sandm

Thank you for all the quick responses.

I appreciate the all the detailed info. Mura, Thanks the shower info. My son is 24 yr old and a shower is plenty.

That's great news about him being able to get a few bottles of vodka instead of all wines. He enjoys his wine too so he can decided.

Buggins0402 WOW those photos are great. I realize the photos are of the Marina but the Riviera is probably pretty close since they are sister ships.

The fitness center is a make or break for us as far as hotels and cruise ships. My husband will love the pictures.

Thank you so much again. WE are very excited about trying Oceania.

WE have cruised most if not all mainstream cruise lines. Have also been on SilverSeas. We have enjoyed every cruise though some more than others. We are ages are 55-57. Recently we have enjoyed several cruises on NCL in the haven in some very nice suites with some very nice perks.

We are on the Riviera in an Owners Suite in September.

I have used the search but there are a few questions I haven't been able to find answers to.

Does the Owners suite have 2 full baths? It appears that the bath off the foyer has a shower but can not quite tell.

I believe the owners suite gets a few bottles of alcohol on embarkation. My husband and I do not drink but my son who may come enjoys a good Vodka with a lemon or orange twist. Can we substitute vodka for one of the other bottles?

The fitness center looks good but I can not see if there is anywhere to do pull ups.

A good fitness center is very important to us. It was one of the main reason we won't be back on the Silver Spirit for a while, if ever. The Silver Spirit fitness center was much smaller than the photos indicated. They also had equipment and weights but no room to do anything with them. You could bring them outside but that breaks etiquette by keeping weights while you finish a set. Big fitness areas are also the main reason we don't mind mainstream cruise lines. They have very big and nicely appointed fitness centers. Some of the NCL ships have a private fitness room in the Haven plus the massive ones open to all.

We are looking forward to the food on oceania. We enjoy quality meats and veggies. This has us very excited. We like quality clean foods. I am sure we can ask for sauces etc on the side and it sounds like the requests will be met.

I will continue to read the boards. Although I don't post much I check CruiseCritic every day.

dexddd, I'm sorry no photos. I can tell you that it is kindof like a Murphy bed and it.

comes down from the wall. If you check images you will see a silver Handle on the wall and that is how you pull it down.

It is a full or queen size bed. I'm not sure which. My sister is 5'8 around 130 lbs and her husband is about 5'10 and probably 170 lbs. They were comfortable in the bed.

The side next to the wall is close to the wall. No room for a night stand or table. The foot of the bed is close to the wall also but my sister who slept on the inside was able to get through with out bumping her knees. Her only complaint was there was no plug in to charge her phone next to her side of the bed so her phone (which is also her alarm) had to rest on the desk so she had to get up to turn off her alarm.

Hope this helps. It really is a nice room. It is at the end of the hall so it is quiet. We loved having the Haven yet still having the huge fitness room available. We would love to cruise on some of the smaller ships but the fitness room is a deal breaker for us. If it is too small and not enough weights it's a no go. This offers our own little quiet space plus the benefits of a large ship.

We used the huge balcony every day in September. I don't recall it ever being too windy to use. We used the smaller balcony once when it was raining because it offered more protection than the forward balcony. The DOS with the large balcony has been our favorite room to date. We have stayed in many suites on many cruise lines from Carnival to SilverSeas. The layout is great and it does not have much wasted space like a huge foyer or space for the piano. We brought along my sister and brother in law as guests and they easily stayed in the 2nd room.

The Haven was a little slice of Heaven. Every time we ventured out to eat at a specialty restaurant, enjoy the fitness area, Casino or ropes course we would return and breathe a sigh of relief from the hustle and bustle of the main ship. It is like living in the quiet suburbs but enjoying what the big city has to offer.

I'm sorry, no photo but I can tell you about the murphy bed. It pulls down from the wall and slept 2 adults comfortably. My sister and her husband were in the room and said it was tight getting around the bed when it was down but my sister was able to squeeze between it and the wall to get up. Her only complaint was there was no outlet to charge her phone at night on the side wall. she had to leave her phone on the table instead of right next to her for her alarm.

The room was one of the best we've stayed in

The layout was nice with lots of room but not wasted space like a huge foyer or space for a piano. the balcony was my favorite spot. It was our Haven with the Haven.

You might try calling The River's Edge. I thought they had a free shuttle from the airport and also to the downtown area.

We stayed here several years ago and loved the river's edge cottages. The weather was warm and the kids swam in the river at 11:30 pm in daylight.

