fairydustca

2 hours ago, kopykat said:

Only a 25% discount for 5*

You're correct. I forgot Rudi's doesn't get the discounts like the other specialty restaurants.

6 hours ago, BSR said:

I have a lot OBC to spend so I'm thinking of trying Rudi's for the first time. Any recommendations?

My husband got the hot smoked salmon appetizer last time which is brought under a smoke filled glass dome which the waiter removes at the table and the aroma fills the air--it was heaven.  We will be on the Koninsgdam next week and I can't wait to order that! We love lobster so usually get that as an entree,  but I may try the Dover sole that everyone raves about. Make a reservation early or you will only have 8pm or later.  There are only about 10-12 tables and it fills up.  Take your time... it's at least 1.5 -2 hour experience. Bon Appetit!

1 hour ago, Ready2go11 said:

We always eat at least one night at Rudi’s when available. We enjoy the premium menu items you cannot get in other venues on ship and it feels special to us. I celebrated my birthday on board earlier this month by dining at Rudi’s and they brought me a fish shaped chocolate mousse cake (that is a square shaped in other restaurants on board to celebrate special occasions). I appreciated the special touch. 
 

It is a 25% discount for 4* and 5* off the base price (no discount on 18% added service charge). My discount was refunded to my on board account since I booked online ahead of the cruise. 
 

Also, the recent pricing changes (effective in Sept 2023 I think) include an up charge above the dining cost for lobster and dover sole. 

Everything is getting so expensive,  I'm not surprised they are charging an upcharge on certain items. I really appreciate the special touches also. Carnival Corp. still has alot of losses to recoup. The stock price is still very low, but not at the all time low it was during covid. Frankly,  I'm surprised we are not getting charged the fuel supplement they can charge us.  The good news is-people are cruising again!

18 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

I'm a solo cruiser, as are the friends I cruise with (each in our own stateroom) but we'd never deny ourselves the nicer dining experiences using your logic.  Life's too short. On our upcoming 11 night cruise I think 8 nights will be in specialty dining.  I've not eaten in the main dining room in close to 20 years and may never return there for dinners, but it's just fine as a choice for people who like it.  

 

Sue/WDW1972

Agree! Life is short! Enjoy yourself whatever you choose. We have loved Rudi's. These are  French-inspired meals that I would probably not prepare myself. As far as Canaletto, I am 100% Italian and a fairly experienced home cook and really did not care for the food there or the atmosphere. Of course, I'll admit to being more critical about Italian food since I was raised on it. We have eaten at Canaletto because it is sometimes comped.  But to us it was very similar to Olive Garden.

3 hours ago, Cruisepucks said:

DH and I dined in Rudi’s for the first time this past May on the Nieuw Statendam as we had OBC to use up.

One and done for us. In the first hour we’d only received a glass of water and one glass of wine each. All told, it took 2 1/2 hrs to complete our meal. Our server had only one other table for 2 so he wasn’t overly busy. I was so looking forward to the Dover Sole as I’d frequently read on cc about how good it was. It was ok but the fish dishes served in the mdr were far superior on this voyage. DH had the seafood grill. The scallops were raw in the centre and had a strong fishy taste to them. 
 

We did report our issues on the Navigator. The next day,  while having lunch in the pg, the manager approached us to discuss our experience and did offer a complimentary dinner at Rudi’s that evening, the last night of the voyage. We declined as we like to dine in the mdr on the last night to thank our wonderful servers. 

That's so unfortunate! Maybe it depends on the ship and the management on that ship? We have usually cruised on the Koningsdam and have always had a wonderful experience. I hope things have not gone downhill since we were last on. We have Rudi's reservations on a cruise next week and again in December. Since HAL does not have a Chef's Table, we usually really enjoy Rudi's. If November is bad, we will probably cancel the December reservation.

On 10/25/2023 at 12:53 PM, electro said:

Anyone else find that outrageously expensive for a cruise ship restaurant? That is $90 Cad. per person not including drinks.

It is pricey, but we find it worth it.  The last couple of times we cruised, we were served 14 oz. impeccably prepared lobster tails along with all of the other delicious courses like foie gras and oysters. Lobster in our area is usually over $30/lb. if you want to prepare it yourself. Actually, every meal we've had there has been wonderful and the service is very personal and highly attentive. If you are 3 or 4 star Mariner you do get at 25% or 50% discount which does help make it more affordable. The biggest problem is trying to get a reservation. It always fills up early.

