the mice

On 11/4/2018 at 9:00 AM, sillygoose11 said:

We will be staying at Cotton House later this month for five night using points (get 5 if you book 4 nights).  The hotel is located in a central area near PC.  Platinum members receive free breakfasts.  The only complaints I've read: rooms are small and food is expensive but the main floor is beautiful. 

 

We just stayed in the Cotton House for 2 nights in mid-November prior to our cruise.   Although I was only Silver Elite at the time, we were upgraded 2 categories to a lovely room with balcony.   However, we didn't use it because we were out or it was raining.

The hotel is stunning, the staff lovely and helpful.   But it is a lot of points.   I cannot comment on the size of a standard room, but our room was a nice size and the room amenities were very nice.  

We did not eat in the hotel, and were not entitled to breakfast, so we went a block away.   Cafe Alsur has great breakfasts and more.  Next door is a smaller shop for coffee/pastries which is open earlier  - which we needed the day we went to La Sagrada Familia for the early time slot.   Both reasonably priced compared to breakfast in the hotel.  

Just returned from an Oceania cruise to some of these ports.    Through our Roll Call we arranged some private group tours and the prices were super reasonable.

Lanzarote, Canary Islands -  we booked a private group excursion through ExcursionsLanzarote.com with "Crazy David" but you can also book direct with him.  His company is adventureholidayslanzarote.com.    Highly recommend him - everyone in our group was very happy with him and the tour.

Las Palmas, Canary Islands -  this was a challenge at first, but we booked a private excursion with Viajes Pamir.   www.viajespamir.com     My contact was Manuel Negro    manuelnegro@viajespamir.com     You can mention that Mrs. Berman referred you to him.   He was super helpful and very responsive.   Did require a deposit, but arranged for paying it by credit card, and the tour was fantastic, with a brand new roomy minibus and an English speaking guide in addition to the driver since we were 10.   Our group loved it.   They also do private taxi tours if you are only 2 (or 4) - the taxi drivers don't speak too much English but they have recorded tour information.    I was told by many companies that the taxi drivers don't speak much English here. 

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands -  did a tour with Spain Day Tours.   They run a great operation.   Unfortunately, we had planned to go to Mt. Tiede but snow closed all the roads so they had to do something different - they made the best of a bad situation, but the tour we ended up with wasn't as interesting to me. The weather where we went was wonderful - sunny and reasonably mild.  In January, there will probably be more snow, so plan accordingly.  Some other people on our cruise went to the north of the island and said their tour was fantastic.   You can look for options on their website and contact them directly.  They are very responsive.

Funchal, Madeira - we did a private group tour with Madeira Island Tours - it was great.  Fantastic scenery.   We all loved it, and our guide/driver Gregory was terrific.   Very inexpensive, too. 

Malaga - we did our own exploring here.  There are many options and lots of things to see - Alcazaba, Gibralfaro, Cathedral (with a rooftop visit), Picasso Museum,  the Central Market of Atarazanas, the Motor Museum/Fashion Museum.    We didn't get to all of them.  

Hope this helps and hope you love the Canaries as much as we did.   Happy Cruising.

You can use this site for historical weather:

https://www.wunderground.com/      Under the More tab, on the dropdown: Historical Weather

I think it all depends on itinerary.   As I mentioned earlier, we cruised the western Med in late November to beginning of December and had great weather.  I've spent a week in Malta in late November and had fantastic weather - tee shirts and light jackets.  But, things can change from year.  Sort of like financial advice -  past performance is no indication of future success. 

It is also true that some ports are basically shut down after the prime tourist season - places like Sorrento and towns on the Amalfi coast and Italian Riviera (Portofino, etc) have many businesses shuttered for the season.   

Thanks.  I have found a couple of reasonably priced options but they are slow to reply to emails. I will probably try to make a booking that I don't have to prepay and hope it works out.  Worst case we eventually get a regular taxi.

4 hours ago, avalong said:

OP : Suggest you google "yellow  fish cruises" and read today's (10-29 - Toulon) blog entry.

