tupperny

I understand that this is personal preference, but I am curious as to how much cash do people typically bring on river cruises?

We are doing a 2 week. I am thinking $400 US and taking out local currency as needed.

Thoughts?

Bill

Thanks for the information.

We are sailing on Viking in May. I know that wine and beer is included at lunch and dinner. I also heard that you can get a mimosa at breakfast. A couple of questions:

1) I never heard about a "happy hour." Does Viking have this?

2) Is the beer that is included draft/bottle or both?

3) Any beverage included before dinner or after? (Or can you get a glass of wine as you are finishing dinner to enjoy later?)

Finally, can you bring wine on the ship when you board? We are spending 3 days in Prague in advance and would love to bring wine with us to enjoy.

Thanks

Bill

A couple of questions:

1) for river cruises--is a night light recommended?

2) Is a power strip recommended?

We are planning on getting local money at airport/ATM: is this the best?

This is our first river cruise (have done many ocean cruises). No formal wear, correct?

We are coming in June--I am thinking no shorts, correct?

Any significant packing differences from packing for ocean cruises?

Thanks!

Bill

Thanks for the info on rental.

Does anyone know what size fins are available?

Bill

I will be on Anthem in December and snorkeling is on the agenda at Coco Cay.

1) Can you rent equipment without doing an excursion?

2) If so, what is the cost?

3) Do they have fins of large (size 15 shoe) size?

Thanks

Bill

We have booked and paid for a Viking River Cruise for June, 2017. This will be the first river cruise for my wife and I and we are thrilled to be going.

I noticed today that there is a new promotion for on-board credit or free beverage package. Any chance I will be able to apply this benefit if I call?

Thanks

Bill

We are sailing on Anthem in December. I am looking at the Select Drink Package (mainly for craft beer). A few questions:

1) Can you purchase craft beer from Michael's Pub on the package? Any exclusions?

2) One website said that any beer at/less than $8 is included. Correct?

3) If you want a premium beer (Say costing $14), with the package do you pay the full amount or just the difference?

4) How long does the 20% discount continue before it is no longer available?

5) Any restrictions on other bars?

Thanks

Bill

Don't know about Diamond Plus, but the Diamond Lounge did have an outside area so I am assuming that Diamond Plus did as well.

Bill

This is not a complete blow-by-blow of the cruise--but rather the highlights that two Diamond Members observed. Our ports: St Thomas, St Kitts, Curacao and Aruba. We had a great balcony cabin (8558).

HIGHLIGHTS

1) First night menu was different. Instead of the normal Prime Rib, the "Chive" menu was used which featured Steak Diane. Although the steak was thin, it was cook perfectly for both of us (rare for me and medium-well for my wife) and extremely tender.

2) Great ports with Curacao being the least favorite. If you are a shopper--don't plan on shopping here. Tax is charged (depending on the store), selection is less and store employees less than helpful.

3) Ship is in great shape! Don't let other tell you otherwise. Yes, carpets need replacing as does bedding, but still a wonderful ship.

4) Meals were wonderful. Similar dishes were better prepared on this ship compared to recent experiences!

5) Giovanni's was wonderful (especially tenderloin)! We ate there on day 5 and there was a promotion ($20 instead of normal $30) for second formal night, so we took advantage of that! No regrets. For appetizers, we enjoyed scallops, risotto and gnocchi.

6) Diamond Club in main dining room is great for diamond members for breakfast. Complementary cappuccinos and excellent service.

NEGATIVES

1) Beds--not the most comfortable. However, we were tired enough so slept well each night.

2) Port and Shopping experience--adequate at best. VIP cards did nothing. Information given was inaccurate and several promotions were not available. Are ship drawings/raffles legit?

3) Communication--especially from Guest services. We asked at the beginning of the cruise about Beer tastings, ice skating, galley tours and each time received incorrect information.

4) Windjammer--selections are less than before and often the same each day. (Both lunch and breakfast). Where is Honey Stung Chicken? Yes, there is plenty of selection that everyone can find a meal that they like. However, it is the same each day and variety is lacking.

5) Draft Beer Selection--for the serious beer drinker--the pub has some half-decent selections (Newcastle was my favorite). RCCL needs to add more selection here.

POSITIVES

1) Dining Room Food--better than before! Quality is better (a unique experience for this ship?).

2) Ice Skating show--yes, these are not the Olympic Gold Medalists, but thoroughly entertaining. (The same for the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers)--we loved each show.

3) Shopping at ports--especially St Kitts. If you are interested in purchasing Liquor--St Kitts is your place--$27 for 1 L of Maker's Mark, great sales on Single-Malt Scotch. If your liquor of choice is on sale on the ship, buy it the first night--you won't go wrong. If it is on sale in port (especially St Thomas or St Kitts)--buy it there. We found the best deals at DURFY at St Kitts by the port.

4) Raffles--if you are into this--there are a lot in both the fine jewelry store and in many of the presentations.

5) Diamond Lounge--Wonderful. Great servers.

6) Overall experience--One of our best cruises!

Hope you all enjoy your RCCL experiences!

Bill

Anyone been at Chef's table on Adventure OTS recently? My wife and I are considering it for May. Is this held in the main dining room (as some threads stated)? Is it as special as it would be in a private space? Thoughts on menu? Any opinions would be appreciated.

