terry&mike

We also use the transatlantic crossing to be part of a longer trip, usually being gone 3-6 weeks on each trip. We find that using one 30" duffel style suitcase with wheels each gives us plenty of space, and allows us to separate our dressier clothes, while still being able to easily manage our bags. If you are familiar with these bags, the bottom part of the bag has a separate section. In the bottom of one, I place all of our dressier clothes, each with a plastic dry cleaning bag over it to combat wrinkling. In the bottom of the other, I place our shoes, and some other bulky items. In the main part of each of the bags, I have our daily wear for touring, hiking, or whatever we are doing on the rest of the trip, toiletries, etc. This way, once you disembark Cunard, you don't have to interact with your formal clothes for your daily traveling around. 

Admittedly, we are light packers, so this gives us lots of extra room, and there are times that instead of bringing one 30" duffel style suitcase each, Mike will have a 30" duffel stye bag, and I will have just a carryon size suitcase. When we are traveling without the need for formal clothes, our general set up is that we each have 1 carry on size suitcase each, plus Mike carries a backpack and I carry a larger purse. 

We sailed NYC to Southampton on QM2 last August 5, in Inside cabin 5030, which is located more forward that you are. It was a wonderful trip, and we rarely felt any movement at all. We loved the ship, the staff, the ambience, the meals. I have a review of our sailing, you can probably find by clicking on my avatar and looking at my posts.

We enjoyed it so much, we came home and quickly booked another transatlantic sailing for late August 2023. 

Wishing you very happy birthday celebrations, and a wonderful trip!

On 12/3/2022 at 9:08 AM, raratonga said:

Your review and comments were extremely helpful. Going on the Joy in January and interested in doing this excursion.  The only thing that is unclear is how long you actually have in Antigua.  I realize that the bus is 1.5 hour each way but there is no indication about how much time you have in the town.  Thanks 

Were you able to port in Guatemala?

I received an email from a CruiseCritic member (at first I was surprised, and then remembered my email is at the end of my signature) with a question. As someone else may also be wondering the same thing, I thought I should post the question and answer here. 

The question was in regards to me saying that the clothes were made at a "reasonable cost", and they were inquiring what I considered reasonable. A valid question, as this is subjective.

We had 9 garments made - a traditional black tuxedo with pants and jacket, an extra brocade tuxedo jacket, 1 tuxedo shirt, 2 men's dress shirts, 2 dresses, and 1 blouse - for a total of $590 usd, this included a 3% fee for using a credit card. In all instances, we picked either the top material option or the second highest material option. 

We came in to the shop on a Monday mid-morning (Day 1), picked materials and styles, and were measured. We returned on a Tuesday mid-day (Day 2) and had our first fittings. We returned on Wednesday mid-morning (Day 3) and did a final try on, and picked up everything with the exception of the 2 tuxedo jackets which needed a further tweek. We returned Wednesday evening (later on Day 3) and picked up the 2 tuxedo jackets. 

Thank you so much for the review! We are sailing the same ship on a similar itinerary in March, from Colon to San Diego direction.  

3 hours ago, woodley said:

We have one booked with MSC and one with Azamara.  Lets hope they are better.

 

We tried Azamara in 2022, and loved it. Booked them again for September 2023, and are considering another one for November 2023.

We have an NCL cruise booked for March of this year, it's a rebook, but when it's done, I'm not sure of our future with NCL.  If you look at our cruise history in my signature, you can see we've sailed a lot on the mass market lines, but I think we are moving out of them.

1 hour ago, moses0 said:

What are your dates in September?

September 20-29, Hamburg to NYC transatlantic on QM2.

1 hour ago, Catherine Janaway said:

There is nothing nicer than knowing the clothes you are wearing are unique. Many years ago my friend and I went to Thailand and invested in lots of new items - all now long gone but they were lovely to wear.

 

I love this!

5 minutes ago, rolfecms said:

Thank you for sharing. Good to know about Vietnamese tailors exist and are reasonable. 

 

How did you decide on the one you chose?

We had read a lot of reviews of tailors in Hoi An before we left the U.S., and had a short list of ones we wanted to pop into to see if they clicked with us. The hotel we were staying in also gave us another name. We walked by or into a couple on our list, but we liked the staff at the one our hotel recommended the most. It is Bao Diep Tailor, and Dong made Mike's clothes, and Moon made my silk dress in the golds/reds.

