remydiva

Seems Regal will basically be the same as Royal ... no major changes.

Well that is good to know as there had been some talk here that Princess surely would correct these " mistakes" .

IF I book on either the Regal or the Royal, i will definitely, not book mid ships like I usually do, as we always use the stairs.

On our 5 day cruise earlier this month, we met two couples who had been on the Royal and they both said "never again" for all the reasons others have voiced.

A real shame to hear that.:(

After reading countless comments and complaints about the Royal, many wondered here on CC if changes would be made in the new Regal design.

As I look at the Regal deck plans, it still looks to me that there is NO staircase midships for passengers. Also it appears that the outdoor promenade deck Deck 7 does NOT go all around the ship.

Can anyone on her or has been on her comment? :confused:

They haven't. What the OP is talking about is that the ship captains, after passing the northern tip of Vancouver Island, have a tendency to travel through Hecate Strait in the center of the strait which is 55 - 80 miles wide instead of hugging the coastline or going throughout the smaller Grenville Channel.

 

I have no knowledge but I don't know if you can compare Holland America lines since there ships are considerable smaller than the other mass market lines.

I have two questions:

I know this has been discussed before but I can't remember the answer. How many outlets are in the cabins that are available for US voltage, current, whatever?

And, how do you go about printing out your boarding passes at the end of the trip? I was thinking there must be a huge rush with everyone leaving at the same time.

thank you.

I cant recall how many US outlets..some one will no doubt have a pic...but there were enough for our needs ie. ipad and computer.

As far as printing boarding passes, I always travel with a " thumb drive" ie. a mini stick that fits into my netbook USB port.

After I check in online, i save my boarding pass to a folder ( rather than print) onto the thumb drive, then took it to the passenger desk on the ship where they inserted my thumb drive into their computer and printed our boarding passes on their office computer.

I ended up doing this for all four couples in our travel group as no one else thought of it.

And because we travel with carry on ONLY, we bypassed the long line ups at 5 am in budapest at check in and just walked to the gate lounge area, boarding pass in hand. :D

That's good to hear. May we ask if the ship's staff knew you were an editor at CC? Because if so your experience might not be similar to the average Joe.

I will be interested in knowing as well...

While on our Dec/Jan 2013 Danube cruise, we met a solo traveler who admitted they were a cruise travel writer (not for CC). We asked him if the crew knew he was going to be writing about his experience and he said he had not made them aware of who he was.

BUT he said, in his experience, they usually were pretty astute in picking out who was travelling alone and therefore who 'might' be a travel writer. :rolleyes:

Since he traveled a lot, his wife was not able to accompany him on most trips.

remydiva...Perfect!....Thank-you for sharing

Wow....i sure feel the love!

I am so glad my quirky habit might prove comforting and helpful to my fellow CCers. Glad to share as i know how often I have picked up tips here.

Happy travels to all!

That taking a picture of the spot is brilliant! Why didn't I think of that five years ago? Could have saved aggravation lol

I would love to take full credit for this brilliant idea but I learned it from a youngun nephew who was a world traveler.

When digital cameras first came out and he was wandering somewhere in Korea I think, he had the foresight to have taken a photo of where he needed to be and showed it to someone to 'ask' for help. :confused:

No English spoken so it was a god send and I thought 'aHa! I'm going to remember that trick!'

My questions are answered. thank you. I will be sure to note where our return bus is located. I do not have the remotest sense of direction and can get turned around easily especially when the streets are windy. Something similar happened to us in Bath and I was very worried that I would miss the bus back to London. It was truly scary.

I always take a photo of where the guide tells us to meet and I write down the location and time in a small coil book.

Then if I get lost, my reasoning is that I would show the photo (from my digital camera, iPhone or iPad depending on what I used) to someone and have the note of 'in front of Tabanac Pub 2pm' to ask for help.

I never needed it, but always glad I had it.

