ladymadeline

It's been more than three years since we've cruised due to Covid, mostly.  Our last trip was on Silversea and we've had four cruises on REGENT. Heard great things about Viking Ocean and filled out a form online about a re-positioning cruise in September 2023 from Norway to Montreal.  We've been hounded by a Viking agent calling us several times per day and emailing us, pressing us to make a decision.  I was really put off by the hard sell approach and finally told him we didn't want to pursue a cruise at this time.  Are they on commission????  Why was he so aggressive?  

I spoke to a customer service representative at Regent Seven Seas today to clarify their current refund policy. She pressed me to book with her. She said I could book the cruise with her, submit a deposit and then transfer my cruise to my travel agent. Can someone explain what she was doing? Does she get some sort of credit or commission from Regent? Wouldn’t that be a disadvantage to my travel agent? Enlighten me, please.

Does it surprise anyone that the majority of positive tests are crew members? Why didn’t they anticipate this and not turn around and go out to Hawaii?

Was there only one Holland America ship in the Far East recently?

We’ve done both and would probably opt for Mariner. We like the public spaces and the shower situation is a plus.

While I have not been on this particular itinerary, I have done other cruises (Alaska, New England, British Isles) that followed similar trajectories.  You're constantly turning, changing course, depending on ports.  One day the sun is full on your balcony and the next day it's in the shade.  I think you'll find that you will be just fine.

3 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

In my opinion, this has nothing whatsoever to do with NCL.  Regent was advertising "Kids Sail Free" several years ago.  We would not step foot on a Regent ship on any cruise where children sail free or at a heavy discount.  

 

There have been up to 100 children on Regent (especially in Alaska) during these "sales".   I have learned that many reports of children behaving wonderfully are generally lies.  I have spoken to more than a few passengers that posted how children were not an issue but actually were a pain.  The worst thing that I read (and it was true) is when two boys were using shuffleboard paddles (not sure what they are called) as swords and one boy broke two arms.  

 

I understand that booking "luxury" Alaska cruises can be a challenge but, In my opinion, kids ruin the ships (spilling  and breaking things everywhere, etc.) and the cost to replace what they have done exceeds the tiny amount that they get by the low cost.

 

Don't bother slamming me as there is nothing you can say that will change my mind.  I would not have taken our children on Regent when they were younger and would definitely not invite our grandchildren on a Regent cruise.  Disney is much better suited for younger children and NCL is great for older children.  

 

 

Totally agree with you. I think my grandchildren would be bored on Regent (ages 8-10-13). That’s why the cruise industry has Disney. 

I’ve only booked something when I had to use up onboard credits. Most services are not nearly as good as what I can get at home. I once had a broken acrylic nail that needed repair and you’d have thought I’d asked them to tune-up a Maserati! They didn’t have a nail technician who knew what to do. Good thing we went home soon.


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Ladymadeline - we changed cruises quite recently - Viking happily transferred our deposit to the new cruise and charged us an admin fee of £100 per person to do so. We are in the UK so US policy may be different but before we changed I wasn't sure if we could do this either. The small print can be very confusing, however, it was very easy and no problems.

Thank you. I called and they said no problem. Didn’t even mention anything about a fee.

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We put a deposit on a January 2020 cruise, but are now having second thoughts. We've found other itineraries that we prefer. Can I simply call Viking and ask to switch our deposit to another cruise? Has anyone done this?

If we put down a deposit on a future cruise (January 2020), but change our mind, will Viking Ocean apply our deposit to a different cruise??

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Here's what happened when I contacted Viking Ocean this morning. They said the cruise is sold out and they do not have an official waitlist, although the travel agent I contacted may have a process to get us on a waitlist through her own contact at Viking. What???? He suggested I contact the travel agent again. My head hurts.

I contacted a travel agent about a particular Viking Cruise in 2019 and she said it was already sold out. (Bergen to Montreal). She said we could be put on a waitlist. I said please add us. I haven’t heard anything more. She didn’t ask for any information. How do I know if we’re really on the waitlist? I should mention we’ve never used her before (found her solely based on searching for a new agent online). Our regular agent retired last year. Never been on a waitlist before.

