lakediver

5 hours ago, scandun said:

I received the final cruise documents and ship card in the last minute, before departure.   It says in the document that after charter flight arrives at Ushuaia airport, we will take a tour to the immediate surroundings of Ushuaia before going to port

at around 4:30 pm.  Do you know where the tour goes for almost 6 hours ?   There is pre-cruise programme shown their website without detail and price.  When I asked to participate, I was told no more space.  While I was trying to organize my own tour in Ushuaia, comes this final document with the free tour.   All sounds not well organized.   I had actually asked what happens between flight landing and ship boarding by my agent, but no information.

You will probably go to Tierra del Fuego National Park with several stops there and then have lunch at a restaurant with a great view of Ushuaia and the ship. You will also have some free time in Ushuaia to walk around a bit. At least that's what we did 3 years ago....

Here she is - Istanbul.....

The hull of the Hanseatic Inspiration will start its first journey very soon - the tug "Diavlos Force" is almost at the shipyard in Tulcea (confirmed by Hapag-Lloyd). They (HL) don't have any new pictures yet but something should be available soon.

You can track the progress on marinetraffic.com (Diavlos Force) or on the HL website (Schiffe live => Hanseatic Inspiration).....

Susanne

34 minutes ago, Jacqueline said:

From what I could make out, our trip was very similar.  My other half brought a dinner jacket but not everyone did. Most people’s suitcases were stuffed with their winter layers and we had weight limitations on our flight to Ushuaia which restricted the amount of dinner wear one could bring,

We had some themed lunches but mostly all the programming was related to Antartica, or the areas of specialization of the scientists. We had a week of seas days after our visits to the polar regions. This should all be better within the new spaces. We enjoyed the library and I loved the exercise. There were very few books in English. 

Which way are you fellow travelers doing on the Amazon? I am starting in Belem.

 

My husband brought one sports coat and several nice sweaters so not much of formal wear. Didn't take too much winter wear since we knew we would get thick parkas and the wellies (which were perfectly fine!!!).

Amazon will also be from Belem for us - are you on the Nature or the Inspiration?

😀We had Captain Engeldrum and Heike Fries too - we hope to see them again in June. Heike has a very dry sense of humour ("outdoor furnishing for the useless fowl"....).

14 hours ago, Floridiana said:

Has anyone here booked a cruise on the Hanseatic nature or inspiration? We booked one for the Amazon and the other for the Austral Islands - Mangareva - Pitcairn - Easter Island, both in 2020. I am looking forward to having naturalists on board who will do lectures and/or guided wildlife observations on sea/cruising days - at least I hope so.

 

If there is as scant a daytime program as we had on the Europa 2, I will be sorely disappointed. I love reading and doing my own thing, but additional activities are nice for a break. Two 1 hour daytime programs in two weeks with many sea days is simply not enough for me.

 

 

We are booked on the Hanseatic nature for June this year and the Amazon next year and have done an Antarctic expedition 2 years ago on the old Hanseatic.

On the sea days there were 2 - 3 lectures daily - from historical stuff to geology to whales to birds (I can now differentiate penguins!) and the re-/precap (mandatory!) - so there wasn't too much "free time". Some days we were sitting in the lecture room for several hours per day. The lectures were also broadcast on the stateroom TVs (computer presentations and sound) but by watching them there you missed out at watching the (sometimes more than funny) faces of the lecturers.... I'm sure it will be the same on the new ships.

I have attached one of the daily programs.....

Susanne

20170113.pdf

Is it Ronnefeldt on the E2 as well? I always get Ronnefeldt care packages sent to me in Australia. While I have found some decent tea here, the prices are incredibly high. :rolleyes:

It was in March this year:D:D:D My favorite is Morgentau....

Did you check Lyft? We will probably use them..... They also have several promo codes.

See you on Sunday, Susanne:D:D:D

Manuheali'i (http://www.manuhealii.com/default.asp)

HONOLULU

930 Punahou St

Honolulu, HI 96826

phone 808.942.9868

To Turtles or anyone........when you get lounge chairs and umbrella on beach near port Huatulca, do they place a reserve sign in them or does it depend on you leaving items on chairs? and are the prices for all the chairs and tables about the same or do you need to check out multiple vendors........thanks

We didn't have any signs on the chairs but one of us always was there and the vendor/waiter kept an eye on who was there....

We checked with several vendors - we wanted loungers, not chairs and not all had comfortable loungers.The prices were all in the same range. I think we paid appr. 10 or 15 USD each for a lounger including an umbrella and had waiter service at our place.

Susanne

steamboats,

 

Do you know when in 2018 the Europa 2 is due for it's refresh?

 

I cannot see in the published Schedule a break for this to take place.

There is a break in September 2017 - last cruise ending Sept. 13th, next cruise starting 27th.