Many times we have come off a bus, listened to the talk, gotten busy taking pics and not really paying close attention to where we are. Taking the photo of the meeting place makes me pay closer attention to WHERE and WHEN and not getting too swept away in the moment of seeing, for instance, the Cologne Cathedral and going 'OMG I gotta get in there NOW' and losing my sense of direction.

just my two cents worth of advice :)

There is no sushi at Vines on the Royal.

 

Cheers, Denise

Great sushi on the Star!

If some cruisers "only" washed their hands correctly after going to the toilet, we wouldn't have Noro Virus on cruise ships. Yes, the majority of cruisers do wash their hands, and yes, staff at various dining room entry points, squirt the hand wash onto your hands before entering, however, how do you equate for the persons, who have bad hygiene habits, too lazy to wash their hands after going to the toilet.

Gives a whole new meaning to the term " poop deck" :eek:

I was also on the cruise. The line for immigration was ridiculously long!

Interesting how Van to SF is so different than LA to Van.

The last two times we have hit Canadian soil after leaving a US port, we just filled out our customs declaration ( same form whether a canadian resident or a visitor) and handed in to our steward or passenger services.

Then the Canadian customs had all the forms in advance to peruse. There was no line up to pass thru except there were agents in the terminals who were doing " spot" checks we were told.

Wonder why the US customs cant handle things the same way when the journey is in reverse?

Thank you to everyone for the great posts. We have been busy and are way behind in our planning so you have all been a godsend.

 

Question: Do you really need to book the optional tours beforehand or do they pretty much accommodate everyone that wants to go?

 

Thanks much

You answered your own question correctly...book on board and they usually can accommodate everyone.

I forgot to mention earlier that the most traveled passenger on our 5 day had 1007 days at sea! wow....

so much for me thinking it was mostly first timers!

Partial quote

 

 

Hi remydiva. Thanks very much for your post. When I'm on board a ship, power failure gets my attention far more than an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness. I would have thought that any change in fuel would have been addressed in advanced by the ship - so, why was it taken by surprise resulting in engine failure.

 

I'm not certain your comment regarding the elevators is correct: when all power is lost, don't the elevators stop where they are due to loss of power? Please correct me if I am wrong on this, but I wouldn't count on the elevators returning to deck 7 and having the doors open automatically. (There may be an elevator available to emergency teams that works off the emergency generator, but passengers should not count on ALL elevators reaching deck 7 in the event of a complete power failure.) Correction welcome. Thanks, Salacia

again,quoting from Captain McBain...in an effort to fill the time during his updates no doubt, he explained that due to some California regulations, the ships have to use a lighter fuel when cruising closer to shore...he mentioned some phrase like ?CARP. Once farther out to sea, ie. 28 miles, they can switch the engines to run on a heavier fuel . Not being a marine engineer, I imagine the heavier fuel must be ?cheaper otherwise why would the change be needed at all.

it was during this changeover that two of the engines didn't cooperate.

while in San Fran they said Marine Engineers would be inspecting everything to make sure all systems were fine for the next and future cruises. Captain McBain said while 'these things can happen', it had never happened to him during his 2.5 yrs on the Star.

We are off the ship and home now. New way of disembarkation which they call 'Silent' so no announcements in the hall or your room about 'we have been given the all clear to disembark so check your colored tags' etc. It ...was....silent.

So don't be waiting in your room for all clear...watch your clock, and go to your appointed waiting areas. Actually, we didn't even have to do that...we walked down to the 7th floor at the appointed time and because we only had carryon, they let us leave right then and there. Easiest disembarkation EVER.

again apologies and by now, the weekend party has begun!

Weds nite the Code Red was downgraded to Code Yellow so the buns and S/P were back on the table and Captain McBain said a big thank you to all the staff for their vigilant cleaning. He also thanked the passengers for doing their part too. He anticipated that we would be back to normal aka Code Green by Vancouver so I would assume that is so.

There was only 1400 on board so truly only half full.

Captain McBain said he has been on the Star for 2.5 yrs (as way of comment to one earlier poster)

Partial quote

 

 

Hi remydiva. Thanks very much for your post. When I'm on board a ship, power failure gets my attention far more than an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness. I would have thought that any change in fuel would have been addressed in advanced by the ship - so, why was it taken by surprise resulting in engine failure.

