cluso

Jim, you have mail.

Port Klawock and Craig. Complete with a fire pit!

OMGosh, we are in an aft cabin and look what we just saw...

Jim, how was your 4x4 tour in Sitka?

We had a great adventure with just a total of 10 people.  Loved the bears we saw in the wild, especially the cub chasing birds.  🤗

Well, no cruise up Tracy Arm.  My husband predicted that earlier this AM after looking at the weather and his navigational maps.  Poor visibility and a narrow fjord.  Safety first.

Plenty of time to go through all the bear pictures from yesterday.  😁

Just some clarifications.

While some venues retain the beautiful/elegant woodwork of yesteryear, much of the ship was refurbished.  As Jim said in post #123, "The peaceful Blue and Silver pallet are both modern and relaxing."

The Versace dishes.  When first seated, there is a Versace bread and butter plate and a large Versace charger at your place.  All food comes out on white dishes.  The first course is placed on the charger, and after you are done with the first course, the charger is removed with the first course dish.  The following courses are all on white dishes.  Refined, but not  "Grandma". 😉

Had the French burger in Waves for lunch today (Sunday).

Oh la la!

48 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Best laid plans. - Glitch 1

 

We got stuck behind a major accident.  When we got to the airport the airport was mobbed.   When we went to check luggage the machine jammed.    We missed the 1 hour check in by 30 seconds so they had to book us on next flight.    Even the supervisors couldn’t override. 
 

We are now getting in at 1 pm.  Oh well.  Just goes to show that flying in a day early is worth it. 
 

We are now camped out at United’s Club. 
 

 

 

Oh no, Mr Bill!

1 minute ago, Jim_Iain said:

Love the luggage tags.  We are using the flamingo Nd totem pole. 
 

Are you already in Vancouver?

Yes, since Wednesday.  😎

Nice luggage tags!

Arrived to beautiful Vancouver weather on Wednesday.  Lots of walking and retracing visits from years ago.  Looking forward to our Regatta adventure tomorrow.

Arrived Vancouver yesterday, 9/11, after 3 hops from Florida.  Long day since we have to fly east first to Atlanta.

Yesterday and today were beautiful, high 60's in the day, mid 50's at night.  Maybe some rain Friday and Saturday.

We are ready for our Regatta adventure.  Did a Renaissance Med cruise, Tahitian Princess, and Azamara cruises all on R ships.  This is our first O cruise.

There is a little "fenced-in" patio area for the cabin occupants. 

Check out Roddy Gateau's thread below yours.

2 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

The interesting thing about Azamara's 4 ships is that they have 3 of the newest ones. When Rennaisance cruises folded and the ships were sold to Oceania and Azamara, Azamara ended up with 3 of the newest ones. I'm not overly concerned about the age of a ship. So long as they are maintained, older ships have a charm about them that you just can't get from the modern vessels. It amuses me when people get fixated solely on the age of a ship and not the service and experience that's provided within.  Yes shiny new toys are fun, but I'm always down for classic.

We sailed Renaissance in the Med.  When they folded, Princess got 3 of the R ships.  We sailed on the Tahitian Princess (R) before Princess pulled out of Tahiti and it was renamed Ocean Princess.  They also had Royal Princess and Pacific Princess.  Some ships went into the charter business for a while.  Now A and O have all the R ships. 

We love the small ships.  Have done about 16 cruises on Star Clippers 3 sailing yachts.  We have also owned sailboats, so are used to small heads. 😎

3 hours ago, goldsmip115 said:

We then have a 10 night Boston to Montreal cruise booked on HAL in the Pinnacle Suite.  We chose this cruise because it goes to New Foundland and New Brunswick and Quebec and the ship is small enough to sail the Saint Lawrence River.  We have 2 stops in Maine that we love. Karen has never been to Canada. This suite includes premium WiFi for two, premium beverage package, unlimited laundry and dry cleaning and some specialty dining and a separate dinner menu for suite passengers. Then we have an 18 night RT from SanDiego to Hawaii on another HAL ship in the Pinnacle Suite.  Karen has never been to Hawaii. There are a lot of sea days but generally we love them. This cruise includes all of the above amenities.  We very much want to go to Iceland and also Australia and New Zealand. We prefer Celebrity over HAL, but the HAL itinerary for New England and Canada won and Celebrity does not do a RT from US to Hawaii.  After this we will likely move up to the more upscale lines. Perhaps someday our cruise travels will meet again.

