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Cabin recommendation on Europa 2?


MsSommelier
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Since we were so encouraged by our recent cruise with the Europa, we would also like to give the Europa 2 a try. We like longer trips, so we're looking at combining EUX2001 and EUX2002 (Progresso-Colon-Valparaiso) in Jan 2020.

 

For those who have already been, any words of wisdom for cabin choice? What about V3 vs V4? I notice V4 is on the deck with the family suites. Any impact on 'peace and quiet'? PH vs a 'standard' cabin? The Veranda suites look so nice and spacious, and they have coffee machines!

 

Thanks in advance for advice.

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Given the size of the entry level suites-- 301 sq. ft. plus 75 sq. ft. balcony--- would they not be large enough for your requirements?

 

Personally, I always book on the basis of advice from an ex Royal Navy passenger we met on our very first cruise--- mid-ships and as low down as possible.

 

Having said that, I have found the Europa 2 to be very stable in rough weather.

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as a single i must stay in a basic suite - however i always try to get an Ocean suite - lots of space!!

if you like some more space go for a Grand - in a Grand suite you do receive alcohol as well but no butler service - only in a PH what is for a single impossible unless i have a luck in the Euromillions:cool:

 

be aware she is not a bigger copy of the ms Europa - it is casual , there are more speciality restaurants , the breakfast is even more luxurious as on the ms Europa ( gourmet breakfast on a daily base) - there are no formal welcome and farewell parties

on some cruises the Piano bar on the 2 is rather quiet , aperitive time is busier on the ms Europa

Sansibar is busier for pre dinner drinks on the 2 as on the Europa.

 

it seems she is nearly sold out for this year - i think last week there were still some vacancies for the one week canaries.

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Our first cruise was in a PH suite (free upgrade) holiday time 2015. We had a butler and included liquor of choice in the cabinet. Butler took care of dinner reservations and things that could otherwise be a hassle. The tub was jacuzzi with lights selections, and you had a TV in bath where you could watch the sea. The head of bed could be adjusted. Huge closet and huge deck with two loungers plus table and chairs. Canapes late afternoon. Fantastic cruise.

 

Second cruise was in a veranda suite on 6, forward, not in holiday time, late 2017, almost no kids. More than enough space, but only one lounger on deck, tub and shower, no jacuzzi, no bathroom TV, normal bed. No butler, so must go to make dinner reservations yourself, once to each specialty restaurant, immediately on boarding.

 

I have not been in an ocean suite but I understand they do not have walkin closets, otherwise same size and amenities and bathroom gets daylight.

 

I doubt kids would be an issue of concern on the level in question if not holidays.

 

Per my recent CC review of my E2 trip last fall, I had more odd service issues in the dining rooms than last cruise, but it was still very nice and I would still sail her again.

 

If cost were no object, I would pick a PH suite to have the butler smooth out service in the suite and dining coordinations and because of the decadent bathroom, but the cost differential is not worth it to me for paying full price for the PH.

 

Ship was always very stable but we did not hit any horrible storms.

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Thank you for the feedback. I had not considered the Ocean Grand Suite, but it sounds very interesting - I like the idea of enough space for 2 loungers, since we really enjoy our balcony time. However, I usually prefer walk in closets, but maybe since we don't have all that formal wear with that we had on Europa for 6 weeks, there could be enough room in a regular closet? Still on the fence about the PH, because we did so enjoy having him handle all the reservations, etc.

 

Vistaman, we're totally okay with a different feel from Europa. Casual suits us just fine. Before the Europa, we did all our cruises on Seabourn, Crystal (inc. Crystal Yacht) and Regent, so we actually prefer 'country club' casual. Less to pack! (We have a Seabourn cruise booked in Jan 2019 in fact.)

 

The pictures and videos of the public areas look lovely. Maybe we'd even go to Sansibar, since there is more room there than on Europa - we never once went on the Europa! Like the idea of more dining choices, too.

Re: passengers: Given a more casual feel, are the passengers in general more relaxed or still pretty much 'keep to themselves'?

 

Well, I better decide soon and book! Cabins go so fast...

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From personal observation on the Europa 2, I would say that on board there is an element of 'cool reserve' amongst the passengers.

 

Having said that, I found that most responded positively to my attempt to communicate ( in my very poor, and limited, German).

 

I found that people were far more relaxed on the guided tours.

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Pax on E2 were still generally reserved, after all they are German, but many were younger than on the Europa and those tended to be chattier, especially on excursions as EV said. People from the south were also chattier, and so were those who had a bit of alcohol :). The Sansibar outside sitting and eating area on Europa is indeed very nice, I liked sitting there for late-night music trios, and you could get a late risers casual breakfast there too sitting outside looking at the sea in a quieter area than the main indoor/outdoor eating venue.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Oh, no, what will I do with my dirndl?

Interesting observation about the shore excursions. We make our own arrangements nearly 100% of the time so didn't really get a chance to strike up a more relaxed conversation. I noticed that those people that went on SEs together then tended to hang out together, eat dinner together, etc. Maybe we'll need to book some HL excursions just to meet more people!

