Gourmet Gal

You’ll have to explain why it matters if the crew isn’t white Eastern European.

I’m all in favor of using an experienced TA, too but the OP’s concerns are quite valid. Whether it was he or his TA asking the simple questions the info should be readily provided by the SS consultant. What a turn-off for a new customer willing to spend thousands on a so-called upscale vacation.

40 min. will not work and you should also consider finding another TA!

Seems to be the profile of the majority of the pax I’ve encountered on SS. You’ll fit right in.

Perhaps I am an exception but I was not impressed with Crystal. The small cabins, silly costumed afternoon tea, the photographers blocking foot traffic and I’m sorry, the food was no improvement to SS. The pax capacity was also an issue, I prefer smaller loads. The entertainment and enrichment were the only plusses. I will not be among those clamoring to relive the Crystal experience. As for competition with SS? I think the new smaller “yachts” could syphon some pax away. Perhaps eventually RC if they get their act together, probably FS if they’re true to form and Aman as well.

There is always a reason beginning with the originating airport, preferring non-stop flights, requesting certain flights or airlines. Quite often you still come out ahead compared to booking it yourself but lately the hassle has outweighed the cost savings for us.

Sometimes if the airline is not contracted with SS you may still be able to pay a (sometimes hefty) deviation fee and still come out ahead compared to booking on your own.

SS purchases bulk fares that are not upgradable. Not sure but it may state that somewhere in the site. Were you hoping to use miles to upgrade? If planning to use dollars the SS upgrade difference is usually quite reasonable.

Thanks for taking the time to do this review and answer questions. Other than food and drink quality RC seems to be a step down from the other luxury lines. It looks like a beautiful ship and I do like the more relaxed dress code but I’m glad we cancelled our booking. Interesting to compare to a hotel experience as RC is my least favorite of the so-called luxury hotel chains. Seems their “nickel and diming” has carried over to the ship experience. I'm looking forward to seeing what Four Seasons comes up with.

Seems so petty for SS to make a pricing miscalculation, label it an operational issue and then change the price from zero if included to $209. Seems to me a true luxury line would absorb their mistake and just make the change for future cruises. It doesn’t sit well with me either.

I took several classes in the Salt Lab on The Moon and was able to sign up after boarding. If you like to cook don’t expect anything groundbreaking but it is something to do. The chef onboard my cruise was very entertaining.

Yes, the Portuguese are very friendly and hospitable. Most of the ships’ crews have to be majority Portuguese by law and I must say the crew onboard the Andorinha was outstanding.

You are correct, this is a much different experience than some other European rivers. The river-side villages and towns do not compare with those on the Danube, Rhein or Moselle at all and your wife may be disappointed. There can be morning and afternoon excursions in the same day depending on cruising time and overnights. The ship may also move while there are shore excursions, usually by bus. Expect a fair number of bus trips and a fair amount of free-time. The nightlife is really only in Porto but most of the better cruise lines will have an evening event with dinner at a winery quinta. You should expect multiple demonstrations and performances on your ship during some of the sail times and in the evening. The scenery is beautiful and very dramatic in some places but in general the cruises can be very slow-paced because of the daytime sailing. I’ve sailed on der Rhein, Moselle, Danube, Mein Canal, Rhône, Sâone, Garonne, Gironde, Dordogne and Seine along with numerous French Canals and I would say the Douro river was my least favorite but I really like the country of Portugal.

Then perhaps what is fast-paced for some is slow-paced for others. This Douro cruise was the first time we were glad when it was over despite the stellar reputation of Tauck; but then we had already been traveling for weeks when we started the Douro Cruise.

Having just done a Douro cruise with Tauck, I would highly recommend seeing the region by car instead. It is easy to drive and would be much more interesting than the boring “sea days” and underwhelming port towns along the river. The river is beautiful but the cruise was almost too much of a good thing and became boring after the first full day of sailing. If you haven’t been to Portugal it is so easy to navigate and see Lisbon and Porto as well as the Douro region in 10 days or so.

There are plenty of helpful crew members who assist every single passenger in and out of the Zodiacs so you should be fine.

Don’t depend on that. I’ve had tickets issued much earlier than that by SS. They are consistently inconsistent.

It seems more like a ploy to sell more D2D by making P2P as unattractive as possible.

Wow…100% cancellation penalty.

Hmmm, okay, then why is it there?

That’s weird. Perhaps I am mis-labeling the function on the member’s profile pages wherr if allowed by the member one can send a message?

You can try going to the Tauck website. If you explore it thoroughl you will find a great source of info there. PM me if you require more detail.

Understandable to be hesitant about any Antartica cruise but I didn’t know it was possible to handle a rogue wave, properly or otherwise. How does that work?

Glad it’s working out. I love Japan, you’ll have a great time.

Yes!!!