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Roz

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Everything posted by Roz

  1. @SusieKIslandGirl, no I didn't. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check those cities, along with waiting a bit to book.
  2. I'm a "bit older", but haven't yet developed the skill of entertaining myself on cruises in the evening. Entertainment is HAL's weak spot, in my opinion.
  3. I don't think you could go wrong with either choice.
  4. Oh no! Please tell me that's not true about my beloved lemon 🍋 drop.
  5. I read posts in this forum about the wonders of Flight Ease, but I've never used it because there has never been any savings vs. booking directly with the airline. I'm cruising on the Noordam from Singapore Jan. 4, and want to arrive in Singapore 3 days beforehand. I live in TN, but am looking at flying non-stop from a West Coast city, preferably San Francisco. My plan is to fly to SFO on SW the day before, stay overnight at an airport hotel, and then fly out the next morning. I'm doing this because the last 3 times I've flown internationally, I've missed my connection, with resulting travel stress and delays. Getting to the connecting city a day ahead will hopefully minimize the chances of this happening again. The options I'm getting from Flight Ease aren't very appealing. I can fly Singapore Airlines in premium economy for $2,751, but they offer no flexible fare, and payment has to be made immediately. My understanding from this forum was that flights didn't have to be paid until final cruise payment was due. Why am I not being offered a flexible fare and why do I have to pay immediately? Flight Ease has flexible and restricted fares on United in premium economy for $4,274 and $4,237 respectively. The same restricted fare on the United website is $3,476. Quelle difference! Before I make a fatal mistake, can someone tell me what's going on here? I feel like I'm being ripped off. Should I wait until 4-6 months out from January to book my flights?
  6. @Hlitner, I'm a budget cruiser, so I'll pack my own bouillon cubes and get a cup of hot water from the Lido. 🤣
  7. @knoxclone, great review 👍. I've found that if you can deal with the cold, wet, windy weather, and shortened daylight hours, there are bargains to be had with both land tours and river cruises in Europe during the off season.
  8. @Coral, sorry you had to cancel, but believe me, I understand. I'm finding that travel costs in general are going up, and cruising isn't as attractive as it once was, especially for solos. When I retired I thought I would be able to take advantage of last minute cruise deals, but those deals aren't out there like they used to be.
  9. When you return, please report back on what you thought of Virgin's Social Room. My friend, a bridge player, loved it. She was sailing solo, but always found a table that needed a 4th.
  10. @cbr663, interesting observation. My local McDonald's has signs saying 20 minutes is the limit for tables. I've never seen the manager say anything to customers, but at the same time I've never seen people park themselves there and work for extended amounts of time. So the message must be getting through. If you get up and order additional drinks or food, that's OK and you're not going to be kicked out.
  11. Huh? All I want is a place to sit down to eat my meal. I'm not some weirdo.
  12. @ChinaShrek, what do you think is causing that?
  13. In the past I had no problem asking to share a table with others, but lately (post-Covid) I've found more people reluctant to do that. When I approach them I get "the look", or they make up some vague, bogus excuse such as we're waiting for friends, or that seat is already taken. I've noticed more and more posts on Cruise Critic asking about 2-top tables and how to avoid eating with other people or just socializing in general. Posters cite social anxiety, fear of meeting new people, depression, etc. as the reason they want to avoid others. Silly me, I regularly ask other passengers to join me at trivia, mealtime, on excursions, etc., not knowing I'm possibly causing someone to have an anxiety attack.
  14. In my original post I never mentioned the pool area or solarium (not even sure what that is), only the Lido, and it's during peak times that the problem exists.
  15. The Crow's Nest can be just as bad as far as people parking themselves there all day long, or getting up early and marking their spot with a book or tote bag. My favorite is people who fall asleep and snore 😴 loudly.
  16. On more than one occasion, I've come back from a cruise and posted about the difficulty of finding a table in the Lido when others are using the area to play cards and board games, and just socialize in general. The responses I've received have ranged from "I've never seen anyone do that" to "you must be a pathetic singleton who doesn't like to see other people enjoying themselves with friends and family". Another line has recognized the situation as a problem, and built in a solution in the design of their ships. A friend just returned from a Virgin Voyages cruise, and told me about the Social Club. It's an area where there are tables and chairs set up to accommodate card and game players, along with supplying the cards and board games. There's also air hockey, foosball, etc. Included in the Social Club is a casual diner where players can get food and beverages along the lines of sandwiches, snacks, pastries, etc., with coffee, tea, juice, and soft drinks. She said it was a great place to socialize and meet people. Waiters in the other dining venues would diplomatically suggest the Social Club when passengers would pull out a deck of cards or their travel Scrabble board after finishing breakfast or lunch. I don't expect HAL to retrofit their ships, but it's something to consider for future vessels. And table hogs aren't just a problem on HAL. I've run into it on Carnival and Princess too.
  17. @pontac makes an excellent point. My first river cruise was on Uniworld. I ran into my TA in my local grocery store's produce dept. 🍇🍅🥦🍍🍉. She had just come back from a Uniworld cruise and raved about it. Based on what she knew about my likes and dislikes, she said she thought it would be perfect for a solo female interested in history and culture. I went home, looked at Uniworld's itineraries online, and picked one. I called her the following Monday and booked it. Didn't check out any other lines. Took 2 more cruises with Uniworld, then did 3 cruises with Tauck. She told me if I liked Uniworld and its inclusions and solo pricing, I would more than likely enjoy Tauck.
  18. Somewhat related to this, on my last river cruise, a young couple tried skipping breakfast the first full day as a weight management strategy. When we got back on board at 2 pm (it was announced the night before that lunch would be later due to the excursion schedule), they were feeling tired, famished, and a bit light-headed. They realized that skipping breakfast on a river cruise with early excursions is a no go. 😀 Contrary to what's portrayed in TV commercials, most river cruises are very active. They really keep you going, and at night you're ready to hit the sack so you can be ready to start all over again the next day.
  19. @WriterOnDeck, Princess charges solos double fare most of the time, but awards double points. As for onboard spending, as a solo I spend a fair amount. I'm more likely to book the ship's excursions for safety and security reasons, plus I play bingo, buy a drink or two per day, and book a treatment or two in the spa. At the same time, I know couples who only drink included beverages, never go to the spa, don't buy anything in the shops, and only book independent excursions.
  20. Let me simplify your decision for you. You've never been on a river cruise. Based on the responses so far, I'm not seeing significant differences between your 2 choices. Just pick one and go with it. 😀 After your return, evaluate what you liked and didn't like about the line and ship you chose. Use this information when booking your 2nd river cruise.
  21. Every HAL cruise I've taken, we've switched to whatever is the local time.
  22. @Gsel, thanks for the info. I didn't know that was possible. Is it pricey?
  23. @PEPE1, welcome to the wonderful world of cruising! Exactly what excursion are you trying to book? As @CruiserBruce already explained, Hubbard Glacier is just that, a glacier that you cruise by. No getting off the ship.
  24. I checked Uniworld's fares for 2024 and 2025. Solo pricing, same length and time of year. Yikes! Very similar to Tauck.
  25. I've sailed 3 times with Uniworld, so I'll be looking at them for future bookings.
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