Brings back very nice memories.

I believe it's because we do not have the gates to accommodate loading the passengers. O'hare has the runways just not the gates.

It is in the works to upgrading a couple in Terminal 5 so that by sometime in 2016 we can get a few flights using A 380's.

No, they are paying customers. They like to play with the stock market and did well last year.

They really enjoyed the 787. They felt much better after flying on the Dreamliner as far as air quality and humidification compared to the 777 they flew home.

Their flight home on a 777 was in First and felt Business on the 787 was much better. Of course, the 787 was new and the 777 was much older but they had a great time and loved the Dreamliner.

They have their sights on an A380 next. We are out of O'hare so we don't have them here...yet.

Happy Travels.

The kids agree that 2A or L would be the best. If you can't get a different rear facing seat they felt then 1 A or L would be good since it is so private.

They both had difficulties with their IFE systems but were given tablets instead. They said there weren't as many choices but it still kept them entertained until they went to sleep.

They said sleeping was "awesome". My son felt the seat "really wraps around you and feels so private".

They are enjoying Beijing even though they are there for a few short days. Looks like we will all have to go back.

Enjoy your flight.

My children are on the B787 right now on their way from DFW to PEK. They are in 1L and 2L. 1L is forward facing tucked in the corner. My daughter said it is very private and quiet.

My son is right behind her in 2L. He is rear facing. From the photo it looks like it is not direct forward or rear facing but more of an angle that faces the window in 1L and 2L looks like his back is to the window.

The whole reason they took this trip was entirely to fly on the Dreamliner. The fact that they get to spend a few days in Beijing is just an extra perk.

They fly a 777 home and are curious if there will be any noticeable changes between the 787 cabin pressure to 6000 ft vs 8000 ft of the 777.

My son flew it from ORD to DFW a few weeks ago and took video of the wing flex. It was pretty impressive to see how much they flex.

I will find out a bit more detail when they get home in a few days.

We stayed in this lovely suite in September. There are two bathrooms and each has a shower. The master bath has a huge shower with steam option. I had difficulty getting the water hot enough for me so our steward had maintenance come and fix it. It was fine for a few days then the same problem occurred.

The second bath is right off the entrance way and it too has a nice size shower.

The water in this bath remained very hot...just the way I liked it.

It has a player piano that we used only early evenings before dinner so we didn't disturb anyone around or below us.

There is a nice bar with a sink so plenty of room to entertain.

We will be on her tomorrow.

Hope the picture turned out ok. Internet is spotty. Also, trying to post using my phone.

My husband wears a cochlear implant device so we must bring it with on excursions and it must stay dry.

I use a small pelican case plus put it in a ziplock bag.

When we are on the beach I connect the pelican case to the inside of my bag with the carabiner AND I hook my bag to a chair with another carabiner.

I don't want to risk someone walking off with my bag. I keep it hooked to my chair even when I am sitting right there.

We would never risk bringing it in the water or even sitting on the beach in the sand. He takes it off even if we are in the wind. We wouldn't want it becoming dislodged and lose it.

Loving your report. We had your room in September. I LOVED the walk through closet and the steam in the shower.

I ended up using the big bathroom and my husband used the smaller one off the entryway.

The shower in the big bathroom didn't allow the water to get very hot but a word to our room steward and it was fixed in no time.

Thank you for your pictures. I enjoy being reminded of the fun we had hosting cocktails every evening before dinner.

MJN1, Thank you for your response. I can now plan and pack accordingly.

We are new to Silversea though have traveled on most mass market cruise lines. We are very excited and will be on the Silver Spirit in February.

I have a few questions...

We are in a Silver Suite and wonder is complimentary laundry included in this level suite or is it for Royal, Grand and Owners Suites only?

Are there restrictions on the jogging track regarding hours of use? I usually run in very early hours but do not like to run disturbing anyone if there are suites below or near the jogging track.

I've seen wonderful pictures of the fitness area (Thank you Wes and others). Is there a pull up bar? I haven't been able to see one in any photos but it is difficult to tell.

Are requests such as "sauce on the side" or "simply grilled" met in the dining room? As I said we usually cruise with mass market and some requests are understandably difficult to fulfill since they are preparing meals for thousands of people at a time.

As I said we are very excited. We usually travel with our children and take both sets of grandparents with us. This time it is just the two of us and we look forward to a winning combination of the beauty of French Polynesia plus the luxury of Silversea.

