scottjeanne

Just back from the Antarctic cruise.  We had our own boots and they are as clean (or cleaner) than when we bought them.  They are so fussy, with good reason, about sanitizing the boots, especially in South Georgia.  We used a push pin and a paper clip to remove every seed spore or speck of dirt or organic material.  There is a hefty fine if the ship is caught bringing any cross contamination ashore.  No worries about taking stinky messy boots home.

We were on the cruise that followed this disastrous one.  I can confirm that at least half the crew, 16 our of 24 expedition members, the future cruise director  and the entertainment director all had covid.  Those left standing struggled to provide services for the passengers.  

Though it does not help those on the previous cruise, we did not have any covid outbreaks and the crew could not do enough for us.  We saw more this cruise than  they had seen all season.  So I am hesitant to slam Silverseas.  I am fully aware their corporate offices are poor at communication.  But I have to say the onboard staff was superb.

We stopped at Cape Horn last month.  Very rocky Zodiac ride too and from but the expedition crew was superb.  Out of ten times around the horn this season, they said this was only the second time they could get to land.  No guarantees.

Yes, it used to be a Sheraton.  Lovely property.

I would second the advice on having a guide.  We actually ended up with two guides and a driver for three of us.  They facilitated the transfer from Argentina to Brazil and then Brazil to Argentina.  I definitely recommend seeing both sides,  the view from your hotel room at Melia is well worth it.  We booked it as an extension from the cruise line.  The cost was very reasonable.  Two nights at Alvear Palace, one night at Melia, airfare, transfers, all meals, Buenos Aires city tour, covid tests, all for $1736 per person.

Just got back from a Silverseas 29 day Antarctic/South Georgia cruise.  No cases among passengers or crew.

13 hours ago, Accessor said:

We called both TA and SS to confirm the bookings were linked. When we got both cabin assignments and realized they were diff we immediately contacted our TA. She claimed that SS won't do anything after she called and tried for an hour to change them (or so was claimed). I pointed out cabin numbers that were open both legs trying to simplify things....so far nothing has changed.

 

We even called SS directly and got redirected back to our TA. We are going to keep trying...was hoping someone at SS notices the post and takes action. It's not like we are asking for better cabins; just same one for both legs.

I have also spoken with Silver seas and my travel agent has also contacted them.  Since the first cabin is an upgrade (verandah versus vista) they will not change us.  The first voyage has no available vistas suites, but the second has plenty of both.

We leave Thursday for a BtoB Antarctica cruise and we are in two different staterooms.  I asked Silverseas to put us in one and they said no.  I will ask again on Sunday when we arrive in Punta Arenas.  We, too  were in a guarantee as this cruise has been  cancelled and rescheduled multiple times, on different ships.

We have been unwittingly on two maiden voyages and one first cruise after a retro fit.  None were Silver Seas.  The Disney inaugural voyage was okay.  They  had not figured out all the stocking issues (ran out of non caffeinated soda, like 7up or Sprite), we had Mary Kate and Ashley on the cruise and they were obnoxious.  On a Holland America inaugural, they had all the bigwigs on board for a short round trip Venice cruise which then sailed on a longer Adriatic cruise.  Some of the events were very cool.  They had a glass wall that we signed with a special pen and is now part of the décor.  They had a bell ringing ceremony on a special platform over the pool with champagne and pictures.

The voyage after the retro fit was a disaster from start to finish.  The construction was not done.  We were held in the pier embarkation lounge for 5 hours while they stocked the ship and cleaned up the construction debris.  The crew had worked overnight and were exhausted.  They threw things everywhere, so some days we had orange juice but no tomato juice.  The next day was the opposite.  There was a raft of norovirus, so there was no buffets.  The entertainers became the servers.  Swine flu hit Mexico, so they canceled all the Mexican ports.  We lost an engine, so they canceled Cartagena so we could make our Panama canal time, but they would not let us through so we reversed and went back to Cartagena.  The pools were closed as they were not finished.  When they finally opened in San Diego, they flooded the dining room below.  One passenger refused to go through passport control in San Diego, so no one could disembark.  Everyone missed their plane except those of us who were staying on until Vancouver.

On the other hand, with mainly sea days and great entertainers, we had an absolutely marvelous 30 day cruise.  They did refund most of the money we paid, it was that bad. It was just a perfect storm.  some of it was due to the fact that it was the first cruise after a retro fit.  some was just other factors that added up to the difficulties.

