LittleRedJohn

Check the Londra Palace. Very nice, old fashioned hotel on the canal,  wonderfully located and so convenient to much that's important in Venice. LittleRedJohn

Late last year we cruised Seabourn from Malta to Israel to and through the Red Sea, around the Arabian Peninsula, to Dubai and several other nearby places. Wonderful trip, fascinating things to see and experience, learned so much, had so much fun. It took a month and cost a ton. Worth every minute and every dollar. LittleRedJohn  (spend money for a guide and a motorized scooter at Petra, there's no other way to see the place)

We have done several SilverSea cruises. Had a fine time always. The the ships and the cruises are not perfect. But along with Seabourn my first choice for my next cruise would be SilverSea. My big concern, however, is how the cruise lines emerge from the virus. I want cruises like the old days. That's not going to happen overnight. My attitude right now is watch and wait and put no money down on any future cruise until we know a lot more. LittleRedJohn

We booked a "South of the Circle" cruise on Quark several years ago. Very costly. We would do it again in a second. We knew there was no guarantee. Not that many people in history have made it south of the circle. To have done it we thought then and still think that it was a glorious experience. Our ship was an expedition ship and ice hardened. I wouldn't try it in a bigger ship. When we got to Antarctica, the guides and captain judged the weather and decided to make a run for it before the weather changed. We succeeded,  spent a couple days south of the circle, then cruised back north hitting the various landing spots north of the circle. Quark isn't the most luxurious cruise, but they concentrate on the experience. That's why you're down there.

LittleRedJohn

We stayed at Pulitzer Amsterdam, located in historic buildings, right on canal, restaurants nearby, was a very good choice. LittleRedJohn

We cruised from Halifax to Greenland and wound up in Iceland several years ago aboard the Bremen. Had a wonderful time. Greenland was fabulous. Iceland was fascinating. We were on Silver Cloud last year in western Africa. Had a wonderful time on the Cloud. I think coupling the Cloud and Greenland together would work very well. LittleRedJohn

We just got off Ovation after a month long cruise. I hate the smell of smoke. Smoking should be completely banned on all cruise ships. Having said that, we noticed very little smoking, and only in the aft deck area where it was specifically allowed. The smell was never a problem anywhere on the ship. We even spent a little time sitting on the aft deck without inconvenience. But there are many other places on the ship to sit where smoking is not allowed. I noticed no smoking in areas where it was not allowed. I would add we had a lot of non-USA passengers on the cruise, meaning that the chances of having passengers who smoke was very probably increased. LittleRedJohn

We did Cape Town to Lisbon this past spring on Cloud. Was mostly great. Two back to back cruises actually. Ship's shore excursions were mostly included in the cruise price. Silversea could have provided a lot better Africa experts to lecture and guide us. We did a lot of our own research. We learned a lot and did a lot on this trip. Beware of the itinerary. Ours changed and yours probably will, too. If you have specific questions, I'm open to questions. LittleRedJohn

We stumbled into a discussion with a buyer aboard Odyssey a few years ago and learned a lot. We actually observed the purchase of fresh, local fish from a fisherman at a port in southern New Zealand, with the buyer presiding over the transaction along with a couple of chefs from the ship. The buyer said they do buy local foods when they believe they get high quality for a reasonable price. Fish was one such example, he said. Incredibly, however, the lamb on the ship was from Colorado. It was good, but couldn't Odyssey buy great lamb in New Zealand? Of course they could. The buyer said they don't do that. I also asked about beef in New Zealand, which is different from American beef. Again, the buyer said the ship's beef comes only from the USA. It was very good. But I'm sure some people on the cruise would enjoy New Zealand or Australian beef. I sure enjoyed it while on land before the cruise. It's not easy operating a major cruise ship, and buying food locally isn't the simplest thing to do. But I think cruise ships could use more imagination and provide an extra avenue of enjoyment for at least some of their passengers by buying local food. I have noticed such purchases on the ships of other cruise lines. LittleRedJohn 

We did the reverse of that cruise in early 2019 on Silversea. If you need any tips, email me at johndleannz@email.com

We're on the Malta to Greece to Dubai cruise aboard Ovation in November. I'm worried. Seabourn isn't commenting and my travel agent can't find out anything. I would think they must have an idea by now what they're going to do. The ship has to go on east to India and beyond. So I don't see how they can cancel. If they used their imagination, they could end my cruise without going through the straits, and bus us across land to Dubai. Would be a very interesting trip. Not really that far. We could then end up in Dubai, which is safe. The ship could then cruise on to India.   LittleRedJohn

We were on the Cloud for a month in April, had a great cruise, never smelled sewage--and my nose is sensitive--nor did I hear anyone complain of it. But even on a ship the size of the Cloud, you don't know what's happening everyplace. I rule nothing out, but I would have thought I would have heard someone speak of it if it was a problem.  LittleRedJohn

We were on the Cloud for 30 days a couple months ago. I know people's opinion on food differs. But someone blogged how our food was awful, almost nothing edible. That was simply a lie. My wife and I are quick to criticize when criticism is warranted. But many of our meals were quite good. A few were wonderful. I had a steak many times and it was very good each time. Most passengers we talked to were pleased or very pleased. Some said they thought several dishes could have been better. That's valid commentary. We found  several of the sandwiches not to our liking. The pizza was hardly our favorite. Not everyone will like every dish all the time. But the food inedible? That's laughable. LittleRedJohn

Cloud arrived on time in Lisbon. Disembarkation very smooth. Overall a fine cruise. Ship and crew great. Food mostly good to very good. Some excellent off ship events, but too many shore excursions were poorly planned and badly supervised. On board expert speakers came up a little short. But we saw and experienced a lot of Africa. That was the goal.

