gingerspike

On 3/28/2024 at 10:43 AM, richardbohn said:

We are sailing with AMA the end of April and our final documents have us staying at the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky. We received our documents about 2 weeks ago.

Thank you. I'd be interested in your thoughts about the hotel when you return.

My TA contacted Ama and confirmed that we are expected to stay at the Grand Hotel Krasnopolsky. They won't know for sure until 30 days prior. I went ahead and made the reservation.

Have a wonderful trip!

We are sailing AmaWaterways Rhine Castles & Swiss Alps in November 2024. When we booked, the hotel was listed as the Grand Hotel Krasnopolsky and that is what is on our cruise invoice. Today I noticed that the web site has added a second hotel, the Barbizon as one of the potential hotels for the precruise. 

I just booked our air and we are arriving 2 days prior to the start of land package. I would like to stay at the same hotel that Ama will use.

Is there anyway to know which it will actually be this far out? Has anyone been to Amsterdam with Ama recently that can share their hotel experience?

thanks,

Kelly

4 minutes ago, EP824 said:

I have read a few other recommendations for this company and have been waiting several days for a quote. Hope they come through. 

If you haven't already,  be sure to follow up with another email or phone call. As I recall, I had to send a second email to get a response. Office seems slow, but the team on the ground was awesome.  We had a problem with the copy of our PCR results and the Cairo representative went above and beyond to make sure we had them in hand for our flight out of Egypt in the morning.

We booked with a local company Djed Egypt Tours and they were fantastic. We were originally booked on a Uniworld cruise but then Covid.  During the downtime, I did more looking around and found Djed.

In October 2021, we spent a month in Egypt and Jordan. In Egypt, we used Djed to arrange everything. We did an extensive land tour with private guides and drivers. The Djed representative met us on arrival at the Cairo airport and sped us through the entry process. We spent 3 days in Cairo and Giza, flew to Luxor for 4 nights and saw Karnak and temples, Valleys of the Kings and Queens, took a hot air balloon ride and a cooking class. We sailed the Nile for 4 nights on a dahabiya from Esna to Aswan with an overnight excursion to Abu Simbel. The dahabiya is a traditional sailing boat and accommodates only 12 passengers.  Our guides were phenomenal. The trip was less expensive, longer, totally private for the 2 of us and a great experience. 

I would also recommend the company we used in Jordan, Zaid Tours & Travel.

Thanks, everyone, for the good advice. I will reach out via email to the Special Services group.

I did make this request to my TA a few weeks ago, but as usual, she has not responded. I find it takes 3 tries to get her to answer. I was going to give her until the new year but now will do it myself. Needless to say, this is our first and last cruise with her.

It's good to know that the tap water will work in a pinch. I will be sure to request the extension cord, too.

My husband was recently prescribed a CPAP and will also need distilled water in the cabin. Does anyone have the contact info for Special Needs? I'm not finding it on the web site. Or is this something my TA should handle for us?

thanks,

Kelly

@pontac The wines were quite good. We did not know much about Bordeaux before this, so it was quite an education. We are definitely converts. I think we would DIY with a local guide next time, especially if the other river cruise companies visit the same vineyards. Although we really like the unpack once travel that cruising offers.

It was a wine cruise and the last Bordeaux cruise of the 2023 season. This was our first river and Ama cruise, so can't speak to the US host question. It was not a special charter or anything like that. However, we are signed up for a 2024 Rhine Castles and Swiss Alps cruise next November that also includes US hosts (David Lauer & Krista Lauer of Bryn Mawr Vineyards, Salem OR).

The host, Mark, was quite knowledgeable and always available to chat. This was his 80th trip to Bordeaux and 100th trip to France, so he knew the area quite well. This it the info provided by Ama in our docs:

"This cruise will be hosted by Mark A. Newman, CEO of Accolade Brands Inc. & SteakHouse Vineyards in Santa Lucia Highlands, CA. In addition to producing wine in California, Mark also has produced wine in the Loire Valley in France called Perle de Mer Muscadet. Additionally, Mark has recently judged with Gambero Rosso for the prestigious Tre Bicchieri awards in Rome, Italy.
In his over 40 years in the wine industry, he has owned the largest wine & spirits retail chain in Arizona, held key California winery positions as well as senior level executive positions in the wine distributing business. He received his education at the University of Southern California and is a member of several wine industry trade groups. Mark was inducted into the prestigious Commanderie de Bontemps du Medoc et Graves recognizing his years of dedication to the Bordeaux wine industry, and is Maitre-Conseil of Gastronomy, an honor bestowed by the French Minister of Agriculture, a member of the Society of Wine Educators. Mark has judged the Los Angeles International Wine Competition for 26 consecutive years, and he also judges the California State Fair, the San Diego International Wine Competition, and the San Diego Toast of the Coast Competition."