I'n not sure it is safe to assume RCCL will allow your bike. We told told NO bikes on RCCL of any kind for our cruise last October in the Med. The FAQ's state no bikes. I would call to see if your folding bike would be allowed. We ended up on Holland America. We rented bikes in Barcelona and rode at every port. It was a wonderful trip.

I can not explain why the increase in cost however, I CAN tell you that RCCL does change booking numbers with out rebooking.

WE are booked on the Jewel for October 2014. We booked directly with RCCL on the phone. My sister recently called RCCL to book her room and tried to link her reservation to ours and was told our reservation number had been changed. RCCL had to hold a three way phone call with me, my sister and RCCL to confirm it was ok to link the reservations. I was told I needed to call back to get the new reservation number that it was changed.

When I called RCCL to get the new number the agent could not tell me why it was changed but everything else was the same. Even the early dining time had not changed and it is currently filled.

Thank you for this review. My husband and I took the train here from Barcelona pre cruise in October. We had a most wonderful 3 days enjoying this town. Your photographs captured some highlights and reminded us of why we loved Alicante.

Anxiously waiting for news about our August 3,2014 sailing AzAmazing Event on the Quest. It seems to be the only one for the Quest that is "Coming Soon".

It is fun to read through the others. I check everyday. I just can't stop myself.

If you have your journey booked go via the summary and choose "My Azamara" and try to get tru to the Book Shore Excursions[/url] option. At least here you can view all excursions offered and one of them will be the Azamazing Evening Event.

Good luck:)

 

Thank you oddjob16. So far all of the Shore Excursions have some fee associated with it. So does this mean that the Azamara Evening Event is not listed yet ? or does this mean that one of the ones already listed will be the Event but with out the fee?

WE are on the August 3,2014 Quest Mediterranean Holiday Voyage and I can't seem to find out when or where the Azamazing Evening is. We are so very excited since this is our first Azamara cruise. We are celebrating my son graduating from college and my recovering from cancer surgeries and treatment.

Smoothdancer, I have read about your competitions and have seen some of your pictures. Congratulations on all your accomplishments. The pictures and your dresses are beautiful.

Clothes that wick are a light weight fabric that pulls moisture away from skin when they are wet so you stay warm. Cotton stays wet so you end up feeling cold with regular cotton tees.

You really don't need to go to a running store to get wicking things. Any sport store sell these or again roadrunnersportsdotcom (of course replace the word dot with a period). Roadrunnersports had tons of running stuff. If you join their VIP Club for $1.99 all your shipping is free.

Sign up for a race if you haven't already. It really gets you motivated plus they are tons of fun. Disney World has a Half Marathon in

February...the Princess Half Marathon that is a GREAT Half to start with. It is mostly women though my brother ran last year and my husband is running this year, you can wear a princess costume if you like and it is a laid back kindof feel. There is opportunity to stop along the way and have your picture taken with Disney Characters. Google images of the run.

Half Marathons are doable if you follow one of the running plans like Hal Higdons. There are also lots of 5K or 10K around but a race if fun to do.

Have fun in Cancun. Is it an All Inclusive? We've always wanted to do one of these but I choose cruising instead :) There's just something about waking up for an early morning run everyday in a different country.

Smoothdancer, I'm with you on loving running. Cold weather running is one of my favorites. I live in the Chicago area and the only thing that keeps me in is ice or lightening. For cold weather ...layer as needed wearing wicking material close to your skin.

For snow check out any online store like roadrunner and take a look at yaktrax. I wear the spike kind in snow and they work great for me. There is nothing like hearing your feet crunching and making the first set of prints in the snow or coming in on those bitter cold mornings with icicles on your eyelashes and hair.

These online stores also sell many different kinds of reflective wear and lamps. I run EARLY morning and wear both lights and reflective wear.

While in Cancun go ahead and try running on the beach. I love to do this in St Petes Beach FL. I run close to the water where the sand is a bit firmer. I see some people run on dry sand but for me this is a different kind of run.

Actually one year I injured my knee and couldn't run on pavement but the sand did the trick and seemed to take care of the pain and have been pain free since. It could be coincidental but I do enjoy running on firm sand.

Good luck with your running.

Congratulations on running again. One of the best motivators is to sign up for a race. For me, it keeps me focused and motivated. One of my favorite parts of cruising is to run laps VERY early in the morning on the ships track. It is the perfect time to watch the ship "come alive" and watch the sun rise on a new port or over the water. Keep up the great work.