mightytraveler

Thanks for your detailed review.  We sail on Jan. 15 and your info was quite helpful.

My husband and I carry annual trip insurance policies and we are both on Medicare. In January he was on a trip to Japan and fell and needed to go to the hospital. Fortunately he was OK but we did have a bill of nearly $1000 that had to be paid before he left the hospital. We submitted the bill and proof of payment to our insurance carrier, Allianz, and received full reimbursement.

Can anyone tell me how to find the Live From threads?

We too are home safe and sound and thankfully without having caught the gastro bug. I will echo what someone else said which is that my nose and throat drove me nuts on the boat but was fine any day in port. I was sure it was chemical related.

Cruise really was terrific and while illness problems are not preventable I believe Oceania did all they could to minimize the impact. Yes, it was a bit annoying to have food removed in Concierge Lounge and Library but annoying is better than getting ill. It's always tricky to determine how much transparency the boat should really offer to passengers. Some people will take it as useful info, others will panic.

We loved Peter and Jason who did all they could to make everything fun. The specialty restaurants are gems and the main dining room keeps up with the pace.

Me personally, I like a smaller boat so I may check itinerary's for their smaller ships.

Cheers to all who joined us.

Hi all. Can anyone tell me more about this Oceania trip that included Israel. I could not find on their website.

Due to time constraints we took a Partial Transit cruise in December 2014. We enjoyed every minute of it but hope to go back for the full transit experience in the future.

 

You might be interested in seeing slide shows my wife made for her website with pictures she took on our cruise. The link below will take you there.

Island Princess Panama Canal Partial Transit Cruise

Nancy's slideshow was amazing. Hoping to book for next winter.

Thanks to all who posted here. We are looking at a tulip time cruise for spring of 2016. We've done two cruises with AMA and cannot say enough about them. We were looking at AMA and Tauck just for a change but after reading comments here it seems early April may not be the best time to go and we cannot go mid to late April. If we want to go in May it will have to be AMA as I don't see that Tauck has any in May. Is early May too late for tulip season? Seems a few people comment on 'dreary' stops but still seemed to enjoy. Can anyone provide more insight on that?

Hello Fellow Celebrity cruisers. We set sail Jan. 27 on the Solstice and we too have had website issues with Celebrity. Last week I tried to book one of their excursions and was not able to do so on the website. Called Celebrity. They booked it for me but in the process they cancelled a different excursion that was already booked. Went to Twitter with #Celebrity and a comment on the issues. Got a reply from Celebrity almost immediately. Spoke to a rep who apologized for the issues and gave us a free dinner at one of the specialty restaurants. They need to fix their issues for sure but at least they offered some compensation for the frustration.

Head to Twitter. That's my advice.

Elayne

Appreciate your good question on the opera options in Sydney. These two visuals might help for those planning to visit and see a performance here. There are two large "houses" within the multi-stage Sydney Opera House complex. Most operas, including Madam Butterfly, will be staged in the Joan Sutherland Theatre. This is where we saw the "Magic Flute" opera with music by some guy named Mozart. It was much enjoyed. Got tickets for the 11 am show on the day before when we did tour of the complex. Below is a picture that shows the set-up for this theater doing the operas. Also below is the other large theatre that is more set-up for orchestra and other such performances.

 

Personally for us, being closer to the stage was better than being too far back and/or in the more distant balcony. This is not a large, large setting, so most seat are fairly good. I took the below visual from our seats, about the 14th row, right side. Worked well for us. Could see and hear very well.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 154,959 views. Nice to be hitting this high of a level for viewership. Appreciate the interest and follow-up questions/comments!!

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here are my pictures of the interiors for the two main, large theaters at the Sydney Opera House. First is the Joan Sutherland Theatre that is used primarily for opera/stage performances. It was renamed for one of Australia’s greatest artists in October 2012. This theater is on the eastern side of the complex and has 1,507 seats. Second is the grand setting of the wooden-paneled and cathedral-like Concert Hall with the acoustics from high vaulted ceiling for symphony performances. It features white birch timber panelling. The Concert Hall has 2,679 seats and contains a Grand Organ with over 10,000 pipes.:

 

 

 

Terry:

Forgive the redundancy of my question but is your complete blog on your AU/NZ trip last year available anywhere. I have seen bits and pieces at various points on CC but would love to review the whole trip in its entirety. My husband I leave will be on this cruise Jan/Feb 2915 with a pre cruise trip to Cairns and GBR. Really looking forward to it and your wonderful photos really whet the appetite. BTW what camera do you use. Can't wait to hear about your Amazon trip. Thanks in advance.

Elayne

Just booked AMA Bucharest to Budapest Aug. 5 and reading these posts have gotten me very excited. The DH and I have traveled AMA before and loved it. I look forward to hearing more thoughts from everyone.

Terry:

I've just begun to look at your postings about your Auss/NZ cruise. The pix are amazing and the notes so exciting. Do you have a separate site just for your blog or can I only find you here on CC. I would love to read your blog in its entirety unbroken with other CC comment.