Ski Mom 2
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Posts posted by Ski Mom 2
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10 hours ago, Kate-AHF said:
On Marina and Riviera, on some nights La Reserve will offer "wine and tapas". Most, if not all the wines poured are included in the Premium Beverage Package. The tapas is free. We very much enjoyed these evenings, though they were sparsely attended.
How do you go about finding out about these Wine and Tapas evenings? We are cruising SA in January and this sounds like a nice option.
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On 8/26/2022 at 7:18 AM, carlmm said:
Sorry, you can use an official taxi without worry.
Before you leave the secure area, there are a number of booths where you can take one.
There are also cheaper ones available club side but you might stick with the former to be on the safe side.
Thank you! I have emailed the hotel but haven't heard back yet (not sure I have the correct email address) so this is good if that's my only choice.
Anyone else have any ideas?
Thanks!
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I booked cooking classes for our January 2023 on Marina. When I look at the info for the cooking classes it says single stations.
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Thanks! I have an email in to the hotel we will be staying at and hope to hear from them soon.
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We are arriving into the Rio airport from the US in January 2023 and need a ride from the airport to our hotel. Has anyone arranged their own transportation from the airport to their hotel? Did you pre-arrange a pickup with a taxi service? Uber? Did you just use a taxi upon arrival? What was the cost?
We are joining a private tour in Rio but they want to charge us $65 each for transportation and I feel like that is high.
Thanks for your input!
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12 hours ago, Petoonya said:
Just flew home today from an 18 day Tahiti cruise and it knocked our socks off just as the same cruise did 3 years ago- everything but the food. The quality really suffered. The selection in Amphora was not what it was before- I'm a seafood person and I gave up on it after three tries of fishy tasting, mushy seafood. Beef was tough except for the filet mignon in Candles. Desserts nothing special, creme brulee in Candles was poor- not what it was 3 years ago. Even Caesar salad was soggy- looked and tasted like it was prepared several hours prior, and our waiter said it actually was! Candles however was terrific- those seafood spears and spicy cauliflower drive me crazy- so good.
I hate to say anything negative about WS- it's still my favorite cruise line for the ambiance, service and ships. I think this particular cruise was just off- new chef who I think is trying very hard to please too. But I recommended this particular cruise to 3 couples- all were crazy about WS after the introduction but all had the same reaction to the food- disappointed after I'd raved so much about it. 🥵 Of course I'm eager to sail again with them despite this "off" experience. I truly believe it was a fluke.
Welcome home!
Partly because of you and your raves about Tahiti, we decided on a January 2024 cruise doing a back to back starting in Auckland, around New Zealand, up to Lautoka and ending in Tahiti. We love the sails but it's Star Breeze for this sailing which we haven't ever done so it will be fun and interesting. Once we get a bit closer (we have Wind Surf in September and Oceania Marina in January 2023) I will pick your brain about all there is to see and do in Tahiti!
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Why not ask the food tours you’re interested in if they will adjust the times for you especially if you explain the timing of your ship?
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I think it can depend upon your destination as well. The Alhambra tour sold out before we set sail but I had read that one had the tendency to do that so we had signed up ahead of time.
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4 hours ago, VMax1700 said:
They may be only opening appointments on a rolling 2 weeks in advance. That is what is happening currently in a lot of places. We are sailing August 28th and still cannot make an appointment at our local testing centre, but I am confident that by end of next week I will be able to make an appointment.
Thank you.
Windstar just announced they will now accept the telemedicine tests. We have two of those so we hope we are now set. Will test on our own before taking those tests!
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1 hour ago, Strenz said:
Thank you. Not sure how to do telemedicine test in Europe, need to research now. Happy Sailing.
I sent you an email…
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Anyone had any luck lately getting the test? We leave September 28 from Venice and Windstar is still requiring the tests. The Red Cross option at St Marks only shows appointments through August 21.
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In 2018 we had 4 days prior to our cruise in Lisbon. We booked 2 different tours with https://www.wehatetourismtours.com/
One tour was to Sintra and one was lunch with a local. The lunch turned out to be just the two of us and our tour guide (Gonzo who was fantastic!). We spent hours eating, drinking and learning all about life in Lisbon. Not exactly a food tour but totally enjoyable.
I see they have had to revamp
their tours after Covid but their web site does say they will provide personal tours. I would send them an email and tell them what you’re looking for. They may be able to help you out.
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We sail September 28 from Venice and I truly hope they will at least let us use the telemedicine by then if they don’t drop it completely. I am just now starting a search for a pharmacy in Venice that can do the testing for us.
We have not received any such email as of now.
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Originally we were sailing September 2021, postponed until May 2022 and postponed yet again until September 2022. We are touring Italy for 3 weeks on our own before the Venice sail away.
in our experience the tenders run all
day. One will leave the ship at the same time one leaves the dock. We are looking forward to exploring almost all the stops on our own.
We love Windstar and Wind Surf is our favorite! -
1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:
Rob....three quick questions:
Do Candles and/or Quadro have a fixed menu for the entire cruise (such as Prego or Umi), or does it vary from day to day (like Chef's Table on Viking)?
Candles has a fixed menu.
What's the process for making reservations at Candles/Quadro?
Reservations for any specialty restaurants are made once you are on board and checked in. Typically you are allowed one reservation per specialty restaurant although you can request more after everyone has had the opportunity to make theirs.
How do you order the items to stock the mini-bar, if you have the all-in package?
TIA
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Great review Rob! We love Windstar and you have detailed many of the wonderful reasons why we love it! Next up, you need to try the sails!!