Agree with another poster...spend some time strolling around Piazza Navona. The fountains are beautiful, and the area is great for cappuccino or wine and people-watching!

Have a wonderful trip. We love HAL, especially the music venues. We will be on a similar trip on Viking in February!

On 5/19/2023 at 10:04 AM, lana094 said:

It's a really nice offer, but the deposit is super high and become unrefundable after two weeks

I just checked this offer. It is still available, but my Cali cruise in November for a balcony ends up costing $400 more than I paid and I booked an aft-facing balcony which are no longer available for pricing. Seems like their "deals" all end up costing about the same in the end by the time you add it all up. I do like to upgrade the drink package because it also includes unlimited specialty coffees and waters, which were counted as part of your 15 drink limit the last time we cruised on HAL in December. That was a recent change. Not sure if they are still doing that.

4 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Great idea!

We'd definitely be interested in sharing a van to return to the ship on Day 2.  Keep us in mind.

Kent and Pam

Definitely! Sounds like a plan!

20 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

Hi Hobson.  Definitely interested in sharing transport from Rome to the ship.  Initially thinking of 2 nights in Rome but realize that is not enough. No matter if we arrive at 8 am or 3 pm we are going to be beat.  That leaves only one day to explore.  My DH has never been there.  The last time i was there really dates me.  It was with a travel study group in 1968 and we pretty much saw everything with privledged access.  I look forward to seeing it through wiser eyes and more freedom.

 

Never been to Venice and happy that we are there 2 nights.  From what i read, people like Chioggia and also say the Viking transport is via boat, takes 1:20 +/- plus the ride is scenic.  Hope this scenario continues.  As far as day 2 in Venice, Viking has allowed people to stay overnight there so I don't see why they would not allow a group to return late.  Asking never hurts.    

Hi Lorna, 

This is Fairydustca, (Denise & John) not Hobson, although Hobson will be a shipmate on this cruise 🙂. Yes, originally we were thinking of just doing Viking's Rome extension, but 2 days is not enough after let lag from Cali. Then we decided on 4 nights or 5 nights.  We want to take the train to the wine region south of Rome and that will be one entire day itself. It will be nice to not be on a strict schedule and be able to take walks and eat  locally. 

I hope we can work it so we get to spend the day and have dinner in Venice. Such a wonderful city to walk around in at night.

We have never been to Greece and are also planning to stay an extra 2-3 nights in Athens on our own because otherwise we will just be shuttled to the airport in the morning to fly home and not really see Athens at all. I'm carefully following this Live thread and so looking forward to this cruise! It's great to have other cruisers to collaborate with!

On 3/18/2023 at 9:09 AM, CCWineLover said:

Hi Hobson1754 and Lorna:

We are also doing legs 2 and 3 next February/March (Rome-Venice; Venice-Athens).  We have some familiarity with this Viking Mediterranean segment trips schedules.   Last year we boarded in Rome and went to Barcelona (and then on to San Juan).   

Livorno (Florence)

This was our first port after Rome Livorno.  It is NOT a turnover port, but you stay overnight and have 2 full days.  We did excursions both days.  Day 1 we just did the included tour to Pizza.  We wanted to do Lucca, but it was sold out.  (This was back when you had to do Viking excursions - no independent).  2nd day we did the full day Florence tour.  So you'll have 2 full days. 

Rome

Rome, however, is just a day on Viking's schedule.  When we board in Rome (actually Civitavecchia), we leave that evening.  We met people who went from Venice to Barcelona and they did a full day tour in Rome that day.  We knew that if you board in Rome (ore disembark), the only way to see Rome is to do Viking's extensions or do it yourself.  We did 4 days in Rome on our own ahead of time - and loved it.   We took a car hire service (reasonable price) during the boarding day from Rome to Civitavecchia.  It took 90 minutes with no traffic.  Long ways.  Keep that in mind.

Venice

We also had friends who did the stay onboard in Venice (3 days in Chioggia).  Things are still in such flux that any excursions "listed" in Viking's website may or may not be offered.  Our hope is to do Viking excursions on day 1, perhaps do it yourself on day 2, and walk around Chioggia on the short day 3.  I'm intrigued as someone said Chioggia was really quite a nice place to visit, eat, etc. and not touristy!   Viking may/likely offer some excursions onboard on day for those who are continuing through (while some passengers disembark and others get onboard).  However, my understanding is that hose wouldn't be known or available until once we are on board.  People on this thread have also seemed to confirm this.  That's why we'll stay flexible on day 2.

