Host Jazzbeau

moved to Princess forum since question seems to relate to Princess-owned lodges

moved to Ports of Call – Africa & Middle East

Cruise Critic Guidelines prohibit naming travel agencies. Three violations may get you a nice present...

A brief excerpt from the essay: Byron was a political radical who identified with an oppressed people fighting for freedom. Back home in England, he had sympathized with the Luddites—weavers who smashed the new automatic looms that threatened to put them out of work... The same spirit inspired the description of the Greeks in “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.” Byron mocked the idea that they should “be grateful to the Turks for their fetters, and to the Franks for their broken promises and lying counsels…to the artist who engraves their ruins and to the antiquary who carries them away.” That last phrase was a pointed reference to Lord Elgin, who denuded the Parthenon of about half its sculptures, destroying much of the building in the process. The Elgin Marbles still reside in the British Museum today.

With perfect timing for this Byronic subthread, the Wall Street Journal website just published an essay "How an English Poet Became a Greek National Hero." [I included the link, but it's protected by a paywall; sorry]

On board you'll be dealing with a human, not a computer [unless it's a 'waitron' – try to find a real waiter, male or female 😀]

You are restoring hope for my Ray cruise in 2026!

Which is why I always tell DW "pack everything." 😀 Preparing for a trip in two weeks to Lombardy, Tuscany and Umbria. Historical highs from 69-79. This year's forecast?—low to mid '60s with a lot of rain. But our experience is that whatever is forecast at this point for a trip is certain NOT to happen when we get there!

It's often mentioned as a truism that Cruise Critic is a very small slice of cruise passengers, so therefore it's not a good idea to judge a cruise line by its CC forum – but nevertheless I must say I have never seriously considered Regent because of the cattiness of that forum. [Note: I am not talking about anyone posting on this thread, and I haven't read that forum in some time] I have a theory that the devotées of Luxury cruise lines are actually less happy than those of us who sail on Premium lines. I read so many 'luxury' posts that reek of 'nothing is ever good enough' – and on Regent there was [I haven't read it lately] so much Oceania-bashing, at a time when most reports were that Oceania had better food, because it was important to certain people to stress that Regent is 'Luxury' while Oceania is 'only Premium.' That was a huge turn-off. I don't care how a cruise line is rated – and there is no industry standard about stars or classes anyway. After 34 cruises on 15 different lines [with 5 more booked, and 1 new line (Windstar)], I know pretty much what I'm looking for: (1) an interesting in-depth itinerary; (2) very good food and service; (3) a veranda cabin [for the light more than lying about on it] with enough room to walk past the bed. I get that reliably on Azamara and Noble Caledonia, and I expect to get it on Windstar next January [French balcony but good enough] Can I hope to get it on my two upcoming Silversea cruises? – recent reports are not reassuring, but I booked before the massive price increases last month so the fares still promise decent value and one can hope they will 'right their ship.'

It's actually such a wonderful initiation to the joys of River Cruising – compared to Ocean Cruising, where the highly paid stevedore demands a tip to make sure your luggage arrives and isn't too badly bashed up...

If it's wobbly, deck 6 would be best. But it's nice to have four choices, so the scenery might vary a bit... [My first guess on the photo was going to be "the inside of the Stanford Linear Accelerator" 🤣]

New article on Cruise Critic: Scenic to Embark on 59-Day Ultimate Europe Journey in 2025 Combines river cruises, ocean yacht cruise, and land journeys in one "grand tour"

New article on Cruise Critic: Just Back from APT's Mekong Serenity: What We Love About this New Luxury River Cruise Ship

New article on Porthole: Riverside Luxury Cruises Reveals New 2025 Voyages

In my case, for vicarious travel only!!!