Andi2008

On 1/19/2024 at 4:35 PM, Mercruiser said:

Sounds wonderful. Oceania Marina looks to have a great itinerary. I hope to try Oceania soon.

 

Have a great cruise.

Thank you so much for posting the Marina's route maps of a previous itinerary. We too will be on board the Feb 14 departure from Santiago to BA and I plan to print out your route maps to take with me 🙂

Andrea

On 1/19/2024 at 4:23 PM, Torquer said:

We sail on Oceania Marina next month on February 14 from San Antonio, through Antarctica, to Buenos Aires.  Thanks for the tip about the free trial of Marine Traffic.  I will probably do that after our cruise to get detailed map information about our completed cruise route.  Keep up your interesting research!

We will be on this cruise with you and hope to meet you at the Meet and Greet. We are from Seattle area and I am even more excited about the trip after seeing the wonderful screen shots showing the route Marina has taken before. 

Andrea

21 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

Thanks, I called twice.  The first time the lovely young lady would not tell me the summer sale price because I have a TA. The second call I failed to mention I already have a booking ☺️, my fare savings should be around $3000 plus the additional Simply more bennies.  So, I blew up my TA's email with explicit directions for tomorrow.  

 

Thank you again and see you aboard.

Good luck!!!  Hope others see my post in our Roll Call thread and decide to check into this as well.

There have been several threads lately related to the Summer Sale and Simply More program.  I want to share our experience because it turned out to be a huge savings for us. We called our Oceania rep to ask if we could benefit from the sale/SM program in regard to our previously booked South America Explorer cruise set for next Feb.\ruary. He got back to us very quickly and the answer was YES. We were blown away--the new guest statement he sent us shows our balance due is $5,400 (total) LESS than our original booking statement. Since final payment is not due to October, this is fabulous--gotta love a cold hard cash savings!  Our PH3 cabin did not change, and now we also have free WiFi, a bigger shoreex credit($1,200 instead of the previous O-Life $800, and maybe best of all, a free wine and champagne amenity (we just don't drink enough to make the beverge package worth it for us). Our friends who are going with us also called our rep; they kept their A2 cabin and saved almost $5,000.  That is a HUGE savings--why not call your TA and and at least ASK, like we did. 🙂

Andi

5 hours ago, shepherd really said:

I'm also on this cruise, may I ask what category cabin? That's a big savings.

PH3 cabin.  Our friends are in an A2 and they too had a huge savings when switching:  almost $5,000.

Call them! You've got nothing to lose!  And possibly a hell of a lot to gain.

Andrea

We called our Oceania rep yesterday to ask if the Summer Sale could be applied to our existing booking for the South America Explorer cruise next Feb. The answer was YES and the new guest statement he sent us shows this sale saved us $5,400!!!! That is cold hard cash savings!  We kept our same cabin and now also have free WiFi, a bigger shoreex credit, and maybe best of all, a free wine and champagne amenity. Yippee!

We called our Oceania rep yesterday to ask if the Summer Sale could be applied to our existing booking for the South America Explorer cruise next Feb. The answer was YES and the new guest statement he sent us shows this sale saved us $5,400!!!! That is cold hard cash savings!  We kept our same cabin and now also have free WiFi, a bigger shoreex credit, and maybe best of all, a free wine and champagne amenity. Yippee!

On 2/14/2022 at 4:57 AM, Captbiguy said:

What documents are needing to be uploaded onto the ETIS site?

We did our ETIS two days ago - we are on the March 17 Tahiti cruise.  No documents were required to be uploaded.  Just needed to enter our passport information,promised to bring a hard copy of our COVID Vaccination Record and pledge to obey the Tahiti COVID requirements, and then paid the ETIS fee (about $48 dollars per application).  Confirmation of ETIS approval was received as soon as we submitted the payment. 

Interested in hearing your evaluation of Norwegian air Premium class. We have booked this LAX to Fco for December cruise and the cost is great. Also, to book one way fairs can be more than return. Norwegian’s one way is half the return. Now, to see how it compares, 😐

We used Norwegian's Premium Class service last year after our Into The Midnight Sun cruise and were glad we did. London to Oakland (CA). Keep in mind, these are business class style seats (they are not flatbed seats) but they do recline nicely and have a foot rest that raises nicely. The seats are comfortable and wide. And we found them to be very reasonably priced if you book well in advance and take advantage of any special offers you can find. And like you, the ability to buy a one-way ticket at exactly half the fare of a round trip is great. --Andi

We did this same cruise last July (201) and loved every moment. We were BLESSED with fabulous weather and only had a couple of ports where we had rain. I am an avid whale watcher and kept my eyes out but we did not see any. We have much better luck here on on the California coast frankly! Nevertheless, you will love The Midnight Sun cruise. It was our first Viking experience are we are now hooked. Have a great time!

