brichar499

Other than being introduced at the Captain's cocktail, we never saw Taylan again (Jan 13 departure).

7 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

It depends...but at least $20 per day each.

Huh??

I certainly can understand a personal supplement to the daily hotel charge gratuity fee, but an additional $140 each?

I haven't brought a suit on a cruise now for several years.

My last suited experience was on Princess when, on formal night, our formally dressed selves were seated for dinner in the MDR next to a dude in a T-shirt, shorts and flip flops. That was my never again moment.

Hope I'm not shamed out of the YC in khakis and a collared shirt when we sail Seascape in January.

Thanks for the comments.

Well, I went ahead and did it. We are booked for the March 27, 2024 TA, San Juan to Barcelona on the Viking Sea.

17 hours ago, joeyancho said:

I have been in Yacth Club yet. I will be in December.   Some one posted this a whole back....

 

Butler:   $75 to $125 The range would cover probably 60% of the tipping

Junior Butler: $40 to $60

cabin attendant (if not YC): $40 to 80, depending on service level

restaurant wait staff: $70 to 100 for the crew, especially if you have the same set all that week.

Sommelier: $20 to 60

Bartender:  $1 or 2 per drink, especially outside of the YC,and $20 or so to any "favorite" or "regular bartender

pool staff:  Varies.  If you ask the attendant to set up towels daily in your desired location, maybe $20-40.  Pool waiter, $1 or 2 per round

Several hundred dollars in discretionary tips after mandatory gratuities? Seems way over the top especially when MSC's guidelines say don't do it.

I'm considering a Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona trip next Spring. Viking has both Star and Mars scheduled. We have sailed the Viking Mississippi and really like the product. My concerns are two. The Viking itineraries include only two port stops over thirteen days. My other TA experience included six stops. Also, given the relatively small size of the ships, entertainment is of much smaller scale.

I'd really like to experience the food and service of Viking again, but, will we be bored?

UPDATE: I received confirmation of the OBC from HAL late yesterday. So, it was a total of nine days from fax submission until I got the credit.

I faxed in my request to HAL yesterday for shareholder OBC to be applied to my July cruise. Can someone tell me when and how my request will it be acknowledged? Thanks.

We just received an email from Viking that our Sept 27, 2021 ten day Paris to the Swiss Alps on the Viking Hild will operate as planned. This is the first communication from the line since February. Hopefully, the so-called delta variant won't change the plans yet again.

The cruise line-sponsored shore excursions in a bubble will be a deal breaker for me. This may be the only Covid-related requirement that will actually help the cruise lines make money. I'm not against that but I need the ability to explore on my own, grab a cab and go, book my own excursions. I guess it will be a while until those freedoms return.

Full refund received this morning. Cancel date: March 30. Cruise date: April 19

I'm just not buying the excuses.

HAL canceled my April 19 transatlantic on March 30. I immediately requested a refund through my TA and I have the confirmation. Still waiting seven weeks later.

However, the same day, I requested refunds for the related travel from United Airlines, Comfort Suites, and AirBnB and I received all of those refunds within days.

My guess is that those providers have had the same heavy volume of refunds to deal with and they performed without delay.

What is different in HAL's case??

Last week on Meraviglia, we asked for tissue and were told it was not available as they were "saving resources." Apparently, in the age of Greta Thunberg, blowing one's nose is a waste of resources. So we just used the less convenient and comfortable toilet paper for that purpose (sorry, Greta).

Once MSC management determines that they can get away with classifying toilet use as a waste of resources, we may have to bring on board those old Sears Roebuck catalogs and dried corn cobs to accomplish the needed tasks. (Only those over 50 will understand the humor here.)

Funny coincidence. I was watching the Carnival Ecstasy arrive in Nassau yesterday on the webcam. I was shocked to see the amount of rust stain on the side of the ship running all the way to the top decks. I initially thought it might be the camera but after watching carefully for a few minutes I believe it is, indeed, a large amount of rust on the vessel. Sorry to see as we were on Ecstasy a few years ago and rust was not unsightly.

We leave on MSC Sunday, January 5. My plan is to arrive at the port no earlier than 2pm. Do the parking garages at the port have sufficient space even at the end of the weekend? Thanks.

Ocean Cay opened last week and has had a couple of calls. There's lots of info and comments on the MSC board and, so far, the reviews are very positive. Because it is so close to the Miami home port, MSC ship calls stay until midnight so there is special activity on the island in the evening.

We are looking forward to our early January stop at Ocean Cay on MSC Meraviglia.

We've always enjoyed Kelsey's Restaurant and Pizzeria located next to the Radisson. Good food at a reasonable price.

We are on a MSC Seaside Saturday departure in February. I plan to park in a garage at the port. Do the garages ever fill up and passenger vehicles turned away? I know if I arrived mid or late morning, the debarking turnover would provide plenty of spaces. But, if I don't get there until, say 2pm, do I risk being turned away?

I'm a US citizen and will be taking a cruise in January with two stops in Cuba. I'll be in Canada next month. Should I use my cash card to get some Canadian money to use for the currency exchange in Cuba? How much should I get?

I just got off the Amsterdam. You'll have no problem. I had a 1pm flight and had time to Uber from the pier to Pike Place Market for an hour or so before taking the light rail up to the airport. Time to spare.

Two weeks ago we were on the Amsterdam and went up Endicott Arm because of ice conditions in Tracy Arm. I can't imagine how Tracy Arm could be any more impressive than Endicott. We were not disappointed.

It would really be helpful to have the site up and running since our 14 day cruise departs on Monday.

Still not functioning at 9:45am EDT.

Just got off Oasis OTS. I found the drink prices way higher than other lines especially wine by the glass and mixed drinks.

We were on the K-Dam earlier this month and were disappointed to find no information at all on the public art works. Not even the usual adjacent plaques containing basic information on the artist and dates.