Gourmet Gal

9 minutes ago, les37b said:

Fevertree tonic is being replaced by club tonic….. Ghastly stuff!. Ok, I was still able to get it, but only if I specifically requested it.

 

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Bean counters at work.  That’s really penny-pinching.

39 minutes ago, kohanfam said:

Here is my research.  Try Hotel Smeraldo, it may meet your needs.

 

 

Preferred location is Pantheon and Piazza Navona

#1 Albergo del Senato (on piazza at Pantheon) 9.3. $984 $1201, $1128, Pantheon patio requires 4 nights and is $445/night. 

BOOKED direct-$870e+36e, one double room with breakfast. $970

Hotel Smeraldo 8.9 (between Colosseum and Vatican),affordable $813. 0.4mi from Pantheon , May have street noise

Hotel Ponte SISTO 8.4 $1048

Hotel Navona 8.4 $1077

Albergo Santa Chiara (near Pantheon) 8.7 $1305, $1030

Lancelot (near Colosseum) 8.8 $664

Navona 49 9.0 $1323

Hotel Damaso (near Pantheon) 9.3 $1200

Hotel Artemide 9.3 $1215

Hotel Colosseum 8.4 $819

Hotel Locarno 9.2 $2244

Hotel Nerva Boutique (near Forum) 9.3 $1514

Hotel Hiberia Roma (with view) 8.7 $850  

Hotel Pantheon

Marriott Pantheon Iconic 286,000 points

Hotel Abruzzi $1185 annex, $1581 (pantheon view)

The one Boutique Hotel and Spa 8.9 $1591

Boutique Hotel Trevi 7.4 $1056

Hotel Trevi 8.2 $842e with view on their website, good location $892

 

Wow, if Albergo Senato is #1 I’d hate to see the rest.  It’s very basic though the location is really great.

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Just sent an email to our TA. We sail before you, so will tell you 😁

Are you on the F1 sailing?  If so I’ll look for the non-drinker swilling sparkling l’aqua minerale!

19 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Sadly this is the future: new ships will all be forced to have GPS thruster positioning to save the planet.  [I say:  Save the old ships!]

2 hours ago, CJANDH said:

Also, when the ship is in a tender port they use the thrusters along with GPS to keep the ship in position rather than use anchors. The noise and vibration are awful.

It’s been reported Nova has very little vibration and wouldn’t it only be a real problem if the ship is anchored overnight?  We spend very little time in our suite during the day.

1 hour ago, NanaChar said:

I was watching a Youtube video which stated that some of the Nova aft cabins have an obstructed view even though there is no note about it on the site or in the pamphlets.  Has anyone encountered this?

That would be interesting to know.  Perhaps we can find some photos of the aft exterior of this ship.  I’ll try to search that.

Edit: now that I’ve seen some photos it may be possible that the center aft suites on 6,7,8 might not have a full 180 view because of the curvature of those decks.  Otherwise I don’t see any large obstructions.

46 minutes ago, NanaChar said:

I was watching a Youtube video which stated that some of the Nova aft cabins have an obstructed view even though there is no note about it on the site or in the pamphlets.  Has anyone encountered this?

That would be interesting to know.  Perhaps we can find some photos of the aft exterior of this ship.  I’ll try to search that.

Can they just create a link?

I don’t have any recommendations but it’s always great to share your observations here, either while onboard or after.   Will you be sailing on Nova?  If so, people are very keen to read anything about that ship because it’s do different from the rest of the fleet.

1 hour ago, jollyjones said:

Chili (capsaicin) is sensed in the mouth by the pain receptors - I don’t understand the attraction of food that hurts. 

Chili prompts pain which then stimulates endorphins which becomes addictive!  I love hot chilis but honestly, I find the traditional Italian chili flakes a bit boring.  For more interesting, though not as hot, try Aleppo pepper flakes.  A nice Calabrian chili paste is great with red sauce pastas and pizzas.  I could go on and on but will leave it there since I’m way off-topic!

I think SB and SS are head to head competitors and there are now complaints about both.  At the very least they are both inconsistent but are courting the same clientele.  If the decision is between the two then itinerary should be a big deciding factor.  To me, price consideration comes after because cruising is not the only way I travel and I value going to new, interesting places with as few sea days as possible.

2 hours ago, FauxNom said:

but so disappointing when you have to miss so many of the incredible events they produced for this cruise.

2 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

There were so many exciting events on that leg. 

Sorry, off-topic but I have a cruise planned on Nova…what were some of the exciting events?