Just thought I would give this a bit of a nudge.

 

This time next week I will be on my way to San Francisco where I will be visiting my daughter who is currently living and working there. I've never been there before and have several things all planned and set to go. If anybody has any ideas on things I should do please let me know.

We did a free walking tour which was very interesting (Fisherman's Wharf: A Hidden History, http://www.sfcityguides.org/current_schedule.html).

Susanne

We are doing the 31 day PC Miami to Alaska 14 April and really looking forward to it.. Keen also to know what the entertainment will be

Please join our roll call (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2193458) - lots of fun and nice people there..... We are doing the 21 day MIA-YVR.

Susanne

......

 

Now for the off topic. Currently doing some shopping for the cruise and having difficulty finding things that have a bit of tropical vibe without going way overboard. I absolutely loved the long dresses you and Maria wore, I think it was for the luau and one other occasion. Exactly what I have been fruitlessly searching for! Can you point me in the right direction?

Have a look at http://www.manuhealii.com, they have beautiful dresses and shirts. Our tourguide told us about Manuhealii - many locals buy their aloha shirts there and one of their shops is in Honolulu (easy to reach from Waikiki Beach). We bought some shirts before our Hawaii cruise and have since ordered some things to be shipped.

We were on the Europa 2 for the April Transatlantic. Smoking at that time was permitted at the port side of the outdoor area of Yachtclub.

On Maui I used Lahaina Divers (http://www.lahainadivers.com/). I had booked the Night Dive Package - when they had to cancel the night dive (due to weather conditions; we had fairly big waves and the night dive is from their dive boat....) they offered to change my reservtion to another dive (offered me several choices) and rebooked me on the Hammerhead Dive instead. We saw sharks at every dive and dolphins while underway to/from the dive sites

In Kona I went with Jack's Diving Locker (http://www.jacksdivinglocker.com/).

Susanne

Tom, you have a good memory. I leave this morning. Retired and Happy is Packed and Ready. Once I see my suitcases come off the airline carousel in Athens, I will be Relaxed and Happy. I am looking forward to my trips on the Europa2. Hopefully the Black Sea area will be calm while I am there. Thanks for the note.

Richard

Have a great trip and keep her in good shape :p - we will be on next year's Transatlantic (April 1st). Susanne

I would say u could walk another mile after diamond head. It's really a fairly easy, slow climb as other people in from of you tend to set the pace. We did diamond head and walked back to the zoo, walked around the zoo for hours then to the hilton hawaiian for fireworks. It was a full day of walking but totally doable for us. Just wear sunscreen.

 

As for dining we love the early bird special at the shorebird. We also like to hit happy hour at cheeseburger in paradise. Burgers r tasty and reasonably priced but the best part is the Mai tais. $3 at 3, $4 at 4, $5 at 5...

Also the shrimp truck that parks outside the hilton hawaiian lagoon has great fresh shrimp in the afternoons. Not super cheapbut reasonable and really fresh. If u r looking for breakfast moose's has a bogo coupon and the breakfasts are huge with giant apple muffins that we never have room for and save for lunch.

What time is the happy hour at Cheeseburger in Paradise?

Thank you, Susanne

Hi,

 

I'm booked next year on the Pride of America B6/cabin 12504 and I'm concern about the cabin size. The NCL travel agent wasn't helpful at all when I asked questions about the cabin; I felt like he was a used car salesmen:), so now I'm thinking about canceling and starting over.

 

My main question to him was how large are the cabins not including the balcony, and are all the outside cabins with balconies the same size minus the balcony. Cabin 12504 does have a large balcony but I could never get a straight answer from him, he kept selling me on NCL by bad mouthing Carnival. I can't believe I even booked with him, I should have hung-up the phone.

 

Does anyone know about the cabin size on the POA or this cabin in particular?

 

I've sailed on NCL before alone with Carnival, RCCL, and Holland America so I'm not new to cruising.

 

Thanks

Sheila

 

This description is from the European booking site:

"Pride Amer 12504 Large Balcony 12 Standard Capacity - 3 , Foldable Sleeper Can Be Used If Sofa Bed Is Not Used/Connecting Stateroom, Connects W/Sf 12506 Cabin Includes Telephone , Safety Deposit Box , Internet Access , Total Square Footage (233) , Convertible Lower Beds (2) , Port Side , Foldable Sleeper/Playpen , Pier Forward , Sprinklers , Sitting Area , Shower , Duvet , Oceanview Stateroom , Cabin Square Footage (138) , Television , Floor To Ceiling Sliding Glass Doors , Convertible Single Sofa Bed , Connecting Room (12506) , Hair Dryer , Private Balcony , Refrigerator , Forward Section , Balcony Square Footage (95) , Clothes Line In Bathroom"

We will be in a B6 in Sept. 2014....