Hope that helps!  See you onboard next February.

Kent

Hi Hobson, Lorna and CC WineLover! We are also doing legs 2 and 3 next February/March (Rome-Venice; Venice-Athens). We will be arriving 4-5 days early  to spend time on our own in Rome and will take our own transport to meet the ship. If anyone wants to share transport from Rome to Civitavecchia please let us know

We will probably do the included excursion  of Chioggia on Day 1 in Venice if it is offered. On day 2 since those of us on the B2B will have the entire day, I'm hoping we can use one -way Viking transport into Venice (not sure if this is by bus or boat). We loved Venice and would like to stay into the evening rather than return back in the afternoon with the scheduled tours. It looks like a private minivan can be hired for up to 7 people for around $175-$200. We are figuring others will be interested in this option and staying later in Venice. Does Viking allow only using their transport for one-way?

Looking forward to sailing together next year!

21 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

 

I can verify that it worked for me - good deal - for the Feb 2024 Italy, Adriatic, & Greece Itinerary, as we booked today.  $25 deposit and no final payment until summer.   Our TA said she's been absolutely swamped since yesterday - super high demand.  I guess Viking's promos are working.  The 2024 dates were particularly popular as Viking usually doesn't give the promos a year or more ahead of time.

I tentatively booked this same cruise. They are trying to give me a much earlier final payment date. May I ask you when your final payment is due? Did you just ask them to extend it and they agreed? Thanks!

On 2/1/2023 at 1:57 PM, milling73 said:

If anyone sees a promo code for Southern Atlantic Crossing cruise for Nov 2023 -- Please POST it!!  The code that is active now TAS23 is free air, cabin upgrade, special rate..and is a very good deal.  But it is for the March 2023 cruise Only.  

 

Thank you!!

 

 

milling 73, This cruise is on the new promo... code WMD23, but no free air (haha...the code made me think of Weapons of Mass Destruction!)

44 minutes ago, jazznpool said:

Is there Viking River code alternative to VHT22?  My girlfriend and I receive no benefit from upgraded beverage package.  I booked Rhine Getaway for September 2022.  I called Viking and the sales person said they cannot modify but said there was a different code that went out around Nov 25 (but of course they will not tell you what the code is).  The beverage upgrade is valued at $150 per person.  We’d much rather have ship credit!  
 

I have until Tuesday to fund.  I’m going to see if there is a direct benefit to have AAA travel take over my booking.  I was told the last time I would have received $100 per person ship credit.  I assume no downside.
 

 Thank you in advance.

Jazznpool, I just received a brochure today for river cruises thru 1/31/23 "free airfare, $25 deposit, reduced fares". I don't know if it will be a better deal or not: RJE23. Good luck!

9 minutes ago, rizello said:

We are on the Viking Baldur and sailing through the Rhine now.  Ship bypassed Kinderdijk and bussed guests to Kinderdijk and then we picked everyone up in Wesel and are now sailing towards Cologne.  We will learn more later about what happens next.  

Watching you cruise carefully. Thank you for the update.

notamermaid, 

Thanks for all your advice posted here. Most of it is way above my head! I know you don't have a crystal ball, but do you expect things to get better or worse in August? We are booked on Viking Magni Budapest to Amsterdam sailing 8/28/22 and not sure whether to postpone or not. BTW, are you a riverboat captain?

3 hours ago, Daisi said:

Hearing from travellers who left Amsterdam (probably last week, I think they are home now?) who couldn't get past Koblenz. For the one continuing on to Basel, Avalon had them pack their bags, bussed them to Heidelberg, which was the next excursion, put them on a day cruise so they could see the middle Rhine, then bussed them to Keil where their new ship was waiting. There was also a monetary compensation.  I hope it rains, but you will need a lot from pictures I'm seeing, which won't make your cruise that nice, so at least you know Avalon is doing it's best with the situation. Good luck!

Daisi, do you know which cruise line they were sailing on?

22 minutes ago, Haqdeluxe said:

She might be right that rain in Massachusetts can have an effect on rivers in Europe... I  mean maybe! 🤷 But I suspect it will be some time before any effects get there. 🤦

😄

14 minutes ago, steamboats said:

@Canal archive it´s the same with almost all river cruise companies. My example was a US company for a river cruise in the US. But you can call a German river cruise company and those folks answering the phone don´t have a clue about river gauges and such either.