I am on the Cloud. I don't know who is criticizing the food. We're quite pleased with it. I had a beef fillet tonight and would give it a grade of nine. My wife had chicken oscar and would give it the same grade. All of our meals have been good. Some very good or excellent. Breakfast buffet could use some more variety. Eggs are always very good. I had a Reuben for lunch one day that was below average. Fried onion rings could use improvement. Fish has been good. One day the chief went to market and brought grouper. Grilled slices of it by the pool one noon. Excellent. had a room service hamburger last night that was quite good. Room service has several very good pasta dishes. Desserts are very good to excellent. Not much to complain about on this cruise. LittleRedJohn

I am on this cruise. It's going very well. There are a couple nites where they suggest a jacket. But no tie. If that is a problem we just order room service dinner. Staff is great. Ocean is calm. Weather is hot. We've had only a little rain. Today we're anchored off Principe. I am looking right now at heavy forest and a beautiful beach in the distance. Littleredjohn

We are at the Table Bay Hotel now, looking forward to our cruise Thursday. The info I have is that our ship will be at Duncan Dock, a short distance from here. Haven't been told when our shuttle will pick us up. I don't believe we will be so lucky to be docked behind the hotel. Several people on the ship are already at the hotel. Weather is good, warm but not hot, sunny but windy at the waterfront. No rain expected. Hotel is top drawer, and pretty busy. They offer an occasional free shuttle into the Town center. John

We've visited Sydney a couple times the last few years. Strongly recommend the Koala Sanctuary at edge of town. Little smaller than a zoo, but it has mostly Australian animals and you can touch the koalas. The kangeroos hop around you as you sit on benches. It's kinda on the edge of town but well worth the visit. Also strongly recommend an afternoon at Bondi Beach, one of the world's great beaches. Huge, wonderful people watching, frequently has surfers, and you might even see some topless sunbathing Also strongly recommend hop-on hop-off bus. They take you to a lot of places, aren't real expensive, and you can get off in some spots if you want. As good a city tour as you can get. LittleRedJohn

You might just ask a prospective agent what they will do for you. My agent has worked hard on Russian and Brazilian visas for us. She was on the telephone to me when my flight from overseas landed many hours late in Chicago causing me to be stranded for the night. She has worked hard on a couple of travel insurance claims for me, and I've gotten appropriate payback from the insurance. She's a Virtuoso agent. You might consider one of those. They tend to be high end. I think the rule against recommending agents here is silly. The internet is supposed to be a free-for-all, with buyer beware. It would be nice to hear what other people think of their agents. LittleRedJohn

We're on the Cloud in a few weeks and I too was confused about shore excursions. Our cruise will be along western Africa, and virtually all the excursions are included in the cruise cost. Some are 10 hours or more long and involve lunch. There are a couple of excursions involving flying that do carry an extra charge. I didn't realize all this at first, and I don't think the pamphlets are clear. But that's why we have travel agents. LittleRedJohn. 

23 hours ago, rich48100 said:

LittleRedJohn:

 

We, Rich and Barbara from Tulsa, will also be cruising the Cloud from Capetown to Lisbon.  Haven’t seen a separate thread for that cruise, so sorry to bust into this one to introduce ourselves to LittleRedJohn.  Looking forward to meeting you on that cruise.  Not long now.

We toured Southeast Asia last year, a mostly private tour arranged by Abercrombie and Kent. Everybody has their own needs, budgets and desires. But, while I'm an advocate of cruise ships, I think we got a lot more out of a land tour than if we had done a cruise. We spent several days in most places. We got our fill of Saigon and Hanoi, and there's a lot to experience. We took a day-long Vietnamese train trip. Plus, we took a five-day cruise on a Mekong River cruise boat, which was an unusual and wonderful experience. I looked at cruise ship visits to Southeast Asia, and I wouldn't want to take one. LittleRedJohn

We board the  Cloud in Cape Town on March 28. We've never been on the ship. Please post your first impressions of the ship after you're on for a day or two. Thanks. LittleRedJohn

Check out the Hotel Londra Palace. We stayed there a few years ago with a canal-view room. Not cheap, but not the most expensive place in town either. An old-fashioned place. Fabulous views out our window, fabulous views from the breakfast table downstairs, hotel was a short walk from St. Marks, and a water taxi stop was right out front. LittleRedJohn

We got off the ship in Melbourne and found to our surprise that the hop-on bus stopped right there. Seabourn never told us. So it was handy to hop on and ride around and into town. Melbourne is a great street car city, they have a fabulous system. So just get on the trams and ride them around. They're fun and cheap, and it's a great way to see the town. You can get off whenever you want and have a beverage. LittleRedJohn