LisaDee

17 hours ago, RichardPTV said:

My wife and I really enjoyed Michael as well. We were on the Mars for the Panama Canal transit over Christmas & New Year and have another trip on the Mars scheduled for April. We're hoping he'll still be on board then.

Michael was disembarking at the end of our cruise to go back home, I’m not sure how long he has off.  He recently got married so was excited to return to see his wife.  On the 2nd to last night he headlined the 9pm show in the Star Theater.  The band backed him up and he played both acoustic and electric guitar with songs from Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Cash, Proclaimers and others.  It was fantastic.

It’s so interesting how different people can have very different experiences/preferences.  We are also on board Viking Mars, currently enjoying a beautiful sea day as we sail toward our delayed stop in Cozumel.  I’ve really enjoyed the guitarist Michael and the genre of music he plays (acoustic singer-songwriters from the 1970s mixed in with bands like the Beatles and few more modern singers).  My spouse and I are happy to sip our drinks quietly as we enjoy the music and sea view so the music volume doesn’t bother us.  We haven’t had a problem getting drinks in Explorer Lounge even at the busy before-dinner hour.  

We’ve mostly eaten at World Cafe.  The line stretches out the door of the Restaurant at busy dinner times so we stopped going.  We’ve enjoyed Manfredi’s but at Chef’s Table the food was lukewarm and is just not our cup of tea although it seems we’re in the minority since others love it.   

Our biggest complaint was yesterday after returning from our excursion in Belize the World Cafe had already closed for lunch.  We were starving and our only lunch option (other than room service which takes 30 minutes during non-busy times) was the Pool Grill.  The line was very long, stretching along the pool deck.  It was confusing who was in line for the Grill and who was just using the salad bar, with people jumping the line from the salad bar into the longer Grill line.  The guys behind the grill were working so hard and getting food out as quickly as they could but they really needed some management staff to organize the lines.  Better yet, Viking should have anticipated the high demand for lunch as large groups arrived back on board via the tenders and they should have kept World Cafe open until after the last tenders returned.

Overall we’re very happy with Viking and will continue to include them when considering cruise options.  Our cabin (a PV, plenty of room and great storage) and the public spaces are spotless and beautifully decorated.  

We wish they had more varied itineraries in the Caribbean.  We cruise this region every winter and like to visit a variety of ports so I think next year we’ll try another line since we’ve done both the West Indies and Canal itineraries already.

3 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

According to Windy, it was windy there today.  Around 20 knots gusting higher.  Is Roatan a tender port?

Nope, they dock in Roatan.  Thanks for the info about the wind, that must have been the issue.

I’ve been following Viking Mars since we’re boarding the next voyage and it looks like it sailed close to Roatan but passed it by.  Anyone onboard who knows why it was skipped?

2 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Sounds like your first flight is "domestic"...flying within Europe, so you can get to the airport 90 minutes prior to your flight and be fine.

Good to know, thanks; yes, we fly to Lisbon first then onward to US.  The nonstops (United and ITA) leave too early unfortunately.

We did this itinerary in Feb 2022 and enjoyed it so much we’re doing it again in Feb 2025.  My only complaint is that it was so busy, I wish it were a day or two longer with a couple sea days.  We did excursions in every port but next time we’ll stay on board in St. Thomas which we’ve been to many times and maybe one other port TBD.  

For the person asking about excursions….

We did the “free”/included excursions in San Juan (good but required walking uphill and on uneven pavement so it wouldn’t work for some), Tortola (not good, we should have stayed on the ship) and Antigua (really good, we learned a lot from the guide, there were gorgeous views from Shirley Heights and we enjoyed seeing Nelson’s Dockyard.)

