MERLOTCHAMPAGNE

On 1/28/2024 at 10:39 AM, psberg said:

Hi, blueskies123,

 

We prefer to disembark last, around 9 or 9:30.   How does that fit in with your plans?

 

We haven’t ridden in a Japanese taxi in years, but I don’t think they will accommodate a group with 4 suitcases and carry-ons.  My husband and I may end up with 2 suitcases and 3 carry-ons due to the generous 2 bag pp luggage allowance for our flight home.

 

I was searching for private cars and found one company that can carry 4 passengers plus luggage for about $130.  The issue is whether they will charge the same price for 2 dropoffs.  I sent them a message and will get back to you after receiving their response.

 

 

We’ll be doing same this fall.  Would you mind sharing the name of the private car service?   We.   We prefer private transfer over public transportation due to luggage and hotel location

thanks 

On 10/23/2023 at 6:40 PM, Barwick Cruiser said:

Say what?? That’s the only decent SB on the ships…always my go to. Did they say why it’s not going to be available by the glass? And is it perhaps just the Apex? Hope they replace it then with another NZ SB…so many to choose from and they really do it the best 🥂 🇳🇿 

Agreed - every sommelier I spoke with has a different explanation on why… but the outcome is the same.  Beginning next cruise, definitely no Villa Maria SB by the glass.  They “think” once they arrive in FLL after the NZ SB will be offered but no guarantee.  Hence why I’m inquiring on other ship threads about the changeover.  

We’re currently on Apex and have had issues getting a NZ Sauvignon Blanc on our premium bev pkg.   Villa Maria is hit or miss as they are discontinuing it by the glass.   Anyone have an updated wine list on Reflection as we’ll be onboard in early Jan. 

13 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I would suggest you add Scenic to your list.  Their Nile itineraries are a little different from the usual, and I find them more interesting.  [Haven't done the Nile yet, but like you planning for the future.  I have zeroed in on Scenic's Essence of Egypt & Jordan 20-day cruise/land journey, but they also offer a 7-night Secrets of Egypt & the Nile]

Thank you for the suggestion - I wasn’t aware that Scenic had a ship on the Nile.  We’ll explore that option.  

1 hour ago, Mrs. Claypool said:

We cruised the Nile with Uniworld in 2019 and loved the experience so much that we’re doing the exact same cruise in 2023.   We were on the Tosca, and she is an absolutely beautiful ship. 

Thank you for that reassurance - that’s where we’re gravitating towards at the moment  as Viking and AMA are sold out for the dates we’re interested in.   
Do you recommend one particular deck over the other?    I’ve read the diesel smell can be strong in the aft so we’re thinking mid-forward. 

3 hours ago, Haqdeluxe said:

For what it is worth... The Viking Osiris is brand new and only started sailing this season. It is touted as being a beautiful, state of arts vessel.

Why would I choose one line over the other? Without having sailed the itinerary on all three, I could only reasonably make my choice based on prior experiences. My favorite line is Viking so I'd likely gravitate towards them. Ama and Uniworld would have to have something that really set them apart from Viking. Not to say that in Egypt they don't.

I only know that we have held off on a Vietnam cruise, waiting on Viking's new ship.

YMMV 😀

Viking was our original thought however their newest ship has been delayed a year and all those bookings have priority for available openings so next fall is completely sold out.  Hence we’re exploring other options as we’ll be in Athens coming off an Med/Israel cruise and it so makes sense to do the Cairo/ Nile cruise tour immediately following. 

1 hour ago, trickylibrarian said:

Uniworld. Interested in Nile also so spoke with a number of people on our last Uniworld cruise who had only good things to say about their experience in Egypt.   

Thanks for the reply.  Did they indicate which ship as the Sphinx is sold out on the dates we’re available so only their older boat, River Tosca is available.  

Looking to do Nile River in fall 2023.  All 3 of the above lines seem to visit same ports and offer similar excursions.   Why would you choose one over the other?

On 12/1/2020 at 6:15 PM, tick tock to the dock said:

Hello, any chance that you recall the driver you hired?  Thank you. Tick Tock to the dock.

Hi, sorry for the delay.  We got a new dog a month ago and looking at CC got put on the back burner.  
 

We used Nina as our guide and her husband as our driver from Budapest to PrGue with a stop in Bratislava and a few days later from Prague to Munich with a stop in Cesky Krumlov.  She was a wonderful guide throughout and he was safe and experienced driver throughout our stay.  We highly recommend them. 

https://www.ninapragueguide.com/about_me.html

There is tons of information about Viking operations in China in the eponymous thread Viking China (Part 2). Start reading it from the end because the information at the beginning of the thread goes back to 2011 and is a bit stale now. Viking is constantly tweaking things in its China operation. Viking China was our first river cruise and one of the most amazing travel adventures we have ever undertaken. There are links to photos in my signature file below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viking China (Part 2)

Thanks I have been perusing through the thread but was hoping for more current and specific info. Hopefully later this fall, people will provide updated reviews/info

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We'll be doing the Viking Undiscovered China trip in October. We leave on the Oct 7 and return on Oct 29. What kinds of "leggings" do you need for the day time tours. Will jeans and capris work for the entire ship? I'm hoping that we won't need to also pack shorts. I've been looking forward to taking this trip for 7 years and can't wait to get there.

