SailingHigher

I can vouch for Speedo water shoes. (About US$40 online.) Many styles and colors. But I lost my pair. So, for next week's Tahiti trip, I replaced them with Tusa brand from a local dive shop. (Simple and mostly black, US$20). I'm anxious to see how well they protect against stones on rough beaches. Review to follow. PS - Another option is to search for "scuba shoes" which tend to be booties that cover the ankle. The price is similar to Speedo, but they are pretty ugly.

I continue to read about unsatisfactory wifi on Wind Spirit and other Windstar ships. Do you have direct experience using a service such as Tahiti Wifi as an alternative? Renting a wifi hotspot for the week sounds like it could be a more reliable and affordable alternative to the onboard system. I would love to hear more from Tahiti cruisers about what they feel is the best option. Thanks in advance.

Our Wind Spirit cruise stops in Bora Bora for two days. We are using hotel points to spend that night at the St. Regis resort. The resort tells us they are set up for shuttling guests only to and from the airport for around 15,000 XPF. We won't be at the airport, and we don't particularly want to stop there. We'll be at anchor on our ship or I suppose we can take the Wind Spirit's tender into the harbor and pick up a boat from there. I'd appreciate any advice on how best to arrange our transfers to and from the ship to St. Regis. Thanks.

We are cruising FP in June on Wind Spirit. As we shop for our trip, we are wondering about the style of fins Windstar makes available to passengers using the Watersports Platform and optimal footwear. Do the ships feature full-foot "pocket" fins that don't favor shoes or are they "heel strap" fins that benefit from shoes or booties? Also, what kind of footwear would you recommend (if any) when using Windstar's paddleboards or similar gear available at the Watersports Platform? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Our next cruise is a Windstar 7-night roundtrip from Papeete, Tahiti. Because of the AirFrance flight schedule, we have single night reservations at the Intercontinental on both ends of the cruise. Our flight to PPT is scheduled to arrive a 5:30 a.m. I'm inclined to take a taxi to the resort and hang out poolside until our room is ready in the afternoon. Is that likely to work out or do I need to reserve and pay for a day pass to cover us from say 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.? Would you recommend renting a car to explore Tahiti instead? Any other ideas? Thanks in advance.

You're welcome. And I forgot to mention the bouquet of flowers that stayed fresh for the rest of the voyage!

Definitely the level of sparkle is in the eye of the beholder, but it may also perhaps be a function of cabin choice. We did not know what to expect when our bid upgrade was accepted on our recent and first cruise on Celebrity's Beyond. The suite was amazing and the service was attentive, but I was not at all dazzled by the mediocre champagne and snacks we received on arrival. But all of that started to change once we made some specific requests to our butler. Fresh limes, juices, mixers, potato chips, mixed nuts, chocolate treats, etc., were easy to arrange. So were restaurant reservations. Then, the highlight was our little anniversary celebration. We were gobsmacked when we returned to our cabin one night in the middle of the cruise. The butler and steward had redecorated much of everything. There was a nice bottle of wine and a delicious chocolate mousse cake that said Happy Anniversary. The dining table secured six bright red heart shaped balloons and an anniversary card. The dining table and the bed were each covered in fresh rose petals. There were aslo two towel swans smooching in the center of the bed. And most surprising of all, the bedroom mirror had written on it in beautiful handwriting a very sweet note wishing us 35 more happy years of marriage, signed by both attendants. There's no denying this kind of sparkle and attention to details.

Windstar's Wind Spirit. 148 passengers max. 4 masts & sails. (Our May 2022 canceled cruise was to be on Windstar's Star Legend from Amsterdam to Norway to Copenhagen.) We anticipate that our cozy Wind Spirit cabin will be dramatically different from our recent Royal Suite on the Beyond. I hope you have a great trip. It is a beautiful ship.

We're using credits from a trip canceled due to Covid to travel to Tahiti next June. Small ship. Small islands. Hopefully, a better, pandemic-free experience.

