Vallesan

We were in 8049, ‘odd’ side and must admit there was no noise. In saying that we were just below the far end of Waves and the start of the Terrace so maybe we were lucky. Definitely best to double check what’s above you if you choose deck 8!

Thank you! I took a look at the Explora website and it looks like they have offers for under 18’s in school holidays etc. My reading of that is that at other times under 18’s pay full price. That would certainly stop many people from taking children out of school for a trip! As you say, the atmosphere wouldn’t really suit children. Guess if school holidays are avoided it must be worth a shot especially now that Silversea’s new pricing seems to be ruling them out for lots of people.

There is a different ‘vibe’ on Seabourn partly because it’s slightly more inclusive and you never have to show a ‘card’ to purchase drinks. I find Seabourn just that bit more relaxed.

We’ve sailed on all the R class ships apart from the Insignia but they are virtually all the same. We always have a cabin close to the aft lifts. We’ve sailed in 8042, 44 and 49. All more or less directly opposite the elevators/stairs and have never had any issue with noise. R class ships only have 680 passengers so the lifts etc are never really busy. They are not ‘party’ ships so you won’t get a lot of late night foot traffic!

Looks to me like Silversea are pricing themselves out of the market. The cruise I referred to above was only 11 nights in a superior veranda which works out at £1450 a night! I just can’t see the value in that especially when having to pay up front and with no refunds. Seabourn is looking better by the minute.

Explora, unlike other luxury/premium lines, seems to have a more family focused approach to cruising. Just wondering if there were any/many children on your cruise and do you think that school holidays might not be a good idea if you prefer a more ‘adult only’ atmosphere? P.S. I love children but don’t want to holiday with other peoples!

Depends where the ‘doors’ are! The distance they offer is minimal so maybe not worth the extra! Saga in the UK do a true ‘door to door’ service with, I think, 250 miles each way.

It looks like they have got rid of Door to Door without air. Port to Port used to have a non-refundable deposit. So looks like Port to Port now has refundable deposit and they have introduced ‘Essential’ with non refundable deposit. I was looking at Port to Port several months ago, when it had a non refundable deposit, for September which was around £5000. Now, with refundable deposit it’s risen to £8000 pp. I understand that there would have been a general price increase as the cruise filled up but I think that this is an unacceptable increase. Seems to me that the new pricing system is a ‘sheep in wolf’s clothing) ploy!

Plus there’s AA breakdown cover and phone insurance and other stuff I can’t remember. Also we had a large claim when we had to cancel a cruise in February. Did everything online after making the claim by phone and we were paid out almost in full, £50 pp excess, within 4 weeks.

We were with them but it became too complicated adding money on here and there. We moved to Nationwide flexi and it probably costs us around £500 a year, including £13 a month for the account. Covers US, it is ‘worldwide’. We have four ‘conditions’ and add ‘cruise cover’ for missed ports for £40 a year included! Might be worth taking a look.

We use a bank flexi account which for a small monthly fee includes world wide travel. Just pay a bit extra for age and disclosed conditions. We’ve found it the most economical way for travel insurance now.

I agree entirely about the food on Encore compared with Oceania. My bed on the Encore was lovely! Don’t remember the linen being inferior to Oceania but I sailed in September and maybe things have changed since then! Looking forward to Solis next month. So glad Thomas Keller has gone on the Quest.

Interesting! I wonder if they have restarted again.

I agree … classy but not essential… but … there was always a little ‘thrill’ when the package arrived as you knew the cruise was ‘just around the corner’! Not essential but nice!

In the UK we pay far, far higher prices than you do in the US. So, if they are sending out ‘packages’ again I think we should be first on the list!

Sounds like a great idea!

Exactly! London is probably the most multi-cultural city in the UK.

Just to add one more thing to Harters great post please consider the time of year. The Cotswolds and Shakespeare country etc. may be great, but not between Mid July and end of August. School holidays make some places so overcrowded that you might find them not exactly as you’d hoped for. In fact if you can avoid this period in most ‘popular’ places it would be better.

Actually although our cruise leaves September we don’t dock in Istanbul until October 7th or 8th. I’m not that bothered about seeing Istanbul again just don’t want to end up either on a cruise to ‘nowhere’ or one that ‘rotates’ popping into the same few ports again and again!

Checked out the roll calls but they don’t seem to be very active …. maybe we are the only ones booked!

Yes that is odd that your itinerary was changed 7 months before the cruise but other sailings still have Istanbul as a port of call. I just checked on the website and the first cruise with Istanbul departs Athens on July 7th. It will be interesting to see if there are any changes!

Thank you that’s very interesting. Glad you’re not too unhappy with the changes. We are in a position at the moment to cancel for £150 pp, which increases £500pp on April 1st, and our flights are fully refundable. The cruise is B2B Athens to Istanbul, overnight in Istanbul then back to Athens. I’m not sure that any alternative itinerary, especially ending in somewhere like Trieste, would be good for us. Can you tell me how long ago Oceania altered your itinerary please? I personally don’t see much improvement in the area in the near future so I’m really veering towards cancelling.

How recent were your ‘modified’ cruises? We are due to sail on the Riviera 28th September with an overnight in Istanbul which is also an embarkation port. Final payment is due next month, but we only have until the end of this month to cancel at the minimum penalty. Very undecided at the moment.

Land tours are all very well and it would be a far more immersive trip than a cruise. However, just one word of caution if renting a car our motorways have become ‘nightmares’ in the recent past. The traffic has become really heavy in some areas add in the rain and it’s not something pleasurable. It’s not unusual for a ‘delay’ to make a short 2.5 hour journey into one of 3.5 or 4+. Just something to consider. QuestionEverything … I like your idea of your bus with lots of space. Then at least somebody else takes the strain of driving and you can enjoy the scenery!

I’m not a fan of Jaques but I really dislike Mexican! “You can please some of the people some of the time but you can’t please all of the people all of the time” !!!