Weather can vary so much from year to year.   We were in Toulon on December 2, 2009 (mentioned in post 48 above).  It was sunny all day.  We did wear jackets, but they were open most of the day.   We had a fabulous tour from Toulon to Aix-en-Provence, out to see Mont Sainte-Victoire and then on to Cassis for a boat ride through the calanques (which don't run if the weather is bad or seas too rough), finishing off at the top of Cap Canaille to watch the sunset before returning to the port.    And we had similar weather the day prior in Nice on December 1.   

Have the app and a credit card linked to it.  Always an option.   And of course, I could just make Pete go out in the street and find a taxi again like he did last time - he'll just love that!!  (of course, I will have his passport and airline ticket home, so his options are limited )

12 minutes ago, Ski Mom 2 said:

We stayed in Lisbon for 4 nights pre cruise and took an Uber to the port. We had previously used Uber 2 other times during our a

stay. Perhaps you could Uber it?

Thanks for the reply.

Have never used Uber.  We live in the northern suburbs of NYC and go everywhere by car.   And have not used it in our travels as we almost never even take a taxi.    Not sure the crazy congestion at the port would be the best time to try Uber for the first time. 

Have found a couple of options for pre-booking but no reviews of the services.   If I don't come up with a good option, I may just book something the day before disembarkation (we overnight in Lisbon).  

We are arriving in Lisbon for an overnight on Nov. 27 and will be disembarking on Nov. 28.   Last year when we disembarked in Lisbon we had a very difficult time getting a taxi and it was a crowded mess outside the terminal.  So this time I would like to pre-book one.   With luggage, we do not want to use the metro or bus.

I was referred to one company on TripAdvisor who has not responded to my two emails.   Another just told me to call them that morning.  Not encouraging. 

On the Lisbon Port website, our terminal is now listed as Jardim do Tobaco, which I understand is the newer cruise terminal, just slightly closer to city center than Santa Apolonia. 

Anyone have any suggestions?   TIA.

I am so sorry for those of you having bad weather now on your cruise.  I hope it improves for you.

We cruised on Azamara Journey back in 2009 from November 22 - December 3, with a day prior in Rome and 2 days post in Barcelona.   We had wonderful weather except for Portofino where seas were too rough for us to tender, so we went to Genoa where it rained lightly for a while.   Since Portofino was basically shut down at that time of year, no great loss, and Genoa was terrific.   I think that day was the only rain of the entire 15 day trip.    Our ports included Tunis, Valletta and Taormina, so we weren't always hugging the coast.   Most days we had wonderful sunshine and we were wearing tee shirts, occasionally a light jacket.

For what it's worth, I've traveled in Europe on land during Thanksgiving week a number of times and rarely encountered rain on any of those trips, both in Italy and elsewhere.    Hope my luck holds as we are about to do Barcelona to Lisbon with the Canary islands the last 2 weeks of November.

Do the prices ever go down?

Maybe for itineraries that sell slowly but not for popular ones. Possibly during a Black Friday or Memorial Day sale (big US holiday sale periods) - last year I got a better price on our September Marina Vineyards & Castles cruise during a Memorial Day sale - the savings = $1500 pp.

Dan,

I hear you, and I myself prefer independent land travel in many instances, and I agree that we can bring the costs down significantly using miles and points, and we can have much more immersive experiences, but there are other factors to consider.

One, we pack light (carry on & personal item each), and are mobile and also willing to transport ourselves, whether by public transit or rental car. Not everyone is so inclined or necessarily able. And many people like to "unpack once" as opposed to living out of a suitcase.

Two, truly independent travel requires a good amount of research and planning (speaking from 30+ years of personal experience). That's an investment of time and energy that many people may not want to make. With a cruise, it is easy enough to book excursions via the cruise line or find others to share in a private excursion, perhaps with someone else doing the planning. How many roll calls have I been on where people are expressing a willingness to join private excursions, but never offering to plan any. With a cruise, you might have a combo of some independently researched ports and some organized excursions, but it is still less of a personal investment of time than a fully independent land trip.

