Covepointcruiser

Very happy for the heated closet after yesterday’s rides in the Zodiacs! Great weather today with a short, sunny ride into another “hilly” but essential Greenland village. We heard that we will be alongside at one port tomorrow and they will off load garbage and take on some supplies. At the termination point of this cruise we will be shuttled to shore in Zodiacs so let’s hope for good weather. They will have local school buses take us to the airport.

We re on several flights back to Iceland, we leave the ship at 9am. Our bags weight more than 50 lbs with our new Parkas Md they have taken that into account. Usual flights out of this airport are on King Air planes. I expect they will charter an Iceland Air. The village with the airport has only 500 people. This airstrip was built by the U.S. in 1941. Best airport in Greenland as it is inland and has not been impacted as much by weather.

I have not received the same service I received before March 2020 on an ship, in any restaurant, or in any retail establishment. The prices are much higher but our Seabourn cruises remain a good value as we are still working through FCC. The crew on all three Seabourn Voyages were as pleasant and helpful as always. Sorry for the folks receiving substandard service. Move to another line and hope you will be happier.

Internet is much more reliable today, was bad at Nuut. Enjoyed(?) a very cold and wet ride on the zodiacs to get to the port Md a short shuttle ride into town. Our only encounter with bad weather on this trip. Wonderful museum and many shops with Greenland merchandise.

We are on the charter the other direction. Bet our bags may fly separately as we had two checked bags each.

Iveleaguegent should read the comments on the Regent and Silverseas boards. There are complaints of staffing and service issues on many ships. We are on the Venture and we have very few complaints. The only service issues have been when everyone showed up to dinner at one time and it took twenty minutes to get our appetizers. We had our wine so we were content.

We have been watching passengers doing the polar plunge. Good for them but we did not partake. I know on the last cruise there were some complaints about the hikes being designed for the elderly but I haven’t heard that on this cruise. It’s too bad they missed the long hike today because of the ice in the passage. Let’s see where the captain can take us tomorrow.

The Ovation is a lovely ship with wonderful service. Compared with the two celebrity ships you will have the same choice in numbers of restaurants. No charge for any of them on the Ovation. We especially enjoyed TKs and it’s very special bar. There is an up charge for some wines and champagne but you will find those you like in the included ones. There is a wonderful library on the Ovation. Passengers dress a but better on Seabourn and don’t push against the dress code as much as on Celebrity. One more formal evening a week requests a sports coat in the main restaurant.

I spoke with the folks at the spa desk. They have not seen anyone coming or going from the spa cabins so they may not be in use yet on the Venture.

The only villagers seen were those in my photos. There are 4 school age children at this village and two who are not old enough for school. The children were kept in their houses, guess we would not be a good influence on them. We had a coffee and cake even in their school. Today we are fogged in at Qaqortoq and when/if it clears we will go into the small town. It’s Sunday so we don’t know what will be open. Later we move on to the old Viking ruins. Both are visited by large ships by Celebrity and Holland America.

Here are some photos from today at the Church. The Choir was very good and they really knew how to Harmonize.

Hope you enjoyed the Northern Lights this morning as they were amazing. I am still waiting for them to load from my iPhone to the cloud but after that I will post them.

We boarded on 9/4 and have had wonderful weather. We had the northern lights actually dancing in the sky on 9/4 and 9/5. The expedition leader, Juan, alerts you when they appear (midnight and 2:30 AM but it was worth it to see them on deck. Whales were sighted this morning. Service onboard is fine and the food is typical Seabourn. We had the smoothest boarding ever. About 18 of us satin the boarding room and a gentleman came around with an IPAD and checked all of our documents. Once checked we were given a slip of paper and were cleared to board.

I would suggest Cunard as they have a true dance floor, especially the QM2. Celebrity has tiny dance floors at least on Solstice and Millenium class ships.

If I had to carry a case of water during embarkation, it would take me a week or more to recover from the muscle strain. Would rather spend the extra $ than suffer pain while on vacation. Guess you are expecting Celebrity to carry your case of water to your cabin.

Anyone taking a cruise without sea sickness tablets is foolhardy. I always travel with them. Captain Peter Jackson, one time commodore of Cunard, said anyone can get sea sick. He said he most often felt the effect when he changed ships as it took a while for his body to get used to that vessel’s movements. Once you are sick it’s too late for remedies.

It’s also many, many days at sea so if you are are disappointed it’s more days to be unhappy. I would use the credit on good wines and spa experiences. Spending it that way might brighten your mood.

When and where did they add dining tables to the CS suites on the Solstice class ships? We had no table on the Silhouette, just a coffee table by the sofa in a very tight living room. The bedroom fit little more than a bed. The only nice thing is we had a suite on the slant so we had a large balcony. The suites on that class of ship are small with no dining table.

Welcome to Celebrity, no steamers, no irons and no passenger laundries. If you are constrained to just having a carry on you better bring a wrinkle release spray. Celebrity does have a for cost laundry and pressing service. You may be willing to pay for the pressing service.

We really love the Spa Penthouses, as long is you don’t get an accessible one. On the three smaller ships there is no elevator to the deck. There is a chair on the circular staircase can be used on the smaller ships.

Henley shirts are definitely not a short sleeve sport or polo shirt. They are often considered underwear as they look like the top half of thermal underwear. But this is Celebrity so dress down to the level that suits you and your style.

You may want to have them reserve a place for you in a chef’s table event. They are very popular.

It’s much easier to simply follow your airline’s policy for carry on size.

Strikers don’t care about extra cash. The more ships they can inconvenience the better.

Why can’t you cancel (kjbacon) your next cruise on Seabourn? If we were as unhappy as you with the service and food options we would look for another cruise line and not waste our time no money. Many of your complaints about the Collonade are not solvable. If you order breakfast it will take some time to get your cooked to order breakfast. Except for the specials, breakfast foods are standard and do not vary. If I was on a ship for over a month I would get bored with the food and the ship. Hope you will enjoy sailing on other lines.