talltexan

The alternative dining restaurants on Expedition ships are small compared to a “Main Dining Room” table service venue on larger cruise ships. This smaller capacity forces/encourages more diners to use the buffet-style World Cafe, as they are not designed to serve most of the passengers each evening.
Since we enjoy table service we dined there a couple of times, and I chose a nicer top than my daywear, but I didn’t really dress up. If this appeals to you, take a few things to feel a bit more upscale, but don’t plan to eat in the alternatives *every* evening because it is unlikely they will be available every night. 

You may have to ask crew for directions to The Hide — it is (intentionally, I think) a challenge to get to - think speakeasy. We finally managed it using a forward, starboard side elevator, I think, down to the level, then through a closed door.
We went after dinner and were the only ones there. The lone bartender came and rolled the bar cart out of the bow shaped (because it’s literally in the pointy end of the boat!) closet, and made us drinks. Since it turned out to be such a private affair, we asked him about his life on board and his family in the Philippines, and about a baffling “issue” that had happened with an AWOL crew member the day before. It was a very interesting experience that wouldn’t have taken place in a regular bar, I think. 

On 5/27/2022 at 7:29 PM, mtnestr2011 said:

For those who’ve been on the Great Lakes trips, is Viking offering tenders/shuttles to and from a walkable section of town or just to and from excursions? Is it possible to stay in town following an excursion and catch a later shuttle back to the ship?

There are shuttles traveling from the docks in Milwaukee and Detroit to somewhere in the cities (and back) but since these are large cities, it's questionable whether your excursion will pass where the shuttle drop/pickup point is. Guest services on board will be able to tell you the address for the shuttle point. I'm pretty sure an Uber or Lyft can get you to the shuttle, it just depends on whether you're willing to pay for what could be a long ride.

On 5/18/2022 at 5:06 PM, CTLeeA said:

Hi..we're going in June same cruise:  my wife has some mobility issues...thinking the zodiac would not be a good idea since she had 2 knee replacements and can't lift her legs that far.  What about the Sep. Ops boat?  Viking says it's filled up but we should ask when onboard.  Are umbrellas provided?  Any hints or suggestions will be appreciated.  One difference betw. Cele and V...celebrity will pay for hotel and meals to a limit, if you contract Covid while onboard and must debark.  Viking says we're on our own under the same circumstances.

I did not get in a Zodiac, or watch one launch, so I can't speak to that.

The Special Ops vessel is not hard to get into. There is a step down from a platform into the boat of less than a foot, and I imagine help could be given to get your wife up and down that one step. Since the boat is still inside the hangar of the ship, it is not rocking in the water during boarding. There are several videos on YouTube that show it in use. This one shows the door in the side that opens, and the platform you'd be stepping from, at about 55 seconds on the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yfmJ-c0j7E

Viking has umbrellas available, as well as binoculars in each cabin.

It's my understanding that trip insurance would reimburse you for hotel and meals if the local laws demand that a Covid positive passenger be put off the ship, rather than quarantined in a cabin on board. It is not Viking's decision, but they must abide by rules of the location.

On 4/29/2022 at 10:03 AM, LadyVol1 said:

Sunflower & The Scientist - I don’t know your UV answer. We live in Lee’s Summit. I would love it if you would email me a copy of a sea day daily program and take a photo of the non-treadmill cardio equipment in the gym in August. (Does each piece have a tv with it?) I’m interested in free “sweaty” fitness classes (if there are any) and the daily program should show this. Thanks in advance! janet AT haskett DOT org

We were on the Octantis last week. I didn't use the gym, but we walked in at looked at what we were taking a vacation from 😉 There are no TV screens on the equipment, but most of it does face the windows with a fabulous view of the water outside. No exercise classes were offered, and there were no sea days planned for our Milwaukee --> Toronto voyage. We got a sea day when we missed Alpena due to high winds, so they added a couple of lectures in the Aula, and scenic sailing of Lake Huron.

If you search Octantis on YouTube, several people have posted video of a walk-through of the ship, including the gym, so you can look for yourself at what is there. 

1 hour ago, delee78 said:

I booked my Highclere tickets in January for our August 2019 cruise.   It was the first ticket that I purchased - even before airfare.  Another recommendation if you book the morning session.  The grounds open at 9:30 but the castle doesn't open until 10:30.  Get in the queue for the castle by 10am!  We walked the grounds for an hour and then decided to get in line.  Oh boy - big mistake! 

Thanks, delee -- good to know!

6 hours ago, dpws said:

Tickets are available around 6 months in advance, keep an eye on the website and book online

Thanks DP. 

For others who might also be planning for next summer, I also finally received a reply from a Highclere representative, who stated that next summer’s tickets may be available as soon as October on their website. We shall see. 

In our case, we need to plan this excursion in order to choose our flight dates. 

The internet has not been helpful -- can a Brit here tell me when I will be able to purchase tickets for August of 2020 to tour Highclere Castle? Our cruise departs Aug 9, so I'll be planning our arrival from the US around booking a Wednesday or Thursday visit to Oxford. 

We were notified by Grand Circle on Aug 16 that our Aug 29 Budapest to Bucharest cruise was canceled. All monies (including that paid for trip insurance) will be refunded. We received a $500 each credit for a future trip (land, ocean, or river) valid for two years. Since the Aria is “trapped” above Budapest, there were no other options for the company to accommodate us. Very disappointing, but understandable in these conditions.

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We used Uber from the airport to our hotel near Boston Commons this week, it was also less than $15. Look for signs in the airport directing you to the "Ride App/TPN Lot". Once you're there you can summon your ride and have an easily accessible place to locate each other.

