kent9xxx1

21 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

 

You can't keep a good bug down, yup confinement and having someone with it isn't a good thing, but better than that spreader released into the wild most certainly returning home thru an airport then airplane and think of the spreading than!  Got to keep them on the ship as long as you can, til their is rioting and then release them, and there still will be most certain a bug hitching a ride. 

I don't mean letting them run back home, but isn't it better to quarantine them on land instead of confined space where the chance of them getting infected is much higher.  This is nuts, 61 people getting infected.  Just you watch, in a few more days, probably a lot more people will be infected, just by sitting in their cabin.  

21 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

From what I have read, that is unlikely. The safest thing for the rest of the world is that these people who are known to have been in contact with an infected person, be kept in quarantine until they are clear. At the moment, the time frame is believed to be 14 days from contact.

SARS and coronavirus are the same family.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16696450

CDC at the moment doesn't know for sure how it is spreading, and can only rely on previous coronavirus outbreak to guess what will happen, it seems.

The longer they keep all of them on the ship, the more likely all of them will get infected.  Wasn't that the case with SARS a few years ago?  Someone from 1 of the buildings got it, then the whole building got quarantined, then almost everyone in the building got it.  Virus is airborne and can go through the vent from one room to another, right?

My agent told me the info will be available when I board the ship.  This is one area where Crystal is better than Uniworld.  I can pick and choose all the excursions way a head of time on Crystal.  I cannot find any adequate information Uniworld.  

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

so you still have not told us what brand  proper top shelf is  in your opinion??

You quoted at least one of my posts which I said what is top shelf.  

4 hours ago, wripro said:

Just NO back to you. I never said the same dealer offered all those car brands. I was comparing the level of quality. 

 

And if you are not happy with the top shelf liquor on luxury lines just don't sail them. I wonder,r if I were a guest in your home what brands do you stock to offer?

It's not an either or issue here.  Just because I don't like their inclusive drinks doesn't mean I don't like the whole thing and cannot sail with them.  I can get around it by paying and/or bringing my own and I did that last time I was on Crystal.  

Do you really believe Hendricks and the likes are top shelf liquor?  My guests always get proper top shelf.  🙂 

2 hours ago, wripro said:

This discussion is pretty much the same as cars. Is a Mercedes a top shelf car? Is a BMW? An Audi? A Lexus?

 

But then there are Rolls Royces and Bentleys which are even on a higher shelf. That doesn't mean the ficstgroup is  not top shelf.

Just no.  Which car lot do you see offering RR & Bentley & Audi & Mercedes at the same time? 0.  

Which bar offers top shelf liquors and bottle shelf liquor?  All of them.  And those free ones from luxury cruises are not top shelf, not anywhere near top shelf by any standard.  

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

sorry I am not really  a drinker   but do you mean the liquor on the top shelf of the  bar is better quality  ?

I thought it was the brand & quality of  the spirits that made it better or "top shelf"

just curious

For any decent bar, liquor on the top shelf of the bar is top shelf liquor.  And yes, brand & quality made it top shelf.  And usually tied with high price because of the brand and quality.  

These guys tried to argue that hendrick's gin is top shelf.  It is not.  Or Oban is top shelf.  It is also not.

Luxury cruises offer free drinks, not free top shelf drinks. 

46 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

What do you consider top shelf?

DH likes his XO cognac

You can look at what Crystal considers top shelf.  You can go to any bar and look at the top shelf.  That is top shelf.  Very clear what is and what isn't.  I personally don't care for JW Blue, and it wouldn't be on my top shelf at home, but that doesn't mean it isn't top shelf.  

4 hours ago, wripro said:

 

And most first class international tickets cost more for ten hours than a 14 day cruise on the luxury lines. That makes it much easier to offer those brands you see to covet so much. 

 

And if you want those brands it;s you had better pay up, not them. They are available onboard for purchase and you'd still come out far far far far far ahead.

Are you quoting refundable fare?  I have never paid for any international first class in 10 hours more than cruises.  

For example, when CMB to USA OW in Emirates F was going for 2k, I used that to make a trip out of the Maldives.  Or getting back from the safari using Emirates F is also very cheap.  JNB to USA RT was going for less than 5k.  that is 40 hours+ in F for 5k.  

You just have to be flexible with airfare as with cruises.  

I concur.  Miss the IC Bdx & the caneles from that same bakery.  The hotel bar was pouring Haut Bailly 2012 by the glass for like 14 euro.  Crazy deal.  

If you have one free afternoon & evening, go to Smith Haut Lafitte for a tour & tasting, then go to the restaurant La Grand Vigne for dinner.  The experience is very nice begin to end.  Certainly better than anything on the ship by at least a magnitude in term of food and wine and very reasonably priced.  

On 1/30/2020 at 9:39 AM, wripro said:

Not true. The luxury lines all offer top shelf alcohol. Maybe not Johnny Walker Blue or XO Cognacs but if you consider what they do offer swill then your palette is much more sophisticated than mine.

So if the stuff they are offering is top shelf, what shelf is the johnny walker blue in?  

I've seen Crystal top shelf, I can guarantee you you aren't getting any of those for free.  This is indisputable.  Top shelf means top shelf.  It's not about sophisticated palate or not.  

