arielmatey

1 hour ago, Machta said:

Thanks for your thoughts.  We have time to think about it!  We all love the idea of an aft wrap, although the balcony isn't as large as on some of the older ships, it's so much larger than the verandah we usually get.  But we're finding that the verandah cabins are just too small for the 3 of us.  Deciding whether to go with a Signature & Murphy bed with smallish verandah versus Neptune & chaise bed but much larger wrap verandah is going to be tough.  And then there's the money aspect . . . but thanks so much for your help!

We had an aft Neptune on the NS, cabin 5198.  It felt very private and had lots of light with windows on two sides.  Only the newer ships have that extra window in the corner afts.  Our 22 year old son stayed with us, he is 6 feet tall, and his feet hung over the edge of the bed.  But he said it was very comfortable and had no complaints.

2 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Can you explain that one a little better so that my small brain can comprehend?

Rafting is the practice of docking ships side by side, which forces passengers to walk through -- or in some cases, up and over --other ships to embark and disembark.  This is a photo I took on the Main River in Wurzburg, Germany last fall.

another account from a passenger

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2019/03/27/tennessee-woman-rescued-viking-sky-cruise-ship/3285975002/

We toured the Magdalena Island Penguin Reserve this past January, with a private group rather than the ship tour, but I'm sure it was basically the same tour. An hour on the island with a gravel trail that goes up a hill to the lighthouse then circles back to the dock. The penguins were either in their nests with their offspring, or wandering about, or out to sea to get food. A bit loud (squawking) and smelly, but a great experience.

We also just got off the New Zealand cruise, and agree that everything was pretty good. We had the anytime? your time? whatever, MDR dining, and service was slow some nights, faster on others. Wine service spotty also. The internet was excruciatingly slow, the chairs in Explorations Cafe area desperately need replacing, but overall we had a great cruise. Even made it to shore in Akoroa, and then had a scheduled sailing excursion! The crew works really, really hard to get everything done.

Thanks for your helpful replies. It seems odd to me that there is no NZ cruise that begins and ends in Auckland--must be some advantage for the cruise lines to add Australia to the mix.

I have another question, a little embarrassing. Years ago, I was in NZ and received a speeding ticket which I refused to pay for several reasons. It was in a remote area on the South Island, heading out of a small town, I was the only vehicle on the road, and the officer seemed to be gleeful that he had bagged a tourist. Plus I was only going a little over the speed limit and I never noticed a sign. I had also read an article in a Wellington paper that almost no one paid traffic tickets since there were no consequences or follow up if it were ignored. So do you think I will have to pay or be arrested when I try to enter the country?

We are planning a trip to NZ next January 2015. We want a port-laden itinerary, and wish to spend most of our time in NZ. From looking at the offerings, it seems that the Oosterdam out of Sydney on Jan 30 is the best fit. But I also noticed that Celebrity and Princess have similar itineraries (but fewer ports and more sea days). Have any of you had to make a similar decision, and what did you choose? From what I can tell, no one has said that the price, amenities, and ship/crew are wildly different. Since we want a balcony cabin I guess the smoking policies would be pertinent (we don't want any second hand smoke.) Any thoughts? And is there a general price trend;.i.e., do prices drop the closer you get to the sail date, or is it just the opposite?

My husband, myself and our adult son were on the Apr 26 Triumph cruise. It was our first time on Carnival, and I was prepared for a lesser experience, but was pleasantly surprised. Great service from our stewards, pretty good food (more choices than on other ships), never felt crowded, other pax were pleasant, etc. We had a suite, so we had lots of storage space and a balcony. The only negative I can come up with is that there were signs of wear and rust here and there (e.g., the chair in our cabin needs replacing), but overall our experience was great. Was not too hot yet, fortunately, because I don't enjoy humid stuffy days. The Progreso port didn't work for us, it was too sprawled out to walk around for very long (and too hot) so we didn't do much there. But if lying on the beach is your thing, it will be fine.

Do you or anyone else have a source for a wall map of the Inside Passage? I like the idea of having it displayed on the wall of our cabin. I googled around, and couldn't find an inexpensive paper "road" map of the area that could be ordered online.