CruisingGems

Sorry, I was diagnosed with COVID.

On our first O cruise and diagnosed with Vivid day 3.  Needless to say, lots of room service.  Is a tip expected for both delivery and retrieval of the tray?

Having seen that most cruise lines have a phone app that allows many things from scheduling excursions, adding drinks packages, to seeing the daily schedule, etc. I'm wondering if Windstar has an app.  I downloaded the Windstar 360 app and cannot seem to get it to do anything meaningful.  I have an android phone.

9 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

WiFi credit can only applied against a one device unlimited WiFi package. If your suite bid is successful you will only get one lot of WiFi credit.

I'm afraid I didn't make myself clear.  Both the LCV and Suite amenities include minutes of WiFi (for a single device) or a dollar value for use to reduce the cost of an unlimited WiFi plan.  Can that dollar value be used, instead, to reduce the cost of an Experience More Package (which includes unlimited WiFi) or is it only good to reduce the cost of an unlimited WiFi plan?

So, for example, if I'm in a CC Suite and therefore get 235 minutes of WiFi (or $150 credit against an unlimited WiFi pacakge), can I use that $150 against an Experience More Essentials Package to reduce the cost of that package from $599 to $449?

As another example, if I'm not in a suite, but as an LCV Adventurer, I get 30 minutes of WiFi (or $40 towards a full-voyage unlimited WiFi pacakge). Can I use that $40 against an Experience More Essentials Package to reduce the cost of that package from $599 to $559?

Thanks. 

Gary

I apologize if these questions have been answered already, but I did not see them in the spreadsheet.  

I have seen that the LCV WiFi credit or the Suite WiFi credit can be applied against an unlimited WiFi package.  Can either of those credits be applied against the cost of one of the Experience More Packages?

Also, if my cabin upgrade bid to a suite is accepted, will the resultant Suite Wifi credit also be applicable against either an unlimited WiFi package or against the cost of one of the Experience More Packages?

Thanks.  Gary

Scotland isn't Russia. We share a (more or less) common language. Good food is easy to find locally and, indeed, should be part of the 'must do' activities. You shouldn't miss our salmon, fresh, smoked or hot cured. Cheeses, scones, beef, so many wonderful things to eat it's just plain daft to think of sitting in a bus scoffing down old sandwiches so you can tick yet another old church off your list!

Nippy Sweetie, I sure hope I didn't give offense with my suggestion. We are certainly looking forward to enjoying local food and drink in other Scottish ports, it just seems that the opportunities to do that will be slim on this tour because of time, distance and rural locations we're visiting, we thought we'd try for a picnic instead of a sit-down meal.

I'm curious to see Viking's response. I'm not sure that making custom packed lunches is feasible when there are 900+ passengers going into port but they do strive to please!

They go out of their way to accommodate feeding everyone on port days. We returned to the ship around 3 PM one day and there were plenty of open face sandwiches at the bar in the Living Room on Deck 1. Bartenders were asking everyone passing by if they missed lunch and if they would like something to eat.

 

If your tour is private--could you build in a brief lunch/cafe stop? You will need a restroom break anyway and anyone who is hungry or thirsty could replenish. As others have said---bring some nuts, protein bars, piece of fruit (if allowed in that port) with you, especially for the person with food allergies. Viking will give you water bottles as you disembark.

Yes, I'm planning for a private tour out of Invergordon. After an early stop in Inverness, we will get on a boat for a Loch Ness cruise and then time in Urquhart Castle. By then we will be in the country and I think some ways from restaurants. I thought it would be fun to "brown-bag" it on our mini-bus or at a picnic spot while we do the rest of our country tour. Your other suggestions are fine if we cannot get the ship to make lunches.

How long is your tour?

Every all day private tour I have arragned or have been on , there has been free time build in to have a bit to eat .

Guide and driver need to eat too. In many cases a sit down lunch was arranged by our guide before hand.

On shorter tours ,a 30 minute break or "bathroon break" is included. Enough time to buy a coffee and local snack.

A tour in Scotland with a break in a Scotlish pub sounds better that eating out of a bag sitting in a van or on a park bench, IMO.

On port day the main restaraunt is closed during the day.

You could order room service early or pick up some cheese ,bread, fruit in World Cafe to put in a bag to take ashore, if that is allowed in this port.

Our tour will be about 8 hours. Our guide indicated he could find someplace for lunch if we couldn't get packed lunches. I agree that a more leisurely lunch might be nice, but I think we're trying to maximize our touring time. Your other suggestions seem good as well. Thanks.

