Jump to content

artbcpa

Members
  • Posts

    870
  • Joined

Posts posted by artbcpa

  1. I was wondering if there has been any discussion onboard about tropical storm Philippe. I am not exactly sure where you are at this moment or whether the storm will impact your cruise. The winds don't seem to be as big a factor as the torrential rain expected. Here is some information from AccuWeather. 

     

    The latest AccuWeather Eye Path takes Philippe inland over Maine late Saturday night to Sunday morning as a tropical wind and rainstorm prior to making landfall. Due to the anticipated impacts of heavy rainfall and gusty winds, Philippe has been rated "less than one" on the AccuWeather Real Impact Scale for Hurricanes in new England and Atlantic Canada.

     

    A broad zone of tropical -storm-force wind gusts ranging from 40-60 mph (64 to 97 km/h) will extend from Northeaster Maine through much of the gulf of St. Lawrence region in Canada. The bulk of the rain associated directly with Philippe will focus from Maine to southeastern Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. A general 1-4 inches of rain will fall in this area with locally higher amounts.

     

    Of equal interest to me was this statement about the long lasting chill to follow Philippe since we are on the next leg of the cruise.

     

    Philippe's interaction with the jet stream will lead to an extended period of November-like weather for much of the Northeast and Atlantic Canada next week. Snow is even in the AccuWeather forecast for parts of Quebec and upstate New York.

     

     

  2. We are on a later cruise (Quebec to Miami) and have been extremely frustrated by the company's website and their lack of knowledge to our telephone inquiries with regards to their excursions. I have read all the reviews from previous sailings (which were very mixed to say the least). Does anyone onboard have any comments about Explora's excursions? We are familiar with outside companies. If that is our better alternative, we would like to know.

  3. On 1/20/2023 at 8:30 AM, Noxequifans said:

    The comment on the coldness of the ship may be due to efforts to reduce the possibilities of illness, etc.

    Actually the opposite is true. 

    "Viruses and bacteria thrive in cooler temperatures and drier conditions. Cold and flu particles that are released into the air through sneezing or coughing can survive on surfaces for up to 48 hours. The warmer and more humid your home is, the more likely these particles will go inactive sooner."

     

    I just wanted to clarify your statement for health reasons. It also doesn't explain why the thermostats did not work in two different cabins. Let's face it. Insignia is just old.

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
  4. Since we haven't sailed on Oceania in nearly 5 years, I can't comment on specific food shortages. As for the general quality, it is nowhere near what it was. We just disembarked from the Insignia, and I would say that the food was among the worst we have eaten on any ship. What was most disappointing was how they labeled their dishes inappropriately. "Shrimp scampi" without garlic in a red sauce; "Classic BLT" served mushed like an egg salad, a "Cuban sandwich", that didn't even approach what a cuban sandwich looks or tastes like. Certainly my worst meal was at Polo Grille of all places, where I was served a veal chop that I could not cut with a steak knife. First the waiter and then the manager came over as they could not believe that veal would be that tough, so I offered to let them try. When they could not cut it, I got a new meal.

    • Like 3
  5. The following review is intended to provide helpful information to those considering cruising on the Oceania Insignia. Please remember that this is only one person’s opinion and may not reflect your view or the opinions of others. I will be providing a grade for each of the ship’s various services along with an explanation of how and why I gave them this grade. I will begin with what I felt they did best.

     

    A+ Panama Canal: I felt I needed to single out this one special activity of our cruise because I have been through the canal two previous times, but neither even approached the quality and information provided on this cruise. A lot of the credit must go to the gentleman they brought onboard – Jaime – who provided the narration and then a Q and A session with the passengers. His talks were comprehensive and completely understandable. They were also humorous, and Jaime never refrained from answering our questions completely.

     

    Solid A Entertainment: I have traveled on numerous ships and cruise lines and the Oceania entertainment on this cruise rivaled any I have experienced. The production staff who performed various shows did an outstanding job of singing and dancing. Their song selection was varied and with an older passenger group, I wondered how all these young performers knew the words, music and dances of our generation. The outside performers the ship brought in included singers, pianists, magicians and comedians who were also outstanding. While I had my favorites, each appealed to a wide selection of the audience. My favorite evening’s entertainment was Liar’s Club. If you have not experienced Liar’s Club, I urge you to go if your ship provides it. I have seen it on several cruises, but this was the best I have ever seen.

