Tranquility Base

Is it normal to go outside Vancouver Island when Southbound on this schedule, as opposed to inside ?

Yes, I understand. However, for the benefit of visitors, cash is generally accepted if you wish to use it. Neither country is a cashless country. One can generally choose between using card OR cash.

Just want to clarify for visitors to Aussie & NZ. Those countries are NOT cashless. Yes, you can get by with cards only. However, if you wish to use cash you are able to do so almost everywhere.

We will be doing a couple of Alaska cruises next year. Would like to do a Glacier Landing with a small walk around. Would Juneau or Skagway be recommended as best for that ? I’ll be doing some research elsewhere, but thought I’d also ask here. Thanks.

We are booked on two B2B transits late next year. Both cruises are currently scheduled to San Juan del Sur. Can I expect this port to be cancelled ? Is a replacement in Mexico likely to be added on either the Eastbound or Westbound one, or simply a sea day added ?

Many thanks, and nice to have that clarified.

Thank you, I fully understand the corkage rules. As I mentioned I was simply wondering if the cya statement in the FAQ had a change from 6 to 3, or is it old information ?

I understand the CYA clause and the ‘in reality’ practice. My question is simply regarding the number 6. I have just read the FAQs, and it says 3 bottles per stateroom. Is this a change or old information ? As mentioned, I do understand the difference between FAQ info, and what is currently permitted to happen in practice.

Ha…..nice try. Costs such as that are covered by the mandatory SM package we now pay with new bookings. So, if we have already paid, through mandatory SM, why is a second fee, corkage, also charged ? As one of this forum’s wine experts recently posted….. by the glass selection is “poor to mediocre at best”. Where is the incentive to provide better choices ? ( rhetorical ).

Perhaps, just perhaps, with some mandatory wine costs now being imposed on all new bookings O will listen and improve their selection. Or, as the Aussies would say……” tell ‘im he’s dreamin’ mate.”

Nostalgia is not what it used to be.

Indeed……appears a bit of a mystery. If you ever find out why, please post the reason.

Thanks. Indeed, we are also hoping for “much sooner” also.

That would be my guess too. I don’t take that package, but would still like to know in case I ever did. I’ll ask when onboard next month.

This is important for those on the 25% discount package to keep in mind. Especially if on longer cruises / segments. It does raise a question however. Lets say you are onboard for 50 days, however that 50 days is made up of 3 separate cruises / segments with separate booking numbers. Is this ‘embarkation day’ definition just the single one when you first join the ship, or is this definition the start of each separate cruise / segment ?

Was there any word when Riviera might get Starlink ? We are currently on another cruise line travelling through a relatively remote area of the South Pacific. Starlink has been great. Good speed and stable.

A question was asked about the new internet across the Sth Pacific in this part of the world. No problems thus far. Lost live TV for a couple of days which was to be expected, but internet very good.

“The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.” ”The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone.”

We have now left after our scenic cruising around Pitcairn. Once again we were lucky with the weather. Apparently the last few weeks has been wind & rain. We viewed Adamstown and the Mayor spoke with the ship via radio. Interestingly we have a descendant onboard. She spoke with a relative onshore and that was also broadcast around the ship. She got to the sound the ship’s whistle as a farewell. We circled port side to, and now 2 sea days to Papeete. Regarding the weather. This trip has been one of the best in that regard. Only one missed port ( Lerwick ); no real rough seas ( a little bit off Oman & Yemen ), and no real problems with rain while ashore.

Indeed. A couple of months ago we were docked in Holyhead. Our tour through parts of Snowdonia stopped for lunch at the lovely little village of Betws-y-Coed. In the car park I saw a small tour bus with a Regent sign. Their ship was docked in Liverpool.

We have a 60 day cruise coming up. It is one of those “ hop on hop off “ itineraries. There are five embarkation ports whilst we are onboard. Three questions please. Will there be a Captain’s party for each of these segments? If yes, how soon will Guest Services onboard be able to tell me which night is planned for each of these? One of the embarkations is the middle (2nd) day of a 3 day (double overnight) port stop. Because of that I’m guessing the party would more likely be 3rd night rather than 2nd night. Would that be a reasonable assumption?

Yes, it was the prudent thing to do and much appreciated by the passengers. The lengths gone to and quite possibly the extra cost in rearranging the transit, thereby not missing Aqaba, plus setting up a replacement port. Finally, the effective communication explaining the reasoning was a good command decision by the Captain. This is a Princess ship.

On our current cruise we were a day late transiting the Suez due technical. It was clearly communicated to us why we were unable to make our next port which followed the Suez transit. It was also clearly communicated to us why we were proceeding to a different unscheduled port as a replacement, and why this port was chosen. These communications did not create more questions, they stopped the speculations which occur when problems, which directly affect passengers, and the solutions to these problems, are not clearly communicated.

Was anything communicated to the passengers whether attempts had been made to bring forward the arrival time at your next port ? If attempts were made, any communication as to why it wasn’t possible ? PS: for the benefit of others; yes, I am VERY aware of some of the reasons why docking early may not have been possible. My query is regarding communications.

The Captain gave his departure announcement while we were at dinner. He sounded very happy the day went well, and also praised his crew, especially the deck / tender team for a job very well done. He mentioned two interesting snippets. The swell was complicated today, not only from open sea swell, but also from a reflected swell off the shore affecting the ship. The rounding of the Island from Eastside to Westside this morning was done using radar and paper chart due to the Island’s position being different to the GPS / Electronic charting system. Something to do with the datum used for recording the Island’s position.