6 minutes ago, Elizabethbea said:

NO proper sparkling water and getting Pommery is a nightmare.

Can’t resist…what a First World problem! 😱

4 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

You don't mention what port this was in.  For $500 you should be able to hire a private guide to take you somewhere for the day and drop off at airport.  

 

We use daytrip.com for this for of thing.  For example, from Civitavecchia to FCO they suggest possible stopovers at Santa Severa Castle (60 minutes, adds 50 Euros to trip cost); Necropolis de la Banditaccia (120 minutes, 92 Euros), and/or Ancient Ostia (90 min, 88 Euros).  Basic trip cost would be 309 Euros.  So you could do all the stops for a little over 500.

We did a similar thing after a Residensea sailing using Rome in Limo.  Visited a cute village -   Ceri, had an awesome lunch there and a visit to Ostia.  Our driver was amazing and so informative.  He was a retired military jet pilot.  Can’t remember what we paid.

Yes, The World is still sailing.   Not sure of an apartment sale price these days but when we sailed her they were under $2 million for 1300 sf and the annual cost for fuel, food, maintenance, staff was at least 6 figures.  I believe one is required to have a land-side residence so no one lives aboard year round.  There are a lot of sea days if you’re onboard for an extended time but multiple overnights in major ports.  I have access to a 2 BR apt anytime but have only sailed a few times because it’s hard to find easy ports to travel to for boarding and also hard to find 2 week or longer trips that don’t involve many boring sea days which I deplore. They still have to abide by cabotage laws.  
 

This is so confusing.  My husband and I each received an email from SS with links to Blacklane.   Do we each need to book a transfer as there is no way to add passengers on their site other than to select the vehicle size.  I have booked through the portal sent by SS just for myself but does DH need to do the same?

28 minutes ago, PaulaJK said:

 

 

I do wish that cruise critic would add Hapag L so that I could learn people's’ experiences.

There are a few places on CC where you might find Hapag Lloyd comments.  Other Cruise Lines,  Luxury and Small Ship both under Specialty Cruising.  Or just use the search function.

3 hours ago, Ovener said:

Looking back that's exactly what I should have done had I known that they wouldn't provide a tour or staging post. But I don't know either how flexible they are with the Door-to-Door included flights. We're doing our own flights next time! 

You very likely could have asked for an earlier flight once SSAir sent a flight itinerary. There is usually some flexibility but there may have been an extra air deviation charge.  But you might not have minded in this case.  

26 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

 

That’s so offal.

Yes.  Check the RCL investor website under FAQ.  Shareholder benefits.  $100 6-13 days, etc….

Another query; how far in advance does SS send an email with instructions for booking Blacklane?  I have a departure in less than a month.

37 minutes ago, sea bright said:

The Observation was overrun by the bridge players and only sporadically replenished.

Not all sailings are bridge sailings but there usually are at least a few players so all the more reason to keep it replenished.  The Observation Bar is my favorite spot in the mornings, especially for sailing into port.  Hopefully if there are enough complaints there will be more attention paid to this area.  On other ships the Panorama bar also had coffee and pastries available even those with an Arts Cafe.

You know, a lot of people are addicted to caffeine.  SS needs to fix this.

6 minutes ago, sea bright said:

The Dusk bar was useless for most of the cruise as it was too cold/windy. The Panorama (and all of the other indoor bars) didn't open until late afternoon so they could not help with the horde of  coffee seekers in the Arts Cafe. In the evening the SALT Bar and Dolce Vita were so crowded it was difficult to find a seat or get a drink in less than 30-40 minutes.  The Panorama was generally the least crowded bar (except the Shelter, which was barely used as it was limited to champagne). However,  the Panorama was frequently taken over by groups so it wasn't a reliable option.

Hmm.  What about the Observation lounge?  Isn’t there usually coffee all day and limited cocktails in the evening?

1 minute ago, sea bright said:

We are boarding the Muse on May 1 and will use the experience on that cruise to decide whether to cancel the other cruises.

Similar here.  We have a Med cruise next month and will cancel our 2026 Nova Japan booking if we’re not pleased with the experience. We’ll lose 15% but I’m not throwing more good money after bad.  

Unfortunately, income strata does not deter boorish behavior nor a sense of entitlement.

I’ll be arranging private transportation upon disembarkation next month in Barcelona.  The itinerary indicates a 7:00 AM arrival. Does anyone have an estimate of when would be the earliest and latest that I could plan to disembark?