jollyjones

Tricky packing decisions indeed.

As I languish here sweating in temperature and humidity both over 80, it seems impossible that I must try on warm jackets to decide which one to take. At least the rain jacket needs no thought - that's a must!

And shoes ... sigh ... maybe I'll just go barefoot.

Hi Spins,

A few pages back you asked if Greenwich is a tender port - the answer is that at the moment it's nothing at all, it doesn't exist. However, when it opens next year at Enderby Wharf, Christchurch Way, Greenwich, it should be a full service, all bells and whistles, brand spanking new walk aboard dock. Only big enough for one ship at a time (basically a narrow walkway leading out to a narrowish pier stuck out in the river) but that's all we'll need.

http://www.londoncitycruiseport.co.uk

http://www.visitgreenwich.org.uk/business/london-city-cruise-port/

I feel very lucky that I wasn't booked on one of the cancelled Spirit cruises but I am very sympathetic to those who are.

To me, one huge annoyance would be why they chose to do this with less than a year's warning. I organize my traveling dates well in advance, and usually buy air tickets at least nine months in advance - with limited air options from here, that's when I find the best prices - so to have to try and find another cruise in the same time frame or move flights to other dates without a price increase is almost impossible.

If they had chosen to do the whatever - is she being stretched? - more than year away, very few people would have made any flight/hotel/pre- or post- cruise bookings that would need to be cancelled.

I'm also a little surprised at the timing because I have heard quite often (on these boards) that major dry docks must be scheduled years in advance because the shipyards are fully booked; at least, this is the excuse given when ships needing big repairs can't get them done expeditiously.

And ... sigh ... I like the Spirit - I have one, soon to be three, cruises booked on her for later in 2018 - I do so hope they don't make a mess of her.

Most stress free solution would be to bring a different dress.

Years ago I used to bring all sorts of garments that I really loved and wanted to wear onboard because they made me feel special, but I have gradually learned that other things tend to make the cruise enjoyable, the clothes aren't so important in the end.

I have now developed a 'cruise wardrobe' of lightweight, crease resistant, easy care, multi functional garments that really work well for me - makes cruising so much easier.

One trick for formal nights - bring along a lightly sparkling pretty top which is fine for smart casual, then dress it up with some seriously sparkly costume jewelry for formal. I used to worry that other pax would notice that I wore the same garment a few times, but they don't.

I will put my rabbits foot under my pillow.

 

:-)

Hi Spins,

I hope it wards off TS Emily which has spun up really fast - or maybe she'll pass north of you? Hope so.

Looks like she's going to go between you and me and then fizzle - that I definitely hope for, it's 30 years come September since we were whacked by Hurricane Emily, she did us a lot of damage.

Fingers Crossed.

On a lighter note, airline tickets to Athens just arrived. 53 days to go...����

Have a great time Spins! I'd be envious but I'm embarking on the Whisper in 24 days ...

Your comment on Wes's thread about the curry brought back wonderful memories - looking forward to the Sep '18 TA.

No, the bathroom outlet is not suitable for a hairdryer, they're not meant for that load. Use the outlet in the cabin.

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I know it wouldn't suit a lot of people, but I am more moved by logic than emotion and I wouldn't mind in the slightest cruising in the 'murder' cabin, even straight away.

I'm sure it will have been well cleaned - it may need new carpet depending on how heavily it's stained - but I don't see it as any worse (and probably cleaner) than any other ship cabin or hotel room ... who knows what previous occupants have been doing in the bed in which you are sleeping or on the sofa on which you are sitting?

Best not to dwell on it and just get on with enjoying the here and now.

I was just idly scanning 'my activities' page for my Muse cruise in December since it's coming up to 120 days soon and I have reluctantly concluded that I will need to make dining reservations for every night, if only in self defense. This is not something I want to do but I figure it's easier to cancel once onboard than try and get into a fully booked venue. As a solo, being reduced to room service and eating alone in my cabin is just not going to happen, and although I like pizza and I will be in warm weather, I don't fancy Spaccanapoli every night.