 

I'm not certain your comment regarding the elevators is correct: when all power is lost, don't the elevators stop where they are due to loss of power? Please correct me if I am wrong on this, but I wouldn't count on the elevators returning to deck 7 and having the doors open automatically. (There may be an elevator available to emergency teams that works off the emergency generator, but passengers should not count on ALL elevators reaching deck 7 in the event of a complete power failure.) Correction welcome. Thanks, Salacia

Just checking cC now so apologize for the delay.for some reason my thread subscription didn't 'take' so i missed the new posts

The elevator safety measures was what Captain McBain told us during one of his updates so I can only assume it is correct.

live from the May 4-9 LA to Vancouver Coastal with stops in San Francisco and Victoria...UPDATES

Good news…the Star Princess…knock wood…is finally free of Noro. Captain Todd McBain (yeah Canada eh?) announced that only one case had been reported after the deep cleaning of the Star in Los Angeles prior to our boarding Sunday May 4. The Captain said while this was good news, the extra efforts of cleaning would continue for another 72 hrs to reduce/eradicate the ‘cross contamination’ that had been occurring with the virus contaminating one cruise following another.

We have seen these continued efforts as our room steward has a bucket with some liquid cleaner that he uses each and every time he enters our room. ALL bathroom necessities were removed from the bathrooms and ship such as toilet paper rolls, Kleenex and all towels. For the first day our supplies were limited as they had to restock from new supplies in LA.

While sitting in Crooners, we noticed the bar staff carrying the same yellow buckets and wiping the tops of tables after each one is vacated as well as redoing the vacant ones. Staff are continually cleaning the handrails, public phones, the walls around the public phones etc. In the MDR, no S/P on the table, buns being passed out by wait staff which is fine by me.

However, we did have some excitement of sorts. On our first sea day at 8:15 am the ship experienced a complete power failure as the engines were changed over from using a light fuel that is required by California laws to the heavier fuel used once safely farther away from the coast. Two engines did not start so the other two were overloaded and quit. Emergency generators kicked in maintaining power to the rooms (and TV) and to the toilets (yeah).

Captain McBain came on the intercom every 15 mins to give updates and to reassure everyone that the US Coast Guard had been notified and we were safe. Luckily it was a lovely sunny day and the waters were calm. After about 90 mins, all four engines were restarted but it took many more hours for all the computer servers to be rebooted thus MUTS was down till later in the afternoon.

Interesting to note, in the event of any power failure, all elevators are designed to return to the 7th floor and doors open so no one was caught.

Our one port day so far, San Francisco, had perfect weather with clear blue skies and sunshine with temps I would guess about 23C. While in San Francisco, marine engineers inspected the ship’s engines etc to make sure that all was good to go.

Juggler/comedian Mike Price is excellent. Comedien Steve Bruner also very good.

The ship is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY depending on how you look at things. During the muster drill in Princess theatre, it was HALF EMPTY/FULL so even with the last minute flash sale at give away prices, there are hall ways that are empty. No line ups for shows (empty seats at all shows) and no line ups for dinner. In fact, Capri dining room is closed so only one (Portofino) is open for Anytime dining and still no wait for a seat (if you want to share).

NO cabin upgrades available we overheard as there are passenger cabin sections they have closed off to continue with the deep cleaning. Princess obviously wants this to be a healthy boat ASAP as they start their no doubt heavily booked Alaskan run. I suspect they are not all that unhappy that there are fewer passengers while they get the upper hand of this stubborn bug.

So if you are booked on this ship in the coming weeks, feel reassured that the battle continues to be waged but the Star Princess is winning and so far so good Noro wise.

You won't find many who have cruised both these lines, since Uniworld is considered to be in the top luxury group while Viking is near the bottom. People are more likely to cross-shop Uniworld with Tauck, AMA and Avalon.

Done both...Uniworld hands down better.

