tabber

6 hours ago, JSR said:

Thank you for your review. We are on the Arctic cruise in June. I have a couple questions:

 

1) is there a self serve laundry on the ship? 

2) Were there any classes or private training option at the gym?

3) is there track (weather permitting) on any of the decks?

4) Would you recommend the cruise you were on if you were unable to participate in any of the zodiac tours?

 

Thank you for your help!

1) There is a sign for the self serve laundry on deck 3, near the mud rooms.  I never went to it, so don’t know how many appliances it contained.

2) It’s a large fitness center for the size of ship.  If my memory serves, it is much larger than on the Wind.  There are treadmills, ellipticals, weight machines, stationary bikes and an area for yoga or stretching.  Not sure about classes or private training, other than AM yoga classes.

3) There is a track on deck 10.

4) Personally, we would not have gone on this particular cruise if we were not able to participate in the zodiac tours, hiking and kayaking.  But that’s just us.  There were many people who rarely left the ship and instead enjoyed the library, games, table tennis room, lovely spa, indoor pool and hot tub and outdoor hot tub.  This ship totally can be a destination on its own, we just like getting outdoors more.

Main corridor

Main door from corridor

Cabin doors on left and right, facing each other 

Sorry, tried to post a photo and failed!

Yes, the outer, very heavy door from the main hallway opens to a small entryway, and two cabins are accessible from there. 

Sorry, don’t know much about the different veranda suite pricing.  We had originally booked the Medallion suite on the Silver Explorer, over a year and a half before the cruise.  That suite category disappeared when the ship was switched to the Silver Endeavour and we were reassigned to deck 7 in a premium veranda suite.  Not sure what we would have booked had we been only been looking at the Endeavour deck plans, but I feel like we would have probably gone with the least expensive veranda suite because skipping the Drake sealed the deal for us on this itinerary.  FWIW, some passengers on our cruise did get seasick early on, but the seas improved after the first night.  I take Bonine every day because I am also prone to motion sickness without it, and did not suffer at all.

We chose the business class upgrade through Silversea.  American Airlines to Santiago and Delta (Latam) back.  The new Latam lounge in Santiago is an amazing lounge with a top notch bartender, and we had a wonderful time there waiting for our flight back home.  

2 hours ago, melinda0222 said:

Fantastic review.  I do have 3 questions and am hoping you can answer.  

1. what onboard electricity did you have?  110vs 220?  etc... Just trying to figure out which adapter I need. 

2.  Did you find your evening attire was more casual (as in slacks and a collared shirt) or more dress pants and button down shirts?  

3. how was your connectivity on the ship?  wifi any good? cell coverage?  Just trying to think about family back home and elderly parents.   Thank you again for your review.  

We were also on this fantastic cruise, so hope you don’t mind if I answer your questions.

1.  There were both 110 and 220 outlets, and quite a few USB outlets.  We had no issues charging any of our devices.

2.  Evening attire ranged from more casual to more informal to a step below formal.  Slacks and a collared shirt, and dress pants and button down shirts were seen every night.  Some, but not many, even wore suits  and/or jackets with ties.

3.  Included WiFi was so so.  We opted to upgrade to premium WiFi, at a cost of $206 for our 9 night cruise, which enabled us to FaceTime with elderly parents in the US.   4 devices can be used on one subscription, but my iPad was continually kicked off (not while in use, but if I closed the iPad for a bit) and I had to restart the premium WiFi many times each day to reconnect.

We also thank you for posting all this information and are reading it very thoroughly.  It’s time to review my packing list and start filling the suitcases for our trip!  I know we’ll have a parka to keep, and use of boots and waterproof pants reserved through the MySilversea link, but were trekking poles provided?

Thank you so very much for posting while on your trip.  We will be onboard for the December 19th cruise, and please know your advice is highly appreciated!

AMA did a great job coordinating the necessary covid tests last September.  Any time we went into or out of a country, there was the usual passport control stop and also a separate covid paperwork check.  It added extra time spent at border crossings, but didn’t take away from us having an amazing trip.

Sorry, I tried to edit but it didn’t work.  We actually went in September and arrived back home in October!