We did paid excursions in St Lucia (catamaran to Ladera; very pricey but amazing views of the Pitons and so memorable, we still talk about it), St Kitts (catamaran to Nevis; this was great, the crew were really fun and the views of Nevis peak from the beach was gorgeous), Barbados (photography excursion; it was fine to see the sites but too many people, he didn’t really teach much), Dominica (snorkeling the “champagne” reef; very cool experience to do once but getting back into the boat from the water was a challenge), St. Martin (Viking catamaran excursion; it was fine but we have preferred our many speed boat trips with “Captain Bob”, unfortunately it wasn’t an option because Viking wasn’t allowing private excursions at the time due to covid) and St Thomas (catamaran to 2 snorkel sites, one a shipwreck which we could barely see and the 2nd with turtles which was awesome but the water was rough that day).

We are disembarking in Civitavecchia and have an 11am flight from FCO (was originally 1pm but got moved to the earlier time, geez thanks TAP 😡!)  We are flying business class which should help speed things up at the airport but I’m a nervous flier and prefer to get to the airport well in advance of departure so this is making me nervous.

My plan is to do self disembark with a private car service to the airport.  We are fine with carrying our luggage down the ship stairs but we will be with my parents who would struggle.  We will help get their bags down to the gangway, my question is about navigating the port area once we leave the ship…is there a building with stairs/escalators we need to navigate through to get to the car pickup area?  How close do the car services get to the ships, will we be walking a long distance to reach them?  If it makes a difference we’ll be on Odyssey of the Seas.  

Thanks!

7 minutes ago, Grimix said:

The way I read it is she is planning on going solo either way. She is essentially ready to pay the single supplement, and was wanting to use her soon-to-be-expiring friend's FCC to take some more money off the fare. If I'm wrong I'll slink away quietly... 🙂

Yes, exactly.  I’m going solo but if I book my friend in my cabin I can use her voucher (that she will never use) to cover half the cabin cost.  Otherwise, I’d have to pay the solo supplement and it would cost me my voucher plus another $1K for the solo supplement.  Any downsides or risks that I’m missing?  Thanks!

4 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Guest 2 will get refunded port taxes, fees, gratuities on Free at Sea, other purchased items. But, Guest 2 still pays 100% of their cruise fare. So, If the cruise fare was $1000 (regardless on how it was paid for - cash + voucher), you guest 2 still lose $1000. You pay for the room, even if you don't show up to sleep in it. 

I understand that the cruise fare for guest 2 is forfeited, but she was going to let the voucher expire anyways.  I just wanted to make sure they wouldn’t then make ME (guest 1) fork over more money when she doesn’t show up.

Edit to add: the cruise fare is about = voucher so I’m not out any extra cash.

My friend and I each have nontransferrable vouchers from a late price drop.  They are expiring soon.  My friend isn’t able to sail before the expiration date.  My question is, if I book a cruise for the two of us sharing a cabin with the 2 vouchers and she doesn’t show up, will there be any financial impact to me?  In other words, am I able to get around the nontransferrable aspect of the voucher this way?  I’m looking for solo rates but haven’t found any good ones other than guarantee Oceanview cabins which I don’t want.  Will the cabin still be charged the free at sea gratuities and port charges for the 2nd guest if she doesn’t show up?

Thanks!

We would love port stops in Maine (Portland, Bar Harbor) on the NYC-Montreal route instead of 2 days each in NYC and Boston.

In my next life I want to come back as a beautiful writer & lawyer & mom who cruises as frequently and fabulously as @GenerationX 😁

This is the one we’re planning to book, I’ve read good reviews on this company.

https://www.italytours.eu/shore-excursions/naples-shore-excursions/pompeii-sorrento-positano/

If it fits your schedule I’d highly recommend the 8-hour Northwestern Fjord tour with either Kenai Fjord Tours or Major Marine.  It travels farther than the tours that stay within Resurrection Bay and the scenery and wildlife sightings are amazing.  We saw humpback, orca, puffins, bald eagles and more.  You motor up to a calving glacier in a gorgeous bay with sea lions floating on the ice.   It was one of the most memorable excursions we’ve ever taken.  Geez, the memories are flooding back, I need to book another Alaska trip!!

