avalong

Yes, it's always San Pedro which is about 22 miles from LAX via a very busy freeway. Recommend you fly in the day before and stay at the Doubletree in San Pedro.

I know. But I was talking about for us common folk.

You're aware Star Breeze has only french balconies, right?

We were on the Regatta recently in a B1 and got a call prior to morning coffee delivery. We were surprised, but thought it was a great idea.

If you look at the next cruise (Amsterdam to Edinburgh, I believe), you'll see that it goes back and picks up Zeebruge as the 1st port! Maddening. Think I'll book it anyway. :-)

Can anyone report back on whether the A/C and sewage smell problems on the Star Pride have been corrected?

The 2025 itinerary does not seem to include Honfleur or Zeebruges, more's the pity.

My first thought upon reading OP's post was that he/she was lucky to get a seat in Martini's at all. Our timing was always wrong. Never did get to enjoy that venue. However, by no means do I discount how upsetting it must have been to be threatened by a belligerent drunk.

I'm a bit confused. Is Beaulieu ON the Isle of Wight?

Now that you mention it, the hardest part of our self-disembarkation was snagging an elevator on the ship! Eventually we gave up and schlepped our bags down the stairs.

Yes, Oceania allows self-disembarkation. We were off within an hour or so of arrival, but I would imagine it depends on the port and how fast the ship is cleared by port officials. We were in Los Angeles (San Pedro).

As Jazzbeau said above, most small appliances automatically convert now. All you should need is an adapter plug. Have your friend check the hair dryer for 110/220 designation.

I skipped the photo step on my recent on-line check-in and we were able to print the boarding pass with no problem. Then they took our photo at the dock. No problem at all. I think there's even wording on that page that says it's optional. Re QRR menus: per a recent NYTimes article, they are slowly but surely going away. Diners hate them.

What do you do with your luggage?

Thanks. It's been a few years since we were there, and I seem to recall this same controversy. I don't recall having any issues either, but memory fades....

Just called our credit card company (Capital One) and was given a pin, but was told it was only good for cash advances, would not work for purchases. The Cap One rep said that the use of the card simply does not prompt for the input of a PIN at the point of purchase. This is very confusing. I hope you're right CruiserBruce.

Thanks so much. You've all prompted me to do further research. There's a good video by KLM on YouTube explaining the layout of the airport, and the link given by LHT28 allows you to get info specific to your flights. I can't really change anything at this point, but at least I'll know what to expect. I've been through this airport in the before-times and I remember walking a LOT. Fingers crossed for this trip.

Thanks. I was hoping that you were referring mostly to FRA. Sounds like you were. Duly noted tho.

Um, this is a bit worrisome. Where were these 3-hour "nail biters?" We have a 3 hour layover in Amsterdam. But we're transferring from KLM trans-Atlantic to KLM City Hopper, which I HOPE will not involve a huge trek through the airport.

On my recent Regatta cruise I remember seeing something in Currents about completing an on-line survey regarding the cruise. Then I remembered reading on Cruise Critic that it was a somewhat cranky procedure requiring some time and patience. I decided I didn't want to spend my cruise time doing it. They really should send out questionnaires after the fact .I would gladly have done it then. And I would have had nothing but good things to say (well, except for the room service coffee...). The food was excellent in all venues.

Full disclosure: this is hearsay, something I read here on Cruise Critic. It sounds like the indoor public areas become rather crowded if it is a cold weather itinerary. Not enough indoor space if everyone wants to be indoors. Warm weather itineraries are OK since people are more spread around between indoors and outdoors. Based on this info, I decided not to do Alaska or Norway on a Windstar yacht. Maybe someone who's actually been on a cold-weather itinerary on a full ship can weigh in on this.

We were on the Regatta cruise just before yours, and I feel your pain about the bathroom, especially the shower! LOL. But we really got quite used to it and ultimately it was not a problem. We too thought the entire experience was wonderful, and that the food was really good. The only exception was the room-service coffee in the morning. Waaaay too strong. And we love strong coffee, so you know this was really over-the-top strong. My husband started getting us coffee at Baristas instead.

I am on this itinerary this July. If you want to see Geiranger Fjord you will need to book an excursion privately out of Nordfjordeid. I waited too long and it's completely booked for this July. So, if you're interested, book it asap. Apparently Geirangerfjord is not to be missed. This is the outfit that will take you by bus from Nordfjordeid to Hellesylt, then on a boat for a tour of the fjord. 4 hour and 20 minute excursion. https://www.fjordex.no/sightseeing-boat-geirangerfjord

I have a humongous amount of obc on an upcoming cruise too, and actually thought I might do a bit of Christmas shopping for my daughters in the jewelry store.

Oceania would have done better in FP if they hadn't insisted on being there during the rainiest/muggiest time of the year. I would roll my eyes at their FP itineraries every year.