janecambridge

Look forward to hearing all about it please . 😊

Nope. We didn’t feel the need to get rid of it. I had a conversation with the artists and offered it. Felt good not to leave it to Oceania who had let us down on the Amazon trip. We left hefty tips and I gave out Christmas gifts. The six bottles of liquor we left in the suite. Only 3 opened.

Getting off a Princess cruise ship onto a tender is such a chore compared to the smaller Oceania ships.

Our 2 complimentary wines were not needed by us so we gave them to the two guys in artists loft. The 2 complimentary bottles of champagne, we gave to our friends who are on the ship from December to April!

Forgot to say , dobrazilright- the two day tour in Rio, got us into Sugar loaf mountain and Christ the redeemer via the vip entrances. No need to queue anywhere. In Salvador, if you decide to take the lift to the upper town, forget the long queue for the lift, go to the right of the queue and if you look old enough they just let you straight through as pensioners.If you can’t do that then get off the ship asap as other ships will be there and head straight to the queue. 😂

I understand there have been offers for extra land tours in Alaska- not sure if it’s only Brits. personally we would prefer an upgraded seat on long haul flights. To upgrade a seat from here, we have to wait for the flight to be ticketed - 70-90 days pre embarkation. We then may loose the opportunity as sold out or sit away from each other. BA also charged us last time $100 each to choose seats.

Regards the bio fouling, I spoke to a couple on one of the trips around NZ and Australia. Eventually the ship was cleaned but refused entry into NZ because they used a company that the NZ authorities don’t recognise as good enough.

We saw villagers holding monkeys, sloths, snakes etc.They too wanted money for a photo. Fortunately no one on our tour wanted to pay them. It encourages more animals to be removed from the rainforest. It was quite distressing seeing these beautiful wild animals tied up.

lApproaching the mouth of Amazon during the day and we had a sudden jolt and came to a halt. Electric off and water too. (Probably half hour). Eventually we saw gallons of water being pumped out, presumably to lighten the load. Apparently we hit a sandbank. I do wonder how man walked on the moon but a captain couldn’t see a sandbank.

Keep an eye on your bill for everything using the tv and logging in to your account.3 times we had someone else’s bill on our account.We had a prestige packet,We had to prove we weren’t in Polo one night and not drinking hard liquor at midnight in Horizons.!

Just back from Amazon on Marina. Snippet: In Recife we got the courtesy bus to town to visit the Pernambuco prison that is now a market. It is highly recommended to get off bus, look and get back on. We were told to not walk away. One or two did (of course!). 2 people had necklaces ripped from their necks. Find a roll call for your trip. We all used Dobrazilright.They are 5 star and came highly recommended. They were very good. At all times we were kept up to date via email. The tours sounded better than Oceania’s and far less travellers with each guide. The all day Manaus tour was the highlight. 18 of us on a large boat going deep into Amazon country. We swam with the dolphins and they are all wild, not confined. The first day of Rio was exceptionally good with Lucas. We did not have yellow fever jabs or malaria tabs. We took a lot of mosquito repellent and only used it the first day. Be aware that Marina does not stock up properly down the Amazon so after a few days fresh items were limited or non existent, especially at breakfast. Passengers are asked to limit water use and the launderettes are closed for 3 days. We ended up tendering in Manaus both days instead of docking. We were very late for everything the first day there. Oh and we ran aground !

Lizzie would drive me nuts!

We have done one Regent cruise in the past, loved it. Since sailed Oceania, Seabourn and Saga. Oceania used to be our favourite but just coming off of Marina it changed. Seabourn once and never again. Saga is great with same all inclusive as Regent including free pick up from home. In UK Regent don’t give us business air.for any flights. Booked Regent for this August. Looking forward to it, except economy Canada air flight out.

Jonthomas. Where are you based (country).?

Thank you all. Lots of good advice!

Do I have an opportunity to book a future cruise onboard explorer in August? Are there good deals to be had by doing this? Thank you .

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If you are in an OC,VS or OS any sales offers after booking are not valid for you. Their reasoning is because those suites already have lots of extras! It happened to us on our Christmas cruise.

I laughed at the jigsaw puzzle scene. Someone is being paid to make sure the puzzles that are open on the table are neat and all the pieces there!!😂

Thank you very much. There is some good and helpful information here. Much obliged.

First one (May 1st) is Oceania?

Wondering if gym and casino opened? When we had norovirus onboard a few years ago, It was paper tablecloths, paper menus, sachets of everything. No quiz or fun, but both casino and gym ( one of the most virus spreading areas anywhere) , were open!

This was the non crispy, non ginger fatty chicken in Red Ginger ! Delivered on soggy pak Choi

We have only done Royal clipper and never saw a lanyard. When you order drinks at the bar or at the table, you just say your room number.

If not Oceania? Regent and Saga