crusinbanjo

I just went looking for our Jan 24 cruises, did not see them so I filled out the form, we’ll see how long it takes for a response.

I usually ask my SS person, and I have flight my preferred flights ready to compare. I don’t think I have ever waited until 60 days out to find out what flights are offered. For Mrs Banjo and I we have taken the SS air sometimes, other times we get a deviation, (extra cost), and still other times just book air ourselves. Our upcoming cruise, Copenhagen to Copenhagen we are booking our own hotel for a pre stay, and our own air, because I can get direct flights, (not offered by SS this time). When we went Hong Kong to Singapore, (pre Covid), we convinced SS to book some direct flights to Boston that I found that they were not offering. My attitude is simple, if you don’t ask, the answer is always no…. So I always ask for what I want.

We have used SS flights and sometimes they are quite good, but I always make the comparison and book what is in our best interest. As far as hotels, we have used SS for a pre or post, same reasoning applies. And always, I am not hesitant to book our own hotels and / or flights if what’s on offer from any cruise line is not best for us. Like you, I prefer to know what to expect. The day use room show in this thread I would totally avoid, even if we had to pay extra.

And that is why Mrs Banjo and I book P to P and make other arrangements independently. The D 2 D model has not worked very well since inception. If I were in charge, it would either improve or get dumped. SS is loosing customers over all this, I hope they are paying attention. We have experienced similar horror shows in the past on different lines, so now whenever there is a long layover we always book a day room so we can sleep, shower and be fresh to continue the journey.

Hi Rudi and welcome to Cruise Critic. Mrs Banjo and I are recently off the AMA Dahlia in Egypt. First let me say that the on shore accommodations were the best we have ever experienced, thank you. Also, we loved that you broke up the passengers into small groups. Our tour guides and drivers were all top quality. The AMA Dahlia was nice, quite comfortable and the crew were, as expected, fantastic! There was considerable grumbling with regards to the food and management of the buffet. We were told that the buffet 3 times everyday was an experiment, so I’m hoping thins can be looked into at some depth. thank you.

Don’t feel bad about that. Prior to my knee replacement, 5 year ago now, I could not walk 100 yards and used the wheel chair service and my trusty crutches to get around in airports as well as on the ships and on excursions. But, I know how you feel. Sometimes you do need the help, even if you feel guilty asking for it.

Wow, that was fabulous! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks all. Mrs Banjo is doing just fine and is moving a little tentative, but not in need of any special treatment. in any case, our trip through CGD went without a hitch. Our Air France plane landed on time, transport to and from the Hyatt hotel went as planned and the flight to Amman Jordan left on schedule and best of all, our luggage arrived with us, so all went well. I won’t post anymore about this trip in this forum, (because it is not a SS cruise), but will post some details in the river cruise section for anyone interested. thanks all for the info and insights!

Our flight from Boston, (which had been previously canceled and rebooked to an earlier flight), departed on time and arrived on time, 6:05 am Paris time. We spent the next 6 hours in a day use hotel and are now waiting to board our next leg to Jordan. Mrs Banjo made it through security lines without incident and actually, the lines were surprisingly short. Only worry now is that our luggage has been at CDG for about 10 hours, we hope it didn’t get lost!😳

Haha, pretty good idea. Mrs Banjo will be donning her sling to protect here recently broken arm through the airports. She is healing nicely, but still has very limited range of motion. Maybe that will get us a bit of priority……. Anyway, we are off in just a few hours…. Very excited!

“Nothing I can do about it now” a great tune from Willy Nelson. Mrs Banjo and I are in the same state of mind, as we prepare to leave Sunday on Air France as well.

Mrs Banjo and I sailed on both the Wind and the Cloud when they were brand new, of course we felll deeply in love with both. The experience back then is not matched on any ship today. But, having said that, being converted to expedition ships makes them less desirable for a luxury cruise, IMHO. Not that changing them was a bad move on SS's part, I think both will serve their new markets quite well. So, if it were me, I would go with the Dawn, unless you want the "Expedition Experience" as was described in previous posts.

Mrs Banjo and I will be on a similar trip, on the Dawn, in October! Enjoy!

I have tried this and it is quite simple. So, our strategy is to never place anything we absolutely cannot do without in checked luggage

Locks are fine, but if your suitcase closes by a zipper, it can be opened with the point of a pen, then zipped closed after. You would not know if it was opened or not, unless they leave a note or something is missing that you can document. this video shows how easy it is.

Completely agree. Our experience was quite similar, and yes, go with the second itinerary!

I agree completely. Mrs Banjo and I did a fiords cruise a few years ago, it was great. The scenery from the ship was spectacular, the ships tours were good and we did take a non ship’s tour by small boat to see more of the fiords. It was spectacular! Glad we given special overcoats and hats to wear, because it was cold, even though temps on land were warm & sunny. All in all we did get the experience we were looking for. It was amazing, and we will be doing it again later this year on SS. Can’t wait!

Wow, that’s organization! Personally, I just put my entire wardrobe in one suitcase and then I’m good to go. Takes about 15 minutes to organize. 😄

I have been reading about the protests in France over the retirement age. Looks like things will heat up even more. So has anybody experienced difficulties at Charles de Gaulle airport? Specifically, with baggage moving to connecting flights, and / or schedules? Mrs Banjo and I will be flying into and out of Paris in a few days, so we are concerned.

I certainly hope they don’t all move to FB, as Mrs Banjo and I do not use it, and won’t be signing up anytime soon.

I think the move in gold is in direct relation to people's worries about inflation and a large world wide banking crisis. Personally, I don't own gold, (coins or metal), much to risky for me, but I do trade gold in the markets, SPDR, symbol GLD.

funny, but mostly true!

25.5 hours? Were you coming from the Moon?

And then the trip from Seward to Anchorage. If memory serves, the trip is about 2 hours, (but I could be wrong).

Mrs Banjo and I have 4 bookings currently. This is the most we have ever had in any 12 month period. First is an Egypt tour and Nile River cruise on AMA, then on a SS cruise in Norway, October, (hoping to spot Northern lights), on Azamara in January Ft Lauderdale to Lima, (our 3rd full transit through the Panama Canal), and finally Lima to Papeete, a B to B. This final B to B itinerary, oddly enough, was the trip we had booked on SS for Jan of 2021, canceled because of Covid. We are booked on Azamara only because SS has not reproduced this IT. I had been looking for a similar IT ever since and came across this quite by accident. This cruise will be our first on Azamara and is a bucket list cruise for us as it includes a 2 day stop at Easter Island and a long overdue return to the islands of French Polynesia.