Three, not everyone cares about or wants a totally immersive experience, preferring to have the comfort and convenience of knowing what their sleeping accommodations and dining options will be, rather than hoping they have chosen hotels and restaurants that suit them.

One size, and one budget, and one type of travel does not fit all. We will cruise where the itinerary meets our wants and needs and the price fits our budget. We will also travel independently for those immersive experiences we enjoy.

The photos of Baristas show cardboard (?) cups - we were served our cappuccinos in china cups last September. So I hope that is a very old photo.

Cruise Critic's boards have a whole section on River Cruising and it has become quite active. For anyone considering a river cruise, you will find a lot of information about lines, water levels, etc. Probably the best place to get answers or advice on any of your concerns about river cruising.

I don't think this is necessarily a cruise industry bashing thread. For myself, I indicated what our 18 day British Isles extended journey is costing on Nautica next June. The per diem for a C1 is $811 for 2. Our Canary Islands cruise on Marina this November in a B3 with a nice extended verandah is $519 for 2 per day. I call that a significant difference. (For reference, our just finished August Baltics cruise on Azamara, also in a C1, was just $601 per day for 2, but Azamara's prices are now increasing significantly, too). All 3 cruises do not include air in the figures quoted.

As I read various threads here on CC, I realize that many can afford to take cruises that are longer, in larger staterooms, and more expensive, and I am happy they can do so. But for us, I think we will have to seriously consider how we wish to spend our vacation dollars, and cruising may figure significantly less in our plans.

I should clarify one thing: we never ever asked to have a specific table held for us. In the latter part of the cruise we were always seated in a particular server’s section. I expect this was due to service issues identified earlier in the cruise with some of the less experienced servers.

I enjoyed reading your posts.

To add to your comment - we were on Journey in early August in the Baltics. We had abyssmal service in Discoveries on the first night. We were essentially ignored for 20 minutes to begin with, offered no bread until we asked after seeing it being delivered to tables all around us, more inattentive service, and then topped off by my receiving an overcooked, dried out veal chop. As it had been a drawn out affair at that point, I didn't want to send it back and request another dish. Major disappointment. So my husband went the next day to speak to the F&B manager. They played phone tag for 2 days, but finally spoke in person. After that, they knew our name, and service was super attentive. So, like you, I expect it was due to the service issues identified earlier in the cruise.

We had hoped our discussion would have prompted better service to all, so sorry you had to experience some service lapses on your cruise.

I just got an email from my travel agency for O with the price increase notice at the top. So we will see.

We are doing the 18 day extended journey Myths & Legends next June in a C1, booked in late April, and this was the last cabin left on the 2nd leg. Our cruise only fare is $14,598 for 2. Still have to get air (hopefully on miles) and add tours (not thru O). Not sure what I was thinking when I booked this, other than we could see Ireland without doing the driving (we did spend 5 days in Dublin 3 years ago and a week based in Edinburgh back in 2005, plus about 4+ weeks in London and England over 4 trips).

We are miles and points collectors and enjoy our independent land trips. In the past 5 years, in addition to 3 cruises (including Oceania and Azamara) and 2 US road trips, thanks to our miles/points we have been able to take 6 such land trips - 5 to Europe (55 days), 1 to Hawaii (12 days) with all flights on miles (6 one-ways in business class), staying in 4-5* hotels, transportation including a few rental cars, meals, touring, airport parking, et al, for less than what this 18 day cruise will end up costing when all is said and done.

We've got an upcoming O cruise (Spain/Canary Islands) in November and one more cruise on Celebrity Solstice doing a B2B Australia/NZ in October 2019 to celebrate my 70th, but then I think we are done with cruising - at least at the way prices are going. (Unless my DH says he wants to go to the Galapagos or Antarctica - which is not likely. :D) Most other places we can do land trips.

Just hit my email:

https://www.avidcruiser.com/2018/09/frank-del-rio-mind-the-curve/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9-16-18-Avid-Cruiser-newsletter

I just checked and for my date in mid-November, I can buy audioguide tickets but not tickets for a guided tour in English.

