Mimosa09

I have had spa treatments on a number of the ships, but only once (so far) have I experience the hard sell as you described and that was on Celebrity. Unfortunately, it was the one time I convinced my husband how relaxing a massage could be and he received the hard sell treatment too! He won't be going back anytime soon.

My doctor years ago gave me the acronym for when I have an upset stomach: BRAT

 

Bananas

Rice

Apples

Toast

 

Chicken broth is always good as well. Avoid dairy, including butter.

 

http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/prevention-wellness/food-nutrition/weight-loss/brat-diet-recovering-from-an-upset-stomach.html

That is a very good way to remember what to eat when not feeling up to par. However, I'm allergic to bananas :o so I will change the B to Broth.

We have sailed Alaska twice in a balcony. We went up on deck for the panoramic view. Did not use our balcony at all! Go now in an inside. It will be wonderful! You will also be able to sleep b/c it will be dark in your cabin, no midnight sun to keep you awake. That was a real problem for me, if it was light I was awake! By day 4 of not getting a full night of sleep I was a wreak!

Yes, this can be an issue if it isn't raining and overcast. We had this problem on our first cruise, but I think the ships have fixed this by having heavier curtains to block out the light.

First of all, what I may choose may not be the best option for you. I would never cruise without being on a balcony. We use our balcony extensively. We have coffee in the morning on our balcony. We take in Alaska from our balcony. We can hear the Ranger and the nature commentator clearly from our balcony. Granted, if we've got a port side cabin and something is seen on the starboard side, people on the observation decks run to that side of the ship to see the whale that already went back into the ocean and totally missed it. You can't be on both sides of the ship at once. I also believe the experience of the ship is a big decision. This last time we went on the Carnival Legend (2 weeks go), and we will never do that again. The ship/food/screaming children isn't our cup of tea. So, that was not a wise decision for us.

 

I could never book an inside room - not matter how cheap it is. But, it's your budget and money so you will have to decide on that. We don't have children in college and we are retired. We have the luxury of booking and go whenever we choose. What are your priorities? Enjoy life now (we have no guarantees of being here tomorrow), or bite the bullet and sacrifice for our children. Only you can answer that.

 

But it's a no brainer for us, it has to be a balcony.

 

P.S. As for the coffee, you can always order room service for that. It's free, just tip the person a couple of bucks.

This is how we have cruised too. And we have cruised 7 times to Alaska, always in a balcony cabin. We are going again in July this year. We love being in a balcony cabin. We will go out on it even in the rain (unless it is pouring buckets! And that can happen in Alaska) My DH likes to use his camera and has never felt he missed anything taking them from the balcony. Yes, we did go up on the deck the first cruise we took and found that we preferred being on our balcony. We have always been able to hear the ranger talk in our cabin when you are in Glacier Bay, Tracy Arm or College Fijord.

Six years ago, I booked an OV for an Alaskan cruise with my mom (she was 81) and the upgrade fairy put us in a balcony! Perfect for Mom who could go in and out as she pleased and not worry about crowds on the upper deck.

Our daughter and her husband, on the other hand, always book an interior cabin. They find they spend most of the time out and about. And up on deck when in Alaska. When they sleep, they like the cabin to be dark.

If you knew for certain that it was going to be sunny the whole time on your cruise - I would suggest a balcony. But if you are the type that want to be out and about, pick the interior one. Or as others have suggested get an obst OV and check back on possible price drops. Plus as others have suggested don't wait to afford it - book an interior cabin and go!

One other suggestion - If you have a Nat'l Park Passport book - bring it. The ranger will have a table up on deck where they will stamp it for you, besides selling Nat'l park items re: the glacier you are reviewing.

Lord of the Glens is on our to-do list. The itineraries look delightful.

 

You cruise the Caledonian Canal and the islands. Only one third of the entire length of the canal is man-made, the rest being formed by Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy.

Wow! Very interesting! This is the benefit of using Cruise Critic. Thank you for posting this information. We are taking a Tauck land tour of Ireland this fall before sailing on the Douro in Portugal. Was wondering about a way to visit Scotland in the future.

-Rose

Rose, sorry your cruise is cancelled. Glad to hear that the St. Laurent is sailing again and that the Haimark bankruptcy is settled! If Vantage puts their Cuba cruise back together perhaps we'll go with them next year. But I'll wait to see if Haimark really gets it's act together!! Pat

I don't blame you for waiting to see if it really happens. We are going to keep watch on a website to see if the MS St. Laurent makes it up to the Great Lakes in August. It's still docked in Florida :rolleyes:

But looking at the Vantage website, they seem to have a lot of "sold out" on the Cuba circumnavigation for next year. I hope it works out for you.

From what they told me at Vantage, someone else owns the ship now and the name is going to be changed to Victory. That name change isn't reflected on the Vantage website yet.

-Rose

that's too bad..one of the best meals we had in France was in Lyon.

