OhState1

I was on this cruise as well. It was my first and last cruise ever.  I'll never hand over control of my vacation like that again.  Missing ports and largely terrible tours.  Not to mention the naked passenger on his balcony as we all returned to the ship in Le Verdon (actually, that was one of the highlights of the trip. My MIL kept trying to guess the identity of the gent everywhere we went after that!) Much more entertaining than the Jenga, I must admit. 🙂

9 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

i will amend my prior post with this.

If there is a bank nearby in a port, take your passport with you and get your Euros there. You will get the best exchange rate at a bank.

Terri

They took our passports when we embarked. Said they needed them because we end up in the UK.  I think we will use an ATM ashore to get the additional euros we need for our tours.  I like the idea of using dollars to pay off at least part of our onboard bill.   
 

Tonight is the Captain’s reception so free drinks from 6-8. Just need to fit dinner in there sometime.  

Our FIL just gave us a not insubstantial amount of US cash to use on board.  
1.  Do we take it to reception and ask to have it applied to our account?
2.  Can we convert it to Euros on board?  Is the exchange rate typically decent?  We have a private tour vendor we can pay in euros in Bilbao.  

3.  Or something else you can think of based on your experience.

it’s in the safe for now, which doesn’t seem like the best use.  
 

First cruise for us, day 1, at sea. Thanks!

There is a passport office in Miami.  You can make an appointment within 5 days of travel.  I think they issue them on the spot.  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies/miami.html

My FIL has injured his back and has to opt our of his previously scheduled shore excursion (too vigorous).  All the other shore excursions are booked, so he can't join ours - except our TA says we can book the private vehicle shore excursion.  This is in Bilbao, by the way.  I am wondering how the guides are with the private vehicle excursions if anyone has any experience.  What else should we know before booking that?  I've got an email in to Spain Day Tours, but they don't have a full trip yet.  We depart on Wednesday, so I hope we can wrap this up before we leave.  Thanks!

Lots of discussion in this thread - 

42 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Not enough information. Is the cruise in the heat of the summer? Will you and your SO need showers to clean up? How about hair? 
 

Getting back at 5:15 means you’re in your cabin by maybe 5:30. I drip dry quickly, not so myDW. I wouldn’t book anything earlier than 7:00!

We will be on a tour bus returning from Bordeaux to Le Verdon for the last 1.5 hours of the tour in late May. If it’s hot, I hope the transit is air conditioned.  

Rookie follow up question: If I have an excursion allegedly returning @ 5:15, will this allow enough time to make our 6:30 booking?  It seems reasonable, but I've not cruised before where this might be an issue, so I thought I'd check for some real life experience. Thanks.

13 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

What time zone? If Eastern guess that would be 9:01 Pacific?

 

Eastern.  I believe I read elsewhere that the HQ is in Miami, thus the eastern time zone.  

1 hour ago, flyer79 said:

We have 3 couple traveling together.  One of the couples is in a suite but not the other 2.  Can the suite couple book dining for the 6 of us at their dining date?

 

Thanks!

 

I was able to book tables for 3 couples last night.  You need their booking number and first/last names.  Select invite others, add their info, then find the restaurant/times available. 

1 minute ago, Sujormik said:

Are you on Marina 6/21-7/1?

Riviera 5/22 - 6/1.  Today is 45 days out. We're on the 8th deck. Veranda Stateroom (B1).

Thanks everyone for the guidance.  I logged on at 12:01 this morning and secured tables for 6 in all of the specialty restaurants at the time we hoped for, if not the exact dates we wanted. This board helped immensely.  

When we toured Ireland (non-cruise) we would eat fairly early, then my husband would take his dad back to the hotel while I stayed out with my MIL for the craic.  My husband would return to join us.  May have to implement that strategy again, but maybe he’s a difficult person at sea.  I’m personally highly intrigued by the surf and turf sandwich at the TC, but swap out the turf for bacon to make a lobster BLT.  

I make things like that and my husband ignores it.  He can’t deal with Excel.  Must be a word doc.  I’m stealing that as a template. 🙂

For the sailing regulars here, what times are in most demand?  We will have a party of 6 for the specialty restaurants. One of our group tends to have meltdowns if he isn’t in bed early (maybe he’ll be better behaved with others, but when it is just family, not so much).  We were hoping to secure 6:30 slots to ensure smooth sailing, so to speak. Would a group table work?  Maybe we can induce him to take a nap….

Not certain if it applies to your port, but we are in the BVIs and the northern swells are bad this year.  We sometimes have 1-2 days when it is too rough to get in the warmer, but it has been almost every week this trip.  This is the beach next to The Baths.  It got worse.  Tomorrow and the next day are supposed to have 7’+ swells.   
https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/virgin_gorda_yacht_harbour_british_virgin_islands_british_virgin_islands/birdseye

Sitting out under the stars at seas is one of the best things we did on our Galapagos cruise. Where is the best stargazing spot aboard Riviera? Somewhere where the lights on deck won’t overwhelm the stars.  I’ve read about people dining on the Terrace Cafe under the stars, but that isn’t quite the same as dark skies for stargazing.   

The BVI port authority posts cruise schedules, including what dock and arrival departure times.  https://bviports.org/cruise-schedule/. Depending on when your cruise is, you may need to scroll a bit.  

Speedy’s has day excursions to the Baths.  https://www.bviferries.com/the-baths-excursions

They have other excursions as well, but most people go for the Baths.  We stay at a resort next to the Baths (Spring Bay) and generally avoid the Baths the days the cruise ships are in town.  Spring Bay is a lovely beach, popular with locals. For little tykes, the Crawl at Spring Bay is a small boulder enclosed shallow area - good for a dip when the northern swells make swimming difficult (high surf advisories occur - they fly a red or yellow caution flag when conditions are rough). The Top of The Baths has a pool (it’s a pretty good restaurant/bar).  A few feet away is my favorite lunch spot - Mad Dogs.  Very good drinks and famous for the BLT.  New owners after Hurricane Irma, but we still love it.  

 

3 hours ago, WAshgirl said:

Oceania also cancelled one of our excursions without any sort of notification. In my opinion this is very unprofessional. They should at least give passengers the courtesy of a cancellation email. Fingers crossed no more surprises with our current excursions. 

This happened to us as well.  I noticed that I had an excursion missing. If they notified the TA, she didn’t pass it along.  I pulled up the list of excursions, and there were a two new ones that had not been on the list before, and the one we had booked was gone (no San Sebastián).  Glad we caught it.  
 

There is a fair amount if information on this board:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

Related question: are shows the type you can sneak out of if you decide it isn’t for you? Just sit in the back, then discreetly depart? I’m not convinced they are something I’d enjoy based on the descriptions so far, but would be interested in checking them out. 

French fry related - can you get a spicy or garlicky aioli instead of catsup with the fries? I dislike catsup/ketchup.  Even plain mayo with some Tabasco to make my own would suffice. 

Most certainly my FIL will finish quickly and head to his room. He can’t stay up past 8.  We stay up a bit later , as does the MIL.  Will be an interesting experience.  

Shoe string fries are delicious, but I will always choose curly fries if given the choice.  Haven’t been on my first cruise yet, so I don’t know what I’ll be able to find.