texmanufan

Just got off the June 17-24 cruise. It is true that we did not stop at Amber Cove but because of high winds. We actually sailed there and made decision last minute. It is true that they were having “mechanical difficulties” and cut port times short. Also heard from b2b cruisers that the previous week was worse with two ports left out and a 30 minute blackout with no power, aircon, etc.

We stayed in the Grand suite off the back of the boat. Don’t know how many engines there should be but the smallest wake I have seen on a boat that size the last two days back to port. Maybe repairing other engine(s)? Of course we weren’t being informed of much and imo something should have been done earlier in the cruise to mitigate upset passengers when change to itinerary was announced. What is head scratching is that they gave a $100 obc late the last afternoon. Created a zoo on the ship the last evening.

Btw, room service was a disaster. Took hours for the app at times if ever arrived. Rarely got orders right even then. Substitutions for items often occurred. Calling In even from the grand suite we rarely got anyone to answer in room dining at all but our family had five rooms total so these experiences were a conglomerate from 15 people. None of our rooms had any aircon issues that we were worried about though that were reported on previous cruises.

8 hours ago, Cruisenewbie20181 said:

We will be taking our first Princess cruise in October on the Caribbean Princess. Recently a couple of reviews on cruise critic are giving us pause. One was regarding roaches and the other was under the review ship section from a couple who sailed in May 2023 rating the cruise as 1 star.

 

I understand that people who have a negative experience are more likely to take the time to write a review. If you have recently been on the Caribbean Princess and had a positive experience please respond.

Thank you.

 

I have noticed the recent reviews as well. Mostly concerned because I am paying/responsible for 15 passengers and recent reports of norovirus <300 (so not reported). I don't frequent the casino but still don't want to play roulette with my family. First cruise with Princess for all of us. Wonder if all dining options are open too for our June 17 cruise here in a couple of weeks.

9 hours ago, JerseyShore said:

So I am assuming Rombauer chard is no longer available at Vines?

Thanks for starting this thread as I have an upcoming Princess cruise and wanted to see the wines on offer. Btw, Rombauer chard is called “cougar juice” by many in the industry. It is a party pleaser though usually when it is opened.

I don’t believe there are any supply chain issues on the wine end. Many wineries had to adapt to alternative sales channels during Covid. Less restaurants, cruise lines, etc and more direct sales or wine stores. Maybe logistics or cash flow for cruise lines starting back up has caused some issues.

On 2/21/2020 at 5:03 AM, Gracie115 said:

 

But when you can dine off the Blu or MDR menu while in Luminae on S & M class why go anywhere else?

I didn’t know you can dine off of Blu menu in Luminae. Menu certainly wasn’t offered to us. You have to spend hours and hours on these boards to know all the little things that aren’t published but you are supposed to know.

We are just off the Solstice on our first Celebrity cruise (outside galapagos) and have to say that Celebrity can easily eliminate overcrowding in Blu by offering a menu with more and better offerings in Luminae. The food was well prepared there but lacked inspiration and anything with decent sauces or spice. We ran into other suite guests that said they had given up on luminae and were enjoying Blu. We did Blu once and it was better but ended up eating specialty the rest of the time. Also, on Solstice the window views are much better than Luminae.

I do agree that suite guests otherwise are not said no to very often thus the rules bending for blu dining. However, the pricing of suite dining doesn't appear to reflect the difference in Aqua class dining so this is the real problem Celebrity needs to address.

I was supposed to be already in Buenos Aires now ready for the Antarctic cruise. I have no fear that those booked will lose their money. Scenic refunded via check  the cruise I had paid for via credit card. And I earned all the air miles for the huge expense. They refunded me for the redeposit of the air miles I had used as well as giving me a 25% discount on a future booking. So I kick the can down the road. Yes it sucks I was supposed to be on my way to Antarctica but I am making the best of it heading for an alternate vacation instead.

The scenic Eclipse ticked all my boxes to hit my seventh continent. Better across the drake passage with extended stabilizers which is huge considering the expense vs comfort. The sub and helicopters to explore once you get there along with the size of the rooms.

Yes, I feel sorry for those not knowing as I was when I found out a couple of months before departure. I also think they could be a little more open about the chances of meeting these new deadlines but they are in a tough position with some things out of their control. Their biggest mistake was choosing the shipyard for the build.

8 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

At this point I almost think those booked in April should lose your money when the ship does not sail. It is very clear the line is lying, even with this new partnership it is impossible to turn this business around overnight. And even with a overnight turn around not enough time to have a ship ready for a cruise in April.... fool and his money are soon parted....

