Stratheden

Also, please note that your boat most likely will be tied up to another boat at some point. Then you can't use your balcony.

They might be very nice people on the balcony of the next ship. You could have a drink together. :)

Spend the morning at Chihuly Garden and Glass. If I ever get back to Seattle that is where I will go back to. Absolutely beautiful.

http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com

Then take the shuttle to the ship. Don't start your cruise stressed.

If you have done Rome before then Civitavecchia is a lovely port town with great waterfront esplanade, good hotels and restaurants .

 

We like Hotel Miramare right on the waterfront . Family run , big rooms nice outlook and close to the railway station . 15 Euros flat taxi fare and 10 minutes to port entry . Book on line direct via Hotel website to avoid paying middleman commissions.

Sounds just what we need after 24hrs travel. Thank you

Have you been to Boston before? Is it just for overnight? Do you want to do some sightseeing?

We had 4 days in Boston and stayed at Nine Zero on Tremont Street. Across the road from the Granary and really close to Boston Common. We loved it there and we could walk anywhere.

We will be flying into Rome (FCO) a couple of days before our 22 day cruise of the Med starts. Where should we stay. Close to the port or in Rome. We will be spending about 8 days in Rome post cruise so what we need is somewhere to wander and lose the jetlag. Is there somewhere someone can recommend that we stay?

This might be a bit obvious but have you deleted your cookies?

Lisa, thank you for your wonderful photos and review. We are cruising the Mediterranean on the Zuiderdam in 2015 and I am now even more excited.

Loved your purses. Did you buy them from the leather merchant?

The information on the Halifax tour was on post #24

Linda, I don't think I would want to come home. ;)

Thanks everyone, lots of suggestions to follow up.

I have a hold on a combined Canada/New England Land/Cruise (Not Princess) in September, 2015. . The Cruise Ship (according to my itinerary from my TA is the Ruby Princess.

As neither the Tour company brochure is published yet nor the Princess Brochure I cannot verify anything as yet but someone seems to know that it is the Ruby Princess.

All I was interested in was the itinerary and the dates.

Of course the wine prices on board are all about profits. The prices of every item and service that is offered is all about prices. I just don't understand why some wine drinkers feel that wine should be exempt from the profit making system.

 

Cola drinkers certainly pay a massive mark up on their drinks. That can of soda that costs about 30 cents costs the passenger $2.24, or slightly more than 700% more. Coffee that costs little more than 30 - 50 cents is sold in the Explorations Cafe north of $3.00. And that $6.00+ for a rum and coke in the bar? We all know that the cruise line costs for that drink are at most 75 cents.

 

I realize that HAL use to allow passengers to bring wine on board without charge. I also believe that that policy was very generous, as HAL did not freely allow passengers to bring other types of alcohol on board. Fair? Hardly, but wine drinkers had a long run of benefiting from the policy. One must remember that HAL is in the business of selling wine and spirits on its ships. And so, if the current policy allows HAL to keep its cabin prices low for folks who do not drink wine, then so be it. Passengers who do not consume wine should not be subsidizing your cabin prices just so you can enjoy the privilege of not purchasing wine on board.

I'm glad someone else doesn't drink wine. I was beginning to think we were the only ones. I cannot believe the number of posts about wine. Personally I do not care what HAL charges or doesn't charge for wine. Don't drink soda either. G&T's, V&T's, tap water, juice, tea and coffee are our vices. We can't bring a bottle of gin and a bottle of vodka onboard, so it is the wine drinkers who get the best deal and do all the whining. :)

I have just checked the Scenic website as I know they are starting Bordeaux River Cruises in 2015.

I found this clause at the end of the description of the itinerary.

"Please note: The Gironde, Dordogne and Garonne rivers are part of a tidal river system which results in changing water levels in the region. Every effort is made to keep the brochured itinerary however based on tides it may be amended or modified as required."

I don't know my way around any of the other cruise sites - perhaps someone more familiar with some of them could check if something similar exists elsewhere.

This is a quote from the Scenic Website.

"Scenic Tours’ new partnership with Haimark, a leading Asian specialist river cruise operator, will provide the most authentic luxury cruising experiences on our exclusive private charters.

