CruisinCadie

Thanks for all the information.  I will ask my TA to request one.  He's real good about details like that.

Kathy

As I recall, the last time we sailed Royal we had to request a special medical refrigerator.  That was on Grandeur and we had one of the smaller balcony cabins.  Next summer we will be on Brilliance in a "spacious balcony" cabin.  Do they have refrigerators or will we have to request one?  DH and I both have meds that need to be refrigerated.

Thanks,

Kathy

We have a family trip planned for next summer.  The only group activity we plan is dinner together every night.  They suggested we select either early or late seating rather than anytime dining, so they would be sure of having a large table set for the 9 of us.  Of course, this is a smaller group than the OP has coming, but it would still be easier on the dining room staff if they could plan for a specific time every night.

Kathy 

They were still using the tow boat on the Aug. 16 sailing.  During the pilot house tour, someone asked how much it was costing AQV and the pilot said $12,000/day.  They sure haven't been making any money on these cruises!

On 8/17/2022 at 10:01 PM, bob brown said:

Regarding the Chicago hotel...mentioned was the Hilton Chicago.  Is that the one at 720 S. Michigan?

Hilton has so many properties in Chicago.

I am taking the Ocean Voyager from Chicago to Montreal in 2024.   Does anyone know if AQV uses the same hotels for their River and Great Lakes cruises from Chicago?   I would love it if they used the Hilton property located right on Navy Pier, instead...🙂

Yes, it was the Hilton at 720 S. Michigan, but I don't know if they use the same hotel all the time.  It was a beautiful place and very convenient to parks and museums.

We were on the same sailing.  We had been on the Countess, Cincinnati to Memphis, last May, and this cruise was not as good.   I'll be writing a review in the next few days.  I like the ship and the entertainment was good, but the ports were not as interesting.  As for the "uneventful bus ride," we got stuck sitting at the back of the bus due to mobility issues and both of us were fighting car sickness. So it all depends on your perception.

We'll be on the Chicago city tour on Tuesday.  Anyone else?

Everyone have a safe trip to Chicago.  See you soon.

Kathy

Congratulations to your mother!  Hope we're still cruising at that age.

We'll look forward to seeing all of you.  We were on the Countess last May and had such a good time we decided to go again.  She's a really great ship, very compact and easy to find your way around.

Kathy

When our cruise was cancelled due to Hurricane Ida last year, they promised us a full refund.  We got our money almost immediately on the flight cancellation, but our TA had to bug them several times before we got the cruise refunded.  That was not a total refund, but minus taxes and fees, it came pretty close, so we booked another cruise this past spring.  We talked to some people onboard who had a similar experience and others who were told, "Just pick another cruise because we're not giving you your money back."  Not sure if they had a TA or not.

Kathy

Yes, our TA found out for us.  We're on the same cruise.  See you there.

Kathy

Madison, IN, the Saddletree Factory was fascinating.  The downtown shopping district was fun to explore.  We also stopped at one of the Civil War mansions, but this was on a Wednesday. It was my understanding that the museums would open especially for the cruise ship passengers if the ship were scheduled to be in port.  Since we had a second day there due to high river water, we would have had to pay to visit these places on Thursday.

The fountain was more of a get off the bus, take some photos, and get back on the bus when it comes around again. 

We didn't see the Railroad Museum, but the attached historical society museum was interesting.  We just wanted to be back on the ship in time for lunch and couldn't do everything.

We had so much fun on our recent Countess cruise that we are seriously considering another one in August.  The brochure we got in the mail Friday lists one from Chicago to St. Louis on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.  The first night is a stay at a Chicago hotel, then being bussed to Ottawa the next day to board the ship.  The website says the hotel stay is in Ottawa, which is 80 miles from Chicago.  Does anyone know which is correct?  And if we stay in Chicago, what hotel does AQV use?  I would think we stay in Chicago, since 80 miles is a heck of an expensive taxi or Uber ride from O'Hare.

Thanks,

Kathy

We found you get the best reception in the library, the game room, the chart room.  Probably Perks too.

Isn't the entertainment great?  I assume you have Ian, Eva, and Shaun.  They were wonderful.

Kathy

Have a great trip!

On the Countess, there was a 4-piece ensemble that played in the lounge after the show each night.  I didn't see a dance floor.

Kathy

I think the HOHO drivers are included in the gratuity. They will be the same throughout your trip as the busses follow the boat.  It was recommended that you tip the local guide if you take a premium excursion but no other tips were needed.

Kathy

Just got off the Countess last Monday.  I had trouble connecting to the internet at first but then a fellow passenger said you get the best signal in the front corners of the boat, like the Library and Game Room.  After I connected there, I was able to get internet in my room.  As others have said, service was slow at times, but I was able to check my email daily so I didn't have a ton of messages when we got home.

If anyone has any other questions, I'll try to answer them for you.

The room was larger than I expected and the bathroom was huge.  The bed was comfortable.

Crew was wonderful, always cheerful and eager to help.  

Kathy

The hotel in Memphis is the Peabody.

We are on the Countess from Cincinnati to Memphis May 10.

To those sailing from Pittsburgh, when you are in Wheeling, I highly recommend getting a fish sandwich from Coleman's Fish Market at the Centre Wheeling Market.  We lived on the Ohio side of the river, across from Wheeling, back in the 70's-80's, and I still miss those sandwiches.  It doesn't sound too special, just an oversized fried fillet of whitefish between 2 pieces of Wonderbread, but unless they've changed something, they are a real treat!

Kathy

Thanks, John

DH and I decided to book the extra post-cruise stay in Memphis so we have time to see the city and not have to rush to the airport.  It says in the description that the visit to Graceland and walking tour are included, but in the shore excursion descriptions, it says you have to pay for either of them with transportation to the hotel.  Does anyone know which it is?  What about taking one of those tours on the second day?  Will we still have to pay?  Do we have to pay for transport to the airport on day 3?  We can afford it, but I'd like to know in advance what exactly is included.

Thanks,

Kathy

I spoke to a customer service rep from AQV Monday, Mar. 14.  At that time, she said they would be offering Rapid Antigen tests when you arrive at the hotel. No mention was made of the cost.  This is all subject to change depending on what the virus is doing at the time you sail.

Kathy

Thanks so much for this informative review.  We will be on the Countess this coming May.  This gives us a taste of what to look forward to.

Kathy

Was on the previous Enchanted Princess sailing.  In St. Kitts and St. Lucia, you could take a ship's tour or a government approved tour.  There were taxis and tour operators waiting at the port for private tours.  In Dominica, only ship tours were allowed.  All three ports had shopping available, although in Dominica it was more of a craft market than regular stores.

In Antigua, St. Thomas, and Nassau, you could go anywhere.  We docked at Havensight Mall in St. Thomas and many of the shops were closed.  We were always told to take our passports but were only asked for them in St. Thomas.

BTW, in Nassau there were golf carts to take people from the ships to the main port entrance, I assume for a fee since they were independently operated.

Thanks for this thread.  We are on the next sailing and you've already answered most of my questions.  One more please--how many outlets are there in the cabin?  With all we have to keep charged anymore, phones, tablet, camera batteries, I wondered if we should bring an adapter or will there be enough outlets?

Thanks,

Kathy