Andi

We were on this same cruise with you and I agree with everything in your review! We just had the best time ever and this was our very first Viking experience ever! Made some new fabulous friends too as a r salt of attending Meet and Mingle. Previously loyal Oceania customers, Viking has won us over and we have already booked our next ocean cruise with them for next year.

Wind has been present but usually not too much unless you're near an unsheltered area like a cape. But we get to our first stop in Norway tomorrow (captain had to cancel Lerwick due to wind) and who knows what the western coast of Norway may bring?

Roothy, thank you so much for your update on weather and clothing on current trip! Much appreciated. But wait, what! You didn't get to stop at Shetlands at all??? (Our July 9 itinerary duplicates your north bound trip so to see you had to skip Lerwick due to wind is concerning; its one port I really hope to see).

Andi

Curious what your final packing list ending up looking like for this itinerary? Like you, we want to do carry-on only for our July 9th cruise. From one Andrea to another, I would love to see your final list!

"Has anyone used the "Mobile Passport" app for Americans to get through passport control quicker in U.S. airports? I'm going to try it on this trip, as I hear it works well. Oh, another recommendation would be to apply for Global Entry or at least TSA Pre-Check - well worth the money."

My husband and I have had our Global Entry cards for awhile now, and we wouldn't travel internationally without them any more! You truly get spoiled at busy US airports like San Francisco, Dulles, and LAX - we breeze right through! Well worth the $100 application fee. Plus, as you noted, added bonus of TSA precheck!

Thank you so much for all these little tidbits of information. So much appreciated! We are sailing out on July 9 on the same itinerary and can't wait! --Andi

We got away from London a little late, but tides are most certainly involved, and so are tugs, so those of us who have cruised before know these things can happen and don't sweat the small stuff. It was a great sailaway. Greenwich is wonderful. I described a bit of Greenwich embarkation in my Roll Call post (June 17 Star cruise). The tides also explain the 2:30 or 3:30 itinerary of one of the remaining itineraries. There are gorgeous pictures posted on our roll call that a couple Londoners took when Star passed them at sailaway.

 

All is wonderful on board in my opinion. I was hoping to post my experiences on CC but there seem to be plenty of people already doing that, so I think I'll just relax. However, some things people may not know, especially if they're river cruisers, not ocean cruisers:

 

Really helps to take a lanyard for your key card. You will use it a lot.

 

Maps are at the Explorers Desk. Use the one for Greenwich and enjoy Greenwich. I explored both Greenwich - and London, but there's no map for that.

 

The Explorers Desk is not the Explorers Lounge - know the difference. Some people don't when they get on board. I hope people make it to our Meet and Greet. Two years ago that was a little confusing to some. Deck 8 part of Explorers Lounge can be accessed at the back of the staterooms on 8 if you don't want to climb up the stairs. It can also be reached by the glass steps from 7, Explorers Lounge.

 

For the person who asked about asking Viking to put one night stand between 2 twin beds: I don't have a measuring tape but it looks to be at least 2 1/2 feet from the end of bed to desk. You should have room to get around, no problem.

 

Bridge tours were announced in the Daily paper soon after we got on board. I hear they're popular, so don't wait to sign up for them. They're offered when the ship is in port.

 

It's certainly possible to get additional Chef's Table reservations when you get on board. As for the excursions, I can't say. We reserved online all seems to be OK (times were same once on board, no cancels that I've heard about, etc. - but of course, it's early in the cruise, and I haven't talked to anyone, so can't say.

 

When you get on board, orient yourself as to where your stateroom is by 1) whether you're in front of or behind the big atrium photo screen and 2) what's on the wall on the correct side of the ship.

 

Elevators are right near the stairs.

 

Enrichment lectures, your excursion info, etc. is all on the TV.

 

Don't expect things to be the exact same on an ocean cruise. They aren't. It's not possible, and often it's not desirable. Wehad one woman who didn't realize she had booked an ocean cruise. I don't know how that happens, but apparently it happened.

 

I don't think there was a bridge cam when we cruised on Star in fall 2015. Now there is. I love bridge cams.

 

Our cruise director is Suzanne, although I may have spelled that incorrectly. Captain is Rune. We have already recognized and been recognized by the waiter at Chef's Table and the "usually there" waitress at Mamsen's. They were there in fall 2015 and are still there. A nice thing.