I forgot to mention that, although the bar by the glass offerings were the regular ones, you could purchase the Bordeaux wines by the bottle.

On 4/9/2023 at 11:11 AM, pontac said:

@2012_Alaska_bound - First I'd like to thank you for your report. I know how much effort is needed to produce one. But a report on  a wine cruise without mention by names of the wines offered or wineries visited?

 

I've now taken two Bordeaux cruises on two different lines - I  chose a different company for the second not because I was unhappy with the first, far from it. I just thought the second company would go different wineries.

 

My first wine love is Bordeaux and I'd go there on another cruise, but I'd like to know which wineries I would visit, and ditto on the wines poured on board.

 

I'd be grateful if you would say which wineries you visited and name some of the wines served on board

@pontac We just returned from the Taste of Bordeaux and enjoyed most of the wines and tours we were on. Usually we were split into groups and would go to different vineyards. If I know or can find  the second vineyard, I will include it here.

For excursions, we chose the wine tasting ones as opposed to the bike rides, etc. The guides were all excellent. We toured St. Emilion cellars and monolithic church, the citadel at Blaye, Roquetaillade Castle. We enjoyed all the tours - the castle was the most surprising visit. It doesn't look like much from the outside.

Our vineyard visits included:

St. Emilion - Château de Ferrand. I believe the other group went to Château de Pressac

Fronsac - Château de la Riviere. Others listed in our cruise docs were Château Gaby or Château de la Dauphine

Bourg - "Fête du Vin" with tastings from local producers and entertainment

Medoc - Château Leoville Poyferre. The other may have been Château Gruaud Larose

Cadillac - Sauternes - Château de Rayne-Vigneau. I believe the other group went to Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey.

As to wines poured on board, I didn't make notes about the dinner wines but all were from Bordeaux regions. The bar wines were the regular offerings, not regional.

Our wine host was Mark Newman,CEO of Accolade Brands Inc. & SteakHouse Vineyards in Santa Lucia Highlands, CA. He provided two talks and tastings of right and left bank wines.

If I can read the labels from my photos, at the right bank seminar we tasted:

2020 Château Joanin Bécot,

2020 Château Eglise d'Armens St. Emilion Grand Cru,

2018 Pomerol by Clinet and

2019 Château Fombrauge St. Emilion Grand Cru Classe.

The left bank included:

2020 LaCoste Borie Pauillac,

2020 Château Ormes de Pez Saint-Estèphe,

2020 Château Cantemerle Haut-Medoc, and

2020 Château Bouscaut Grand Cru Classe de Graves Pessac-Leognan Semillion-Savignon Blanc blend.

I hope this helps. This was our first visit to Bordeaux and we thoroughly enjoyed it even with all the rain.

Now that we are home, I'm able to access the website with no issues. Maybe it's an east coast thing?

I've been at the beach in NC and have been getting the 403 error since yesterday. I've tried Chrome and Firefox on my phone, tablet, and even my mother's tablet but have been unable to access the web site. We're heading home now to upstate SC. I thought I might have better luck on my PC.

Thank you. 

We'll be taking the 10%. Cash in hand is better, IMHO. 

We usually do private tours also.  This will be our first time in Asia, so I'm sure there will be a mix. 

Can anyone tell me if the 20th anniversary offer is combinable with the 10% past guest discount?

I'm thinking of booking Exalted East Asia in April 2024.

TIA

1 hour ago, PRH said:

Ok.  Just got off the phone with Viking.  He told me the eMed Ag test is ok because it verifies your identity (drivers license with picture) (in other words, someone else cannot take your test), supervises the test taking and timing (test must be in the camera at all times) and generates a QR code.