Bill

My wife and I are hoping for a British Isles--10-11 day Mid-May or Mid-August. Want a cruise that is balanced between England, Scotland and Ireland. Haven't seen what we like on any cruise line that we have looked at. Maybe on Vision?

Bill

We just returned from Freedom OTS. Not going to do a full review, but had a few comments to make. We are Diamond C&A members so comments are coming from that perspective.

1) For people going through MCO (orlando), the RCCL booth is only in terminal B (we were told either A or B by RCCL people).

2) Buses started before 10 am.

3) Boarding was before 11 am.

4) NO Honey Stung Chicken or shrimp in windjammer on first day. Other than that, shrimp was plentiful.

5) Compass had lots of errors. Always verify times/places

6) Best shopping for alcohol was St Thomas. (Note--St Maarten downtown was closed so I am using the port stores as comparison).

7) Pressure at stores is higher than I remember. Beware!

8) Alcohol also has negotiable prices. Not a lot, but some.

9) Diamond lounge is great! A quiet place for breakfast (continental) and reading during the day. Happy hour is great!

10) Water pressure and temperature was great! (Better than previous cruises on other ships)

11) Room width (inside) is very small--cannot use sides of bed easily to get out!

12) Tuscan lunch at Giovannis is wonderful. Well worth $20 pp charge (class on making pasta, lunch and galley tour) on last sea day.

13) t-shirt sale on pool deck--crowded, but better managed than other ships.

14) Breakfast service spotty. Some good and some not-so-good.

15) Booking on board has changed (probably, most of you know this). Check deals thoroughly.

16) Pizza (sorrento) not great, but not horrible.

17) Draft beer selection--not great but better than in the past.

18) Main dining--better than before in quality of food.

19) Art auction goes long (and more pressure to buy)--be prepared.

20) Entertainment is better than other ships

21) Gratuity/taxes is now 18%. Most probably know this, but was a surprise for us.

22) Gratuity allocations is vague. You pay for "dining services" which is not specified between waiter, asst waiter and head waiter. Unfortunate as head waiter does little to deserve gratuity.

23) Baked goods (breads) esceptional! Pasteries at breakfast, so-so.

24) Cupcake class--OK but not really worth $$

25) Key cards for room problematic! Had to have card remade 4 times for wife and twice for myself. Make sure that your room key is not near anything! (camera, cell phone, other cards, etc).

Hope these hints help others. Enjoy your cruise. We really had a good time and am looking forward to another cruise in the near future.

Bill

Two questions:

1) Can you book a celebrity cruise while on RCCL? Is there any on-board credit or other benefits?

2) Can you use a RCCL next-cruise-certificate on a celebrity cruise?

Thanks

Bill

We are taking a flight from Copenhagen to Toronto at the end of our cruise next spring. We have a 1.5 hour connect time in Reykjavik.

1) Do we have to go through customs as we are just "passing through?"

2) Do we have enough connect time?

Thanks. We are stopping in Iceland on the way over (Disney) and cannot wait to see your beautiful country!

Bill

I just booked British Isles for May, 2015, but when I asked about the drink package--was told that yes, it was available, at full price.

Wasn't this a promotion (for free or discounted?)? What cruises/categoried does it apply to?

Also, I had read that there was an OBC promo--also not available to me? Why bother to book at this early date if no promo/discount/free stuff?

Thanks

Bill

My wife and I are thinking of the June British Isles cruise--maybe on Silhouette? Any ideas what prices might be?

Thanks

Bill

Could you please tell us the intro prices for May 9--British Isles on Royal Princess?

We are debating between then and the Celebrity 12-day in June. Pros and Cons of each?

Thanks

Bill

We really enjoyed the expanded breakfast buffet on Vision in August.

Does Jewel have it as well in the MDR? It worked for those of us who liked the buffet and others in our group who ordered off from the menu.

Thanks

Bill

Thanks Danish Viking for all of your assistance. I was looking at http://www.cmport.com/ for our cruises and found the Aug 24 (Vision of the seas), but didn't find the Aug. 17 (Vision of the seas). Any idea why?

Thanks

Bill

We (six of us) will be arriving in Copenhagen next week and will be taking a taxi from the airport to our hotel in central city.

I understand that you can reserve in advance, pre-pay and that the taxi will meet you as you exit customs and you can avoid lines.

1) Has anyone done this? Good idea or bad?

2) Which taxi company would you recommend?

Thanks

Bill

Danish Viking:

We are interested in taking a tour that includes both castles--full day.

We are looking at Stromma (Copenhagen Excursions).

Is this our best best? We are staying at Clarion Mayfair and have two seniors with us.

Thanks

Bill

My wife and I are on the Vision of the Seas next August and stopping in Helsinki for 7 hours. I am of Finnish ancestry so wanted to get a flavor of the country.

We are considering a couple of excursions:

1) Helsinki highlights with brief visit to Sipoo

2) Helsinki highlights with lunch at Kiala Manor and time in Porvoo

3) Helsinki highlights with lunch at Haikko Manor and boat trip down the river and into the Gulf of Finland.

Opinions?

Thanks

Bill

Sinpuu:

Thank you for all of your advice. This is a great thread!

My grandparents are from Finland and this will be my first cruise that docks in Helsinki. We won't have tons of time, but want to get the "feel" of Finland. My grandparents came from Teuva and we likely won't make it that far north. One of the cruise-line excursions has a visit to a "farm family" (Porvoo?). Is this too "touristy" or will this give me the feel of the people? Other ideas?

Thanks again,

Bill