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Absolutely beautiful photos!

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About time. I was so frustrated on our last voyage that we decided not to book another Silversea trip.

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We purchased air tickets through Silversea and can't get seat assignments since the tickets are not paid for by Silversea yet. Any experience as to how far in advance SS pays for air tickets? Since I paid for the air teservations over two months ago, I guess they just want to hold on to my money as along as possible.

We had a problem with trying to upgrade on Delta and even 60 days prior to our cruise we were told Silversea hadn’t paid for our tickets yet. Then, later, when they were paid (around 30 days) Delta said due to the type of tickets booked by Silversea we couldn’t upgrade. We got our travel agent involved and she could only manage to get us upgraded to Delta Comfort on ONE out of four legs because everything was full. She further stated that you should always book in the class of tickets you prefer, such as Business class and never book coach hoping to upgrade. That’s why we like Regent.

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I can’t speak to all carriers but last I checked this past Fall neither AT&T or Verizon had any current agreement with Silversea or its cell phone provider. International plans only work in selected countries and only when docked or on land.

Agreed. We bought an ATT passport plan which only works on land. We forgot to turn off the phone at one point and got a message from ATT saying we’d racked up $100+ in roaming charges. Be prepared.

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Having just got of our first Silversea cruise I will put forward my opinion.

 

We really found having a butler an added extra we would prefer not to have. He was a lovely guy but it got tiring to constantly reassure him we did not need his services. Every time he saw us he asked what he could do, it got so we would hope not to see him as it felt awkward to us.

 

 

 

We missed the friendly interaction and banter we had with our stewardesses on Seabourn who we could joke with and ask each about how the day had been. Silversea seemed so much more formal, even when we tried to lighten the mood by joking. We have had one or two not so great stewardesses but generally they were lovely and did all we required.

 

 

 

I read a review of someone who recently sailed on Odyssey and while not negating the issues they encountered, their comment regarding missing their butler on Silversea struck home. It proved to me how we all have different wants and needs on our cruises.:)

 

 

 

Julie

Julie: you nailed it! Just back from our first Silversea cruise and we struggled to understand the difference between the Butler and the stewardess. We often found our shoes wrapped in tissue paper when we hadn’t asked for shoe shining (mine were patent leather). A friend on the same trip said their butler followed them to the elevator and punched the button for them. He seemed very “needy” to them and they finally placated him by ordering different pillows every few days. I’d just appreciate a solid suite attendant who consistently replenishes the towels, toiletries and mini bar items.

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Yes. Before ordering an English muffin for the 10th time, be sure your server knows how you want it toasted as well as that you would like the butter and jam placed on the table before said muffin arrives. [emoji6]

 

Also, sail on a full voyage. We did and never had a problem with our meals, regardless of time of day. They were excellent. Luck of the draw I guess.

 

 

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I was always specific with my ordering.

Also, what’s it mean “sail on a full voyage”?

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We recently returned from a S. America (Ft. Lauderdale to Valparaiso) trip. While the trip itself was mostly fine, the dining situation is not for us. Here are the problems we encountered and the things we disliked:

 

 

 

No published menus. In many cases it doesn’t really matter as the menus in Atlantide and Indochine are changed so infrequently that we soon had them memorized.

 

 

 

Poor service in many venues. Our only breakfast attempt in Atlantide was a comedy in that the waiter thought it was correct to serve items as courses — my eggs were held back until my husband finished his cereal. Too often at breakfast in La Terrazza the orders were wrong — on one memorable morning 2 out of 3 items were erroneous. In the Atlantide bar we were denied a seat at the bar as the bartender insisted the last 2 seats were taken, even though other passengers insisted the occupants had left. The problems were generally in the dining rooms — the cabin staff and most bar staff were excellent.

 

 

 

Odd and time consuming seating policy in Atlantide. Upon approaching the podium guests are escorted to their table by the maitre d’ which left the podium vacant and other guests just hanging out.