What on earth did people do in the good old days before everyone was tied to their phone :eek:

It is a holiday so maybe a little more communication ( "meet us for lunch at 1200 in horizon" or " see you at dinner at 6") and less reliance on phones?

Well they certainly spent a lot of time on the food, wine, truffles and excursion guides. Not sure about the river and it's problems. One paragraph that caught my eye was

 

"That’s not to say that Viking River still doesn’t face challenges as it introduces this all-new region of France to river cruisers. There are caveats. While Bordeaux's waterways are scenic, not as much time is spent cruising as on Viking's bigger, more traditional Rhine, Danube or Rhone itineraries. Also, being located right off the Atlantic, tidal surges, particularly in spring, are highly uneven and can, from time to time, affect the ships’ abilities to make it to every port. In that case, passengers would likely find themselves with a little more time docked in the heart of the city of Bordeaux and a lot more time on the tour bus."

 

Pity they didn't tell prospective passengers prior to them booking.

Maybe Viking needs to tweek their advertising and marketing on this particular itinerary given the challenges of the Bordeaux bridge and the tidal waters which will not change over time.

Instead of highlighting the word CRUISE they should say 'Bordeaux TOUR' since it would offer a very nice alternative to doing it by bus in that you only unpack once.The ship becomes your floating hotel.

Cost wise, bus tours don't come cheap either and while I cannot find one that does this region as intensely as the Viking 'cruise', a France bus tour from a mid range company that would include the Loire valley chateaux pre-cruise and Bordeaux is around $3500 pp and you still need to buy several meals. Viking's prices which includes all meals therefore becomes a bargain.

And bus tours :eek: have a different feeling than a ship tour. It's all in the marketing I think. ;)

Thank you for your question, Stratheden. Our new Bordeaux program has been operating well, and the current cruise is doing fine. Cruising on the Garonne, Dordogne and Gironde is a remarkable experience, and our nautical team is fully prepared for the unique challenges these tidal rivers can present. Our ship, the River Royale, is 110 meters in length, which makes it much easier to pass under the Pont de Pierre bridge in Bordeaux and then sail successfully on the Garonne upstream to the port of Cadillac and the distinctive wine region of Sauternes.

 

Thank you again, and if there are any further questions or concerns please feel free to contact us at customerservice@uniworld.com.

 

With kind regards,

 

THE UNIWORLD TEAM

Am I the only one who finds this post from Uniworld very informative and interesting re: getting under the bridge?

It begs the question about the information that the Viking passengers received about why they couldnt get under the bridge....size of ship? Permits? Tides?

We wanted to do a river cruise and really this hardly does any cruising. You basically go up and down the same spot, if you're lucky! This is not like the Danube cruise where you really cruise to different spots. I think Viking is pushing their luck by calling this a cruise.

.... Sitting in port and maybe getting to cruise a mile or two is not my definition of a cruise

.....Viking changes the itinerary and makes it a joyous trip for you but I am not confident that this cruise will turn out to be a great one.

Hi

I am snooping here as my cousin is currently on this Apr 26 Forseti Bordeaux 'cruise'. She emailed earlier on the weekend after their 3 day Loire Valley pre-cruise and indicated there had been some 'mix ups' and that the weather wasn't great. Haven't heard from her since.

But I offer this observation as a fellow CCer, experienced ocean cruiser and I have 3 river cruises under my belt. Here is my two cents worth--I agree that this does not constitute a CRUISE.

The word 'cruise' can be defined as:

"a voyage on a ship or boat taken for pleasure or as a vacation and usually calling in at several places.",

But, even if you DO get to all the ports on the new Bordeaux itinerary, you only are on the water for 200 km according to Google maps. 8 days and you go only 200 km and you end up where you started?? :eek:

Compare this with other week long cruises I have done --

Danube (Passau to Budapest) 500 km.

Tulips and Windmills ( Amsterdam to Antwerp) 650 km

Castles on the Rhine (Amsterdam to Basel) 750 km

Or with this 14 day cruise that I have not done...

