JSR

@mlbcruiserhave you considered discussing the rain issue with the manufacturer about the scooters limits in terms of water and what they suggest? hooe you had a lovely time on your cruise and visit.

Just booked our first D2D with air. How far prior to sailing do you receive flight information? We will have some very specific needs in regards to our flights. I am assuming from this thread that they send you the flight information and you either approve it or make specific requests. Am I understanding correctly? Thanks

We booked the GV South America 2024. This will be a first time experience, going from 14 days as our longest cruise to 71...you only live once.

Accessible cabins were more limited then I thought at first so we are now booked! Have to find another cruise to book onboard. 😉

We have run into this for the first time. We are considering a new ship for a 72 night cruise that will cost in the 6 figures. I was taken aback that the only choices were the most expensive standard balcony because of its location, making the 100K cruise now 170K. It is not about being booked, it is about nothing lower existing that is wheelchair accessible. They only have 2 cats, premium veranda (highest regular veranda) and silver which is a one bedroom. Not only is this annoying but has us rethinking a significant cruise we planned to take. They will not care as they have no trouble selling cabins.

Thank you everyone. I will monitor the suite situation as I need an ADA cabin, there are 4 available now, so if I see it getting down to 1 or 2 I will book, if not I will hold out until June and book it right away for the additional discount.

Is there a discount for booking a GV cruise while onboard another SS cruise? If so, is it 5%? We cruise in June and I am debating waiting or not. So far the cabins we are interested in are readily available...At the same time I am one of those, just get it done people...the savings is significant if it is offered. Thanks for the help.

@nowornever Thank you so much for the photos. I shared them with my husband. I look forward to hearing about the ports and any thoughts you have. Thank you for all your help! Jean

@nowornever thanks for the information I’d love to see photos rtravel at aol dot com. I’d also love to hear more about any of the ports that stood out or any unique things you did in them. Thanks so much. @CruisinPashmina thanks that warms my heart to hear. We love meeting people on our cruises.

@nowornever Would you mind giving me some details about the Carnival experience in Rio. What type of seating did you have in Sambadrome? Do you remember the section number? What type of transportation did SS provide from the ship to Sambadrome- bus, car? thanks, Jean

We booked all our excursions on the Moon last year int Norwegian Fjords. I would recommend picking and choosing. It also gives you an opportunity to meet more people not on the cruise

@noworneverwould you mind sharing some of the highlights of experiences in various ports. I’m reading up but it is a lot so anything you’d like to share about your experiences would be appreciated. Thanks

We have sailed the Silver Moon and cabin 409 is the most wheelchair accessible bathroom we have experienced and we have over 20 cruises on Royal and Celeb. The pools and hot tub however, on SS ships do not have wheelchair lifts, can this be added to make the ships more accessible. Same for automatic door openers for the access to the decks and also access to public restrooms.

Thank you all for your responses. All very helpful. Yellow Fever Vax- Just had our physicals a few hours ago and our PA said she would defer to the travel clinic doc. She said there is increased risk at our age but it is still low. @Stumblefoot We found the lack of engagement by other cruisers on the Moon last summer unwelcoming. I believe it was the tail end of a GV. It is one reason my DH is hesitant to sail SS again. We are on Endeavour this June so hopefully we will find that our Moon experience was the exception and not the rule. We did meet a couple towards the end of the Moon cruise that had the same experience and were glad to connect, they were young enough to be our kids, we are early/mid 60s. @Host Jazzbeau @Fletcher We are most motivated by warm weather, FLL departure, cruising the Amazon and Carnival. Since we are going to the Arctic this summer and I am more polar bear then penguin we are good with the whirlwind circumnavigation. I am a very active paraplegic so I do have limitations on hiking etc. @nowornever Thank you. I will take you up on specific questions as they arise. It always takes me a bit more planning because of being a full time wheeler however, I always manage to find unique and interesting things to do. We are not keen on bus tours so we always book our own excursions to both gty accessibility and to many times have unique experiences. We are excited at the prospect of taking this cruise. More research to be done and then we shall decide. Thanks everyone for your continued input.

I keep asking myself that question. Sounds like UPS is more reliable than DHL so maybe shipping it to the hotel ahead of time directly through UPS. hmmm

Is there a problem with getting a yellow fever shot I should know about?

