marcc

We will be on the Gem in September with a port of call in Ijmuiden. Does anyone know what time we have to be back on board? I've read one hour in one place and two hours in another.  Back at 7:00pm seems doable but losing an hour will hurt.

Thanks

Marc 

Gem Balcony cabin. 

9 hours ago, Girr said:

You'll always find one of these in my suitcase, along with an international adapter.  It solves the lack of outlets no matter where I'm traveling.  It's not a surge protector so you'll have no problem on the ship.

 

That's what I'd like to find but smaller and just USB slots. I'll go  look on some online shopping sites.

Thanks everybody

Thank you both for your replies. No USBs, that's inconvenient. I've got to look for some sort of USB charging device

Hi

Does anyone know what's available to recharge your electronics in a Gem balcony cabin? How many US or European plugs  and/or  USB connections?

My research says 1 US and 1 European and no USBs. That can't be right.

Thanks

MarcC

After receiving an email invitation, I submitted a bid for the Sept 7 Bilbao cruise on the Gem. I got as far as submitting my CC info and it came back with  "Try again in 24 hours".

I've had an invitation a day for the last 3 days and I keep on getting the same "Try again" message.

I reached out to Upgrade tech issues and this is what they answered me this afternoon.

"Thank you for contacting us!

We are working diligently to resolve this issue.

Please allow a few days before reattempting to submit your offer.

We appreciate your patience in the meantime".

On the Quest Intensive Croatia cruise last October, our boarding time was between 4:30  and  5:00.

The first thing we did was to head to the specialty restaurant desk to make our reservations. There was nobody there, just a sign with their opening hours which ended at four. Gosh did that ever burn my britches. You'd have thought they'd leave it open while passengers are still embarking.  

I tried to check if our cruise was eligible for an upgrade on the Azamara website but it didn't work.  The "Please wait.."  message appears but it never finishes.

Has anyone else tried it recently? Is it just me?

I emailed AzamaraUpgrade@Azamara.com twice over the last ten days but I never got an answer.

I just got  my Upgrade Bid confirmation email.

Azamara Quest  8 days - Oct 7, 2022 to Oct 15, 2022

Intensive Croatia (Ravenna to Athens)

Tier - Adventurer

Original Cabin: Deck 4 Oceanview

New Cabin: Deck 6  Club Veranda

Bid submitted on August 15, 2022

Bid Accepted on Sept 14, 2022

Minimum bid wheel started at $0.00

Accepted bid $CAD 295.00/person ($CAD 590.00 total)

Is the Chef's menu worth it for a non-drinker? Part of the attraction is the pairing of the wines with the courses. Is the food so superior to the MDR that its worth the money even without the wine?

Thanks for the info everyone.

We succumbed to our TA's blandishments and we put a deposit on our first post-covid cruise last night.

South America on Sapphire Princess, next February.

We'll try out Skywalkers for sure

Best

MarcC 

Hi All

We are thinking of cruising on the Sapphire Princess next winter so I've been looking at the deck plans.

I'm trying to see if there is a lounge or bar that looks out toward the front of the ship. Like the HAL Crow's nest or RCI's  Viking Crown lounges.

All I seem to see is the fitness center and the extra-fee Sanctuary. Does anyone know if there are public rooms with a forward facing views.

Thanks

MarcC

25 minutes ago, the english lady said:

Out of interest as you are based in Canada, why are you thinking of alighting on pando. You have said that the formality aspect does not sit well with you. You presumably will have to fly over here anyway..so just wondered why you are not including the  likes of princess line or celebrity etc. 

Now that's funny, I saw the word pando and thought, "What in the world does that mean? Isn't Pando some sort of British police car". Took a minute for the penny to drop. Do you actually pronounce it pan-do?

Anyway I digress.

We are interested in the Oceana as it's one of the only cruises that we could find that leaves from Malta and includes visits to ports in the Adriatic.

And I don't object to the formality. I just want to understand what is expected.  Many cruise lines are perfectly happy with a jacket and tie on formal nights even if they say dark suit.

For me, it is just a question of packing as lightly as possible.

In the last five years, on Holland America,  I don't think I've counted 20 dinner jackets worn on formal night . It used to be "de rigueur". Times change. 

Hi

We are thinking of taking a cruise on the Oceana and were wondering about the rigidity of the formal nights dress code.

North American based cruise lines are moving away from formal nights but I understand that P & O has kept up traditions and formal nights are "dressy".

I don't like wasting luggage space on a suit that I will wear for a total of 8 hours. I prefer to travel with a blazer, tie and flannels. It permits more flexibility as the components can be combined in different ways.