If luxury cruises want to pretend like they are equivalent to first class in airlines, they better pay up.  No first class offers less than Johnny Walker Blue.  

None of them have top shelf alcohol in my opinion.  

And that's the point.  Luxury to some, not luxury to others.  Top shelf to some, swill to me.  🙂  

9 hours ago, Roz said:

Checked again this morning, and it looks like the 100th anniversary sale has been extended thru Feb. 29, 2020.  Looks like Uniworld isn't going to release the 2020 itineraries until the 2020 inventory is sold. 😩

 

On another subject, I wonder what, if anything, they're going to do with U  River Cruises?  I have no idea how they're doing financially.  Their cruises and onboard experience rather intrigue me. 

That U by Uniworld is baffling.  They gave free cruises to a lot of influencers.  You can find all kind of review on youtube.  It is strange to see so many people on instagram all at once.  

Anyway, when do you get to select excursions on Uniworld?  I cannot find this information anywhere.  I don't know what the schedule is like.  

On Crystal, you can do it online as soon as you made the final payment.

59 minutes ago, herbanrenewal said:

My agent at alphaflightguru (not a consolidator who sells FFmiles) has saved me from 300 to over 1000 for each trip he booked over any deal i could find with extensive searching. When we flew to New Zealand and returned from Sydney Australia our business/first class tickets were less than economy class could have cost us. I think the important thing is being comfortable enough to thoroughly look at possibilities. When i fly to Brazil next month my credit card concierge came up with the best deal - free with accumulated points.

Do you earn miles with the booking from alphaflightguru?

Anyway, it happens frequent enough that it doesn't make sense to do it anymore.  You could be at the airport with denied boarding.

44 minutes ago, RDAJ23 said:

What about Provence?  Has anyone done Lyon to Arles?  We are considering this itinerary for 2020.  We did Bordeaux in 2015 on Uniworld.  We had a great time but we traveled on buses quite a bit due to the water levels.  Love Uniworld though. Now actually considering AMA.  Any suggestions are very appreciated!

 

Robin

Unlike Bordeaux, it is much harder to get proper tasting in Burgundy or Chateauneuf du Pape.  The experience is not nearly the same.  Burgundy, the ones you want to go to don't want to host because they can sell every single bottle they make.  And they rather spend their time making wine, doing their vineyard work, etc... The ones that let you in are mostly scam.  

In CdP, even top tier producer like Domaine du Pegau tasting room looks like a cheap rental studio with a small kitchenette.  

I think it's best to grab a few good CdP bottles to take with you, and have them on board.  

13 minutes ago, Roz said:

I'm bored so thought I'd check Uniworld's website again.  Nada.  AMA seems to have their full complement of 2021 itineraries available.  Wonder what the holdup is with Uniworld?  

Yesterday they removed the sale for 2020.  Today, they put it back in.  

I think there is a price ceiling they crossed a while back and having trouble filling their ship now.  

4 hours ago, bubbulz said:

The only extras I remember from the wine list were for high end champagnes, and I drink solely red wine. As far as other exclusions, I asked my husband what he recalled and he mentioned some single malt scotches. 
 

That said, we never had a bar bill. 

Do you remember the standard champagne they serve?  

5 hours ago, Roz said:

I've never seen a wine list. Unless it's something very high end it's included.  Same for liquor.  Bummer about the referral discount. Did you book through an agent or direct with Uniworld?

Through an agent who combined some form of OBC + Amex plat OBC + referral discount for me.  

One thing I want to point out is there are a lot more options for excursion on the Danube (Mozart) compare to the Rhine (Bach)

When I was on the Mozart, each day, in the morning, we have 3 choices, in the afternoon, 3 choices, or 2 choices for the full day.  On the Bach, each day, in the morning, 2 choices or 1 choice, afternoon, 2 choices or 1 choice.  Rare to see 1 full day option.  

I wonder if Crystal is cutting cost (but I did both in 2019) or there are less to do on the Rhine.  

Will be trying Uniworld in a few months after 2 very good Crystal river cruises.  

The booking experience and getting the referral applied is painful.  Btw, since I booked the 30% off sale, they also took 30% out of the referral.  $70 instead of $100.  

I will keep an open mind and hopefully like it. I need some other option for markets not served by Crystal.  

Does anyone have the inclusive wine list on Uniworld?  TIA

4 hours ago, Roz said:

 

Agree with you 100%. I think some people believe it's going to be garish, but that's obviously not the case.

My SO thinks it is garish.  We prefer modern style, but for a week, what is the harm?

2449 is due to their big sale.  I think in general, the price is creeping up in 2021.  I hope the standard is at least better.

9 hours ago, Roz said:

A few days ago I was on the website of an online travel agency, and stumbled across some of Uniworld's itineraries for 2021, specifically Holland & Belgium tulip cruises, Italy, France, China and the Nile.  Interestingly enough, this same information isn't available on Uniworld's own website.  So apparently this information is available to TAs if anyone is interested.  

How is the price compare to 2020 for these itineraries?  

4 hours ago, pontac said:

 

Bearing in mind you'd already paid for the wines on board - what wines of your own did you bring?

A few vintages of Montrose and a Cliff Lede Poetry.