Our new cruising itineraries on the Mekong and Irrawaddy Rivers will reveal the hidden treasures of the people and villages that grace the river banks. Haimark is redefining the standard of luxury river cruising and, combined with the Scenic Tours commitment to all-inclusive touring, creating unforgettable experiences. This is the ultimate way to get into the heartland of South East Asia."

As Nana541 said - a good TA would have picked this up. They are definitely worth using IMHO.

Looks really really nice. That is so well done, classy and understated. Not a floating bordello.

I don't think I would book one of those lofts though. I just know I would fall down those steps. Any other balcony room would be great.

Scenic and Evergreen have always leased their ships, until at least 2013.

Marty will you please make sure your facts are correct before you post them!

We know you had a bad experience last year but when we read your report you also had a bad experience on the plane and that wasn't Scenic's fault nor was it Evergreen fault.

Only Evergreen leased their ships until 2013 - Scenic have owned their ships for some years now.

Evergreen is a budget subsidiary of Scenic.

What is the difference between a Verandah Suite and a Verandah Stateroom please?

I didn't know of the Verandah Suite's existence until just now. Only been on one HAL cruise so far but have booked 2 more.

Perhaps if you scan the page from your brochure and email it to the rep. in Canada if may help. At least you know you are both on the same page.

I have booked a couple of Scenic tours in 2015 (not river cruises) but have only paid a holding deposit because until the actual brochure comes out for 2015 I cannot confirm that I am happy with what is being offered.

One of them will be different to what is in the 2014 brochure because the cruise that is part of the tour is not being offered by the cruise line in 2015.

The other one is different dates completely to what is in the 2014 brochure so you can only use the old brochure as a bit of a guide. (We are only doing the land based tour with Scenic and finding our own cruise).

Have you tried using a TA to get your quotes?

Travel agents in Australia should belong to the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA). To become a member I believe they would have to have Professional Indemnity Insurance which I imagine is similar to what you have in Europe.

You would need to have 'rocks in your head' to use a Company that did not belong to their Professional Association.

We're planning our first river cruise on the Irrawaddy/Myanmar for late 2015 and I "think" I've researched just about every river cruise line. My head is now spinning and I feel more and more confused. Today I read about a new (?) line to this market, Haimark. Has anyone heard of them? Researching the Haimark boats and itineraries I realized that Scenic lists the same boat (Irrawaddy Explorer) for 2015. From both companies online schedules (both state subject to change) it looks like they are sharing the boat, but each company has cruises scheduled different weeks. Has anyone heard of this?

 

I've been in email contact with a Scenic representative in Canada trying to get pricing in US$ for me. The US website doesn't show all of the Scenic cruises. It's been interesting trying to get the information and makes me wonder about booking with a company that has so much difficulty getting info to prospective customers. I do realize I am not the only person that he is helping. I've been in communication for over a week and still have not received any pricing. The latest was that the rep told me that no cruises are scheduled beyond Mar. '15 on the Irrawaddy. He asked how I had dates for Nov. '15. I told him it was on their website. He couldn't find the information and got back to me...I had printed the information from their online brochure. :) Yesterday I gave him the page numbers and he said he would research this and get back to me...no word yet today. I'm losing confidence and this isn't a good thing while I'm still in the booking stage.:(

~~Judy

Did you download the brochure from the Australian site?

There are dates for late 2015 that are subject to change in that brochure but I cannot see where on the US or Canadian site you can download the Asian Brochure. I could have missed it though. :p

I've given up trying to find what I'm looking for on Celebrity. I'll look on another cruise line.

I know this does not answer your question but Scenic who are 'all inclusive' do not have any optional 'pay extra, shore excursions.

I would imagine Uniworld to be the same.

We have booked a 5 hour private tour in Athens. It is very flexible and we have arranged to go to all the important places and have opportunities to walk around and take photos. We have also asked for time in the old town to stop for a coffee mid morning. We don't wish to do the stiff climb up to the Pathenon (see reviews on shore excursions for Athens). But do want to get the best views. The idea is that the tour is to be very flexible the car takes 4 people in an E Class Mercedes. Cost is Euros 155 for half day.

On this excursions we do not intend to stop at any bars or visit any of the so called tourist shops, but to concentrate at a leisurely pace on all the main tourist attractions around Athens. We have room for 2 people to join us

What a pity we are going in 2015 or we would have loved to share your tour. :)

This recent thread may help you

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1971047&highlight=birthday

Thanks, that's not what I wanted to hear. :D