Damaris1900

For Grandeur

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10 hours ago, gcorgain said:

Thanks. That is interesting. In many cases this type of itinerary would appeal to me, particularly if the evening immersive experiences were special. I’ve never cruised on Azamara, but I’ve heard great things about their azamara evenings. 
 

That being said, I was really looking at a Japan focused cruise and this is no longer really that. 

We're booked on the March 31, 2025 cruise, so this change will not apply to our cruise, but I wouldn't be interested in the cruise if the itinerary had changed in this way.  Multiple overnights are a great idea, but losing the additional days in Japan and adding in more sea days would change the cruise in significant ways, and would not be what we are looking for.  Have you decided whether you'll keep this booking or look for something else more similar to the original itinerary?

We are currently booked on one of the March 2025 Tokyo to Tokyo cruises and have not heard anything about this. Which of the dates was this for?  I'm wondering what the "special  shoreside experiences" would be.

We were recently on the Shadow and the Arts cafe had a small selection of NA cocktails listed at the end the drinks menu, mostly made with various Seedlip "liquors."  A couple of us sampled some of them and thought they were very pleasant.  I didn't ask if that was standard for all ships.

Very interesting, thank you for posting this.

We booked a cruise on Whisper for 2025 and were happy to hear that she's going into dry dock next year.  How likely is that to still happen if SS management thinks that new environmental standards are going to render the Whisper obsolete soon?  Any indications one way or the other?

Here's a link that might be helpful:

https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/importing-medication/

We were surprised by some of the over the counter and prescription meds that are illegal in Japan, with or without a prescription, so it might be worth checking. We have not had any trouble, but we know of several travelers who did.

What a great book list, GeorgiaPeach, thanks for posting that.  There were lots of old favorites, as well as some series to download before the next cruise.  

I'd also suggest the Falco (Roman) mystery series by Lindsey Davis, as well as her more recent series which follows Falco's daughter, Flavia Albia.

Kerry *****, an Australian author, the Phryne Fisher mysteries, and the Corinna Chapman mysteries

Edited to add:  For some reason CC is substituting asterisks for the name "*****".  NO idea why.

Did it again, I guess just Google the Phryne Fisher mysteries for the author's name.

The thing to be aware of in counting blank passport pages is that the last 2 or 3 pages in a US passport are not used for visa stamps, they are called amendment pages.  You need to count the number of remaining pages with Visa written at the top, those are the only ones usable.

That was something I didn't know, but fortunately found out before it became an issue.

Edited to add:  Here is a link that shows how many blank pages each country requires:

https://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/passport-pages-for-visas.html

16 hours ago, cruiseej said:

So, strictly by the book: yes, it's quite clear he needs a tux or dark suit on formal nights, unless you choose to dine in La Terrazza, Seishin or The Grill (or have room service) on those formal nights.

 

BUT… based on what many cruisers report from onboard, if he is wearing a sport jacket and tie, he won't be sent away; I think a minority of passengers may feel he's not following the rules, and a majority passengers won't care at all.

Sounds as though a dark suit is a safer bet, then.  We'll see how he feels when the time comes for packing.  Thanks to everyone who took the time to explain.

I've been reading this thread for the last several days with one very simple question in mind:  Does my DH need to bring a suit along in addition to his navy blazer and tie, or will the blazer and tie be good enough for formal nights?  He'd rather not purchase a new suit, or take up the space in his suitcase, if it isn't necessary.

I've read the entire thread.  I've read everything I could find on the Silversea website.  I've read other SS dress code threads.

I still have no idea whether my DH needs to bring along a suit or not.

7 hours ago, Lonedaddy said:

I saw on the Silverses board that Japan was going to ease restrictions soon.  We are on the HK-Tokyo in feb 24.  Curios as to what they will do with that one as CCP does not seem to want to behave and I doubt they will behave by 2024.

There have been predictions for months that the government of Japan is about to ease restrictions, but so far that has not happened.  At this point, even if the government does decide to open to cruise lines, I will be very interested to see what rules are set in place by the government regarding testing, masking, and quarantine, including if a close contact tests positive.  I don't want to end up put off the ship, or in isolation either on the ship or ashore because someone in one of the excursion buses I was on tests positive.  So even if the country opens up to cruising, I still have a lot of questions about how the inevitable positive Covid cases will be handled.  I've read the information that was being given to clients who were booked for fall 2022 land trips to Japan (cancelled now) on Tauck, and it was not reassuring reading.

DH and I are currently booked on a March 2023 Tokyo to Tokyo cruise we very much want to go on, but the devil's in the details.;

39 minutes ago, mj_holiday said:

I will have to try Seedlip. 
Our cruise is in December and will definitely report the NA situation. 

The Seedlip Garden doesn't taste anything like gin (sadly) but with good tonic and a twist of lime it has a pleasant refreshing taste.  I think the other two flavors of Seedlip are pretty dire.

Thanks, Gilly and mj_holiday, I'll be looking for your reports!

I'd be very happy if Regent gave some choices for NA options.  Monday "gin" would be a nice beginning, but I'd also like to see one of the NA aperitifs: Ghia, Lyre's, Wilfred's, even Seedlip Garden would be better than most NA wines, which are undrinkable IMO.  Let us know how the request for Monday NA Gin goes.

