longterm

Yes, original pods, not Vertuo (sp).

There are Nespresso pods that have flavorings, but I don't recall any that have some sort of cream flavoring, but regardless, they work just the same.

Yes, they're the same.

I probably wasn't clear in my post; when you hold down the button and then release it at the amount you want, that sets the default amount going forward, so you don't have to do it ever again for the rest of the cruise. I know from having the machines exactly how much water I prefer, so when I get on board, I set the water amount for my first cup, then every cup after that is exactly how I prefer. I also bring my own capsules because I have one in particular that I like more than the ones Viking uses.

Really easy to set the amount of water that goes into your cup: Hold down the BREW button, and let go when your cup is to the fullness you want. Works on all the Nespresso machines that I have (I have 4 and 2 that have gone to coffee machine heaven).

We lost both our moms the same year (2016); the day after my mother-in-law's funeral we flew to South Africa for a 2-week photo safari trip. Looking back, it was good timing, after a tough few weeks before. We're scheduled for a river cruise (Grand European) in October '23, but I'm concerned about water levels on the Rhine & Danube. We did the same cruise in 2019, and water levels were touch-and-go until the day we sailed; we found out the night we left port that the rivers were high enough for us to go all the way to Budapest without disembarking. So now I'm looking at alternative plans in case the rivers don't come back between now and then; not sure I'd have scheduled this cruise had I looked at water levels.

I think that’s where I recall a difference in credit, the OBCs. As I’ve been doing, I’ll book our next cruise in March while we’re on board ship, then transfer it to our TA for the OBC.

... which probably explains the "Level 1" description when we got $200 each for an upcoming cruise.

I should post up here that I got a $1000 discount, get everybody into a frenzy... 😄

Oh well, that's disappointing! 🙂 I thought I'd read somewhere that there were different levels of past-guest discounts depending on the length of the cruise you were signing up for... must've been wishful thinking.

Am I correct that the size of the past guest discount is higher for longer trips? Is it larger for a 31-day cruise?

I agree--it's unfortunate--but not surprising--that people will choose not to test because they don't want their trip impacted, even though they may be spreading Covid to other passengers. On our recent Rick Steves trip in France, the first positive case came up after about 4 days. As I mentioned in a previous post, by the end of the 11-day trip, we'd had 8 of our group test positive, and also 2 tour guides--this in spite of masking on the buses and in all indoor facilities like museums. There was a guy who had dined with the first positive case the night before; our tour guide asked him to test, since he'd sat across from the woman who'd tested positive; he refused, saying that he tested before the tour started and felt fine. This played out in front of others, so we all learned of it the same day, and after that nobody wanted to sit at dinner with his wife and him. I don't know whether they made it home without being positive, but each time someone tested positive, my wife and I self-tested, just to be on the safe side; we were fortunate to return home negative.

I'm glad to see that others feel the way we do when we have ventured out into the world. I was sitting in a little bar in Dallas about a year ago, when most people were still wearing masks. A guy sat next to me on a barstool, turned and said, "Hey, you have Covid?" I was taken aback, said, "No, I don't." "Then why are you wearing a mask? I figured you must have Covid if you're wearing a mask." What an idiot. I was momentarily stunned, then thought of my reply. "The question I would have is, why are you NOT wearing a mask?" Then I thought a moment and added, "You know what, I don't care and don't want to know," and turned my back to him. When I looked a few minutes later he had gone. I just don't get it. We went on a Rick Steves tour in May to France; we started out the tour with 24 in our group plus a guide. By the time our tour ended 11 days later, there were 8 left--two guides got Covid, plus one out of every couple, which meant the couple had to remain behind in whatever town we were in. My wife and I got Covid in February; fortunately, it was mild and we recovered quickly. However, one of my good friends got Covid in January, and is on oxygen 7 months later, coughing constantly, and doesn't know if it'll ever get better. It's NOT over, no matter how much people pretend that it is.

With all due respect, that's a specious argument; you posted your snarky question twice, and I won't repeat myself, so please refer to the other for my response.

I don't understand why you're asking that; Viking ships are a different situation entirely. If I were to have shoddy service in a Viking ship restaurant (which I've never had), my next visit would be to guest services, where I'm sure they would do their best to resolve the situation. If I have shoddy service in a restaurant on land, I give a smaller tip than I would otherwise, and, if it's a restaurant whose food I really love, I speak to a manager. If it's not a good restaurant, I simply don't return. However, I've now had lots and lots of onboard meals on Viking ships, and I've *never* had bad service. I've had a few meals I wasn't crazy about, but that's different, and because of that, we rarely dine in the Chef's Table.

We pay the recommended amount to Viking, and then they spread that around, so I guess the answer is yes. I've never had cause, in any of the cruises we've done, in any of the restaurants, NOT to want to tip our servers.

I prefer to pay gratuities as I wish, rather than folding it into the price of the cruise. If they were to add tips to the price of the cruise, people would invariably complain that they're being forced to pay them. We always pay gratuities up front, plus we also leave an additional tip for our room steward; we don't look at tips as upcharges. As a professional musician, I'd better not say much about music choices, but if I never heard another Abba song it would be too soon. 🙂

We were in 8017, which is just forward of the swimming pool roof; we loved it, wish we could have a PV for every cruise...

Also, if you are forward on deck 8, you’ll have to go down to deck 7 or lower to go aft. Not a big deal, and PVs are worth it, but a consideration.

Same in Dallas; we went to Europe twice this spring.

We're going March 7th, Ft. Lauderdale round-trip.

Great, thanks!

It was interesting that when we’ve flown to South Africa both times, we were told we had to use soft-sided duffel-like suitcases. They’re huge but even with wheels are a little unwieldy. i did manage to get 3 of 4 bottles of wine home unbroken. Had a nice pair of burgundy-colored khakis when I got home!

On a related topic, would you know how far it is from the port to the Hollywood beach? We’re doing an independent pre-extension.

I totally agree; my wife and I both have Away carry-ons and have been very happy with them. Mine's about 4 years old now and is in perfect shape even after all the trips we've taken in the last 4 years. I'm a big believer in packing light, especially on ocean cruises where there are laundry facilities on almost every deck. My Away rolling bag has a backup battery in it for charging phones and iPads; I forgot all about it until the last trip, when I charged my phone while waiting for a flight. The new Away 22" carryon expands as well, which is really nice.