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mssommelier,

there are some German specialities on the late breakfast in the Sansibar ! white sausages :D

I also do all my excursions by myself - despite those done by HL are very well organised - i think i did 3 so far -

far too slow for me

i am taking an Ocean suite for the jacuzzi and really there is plenty of space for the clothes

on the Pool party , yes indeed there is a lot of alcohol :evilsmile: for some people too much ...

maybe you can try a shorter cruise , i always do recommend to book a cruise with not too many seadays as a first cruise on the Europa 2 , especially to those people used to cruise on SB , Crystal SS with a lot of ( some fancy like trivia, fashion show ) activities and a casino on board

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vistaman,

 

My late brother, and I, used to enjoy the Trivia competitions on the Seabourn Pride, if only to be amused by how seriously some teams took them.

 

On one cruise, one team captain, whose team had lost the first round, instructed the team members to do research whereas another team called 'The Bar Flies', complete with drinks in hand, would only give humorous answers.

 

I still have the stuffed Seabourn Lion presented to my brother.

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Vistaman,

We had lots of sea days on our last Europa cruise (15 in all, including 6 consecutive days) and we were fine. It sounds like activity level on sea days on E2 could be about the same. We had lectures, bingo, shuffleboard, dance class, art class, some fitness classes (we only did the lectures and the dance classes - which were really good, actually). Weather was wonderful, so we relaxed on our deck and worked out in the gym now and then (aren't we virtuous).

 

English Voyager, I enjoyed playing Trivia on SB, too - fortunately I was always on teams that didn't take themselves too seriously. The best we ever did was 2nd place - not too bad for just having fun!

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i used to play the trivia on SB and SS as well, not so much on Crystal as nearly ALL questions were for the US pax

otherwise said questions about the american football, basketball geography in the US, politics like the name of the first vice pres ...

and yes some people are not pleasant if they are not in the lucky team

 

allow me one story from SB : they asked for the 6 original countries of the EC - i was the only one so double points for my team

another team complained roughly because i had advantage being Belgian :o

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We were on Europa 2 several years ago. We loved everything about it -- except for our fellow passengers. Although it was a bi-lingual cruise we were the only US passengers with the others in the English speaking group (about 10) were from Hong Kong, S. America and Belgium. The rest of the passengers were German and while not rude, were not particularly friendly. We had more conversations with the staff than with other passengers!

 

While Europa 2 is the best ship we have been on we will not return as frankly, it was a bit lonely.

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  • 2 weeks later...

MP, I understand your sentiments. We were 12-14 in our English speaking group out of 160.

There were a few annoyances, shorter English explanations on the onboard announcements, Germans talking once their announcements were over, sometimes making it hard to hear, poor menu translations.

That said, for expedition cruising, I would definitely sail the Inspiration! Perfect combination of outstanding service, very good food with excellent variety, nice basic cabin sizes and most importantly where it counts a captain who was set on giving us the best possible experience. Also there is more bonding as everyone does everything together. Still, there were only a handful of Germans who sought us out. Everyone else was pleasant and polite. I took the same exercise classes for at least 15 of the days, and literally there was no small talk.

 

HL has great experience in ice and a good degree of confidence. Every opportunity was taken to substitute better landings, go deeper into the ice, provide a landing on an iceberg, etc. we did more than was planned.

Some of the experts were more interested in us than others. But over 20 days, I learned more than enough.

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Jacqueline,

i am afraid those circumstances do happen on other ships as well.

when i started to cruise on MS Vistafjord in 1990 i felt like a curiosity on board - questions were : does he (so myself)speak English (by table companions to the maitre d'h), such a "young" guy on a luxury ship ??? , are you Jewish ( to me ) ? - as my hometown does have a big Jewish community - what are you doing on a English speaking ship ??? why are you not going to a French ship ( there was 1 left the old Mermoz )

 

despite my first language is Dutch - in those days i spoke English with a rather French accent it seems : so more questions ...

 

in 1992 on the QE2 i was put on a table with 2 French, 2 German , 2 British people and 1 US lady "because you do speak all those languages " i was told ( what was easier for the waiters )

 

maybe it is true that Hapag Lloyd is easy for me because i do speak German :D

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I hear you! The Dutch are great with languages, if that is your nationality.

Our “English” table was made up of people from Holland, Belgium, Australia and US. Twenty nights together as seating was fixed on the Hanseatic!

 

The remainder of the English speaking group were from Denmark.

Most of the European English speakers could understand German but or had a spouse that did.

As a result, often our expedition leader or one of our naturalists would say, you DO understand German don’t you.

Nope. We barely could understand the Australians.

You can only imagine the preconceptions about Nee Yorkers!

By the end of the trip I could decode a little German and could do the exercise classes (two a day) in German due to all the repetition.

I did feel in very good hands with our captain and crew. And the engineers. We had an hour long English tour below decks. They can actually make tools! 25 year old engine, one of the guys was there the whole life of the ship!

The bridge was open almost all the time as well. Got a lot of insights.

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i am not Dutch but Belgian :)

actually first language is Flemish - same as Dutch with no so sharp a, e and u "sound"

we also do not use the" Dutch version" of some French words

in general Belgians do know more languages as Dutch

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Vistaman,

Learned all about this, the young couple at our table represented each country. She was from Holland, he is from Belgium. They have had a long distance dating situation for a few years,

Between the dinners and the daily lectures, and being in the same zodiac boat with the Belgians, Danish and Dutch, we all spent a lot of time together. It’s the nature of expedition cruising

I really enjoyed this aspect of our time onboard.

I just pretended I was visiting Germany and meeting people from other countries too.

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