I am tired of being cold and am considering the South America Grand Cruise 2024 on Silver Nova, 72 days FLL to FLL. I have a few questions and appreciate the help. This is a leap for us as we have never cruised more then 21 days and that was b2b on two different ships. We have only taken one small ship cruise on Silver Moon and we are headed on our second on Silver Endeavour. Our style has changed in retirement and are less interested in cruises to relax and more interested in cruises to see and experience places therefore the small ships with longer itineraries are appealing. Advice Please: Pros, Cons, Tips from those of you who have taken the longer cruises. Especially tips and thoughts on your first one. We like this itinerary because we only have to fly to Florida, it is warm, and really fun with Carnival, the Panama Canal, the Amazon, and even a penguin or two. It fits our available time nicely, it is a new ship, and cabins are available. It is pricey but that is to be expected. Finances: I have heard reference to discounts, OBC, etc that some TAs offer. I am not asking for their names however, I would like to know what the range of offers people have received such as % discount, or OBC amounts and if these agencies are internet only low service, or full service TAs. Thank you everyone for your help.

The weather is so hard to predict. Using a manual chair I can sometimes hydroplane on wet surfaces. For he most part it only rained really hard once in Iceland and in Bergen but it did not last all day. Other places it rained medium and light on and off all day. Other places it was sunny and clear. We were there during a major storm front that followed us from the East on our journey so you never know. I would think you could make some sort of plastic rain poncho for the parts of the scooter you were concerned about and then wipe it down when you got back to the cabin but that is just a thought as I have no first hand experience. I do know that rain pants are a most when seated because water pools in your lap quickly. A poncho is also useful. No bad weather, just bad clothes was our mantra.

Thank you for all your helpful responses. Glad to here. We are exploring many options for the next couple of years of travel and Regent is clearly an option.

Has anyone been on the Odyssey recently and will you share your experience? Has the food, cleanliness, and over all experience improved?

Hi I have been reading as many posts as time allows. We are in our mid 60s and are in the process of changing our cruising style. We are now retired (DH semi but very flexible about the semi part) and more inclined to small ships that can do more interesting itineraries as opposed to the chill in the Caribbean we enjoy on larger ships. We have tried Silversea Moon and Cunard QM2 (not small however, well suited to transatlantics). We enjoyed both and had some criticism of both that being said we are transiting on QM2 again (beats flying) and also embarking on the Silversea Endeavour to the Arctic. Like everyone we have our specific needs and wants that matter to us and may not matter to others. The Mariner has a 2025 World cruise that we really like the itinerary. We would take a much shorter trial cruise on the Mariner prior to committing. I would appreciate some help to determine if we should even be considering this. I am a paraplegic and therefore use lightweight folding wheelchair for mobility. I gravitate to cruise lines that are inclusive in the desire to provide an equal experience for all and also to newer ships as they tend to be the most wheelchair accessible. I am active and in reasonable shape though I no longer need to do things I did in my younger years however, I do arrange interesting tours where ever we go and do explore to the best of my abilities. I have posted on the disbilities board of CC however, there is little to no information on luxury cruise lines. Again, some of these are subjective, please share your opinion - If you have stayed in a wheelchair accessible cabin on the Mariner, will you share the photos? - How is the accessibility on the ship, are their areas that are not accessible by elevator or ramp? -Are there automatic doors to the outside and if not are there people willing to help with opening them if my DH is not with me at the moment? - In general have you found the ship to be easy to get around in a wheelchair ? - Have you seen or experienced the ships crew helping with exiting and entering ports either down stairs, ramps, or using tenders? - If you have been on Silversea Moon or her sister ships how do the cabins compare? - the only class of cabin available is a standard veranda, who would this be for 150 days? -Please share anything you think would be helpful or fun. Thanks for reading all this and helping if you can.

We have taken many Celebrity cruises though non post Covid. In the past we found the newer the ship the better the service. Not always but in general. They tend to move their veteran staff to the new ship. recently with have tried Silversea and Cunard QM2. We like SS for port intensive cruises, the food is too notch quality however, the dishes lack creativity in the main dining room and speciality restaurants varied from excellent to ok, the cabins are excellent even in the lowest cat., however the entertainment is almost non existent and fair at best and our ‘butler’ aka cabin steward did an excellent job on cleanliness but that was about it as she was spread too thin. . QM2 is a bit beat up inside but was a lot of fun on a transatlantic, food in Queen’s Grill was outstanding. After years of sticking to Royal and Celeb we are on mission to expand our horizons. It’s fun.

Hi. We always leave the prepaid gratuities but then supplement them in cash to those whose service we thought was very good or above. The prepaid to us is insufficient especially for our cabin attendants, concierge if applicable, dining staff, etc However, we do base this on quality not on routine. Just how we do it.

Yes, I only sail with Cunard for transatlantics as there are no tenders or ports for that matter.

We did 12 days last summer. I booked all the tours myself. We have found ship tours to be unreliable when it comes to accessibility and limiting to some of the more typical bus tours when they do have them. Here is a link to my port excursion information.