I am still pretty new to cruising, so I am not sure if I understand this. Would this be something the original poster would expect to pay a fee to obtain? Viking does not pack lunches for guests taking their own excursions, why would they do so for people off on their own? On our one cruise, Viking's crew went above and beyond, but is this a reasonable request?

 

Again, not expressing criticism, just asking what is acceptable. Taking food from the buffet to take off the ship feels like the not allowed taking food away from a land based restaurant buffet. But on the other hand, if you are on the ship at lunch time, they certainly do feed you. What is the usual cruise etiquette?

On our previous V.O. cruises we were impressed with the lengths the restaurant staff went to for everything. The person in our group with a food allergy (the least speck of a peanut will literally kill her) was treated exceptionally. We were always seated at the same table, no matter when we showed up for dinner so that our waiter knew of the allergy. The head chef came to our table every night and gave her a copy of tomorrow's menu so she could choose an entree which was prepared separate from all others. Most wait staff all over the ship knew who she was and were careful about things like bowls of nuts. All-in-all, the V.O. staff on the SEA responded with truly exceptional care and professionalism on this matter. And I'm certain they would want to assure that she was provided with appropriate food on an excursion.

On a previous V.O. cruise I saw bagged lunches prepared for a group that was doing a private fishing rrip all day. I suspect they don't mind at all as long as they don't get a huge number of requests.

We have a private tour planned for a group of 12 on the Sun in Scotland in Aug 2018. Who can I speak to to arrange for "Packed Lunches" for the travelers? Do we need to wait until we board and speak to the Restaurant Manager? I know that at least one person has a severe food allergy.

Thanks for any advice.

I received the following message from Orkney Tailor-Made Tours in response to my query about the possibility of a 12-person tour and questions of refund-ability:

I'm thinking I will reply that the group is now planning to tour on our own using the Stagecoach Bus and we're no longer interested.

We did the Kirkwall bus two years ago and it was one of the highlights of our British Isles cruise. It is not a Ho-ho in the traditional sense in that there is one bus with one schedule. It stops at various locations and you better make sure you get back on the bus to get to the next stop. The admission to Skara Brae was not included but we felt it was well worth it if you are at all into old rocks. There was also a stop at the Standing Stones of Steness. We saw a lot but it was also very relaxing to sit on the bus and watch the fields go by and we still had time to explore the village a bit.

So, my bus schedule says the T11 runs from 10:00 to 1:35. Does it then repeat that route like every 4 hrs? I note they have 1.5 hrs at Skara Brae and 30 mins at Stenness (The Ring of Brodgar) but no time at Scapa or Stromness. If we want to do them, we need to do them on our own?

I was also looking for a private tour in Kirkwall and became leery of difficult cancellation policies. I then found out that there is a double-deck, open-top Hop-on/Hop-off bus from Stagecoach that only costs £12 and you can pay onboard. Look at https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/north-scotland/discover-orkney#tab7. They also have multiple other routes that visit different parts of the island.

Gary

Thanks, Calliope. I guess we have lots to choose from. Looking forward to the choice.

Gary

We are leaving in a couple of weeks for our first cruise on the American Queen. I am excited about this New Orleans-to-Memphis cruise. We're thinking that we will probably do at least U.S. one cruise in 2018 and I have heard good things about the more northern itineraries in the Midwest. Does anyone have recommendations for one of the AQSC boats and itineraries in the Midwest? (We’ve already done a Columbia River trip with National Geographic/Lindblad.)

Also, does AQSC book future cruises aboard the ship at a discount like some other cruise lines do?

Thanks for the wisdom.

Gary

I can't help you with Helena, as I have never been there, but as far as Oak Alley and St. Francisville I have numerous times.

 

HOHO is not offered at Oak Alley. It is a beautiful plantation home with the associated gardens and displays. It's a lovely stroll from the steamboat to the house under a canopy of over 200 year old live oaks. Also a short walk down-river on top of the levee will take you to St. Joseph Plantation where the famous architect Richardson lived. His name is fore ever linked with Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. (This house is not included with any tour offered by AQSC)

 

St. Francisville is a beautiful Louisiana town and the HOHO is offered. In fact, it would be quite a hike to get from the old ferry landing where the AQ lands into town. Once again there is enough there to keep you busy. If you haven't been there before, take the HOHO and save your money for your next steamboat trip, perhaps on the Upper Mississippi or Ohio Rivers.

Calliope, thanks for the input. However, I’m not certain what you are recommending for Oak Alley. Should we just wander around the Laura and Oak Alley Plantations? The description of the Optional excursion to those two places sounds pretty good. How about the Cajun Swamp Tour? It sounds better than some I’ve been on (even though it is scheduled to depart 15 minutes before the AQ docks ;) ).

