mchell810

I love Trapiche wines! Looks like yo had a lovely meal.

Yay 💃💃 ! Looking forward to your adventures.

I believe it's a matter of questioning what is presented rather than just accepting it. Last year, SS gave me flights with multiple stops when more direct routes were possible. I wrangled a bit, and ultimately did get better flights at no extra cost (after refusing one route with a huge extra cost). I suspect part of the problem, for me, was having a TA in the middle -- she wasn't very good at follow up. For my upcoming trip I was assigned flights with just over 1 hour connection time; I called my SS rep and he requested a change. It took a week but I then got good flights with a reasonable connection time. Sometimes in life people need to remember: you don't get if you don't ask.

Oceania has designated those cabins as Solo Cabins on their R-ships. Based on what I read on the Oceania boards I believe there is no solo supplement for said cabins.

Just to ad a thought about the tablets for immediate feedback: I find the idea of touching this object that everyone was touch disturbing. Yes, one can sanitize afterwards but the germophobe in me was a bit freaked out. The one time I did use the tablet I found the questions pretty generic and there was no space for real comments. I wish Azamara would use paper surveys and/or just send an email to give tour feedback.

Try the flight matrix. It will show a lot options and is easy to use if you want to play with departing from different cities. Once you see things you like you can go to the airline website for more detailed information. https://matrix.itasoftware.com/search

Appreciate your replies; it's really helped me make a decision. Thanks

Yes, this is helpful; I am hoping to avoid a situation like that. I am thinking I will just go ahead and apply for the the longer approval the week before I leave home. Even if it ends up "pending" until I am actually onboard at least I am not worried about it. Thanks

Thanks for this. One more question: When you applied for that full year was it approved ahead or did you have to wait until onboard? I am thinking I will just go ahead and get the longer approval but would hate to have it "pending" until I am actually onboard.

I know as a US citizen I am required to get an eVisa for Saudi Arabia. I have found the appropriate site to do so (direct from the Saudi government, NOT a visa agency). I have read posts about people getting the visa for $22 with approval "only granted 48-hours before arrival" but all those refer to MSC cruises (perhaps they have a special arrangement?) I'd rather not spend the $140 for the visa if I don't have to and I'd rather not have the application pending for a month if it won't be granted until just before arrival anyway. Therefore, my question is: do I need to do this now for my March cruise or can I wait and apply a few days before we actually arrive in Jeddah? Can anyone share their experience in getting the Saudi visa for a SS cruise? (No matter what I will apply while still on land -- I won't rely on wifi to work for this). Thanks.

Regarding dress code: If visiting a mosque women must have their hair covered as well. @little britain Thanks especially for the information regarding the visa. May I ask: was Dammam your only stop in Saudi Arabia? Was your visa good only for that day or would it have worked for multiple days (if you stopped in other ports)? Thanks.

Under different circumstances I might agree with you. We had been very friendly with this waiter all evening and his line about a recommendation was delivered with a smile, not as a real rebuke. When he delivered the souffle he didn't go far, I suspect so that he could quickly whisk it away, which is exactly what happened. As I noted above he did -- immediately-- offer to bring something else.

Have to share a funny story about the chocolate souffle in Aqualina on Pursuit in November. When my friend ordered the chocolate souffle the waiter suggested the Grand Marnier; she stayed with the chocolate. When it came out it was horrible -- not fully mixed and tasted terrible. When the waiter saw she was not enjoying it he offered to bring something else and said, "I did recommend the other." We all had a good laugh. Lesson learned: if the waiter steers you away from something believe him! I am not saying it's always bad but clearly the waiter knew it was not a good night for chocolate souffle.

Thanks for coming back with your summary and final comparison. I've marked my calendar for July 😀

No shuttles needed for Seville or Malaga; ship docks right in the center of town.

I recommend signing up for notifications for your flights from the airline, when I did this, by the time I got the generic email from FBC I already had a notification from Delta showing the actual change. Thus, I could ignore the FBC email as it was generally a small time adjustment. I do agree with others: the turn around times noted are ridiculous. If it were a major flight change I would contact FBC immediately.

I was on Pursuit in November; for our stop in Valencia there was a shuttle into town running every 30 minutes. The drop off/pick up spot was at the Torres de Serranos for easy access into the old city. It's not really near the Arts and Sciences center.

I think more people would buy the upgraded package for wine if they could be sure the wines would actually be available. I know it's the reason I avoid the package.

I agree about the tour time irregularities: I am sure they will get fixed as we get closer to sail date. As for the Alhambra: I booked with a private tour company Spain Day Tours. They get excellent reviews, are quick to respond to inquiries, and the trip was wonderful. It was definitely the highlight of my cruise. Ofc if you've been there before you may not feel the need to book separately. In any case, I hope it works out well for you.

I have had the exact same situation -- on a Nov 2023 cruise. The tours for several days are all listed as 00:00 start times; I mentioned the problem to my SS rep about 2 weeks ago so I hope someone in excursions dept is working on a fix.

I agree everything is a choice; I too have downsized to give myself more choices. The biggest hurdle was accepting that I will mostly be traveling alone; now that I have I am planning longer trips. Right now I can only do about 30 days at a time (I have 2 of those this year 💃). Someday maybe I will get to do longer stretches away.

Looking at your list I am very jealous. I have made it to some of the places on your list but the world is big and wonderful. If all goes well, I will be at the Taj in March before joining an SS cruise which will let me visit the Pyramids. It's unlikely I will ever get to to do a World Cruise, but I am trying to visit as many places as I can. In the meantime I live vicariously through you (and others who share their journeys). Thanks for sharing 😀

Yes, there is a real terminal there. I embarked in November and used Civitavecchia Shuttle Express to get from the airport to Rome and then Rome to the ship. They were fabulous. The driver was always early and very professional. https://www.civitavecchiashuttleexpress.com/

I had no idea they worked like that. For me the stress of not knowing flights and seat assignments would be too much. I hope you get a good flight.

I am not familiar with NCL air program specifically, but when I booked flights using Choice air (Celebrity) I was given flights while I was on the phone, at the time of booking & immediately got an email with the details. I was then able to log into the airline sight to see that they had the booking, add my frequent flyer number, etc. When I book with Silversea it's usually more than a year out so I don't get the flight details until about 8-9 months before the cruise. As you are within 3 months I would think you should have that information by now. Are you saying you haven't been given specific flight data? If that is the case I would call the air program ASAP and find out what is going on. I hope it works out for you.