     

    A  Social Director: A cruise social director is a critical member of the cruise staff. He/she can make or break the success of a cruise. Our cruise director, Ray Carr, did an outstanding job, announcing the day’s activities, making himself available and entertaining us with his humor. His participation as part of the Liar’s Club panel was hilarious.

     

    B+ Itinerary: The cruise began in Miami and ended in San Francisco. Considering it’s location, I enjoyed the itinerary of Cayman Islands, Cartagena, El Salvador, five Mexican ports, San Diego and San Francisco. Certainly, some were better than others and we did have to tender into two of them, but I enjoyed the choices they made. A Disney ship followed us to each port.

     

    Solid B Activities: For a small ship, the Oceania Insignia, did an excellent job of providing a wide range of activities. As on many ships, trivia was well attended. This ship did it twice a day. They also had sports activities including table tennis (my favorite), shuffleboard, two kinds of golf, plus bingo, a destination speaker, a casino, and several special events. My only criticism would be that for the sports activities they never had us play more than one game each, so there was no real competition. It was nice that a staff member was present for EVERY event, something I have not found to be true on other cruises.

     

    B- Crew: The service of the crew was unfortunately very inconsistent. Some were excellent, like our room steward. Others were lacking. It wasn’t that their attitude was poor. I would call it a lack of training and supervision. This contrasts greatly from other cruises I have been on.

     

    C+ Excursions Unfortunately, I experienced the same inconsistency and lack of quality on the ship run excursions as I have on other cruises, which is why I more often than not, book outside excursions. I did experience one excellent ship excursion in Cabo San Lucas - Salsa and Salsa – a cooking class for making salsa and dancing instruction for the salsa. Every one of our outside excursions was excellent. I know some passengers are afraid to book outside excursions. However, I have never failed to return to the ship in time. Just make sure you provide a cushion when booking your outside excursions. On the other hand, I have witnessed more than a few times when a ship had to wait for their own ship excursions that were late. Considering the quality and cost, I highly recommend considering using outside excursions.

     

    C  Speaker: This cruise only had one speaker, a destination speaker, who gave presentations throughout the 18-day cruise. While his content was sometimes worthwhile, his presentation skills were not. As a professional speaker, I may be more critical than the average passenger, but his slides (so small no one could read them) and manner of speaking (repetitive ums) were less than adequate.

     

    C- Cabin: The Insignia is way past its prime. Built in 1998, even with a refurbishment in 2018, there were so many things wrong, I believe the ship needs to be retired. The air conditioning system is horrendous. Everywhere you went on the ship was COLD. I would have a difficult time saying whether the showroom, Insignia Lounge, or our cabin was colder. The thermostats in our room(s) did not work. Yes, I said rooms. After the engineer was unable to get our air conditioner in our initial room to work properly, we asked to change rooms. Unfortunately, it was no better. The bathrooms are extremely small, but the showers are so small, you can hardly turn around. It reminded me of cruising in the 60’s when many of the cabins had bunk beds and bathrooms the size of airplane bathrooms.

     

    C- Food: Perhaps the most disappointing part of the cruise was the food. Oceania advertises itself as having the best food on the seas. Having sailed on multiple cruise lines, this simply is not true. While there were some selected meals that were quite good, the majority of the food was of mediocre quality. I spoke with many other passengers who felt the same. Some who have sailed on Oceania many times before simply said that this cruise was not up to their standards. In general, the meats were of poor quality, but my biggest objection was that their descriptions of the dishes was often misleading.

     

    My overall evaluation of the cruise would be a C, a rating not indicative of a cruise line rated 5.5 stars. As you can see from the above, there were certain parts of the cruise that I found to be quite good, but overall, it was a big disappointment.

    • Like 6
    • Thanks 3
  6. I think what we have here is another cultural US/UK difference !

     

    I've never eaten out in the UK with anyone who has ever asked for a recommendation (apart from once as I recalled above). In fact, if a waiter/server/whatever term you prefer, was to proffer a recommendation without being asked, most people in the UK would assume they were doing that because they wanted to get rid of that particular dish.

     

    I will be traveling on Cunard for the first time next month. I am hoping that these mixed reviews will not ring true on our cruise.