You may have just saved my life.

thank you

43 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

You're preaching to the choir. I'm one who has been saying all along that based on the verbiage on Viking's website and standards set by other cruise lines and countries that permit a negative proctored home antigen test Viking should accept a proctored home antigen test such as the Azova or BinaxNOW Ag .

 

The problem is that there's been no reliable confirmation of that from Viking, with passengers getting both yes and no answers from Viking, apparently depending on who answers the question. I'd be very reluctant to just assume Viking will accept a proctored home antigen test give the lack of consistent advice from them.

 

You know, just shoot me now. I thought that getting a QR-coded vaccination certificate for entry into Egypt was hard, but this may turn out to be worse. Because of the timing of our flights and lack of evening testing options here, it will be difficult for us to get a PCR test & results that fit inside the 72hr window.

Have there been any reports of people being denied boarding with a proctored antigen self-test? I've searched but haven't found any.

3 hours ago, njhorseman said:

The Azova test listed on Viking's website is their PCR test that has to be mailed to their lab for processing. The Azova test that you may get from the government mailing for which you can purchase the video observation and lab report is an antigen test. That is not on the Viking website's list of examples of approved tests, nor is any proctored at home antigen test on that list of examples.

True, all the examples are PCR tests, but I believe it is reasonable to believe that Viking will take one of these Azova-monitored self-tests.

• Guests may take a COVID-19 antigen test (with a laboratory-certified proof of negative result)
• Select at-home tests will meet Viking’s travel requirement, provided they include a laboratory-certified proof of result.

To me, the key take-away is the laboratory-certified proof of result. The "Select at-home tests" statement stands alone and does not specify PCR or antigen. If "select at-home tests" are acceptable, it seems that Azova, already approved for PCR self-tests, would be allowed.

I will email tellus for clarification and also ask my TA to get an answer in writing. Let's hope Viking clears this up in their next policy update.

19 hours ago, PRH said:

If you read the guidelines carefully, Viking says “examples of” — which to me allows the eMed test.  It is certified by the CDC, is proctored and gives you a written report with a QR code.  After beating my head against the testing wall, I ordered the eMed test kits so we don’t lose whole days running around after tests in three different countries.  We board next week so I’ll let you know if they aren’t acceptable.  Tell us has not responded so no answer is no answer.

I read an article yesterday from View from the Wing https://viewfromthewing.com/order-4-more-covid-19-tests-free-from-the-postal-service-this-week/ about the second round of free antigen tests being available through the USPS.

Some of the free home tests are eligible to be monitored by Azova with video observation and lab report for $20. https://www.azova.com/travelvideo/

Azova is one of the companies listed on the Viking approved example list. Current Viking policy: https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/my-trip/health-and-safety/covid-19-testing.html

Depending on your needs, this may be cheaper than buying the eMed 6-pack. This is the way we will go.

39 minutes ago, Wansbrough said:

Hello gingerspike, just noticed in your signature that you were on Infinity last year on the same Antarctica cruise. I thought your name sounded familiar. Still getting over missing the Falklands.

Hello Wansbrough! How are you?

Yes, sad about the Falklands, I know.  Antarctica was incredible, though. Words failed us when we returned. So glad we had such great weather there.

I just found your blog. Don't know how I missed it before. I will have to go back and read your report on the Infinity. I am very interested in how your trip to Egypt goes in 8 weeks. I can't wait to read your blog and experience the trip through your eyes. I am just now getting ready to book for Oct 2020 and that is a very long time to wait.

Kelly

20 hours ago, sawtooth said:

Kelly, not sure of your operator as it was all booked with Uniworld. 

We will be leaving late next week so should have more information when we return.

i will share them.

Thank you. I'm excited for you, too!

I'm really looking forward to reading your trip report when you get back.

Have a wonderful trip!

On 3/20/2018 at 1:37 PM, sawtooth said:

Yes, drinks and tips are new for 2019. Confirmed with Uniworld. Also was written about on February 12 under cruise news.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 1

 

 

Jan 29, 2019

 

 

EXTENSION: AMMAN & PETRA (JORDAN)

Amman

 

Sawtooth.

Thanks so much for this itinerary. It is exactly what I have been searching for. 