Wow, really?

18 hours ago, carefreecruise said:

...The airfare we made  is non refundable and Scenic is not reimbursing. They are playing hardball and have no sympathy to just do the right thing and pay the customer that lost all their airfare tickets...

Agree, that is a terrible way to do business. Our TA is a bulldog and was able to get Scenic to promise to reimburse for redeposit of air miles which is fair. Having said that we received the refund of our cancelled Antarctic cruise promptly in full but nothing to be seen of the promised redeposit fees. TA is following up now.

Why is the title to the youtube video "Scenic Eclipse is blocked!". Is the poster implying the workers have access to it blocked? It isn't apparent from the video the best I can tell.

russg140, I posted right after you and I am due to sail Feb 8th. I have some of the same concerns. I think I am going ahead because of the queue for one of these cruises but may regret it.

Interesting that scenic will just catch the end of the Antarctic season. I’m due to sail Feb 8th and made the third deposit just yesterday. Not an ideal situation knowing there could be further delays. Also, I was hoping the helicopter and sub excursions would have gained experience by my sailing to increase the chances of seeing more interesting sightings.

... Pinot Grigio at $35 - $48! Very expensive - I would not expect to pay more than £20 for any of these in a restaurant near us ( north of England) and a lot less in a supermarket. For example the Bottega Vinai Trentino Pinot Grigio is about £8 in a supermarket in the U.K., so $47 seems a huge mark-up.

 

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Yes, especially the Italian wines seemed to be marked up the highest amounts.

Just found on the Azamara website a couple of Wine lists. Looks like little varies between the two lists.

Prime C: https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/prime_c_wine_list_june_2014.pdf

MDR: https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/discoveries_wine_list_june_2014.pdf

After looking through these it is generally better to bring a bottle and pay the corkage with a few notable exceptions. There are a few champagnes that actually sell below retail value. The Caymus Special Selection is slightly below retail. The Chateau Musar is a good deal at just over half retail. Don’t dismiss it because it’s from Lebanon - good stuff.

Thought maybe someone might enjoy one more recent opinion comparing Silversea and Seabourn sailed within last eight months.

Food: Seabourne was prepared well but uninspired in all but the once allowed TK grill. A noticeable lack of a variety of ethnic foods. Not much flavor or spice. It seems from most reviews I am very much in the minority in preferring Silversea for food. Didn't seem close to me. The biggest issue for me at least was MDR being closed for lunches and if open for breakfast at all then during small and inconvenient windows for tours. As I read in an older thread and agree with - this is a deal killer for me. Hard to talk about luxury and buffets in the same sentence. We did really like the caviar service on Seabourn available anywhere throughout the ship though. We prefer blinis over toast which we discovered needed to be ordered in advance so had the rest of the cruise after the first day.

Wine - for those that it is important to as much as me. The sommeliers on both lines were knowledgeable and friendly. I thought Seabourn had better wines available on the complimentary servings but we mostly order off the menu for better wines. Silversea has better pricing on menu wines. Closer to retail and I believe more interesting wines. On Seabourn we had purchased the gold connoisseur package only to find out that they were out of the better wines on that list. A bit of a bait and switch. We were were easily credited for the package and ordered by the bottle to supplement a couple of bottles we brought with us. Btw, the pierre peters blanc de blancs grand cru champagne available at TK grill can be sent anywhere else on the ship and I believe the best deal.

Entertainment: Seabourn has the most clear advantage in this area. The lecturers were really good. The musicians, especially instrumental were surprisingly good.

Service: As I have read on these reviews, Seabourn staff did address me by name at times which did not happen with Silversea. Otherwise, I thought the service was noticeably better with Silversea and seems as though they have more front line staff in the lounge and dining areas minimizing wait times.

Internet: $400 for a weeklong cruise. Seriously, Seabourn gets this wrong. Fortunately I have a skyroam which gave me decent service and speed the majority of a baltic cruise for $10 a day.

Rooms/Housekeeping: Comparable basic level suites. We had a major issue early in our cruise with housekeeping with Seabourn. We had purshased three Rick Steves guidebooks for city stops along the way. After disappearing out of our room we were told she thought they were trash, then told they believed they belonged in their library, and then they were burned along with other trash. Agreed solution after dealing with this for half a day was to download from Amazon and then be reimbursed. Problem was that didn't happen on our final bill so had to wait in line embarkation day to deal with that.