 

Oh and BTW, it's a good thing you didn't book Great Lakes....like I did. :mad:

Well..... to Hydrokitty and pbnjrockette - we finally got the call re: our booking on the MS St. Laurent for the Great Lakes cruise. It seems they have finally settled with Haimark and are going to start cruising on the Great Lakes in August. We had booked the July 26 sailing which they cancelled. So they offered us a space on one of the August sailings. Unfortunately, we have too much going on with family events in August so we opted to go next July. :(

-Rose

We finally learned to bring a 4 cup French press (and our own Maui blend) to solve the awful "coffee syrup" issue. It is even nicer when DH runs upstairs in the morning to fill it with hot water & I don't get up until he brings it back down - ready to pour.

That isn't what I wanted to know. If I only pay the deposit at booking and have six months to final payment do they lock in that fare. Or, if they raise the fare between when I make the deposit and final payment do I pay the higher fare?

I think the fare is locked in. I believe Hydrokitty is right. When you pay the deposit, the fare is locked in on what you owe for final payment.

-Rose

Hi Rose:

 

I'd be happy to send you mine!!! Our paper recycling service is starting to complain about all the catalogs!!! And I get almost daily e-mails as well. You know what I can't figure out? They're trying to go green, which is commendable, plus they're fully computerized....and yet: I still get weekly flyers for trips I've already done!!! You would think there was some way they could put trips you've already taken into the system so you don't keep getting ads trips you did....and since I've done 9 trips with them, I'm getting waaaay to much paper in my mail box!!! :D

Well, here it is May 5th, and the last advertisement, catalog, flyer, "personal letter", etc we received was mid April (17th). Nothing since. And I agree about getting flyers for a trip you have already taken. Why keep sending those? :confused:

- Rose

I think their IT folks are spending too much effort amending and updating invoices for paid in full cruises. Today I received my sixth invoice for a cruise in late October, booked in July. Invoices one and two were ofor deposit and then payment in full, OK I get that. But three through six? Each one increased the price and then showed a corresponding credit. Why? Do they increase the amount due for those that didn't pay in full?

Yes they do. If you pay early they give you a SmartPay Savings. The SmartPay Savings decreases as time goes on until there is no savings if you wait till later to pay the remaining amount.

-Rose

"Green" doesn't stop them from filling my mailbox.

Well, from my perspective, they have really gone green! We were getting almost daily advertisements from Vantage and then since mid-April - Nothing! We just got back from a two week vacation and noticed going thru our mail there wasn't anything from Vantage!

-Rose

that's too bad..one of the best meals we had in France was in Lyon.

 

Oh and BTW, it's a good thing you didn't book Great Lakes....like I did. :mad:

Ok - I'm getting more curious. Which date did you book for the Great Lakes? I am wondering if are cruise is going to be cancelled.

-Rose

We've mostly used Vantage Air (especially for longer trips--China, India) but have booked our own for a few itineraries. We recently had a trip cancelled by Vantage (actually not their fault--the charter company Haimark went bankrupt). We were given the choice of rebooking on a different ship (different itinerary) and we turned them down. Full refund immediately.

Ok - I'm getting curious. It sounds like your March cruise circumnavigating Cuba got cancelled. Am I right?

-Rose

Maybe it isn't available for sale....maybe it's sold out already with people like you! I think that' what happened to me with the Great Lakes trip....they posted the first three dates...they sold out within hours...and started taking names and deposits for future dates, which they then booked with Haimark and realized they had enough people on the pre-registration list to sell out those dates too. And yes, the Great Lakes trip is still in their brochure and on line with all of the dates SOLD OUT..... I guess they want people to know they have it and how popular it is..... what frosts me is they keep sending me e-mails about this Great Lakes trip and how wonderful it is when they know damn well I can't book it for 2016 or 2017!! But as I said, I've pre-registered for trips with Vantage before and always gotten a phone call to confirm when the dates became available.

You mean their 2017 Great Lake cruises are already booked out! :eek:

BTW - we got an e-mail dated Nov 16th offering us an upgrade deal for our July 26th, 2016 date. That tells me that room was available. Hmmm.....

-Rose

The Nov 10th sailing was cancelled as the ship is moored in Freeport. As of this writing, my uncle is out thousands....I sure hope they get their money back. It was a ten night cruise from Nassau sailing through the Caribbean and ending in Trinidad. It was a trip of a lifetime for them now cancelled without the assurance if their money will be returned. A total nightmare!

Did they say why they cancelled the Nov 10th sailing? Is it due to the bankruptcy? Hope you uncle gets his money back but more sorry that they didn't get to cruise :-(

- Rose

Funny thing was we were on our Silverseas New England/Canadian trip when we booked it. We happen to be in Boston when I called them. Well, long story short, we went over to the Vantage office & booked it (Oct 6th). By the time we got home from that cruise, the July departure for the Great Lakes cruise was booked!

You say all four departures are booked. We booked the July 26th date. I only knew about the May 24 & June 2 dates. What is the 4th date?

