Hambagahle

8 hours ago, RD64 said:

Yes - the Cristoforo Colombo. In our family we always refer to the Italian line ships as the Doria, Colombo, or da Vinci

And we - or at least our then 4 year old daughter - called the Raffaello the "Raff my ello" !!

12 minutes ago, RD64 said:

Yes that would have been on the Colombo to Venice. Ironically Trieste was the final port - or the starting port - depending on the direction of travel.

Colombo?  Sri Lanka ?  Maybe not...  But if you mean the Cristoforo Colombo of the Italian Line - it was !  And we got off in Venice.  (Previous TA on the Italian line was on the Raffaello to Cannes).

On 11/11/2023 at 6:35 PM, Cruzin Terri said:

It has been reported on CC many times that because the Vista suites are in the front of the ship that the furniture is tied down at night.  Why, they don’t say.  However, it is a known fact.  Gary, with all your research, I am surprised you did not find this out ahead of time.  It sounds like you are having a great cruise in spite of this.  Enjoy!

Furniture in aft suites is sometimes tied down too -if a storm is coming.  We had a Seven Seas Aft suite on Regent's Mariner once and the "tie down" happened several times (it was a TA crossing...). Our furniture in the Vista Suite on Riviera was tied down almost every night and the cushions put into what should be the little gym (which we never used anyway...)

from what I have seen most of the cruise lines including O. will announce a sale, run it and then when it ends - raise their fares.  So about the opposite of what the OP was asking!

I have sailed into or out of Venice 3 times now.  First time was in 1970 on the Italian Line.  We docked at the Riva degli Schiavoni - right in front of the Doge's Palace.  This was not a cruise ship, it was a trans-Atlantic vessel (at the time our preferred way to get from the US to Switzerland in fact).  Then once on Regent's Mariner maybe 10 years ago.  We ended our cruise with an overnight in Venice and were docked at San Basilio, (not at the Cruise Terminal), near the Piazzale Roma.  It was dense fog.  We could hear children playing soccer on the quai but could not see them!  We heard disembarkation announcements from a Silversea ship moored ahead of us, and could not see it!   Last time we sailed from Venice on Oceania's Riviera.  And that was from the Cruise Port.  Again the weather was awful - heavy rain!  but at least we could see a bit of what we were passing.

I think it a shame that the smaller ships cannot dock at least at the Cruise Port.  But on our next cruise - Oceania Vista - we end in Trieste instead of in Venice...  not the same and logistically difficult.

23 hours ago, LHT28 said:

At one time the top suites could dine in the specialties  anytime space was available   not sure if that still is the case

 

We simply asked our butler to get us a table in the restaurant we wanted to eat in.  He did and we did.  (Vista and Owners Suites...)

20 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

In 2018 the Mayor of Dubrovnik implemented a maximum of 2 cruise ships, carrying a total of 5,000 pax per day. I am not sure of that is still in play, but I sincerely hope so. It is such a beautiful place.
When we visited Venice this year, it was lovely to be able to see the Lagoon without all the mega ships blocking the view. We stayed several days pre-cruise. The shop owners, restaurants, as well as our hotel were very happy with the decision. In spite of that, the only time to really explore Venice was mornings and late afternoons/evenings due to the crowds, and that was during May. 

I have been to Venice many times - it is only 5 1/2 hours by train from where I live - and I have never once seen a mega ship that blocked any view I had of the lagoon.  Only once when I was walking around the Giudeca did I see a ship - a mammoth MSC one which sailed by.   Normally when I am in Venice I go to Torcello, which I love.  You can see lots of the lagoon from there - even stuck my feet in it on a hot day - and never a ship.  Not even from the Vaporetto going there.

However I do agree that the mega ships were a danger to the foundations of buildings in Venice.  But Oceania and Regent do not have mega ships.

Anyway I am on the same cruise as CricketLover and I am really annoyed about our two Turkish ports being removed.  Turkey is a long way from Gaza and Israel but it seems the "powers-that-be" in Miami don't have a map!

2 hours ago, Joywrk said:

We have stayed on club floors at both the Intercontinental and the Conrad and both were excellent

Both chain hotels (as the Shangri La is now). DIfference is that the SL was the first ever hotel in that group.  And so very "singapore".

40 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

  
Interesting!

Yes our first trip in 1993 was to the Pan Pacific which I didn’t like. We’ve stayed in the Hyatt near to Tangs, The Swissotel on a stop over, meeh!, the Shangri-La in Sentosa which was OK but we do still love Orange Grove Rd! The first time we stayed they had the most amazing sculpture in the foyer … made from butter!

Thinking that this will probably be our last trip to Singapore, last long haul even, and just thought maybe a change would be good.

But the hotel is lovely and I guess if it ain’t broken …..

Exactly!  I love the Garden Wing (have stayed in all three and when we were first there there was only one building anyway).  And I simply adore "The Line".  Strange to say I know that a self service restaurant would be great...but it is!  Also the location is perfect.  Easy walk to the top of Orchard Road, not far from Tanglin Road and the Botanical Garcens.

Absolutely delighted to learn this!!  Heidseick is an OK champagne.  OK - not Veuve Clicquot, but OK.  They had better stock up when my husband and I get on board!

We have stayed at the Shangri La many many times since 1972 and I would not stay anywhere else.  First time we were in Singapore we stayed at Raffles - which was OK.  But no more...

I have never (yet?) had a bag that went totally missing.  Only delayed arrival.  And I had thought about air tags too.  But then all I am doing is going from Zürich to Malta and loosing a bag is rather unlikely.  from what I have read - chances multiple with connections.  Especially in the US.

