wandb

I cannot seem to find their website in English. Does anyone have a link for that?

Thanks!

On 2/9/2022 at 3:58 PM, Bananas27 said:

Costa Maya was our last stop on the Allure last week and truthfully, I was at that point where I couldn't eat or drink any more, so I'm very glad I didn't go with an All-inclusive.  I cruised with a friend and we took the $4 per person each way taxi to the Krazy Lobster based on CC posts.  The cab was clean and nice.  After we got to town, someone escorted us to the Krazy Lobster and found us lounge chairs in the sun.  They immediately brought us tiny sample frozen margaritas.  I love Pacifico and Sol beer and they are kind of hard to find in my town (at least at restaurants).  I had one of each and my friend had a Coca Cola lite.  Our bill was only $6 since we weren't hungry and had already had a Bloody Mary or two on the ship.  We gave them $20.  We had a great time watching a few local families play in the cold water.  There were a few vendors who were very polite.  We bought a mango and it was amazing.  

 

View from our chairs

 

Looking in the other direction from our chairs

 

 

A vendor of beautiful blankets.  You can also see how extremely laid back the Krazy Lobster is.

 

 

The main street.  The manager was standing here as we left and he introduced himself and asked how everything was.  We felt very safe walking to the taxi area from here.

 

It was a great day and so much better than the port area to me.  

I’d love to see your pictures, but they are not showing up for me. Would you mind re-posting them?

If I remember correctly, the last time we were on the Queen, everyone had to be off the boat by 9:00 a.m.

Ill be looking forward to reviews from all of you!  

Our very first cruise ever was to Alaska on the beautiful Holland America Ryndam. Still my favorite cruise and favorite ship these many years later!

I’ve  always wanted to go back.

I wish!!!

I'm so glad to be reading good news about the Brilliance sailings. We leave March 5 and I'm hoping they will still have reduced capacity then. 
 

I too wish the OP would explain more fully about the 'sub-par' food in the MDR as that is where we usually eat. Wondering about the timing. Hope having less cruisers would allow us to get served faster than normal---normal being very slow usually!

I think I am in a PICKLE, in fact the whole family is in a JAM because we were LATTE to the MUSTARD drill and now have to CATSUP with what we are to do. We don't know where the LIFESAVER Vests are or how to use them. All because someone thought they announced "Go to the GRILL" instead of "Go to the MUSTARD Drill"

If I remember correctly, you will leave New Orleans somewhere around 5:00 p.m. I may be off by an hour or two, but remember that you are supposed to be on board an hour ahead of departure. I would not worry about making plans for dinner on shore.

My daughter and 4 grandchildren all suffer from motion sickness. They have found Sea Bands to be very helpful. I myself have never suffered from seasickness, but I feel for you—-as I have had vertigo here on dry ground! I hope some of the suggestions here on this thread will be helpful for you, and you can enjoy those upcoming cruises. 

We have never been in an inside cabin on a river cruise, but have been on one on an ocean cruise. My tip for not feeling claustrophobic is to leave your TV on with the sound off when you retire for the night. Set it to the channel that shows the captain’s view from the Bridge. It will be like a window, and you can tell when it is getting daylight and the sun is coming up. 

On 5/12/2021 at 1:52 PM, ONECRUISER said:

9 Booked Cruises in Cabin this Oct/Nov myself. Spent Months in this cabin half on Brilliance other Serenade, even did this exact sailing before. Worth it. Always watch, reductions come/go quick! Once got 7 reductions on one sailing

How do you check for price reductions?  It has been several years since we cruised on RCCL and I’ve forgotten!

1 hour ago, Oldone79 said:

We have the American Countess Sept 19-27. St. Louis to Red Wing booked. We chose this direction just to have the extra day on the river.  For us that is the entire reason for taking the Upper Mississippi River cruise.

Just curious - is there a reason you only mention the Queen or the Duchess?

We are booked for the Ohio River Exploration on the Countess in June. So wanting to do something different. We do love the Queen, so I’m really leaning toward her. 

Thank you, Calliope!  I knew I could count on you for good honest opinion!  I’ve benefited from your posts in the past. Hope to meet you on a cruise one day. 

We had thought to try the Duchess, as the first cruise that was cancelled for us last year was on the Duchess. However, when I see pictures of her, she looks very nice, but doesn’t seem to compare to the Queen. As you said, a very nice hotel. 

If anyone else has any other thoughts, I welcome all opinions and insights.

Thanks,

Barb

I’m looking for advice from some of you who have done the upper Mississippi Cruise. I need to make a decision pretty quickly on which cruise to book. 

