Voyages to Antiquity Recent Cruisers

[Ontariotrekker]

Sue.. as you know since I travel as a solo, I always take the included tours but I will also take advantage of any free time after to browse or maybe grab lunch onshore.

 

I think they may give an early onboard time for the independant pax so they will be back on time. We had a couple of ports where Alison had to make one of those infamous " if joe blow is onboard, please notify reception" calls.

Every cruise I've been on with either V2A or HAL, we've had those calls since sadly, unlike Bcscot, not everyone is so considerate and back on time.

 

Calmsea - if you are planning an independant tour at any of the ports, give the shorex team a heads-up and they will assist you. One very adventurous couple on our cruise did this and the local guides had stuff ready for them.. street maps, best area to see certain things, massage places ( legal ones :) ) and a local restaurant to get authentic food.

 

Enjoy your cruise and please do a review when you get back. - blue skies and lots of air con - Shar

[CalmSea]

bcscot - thanks for the tip about the 57th floor bar at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. We will certainly give it a try. In Singapore, we are only doing the included "Spirit of Singapore" tour, and plan to do the rest of the sightseeing by ourselves, using the metro.

 

Shar - thanks for the info about shorex team. V2A will berth in Mumbai for 3 nights, with only a half-day tour planned. March 22 is listed as "free day to explore". We have been contacting some of the local tour operators, but getting very slow responses. If we haven't finalized a tour by the time we embark, I will talk to the shorex team.

[rugbypopsie]

Don't forget to ask questions about destinations around our part of the globe on the Australian and NZ board. We travel to ports like Singapore, Hong Kong etc. fairly regularly and are happy to pass off suggestions for Australian and NZ ports too.

 

Calmsea did you have a look at tripadvisor for tour guide suggestions?

 

[Tony & Trevor]

rugbypopsie

 

Sue,

 

Not sure when you last sailed on the 'Odyssey' and was wondering whether you had come across these guest lecturers before ?

They are on our forthcoming cruise.

 

Canon Dr Anne Davison

Colonel Gerald McCormack

Prof Robin Cormack

 

Thank you,

Kind regards

 

Tony

[rugbypopsie]

Sorry Tony, I was on the Sept 16 last year cruise but I don't recall the names of the lecturers.

 

Sue

[Tony & Trevor]

Thank you for the prompt reply -must be nearly Midnight where you are.

 

kind regards

 

T

[Ontariotrekker]

I've always had a lot of luck 'googling' the names of the lecturers to find out more info about them. Of course no matter how wonderful they sound on paper, they may not be interesting or good communicators. Shar

[Tony & Trevor]

Shar

 

Thank you -yes I have looked at their biographies- quite impressive too.

 

I just wondered if any passengers that had done the Odyssey had come cross them.

We have sailed on the Minerva and just like VTA they also had a very impressive group of lecturers but in reality ( to us and many passengers )

they were quite boring and a little bit over our heads and most of the elderly passengers had a nod.

 

Kind regards

 

T

[bcscot]

On the whole, I enjoyed the lecture programme on board Aegean Odyssey, apart from the heat and the movement in the lounge for a lot of the cruise. Some of the lectures were boring and too detailed and specialised, but on the whole, I thought that they were complimentary to the ports of call and general region, or were just interesting. None of them were outstanding and the same lecturer could give a good lecture one day and a boring one on another day. It was also interesting to meet the lectures and chat, as they were an interesting bunch of people.

I suppose that one person's interesting lecture is another's siesta!

[librarian]

Since we will be in so many different countries for some just a day, how do we handle different currencies? How did you do it on your trip. When we did Oceania and did Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Cambodia, sometimes a currency exchange person came on board to sell us currency. How do we do it. Or should we plan on $1.00. Thanks in advance. We live in the middle of no where not close to a larger city than 4 hours. So getting currency from Chicago will do us no good.