22 minutes ago, Harters said:

No, what they are going to do in my case, is look at the tag attached to the bag's handle which gives our surname and mobile phone number.  No need for anyone to go into our case, that's why we have a tag on the outside.

That is what our outside tag says too.  Name, Phone, country. 

Looking on the bright side - only twice in my life has a bag gone missing.  Once on a Aeromexico flight to Acapulco and it was delivered to me next day.  Once on a BA flight to Bangkok and that took 3 days to arrive.  BA paid for the clothes I bought/had made to get through those days of meetings etc - USD1000.  Not something I would like to have happen again though.  (and I travelled a huge amount all over the world when I was working).

On 11/9/2018 at 6:12 AM, newhopecruiser said:

Is there a shuttle in Monte Carlo?

You can walk just about everywhere.  Ship docks in town and there are shuttle boats (you pay a couple of EUR) over to the main part of town.  If you are going up to the "rock" - where the Palace is and where the Oceanographic museum is - you can take a bus.

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Under the basic plan, included drinks are only served in the dining venues. If one wants drinks outside those venues, they must upgrade to the premium package or pay for the drinks individually.

 

Fwiw, on the Vista now, there is a partition that officially separates Waves from the pool area. When we were on the Vista, you had to sit inside the partition area to get the included drinks.

Presumably though you can order whatever you like from the staff who circulate around the pool IF you have the upgraded package.

16 hours ago, Snaefell3 said:

Apologies to anyone who says "D'oh!  Everybody knows that!", but to all who commented about "if the tag gets ripped off"...

 

Yes, attach a ship's luggage tag on the outside once you get to the pier, but attach one on the *inside* before leaving home.  Attach it so that it is immediately visible to anyone who opens the luggage trying to figure out what to do with a tagless bag.

 

Homeward bound, the inside tag has my phone number and home city but not my street address.

Here in Europe we lock our luggage - when we fly and when on trains etc* -  so putting a label inside means the case would be broken into to get at the label.   Probably for us the best thing is to have the normal "home address, email, phone" labels on the bags and then put the O. labels with the suite number (if we get them) or those nice labels a previous poster was kind enough to provide on the bags right before we get in a taxi from the hotel to the pier.

*I understand that in the US you cannot lock your bags unless you have TSA locks but that is not the case here.

We have always taken the "upgrade" wine/drinks package and we get "BIB" on our cards.  I asked what this meant and was told "Best In Bar".  Anyway it covers everything we would like.

We are taking this upgrade from Simply More for our next cruise - $30 per day pp.

12 hours ago, Psoque said:

We visited Kotor when we took a Dalmatian Coast cruise on Crystal Espirit.  We really enjoyed the visit.  The small but picturesque downtown area was within walking distance from our boat.  We also took an excursion up the mountain to the Mauseleum of Petar II Ptrovic-Njegos.  I personally think Kotor is an outstanding port of call.

So do we.  Love the atmosphere, the mountain behind, the walls up the mountain - and we had a very decent cappucino there too.  Living cheek by jowl with Roman ruins (architects here pray that a new building's excavation won't show any trace of them!) I suppose unless it is something like the colosseum in Pula they don't overwhelm me!  Kotor is a lovey place.  The islands are fun to visit too...and the Venetian architecture wonderful.

I asked my TA to send me my final invoice, showing the upgrade from the basic wine package, included in Simply More, plus the Excursion Credits etc etc.  I have it on my computer.  The upgrade was $30 pp/p day and the tips $23 pp per day.  (We are in a Vista Suite...)

18 hours ago, govanguy said:

 

And here is a photo from Riviera when sailing into a misty Bay of Kotor.  It is magic that place !

I asked that question of my TA and she confirmed it works like that.  

But check your fare basis.  If you are on the "old" system and not on Simply More the upgrade is twice as much because you have to buy the wine package first and then upgrade from that.   On Simply More it is $30 per day per person.  So $60 for a couple.   On the old package it is $69.95 per person per day.

Our 21 April cruise Valetta to Trieste should have gone to Istanbul and Kusadasi (both places I had been before) and now we visit Kotor, Heraklion and Santorini - all of which I have been to before.  I am not unhappy with this decision because I did want to see Heraklion and Santorini again.  I am sorry, very sorry, that we won't see Ephesus or Istanbul on this cruise but we can always fly there in a couple of hours and visit them (though I am not sure exactly how we would get to Kusadasi from Istanbul!).  I was hoping Turkey would not fall victim to what is happening in Israel and Gaza but it has.  A real shame.  But the new ports suit me just fine.  In fact if the ship were just to sail off and go around in circles for 10 days I would be fine with that too!!  Oceania (and Regent) are great companies to sail with...

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Yes, it's a lovely sail-in (done it twice) but Kotor has nothing like the kind of history and sights of an Istanbul or Ephesus.  Just another scenic medieval town.

 

I agree.  But that is not what I was saying.  The beauty of that fjord (the southernmost fjord in Europe) is incredible.   I have been to both Istanbul and Ephesus.  The latter on a cruise as a sightseeing trip.  The former - just ordinary tourists trying to learn about the city.  WOW!  Still there are far more lovely cities here in Switzerland (Bern for example).  without the cacophony that is Istanbul.  Still - I loved being there and would have loved to go back.  It "ain't gonna happen" as the Americans would say.

We love this "perk" and have had many great meals in the suite.  Our butlers have always brought us a full bottle of wine from the "By the glass" list.  It is a great way to "sneak" in extra meals at Red Ginger for example!

Value of hindsight but we have fluorescent "sleeves" that wrap around the handles of our suitcases.  They make it easier to spot our bags when we collect them after getting off a ship but also help stop someone else confusing the bag with theirs.