What type of ticket did you buy for November?

Hi Karen,

Well, you are ahead of me with the planning - LOL. Would love to hear what you found.

I think in my post I mixed up GBR (Great Barrier Reef) and GOR (Great Ocean Road) - hahaha - reminds me of my days in IBM (they used acronyms for Everything!). Anyway, wondering if we should do 1 or 2 days on the GOR. And how many days to allot to Melbourne and Sydney. Decisions, decisions.

I guess I will have to figure this out soon in the hopes of figuring out when to fly. With 2 other cruises, it can be difficult to figure out where to focus.....

Oh, and I mentioned the Corning Hot Glass Show - sadly no longer on the Solstice. It was my hangout on sea days on Eclipse, so I am going to miss this.

Marilyn

The shower curtain issue has been a recurring theme over the years. Now I see that the four Oceania R ships are being fitted with glass shower cubicles in place of the "clingy" shower curtains. Consequently, it must be possible to fit the same in Azamara's three ships given that the dimensions are the same. So, providing there's the will, there's nothing to stop Azamara making the change

 

 

I've never sailed on Oceania but I have to say that the "re-imagination" of their four R ships is excellent.

According to Oceania's descriptions, they are totally redoing the bathrooms - sounds like they will have all new fixtures, marble, and glass shower enclosures.

We are just off the Journey and it seemed that Azamara's reimagined standard staterooms did not change the bathrooms nor the desk and cabinetry in the stateroom (still that brown wood/white laminate) - ours looked a bit worse for wear.

We were on Journey August 8-19 and the executive chef was Chef Michael.

After all we had read on these boards, we have to say that overall food was good, but not great, and we had a couple of real misses in Discoveries early on.

On Journey now in Baltics. Evening chic in a bit of short supply. Have seen everything, including old jeans, athletic shoes and tee shirts.

We were on Marina last September. Due to weather we were diverted to another port and offered an alternate excursion there which ran very late. We arrived just as our reservation in Polo was to happen. Knowing that they would only hold it for 15 minutes, we raced there, now past time, and apologizd, saying we knew we were still dressed in our excursion attire (sneakers, tees) , and said we wanted to change but that meant we would be late. They were so gracious. They did give us a table near the rear of the room, closer to the entrance, but one away from the window with a great view. They were quite insistent that there was no need for us to go and change. Service was excellent and we truly appreciated their graciousness. I will say that we were neat, but it was not what we would have worn had circumstances been different. My DH would have been in collared shirt and slacks, with his regular shows, and I in slacks, nice top, and dress flats.

The OP asked this question on the April 27 roll call (which we were originally on - now cancelled), and I posted this information there but it may be helpful to others:

There's something else going on in 2019 that you might want to keep tabs on (source: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2282.html - it's a full page on Golden Week)

" Golden Week 2019

In 2019, the Emperor is expected to abdicate on April 30, followed by the ascension to the throne of the new Emperor on May 1. The government is considering making both these days national holidays, in which case May 2 would also become a national holiday (because according to law, a day between two holidays also becomes a holiday). As a result, the Golden Week could become a consecutive ten-day holiday. Calendar makers are urging the government to finalize its decision as quickly as possible.

Under "normal circumstances", the 2019 Golden Week would consist of two separate holidays of three and four days. Travel activity would be anticipated to peak on May 3 with people leaving the large urban centers (especially Tokyo) and on May 5 and 6 in the opposite direction. If Golden Week became an unprecedented 10-day holiday, travel activity would be difficult to predict, but likely peak around the beginning and end of the holiday period. "

Best of luck whatever any of you decide to do and happy cruising.

How many washers and dryers are there?

 

I can usually wake up early on a sea day, just to get laundry out of the way, but could do it after getting back from port.

Saw a recent picture of sign on Journey with laundry hours - 8am-9pm so that is not going to work too well with our port days.

Would really like to know correct answer on number of machines.