We were booked for Golden Trails of East Africa in October 2021.  Due to pandemic issues in Tanzania last summer, AMA did not want to take guests to that country and cancelled Golden Trails.  We had the option of switching to any of the other trips.  We chose Stars of South Africa and had an amazing, wonderful trip.  Even with all the covid protocols, which were annoying but understandable, we were so glad we went.  We chose the Rwanda extension to hike to the Silverback gorillas at the end of the trip.  Our time in Southern Africa with AMA is a treasured memory.  I hope you have a wonderful time!  If you have any questions, I will try to answer them.

Theresa

We are back from an amazing AmaWaterways Gems of SE Europe trip with the added bonus of 2 days pre-cruise in Bucharest, 2 days pre-cruise in Transylvania, and 2 days post-cruise in Budapest. 

2 nights in Bucharest at the Radisson Blu:  There was a welcome briefing with wine the evening we arrived.  (Our incoming flight was slightly delayed, which put us into some major traffic as we transferred to the hotel, so the briefing actually took place 13 minutes after we arrived to the hotel!  I was grateful for that glass of wine, for sure!)  Next day was a city bus tour and a visit to the People's Parliament in the morning, and a guided walking tour in the afternoon.  We were on our own for lunch and dinner, so there was plenty of free time to enjoy the city.

Transylvania:  Wow, Ama packed a lot in this 2 night itinerary!  On our second morning in Bucharest we all boarded the bus at 8:00 AM.  After a 3 hour bus ride we arrived to Bran Castle, where we had free time for lunch prior to the tour.  After lunch we climbed up to the castle to begin our tour.  It was lovely on the outside and inside.  Then back on the bus and we arrived to the Kronwell Hotel in Brasov around 6:00 pm.    The next morning was a 2 hour bus ride to Sighisoara, a beautiful well-preserved medieval town.  We had a walking tour, then had free time to explore, climb the clock tower, eat lunch, shop, and people watch.  Then 2 scenic hours on the bus back to Brasov--I saw two wolves in the forest near the top of a pass, which thrilled me to no end.  In Brasov we were dropped off for a guided walking tour of the old town.  There were so many pedestrian streets and outdoor restaurants lining the walkways, it was a bustling and energetic old town!  The next morning we boarded the bus at 8:00 AM and headed south toward the AmaCerto.  Along the way we stopped in Sinaia to tour the majestic Peles Castle, followed by free time in the vibrant old town area for lunch.  Then back on the bus and onward through Bucharest, to greet the AmaCerto.

2 nights post-cruise in Budapest:  We disembarked the AmaCerto after 7 wonderful days and nights sailing the lower Danube.  Those of us who booked the post-cruise in Budapest and the happy people who were continuing on the AmaCerto to Nuremburg went on the day's excursion together.  We got on a bus and headed to a ranch run by the Lazar brothers.  This was an incredible and totally unexpected experience for this city girl!  (In fact, I post daily photos to friends and family on an email blog I send out while on vacation, and one of my good friends who has a horse farm of her own emailed me the next day.  She was excited to see where we had been, and said that particular ranch is hallowed ground for anyone who knows anything about dressage.)  We had a welcome drink and snack, then viewed native Hungarian animals:  Puli dogs, Hungarian Giant rabbits, pigs, twisty-horned goats, grey cows and Nonius horses.  We rode a horse drawn carriage around the grounds, walked through one of the stables that had Lippizanner and native Magyar sportlo horses in it, then were directed to a building to watch two short videos to get a better appreciation of the Lazar brothers and their horsemanship legacy.  Wow!  Next we sat at the arena and were treated to a show complete with Hungarian cowboys, horses and enormous grey cows.  A lovely lady wearing a long red gown rode her horse in a dressage demonstration.  Finally, we entered a large building to have a traditional lunch of the best goulash I have ever had, followed by a giant platter of chicken, pork, duck and all the sides.  I forget what the dessert was, but all the food was super tasty.  We waddled back to our bus for the short drive to our hotel, where we parted ways with the people continuing with their second week on board the AmaCerto.    