Our initial thought was just to have a tuxedo made for Mike, and possibly an extra "more fun" jacket.  While visiting with Dong we decided to add the 3 shirts. Then, Mike saw the material for my dress and said "you should get a dress from that silk", so that happened.

Later, while walking down a street we passed a tailor (not on our list) with a dress on a manequin that I liked the style of, so I popped in and picked the black and white material and had a dress made from this shop, as well as a white wrap blouse that I had been thinking of. This tailor was Lua Viet Nam Vi Na Silk. 

The photos are while we were still in the fitting/adjusting stages, and without the proper shoes, accessories, hair and makeup (that last one is for me, of course!). 

We sailed Cunard for the first time in August 2022, on a transatlantic on the QM2. We enjoyed the voyage so much that we booked another sailing shortly after we returned home, a transatlantic on the QM2 in September 2023. 
 

In December 2022, we were in Hoi An, Vietnam, as part of a 5 week trip we were taking through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. We had visited Hoi An briefly in January 2020, and remembered seeing the hundreds of custom tailor shops there, so we came prepared with ideas. 
 

Our excitement for sailing Cunard and anticipation of our upcoming cruise inspired us to order clothes from 2 tailors while in Hoi An. What fun we had! Mike had a traditional black tuxedo made, plus an extra brocade jacket, a tuxedo shirt, and 2 more dress shirts. I had 2 dresses and a blouse made. All done in 3 days, and at a very reasonable cost. 
 

We are now excitedly anticipating our upcoming Cunard voyage even more, and breaking out our fancy threads! 

56 minutes ago, Sarnia 432 said:

We have just booked our first Azamara cruise in the beginning of 2024.  Looking at the excursions, there are only a handful for each port and one port has none listed.

1. Are there usually only a few excursions to select from?

2. will more be posted nearer to the sail date (and if so, how far out)?

thanks

They will add excursions. We have a sailing in early September 2023. In December 2022, two of the ports had no excursions listed, as of yesterday those two ports had excursions listed, one port now has 6 listed, 1 port now has 9 listed. 

Cruisemapper is not up to date on the changes. Previously our cruise, which ends on September 10, 2023, showed ending in "Venice" on Cruisemapper. As of today, our cruise shows ending in "Venice Marghera" on September 10, but shows the sailing departing September 10 to be departing from "Venice Chioggia". 

2 minutes ago, luv2travel90266 said:

Any comment on providing transportation to Venice? It is an hour away. 

No, no other comment on this subject. It was in answer to an attendees question about where the ships are going to port for Venice. Questions were submitted by typed request, and only seen by the presenters. 

The webinar was actually on the new booking system that is coming online with the transition away from Royal at the end of February.

Was just on a Webinar, and one of Azamara's presenters, Katie, stated that Azamara would "mainly be using the port of Chioggia for Venice for 2023". 

I also see that the sailing I am booked on (Onward, September 3-10, 2023) now shows online as Venice (Chioggia) for our disembark port, where previously it just showed as Venice. I haven't received a notice of this change for my booking, or for my friends who are also traveling. Oh well, we'll make it work. 

9 hours ago, franski said:

I think we will be doing the silk farm tour...  Can you remember what the prices were for scarves and other items?  You mention the prices were excellent. Wondering if this might be a good gift to take home...

 

Fran

I think this is an excellent gift to take home. The colors, patterns and sizes were plentiful, allowing you to find something for everyone. You can purchase scarves from silk cotton blends (cheaper) to solid silk hand woven by certain well known silk making families (top), and everything in between. The prices reflect the variety, running between $10-$70 for most anything in the entire shop; the majority are priced $10-$25. The prices seemed to run from low to high, starting on the right side and moving left down several long tables.

I have far too many scarves already, so was not going to purchase, but could not pass up this beautiful silk cotton blend scarf for $10 below (in the photo it is laid over the small couch in our cabin). 
They also have some wallets, and a few other silk items, but the focus is scarves. 