OK, enjoy...

Counting the days until this cruise with you and Iain.  Flying to Vancouver 11 September.

Thank you for starting this thread.  We have been on the R ships when they were Renaissance, Azamara, and the Tahitian Princess.  ☺️

Great review, but I guess you didn't have enough room for the King Crab Legs at Tracy's (2 locations).  😁😋🙃

57 minutes ago, ORV said:

 I have seen other couples when boarding/disembarking that will have two large cases each plus a carryon each and personal items. I can understand why they need a porter to help with their luggage. 

 

 

That may be us sometimes when we tack on a one- or two-week land trip with different clothing requirements pre or post cruise.  Also, medical requirements add a carry-on (which we normally don't use because we like to travel hands free) for a two week or longer trip.  

12 hours ago, GenerationX said:

 

Cruise #2

 

Port 1: Key West

 

This is such an easy nice walkable port to explore, so we plan to go independent and check out my favorite artisan shops and bars.

 

No trip to Key West would be complete for me without a stop at Sloppy Joe’s and then some live music and conch fritters at Willie T’s.  Kati and I are both big country music fans (no judgement, people!) and I know she’ll get a kick out of hanging at the actual bar that inspired Kenny Chesney’s “Bar at the End of the World”.

 

 

 

 

Hi Charla,

I have read all your most excellent reviews.  We started going to Key West in the mid 80's due to work (military).  It has changed immensely, but we have been on a lot of cruises that stopped there recently.  A wonderful place to go for an hour is the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.  It was so cool with butterflies landing on you and their plants were some of the most well-kept plants I have ever seen.  It's not too expensive, and if you pick up a local tourist rag, there are good discounts for this.  Their gift shop is great.

Across the street on the water is the Seaside Cafe at the Mansion.  Fun place with lots of options, even lobster pizza. 

We walked to these places.  You can even have time to hit up your other bars.

We are off to Oceania for the next few cruises.  😁

On 6/16/2024 at 12:57 PM, lindavan1 said:

Thanks everyone. I have enough information for me to make a decision. Appreciate everyone taking the time to give me their thoughts.

And...???

As experienced cruisers/sailors and having lived in Europe, the September through November time frame was our desire.  We don't do pools, beaches, and shop for "stuff".  We go for the experience.  Less crowds/children, cooler weather but not too cool, and pretty much all was still open.  Great photo ops and plenty of pleasant cafes for coffee, beer, wine, lunches.  A way more chilled time to visit.

I guess I confused people.  I know the Specialty Dining info.  I just did not know if you could make reservations in advance for the main dining room.  DH has a hearing issue (former fighter pilot for many, many years--pre-Tom Cruise) and hasn't explored h-aids yet. Big tabletops aren't in ours or anybody's favor.  

1 hour ago, clo said:

Are you saying that you're interested in eating at a specialty restaurant every night of your cruise?

No, just didn't know when we can make reservations for the main dining room (not Specialty), or if that is possible before we board...

First O cruise coming up soon.  A-2 Cabin, so Specialty Dining Reservations are open 60 days out.  We are on a 12-night Regatta cruise so 2 nights each in Polo and Toscana.  So, can I make reservations for every night of the cruise at the 60 day point?  The reason I ask is the invoice has a line

--Specialty Dining Reservations--Open for reservations on: 16-July-24.  I was just thinking Specialty, didn't even think about the normal dining room reservations...

10 hours ago, DrHemlock said:

The OP mentioned that A1 cabins are amidships.  I suspect that's the operative factor as it represents the smoothest (or least rocky) ride in exuberant seas, while A2 and A3 radiate forward and aftward from there -- as in "Pass the dramamine, please!"  (Not telling you anything you don't already know, ORV; just mentioning it for the benefit of newbies who may have wondered the same thing.)

That's pretty standard pricing among most cruise lines.  Amidships more $$ within the same category.