Is that acceptable dress for formal night or do they actually insist on a suit?

Thanks

Marc C.

  23 days before we board. Time is going soooooo slowly.

Hi Solent Richard

My wife and I loved your blog. Now we are getting impatient to start the cruise and we are still 3.5 months out.

Thanks

MarcC

Hi all

This will be our first cruise on Star Clipper. We've booked Phuket to Singapore Feb 16 to 23, 2019. Are there any of you on the same cruise?

The only roll calls I see are in the forum section and there are not many of those. Are there too few passengers per trip to run roll calls?

Do people use the forums to organize group tours?

I was hoping some of you would offer advise on what to expect. Give us an idea on the touches that make Star Clipper special and to answer a question or 2 or 3 or 4 or.....

The departure from Phuket is scheduled at 10:00 pm. Does anyone know what time we may board and what time the cabins are available?

What kind of entertainment is available in the evening?

The bridge looks to be an open area on deck. Are passengers allowed to hang around?

I read that they'll let you handle lines. Are there other things that are permitted?

I was told that the engines could be noisy. We are aft on the lower deck. Comments?

Do we travel much under sail alone or is the engine always running?

Oh, one from my wife:

What's the red wine selection like? Any predominant region? Varied?

I'm sure I'll think of a lot more, we're still 6 months out but thanks for your patience in answering these to start.

Marc C.

The porters grabbed our bag and tossed them in the forklift bins. It was so quick that I'm not sure they even looked if we had attached our tags.

Then we had the bar code from the cruise docs scanned and had to show photo ID. (We're Canadian, so we used our passports).

I think we had to present our credit card as well.

They took our pictures and gave us our access cards and that was it.

I'm the guy who started this thread. I just wanted to know if I had to bring my suit on this trip. I never expected it to turn into a philosophical discussion on group dynamics. I should have asked about something less contentious like politics, sex or religion. Thank goodness I didn't ask anything about tipping. :D

Marc C

Does HA still require tie and jacket in the MDR on formal (gala) nights? The last posts I found were ambiguous. We are on the Zuiderdam in the Baltic next month and I'd really like to avoid packing a suit and tie that I'll only be using for a couple of hours.

Thanks

Marc C

Thanks to everyone who answered. Club soda it is. :)

Diet tonic...Yes, no guilt.

IMHO, you can get away with diet tonic in a G&T but I can't say I like it straight up. At least not the stuff we get in Canada.

...and welcome to the Azamara CC forum!

Which are your specific favorite diet sodas?

Azamara has a CBO, I'll be darned !!!

Hi Bonnie

I like Diet Ginger Ale and Fresca. would you know if either are carried aboard?

Thanks

Marc

Can anyone tell me what diet sodas are available at the bars and the in-cabin refrigerator on Quest? I may have to pack my favourites if they aren't stocked.

Thanks

Marc

We are still thinking of booking the Aug 25 Equinox cruise that disembarks in Istanbul.

Both the US and Canadian govt travel sites suggest vigilance and an increased risk but don't actually issue an advisory for Istanbul.

if it looks like its getting worse, we can leave immediately upon disembarkation. My DW would like a chance to get a carpet but we could drop that idea if Istanbul sounds too dangerous.

We'll have to decide before we book of course.

But things get a little hairy if Celebrity decides to pull the plug on Turkey completely after we make our reservations.

Anyone have any idea how bad it could get before they cancel the stop in Istanbul?

If Celebrity does cancel, can anyone suggest the alternate port they might use? Back to Athens maybe?

Does anyone know how would they handle the flight change? Do they organize it for you even if you don't use ChoiceAir? Who pays for the airline rebooking and change fees ?

I called Celebrity and their operator said that nothing had been decided on cancelling the stop in Turkey and that Celebrity would "help" with the airline re-booking if there was a change but what kind of help was not clear. I can't imagine rebooking 3000 people would be easy.

Thanks

Marc C.

Hi all

I can't find much information about Vibe on the NCL site. Can anyone give me the low-down?

I've read posts that it costs $20.00 day/pp or $79. for a seven day cruise and that it sells out very quickly.

How do they handle longer cruises, Our Jan. 3 departure is 14 days. Do they just double the 7 day price? And if it sells out, how does the $20/day work? Do you purchase specific days upon embarkation or are the daily rates available later in the cruise.

This is our first time on NCL and we'd like to see what the "public" pool areas are like before deciding to pay the Vibe surcharge. It does not sound like the ship is going to be full and I'd have thought the kids would be back at school.

Thanks

MarcC