scottjeanne

I second the excellent information comment.  It is a rabbit hole though- I spent the better part of a day enjoying the post.

Suites on diamond deck has some additional perks such as dinner at the Table le Rive for a sumptuous degustation experience.  I think there is early embarkation and other perks, but I don't remember what they are.

We have only sailed a river cruise with Crystal, so I cannot compare it to another line. We were booked on Scenic last summer, but they cancelled due to covid.  It was very difficult to get a refund from them. We did Crystals ocean cruises and found they were a very different product.  The river cruise excelled.  

One comment that no one has mentioned is the bathrooms.  This may sound funny, but they have "smart" toilets in the cabins.  You enter the bathroom, the toilet lid goes up (even if you are just brushing your teeth).  The bowl is lit with colors and the seat is heated.  It has a built in bidet.  The lights in the room go on and off automatically.  At first this is a bit disconcerting, but it is easy to get used to.

On embarkation day, we arrived at the airport.  Crystal greeted us at the gate, got our luggage and helped us through customs.  They whisked us right on to the bus (which seats 60) with another couple and we were off-no waiting for a full bus.  When we got to the ship, they immediately escorted us on board and to our cabin.  They did the check in there in the cabin.  Each cabin has its own ipad for menus, itineraries etc.  

There were umbrellas, binoculars (in each cabin) and lovely wool lap robes for all-which was good as it was chilly and rainy on our voyage.

Overall, we were very pleased and have a future cruise booked for Summer 2022.

There is a company called lets roam which does city wide scavenger hunts if this is something your family enjoys.

Good news.  Please keep sharing.  We have plans to disembark in Buenos Aires next March 2022, God willing.

I have flexible flights booked with flight ease for this cruise and I just went in and I am able to view/change them right now.  I am happy with the flight times and prices.  Much better than I could find on my own or by using mileage/points.

Private guides, hmm.  Lets see if that is possible next spring when we go.  Private tours are our preference also, but it may not be an option going forward.  Especially in South America, which is a hot mess right now.

Kayaking on the Quest in Antarctica has a cost, as does the tours in South America.

17 hours ago, Jacko said:

Please try to donate to the "Crew Fund"

On 4/23/2021 at 8:22 AM, mrscrab said:

The one thing you cannot do with your OBC is donate it to the crew welfare fund. SS does not allow this and are very firm about it.

One  post seems to contradict the other??

We went to Egypt right after the Arab Spring uprising.  There were very few tourists.  The tour guides, hotels and restaurants were vying over the few tourists.  We had a marvelous time and it was very inexpensive.  The only issue we had was when a verdict concerning Mubarak announced when we were in Alexandra.  The guides kept us away from any riots or protestors.   Petra is amazing.  It would be nice to enjoy it with a limited amount of tourists. 

Ultrarunner, which cruise are you on?  We are on the February 24, 2022 voyage.  

We are scheduled to do the Antarctica trip in February 2022, from Santiago to Buenos Aires.  I am really hoping it is a go, even if they have to change the disembarkation location.  But the news for South America is bleak at best.  Sigh.

My Antarctica cruise ends in Brazil.  I am hoping it still may go (February 2022).  I am so looking forward to it, but I can see how it is still very tentative.

I was booked with Scenic for the cruise and Oberammergau play last summer.  I had to fight hard, but I did get a full refund.  I am rebooked for next July, but I chose Crystal this time.  I am holding off on further plans and bookings (we are touring Belgium and Munich) until it gets closer.  I did not have travel insurance and I had booked all my plans independently so It took alot of effort to get everything refunded.

You mentioned traveling on other lines.  Scenic does the same Rhine trip but it is from Amsterdam to Zurich, so transfers are included.  And the cruise fares are comparable, as it the product.

12 hours ago, F19810 said:

I'm at Pop Century next week and in June. I do love the Animal Kingdom lodge  (love the animals and  the displays throughout the hotel) and the restaurants there are among my favorites. I have serious doubts that Egypt will be happening this year. I can't cancel because I will lose the insurance but if I wait for them to cancel, I will get the money back.  I think European trips will happen by the fall and maybe southeast asia, but Egypt???????  By the time they cancel the trip, it will be to late in the season to go anywhere, except WDW!  The biggest issue will be if they don't cancel the trip and I don't feel comfortable going, then I will lose the insurance again.

I am sorry to hear that you will lose the Egypt trip.  It was amazing.  I went with 8 others in my family. We arranged a private trip. The drivers and guides were phenomenal.  We went in 2014 after  the Arab spring.  There were no tourists.  The tour guides were so hungry for tourism.  They did not want tips, they wanted Trip Advisor recommendations.  And it was so cheap.  We stayed at 5 star hotels, did hot air balloon rides, a river cruise, an overnight train and so much more.  Including food and all accommodations, it was less than $100 per day per person.

On 2/26/2021 at 1:53 PM, kimanjo said:

 

I helped a friend yesterday, using getmyvaccine.org.   She had been struggling with the same site as you for weeks.. Web sites written by regular people shouldn't be better than state/county but, they are.  I got her a next day appointment. Give it a try! And buy the guy a cup of coffee if it works out for you!

Thank you so much for the link to this website.  Maryland is a hot mess-no centralized registration sites.  I have been eligible for a month and have worked for hours every day to secure a slot.  Yesterday, with the help of this website I got an appointment for dose one tomorrow and two in a month.  Thank you Thank you Thank you.

This snow art is incredible.

www.today.com/video/meet-the-snow-artist-creating-incredible-works-of-art-with-his-feet-77

We have rebooked the trip this weekend for July 2022. I am cautiously optimistic about it being able to go with the vaccines.  We decided to book even with the uncertainty as cruise cabins and play tickets are going fast.  We still decided to book the play independently as the savings was $5000 to $7000.  We will be on Crystal and we were able to apply the $1000 admin fee we were charged when we cancelled the first time.

This was posted on Trips Advisor yesterday:

This was sent to me from Trip Advisor.  Not good news.

This was just sent to me from Tripadvisor:

Just an off topic question.  Can one use more than one $250 OBC per cruise?

Every 10 years, the small city of Oberammergau Germany does a passion play.  It is a really big event.  I was scheduled for 2020, but has been postponed to 2022.  It runs from May to October.  Some of the river cruise are including this event.  If you are interested, it would be awesome.  If you are not interested, be aware this could impact your travels.

Colony Girl 2, we are on the same cruise next February.  I hope it is a go.  It is the third one we have had scheduled with the first two cancelled by the Covid restrictions.  I cannot wait.