Both cruises have several ports in common. (Red Wing, LaCrosse, Dubuque, Hannibal, Alton.) But there are some differences:

Cruising north from St Louis to Red Wing,  you have a day of river cruising, plus a day in Clinton, IA. 

Cruising south from Red Wing/Minneapolis,  you have Port stops in Bettendorf and Burlington, IA. There are no days of just cruising the river. 

Any opinions?  Is it worth giving up a day of cruising the river to see those two cities?

or is it worth skipping those two ports to have a day on the river?

Are there other considerations to take into account?

Of the dates we are considering (Fall of 22) , one is on the Queen (loved her on the lower Mississippi), one on the Duchess (which we have not yet cruised on).

Fall of 22 seems a long way off, but FCC and special offers require me to make a decision quickly. 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Barb

Thanks everyone!!

Thanks, LilBlackDress.

The cruise is on Dec. 16-20. It leaves from Tampa, has just one port stop (Cozumel), with one sea day each way. The whole reason to book this particular cruise is for our DGD to get to see Mayan ruins, so hoping to find some info on that before I lock down the reservations this afternoon. Between college classes and a job, her cruising schedule is pretty limited. 

Can someone fill me in on why Brilliance of the Seas is not Cruising till mid December?

Is the first cruise after the pandemic a positive (no COVID germs from preceding cruisers) or negative (are the “kinks” out? Is the crew well trained?)

Is there a possibility the cruise would be cancelled?  Or the ports changed?

Thanks for any insight you can give. 

Also, please tell me how to find the ship’s excursions for a particular cruise?  Every time I think I’ve found it, only private tours and private companies pop up. Our cabin is held only till later today, and I can’t seem to find what excursions are available. Hopefully there is one to the Mayan ruins. 

5 hours ago, midwestchick said:

Sounds interesting. Do you have any other tips to offer?  
We’re very familiar with the Mississippi River since part of it is less than an hour from us.  We’re doing a long road trip in October along the Great River Road. It’s a beautiful drive no matter which state you’re driving in 

The River Road trip sounds wonderful. I'd love to do that. 
As for tips on the cruise---

We loved everything!  We knew going in that it would not be like an ocean cruise so we did not miss all the 'bells and whistles' that some cruisers expect. We found AQSC to be professional efficient, and friendly, from the entire crew on board to the staff at the hotel to the HOHO bus drivers. 
We took advantage of all the free HOHO excursions and found them to be interesting and informative. I especially enjoyed touring the house and grounds of Nottaway Plantation, but every home that we had time to tour was great. 
The Flood Museum in Greenville and the River Museum with Tugboat tour in Vicksburg were great. 
At every stop we met warm, wonderful folks who were proud of their towns and happy to have us there. 
 

On board, be sure to do the Chef's tour of the galley. You will be amazed at all they do in such limited space. The Riverlorian's talks were interesting, as was the Csptain's talk. We enjoyed exploring the boat and imagining ourselves on the boat in Victorian times. The decor is beautiful, but we are happy for "modern updates"!

Not sure if they still have the "snack area" post Covid, but it was a favorite with everyone. Self serve warm homemade cookies and other snacks as well as specialty coffees and teas available  24/7 ! What a treat!  
 

if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. I'll help if I can, or someone here will know the answers. 

Great!  Which cruise?

Thank you JP and Chris for taking us along on this wonderful cruise!  I've enjoyed every post and loved all the pictures. Would love to see one of the main dining room with you two in it--all dressed up for a night out!

Do you possibly have a link to your amazing review of your river cruise when you visited Budapest?  If I remember correctly you were on the Uniworld Beatrice?

Thanks!

3 hours ago, midwestchick said:

Thank you. That title is river cruise roll calls.  That’s what I needed. I kept looking for American cruise line.

Remember that American Cruise Line and American Queen Steamboat Company are two completely separate lines. 

I hope I did not mislead anyone!  You are correct about AQ's dress code on line now. Our cruise was 4 or 5 years ago, and I may be remembering codes from that time. I'm sure jeans would be fine; everyone was dressed for comfort. 

Wow!!  I feel like I’ve discovered hidden treasure!  I just found this blog and I’m thrilled to be following your adventures again. It’s been too long since we’ve been able to experience (in spirit!) all the wonderful ports you visit, but also the great excursions and hikes you two undertake!  

I see that your cruise ends tomorrow. 🙁.   Hope you have another one planned for us to follow along with. 

Love all all the pictures!

Barb

Praying for you and all the medical staff there. May they quickly find the cause and solutions. 

Thanks for both reviews. Very informative!