2 hours ago, forgap said:

 FYI, I inquired about some newer non alcoholic drink bases, such as Seedlip.  They are planning to include an Australian brand in the near future.  My objection to many mocktails is that they tend to be sweet and fruity and don’t have the balance of a well made cocktail.   

Do you happen to remember if the Australian brand was Lyre's?  If so, I do like some of Lyre's NA offerings--especially the Italian Spritz, which is a ringer for an Aperol spritz--so that would make me very happy.

The photos are great, thanks for all the research!

I primarily use Safari and had no trouble displaying the new cruise detail page.  It looks good so far even though there are a few more steps to get to the information. I don't see that as being a big deal--I'll get used to it soon enough.

Are there additional tweaks you're planning on making?

1 hour ago, mrlevin said:

Now if your governor would just open up the Land of Enchantment!  I am trying to buy opera  tickets for Bastille Day but no joy; not selling any tickets until state figures out their reopening.

There will be a lot more opening up I understand when New Mexico hits 60% of the population being fully vaccinated.  We're at about 54% fully vaccinated right now, so keep checking!

24 minutes ago, mrlevin said:

I'm hoping we're just returning from Manitoba - may the border be open for both of us. 😀

 

Edited to add:  Jason's video https://www.rssc.com/Regent-Returns

Thank you for linking that.  I'd say "Sign me up," except my DH and I had already booked 2 Regent cruises in the last few days.  Sadly, the first one isn't until August of 2022, but after the disappointment of the cancellation of our Splendor cruise last April, we're both cautiously optimistic about the restart.

Our son in law travels for his business every week, and in his experience, American does the worst job in terms of mask enforcement, spacing while boarding or exiting the plane, and distancing while on the plane.  He has been impressed with the way other airlines, including Southwest and Delta, have handled these same issues, and prefers to fly with those airlines.  He no longer books with American at all.  Everyone has to decide how willing they are to deal with the risks, but I thought our SIL's analysis was interesting since he has no choice but to fly several times a week, has a child who is at higher risk, and is doing everything he can to minimize the risks of bringing COVID home.

We just received notification from our credit card company that we have received a refund from Regent for our April 30 Splendor cruise, Barcelona to Venice.  Well done, Regent!

To me, the interesting thing about the Scylla policies is that Scylla is the company used by Tauck for their river cruises, and that Tauck clients are the same demographic as Regent clients: age, income, expectations of luxury and service, etc.  I'm sure that Regent and other luxury cruise lines are looking at something very similar to allow them to resume cruising, so it's worth taking good hard look at the Scylla policies and deciding if that's something that would be a showstopper in terms of our individual willingness to cruise again. Whether Regent and others would actually go to something like this, of course we don't know, but it's an interesting thought.

At this point, I probably wouldn't, but since I have no expectation that a vaccine is going to be available for wide distribution in the next couple of years, or that people in my age demographic would get to be first in line for it, I might feel very differently in a year or so.  By then all those restrictions might look reassuring rather than too restrictive, and I might be desperate to resume some kind of travel. Hard to say at this point.

Sail date:  4/30/20 Splendor (Barcelona to Venice)

Cancellation date: 3/31/20

No refund as of 5/10/20

Thank you SusieQft for taking this on!

Apparently  much stronger wording advising against any air travel for seniors was vetoed:

https://apnews.com/921ad7f1f08d7634bf681ba785faf269

Try this:

https://www.europeanwaterways.com/destination/england/

Taking you more literally than I'm sure you intended, one detailed piece of advice is to choose the downstream direction on a Rhone cruise. The current is very strong on the Rhone [one of the few rivers in Europe to take the masculine article because of its personality], and sailing is much smoother going with the current than fighting it.

Thank you, Host Jazzbeau, that is actually excellent advice, and just the sort of thing that is not obvious when you are choosing dates. Am I correct in assuming that this means starting in Lyon would be better than starting in Avignon?

This has been a fascinating discussion, many thanks to three4rd for starting it and for the many interesting thoughts from other posters.

That said, my DH and I have only been on one river cruise so far, with Tauck, and had some of the same impressions as three4rd: it is an expensive way to travel. Like the OP, we were underwhelmed with the overall quality of the Scylla/Tauck food: it was perfectly fine, but not anything to get excited about. Our drinking habits are usually limited to a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, but it was nice to have the option of an after dinner drink if we wanted it, or a glass (or 2) of champagne as we cruised down the Rhine gorge. What we really feel that we were paying for, and which we definitely got our money's worth for, was the overall level of service and attention from the Tauck tour directors, the comfort and luxury of the ship itself, and the general feeling of being cosseted, and literally not having to worry about anything at all. That was worth every penny, and is apparently a hallmark of Tauck's product. We certainly got the same level of care and attention to detail from our Tauck small ship cruise to Japan, although the food was better on L'Austral than it was on the river boat.

We're thinking seriously about a river cruise on the Rhone for next September, and while Tauck would have been our first choice, as usual they are completely booked, so we are looking at Uniworld, Avalon, and Ama, and this whole thread has been extremely helpful in sorting out which direction we want to go for that trip.