     

    With regard to recommendations, perhaps the biggest difference is that so few people in the UK seem to treat their waiters in fine restaurants as professionals. Here in the US and the same in several other countries like Australia, Italy and France, the waiters take great pride in knowing what items are fresh, the best use of the chef's talents, the ingredients used and may ask us what kind of foods we like. I often will bring my choice down to two or three items I like and then tell the waiter to surprise me. If a waiter refuses, that tells me a lot about him/her and the quality of the restaurant.

     

    I am an adventuresome eater and love trying exotic dishes native to the area. I am also a very good cook. Sometimes, the waiter will warn us that a particular dish is very hot or tough or is an acquired taste. Then the onus is on me. We travel mostly on 6 star ships like Crystal and Viking where the food is consistently top notch, but sometimes it is not. Then we will alter our choices to much more standard fare, easier to make (harder to mess up) dishes. Great food enhances our cruises. We don't let mediocre food ruin them.

     

    We are looking forward to our first Cunard sailing.

  7. Thank you all for your prompt responses. One more question: On most other cruise lines, breakfast and lunch in their sit down restaurant is a log drawn out experience, similar to dinner. We enjoy that for dinner, but mostly chose the Lido for other meals. Is it the same on Cunard? What other choices are available for breakfast and lunch?

  8. We are frequent cruisers, but this will be our first time on Cunard. We will be sailing on the Queen Victoria. We have a couple of questions?

     

    1. We are in a Queens Grill stateroom. Do we need to make dining reservations before we board? What about speciality restaurants? Which would you recommend? Neither of us drink wine or alcoholic beverages, so pairings restaurants are not of interest.

     

    2. I have heard that we can charge our credit card in the casino. Can we also also use cash at the tables and slot machines? What currency(s) do they allow. We can bring USD, Euros or Pounds.

     

     

    3. Are there table tennis tables onboard? What deck are they on? I couldn't find them on the deck chart.

     

     

    4. How would you rate the ship's excursions. On most ships, we book our own excursions, but we are open to trying there's.

     

     

    5. Ellie really likes playing mahjong. Does anyone know if they have mahjong sets onboard? How would we communicate with other passengers. There is virtually no activity on our roll call.

     

     

    6. Is there anything special that we should know about Cunard versus other luxury cruise lines?

     

     

    Thank you so much for your assistance.

  9. I didn't see any mention of Medjet Assist's emergency transport insurance. It is an annual plan at a reasonable cost that will fly you back to the United States if you have a medical emergency. Nearly every other plan will only take you to the closest "appropriate" medical facility. When you are traveling to remote locations, that is an especially big deal. They even have a discount for AARP members. I HIGHLY recommend looking into it. We carry it together with whatever regular travel insurance we purchase.

     

    Here is a link: https://medjetassist.com/

    PS. Several cruise line travel insurance plans will not pay cash for trip cancellation, but only provide you with a credit toward your next cruise. I'm sure someone can comment about Regent's plan.

  10. I am pleased with our travel agent in that she is an impeccable planner and on our last trip booked us a great hotel in Rome (in the best location) and had every transfer and private guide arranged and they were all great. She surprised us with a fabulous hotel on our last night before flying home. Everything was just perfect and her planning added immensely to our enjoyment of our trip (which included a cruise.) While she did seem to have very good communication with Seaboard and could answer all of our questions and get things done very quickly, we did not get a 10% discount. Should I be displeased about this?

     

    Not at all. The real advantage of a PROFESSIONAL travel agent is what they can do for you if something goes wrong. It can mean the difference between an enjoyable vacation and a disaster.

     

    As far as the discounts and amenities, their value depends on how you travel. If you book only excursions from the cruise line, the discount and OBC they offer is more important. But if you want an experience that will be more memorable and want your travel agent to book private and semi-private tours with the best guides, the discount becomes less important. The difference in price and quality of those special tours can far exceed whatever upfront discount you receive.

     

    We booked a private safari in Africa. Just by chance the cruise line was offering a safari and happened to be staying at the same lodge. The cruise line's price was more than 3 times higher than we paid.

     

    The very best travel experiences you take will most likely be the result of consulting with an agent who is knowledgeable about the area (s) you will be going to. Sometimes that may mean you should deal with different travel agents for different locations. It is probably unreasonable to expect your agent to truly KNOW the inside scoop everywhere.

