lovetosew

Even though I brought my own high quality salon shampoo/conditioner with me on my last cruise; my salon hair color still took a beating. The beauty shop ship gal told me it was in the recycled ship water that was the culprit. My blonde/ blonde highlights just faded to drab. Beauty Shop gal gave me a good hot oil treatment and a conditioning shampoo but had to wait till I got home to have a new color done. And we have always brought our own shower soap.

12 inches on the Star. Enough space for a 26 incher Safepac. We had two; one was a soft top the other a firmer top. Kept the firmer one underneath the bed and it fit just fine. We also stored our overheads underneath as well.

Years ago; when we went to see the Anne Frank House we bought the tickets ahead of time through Viator. It is very reliable on on line web site for all types of tours through out the world.

DH and I were also on the same cruise and disappointed that we missed Punta Arenas penguins. We did the Battlefield tour in Stanley just because DH is a battlefield geek. I would have rather have seen the penguins. (I am the only woman who missed her first look at the Palace of Versailles because she was following her DH around the French Army Museum, but that is a whole different thread!) We took advantage of some acupuncture therapy; me for my restless feet when I am trying to get to sleep and DH has a back muscle that bothers him. Dr. Martina Sturm was very good. My disappointment was in the fact that the Sanctuary was closed on our last full port day in Buenos Aires so we could not use the heated therapy beds or the sauna and steam. Even the other part was not working either. Other than that, the cruise was wonderful; came home feeling too full and too well taken care of. By the way, don't feel too sorry for me, I got in the Palace of Versailles on another cruise! By the way for those of us who checked in at the AA counter in Buenos Aires on the 29th for the trip home, WAS THAT NOT A ZOO!

Agree. Check to see that the stone beds are working ALL days you pay for them. We were on the Star Princess and half the time they were cold the other time only half warm. Sea was rough and the pool too rough too use and the therapy pool was not that warm when it was full. We were going around the Horn. Nice facility if all works and worth the cost. The last day in Buenos Aires we stayed on the ship and intended to relax in the spa and it was all shut down; steam rooms, stone beds and the works. Quite a bummer.

We did Kirkwall in 2005 on the Golden but it was more than special for me; since my great grand parents were married in the side chapel of Saint Magnus Cathedral and I could walk down Bridge street and wonder what "flat" they lived in as newly weds before they emigrated to Canada. We had a pint at the Kirkwall Hotel and it was such a great day for me, just to know I had come back and completed the circle so to speak. I would go back and do it again.

We did same in 05' and it was fabulous. We used the Princess tour from the Golden. I remember a long walk from the coach to the seating area which was cramped; much like high school football stadium seating. But it was well worth it. Enjoy.

We began with Princess, then went to river cruising with Viking and Vantage; had a couple of land trips and a foray with NCL and Celebrity and after an aborted trip on a Viking Oceans we are back to Princess. We are looking forward to seeing South America on the Star Princess next February. It is good to shop around and after seven years of not being on a Princess ship it will be interesting to see how they have changed.

We booked thru EZ air same day to Santiago and American had us with only one hour between fights at Dallas Ft Worth. After much thought and much tooth pulling by our TA we are now leaving RDU mid morning and have a six hour layover in Miami to get to Santiago to get to the Star Princess. It is LAN airlines and a 989 Dreamliner--a new plane for us. We are happy not to have to deal with Texas weather in February or any connecting flights that may be associated therein. Now a days it seems that if there is a hint of a storm in one part of the country, the whole aviation system shuts down. Hopefully this new schedule will give us some breathing room.

Attitude, a good bottle of wine, and meeting interesting people is the concept with the food as the underpinning of a great evening. We have met, over the years, some very different people we would not otherwise have met; like in a Japanese open table restaurant in Las Vegas two businessmen and their "dates" for the evening. To this day my DH giggle over this evening and how Midwest we must have looked to them.

Fabulous idea for those of us who may only want one drink before dinner. We are not the types to hang out in the cocktail lounge trying to use up our minimum. With a drink card I would then be tempted to buy a good bottle of wine to carry over a couple of dinners.

Just yesterday after much thought had our TA change our Princess EZ Air from a 1 hour layover in Dallas FortWorth to a 6 hour layover in Miami for our cruise on the Star Princess out of Santiago in Feb 16. We are flying from Raleigh. I just did not want to trust the Dallas weather in February. Now all I have to worry about is a late Feb ice storm in North Carolina. Ha!

We were told that our luggage would be with us on the same tour bus that we would be on for the entire day post embarkation. It made me feel good to know that it would be riding right along underneath us during our tour of Buenos Aires. Our flight is not until later that evening and I was worried that it might be taken to the airport early and dropped off; but my understanding is that it will be on the tour bus with us the entire day until we get to the airport.