 

 

 

Table sharing was sporadic. Twice we were asked if we wanted to share, we said yes after inquiring about the table size and being told it was 6, which in both cases was erroneous. We were last to be seated at tables for 8 with only 6 guests. Since we are getting a bit hard of hearing we were mostly unable to join in the conversation.

 

 

 

Our confirmed reservation for Stars for 2 somehow morphed into a waitlist for 4.

 

 

 

Generally the food quality was only OK — not up to the standards of other SS ships we have sailed on. The one exception was La Dame which was terrific in every way.

 

 

 

I was confused by the availability of the “always available” menu as I read it to be room service only, and it is not shown on any of the restaurant menus. But on 2 occasions I requested broth, expecting to be turned down, and it was cheerfully served. Recommend you carry a copy from the room in case nothing on the restaurant menu appeals!

 

 

 

Our voyage was not full so we rarely experienced having to wait for a table, plus we dine late. On a full ship I think it would be a different story.

 

 

 

We really missed having a main dining room with its daily changing menu.

 

 

 

We like SS and will sail with them again, but not on Muse or Musified ships.

We are currently on Muse and agree with almost everything you’ve described. This morning, after ordering an English muffin for about the 10th morning, always asking for butter and strawberry jam...I was again presented with the under toasted muffin...NO butter or jam. I then wait, while the muffin cools for the butter/jam. This is just one example of the inconsistency in service at the dining venues. Atlantide is by far, the most disappointing.

We agree that most staff are pleasant and bartenders are quite good...but the food, variety and quality have been disappointing.

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I agree it depends on the ship. We’re currently on Muse and there are many tuxes and dark suits. We also think they’ve had way too many “informal “ nights which means sport coats. So, husband wears either dark suit or sport coat every night. He’s getting sick of it.

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Great! Hope you have a wonderful time at Volunteer Point.

 

 

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Lovely day at the Bluff Cove Lagoon with many penguins. The tea room was great and our tour guide, Jeremy, was outstanding. Consensus from our group (there are 18 of us traveling together) was the Falkland Islands was our favorite stop so far.

Back on board we continue to encounter people who are very ill with a gastrointestinal disorder of some sort. One husband said his wife slept on the floor of their bathroom. Yikes! Crew continue to spray a pungent disinfectant throughout the hallways.

Captain announced a whale sighting off the starboard side this morning and I saw a glimpse of a tail!

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We're in Stanley! We anchored and will go ashore soon.

Today's Observations:

One person always decides to walk the OPPOSITE direction of everyone else on the jogging/walking track. Just went around the track with about 8 other hardy souls and one lady was walking the opposite direction. So, every time she approached the two of us, we would pause slightly, move away from each other and let her breeze through us. Kind of baffled me. You'd think after twenty minutes or so, she'd reverse course and go with the flow?

Dinner in Indochine was outstanding and we agreed they are the most consistent as far as quality of food. We like the pizza up on deck 11, but even with outdoor heaters you need to wear a coat. We were entertained by an intrepid woman swimming all by herself in the pool, which splashed over the walls of the pool. Her husband tried to join her, squealed like crazy when he hit the water and immediately retreated to the hot tub. I admired her fortitude.

Looking forward to the lecture on the Falkland war at 3:30 today. The captain announced that two cruise lines have skipped Stanley, due to high winds and is cautiously optimistic we can anchor tomorrow. I hope he's right. I'm on the great quest for penguins!

I told my husband I had only ONE thing I needed to see on this cruise. Magellanic Penquins. Alas, due to high winds today, the excursion to Magdalena Island was canceled. :eek: We were offered a city bus tour in it's place, but declined and walked around Puerto Aranas instead. We had lunch at a fantastic spot - Sotito's, which is close to the cruise port. We also went to a local museum, the Braun-Menendez house.

 

 

 

Last night dinner was in La Terrazza and was good. We depart tomorrow at 13:00 for the Falkland Islands. Hoping for on more shot at seeing penquins.

Day Nine:

Went ashore and got a driver to take 9 of us to the museum with the replica of Magellan’s ship. Charged us $10 each. Also saw a replica of the Beagle. Talked with folks on a large P&O ship, who are almost half way through a 65 day voyage (Southampton to Southampton).

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