So imagine my surprise when I discovered that Atlantide, Indochine, and of course Spaccanapoli are all showing 'Open Seating'!! The other five are showing 'Reserve' in the usual manner. I wondered if it was just because we'll be in the Caribbean where things are more casual but it also holds true for my Muse Med. cruise next summer.

When I booked these cruises many months ago, I was assured that Atlantide and Indochine would be functioning like the current MDR, and that one could order off either menu in either venue since they are served by the same galley, otherwise I would have been reluctant to book the cruises. I have not been happy reading about current experience with Muse dining although it was clear that something had to change with so much disgruntlement - I hope what I'm seeing on the website will actually come to pass.

Has anyone else noticed this? I did (slightly) wonder if it was just for me as a solo to avoid pre-booking tables for just one person, but then I figured that was far too clever for the SS website and if it wasn't accurate, it'll more likely be a mistake than intended.

Just make sure the nightlight you bring has only two prongs and is not polarized (prongs of unequal size).

Ah yes! Very good point.

I seem to remember many years ago on my second or third cruise - I was so smug that I'd figured out bringing a nightlight to avoid the bathroom blast of light ... alas, hubris ... my light had polarized prongs and wouldn't fit.

I don't know why you need to get to Waterloo, but I must warn you that there are major platform upgrades going on there this August with very reduced service - in fact, in one article I read they were warning people to avoid the station altogether in August and plan to travel by other means. In theory, the work will be finished on Aug 28th but don't believe that!

https://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/plan-your-journey/planned-improvements/wswupgrade/

I was, in fact, intending to go to Southampton by train to pick up a cruise but I have opted for a National Express coach instead. I'm in Bermuda and, using Safari, had no difficulty bringing up the website and buying a ticket.

If you're just trying to get to Central London, surely the National Express coach will go to Victoria Coach Station - in which case, there's no problem.

As in previous posts, you have two best choices:

More money, more convenience - Smiths for Airports. I, and many others here on the boards, have found them to be very reliable and reasonably priced compared to other car services.

Less expensive but still fairly convenient - National Express coach, then taxi to hotel.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx. You can book online, the prepaid tickets are cheaper.

Considerations include how mobile you are and how much luggage you have and which is your arrival terminal in LHR. It's an awfully long walk from terminal 3 to the coach station - all on the flat but still ... I don't know about Terminal 5, I rarely fly through it.

Also, of course, how many in your party since with a car service you pay per car and with the coach it'll be per person.

We simply leave the bathroom light on at night and close the door. Enough light escapes around the door to make it easy and painless to find the door and open it.

But then you are blasted by bright light while you use the bathroom - very unpleasant in the middle of the night. I always bring a small nightlight to plug into the shaver socket which gives sufficient glow for dark adapted eyes to see what you are doing. I do the same for hotels too.

I did get caught out many years ago on another cruise line - can't remember which - when the bathroom light switch operated the light and the shaver socket, most inconvenient.

Yes, but probably not for the reduced, now increased to $6.50, price.

I suggest you go to weather.bm where you will get a more accurate forecast than anything US based. Click on 'detailed public'.

We could do with some decent rain to break the heat a bit but it looks like it's only going to be a few passing showers.

We'd only want rain on Monday though, Tuesday is General Election Day and we need a good turnout; Bermudians don't like going out in the rain.

I have been on several cruises with passengers whose luggage didn't make it - no fun for them! Especially on a TA.

I always fly in ahead of time - living on a small island adds to flight anxieties - and the further the journey to embarkation, the further ahead I arrive. Plus, I always carry a small but versatile selection of clothes and essentials in my cabin baggage, just in case ...

I believe it's 'AJ' from when it was the Alaska-Juneau goldmine dock.

Please don't rent a scooter, so many locals drive so badly it's too risky. Every day I see a near miss.

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I sure don't own any frocks at all, and I haven't fallen afoul of the clothes police in 180 nights onboard SS.

Each to their own.

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Would you accept a tylenol from a bartender, or an ibuprofen proffered by your butler?

 

Are you kidding? No way would I take such a pill from an untrained person.