We disembarked the Beyond on 10/3 in Civitavecchia, which was I think a week before this TA. There were just a few venues that were too busy or a bit understaffed IMHO. (I did however watched the greeters turn away at least 8 couples who tried to dine in Eden during the evening we were there despite at least a dozen empty tables.) As for crew getting off in Europe before the TA, we never met them. Every crew member we chatted with was looking forward to taking personal time off once the Beyond reaches New Jersey.

Our teenager was once upon a time confined to quarters on a RCCL cruise. No fun for a grumpy young man with norovirus, but certainly understandable. On our recent Beyond cruise in the Med (9/24-10/3), my greatest fear was being quarantined onboard or in Italy and unable to return to work for an unpredictable length of time. And while I walked off Beyond fairly happy and healthy, I quickly found myself suffering and Covid+. The 102F fever hit me late in the evening on 10/4 and lasted for two days despite all available Pfizer shots prior to the trip. By 10/5, my DW was Covid+ and suffering with different symptoms. Paxlovid helped me kick it and go negative on 10/9, but now I'm Covid+ again with different symptoms. I'm not for a moment blaming the Beyond, its passengers, or its crew for my illness. There were too many other points of exposure during the cruise and traveling back home on 10/3. I'm very happy I did not have symptoms during the trip, but I am sorry that I traveled. It wasn't worth it. Your mileage may vary.

They all said, a lounger really wouldn't fit and so we don't have them for you. This surprised me for a Royal Suite veranda on their fleet's newest ship.

We bid our way up from a Beyond sky suite to a royal suite for 9 days. My polite requests for a lounger were rejected by the steward, the butler, and the butler's boss. No matter. The standard chairs turned out to be very comfortable. Better, my view was never blocked by the railing on the veranda. (That is a rarity given my height.) There was ample room for drinks and snacks between the two chairs on the smallish table. When I wanted to lounge, I left the door and curtains open and stretched out on the bed. Zero complaints (other than the fact that one of the wifi controlled electric curtains kept malfunctioning and required several repair attempts by the engineers.)

We have been frequent cruisers on various size ships and a river boat since 1991. Our recent 9 days on the Beyond have confirmed that the sparkle of big ship cruising is gone for us now that we're entering our golden years. The Retreat was wonderful. The service was great. I cannot criticize Celebrity or the ship (other than to be very disappointed in the Ocean View cafe offerings). Our big problem was the cruise ship induced crowds in each port. We thought "shoulder season" would be different, but that wasn't the case in late September 2022. It was no fun trying to squeeze through so many crowded streets. When four ships with 2,000+ passengers arrive at once, what's the onshore experience likely to be? We love traveling and we love the sea, but if we keep cruising, it's only small ships from here forward for us.

Amazing story! I never expected these types of weather/port problems in the Med. On the advice and insistence of the crew, we stayed on the Beyond in Santa Margherita. Unless passengers were booked on a Celebrity shore excursion, all were urged to stay put. It was quite a thing to watch the Magic Carpet bobbing up and down vis-a-vis each tender. We later learned that the hired transports from Santa Margherita canceled due to the wind and waves. To allow anyone onshore, the Beyond had to employ her own tenders. Pre-cruise, the rumor was that Gwyneth Paltrow would join us in Santa Margherita for a 50th Birthday dinner and Goop session. That didn't happen in Santa Margherita, but Goopies told us that she boarded for 50 minutes in Civitavecchia and fulfilled the promise to speak with the Goop subscribers. When it comes to rough seas, here's an unexpected "feature" in the Beyond's Royal Suites. The two sliding pocket doors separating the master bath and master bedroom do not have any mechanisms to lock the doors in either an open or closed position. It's startling when they slam from one side to the other. The only solution we could employ in the middle of a noisy night was dragging heavy chairs into each doorway. Our attendants said that it was the best solution they'd seen since the ship launched.

Two things … 1. The credit card suggestion was terrific advice. I spoke to the Global Assist medical team. They were working on solutions overnight including a physician referral, E.R. Locations and a potential telemedicine appointment. Great advice to call those angels. 2. I just sat up in bed and thought of the one place in the cabin I failed to search . . . A neoprene camera case. For some dumb reason when I packed up at the hotel room, I put my camera over my shoulder and shoved some things in a hurry into the camera case. There I found 7 days of missing prescriptions. Problem solved. Thanks, everyone. You’re all terrific.