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We’ve cruised a number of times, but haven’t been in the position that prompts these questions before now. DH, DD, and I have booked a cabin on Liberty for Christmas week. Not the best time to cruise, I know, but it’s the only week DD has off. I did the booking myself on the website, and at the time there were no balconies available, or midship anything (my preference), and Guarantee was not even offered – which I thought was odd. I chose an OV at the stern, since so few cabins were left. I did get a Buy One, Get One Half Off price (BOGOHO?) so the bottom line is I’m happy to have any space on a cruise ship with my family.

Ideally, I’d hope to upgrade soon to midship OV or any balcony, at or before the 90 day point when some folks may surrender their reserved cabins. This creates questions, and I trust the collective knowledge here more than at RCI Customer Service.

1. Am I wrong to hope that I can upgrade (even at a higher cost) on a holiday cruise? If so, the rest of the questions won’t matter.

2. I’m assuming it’s better to ask/arrange this before MY final payment, correct?

3. Should I phone RCI and ask to be put on awaitlist for a better cabin or cabin position, or wait and watch the website until something shows up, and call to request a specific cabin?

4. If I ask for a change, do you think I’ll lose the BOGOHO? That’s not a deal-killer, but will be a factor in weighing my options.

Thanks for your help!

This happened to us back in November 2015. My travel agent was very limited in what the 'travel agent' channel could do. I personally contacted Vicki Freed, VP of Sales and Marketing.....and someone from her department contacted me.....it took them days to resolve it.

 

Vicki Freed's email address is:vfreed@rccl.com.

 

I would send an email NOW to Vicki Freed and copy your travel agent. Put every detail you have including RESERVATION number, complete names, cabin number, including the fact that you have another cabin booked for your kids that was NOT cancelled. The fear you have is REAL about the reassignment of your cabin to another booking (because as you say, they take reservations all the time).

 

Send the email NOW. Alert them to the fact that your fear is that someone will book the cabin you HAD ON YOUR RESERVATION. They can take the cabin out of inventory, while they fix the rest.

 

All the other items like reservations, they will be able to fix as well.

 

Good luck.

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Don't know. They do have surge pricing.

Wrong nomenclature on my part -- surge was what I was referring to. Thanks again 138.

You're arriving during rush hour.

 

You're choices are taxi or Uber, which is less expensive.

Taxi from Logan to the Park Plaza should run $30-35.

Taxi to the port should be $15-20.

 

Uber from Logan to the Park Plaza should run $20-25.

Uber to the port should be $10-15.

Great, thanks.

Does Boston Uber charge extra during rush like NYC?

What time of day would you be doing this?

Our *scheduled* arrival at the airport is around 4:00, but let's just assume we won't be leaving there until sometime after 6:00 pm Thursday.

Cruise day on Saturday we'd probably want to head over to the pier between 11:00 and noon.

Two of us are flying to Boston on Sept 14, leaving on a HAL cruise Sept 16. Since it's a two week cruise we will each have a large suitcase and a carry-on (don't judge :)) so I don't think public transit is best for us. What is the best way to get from the airport to a Theater District hotel (Park Plaza @ Arlington) and also from the hotel to the cruise terminal, and your best guess on costs?

there are a couple of us that dont have an i phone but have the internet package what app do they use?

Are you asking about using the internet through your smartphone, or how to message your companions using the internet without an iPhone?

Based on what I read here on CC I was expecting notification on our Liberty cruise last week (2/5) for which Ice Show performance to attend. We didn't receive anything, so we just went to the theater 25 minutes prior to showtime. Got a great seat, and as it turned out not all the seats were filled. It was definitely worth waiting for.

Do you know if Nathan Osmond is still on the Liberty? We sail on Sunday and I've been a huge Osmond fan since I was little!

He was not performing on Liberty last week (2/5/17 - 2/12/17)

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Definitely contact Princess ahead of time, just to see what they say. In the case of a death, some companies are very accommodating. I hope I never need to know, but I will be interested to hear what you learn. Please tell us here.

You didn't ask for this kind of information, but it occurs to me that with three women sharing a cabin your experience might be a bit different than traveling with just DH! The best advice I can offer is to get a dollar store fabric shoe hanger to hang on the inside of the bathroom door. Everyone's beauty/body/bath products can tuck in there, be seen and accessed easily, and all without taking up counter space around the sink. Happy sailing!

The crew don't get any time off.

They help with all the changes that have to take place -- painting, scrubbing, you name and they have to do it.

And there are times when there is no AC.

Well, I hope that's a welcome change and maybe there is a party atmosphere to the different work they'll do this week, with some shore leave involved. Even though it's only a short drydock I thought more of them would get time off. This may create some interesting conversations with crew on our May 12 sailing. (Well, interesting to me anyway)

Well, that departure was fun to watch! I was surprised to see so many crew on deck. I wonder if they have a choice where to spend this time off: Florida or Bahamas. Do any of you know their procedure?

Our cabin assignment didn't show up, but we did get an upsell offer for our May 12 Amsterdam sailing today (13 days out), resulting in a cabin assignment when we took the bait.

I think $10 pp/day was a good price to upgrade from an HH guarantee (obstructed view, Lower Promenade) to a C (unobstructed view) on a 15 day cruise. We were surely one of the last cabins sold for this cruise, as the website showed it completely sold out about four hours after our purchase. Whew. I feel like I won the lottery!

Bid accepted for a 4 star hotel in the Times Square/Theater District on July 25 for $140 (about $175 with taxes). It is the Marriott Renaisssance Times Square, normally priced at $299 per night. TripAdvisor.com even gives it 5 stars. I'm thrilled!