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andiamo76

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Everything posted by andiamo76

  1. I find this all interesting as we have now done 2 Seabourn cruises and both had port changes, mostly w/ no explanation. 1st) May '23 Med cruise on the Quest, 3 ports cancelled but at least as I recall all were replaced and the cruise ended up well. We went to some very small ports. Granted little to do, but nice small picturesque ports, easy to wander around. THEN, the biggy - Quest in January MIA-BA, Argentina. Not enough space nor time to list all that happened, but numerous port changes, granted Peru stops were ultimately cancelled "due to unrest". Duh, this had been brewing for months, numerous State Department warnings to get out now!, don't go/avoid.... Even so we went to Lima, protests/riots erupted on day 2 there. Ship was held in port an extra day as Peru would not allow it to leave. At least they finally cancelled the pricey side trip to Machu Picchu. Speculation was that they still went into Lima (other cruise lines had cancelled Peru stops well before this), as they had passengers, crew and the expedition team getting on. That would have taken a lot of juggling to have them get on elsewhere. It felt to many though that convenience to Sb and money was more important than passengers. NOT a good message to send. Other small ports were simply "expedition cruise by" "ports" for of course the zodiac tour price of around $199 p.p. Those were cancelled, "for operational reasons". What an excuse to give for something using the zodiacs that we would be dependent upon for Antarctica, So. Georgia and the Falklands! So WHAT operational reason? as in a problem with the zodiacs? they never got clearance/permits or whatever was required to do the zodiac cruises? Who knows as they never said, but these were uninhabited by people - only had birds and wildlife. The list of issues goes on but the real topper was not having enough parkas for everyone! Seriously - an expedition cruise where special parkas were to be included and are obviously needed. Not just a few were missing, but several! So that meant one flimsy excuse after another, basically stall tactics waiting for the Venture to eventually make it somewhat close so they could drop off some extras they magically had. Still not enough for everyone. And yes, this cost us time in Antarctica. We shake our heads and it is obviously a very sore wound. We have another cruise coming up and are within the full cancellation penalty otherwise we would have cancelled it. We do however have yet another one booked for '24. We will see how this next cruise goes, especially watching for port cancellations, none yet. If it actually goes well, we may keep the '24 booking. Otherwise, there are plenty of other ships in the sea. The pattern of port cancellations is important as most of us book cruises due to particular ports. When those get cancelled for some odd unknown reason, or worse yet screwed up for a clear serious HQ operational screwup that would have been so easy to avoid with simple basic inventory control procedures ... it just isn't worth using the company again. Sad as we had really hoped to like this line, especially with Crystal gone. We really hope the new Crystal can be great again.
  2. We booked 2 Manta tours as we will be there 2 days. Seem to be good companies although Manta Tour Guides is the easiest and most straight forward to work with. We will be taking their tour to the Pacoche Rain Forest and Montecristi (Panama hats) as well as a couple other stops. We are also booked for a day trip to go up river to Isla Corazon with Manta SOS. They also seem very pleasant however they only take payment through Western Union which ended up being quite an ordeal as it kept getting rejected by WU as they saw it as a possible scam ie paying in advance for a tour. Manta SOS is inconsistent with what they tell people booking as some are told to pay the day of - cash in a sealed envelope. We will be part of a "private small group" of 8 so are charged $27 p.p. more for that as opposed to a "small group tour" that can be up to 14. Some in the group of 8 were paid to pay up front while others of us were told to pay in advance but through WU as they don't take credit cards. Go figure. I'm sure both tours will be nicely done and both companies get high ratings on TA. Google them and see what they offer. Minimum of 2 people. Our cruise doesn't stop in Costa Rica so I'm no help there.
  3. Actually, the Seabourn Quest does offer a side trip to the Galapagos departing from the stop in Manta Ecuador. I think if you go to their website and look for the Quest sailing(s) that depart from MIA on January 6, '23; check itinerary & scroll to Manta - click on more information (or something to that effect on the right side of the pg) it may list the excursions and descriptions so you can read about it. bear in mind - doing it this way you stay in a hotel on one of the few islands in the Galapagos that allow limited people to live on it. From there you do day trips to nearby islands. We took a Galapagos trip using Silversea in April and loved it as there is no time consumed in the back and forth of a day trip. Trade offs to everything. It is a pricey extension, but a Galapagos trip is that way no matter what. And yes it is showing as sold out. I have no idea how many slots were available. They also offer side trips to Quito and to Machu Picchu. Obviously for all of these you miss some of the ports of call since you will be away. As for Manta we booked a tour with Manta Tour Guides who seem very professional and easy to work with. Sounds like it should be good. There are at least a couple companies there that offer tours akin to the ship excursions, so do your research and decide what appeals to you. I did read that it is best to stay to the southern end of town as it can be dodgier to the north from the pier. Double check that to be sure I have the directions correct.
  4. We took the Ss Origen in mid April, 2022. Fantastic time. I did extensive research of several companies to decide which to use for this trip. Many were very close in pricing, for the comparable length of time and product and svc offered. Some go for shorter time or don't include as much so be sure to dig into the particulars. Our TA highly recommended Ss as she has rarely gotten a complaint or whisper of disappointment from any of her clients who used Silversea. A poster above correctly stated that the newest Celebrity ship and the Origen are "sister ships" likely tailored for the 2 different cruise line specs. We enjoyed our 2 nights pre-cruise in time in Quito. The guides and crew on Ss were superb. It was a very fun and active trip. We did it all - the various "hikes" (guided nature walks at a relaxed pace giving us plenty of time to watch the birds and animals & take photos, snorkeling and kayaking, so our days were very busy. The ship is lovely and has a terrific interactive "research/information" section for guests to use for more information. We had a room with the drop down window and thus no balcony as that space was part of the room which we enjoyed. Delightful fellow passengers. Highly recommend going around April as it is mating season and some of the seasonal birds were returning to mate and nest so we saw a lot! The currents are changing then so the water starts getting cooler. Thankfully someone recommended I take a "rashguard" to wear under the Ss provided wetsuit. It did help although I only had a top and would recommend, the leggings, water gloves and a hat if you are cold sensitive. Weather was glorious. One of our favorite trips and would go again to other islands. And yes I would use Ss again for this trip!
  5. Good to hear your kudos for the Seabourn Quest Antarctica, since we have been booked on that for 3 years now, along with the Marina S. America sailings, figuring surely one or the other would go eventually. So since both are sailing we have stayed with our Seabourn booking and will be sailing January 6th. I see tradeoffs to both the Sb Quest and the Marina sailings. Along with the obvious ones discussed above, the Marina has an excellent itinerary for S. America. The Quest does not go to nearly as many places, so personally I like the Marina S. America itinerary better for seeing more of S. America. Also, you save money not actually going onto the continent. While yes commonly a parka is provided (yours to keep), and you rent the special boots, still there are special, socks, gloves, hats/face guards, long underwear possibly ski goggles for the glare....to be purchased. Naturally I finally parted with my nice ski clothes a few years ago. So here I am buying the things, trying on my "arctic pants", feeling like the Michelin commercial. Now I'm thinking maybe I should book an arctic cruise to get a few more wearings out of all this! The penguins better be extra cute to make it all worth it. Ah yes, another positive for the sail by - you don't keel over from the smell of the oh so cute penguins. Such a deal! Whatever you do, you will have a wonderful trip.
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