Our hotel was the Sofitel Budapest Chain Bridge, which is in an excellent location.  We took an orientation walk with Laszlo, our local host, and had the evening free.  The next day we took the Queen of the Danube tour, a combination walking and bus tour of Buda and Pest.  We visited the Matthias Church up at the Fisherman's Bastion and ended at the Central Market Hall.  The remainder of the day was ours for exploring.

This was our first time in SE Europe, and we are very glad we booked the pre- and post-cruise excursions through AmaWaterways.  Both Bucharest and Budapest are very manageable on your own, but the trip into Transylvania and all we saw there, plus the visit to the Lazar Brothers' ranch in Hungary were definite highlights that we would probably have missed if not for this trip and its extensions.  We had a great time and AmaWaterways took care of all the logistics and details!

We leave for AMA’s Gems of SE Europe in just over 2 weeks, Giurgiu to Budapest, and have booked the 4 days pre and 2 days post cruise adventures through AMA.  We haven’t received our documents from our TA yet, so we don’t know what to expect.  I will try to let you know our experience in a few weeks!

Wow!!!! Those pics are truly amazing! You two are certainly intrepid travelers. We had read your posts about receiving your travel docs, and we did some research on your trip. Looking forward to reading your blog after you’ve had a chance to catch your breath. Thank you so very much for posting the lion pics!

And to top it off, on Sunday morning DW and I were petting the belly of a young male Lion as part of a 45-minute "walk with the lions" in Victoria Falls!

OMG:eek: I am so looking forward to reading your blog! And seeing the pics of the lion’s belly rub! Did you make a wish? Mine would have been....“oh please let me live to tell the tale”!

We leave Tomorrow for Miami to begin our AMA trip. That flight to Capetown looks like a doozy. Four nights at Cape Grace followed by four on Zambezi Queen then Vikeys Falls then Tinswalo Lodge ... away we go✈️

Really curious how your trip was and have been checking back daily, but you must be too busy having fun to catch us up! We are considering one of the AMA in Africa adventures. Thank you so very much for your review thus far!

Was the Wifi free on AMA Dara?

Wifi on the Amadara was free and unlimited.

We were pleasantly surprised by the wifi availability last month on our Amawaterways land/cruise. On the Amadara, the only times we had wifi connectivity issues were when the ship was not near a cell tower or when we had used up the SIM card's available data on the router in our cabin. For the SIM card, we just told the front desk or brought the router to them to replace the card. For the cell tower, eventually we sailed within range of another one. It was never more than an hour without wifi.

The captain announced at least 5 days in Bora Bora, 3 more than planned. We have missed the Tuamotus, which is disappointing. But the crew are awesome, as ever, the food is tasty and the scenery is gorgeous, albeit still the same. Weather has been perfect. More dives have been scheduled and even with a bank holiday today, tour operators have gotten guides to come to work to keep us busy having fun. We have power, running water, and the laundry package. Still plenty of wine and spirits, too! Still, we will be glad to get moving again, hopefully Tuesday evening. Then Motu Mahana on Wednesday. Really hope we don't miss that, too!

August 10 sailing. Propulsion problem. We had to turn back to BB yesterday. We will be in Bora Bora for at least a Day 4 while some one or something arrives from France for repair. Stranded in paradise. And loving it!

Quote "I just don't have a lot of energy left to debate anything. Just wanted to try to help others out by providing information."

So very sorry 6rugrats for your personal loss, as well as extremely sorry for the head-butting and out-of-line comments coming from tikiintahiti. SMH!

Your review so far is full of good information and you are sharing your experiences about your PG voyage in a fun-to-read way that many of us who mostly sit in the shadows of message boards are enjoying thoroughly.

Please don't let anyone bully you from writing about your journey on this forum. Not that you need it, but a lot of us have your back! It would be a darn shame and a sad loss for those who have been on the PG and want to relive it vicariously and for those who still have yet to sail.

P.S. Tikiintahiti, please keep quiet. You are ruining this particular 14 day voyage if she decides not to write more.

Theresa

Love-love-love your review! Been trying to view the Rangiroa sail-in on the YouTube but am not seeing it. When do you think you will upload it?

Hello Emdee,

We are on the 7 day cruise in April and would very much appreciate reading your tips. And thank you for all the great info you have posted already! alstevenssteel @ yahoo dot com

Theresa