Grand European (Amsterdam to Budapest) 1400 km

So I would suggest that if, like others here who have changed their minds, IF you want to experience that region of France, then consider if this 'cruise' and your time and money will offer you the best opportunity to do that.

My opinion only offers the 'numbers' on how many km you will actually be 'cruising' in case that is a factor.

On the positive side, it was great to hear from the two posters who are actually on this cruise and who are enjoying themselves. Hope the rest of the trip goes smoothly and is pleasant. :)

Hopefully others will give you more specific suggestions, but I think that the weather in October will probably influence your choice of clothing. Avoid bare shoulders and back, and be ready all the time to remove your shoes (that goes for men also). No shorts, of course. Sorry I can't be more specific.

 

I'm also booked for a Baltic cruise this July, with an overnight stay in St. Petersburg and a regular stop in Tallinn (Estonia). I'm hoping that there won't be any itinerary changes, but situations like these are unpredictable, if you are a student of History. In St. Petersburg I've arranged with a Russian tour company (SPB) to be part of their two-day excursion, and I'm hoping that they will know what to do, as well as take care of the visa requirements.

 

 

Sergio

A tip for men is to take the cargo pants with the zip off legs. Hubby got two pair at costco for $20 each. When in the mosque, he wore the legs. When outside, he zipped off legs and folded neatly and out in one of the cargo pockets. Worked great for mosques and churches.

Re SPB in STB, EXCELLENT company and many friends and others here on CC have nothing but rave reviews. They plan full days worth of excursions with the

Ability to be flexible for traffic and the needs and wishes of the group.

Yes, your picture of the Cistern was amazing! One of my favorites of yours! Our private guide is recommending that we arrive there right at 9 am for opening after shooting around Sultanahmet in the AM. So this would be our first stop, hoping, as you did, to catch the place empty! After that he has plans to get us into all the major monuments and mosques in that area...probably not a bad idea since it could still be warm in Oct by midday, though I hope it will be comfortable.

 

 

Related to that, do you mind telling me what the women in your group felt comfortable wearing? I know we will get coverings in the mosques, but I want to be super sensitive even around town. I have long travel pants and some lightweight long sweaters that cover the back end that I wear when "city" traveling generally, but I'm wondering if I should go with a long skirt instead? You might be the wrong person to ask if you didn't travel with ladies yourself, but I thought I'd ask. I know that Istanbul is still pretty cosmopolitan, but what a local might get away with wearing might be perceived as more disrespectful from an American.

 

Yes, things are a bit scary at times in places where things are changing, but again, hoping our guide will know if it's not a good idea to stop, or where it would be safest to do so. I will also check with Trip Advisor for the latest just before we leave, they are often quite good at giving you a "real time" picture of what's happening in specific neighborhoods.

 

I think things have settled a bit in Istanbul recently, clearly the tourism industry relies on things being settled. Tourism in Egypt just collapsed for a while and I'm sure it's devastating economically.:( It's happening now in the Ukraine, friends waiting to take a cruise in the Baltics soon do not know if their itinerary will change. We can only hope, be street smart and take advice of the experts! But I wouldn't want to stop traveling just to play it "safe", we are more careful with our kids. When traveling to Africa with 3 young teens, I specifically said no to Zimbabwea at the time...I might have gone had we not been traveling with the kids, but with them, we felt safer in Zambia and Botswana at that time. It's always a tough call, and I know my MIL, would prefer we take up crochet or tap dancing instead of travel, but we love to travel:p

 

Thanks again for your perspective!

I wore a long somewhat loose skirt when i was in there in early Sept. I felt it was a comfortable safe bet..covered me up , was easy to walk in and was cool. Took a pashmina for a coverup for shoulders etc. easy to pack, easy to wear.

Beautiful city. Enjoy.

Doing the coastal in May heading north CAN be anything from smooth to rough to VERY rough off the coast of Oregon.:eek:

Always smoother doing it southward in the fall as you follow the currents so smoother in my experience . I have done the trip many times both ways.

Better safe than sorry so pack some bonamine just in case.:o