     

    Based on what you wanted to do SLSD, you should not be disappointed with your travel agent. Planning a personalized trip takes time. They helped provide a memorable experience for you and may have saved you more money than any discount you would have received.

  11. Hello artbcpa,

    Thank you for all your post and photos I have been reading them with great interest as we have booked the same cruise next year and my main concern has been the weather.

    Did sailing so late in the season course problems.

    We have been concerned that tours would be cancelled due to weather and so on.

    Also I didn't see any photos of bears was it too late for them?

    Was the weather very cold that very day you could not go on the deck ?

    Thank you for any more assistance

    regards Shyla100

     

    Going so late in the season may have resulted in more rainy days, though my recollection from earlier trips is that many of those same stops were rainy in mid summer - Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka. The temperature was still mild - mid 50s. As far as the excursions, yes there were several that were no longer taking place and we did not see any bears. We did see lots of other wildlife including whales, bald eagles, sea otters and sea lions and the highlight, the glacier calving was excellent. overall, I did not find a big difference going in late September. I remember going fishing in early August and standing out on the boat in full head to foot rain gear and it was pouring and it was miserable. We had some beautiful days as well as some rainy ones. Luckily the day we went to the glacier was beautiful as well as the day we took a hike. I think it is just the luck of the draw.

  12. As we are approaching the end of our itinerary, I would like to give my feedback on the cruise. Please remember that this is only one person’s opinion (with a little input from Ellie as well). I have tried to break down the evaluation into categories so that those who don’t feel that a particular area is important to them, they can ignore those marks and concentrate on those areas that are most important to them. I also felt that it might be helpful if I rated the categories against two other luxury cruise lines we have traveled on, Crystal and the newest entry into luxury cruising, Viking Ocean. We have not sailed on Silversea or Regent; so, I cannot include them in my comparison.

     

    Layout of the ship- I judged this category on ease to get around the ship, central meeting place for passengers to gather, and other factors that might make the experience more appealing. For instance, not having a deck where passengers can walk around the ship, the shortage of rooms to hold activities, the layout of guest services all impacted my evaluation. 1st – Crystal; 2nd – Viking; 3rd – Seabourn.

     

    Cabins – First, let me clarify that we are talking about standard cabins (with or without a veranda). This one was easy. Seabourn’s cabins are wonderfully laid out. Perhaps our only comment is that we would like to see drawers in the bathroom. Otherwise, the size of the room, the walk-in closet, and the curtain separating the “living room” area are absolutely wonderful. We have sailed on lots of ships. We would rate Seabourn number 1. As a side note, our very favorite cabin was the junior suite we had on Windstar. They merely took out the adjoining wall and we had two full cabins with two walk-in closets, two full bathrooms, etc. Ellie was a very happy camper. 1st – Seabourn; 2nd - Viking; 3rd - Crystal.

     

    Food – Because of the importance of food to most cruisers, I broke this down to various subcategories.

     

    Variety– Perhaps this is merely a factor of the size of the ship, but the choices of food and restaurants is quite limited compared to other ships. 1st –Crystal & Viking (tied) 3rd – Seabourn.

     

    Breakfast – This is perhaps Seabourn’s weakest area. The size of the buffet on the Colonnade is much too small. Way too many items have to be ordered through the waiter. There needs to be an omelet station and it would also be nice if the pancakes and waffles would be included on the buffet. Because so many items need to be ordered we found the wait time to be unacceptable. Many times items would also be served lukewarm or cold. We gave up on trying to get crisp bacon. 1st – Crystal; 2nd – Viking; 3rd - Seabourn.

     

    Lunch – Most of the time I simply loved the lunch in the Colonnade. I would never eat that heavy at home, but how do you resist such sumptuous offerings. On the other hand, the grill by the pool doesn’t come close to the variety and quality of other ships we have sailed on. I can’t compare the main restaurant because it was closed most of the time for lunch and we never tried it. 1st – Crystal; 2nd– Viking; 3rd - Seabourn.

     

    Dinner – It seems to us that dinners at all the luxury lines and even some of the mid class and lower deliver dinners of the highest caliber. We have had isolated issues with individual items, but why quibble when you can send it back and get something else. We rate all three lines equally.

     

    Specialty restaurants – Once again,I believe the size of the ship has some impact on this comparison, but even so, most ships specialty restaurants exceed Restaurant 2. 1st – Crystal;2nd – Viking; 3rd – Seabourn.