I'm researching for 2020 now and wondered if you know who the tour operator is in Jordan? I'm thinking about trying to add a night in a Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum.

Kelly

So we are gong to spend a few days in Barcelona after the cruise

 

Anyone familiar with the Michelin Star restaurants? I am particularly interested in 1 star standouts..

the ones we folks can afford--which afford us exceptional meals

 

When looking online I find several 1 star... thoughts?

We ate at TICKETS a couple of years ago. It's owned by the Adria brothers who owned El Bulli (thought to be the best restaurant in the world before they closed it). Our cruise next summer ends in Barcelona. We am planning to go back.

It's tapas, so you pay by the dish. We didn't find it to be expensive at all. Food was ingenious, fabulous and fun. It's a pretty relaxed space. The waiters are very helpful. We let them choose for our table of 5. Highly recommend.

here is a link to the web site http://www.ticketsbar.es/en

You can book your table online. You might find this link helpful on navigating the booking site

https://theculinarytravelguide.com/tickets-barcelona/

We are doing several winery tours in Tuscany, which I’m sure will result in bottles of wine to take home.

My question, will they confiscate all but 2 of the bottles from us? I’m sure they will, which is fine. We understand that only 2 are allowed. Do we just let them know up front that we have them. We have never been called to the naughty room before, I would rather be honest and turn them over at the start for safe keeping.

Is it possible there are lockers or such at the dock for this. I’m sure others have been shopping before a cruise and would rather not take all aboard.

I agree with Cruisemom42. I would much rather have the wine on board with us than left behind in a locker somewhere. Shipping from overseas can be outrageously expensive, however. I have not sailed from Civitavecchia so I don't know where or when you would be able to tell anyone that you have wine in your luggage to avoid the naughty room. At check in, maybe? But by then, your bags are who knows where in the bowels of the ship. And I don't think I would tell the dock worker handling the luggage that there was a case of Super Tuscan in there somewhere, lol.

Celebrity also has a 2 bottle limit per stateroom. We visited several Mendoza wineries prior to our Celebrity Infinity cruise out of Buenos Aires. We picked up a sturdy cardboard box with styrofoam inserts for 12 bottles at one of the wineries to bring wine home on our flight, checked as baggage. We dropped the box with the rest our luggage at the port. I was nervous watching it roll away from me, but it arrived unharmed in our cabin with the rest of our stuff. We had no plans to consume any of it on board and the box was taped up and shrink-wrapped for air travel, but no one questioned it. We were fully prepared to give the box up if asked.

The box worked really well for us. We carried a fold-up luggage cart with us to maneuver the box when necessary. It arrived home safely, all bottles intact. My only complaint is that, at EWR once we cleared customs and gave our luggage back to the airline for our connecting flight, the TSA sliced open the bottom of the box to inspect the contents. They broke some of the styrofoam and the box is probably unusable now. Still, it was a very economical solution, overall.

No problems with the US regulations if you are using this tour company? I really don't want to do only cruise line tours and we are in Havana for 3 days/2 nights. Thanks.

We had no problems but we booked prior to June 16, so were grandfathered under the old rules. Be sure to read the rules to be sure you understand them. https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/cuba.aspx and https://cu.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/traveling-to-cuba/ .

This article is pretty good at explaining the new rules: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article185288708.html

You could also contact Fernando and see if his tours qualify.

The way you did your tour w/ the sightseeing and Tropicana is exactly what I was looking to do. Was the rate reasonable?

We thought it was very reasonable. There were four of us. We went back to the ship for dinner and we did the walk of Old Havana on Sunday because we were so late.

I don't think Fernando realized initially that our second day was Sunday because the Hemingway House and the cigar factories are closed on Sunday. Once we figured that out, we dropped the Hemingway House, but were too late arriving to get to the cigar factory. Here is the original agenda put together by Fernando:

Thanks for contacting me to inquire about my services.

Here's an itinerary that might fit your party just fine.

Meeting point: Saint Francis of Assisi Square across the cruise terminal.

When: 3:30 pm December 9th.

-Walking tour of old Havana including the four oldest squares of Old Havana, Saint Francis of Assisi Square, Old Square, Main Square and Cathedral Square.

-Two hours ride in a convertible car driving along the Malecon, visiting Revolution Square, driving down 5th Avenue in Miramar and finishing at the Rum museum.

