jimdee3636

We're long-time cruisers but never on Ponant. We're looking seriously at Le Lyrial on a cruise in September, 2023 originating in Malaga. Three questions: 1. Do the crew members (waiters and bartenders especially) speak English? 2. Can you get a table for two at dinner? 3. Is the "free cruise" offer for real? (On the Ponant site, they're listing under "Free Cruise" a 6-night, no port, Malaga-to-Dakar cruise. That cruise itself is actually not free, but it says that if you book that one, the "ocean voyage" immediately before or after it is free, except for taxes and port charges. The one immediately after it is a 20-night Dakar-to-Santos, Brazil transatlantic. The 6-night Malaga cruise is about $2000 pp, so the whole 26 nights would also be $2000 pp---only $77/day pp. As I say, is that for real?). Thanks for all insights and observations. Jim

CCL should allow status matches among its various lines. It's only good business. I'm four-star with HAL, but HAL isn't the only line I cruise on. I'd be more likely to keep my business within the CCL "family" if I knew I could get something like four-star benefits with, say, Cunard, Princess, or Seabourn, especially on longer voyages where the unlimited free laundry (four-star benefit) would be a big incentive.

I'm 4-star with HAL but it's been nearly three years since I've been on one of their ships. But in February we'll set sail on a 35-night Hawaii/French Polynesia voyage on the Koningsdam. I'm wondering if HAL ships still provide those printed daily news summaries. The U.S. summaries were eight pages and the Canadian and British ones were four pages each. (They usually had Dutch, German, and Spanish-language ones, as well). I'd enjoy reading all the English-language ones, especially at unhurried breakfasts on sea days (of which we'll have plenty). Does anyone have any recent experience with this? Thanks. Jim

Thanks to all who have responded. @3canucksI just looked at Teeming's website and put myself on their mailing list. I had never heard of them before, so that was a very helpful tip. @Host Jazzbeau I appreciate your detailed explanation of the various unique features of river cruising, and your opinion of which cruise operators are "the best of the best." @HaqdeluxeThat's good to know about the docking locations. You get the sense from ads you see that you walk off a river ship and you're right in the center of town. Apparently not, at least not everywhere. I'll start doing my homework. Thanks again to all. Jim

My wife and I have taken over twenty-five ocean cruises but never a river cruise. One thing that holds us back is that every river cruise line I've looked into includes a "free" shore excursion in every port. Of course, they're not really free, just built into the cruise fare. We hate organized excursions and tours. All we want to do in any port is to walk around and see things with our own eyes. Are there any river cruise lines that either don't offer excursions or make you pay for them? Thanks for any information and suggestions you may have. Jim

@arlingtonva Thank you for your comprehensive, insightful, and well-written review. I think we'll stick with Silversea for now when we want to book a so-called luxury line, but you've piqued my curiosity about Seabourn. Our only Seabourn cruise was 22 years ago, on the old "Pride" (now a Windstar ship, I believe), so of course much has changed since then. As for the Evrima (I hate that name), I got the sense from RC's first marketing promotions that they were promising more than they could deliver. To a certain extent, you've verified that impression.

@rolfecms Thanks for posting the link to that thread, but nothing on it seems to tell us precisely what Bright Lights is, where on the ship it will be located (I can't find it on the deck plan), what "hosting" means and how it will work, etc. My guess is it's some sort of "pop up" venue that will be offered, probably for a price, once or twice a week. But that's purely a guess.

I had the same questions. The e-mail says it's a "hosted" venue, whatever that means. My guess is it's an extra-cost venue, and the cost won't be cheap. That said, we may try it (we're booked on the QA early in its inaugural season).

@nh6mile Can you get a table for two at dinner, or are you forced to sit at a larger table? Thanks. Jim

@silkismom We always use the full-service Marriott LAX, which (at least as of late July of this year) has a free and efficient shuttle service. It also has good dining and drinking options. If you're a Marriott "platinum" member or higher, you get to enjoy the very nice "M Club" (concierge lounge), although I think you can get M Club access by paying for a club-level room.

I've done six transatlantics (three in each direction), although none of them as a solo; my only solos have been four short cruises. Whether you're solo or sailing with someone, there's definitely a different vibe on a transatlantic. On a twelve night transatlantic from Barcelona, there are probably at most only three port days, so lots of long open-water sailing. The days going westbound are actually longer because you gain six hours over the twelve nights; i.e., you'll be setting your watch back an hour six times when you go to bed. Plan to go to the gym a lot, read a lot, and just relax and decompress. And you'll love Barcelona!

I'm booked on a HAL cruise a year from now from Santiago to Buenos Aires. This particular sailing (unlike some others) does not go farther south than Ushuaia. Would a cruise like this technically be going into the Drake Passage, or does it pretty much hug the shore as it rounds the tip of South America? And is even a "hug the shore" route frequently treacherous in that part of the world?