     

    Service – The food service on most ships is truly exceptional with isolated screw-ups. This was no different. However, we were especially impressed by the service we received on Viking Ocean and would rate it first. 1st – Viking; 2nd – Crystal and Seabourn (tied).

     

    Entertainment –This a category that has a very different level of importance with passengers.We often meet other cruise passengers who never go to the shows. We, on the other hand, we hardly ever miss one. Because of the size of the ship our expectations were not especially high. Were we wrong! Seabourn’s entertainment holds up against anyone and Crystal has Broadway caliber talent. 1st –Seabourn and Crystal (tied); 3rd – Viking.

     

    Guest Services – Ellie wanted me to give a special acknowledgement to Seabourn for all the help they gave her and the quick responses they offer to any question. 1st –Seabourn; 2nd – Viking; 3rd - Crystal

     

    Housekeeping – It would be difficult to criticize any ship, big or small, luxury or mass market, as the housekeeping staffs work incredible hours and do a wonderful job. However, Viking’s staff was just a wee bit better. 1st – Viking; 2nd– Seabourn and Crystal (tied)

     

    Ship activities – For people who want to be busy every minute of every day, that is possible on Crystal. Of course, you don’t have to do everything; most people do not. But for an itinerary with lots of sea days, Crystal is our cruise line of choice.Seabourn seems to cater more to those who want to relax. A port intensive itinerary might also give Seabourn an advantage. 1st – Crystal; 2nd– Seabourn and Viking (tied).

     

    Ship Excursions –This is one category where Viking has a clear advantage as they have included in their price an overview excursion at every port. Of course, there are also paid excursions you can purchase. For most locations, we do not purchase ship run excursions. Often, they are very expensive and the quality is just as iffy as if you booked them yourselves. Here in Alaska late in the season there were not many outside alternatives available. Most of the excursions were excellent; one not so much. 1st – Viking; 2nd – Seabourn; 3rd– Crystal

     

    Wifi/Internet - For most ships and cruise lines everyone would tie for last place. Perhaps because the ships are new and they spent years studying the shortcomings of other cruise ships, Viking’s internet is truly a step above. 1st – Viking; 3rd – Crystal & Seabourn (tied).

     

    Shops – I had to ask Ellie about this category as I really don’t do much shopping…but she does. Ellie could not rave enough about the variety and the service she received from Seabourn – a clear winner. 1st – Seabourn; 2nd – Crystal; 3rd Viking.

     

    Dancing – This is a category I need to explain. The reason is that Crystal has devotees who cruise with them strictly because of the dancing. Crystal has paid “ambassadors” onboard to dance with the women. They are trained dancers . Because of that and their low single supplement, they draw a large number of mature single women who look forward to dancing with a partner who can make them look fabulous on the dance floor. It is for precisely that reason that I rate Crystal last in this category. What man wants to compete with a half dozen professional dancers? Not only that, but there is no such thing as free form dancing on Crystal. If you are not doing the eastern or western swing, you are out of step. I didn't go ona cruise expecting to prepare for "Damcing with the Stars" On the positive side, I want to mention Seabourn’s band and singer, Eliza. They are outstanding. 1st– Seabourn; 2nd – Viking; 3rd – Crystal.

     

    Relaxation – This is where Seabourn shines. So many places to read; even the rooms are set up for someone to read while the other person in the room sleeps. There are lounge chairs everywhere and you don’t have to reserve one like on many of the big ships. 1st – Seabourn; 2nd– Viking; 3rd – Crystal.

     

    Spa – Once again this is an Ellie category. She loves all of them, but gave a slight edge to Viking because of their special Nordic spa. 1st – Viking, 2nd– Seabourn and Crystal (tied)

  13. I always make my comments to the Maire D' when the incident - which can be very good or can be bad - happens. If I get great service I tell them and if I get bad service I also tell them. I think that feedback should be as timely as possible.

     

    Actually the Maitre D' was gone; so I decided to see if anyone was monitoring cruise critic as many of the cruise lines do.

     

    Yesterday evening I did tell the restaurant manager about our experience. He thanked me for letting him know.

     

    For me, the key to service is what the company does in response to a problem. No matter the level of the cruise ship (or hotel) things do go wrong. It is how they react to the issues that is the real key to great service.

×
×
  • Create New...