patrol was over the top, and unnecessary. What are the chairs there for, if not the guests to use on a ship that is already small with limited seating? DH and I have been enjoying some very nice land travel in Europe lately, and it is so nice to be reminded that true luxury can still be found, with uninterrupting servers, and helpful personnel, even after Covid! We will be on a port intensive Ponant cruise soon and are bracing ourselves for the new experience. Let's hope it will be a bit better than yours, i.e., there are more staff of the "Lea" type.

The way things have been moving lately, I can envision this kind of post in the future: [Insert Name of Favorite Cruise Line] Cruise Addict in 2045: " Admittedly, the food quality and service were not quite up to standards prior to 2020, but I've been on 954 cruises, and we have to allow for the understandable residual effects of Covid, supply chain problems, labor shortages, strikes, coups, software malfunctions, and massive inflation. I'd say service was even better than in 2040, at least in the MDR between 8:45 and 9:00 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and every other Friday between January and March in the north Atlantic, plus we got the cruise for $106,000 off during the spring sale! Naysayers who don't think a five hour wait and strip search prior to embarkation and Spam with Cook's champagne for dinner every night except Friday should count as luxury, should all just count their blessings and be happy they are not in a war zone."

One of my favorite meals on HAL in 1983 was a calves brains with lemon butter special (oddly everyone else at my table that night ordered the steak special 😃) You definitely cannot get that in the PG anymore 🙂

My first "cruise" cruise (as opposed to just an ocean liner crossing the Atlantic for transportation back and forth ) was on HAL to Alaska in 1983, solo. It was absolutely fantastic, being able to get as close to some of the glaciers as we did, and we had perfect weather, amazing food and service, plus beautiful ice sculptures I did not like the assigned seating, but met a woman there who became a life-long friend and we see each other annually. We were both in pathetic tiny little inside cabins with single beds and showers that felt too small even though I only weighed 110lb. But we spent so little time in there it did not matter!

Cloth

Thank you for all your hard work on this thread. I don't think Indonesia will be for me despite the cool dragons (don't snorkel or swim anymore, and I cannot tolerate very high heat with high humidity for very long -- I am no longer healthy as a horse, like you two apparently are!). But I took notes on other things as DH and I have a Ponant trip coming up very soon, and I am still considering another trip what would include Singapore (despite their requirement to declare and approve certain prescriptions medications I bring for personal use). DH has been to Singapore a couple times, but only for work so this would be a new experience (he warned me that there is no point in showering in the morning because I will be soaked with sweat head to foot as soon as I walk outside; so maybe just 2-3 nights after a cruise would be long enough).

So was everyone routinely tested, to determine the true Covid numbers? I was on a Panama Canal cruise last year (with another line) and that's what they did then (typically shortly before a port stop)

Were the Lido masks required by HAL or by Singapore?

Given the high risk of rain, water resistant breathable hiking pants may be a good choice for an excursion. You can certainly wear jeans but you may get soaked. And bring a travel umbrella too 🙂 https://www.rei.com/c/mens-hiking-pants

Here is a youtube video of people flying Icelandair business class (saga), seattle to KEF, likely similar to what you would do out of Portland

Isn't Mom going to be spending a lot (or any?) of the time with Dad, i.e., when Dad could do the needed texting (if any)? For those days she may want to do stuff herself (spa?), just write down the plan. Some of us did ocean voyages before there were cell phones, texts, and apps, and if we were not going to be together, we just talked about our plans, wrote a few things out, and set up rendez-vous areas. No one got lost! 🙂 It just took a little planning, pen and paper.

No, it is not true that Icelandaire is the only airline that flys into iceland -- just google it and you will see other options. The problem is that you booked door to door so with that your choices are more limited. If your TA is n/a (though you should keep trying this week , since you still have time), call SS if you need a fully lie flat airline and either have them find a better combination, or cancel. I have flown Icelandaire business in 2021 and although the seats are not lie flat, they are much, much better than "economy plus" , and are also much better than premium economy. I have musculoskeletal problems so I understand your fear of arriving "crippled"

Like you, I also tried Celebrity solo (on Edge, in a Sky Suite) last year, to compare with my prior experience which was mostly misc. small ship luxury lines (Ponant is coming up soon, also to compare, but that will not be solo). I loved the food and service, and there was no discrimination against me as a solo. I also loved the physical layout of the ship -- but despised the incessant pounding music on the beautiful "upper deck" where the chairs face outward. I want to hear the sea, not the latest pulsating or screeching random pop, so I had to flee to my suite to relax (with more limited sea view) to escape it. But I am a lot older than you, and generally less tolerant of piped in noise. I also loved the great internet (but it was in the Caribbean, where many ships now have good internet). It look forward to my Ponant cruise and will write a report. I have realistic expectations, though I thought the issue of French service haughtiness to those who speak either no French or imperfect French had been resolved in recent years when Ponant decided to try and get more of the English speaking cruiser.

I call a large 3:30 meal a "lunner" (lunch and dinner combo)

No more liver (unless it will continue to come in as a special on one day, like it was before on a Wednesday)

From one of our Norway trips: The first two are from the trip up the road above Geiranger, and the third is Alesund from the top of the hill that Ruth mentioned in post #2.

When is your cruise? If it is soon, you can see a list of offered excursions under "already booked". If it is not until 2024, they aren't out yet. Here you can search for prior reviews of each ports when excursions were offered in them, including the four you list (though all might not be offered) I haven't been to Ulvik, but agree with Ruth about the other ports (though I visited them with either other cruise line or on a land trip). If there is an opportunity on a clear or semi-clear day to take an excursion up the steep hill outside Geiranger you will have a spectacular view of the fjord, not to be missed if this will be your only trip. Access to Geiranger will start to get limited for cruise ships (at least the bigger ones) in the next couple years, so it may be now or never. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/shore-excursions.html#{!tag=excursionDestinationTag}excursionDestinationIDs=E&{!tag=portTag}portId=ULV&sort=&group.sort=&start=0&{!tag=regionTag}regions=