All these recent postings make me glad I just cancelled our 2023 Cloud D2D Iceland-Greenland-Halifax sailing. I can only imagine the crazy air routes they would have given us, or the weeks (months?) of hassles trying to get them changed.

Correction: No, you did not get the win (it was of course a draw). But it felt like you won. In sports, there's a saying (and it's true) that in any draw, one team feels like the winner and the other team feels like the loser. Today, the U.S. felt like the loser.

@Techno123Boy, we gave you the win with that incredibly stupid takedown on Bale in the penalty area. I have to tip my hat to Bale, though. His penalty shot was outstanding. The good thing is: both teams are still alive.

It was absolutely NOT weird! I've only sailed on Princess solo, and have felt from the beginning that the specialty restaurants are head-and-shoulders above the MDR on Princess ships. I was treated like royalty on the nine or ten times I've done specialty dining. Well worth the $29 charge (or whatever it is now).

I can't answer all your questions, but we've sailed on HAL over a dozen times and have always requested---and gotten---a table for two at the "main" (late) seating, which in our experience has always been at 8:00PM. I have often heard, though, that the early MDR seating tends to be more in demand. As @CruiserBruce said, your reservation normally indicates your requested dining time. If it doesn't, have your travel agent contact HAL to amend the reservation (or contact them yourself if you don't have an agent).

All of this just serves to emphasize how complicated, confusing, and flawed the whole D2D concept is. It's bad enough that Silversea is pushing all these add-ons that no one ever asked for, but they're not even doing it in a consistent, understandable manner. The only add-on that some of us care about is air, and even that is being handled in a bewildering way. Just tell us what the damn cruise costs and give us access to someone at SS who can lay out the options and prices of the various air options. Putting your customers in a bad mood from Day One is not a sound business practice.

@FlyerTalker This is not specific to Silversea, but I'm addressing it to you because you seem uncommonly well-informed about airline matters. When you're dealing with foreign flights to and from the U.S., and you prefer to do your own bookings, are you better off "pouncing" on the first good flights you see once they get loaded on the airlines' websites, or are you better off waiting? I've been frustrated quite a few times in recent years with flights that looked great when I booked them nine or ten months in advance, only to have them be radically changed or even cancelled closer to departure. On the other hand, it's comforting to lock in a price (if it's a good one), seat assignments, etc. Any advice?

We're about to cancel a 2023 Cloud sailing, which we booked as a Door-to-Door. We'll get most of our deposit back, minus a $250 pp "administrative fee," but that can be used as a future cruise credit. I've been looking at 2024 sailings---mostly non-expedition ones---and the vast majority of them (nearly all of them, in fact) show only Door-to-Door prices. I initially liked the D2D concept, but I've become disillusioned with the frequent horror stories on this board of terrible Silversea flight routes, poor pre- and post-cruise hotels, chaotic transfers, etc. Is Port-to-Port going away? Will Silversea negotiate Port-to-Port prices on an individual basis? I'd rather do everything other than the cruise itself on my own, but SS seems to be discouraging that.

I'm a big football (soccer) fan, and I've learned not to expect any matches on TV on any cruise line, no matter how "big" the game. If the World Cup is important to you (as it is to me), don't get on a ship during the tournament. You might be pleasantly surprised, but it's a risk I wouldn't take.

Early season is, in my opinion, the best time to see Alaska. Yes, it's going to be colder than in July or august, but there will be fewer crowds and fewer kids. You'll have a great time!

@shippmates I wish more people had your optimism, enthusiasm, and courage. Keep cruising as long as you can. Jim

@RichSD We're four-star with HAL (which means we've been on quite a few cruises with them), and our travel agent has always requested "late seating, table for two," and we've always gotten that confirmed at the time of booking. On embarkation day, I still go to the dining room shortly after boarding to see exactly where "our" table is, and if it's in a bad location I go and see the maitre 'd to see if something better is available. My understanding, though, is that on most sailings the early dining fills up more quickly, so there may not be as much flexibility on HAL's or the maitre 'd's part.

@Se1lad I can't answer your question directly, but I'm a big football (soccer) fan and I wouldn't get on any cruise ship during the World Cup, given that the games are so important for me. Satellite TV reception is unpredictable at sea, and in some places nonexistent. We were on the QE this past July and August during the Women's Euro Cup, and not a single one of the games---including the England-Germany final---was available anywhere on the ship. To add to the frustration, there were daily announcements that the games would be shown live in the Golden Lion, and then you'd go there and the TV screens would all say "Programming Unavailable." Enjoy the games at home.