The OTC argument is specious. When you buy OTC meds you have the full resources of a properly labelled package with a full printed fact sheet insert and an available pharmacist to ask if you have questions in a (hopefully) reputable store. You then take the responsibility of having sufficiently informed yourself and being in possession of pills that actually are what you think they are; then what you do with them is up to you.

Ditto specious is the more dangerous / less dangerous argument. Less dangerous doesn't translate to 'without any side effects'.

Of course one can and should take necessary meds; I just wish more people did it as an informed choice.

I kinda disagree that dimenhydrinate (Dramamine) is the best seasickness pill - meclizine (Bonine, Sea Legs, Dramamine II amongst other trade names) has been shown in trials to be as affective at preventing nausea but generates less drowsiness. Plus you generally only need one dose per 24 hrs of meclizine; with dimenhydrinate you often need two or three.

Although I seldom suffer with seasickness any more, I carry a small supply of meclizine with me - I certainly would never go to a Reception desk and take whatever 'Magic Pills' they gave me.

But as a physician I'm fussy about what medications I take, I usually avoid them all since everything has side effects and may do more harm than good. OK, laymen don't have the luxury of that knowledge, but it is a good idea to do some research on any med. before you put it in your mouth as Miss Sophia is rightly doing.

BTW, ginger is proven to be a moderately effective remedy for seasickness provided you take an adequate dose frequently enough - it's very safe but the main drawback is that when it wears off you may feel too nauseated to take more.

And while you were safely docked in the very protected port of Southampton, were you absolutely certain that sea conditions further south down the Solent and around the Isle of Wight and into the notoriously crowded and dangerous English Channel were safe? I wasn't there so I know that I don't know, but are you sure that you do? Perhaps the Captain stayed in port to keep you safe and comfortable?

Oh David, no no say it ain't so!

If, as is rumored, SS does read these boards, I made it pretty clear in this thread a few posts ago but I'll say it again - SS, ARE YOU LISTENING???

What I can't understand is that, when I was on the Wind during the trial period, the internet was quite fast and mostly reliable - much, much better than the current offering. I wonder what happened? Did SS go with a cheaper offer? Or was it that we were in the Caribbean so reception was better? I dunno, but if they don't improve the current offering, it's going to join dining on the Muse as a constant source of complaint.

I sail solo and just like you, I used to do the bigger ships then I moved to SS for exactly the same reasons as you - I now have 180 days with SS - but I'm not really sure what you mean about 'age requirements'? In my experience, your fellow passengers on SS don't care much about ages, nor are you confined to the company of other solos - I seldom hang out with the other solos any more, everyone is so friendly I usually spend more time with couples and groups of people. A German knowledge base would be very, very welcome on a trivia team to offset the mostly North American / UK passengers - you'd be in great demand and there's half a dozen new friends right there.

Don't take the dress code threads too seriously - they're mostly posted by pax who want to keep the old formal style but things are changing (for the better, IMO, and I'm not alone in that); for formal dress you'd be fine with a dark jacket and tie over dark trousers - doesn't even need to be an actual suit - a tuxedo is definitely not required. You don't even need that much if you don't want - on formal nights you can dine at La Terrazza or the Grill and you can just be smart casual.

One thing I can tell you for sure as a solo - if you find a SS cruise with only a 25% solo supplement, and there are quite a few, you will get much, much better value for money than on Azamara or Oceania. There are one or two Az cruises with a lower solo supp, but most are 100% altho' since most drinks and the grats are included, the final fare isn't too bad - very small cabins though, and the bathrooms are miniscule. Oceania is 100% solo supp across the board and you pay for everything plus 18% grats on drinks - the bottom line is ridiculously expensive and poor value for money for a solo.

Don't give up on SS - keep on looking around and if you find the right itinerary at the right price, I bet you would enjoy it.

Is the $300/$437 charge for any length total cruise charge or just for a 17 day cruise? We have a 28 day cruise.

It's done by the length of the cruise - as I suggested I think the per diem gets cheaper for the longer cruises but for a 28 day I'd guess at something like $450 / $700, could be less.