We are planing to do Undiscovered China in late Sept/early Oct 2019. Could you share about your weather, Packing and pros and cons of your trip with Viking, both on land and on the Emerald.

Thanks

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We also have booked Diego's 2 night/3 day Iguazu Falls Tour pre-cruise. We fly overnight from home on Dec 30, 2018 arriving in Buenos Aires on Dec 31. Diego's rep picks us up from the airport and we head straight to Iguazu leaving our big luggage behind which will be taken to the BA hotel we will return to on Jan 2. We stay at the BA hotel that night and begin cruise on Jan 3. He also throws in a city tour of BA. His price per person for the 3 night/4 days is less than what our cruise company offers for their one day excursion. Anyone else on this threat going to be on the Jan 3, 2019 Star Princess?

That’s an interesting option. What BA hotel are you staying at? Is it part of a package with Diego? What hotel are you at in Iguazu? We’re headed there in Feb and trying to finalize a precruise trip.

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We are scheduled thru Diego to go to the falls before the cruise. Spending a night in BA after we arrive, the 3 days/2 nights at the falls, including the Brazilian side (we have visas fir Brazil that are still good), then a night back in BA before the cruise. Looking forward to it. Reservations at at Melia.

 

ecouruguay@aol.com

 

 

 

 

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We are looking to do a similar trip with Diego just a day earlier. He seems to be pushing the Panoramic Grand when I indicated we were interested in the Melia....

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What other hotels aside from the Melia might be good choices? We are looking at booking with Diego for next year and want to choose our hotel wisely.

Good question - we would like to book with Diego but he doesn’t seem to offer Melia in his hotel options with his tour packages.

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There are some great shops in Geiranger as well as Trondheim, Alesund and Bergen where I did some serious damage[emoji6]

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Great picture! One more question I thought of: Did you freeze to death riding in the back seat with the wind blowing in the windows? We’re going in early June and I have a feeling it could be quite cold still.

 

 

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We were there in Aug and it’s was nice except near the top but that’s what a nice Norway sweater and scarf is for[emoji6]

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Good evening,

 

 

 

We are on the Silhouette 11-18 Feb. In the past, there were 2 Chic nights, usually the first sea day and the last sea day. Valentine Day fall in between. Will they move the chic night to the 14 or will they add another chic night? Or maybe they will not change a thing.

 

 

 

thanks

Great question - we are on the same cruise and we were wondering the same. Hope someone has some prior experience or inside info and will share[emoji6]

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Thank you for the thoughtful response! Yes, that sounds about right, 9 or 10 should be a good time to start. And the reviews I’ve read on Trip advisor with the cars, people love it and have plenty of time with the 3 hour tour to visit Dalsnibba. And I agree, we should still have a few hours in the afternoon to walk around the town. I look forward to viewing your photos!

 

 

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We did the Twizzy this past August and it was one of the highlights of our 14 day Norwegian cruise. It even made our Christmas card.[emoji6]. We were able to get into areas We began about 9a and on the road up, we didn’t experience much bus traffic but shortly after we arrived at the top, bus tours started pouring in and on our way back down, we continued to see bus heading up. Hopefully your ship is the only one In port and check what time your ship is offering that excursion.

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We've done the Chef's table a number of times, but not recently. We liked the menu better when it was unique to the table, not items from Murano's, Tuscan, etc. Both times the food was very good and the table was always hosted by officers or senior staff so a good chance to interact. We've also done the wine dinner and the Chef's Market Discovery in St. Maarten and they were similar, enjoyed both. No staff at the table for either of these dinners. We've never done the progressive dinner.

 

We would like to do the Chef's table again but it is just too much food for us, plus we get unlimited specialty dining. If you choose one of these dinners I don't think you will be disappointed.

Thanks for your input - we’ll hold off on specialty restaurants until we’re onboard and see what specialty dinners are offered on our particular cruise.

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Has anyone done these recently? We were on Reflection last winter and enjoyed many of the specialty restaurants as well as the Chef Discovery Tour in St. Marteen. We’ve done Chef’s Tables on other lines and wondering how well Celebrity does them and if we should plan to do them next month rather than buy a specialty restaurant package.

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Does anyone have details as to special events or MDR menu for Valentine’s Day onboard the Silhouette? 1st Time we’ve celebrated this holiday on the high seas and wondering what’s different?

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Thanks so much!!! Exactly what we were looking. Food is so subjective but if nothing catches our eye on the menu, we’ll make reservations at a specialty.

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Anyone have copies of the MDR menus for 7 night Caribbean cruise? We’re looking to make dining reservations for our upcoming cruise and trying to decide how many specialty restaurants to book. We did 5 on a 7 night last time but thought we’d try the MDR more often this cruise.

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We are staying at the Radisson Blu Waterfront. We want to take the fastest way possible to get to the Vasa Museum and get there at opening or soon thereafter. We do have the Stockholm pass with travel card. Could you, please, advise me the best way? Thank you so much in advance.

 

Also, is the reason you don't advocate the HOHO route because it is slower and have to wait for it at stops longer? I was telling my husband that you don't really advise that route but couldn't answer his question as to why. Thanks

When will up be there?? We'll be staying there for 3 nights in eaely Aug and looking to do the same.

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