Have an idea of what colors or price you are looking for because it is busy and people are jostling for space, and you only have about 20 minutes (likely). Actually, once you see the silk makers demonstrations, get your photos, you may want to wander a bit ahead of the group and make your way to the shop. The guide takes folks leisurely walking to the shop. 

They take credit cards, but you’ll do best to come with crisp newer US dollars cash in hand in $5’s and $10’s to make your checkout faster. 

5 minutes ago, hoosier2017 said:

Could anyone who has traveled on the Mekong chime in concerning vaccines/medications their doctor and/or cruise line recommended? Looking at CDC guidelines, malaria medication stands out to me.  Appreciate any advice someone has.   
 

We just returned from sailing the Mekong for 7 days in the southward direction.  We keep our standard travel vaccinations up to date (Tetanus, Hepatitus, Typhoid), and we have our Covid vaccinations up to date. We did not do any extra vaccinations, and we did not take Malaria medications for this trip. We did bring insect repellant and used it when needed. 

5 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Thanks for the update. Do you have a website for where you purchased the Vietnam visa? I've looked online and it seems like there are a lot of websites offering to sell them, and I can't be sure which is the "official" site.

The web site skurvish posted below is the official one. 

On 1/15/2023 at 8:45 AM, isnowman said:

Hi terry&mike. Welcome home. I’ve been following your adventure as we leave on the 18 day scenic cruise tour from Hanoi to Siem Reap in March, can’t wait. 
I was wondering if you found you required any CDC vaccines or treatments for the Scenic portion of your Vietnam/Cambodia trip. 
Thanks again for such a wonderful review!

Kurt 

We travel with our Covid vaccination cards, but we were never asked at any point in our travels for proof of vaccination, or for Covid testing.

  On Scenic, we were asked to sanitize our hands before entering the dining room each time. Upon entering a couple of the temples we were required to wear masks. On JAL (Japan Airlines), we were required to wear masks. No other Covid protocol on the trip. 

15 hours ago, worcestergal said:

Welcome home to you both!  I must tell you again how much I’ve enjoyed all the descriptions and photos of your trip. I’m sure I will return to your blog many times as I look forward to our SE Asia trip with Scenic in March 2024. Thank you again for sharing your trip!

I am excited for your journey next year!

18 hours ago, Canal archive said:

I certainly hope Scenic have seen your cruise report as I and it would seem many others found it very very interesting and informative. Wonderful!

 

We don’t seem to be having any challenges with Scenic in the U.K. Although big decision at the moment completely new kitchen or river cruise.

That's a difficult decision!

Made it home on Thursday afternoon, smooth trip the entire way.  

This morning we walked to the nearby Ben Thanh Market, to Central Park, to Reunification Palace, and around HCMC a bit, mostly just for a bit of exercise. 
 

We have returned to the hotel for a rest, and this evening we will head to the Saigon Airport to begin the journey home. 
 

Our first flight is Saigon SGN to Tokyo Haneda, 11:45pm - 6:50am (+1), on JAL. Then HND to DFW Dallas, 10:55am - 7:25am, also on JAL. Then DFW to TPA Tampa, 11:14am - 2:29pm, on American. All in Business Class, and all currently showing on time, so hopefully a smooth trip. 
 

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Very odd: the post was flagged by the bot because you used a banned word, but that word wasn't anywhere in your post.  Great post by the way, and wonderful food pics.

That’s funny, because now you have me so curious as to what the banned word could have been!

1 hour ago, Sleep7 said:

👋Helloooooo terry&mike!!!

Wow wow wow!!! How did I just see this now??

Your travel blog is absolutely AMAZING!!! Truly outstanding. I feel like I have been to Asia and back and I don't have a lick of jetlag.😃

Thank you so much for posting all about your journey.

This is a trip I would absolutely love to take one day.

Your pictures and commentary made it so real.

One day when hubs is retired I hope we can go.

Loved all your pix too.. your dress and Mike's tux are fabulous.

Thank you for sharing the smiles.

 

I’m so happy you enjoyed it. I did a post this morning about Ho Chi Minh City, but it is waiting approval from the moderator, so should be available shortly. 
We are headed home soon, so will be wrapping it up, unless there are some questions. 
It has been a great journey filled with cultural wonder, great food, and kind hearted people.