[rugbypopsie]

Compared to our usual cruising we couldn't believe just how little cash we needed. We were in the Med so USD were pretty much accepted everywhere...if you are only spending ten or twenty dollars the exchange rate really is of little consequence. In the pre cruise hotel it was safe to use a credit card and they would change some money if you needed it.

 

Sue

 

Sue

[cruisemom42]

rugbypopsie

 

Sue,

 

Not sure when you last sailed on the 'Odyssey' and was wondering whether you had come across these guest lecturers before ?

They are on our forthcoming cruise.

 

Canon Dr Anne Davison

Colonel Gerald McCormack

Prof Robin Cormack

 

Thank you,

Kind regards

 

Tony

 

Canon Anne Davison was on my last Voyages to Antiquity cruise. The cruise "theme" that was interwoven through most of the cruise was the Crusades, and as I recall she gave a couple of very good lectures, although her specific area of interest (religion) isn't really my favorite. In general I found her to be a skilled presenter.

 

I have to say that I really, really enjoy the lectures on both V2A and Swan Hellenic. They are a huge draw and one of the major reasons I like cruising with these two lines. :)

[librarian]

I do not know if India the pre cruise location will give me currency for Jordan, Oman, Egypt, Israel, Greece. I might want to buy a souvenir small. On Oceania we always exchanged about 25 US a day for souvenir for the various countries. Did not have to visit an atm machine. I would like a postcard perhaps . I do not know what the chances are that the pre cruise location will give me all the various currencies. I think everyone is different. I am not a big shopper but do a tidbit here. I think in Oman it is incense. Thanks for the advice. I will try in India to get the other currencies. I have some Indian currency as my friend goes there 3 times a year to visit.

[Ontariotrekker]

Egypt and Israel will take $us, Greece wants euros. Shar

[Traveler+]

I started a Roll Call for the Wonders of India and the Maldives but no one is on so I was glad to see this forum and begin to get an impression about the tour/cruise. I am an easy going traveler. That and my understanding that there are upgrades planned for the ship keep me confident that I will manage. The only thing that really bothers me are the rude self-centered passengers who think they should be treated more special than everyone else. Hopefully they won't want to see India.

 

I look forward to hearing how things went for you Librarian and for anyone else who cruises on this ship before November.

 

And if anyone gets updates on upgrades, let us know.

 

Cathy

[CalmSea]

Don't forget to ask questions about destinations around our part of the globe on the Australian and NZ board. We travel to ports like Singapore, Hong Kong etc. fairly regularly and are happy to pass off suggestions for Australian and NZ ports too.

 

Calmsea did you have a look at tripadvisor for tour guide suggestions?

 

We booked a private tour in Mumbai for March 22. The tour takes up to 5 people, and there are only two of us. We are not actively looking for more people. But, it is good to know that there are still room in case we run into some other people on board who are interested.

 

We started our trip early, and left Montreal on Feb 20. We received our final documents with only hours to spare (18 hours to be exact). It is not as bad as it sounds. The TA at V2A knew we were leaving early and had sent us the e-tickets for the flights. If the final documents did not arrive in time, she promised to email them to us. But, it is comforting to have the actual documents in hand. At this moment, we are recovering from jet-lag in Hong Kong.

 

I read a couple of the newer reviews of the January 2013 V2A cruise. Not surprising that most are negative, but more details are emerging. I hope V2A's management will take the feedback seriously. I also note that these reviews consistently highlight the high quality of food and the professionalism of the rank-and-file crew members.

 

Cathy, by "upgrade", I presume you meant upgrade to the ship. I will try to give everyone an idea how it went (without knowing precisely what the boat was like before, since it will be our first time on the boat).

 

Clement

[Ontariotrekker]

Clement - glad to hear that you are now resting in Hong Kong after your long trip there. Just an FYI if you are looking for somthing to do and sorry I don't have more details but during our turnaround tour the day we were there, our guide told us that there are 4 pandas in a local amusement park or zoo? If you are interested I'm sure your consierage would know how to get to them. We were disappointed we did not have time to see them.

 

enjoy HK and thanks for posting. Shar