- Rose

I hope things go well with the bankruptcy and the reorganization since we have booked one of the Great Lakes cruises in July on the St Laurent thru Vantage. We looked at this itinerary earlier this year from an e-mail from Vantage and DH said "Whoa! Too expensive!" Then we decided to revisit the possibility & looked at it again in August. Both itineraries through Vantage were booked:(

Then Vantage sent out e-mails advertising it again in October, so I thought there must be some cancellations. Nope! All booked! So I called them & they informed me that they added another cruise in July. We booked it. And when we checked back later in October, it was all booked out. Tells us that it is a popular itinerary and the market will bear the price they are asking.

We've already booked our air and we are really looking forward to this cruise. Hope it happens. I also thought I saw someone on the Vantage Roll Call booked on this ship for the circumnavigation of Cuba in February. I'm sure they hope everything works out too.

-Rose

So we just got back from our Silversea's New New England/Canada cruise. Even though we had some rain, we also had sun and the colors were spectacular.

I am so glad I brought my gloves and ear muffs. I used them once we reached Canada on a number of excursions. And I noticed a number of other passengers on the Whisper doing the same - including men. Guess I'm not super fashion minded. I would rather be warm.

And I also used them a few times while on the North Cape cruise in Norway this past June along with some other passengers. Norway's June weather was unusually cold this year.

So I am glad I read this thread to be reminded to bring ear muffs and gloves - and I recommend bringing them if you are used to wearing them in cold weather.

-Rose

Yep! We sail out of NYC Oct 5th for Montreal. We are hoping that by Thursday when we head for New Brunswick next week, Joaquin will be weaker, but I suspect we are going to get rain & some "sea action" :rolleyes: Just hoping that it won't be any rougher than we have had on our Caribbean cruises in January.

-Rose

Ships from NYC to Nova Scotia might see some "action" on Friday into the weekend

Yep! I'm expecting we will feel some of that "action" next Thursday :rolleyes:

When we booked the cruise, we hoped we wouldn't get a rainy week. Not only is there going to be rain - now there is a tropical storm! :eek:

Hoping that it settles down by next week.

-Rose

I have found the hamburger discussion rather funny & you are making me hungry. But what I really find funny is the fact that they are being served in the MDR - on a luxury cruise line! We leave for our first Silversea cruise this October and was expecting some quite tasty food on board. I don't think we have ordered any hamburgers on any of the cruises we've been on. :)

-Rose

We just received our Silver Box today for our Oct 5th - NYC to Montreal sailing. This is our first Silversea's cruise and after reading the threads here, I knew what to expect of the Silver Box. I'm very happy with the box and the journal is nice. My DH likes it too.

-Rose

Well we booked a Douro river cruise with AMA - for various reasons.

We will be finishing with a land journey with Tauck in Ireland on Sept 30th 2016 and wanted to follow it with a river cruise. So we looked at the Rhine cruises and Douro cruises. The best date combination was with AMA (& DH got very interested in the Douro itineraries). We really wanted to cruise again with Vantage but it's closest Douro itinerary start date is Oct 8th - even with the pre-trip to Madeira (Oct 4th start?) it was a bit long inbtx trips for DH.

Plus we have involved a travel agent with the Tauck trip so it would be strange to not involve him with the river cruise part of the trip. I know we could do it, but he is helping us with lots details with the trip & DH is VERY happy with this guy.

And, lastly, I also wanted to try out AMA for comparison.

But darn it! It would have been nice to have met you, Pbnjrockette.

-Rose

Oh how wonderful that you experienced this. The brochure also mentioned an elephant sanctuary. If I go all the way to Africa I'd hope to see some lions and my hubby would demand it. Lol. I'm going to look for your review. Thanks.

I sorta remember something about lions at the Ngorongoro crater (which is listed as a destination on Day 14 of the Golden Trails of Africa tour). There was an article about them in Nat'l Geo in 1992, but over the years they have suffered some ups and downs in their numbers. But they are still there according to this article I found online:

https://afktravel.com/92632/the-lions-of-ngorongoro-a-remarkable-tale-of-survival/

-Rose

We were on the Chobe Princess house boat back in June (sister boat to the Zambezi Queen) as part of a longer holiday in southern Africa. The wildlife viewing from the river is different from a land safari (we did quite a few different game drives/safaries in different areas. I would consider it a more relaxing way to view animals - you sit back in your boat (with a refreshment) and watch the animals come to the waters edge to drink etc. I have a write up a few pages back on this forum. We were woken by hippos of a morning.

Animals we saw from the houseboat/tender - elephant, buffalo, giraffe, impala, hippo, kudu, baboon, vervet monkeys, water monitor, warthog, many birds including fish eagles, african jacanas. You have the option to go fishing for tiger fish. Combined with stays at land based lodges this gives you another experience.

We just met someone from South Africa the other day and brought up the subject of these tours that AMA is offering. We wanted to know what was the best time of the year to do these tours. He suggested going during their "winter" (July-August) as the brush at the river's edge is not so overgrown as during their summer - therefore animal viewing is easier. I see you went during June - did you feel there was any issue of brush obscuring your viewing times? You seem to have seen a lot of animals.

This gentleman we met from South Africa also told us that Cape Town would be cooler and probably wetter than during November-December - high tourist season. Which also means less crowded.

-Rose