Dress/Fellow cruisers: A Caribbean Silversea cruise had noticeably more British passengers whereas the Baltic cruise had noticeably more Americans. The Silversea cruise seemed a bit more formal dressed by the passengers and certainly moreso from the staff with the butlers and white gloves and more officer/staff presence in uniforms.

From Quest, July 8th Baltic cruise.

- sorry - wouldn't upload resolution too high error. If anyone would like I can email.

Part 2 of the Silver Spirit Connoisseur's Wine List, Dec 2016

Part 1 of the Silver Spirit Connoisseur's Wine List, Dec 2016

... And, I must say, the Spanish Imperial looks like a steal at $45, as does the French d'Yquem at $200.

 

Would you let me know who the head sommelier is on board when you departed?

 

Happy New Year!

I really enjoyed the Rioja but actually my wine-searcher.com search showed an average price closer to $66. Also, note that the Chateau d'Yquem was for a half bottle. The wine list didn't actually say but when I went to order a bottle that info came out so I passed.

Sorry, can't remember the name of the head sommelier but she was a young lady from Serbia.

I have iPad pics of the rest of the the list. If you PM me your email address I'll send them to you - or someone else that can figure out how to post them in this thread.

Just off the Silver Spirit and posting this partial list. There are many more - especially French Burgundies and Italian wines missing from this list. I also will list some of my opinions of wines we liked and pricing at the end.

Champagne

Krug - $160

Dom Perignon 2003 $175

Dom Perignon 2006 $145

Bollinger Grand Anee 2004 $150

Cristal 2006/2007 - $210

Penfolds Grange 2007 - $450

Penfolds Saint Henri Shiraz 2011 - $110

Penfolds Bin 389 Cab-Shiraz 2012 - $75

Ata Rangi Martinborough Pinot Noir 2012 - $70

Opus One 2010 - $200

Shafer Hillside Select 2009 - $195

Joseph Phelps Insignia 2011 - $190

Caymus Special Selection 2013 - $110

Joseph Phelps 2012 - $80

Vega Sicilia Unico 2002 - $425

CVNE Rioja Gran Reserva Imperial 2009 - $45

Sassicaia 2011 - $230

Sassicaia 2010 - $225

Tignanello 2013 - $80

Joseph Drouhin Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 1997 - $150

Beaucastel CDP 2008/2009 - $110

Pichon Baron 2008 - $130

Chateau Leoville Poyferre 2005 - $150

Chateau Margaux 2006 - $600

Desert wines

Chataeu d'Yquem 2005 (375ml) - $200

Hetszolo Tokaji 5 Puttonyos 2008 - $80

Fronseca 10 year Tawny - $45

Wines we drank:

Dom Perignon 2006 (AMEX benefit gift)

Joseph Drouhin Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 1997

Drank these two at Le Champagne. The Burg was pop and pour, no decant time needed.

Beaucastel CDP 2008, disappointment of the week. On first night the Sommelier from La Terrazza talked me into the 08 over the 09 when discussing wine selection for the following night. I'm a big fan of Beaucastel and should have known better.

Tignanello 2013 - always a fave and consistent, went through 2 bottles and they bubble wrapped one to bring home the price being better than retail for me.They did carry other Antinori wines as well if you're a fan like me.

Pichon Baron 2008 - wine of the week, had it decanted an hour before dinner.

CVNE Rioja Gran Reserva Imperial 2009 - a good value and drinking well right now. Went through 3 bottles.

Caymus SS 2013. A great price especially for the 2013 vintage. Been drinking Caymus for nearly thirty years now and I don't think it is as good as it once was but did well with the steaks cooked over the hot rocks.

Just booked this week as well for Feb 2019. Starting to fill up and very few if any cabins left on the pre-release pricing.

Interesting issue is that the insurance through ship only has $100K evacuation coverage which really isn't sufficient should you need it from Antarctica. Checking other options it appears that you must be within 24 months of a trip for a policy booking yet you need it within 14 days of an initial booking to cover anything preexisting.

I am booked on the Siversea Silver Spirit Cruise. Dec 15th, 2016

Counting departure and return from Barbados, port in six countries. Not territories, actual countries. I have no problem with those collecting countries and just spending a day in port. It affords an opportunity also to see what is offered so you can go back to those that appeal to spend more time at a later date.

We are going to book but would like advice on which month/itinerary is best. Considering doing the tour that includes Machu Picchu.

I just booked April 17th. Been researching this for a while and though it doesn't seem there is a terrible time of year there I narrowed it down to a month either side of April.

Thought the "Outer loop" looked slightly better than the "Inner loop" trip that time of year.