Google Maps is helpful. Found several in Messina and at least one in Taormina open until 1 pm on Saturday. But I may need the ER as my first stop. Doctor provided no advice about that here on the Beyond. Will try AMEX next.

Not that I am aware. No more drinking.

Agreed. I have all my gadgets and chargers. I’m only missing a week’s worth of medicine and two cruisecard lanyards that I think we would have never used. My DW is kicking herself because like all loving spouses, she double checks all the hotel drawers, nooks and crannies where her forgetful husband might leave something behind. She says she was too jet-lagged to look this time. She is blameless and has a lovely new ring from the Effy boutique with no objection from me. 🙃

Thanks. I called the emergency assistance number at lunch. That’s how I learned the policy wouldn’t pay for prescriptions for pre-existing conditions or a hospital exam to get a new prescription. (The emergency medical person I spoke to was working from home with several pets fighting in his living room. It at least provided comic relief and he kindly emailed me a claim form for the weather-related canceled private shore excursions.) He had nothing helpful to add concerning overseas pharmacies.

I have high confidence that the medications started the trip in my carryon. That’s where my first week’s supply was along with other essentials. If I get home and find it on the counter, I’ll eat crow and kick myself even harder. Thanks for the kind wishes and thoughts.

Thanks. That failed. They said they didn’t find it and added that even if they did, it could not get to us over the weekend before we fly on Monday afternoon. Nothing much happens over here on Sundays. And my experience with hotels finding things left in rooms has never been good. (Same with leaving things behind in airplanes.)

It is still Friday and the Beyond will dock in Civitavecchia on Monday, Oct. 3. This morning, I discovered that my second week of prescription medicines were lost from my luggage. (My best guess is that I left them behind in our Barcelona hotel room.) The Beyond’s doctor was unable to see me until late this afternoon. Sadly, the ship does not stock the antidepressant I take each day. (I’m fine as to my other medicines.) The doctor emailed the port authority in Messina and confirmed at 7 p.m. his suspicion that the medication was restricted in Europe and could not be delivered to the ship. He suggested walking into a farmacia in Sicily and pleading for a 7-day supply. I was able to obtain a JPG of my prescription label from my U.S. pharmacist and a PDF list of current medications from my doctor’s office. Is this suggestion likely to work or will I more likely waste my time on a Saturday morning trying different pharmacies? (All pharmacies are closed on Saturday afternoons and all day on Sundays.) I considered trying a hospital emergency room, but travel insurance won’t cover that. The policy only covers exams/prescriptions for illnesses that occur during the trip. I’m open to suggestions. Many thanks for considering this predicament with me and suggesting solutions.

If you are on the fence about paying extra for Le Voyage and if you like gourmet dining, do not hesitate. The three course dinner is the lowest price option. It comes with multiple surprises and a very large number of choices for appetizers, entrees, and desserts. It is more than enough food for anyone. I highly recommend it. I wish I could add some photos, but the wifi/Internet is not helping me at the moment. Plus, I’d hate to spoil any surprise. Each item is beautifully arranged and elegantly served.

Winds became strong again this afternoon causing much mischief to the deck chairs. The extra sea day is a poor replacement for Florence, but so it goes. We booked a transfer through Viator and cannot recover our Livorno to Florence fee, but it wasn’t much money. We had more trouble reserving a new tour for Rome tomorrow. The Celebrity app booked up the shore excursions almost instantly when they became available late this morning. Then, the staff added an express train transfer excursion to Rome which had plenty of room. Shore excursions desk and the app were pretty overwhelmed. We booked a new private trip to Rome and back, but it took some effort because Viator was overwhelmed, too and canceled our first two bookings shortly after we made them. Refunds will be provided on those. One more thing about rough seas & the Beyond. The pocket doors in a two room suite do not have latches. Last night, they banged back and forth constantly. Stuffing towels into the tracks did not fix the problem. Dragging heavy furniture against those doors has worked so far. This is a “bug” not a “feature” in my book. There needs to be a way to secure the doors inside the cabin at least so they stay open without sliding back and forth in rough waters.