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On 7/30/2022 at 10:26 AM, schmoopie17 said:
I realize that what I'm about to say might be considered blasphemy on this board, but even though we will be in Rome for the first time in October prior to our cruise, we are not really into history, monuments, architecture, etc. Doing tours of the Colosseum, Vatican, etc., really doesn't interest us all that much. What does interest us is food and wine. Therefore, we have signed up for the Twilight Food and Wine tour of Trastevere. This tour essentially gets five stars from everyone who has taken it and we, needless to say, are very much looking forward to it. Having said that, we do plan on walking through the city to see the high points (aka tourist traps). Hey, we're tourists and we don't mind being trapped 😁. We'll be staying near the Pantheon, so lots of stuff to see while walking in the neighborhood.
I know, I know...the first response that people will say is that we can do our own food and wine tour without having to pay a tour company. Fine, I get that. But we feel that this will give us an overview and get a lay of the land so that in the couple of days following, we'll have a better idea of what to look for in putting together our own food tour. Plus, it is a good way to walk off jet lag and meet some of our future cruisemates, who have also signed up for the tour. (Maybe I shouldn't add that we're also doing a Tapas and Wine tour in Barcelona a few days later.) What can I say...we're gluttons for punishment.
We have signed up for this same tour on our arrival day into Rome. We have had wonderful food tours in the past at several places throughout Europe and the Caribbean/Mexico. We love that typically it can be a small tour, sometimes an owner/operator who one can learn about their family, life and business. As retired entrepreneurs of a family business, we love sharing stories, eating great food, and learning about one another.
We have been to Rome but thought this tour, in an area we have not been to, would be the perfect introduction to this trip. We also have one in Bologna we are looking forward to as well. The last food tour we took we were the only ones, along with a tour guide and driver (in Cozumel) and boy were we spoiled!
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I realized I didn’t report back after our tour. It was WONDERFUL! We did meet at the Mega Mart and it turned out we were the only ones on the tour! So it was my husband and myself, the tour guide and the driver. We made so many stops and all the owners and workers were so friendly and the food and drinks so so good. The driver took us back to our ship and we paid him for that and ripped both him and the tour guide and they deserved it. Book it!!
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3 minutes ago, mauibabes said:
Ski mom,
Fantastic, we will have to sit down for a glass of some beverage 🍷🥂🤪 and definitely meet up at Bruce’s scheduled Meet and Greet on January 18 at 4:30.
I called our Rep and there had been an issue within O as the Prive reservations program was NOT open for reservations last week for our cruise. She tried again for me on Monday and low and behold it was OPEN for bookings. We just had it charged to our On Board account as we have SBC available to pay the $300 fee for the night in Prive. We have not made our FP yet, not till 8/21 so not far off.
FYI, if there are not large scale cancellations on the 21st. it is going to be a very full ship, hearing about 1200 passengers currently.
Looking forward to meeting everyone soon.Mauibabes
We are happy to raise a glass! 🍷 🍺 🍹
I have nothing showing under La
Reserva or Privee as of now. Nothing to click to take me to the next step.
Last night there were many categories listed as available as opposed to a week ago. We shall see!
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5 minutes ago, LHT28 said:
When you log into your cruise under the dining tab (if the dates are out for your sailing) it should have LaReserve dates & menus listed for what nights they are open
Well we have not paid in full yet and we are further out than the 75 days so I guess we will have to wait unless I ask my TA. Thank you!
Mauibabes We are on the same
cruise as you in SA. I believe you said you had your O person take care of your reservations.
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On 7/27/2022 at 1:58 PM, slw207693 said:
We have had 12 in Privee and we were not crowded. On the November 2021 Marina crossing, We had a lovely “commitment ceremony” in Grand Lobby and then all headed to Privee for dinner afterward. There are several options for dining now - you can chose from Polo and Toscana mixing for each course, a new option that was advertised is to go out to the markets with the Executive Chef and pick out fish or other things for him/her to prepare (obviously this wasn’t an option on this cruise due to being in middle of the Atlantic) or work with the Executive Chef and create your own menu (you get to keep your copy they printed up). This is the option we chose and it was magnificent - Chef Frederic C. even created a two layer wedding cake that was exquisite. One of the violinists from the string quartet came and played as well (I did tip her). This request was granted via the GM.
I would say to request a meeting when you board with the Executive Concierge and , explain what you would like and see what they can and are willing to do. If it’s possible, they will make it happen. We only had 400 people on board last November. Also remember that if the Chef is cooking for the LaReserve dinner on your Privee evening, he may not be able to do a special menu and you get the Polo/Toscana options which are great choices too.
Thank you so much!
Is there a way to see when the LaReserva is happening?
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We're traveling with a small group to SA and I'm thinking a dinner in La Privee might be the perfect way to kick off our cruise. Does anyone know if they can stretch the number to 12?
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Thank you all for your honest answers about cruising on segments of the ATW cruise. When I mentioned the longer option my DH actually said, “Oh, where does it go?!”
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Wouldn’t those two be spectacular?! But it’s too many days for us. But it does give one pause…😎
I could use some advice from Oceania regulars please
in Oceania Cruises
Posted
Mauibabes-
We are on the same cruise! We will be arriving in Rio to tour the falls amd Buenos Aires prior to boarding. Following the cruise we will be touring to Machu Picchu and the Amazon to make a 42 day trip! This will be our first cruise on Oceania. We are huge fans of Windstar and are looking forward to this trip and to Oceania!