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81Zoomie

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    Florida
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    HAL, Princess, Celebrity, Azamara

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  1. This thread is over 2.5 years old. Can anyone who has sailed Atlas recently tell us which wines 🍷πŸ₯‚πŸ·πŸ₯‚ are currently included? Does anyone have a copy of the wine list? Thanks 😊.
  2. We are very excited about our upcoming circumnavigation of Svalbard cruise! It was quite surprising to learn the included internet is limited to 1GB 😳, especially after hearing AOV Voyager has Starlink. It is reported that all of Norway πŸ‡³πŸ‡΄, including Svalbard/Spitzbergen is a currently approved and activated Starlink area. It feels like a retro throwback to have to turn off/reset most apps and wifi on a device as @kd9 described, simply to read and reply to email and stretch rationed access. We haven’t metered wifi use on any cruise ship in a LONG time. We hope to upload and share pictures and video of beautiful scenery πŸ—», amazing wildlife πŸ‹πŸ¦πŸ¦­πŸ»β€β„οΈ, and our AOV expedition and ship experiences. Sometimes you have to swap devices online to download/upload pics. Are you really limited to only one registered device versus one device at a time? I have read about how much time 1 GB provides, but have no idea how it will work in practice. It’s rare to have limits these days. And, minutes are certainly more easily understood than GBs. I’m not planning to live online (No Zoom, Teams, Webex, Netflix, etc.) while on vacation, but on downtime between zodiac or shore visits, I hope to stay connected to friends, family, and manage household logistics. After all, it’s not going to be pool weather around Svalbard πŸ˜ŽπŸŒ΄β„οΈβ˜ƒοΈπŸ—». I would normally try to do a full cruise β€œLIVE from…” post on Cruise Critic to showcase this unique itinerary, however, the 1GB allowance might limit my ability to do this. YMMV. IMHO, paying over and above for a reasonable quantity of included internet on what @AOV Communications describes as a β€œrefined luxury” experience, on a brand new ship with Starlink, seems odd in 2024. Ponant began including unlimited wifi in 2018. We had very good speed and connectivity in Antartica with Ponant in Jan 2019, prior to Starlink. Seabourn, Silversea, and Linblad offer unlimited wifi as do most others. It would be great if AOV would consider updating their internet policies to meet or exceed the industry standard for luxury/expedition cruise lines.
  3. Mother and daughter cruises are the best ❀️. Enjoy your time together 😎πŸ₯‚πŸ˜€.
  4. We were lucky enough to see a handful of emperor penguins early one morning in the Waddell Sea (on Ponant).
  5. Brings back memories! My daughter lived in HI and we did this exact drive starting in Kona! It was a day full of the southern most point, volcano winery, volcano natl park, and then the observatory for sunset! When in Kona…. coffee at Lava Java is a nice way to relax! Enjoy πŸ˜€
  6. Thanks Jim!🍷🍷🍷! I know you and Lain normally don’t drink reds, but the Rioja may be the most interesting (other than the standard offerings) to try. It appears to have a following. As for the Bin 45, a picture is worth a 1000 words πŸ«£πŸ˜‚πŸ«£!
  7. We saw a quote at a winery in McLaren Vale, Australia last month that said, β€œβ€¦Never give bad wine a second sip….” We took it to heart and paid a little extra by the glass to drink Emmolo Merlot and Opulance Cab on many nights. When we were feeling like anything might do we paid a tiny bit extra for the Kendall Jackson Cab. If you just ask the wine steward for a cab in Laminae, he/she will most likely pour you a glass of Chateau Souverain 😝. Honestly, Celebrity should be embarrassed by the wines they are including in the Retreat and Luminae. YMMV.
  8. Which company did you use and how did you get to the falls?
  9. Thanks for the info on the falls and the excursion. We are considering a land/cruise option that includes a trip to the falls. This was very helpful. Thank you 😁.
  10. If you have sensitive skin or allergies, I’d check the ingredients. There are some really long mystery ingredients in this stuff. At least one is known to cause skin irritation. Pic is from a plain verandah on the Summit.
  11. I have pics from 2019 (just before the world shutdown) with our independent tour. The boat ladders are pictured, so you a judge if they will work. We really enjoyed the small group. This crew was great, respected the animals, and anchored away from the large grouping of bigger boats. We had a lot more rays than the big boats, and a calm and relaxed experience. Hope the pics help your planning. The hoards were all clustered together 😝. The rays tended to be less plentiful around the crowded boats.
  12. We booked an independent excursion on a Catamaran to the stingray sandbar location. The price was much better than the ship’s excursions and it was a smaller boat with a small group. Very enjoyable experience without the crowd 😎🌴😎.
  13. I’ve never experienced topside seating on a tender/lifeboat. Interesting 🧐
  14. Lovely view at the Monkeypod for lunch in Waikiki 🌴🌞🌴
  15. @Jim_Iain, we would love to hear about your Oceania experience as well. We are considering a couple of their cruises in cooler climates. πŸ˜€πŸ˜ŽπŸ˜€
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