I saw the email and went to the website link but I’m not clear on how being co-captains will work.  Do you think they’ll relieve each other when the other is on vacation, so they’re each like 3 months on / 3 months off or will they both be there at the same time?

On 1/19/2023 at 9:11 AM, GenerationX said:

Dear Poseidon, what have I gotten myself into with this cruise?

You are a gem of a writer 💫

As a fellow happily married woman who occasionally enjoys traveling solo, as well as a fellow lover of good food and adult beverages, I hope our paths cross on a cruise some day!

We did drop off here in late October before our cruise.  It's a very small building, not big enough for the volume of business they do.  There was a separate line for drop offs to the right side of the counter, it's not well marked, just a hand written sign.  Drop off was quick (we had all our paperwork filled out and arrived early, maybe 9am?) but there were a lot of people milling about outside waiting to be picked up to either go to the airport or for those of us embarking that day, catching the Budget shuttles to the port.  Their port shuttles were specific to each ship so make sure you ask the driver which ship they're going to.  Be prepared to wait up to 30 minutes in the heat.

Good luck!  It will work out fine but I know it's always stressful on boarding day, so many logistics to worry about.  Have a great cruise!

20 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Taxis are easy because they will be lined up and move out quickly.

Thanks, Bruce, we will go with the taxi this trip!

Would a normal taxi be a better choice at Port Everglades vs an Uber or Lyft?  I recall our last trip from that port it was a bit of a cluster finding our Uber.  I really wish there were shuttles like Go Port at Port Canaveral which was so easy.  Our flight isn’t until 1:30pm so we aren’t in a rush to disembark.

(editing to add, this is for Pier 25 where the Celebrity Edge class ships sail from)

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

That said, I have found that LeBistro is the safest choice for a good steak (so far).

On our recent Getaway cruise we had a lovely meal at Le Bistro.  A few days later when we had reservations at Cagneys my husband asked if we could just go back to Le Bistro because he loved the beef ternderloin there so much.  We changed the reservation and it was just as good the 2nd time (I’m more of a pescatarian and enjoyed the Dover sole both times.)

On the Getaway recently I enjoyed the rotating lunch selection of noodle soups.  There were pre-portioned bowls of rice noodles and usually some veggie like thin cabbage or mushrooms which they would dunk briefly in boiling water to reheat and then add broth (chicken, beef, spicy Thai depending on the day) plus meat and garnishes based on your preference.  

On 11/8/2022 at 6:17 AM, dexddd said:

Don't worry, the classy letter from the concierge, at lest on our last trip, he pointed out he and butlers were not part of the tip pool.

Yea, we got that letter this week.  Not only was it tacky on the part of the concierge, but the butler handed us the letter and made a point of taking it out of the envelope and pointing out that sentence to us.  Wasn’t a good look.

I’m usually an eggs Benedict girl, with a side of hash browns and sautéed mushrooms.  But then I had the Creole Omelet in The Restaurant for breakfast one day and it was so yummy.  It’s served with a tomatillo type verde sauce and plantain chips.  I had to add that one to the daily rotation!

13 hours ago, photopro2 said:

Are there any port arrivals on the West Indies Explorers cruise that are known for being more/less photogenic than others?

My vote is for Tortola because of the many smaller surrounding islands as you sail in.

8 hours ago, kmmdw said:

? On excursions -  we are going in December 2022 -

Do Catamaran’s have bathroom?

 

The two rainforest excursions say they are strenuous.  I can walk 3 miles easily, but not good with ‘slipper slopes.’   I can go successfully.. I don’t mind sitting out a bit.

 

Anyone go on the UTV tour?  We drive them all the time, so know about how to handle them.

Regarding bathrooms, we did 4 Viking excursions on catamarans in Feb 2022 - in St. Kitts, St. Maarten, St. Thomas & St. Lucia and they all had bathrooms.  I can’t help on your other questions, hopefully others will chime in.