Not a lot different from today with Covid.  Ha

I had a cruise booked this summer, part of the deposit was a $1000 administration fee that Crystal held from another cancelled cruise.  Is there any chance of getting that back?

The CovPass will not accept my US issued QR code.  I assume I have to have it validity in an EU pharmacy.

Our Vaccine card did not have a QR code when we submitted it in December.  Be sure to submit each dose separately, uploading the same card each time.  Do check with you vaccine card.  Mychart (who is the system that my vaccine is registered with) now has a QR code.  Also many of the pharmacies have begun adding QR codes.  

I live in Maryland.  There are many states and pharmacies that now have a QR code.  It was not on my certificate last month, but all Mychart logins have it now.  

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Remember that having a "flight confirmation" does NOT mean that you are actually ticketed.

 

The six character locator does not indicate ticketing.

 

Only when you have a 13 digit ticket number are you actually ticketed for your flight.

I agree, when we booked the cruise, they gave us flights, but the flights were not yet booked with the airlines.  Ticketed usually occurs 90 days prior.

I was told they book air about 90 days out.  We had our flight confirmation and seats in December for an end of February cruise.

Since we are doing a post extension through the cruise line, I am not sure how far in advance to book. Our cruise disembarks in Buenos Aires.  As of now, I do not think they are allowing cruise ships to do that, so I am not sure whether Iguazu Falls is a go or not.  Buenos Aires is allowing air passengers though, so maybe silver Seas would fly us to Buenos Aires or directly to Iguazu Falls from wherever we disembark. 

On 1/7/2022 at 11:48 AM, notamermaid said:

Oh, that is a very good question. So I checked and there is - in still fitting words at the end of the Christmas season - "Frohe Kunde": Good tidings from Oberammergau in the form of a press release. The participating village folk with speaking roles met yesterday on Epiphany for the first reading of the play texts. In German: https://www.passionsspiele-oberammergau.de/de/news/detail/4ce0d028-6ef8-11ec-94fd-0242ac1b0010

 

By the way, a ticket selling travel operator has gone into administration. Just in case this may apply to you or someone you know, here is the link: https://www.passionsspiele-oberammergau.de/de/news/detail/81457ad3-50f9-11ec-a644-0242ac1b0010

 

Odd news about a big event is coming from Munich. They are contemplating bringing the Oktoberfest forward into Summer! As you may expect there is much criticism of such an idea. But I am not familiar with details of the discussion.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Thank you so much for the information on the Passion Play.  I think I am one of the ones who booked with this company.  Now I am not sure if I have reservations or not. What a mess.  Thanks for the heads up.

Any news on the Passion Play in Oberammergau?  We have tickets for July and hope it is a go, but having thousands of people in one place seems risky at this point.

Our package is still a go.  They have paid for the tickets for the flights, so we have confirmed seats.  We have to jump through hoops to  be allowed into Chile, but I have already started the process.  I am so looking forward to this.  I feel very confident in Silverseas and their protocol.  I am unsure about disembarking in Buenos Aires or Iguazu falls, but we will roll with it.

I believe Allianz does waive the pre-existing clause as long as you obtain the insurance prior to final payment.

Is that 72 hours before the first flight (ours is from Baltimore) or from the second flight (Houston to Santiago)?

14 hours ago, skyhoosier said:

Yes.  I uploaded both my husband's and mine; his came back accepted and mine was rejected.  The next step is to go after 24 hours to the link they provide to get the mobility pass with a QR code.  I find no QR code or mobility pass.  Maybe it needs more than 24 hours?

I applied for the mobility pass this week and I received the acceptance letter in three days.  They said to wait until the next day for the QR code and it appeared just as they said.  I printed out two copies and also have it saved on my phone.  We do not leave for Santiago until February, but I like to  be ahead of the game, given some of the problems others have had.

We have booked a river cruise on the Rhine with Crystal and we are independently going to Oberammergau.  We had this arranged for 2020, but they canceled it.  The cruise is July 4 out of Amsterdam to Basel.  We shall see if it goes.  

We have a booked cruise on Silverseas, February 20 for 29 days-hotels and air is booked.

1 hour ago, mysty said:

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great safe fun day all!

There is a puppet version of the nativity done to Bohemian Rhapsody that is great fun to watch.