 

steamboats

Yup. I called Viking yesterday to find out when the last day was that I could change the date on my August cruise. She seemed like a very friendly and kind person. She asked why I wanted to change and I told her we were concerned about water levels on the Grand European cruise and ships not being able to navigate parts of the rivers. She stated "No worries, there are no water level problems happening on that cruise right now. Nothing has been reported". She went on to tell me that it was raining and flooding where she lives in Massachsetts. She was not aware at all about what was happening in Europe. 

19 minutes ago, blag said:

Very few ships currently sailing as far as that. 

I suugest you use CruiseMapper to see how many cruise ships are parked at Budapest. 

We are embarking in Budapest 8/28 and ending in Amsterdam  I wonder how this will affect cruises in that direction?

On 1/2/2022 at 8:42 AM, Guindalf said:

I'm starting this thread out of curiosity. This is intended as a no judgement zone, so keep your opinions to yourself.

 

All I'd like to know is whether you have decided to cancel or keep your booking and cruise. So if you've made that decision, please go ahead and tell us...

 

Date of sailing:

Cancel or Cruise:

Rebooked or not? Other travel plans:

Comment on why you made the decision (if you want) without bashing anyone who made a different choice:

 

I would ask you to respect each other. neither choice is right or wrong, just personal.

Date of Sailing:  January 15, 2022

Cancel or Cruise: Cancelled

Rebooked or not? Other travel plans: We have 4 other cruises still coming up in 2022

Comment on why you made the decision (if you want) without bashing anyone who made a different choice: Just decided even though vaxxed and boosted it wasn't worth the risk being 72 and 64  years young. Next cruise is 4/3/22 and we will be monitoring the situation.

On 9/21/2021 at 7:56 AM, roxybear135 said:

That's the real issue.  It differs from person to person and you can't get a consistent, definitive answer.  We had issues with the limitations on the standard beverage package on our cruise a month ago because we ordered a bunch of water bottles and they rang up some of mine on my fiance's card so he went over the limit.  Guest services was no help with resolving the issue and even the beverage director wasn't sure what the packages actually included.  I showed him what was on the HAL site (which still said the standard beverage package includes 15 alcoholic drinks and unlimited non-alcoholic drinks) and he finally took off the overage charges.  He said the website was outdated and he hadn't been able to get them to update it but agreed that was a HAL issue and we shouldn't be charged for the overages on water bottles.

 

We have another cruise booked for the end of December and are thinking about buying the elite package but don't think it's worth spending the extra money on that over the standard one unless the non-alcoholic drinks are actually unlimited.  The last thing we want to do is spend our vacation counting how many bottles of water we've consumed.

We've been trying to figure out the same thing. If anyone finds out the answer to this, can you please post it. Don't mind upgrading to Elite if non-alcoholic beverages are not included in the 15.

THANKS!!!!!

2 hours ago, dh1drill said:

Has anyone herd if California is allowing B2B cruising.

Ok, just got off the phone with HAL after 45 minutes. She double checked with supervisors and reservation desk and said that as of 2-3 days ago they it was determined that if you are fully vaccinated it is OK to do the B2Bs. I think  you have to be fully vaccinated to sail HAL anyway. This is for HAL only.

I have B2Bs on HAL Koningsdan 10/24, 10/31, and 11/7 out of San Diego and people on our roll call said HAL is cancelling their B2Bs due to CDC restrictions. They are not even notifying everyone, its just been word of mouth (or CC roll call board). I'm on hold with HAL right now to check.

We are on the 11/8/19 PC NCL cruise that canceled Puntarenas and replaced it with Acapulco.   We cruise often.  I understand that sometimes "sh!t happens", but I have to say going to Costa Rica was one of the highlights of this cruise. We are from SoCal and have cruised to Acapulco a few times on Mexican Riviera cruises. We are avid travelers and are fairly "streetwise" and usually like to socialize with the locals when we travel.  There are some beautiful areas  of Acapulco but it has never felt as safe as the other Mexican ports ( Puerto Vallarta,  Mazatlan, Cabo, La Paz, Zihuatanejo, Costa Maya) .  The last time we went was about 5-6 years ago and we felt very uncomfortable walking around the streets near the port. 

Frankly I'm surprised that NCL chose to substitute Acapulco since all of the mainstream cruise lines have stopped going there several years ago.  They even stopped going to Zihuatanejo and La Paz and those ports seemed very safe when we used to go there, although they are now in the "travel advisory" zone.  I do feel that this was a bit of a "bait and switch" on NCL's part but I guess we have no recourse.