It looks like HOHO is the way to go in St. Francisville, which was what I had decided. I’m not much for going to prison, even as a tourist.

So, does anyone have any advice about Natchez, Vicksburg or Helena?

Oh, and my apologies to Tulips62 for sort of hijacking this thread.

Gary

Originally, I was very taken by the concept of the Hop-On/Hop-Off buses provided by AQSC. Now, after more study, I'm a bit puzzled. The extra-cost Shore Excursions described by AQSC look quite nice and relatively reasonably priced. Additionally, in ports like Oak Alley or St. Francisville, I'm unsure of what else there is to see in town. Will there be HOHOs in these little ports?

Also, in 5 of our 6 ports (excluding NOLA and Memphis on either end), we are only in port from 8:00-1:00, 5 hrs. The MQSC Excursions in those ports take 4-4.5 hrs. Not much time to also do HOHO. Am I missing something? Maybe because we're going upriver, against the current, we have less time in port and more time "paddlewheelin". Maybe the folks coming down the river have more time in port?

Here's my summary of the ports and excursions timings:

Laura….A Creole Plantation

Port: Oak Alley, LA In-Port 8:00-1:00 Tour Timing: 8:00-12:30

.

Life in the Bayou: Cajun Swamp Tour

Port: Oak Alley, LA In-Port 8:00-1:00 Tour Timing: 7:45-12:15

.

Redemption and Rehabilitation at Angola Prison

Port: St. Francisville, LA In-Port 8:00-1:00 Tour Timing: 8:00-Noon

.

The Story of Cotton in the Antebellum South

Port: Natchez, MS In-Port 8:00-5:00 Tour Timing: 12:30–4:45

.

Entertaining in Southern Style with Ginger Hyland

Port: Natchez, MS In-Port 8:00-5:00 Tour Timing: 1:30-4:00

.

On the Front Lines of the Civil War

Port: Vicksburg, MS In-Port 8:00-1:00 Tour Timing: 8:00–12:30

.

Mississippi Delta Gospel and the Birthplace of the Blues

Port: Helena, AR In-Port 8:00-1:00 Tour Timing: 8:00–12:45

Anyway, looking for input from those who have taken this cruise.

Gary

I am thinking of doing the Memphis to New Orleans cruise in 2017. Can someone tell me how much time is spent in the ports each day

We are thinking of doing the NOLA to Memphis trip on 28 May 2017. When we contacted AQSC, they sent this info (re-formatted to make it a bit more readable)

...Date..................Port.................arrive...........Depart

May.29,.2017.NEW.ORLEANS..............................5:00PM

May.30,.2017.OAK.ALLEY................8:00AM.........1:00PM

May.31,.2017.ST..FRANCISVILLE......8:00AM.........1:00PM

June.01,.2017.NATCHEZ.................8:00AM..........5:00PM

June.02,.2017.VICKSBURG..............8:00AM.........1:00PM

June.03,.2017.......RIVER.CRUISING

June.04,.2017.HELENA....................8:00AM.........1:00PM

June.05,.2017.MEMPHIS..................5:00AM

I see the Sea is on her way to Venice. Gee the Adriatic sure looks crowded!

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:3710157/zoom:10

We are on this cruise from Stockholm to Bergen a week after you on the Sea, and I would like to take the much touted "Norway in a nutshell" tour. The ship's version of this trip seems to take the Flamsbana to Myrdal, the mainline train to Voss, and then a bus that allows us to see the Naeroyfjord and scares the heck out of us on a hairpin descent back to Flam. The normal "Norway in a nutshell" tour as I've seen it, leaves the bus at Gudvangen and takes a boat through the Naeroyfjord and Aurlandsfjorden back to Flam. (Rick Steves actually recommends doing it in the reverse order starting with the boat.)

I have found this real "Nutshell" at FjordTours.com, however the boat portion departs from Flam at 0900, the exact time we are scheduled to arrive. So, the question is, are we likely to be able to make that tour ($109/person vs Viking's $199) or should we do something like ride the Flamsbana up and back and then just do a separately-scheduled cruise to and from Gudvangeng?

I have requested clarification from FjordTours.com but received only silence so far.

Gary & Mollie

Hi folks. We are doing the Homelands cruise on the Sea July 17 from Stockholm to Bergen. On our Roll Call thread (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2151734), I posted a couple of files I created showing all the Viking Excursions with details and costs by day and port. I got these from the main Oceans site as we cannot yet book them. No guarantees of accuracy, and I had to split the file in two because of CC size limits (20 pages in all), but maybe they will be of use to some of you.

Gary