We can highly recommend Alla Tours out of St. Petersburg. We used them in 2008 for two full days and had a wonderful guide called Julia. The 6 of us were picked up by a minivan on time and each day she seemed to keep us ahead of the galloping herds in all of the museums and gardens. We were on a NCL Star at the time. So just google Alla Tours. By the way they have a thumbs up on trip advisor; plus many personal recommendations and thank-you's on their web site. Have fun. It is a great city. Alla Tours drivers are very good also and the vans are pristine and brand new so not to worry.

I leave all the good bling at home; except for wearing a very thin gold wedding band that matches DH academy ring. Somehow the idea of my rings ending up in the bottom of the ocean because of a plane crash or being stolen just is not worth it. My traditional wedding rings would be the one thing that I would want passed on to my daughter and grand daughter if tragedy were to befall us on our travels. I have plenty of pretty bling to wear that does not have the sentimental value that my wedding rings do.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. It was just the skirt that I was curious about. DH was going to rent the tux and I thought that I may rent a black velvet long skirt just because I did not want to pack my own. I do my own sewing and certainly have enough to chose from in my own closet from past cruises but in this day and age every piece takes up precious space; so is the skirt lined, does the it drag or is it above ankle length and what is the quality of the fabric used. I am a fan of Chico's clothing line and have my own vintage boucle top with rhinestones from the 50's that I always take to wear; plus I have a stretch velvet sheath that I always take. This trip will be on the Star Princess around the Cape next Feb and am so excited to finally see the end of the world.

Has anyone ever rented a womens outfit from the Princess Cruiseline Formal wear rental web site and what quality was it and how did it fit. Would be interested to know. I am an average Misses size 10/12

Looking forward to using my new G Force dual voltage Hot Pot Kettle on our next Star Princess cruise. It weighs just a pound and boils a max of .5L of water. A little instant coffee in the A.M. should at least get me over the hump until I can get to the buffet for a late breakfast.

We had several; one being the Tulips and Windmills on the old Viking Sky in Mar 2008. We love art and on the day that everyone saw tulips we took the train to the Hague to the Mauritshuis Gallery to see "The Girl With the Pearl Earring". Amsterdam also has the Anne Frank House which is a must see.

The second was our June 2009 down the Dnieper on the old Viking Sun. It gave us a glimpse of the old communism system that is still alive and well; and the youth that are trying hard to break free. We had a special treat. Our cruise director arranged for us to be allowed for us to get off our tour bus to meet the parents of our next door neighbor. He took us to their apartment outside of Stavastopol where he and his wife gave us a special meal. We had entertained Olaf and his wife in our home in NC and the experience was a highlight for us. Olaf then arranged to take us back to the Viking Sun. One English Russian dictionary, much homemade wine and good food. Thank goodness Olaf had a designated driver for it was a Yugo style auto of questionable vintage with no seat belts. Walker and I have looked at the Douro River cruise for a long time and that was one of the things that appealed to us about the VO cruise. It hit on Spain and Portugal.

We to were supposed to be on the VS on the 8th and decided to cancel at the last moment. We were very fortunate to be able to get all of our monies refunded but never the less are still curious as to how the cruise went; we booked a trip on another cruise line for South America in February 2016 and are looking forward to this.

Been watching the Skycam Port of Tallinn and the VS is still sitting in port and is not not scheduled to leave until this evening 11:30 p.m. Tallinn time. It was supposed to leave this a.m. and even yesterday at 5p.m. VS is one sick lady and I feel so sorry for the crew and the passengers past, present and future. We have been given the opportunity to pass on our cruise for which we are grateful and instead of touring Bergen will be watching post debate coverage on Fox News. Our best to all.

We booked with Viking Air to go along with our Homelands Aug 8/15 oceans cruise. It was Delta but because of our cabin class Viking made our TA wait to book with Delta until 60days out before; and not one day before. We could not sit together on one of the longer flight segments and as of this post are still hopeful that we will be lucky to have a seat change. We have always done our own air and perhaps this is a good lesson. Viking needs to change this policy. Cabin class should have no bearing on how we may want to fly.

September 2006 after a great day in Vladivostok Russia, many Vladivostok citizens came down to see the Princess off, standing in the cold and wind awaiting the sail a way. One of the passengers had some streamers{likely for the champagne party) and began to toss them to the people on the dock. They grabbed them and hung on until the streamers broke and ship pulled away. It was very poignant and something that I will always remember. Happy travels.