-Break from 7 pm to 8:00 pm

Switch to classic car with AC.

8: 15 Dinner at a nice Paladar or restaurant

-9:30 Tropicana show

-Back to the ship at midnight

2nd Day:

All day from 10 am to 4 pm in a classic car with AC.

Visit Fusterlandia and Hemingway’s home

Visit a cigar factory.

Visit the Forts.

Visit the souvenir market.

Lunch at a restaurant or Paladar of your choice.

Price: 400 cuc.

Included: Transportation and tour guide service and also the convertible car ride.

Not included: Lunch, Admission fees, drinks or gratuities for the tour guide.

Let me know if this is acceptable.

Kind regards!

Fernando

We had a different driver for the convertible ride than the rest of the tour. After the ride, we were dropped off at the cruise terminal. When it was time to go to the Tropicana, Pepe met us outside the terminal in order to introduce us to Carlos, the driver that would be with us that night and on Sunday.

Great drivers and great guide. We were extremely pleased.

Kelly

We recently returned from a cruise to Cuba on the Norwegian Sky. We had no problem doing a private tour. Cuba is an amazingplace and we are so glad we went.

We used FerTours for the 2 dayswe were there and they were excellent. Iwould highly recommend them. I exchanged e-mails with Fernando prior tothe cruise to determine the best tours to fit our wishes. We enjoyed both ourtours immensely. The first day we took the Day tour to Vinales where we saw thebeautiful countryside, caves and tobacco plantation. What a wonderful day. The second day we took the Shipwrecked tourof Havana which consisted of an hour tour in an old classic convertible and a 3hour walking tour. Another fantasticday. The highlight of our 2 days in Cubawas our tour guide Angelo. He was an amazing tour guide. We truly got to see and experienceCuba. Hope to return someday.

We traveled to Cuba on a RCCL cruise. Fernando was a fabulous communicator and always emailed quickly. His prices are super reasonable and include a lot more than the ship tour. I dislike large group tours and bus tours so FerTours was an excellent choice for us. 2 adults and a teenager. We checked support of the Cuban people and with this tour you are truly supporting the people of Cuba. There were no problems or issues.

 

Our guide/translator Alain was FANTASTIC!! We absolutely loved him. He spoke perfect English. He was waiting with a sign for us in the square and was a pleasure from the first moment we met him. He took us on a walking tour of Ole Havana and was very very knowledgable about every part of the city answering all our questions and showing us everything and anything we wanted to see. He even ran interference when street peddlers would want to approach us he would speak with them and then bring us their brochures or tell us what they had and let us decide if we interested or not. We also went on an old car ride. He brought us to an area with a lot of old car taxis and let us pick which one we wanted and then arranged the ride and it was all part of the tour. The whole day was fantastic and it is truly a private experience and the best way to get an overview and see Havana. I highly recommend FerTours and ask for Alain he is the best!!

We also used FerTours and highly recommend them. Fernando customized a tour for our two days in Havana that included a classic convertible car ride giving us an overview of Havana, transport to/from the Tropicana on Saturday night, in-depth driving tour with stops at Havana highlights and a walking tour of Old Havana. Booking was quick and easy via email. Fernando was very quick to respond to questions and to provide suggestions for our visit.

Our ship was about two hours late docking in Havana, arriving at 4pm instead of 2pm. Our guide, Pepe, was waiting for us as planned. Because of the late arrival and it being a weekend, we needed to adjust the schedule quite a bit, but Pepe was wonderful. He was very accommodating and made recommendations on how to use our time. He is a charming young man, very knowledgeable, speaks perfect English and is obviously proud of his city.

We missed the cigar factory because we were so late arriving on Saturday and the factories are closed on Sunday. The shops that sell cigars and rum are open on Sunday, so you can still purchase whatever you might be interested in.

 

One of the benefits besides the working out the weights, is it gave us a list of contents if the bags went missing.

 

See link below to my Packing List at Google Sheets, you can read, comment, or download to your computer to play with.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CL3IYj3c5uEl4w_4sVDIyCuOHIbjkdlx05Wl6eHCzVE/edit?usp=sharing

 

Regards

OMG, I love this! Why didn't i think of this before?

Thank you!