 

Don't forget, meal times aren't the same each day. Read the Daily each evening.

 

Tors was on board yesterday. I didn't see him, but my husband did. We had guests....

 

I am loving this cruise, although all I've done is explored London and Greenwich. We also loved Iceland, though we did it on our own by doing a stopover from Dulles to Reykjavik on Icelandair.

 

We have our roll call get together today at 6.

 

Now I need to go get a pastry and coffee from the Living Room.

(Don't forget about the other places to eat like that and Mamsen's.)

 

Thanks for all you and other CC folks do, Carolyn, and enjoy your cruise.

Oh, and Andi - I don't know about Kirkwall, but assume we'll be allowed off the ship within a half hour at very most. I hear there's a free shuttle from the port to city center near the bus center and tourist information center. It's a shortish ride. Shuttle operates from time we're scheduled to arrive and last one is 45 minutes before departure time. Therefore, if you take a shorex or private tour and want to stay in town, you can. St. Magnus Cathedral is less than 5 minutes walk from shuttle stop. We're going to take the included excursion in Kirkwall, but in my opinion, it sounds a little light on substance for those who want to see Neolithic stone sites. The included excursion in Lerwick, sounds pretty nice. We still plan to rent a car, though - we'll have much more fun and see much more.

Roothy, thank you again for helpful info. We have booked a private tour with a naturalist in Kirkwall so I am very excited as he will be able to show us both neolithic stone sites as well as historical and biological places of interest. Pretty excited about both Kirkwall and Lerwick at this point :)

To the person on Viking Sky, hello! I'll be on Viking Star, visiting Lerwick June 22! If you have any questions, post here and if I see the questions and Viking's and Shetland's Wifi cooperate, maybe I can answer them. If not, enjoy the cruise and stop. I loved Lerwick when I was there before on Oceania (ship size around same as Viking) in 2013.

 

I'm guessing it won't take long for Sky or Star to tie up and receive the usual clearance from local authorities. (It will probably help that, at least on MY cruise, we will have already stopped in Scotland, as well as England, before getting to Lerwick). I cruised in the Med on Star in its first year of operation. Almost always, we got into port a little before the scheduled itinerary time, were cleared, and they let people start getting off at the scheduled itinerary time. I would guess that certainly within a half hour you'll be off the ship and at the dock. We tendered when we were on Oceania, and tendering always adds a bit of time, but since we're docking up near the northern most ferry port in Lerwick, there's no tendering. I'd rather be tendered into the middle of town, but others seem to hate tendering, so perhaps being farther away but at a dock is best. Anyway, if you rent a car or arrange for a private driver, you'll likely be able to meet someone off the ship by 8:15 or 8:30. Tour operators will normally monitor the ship's progress on Marine Traffic or one of the ship tracking sites, and if the ship is late, almost all tour operators will wait for you. If, however, you want to take a shuttle to the town center, I don't know when they'll start leaving. In the Med, in ports where Viking or the city provided a shuttle, they tended to leave within a half hour after the ship's arrival time. However, every port and situation is different, so this information is really just a guess, and things could be different. I think, however, someone who took "Midnight Sun" last year reported that Viking or the port arranged a shuttle to a location on the Esplanade & Charlotte Place, which is closer to a number of tourist-worthy sites in Lerwick. Just for your info if you haven't cruised Viking Oceans before, generally Viking required us to be back on board the ship a half hour before the scheduled departure time.

 

Rasmie, I'm trying to pare down my list of things I hope to see on the mainland and have a few questions. I'm hoping you're still monitoring this thread and can help.

 

One website or tour company mentioned you could glimpse Mousa Broch from an area around (I think) Fladdabister on (I think) 970. Is that possible? If so, is the Broch just a speck?! I'd love to see it, but won't have time to take the little shuttle boat over. However, if I know where to look for it, I might at least do that.

 

For lunch, I don't know where we'll end up, but of course I know about Braewick Cafe. Also, Sumburgh Head cafe in the lighthouse has been mentioned, which I assume offers some basic sandwiches or something besides tea and cake. Do you know of any places that are more middle-island in case we're there during lunch time? We ate in Scalloway before, and I think there's De Haaf if it's still open, plus a deli near the commercial marina, but was wondering about other alternatives. I know there are places to eat in Lerwick, but I'm more interested in finding out what's available without going back into town.

 

If we drive down to the circle where there's one place to (I think) start a walk to the Knab, must you walk down and around the cliff to see the horse, or can you see it from that parking circle?

 

Weather and rain/fog - I know you don't have a crystal ball, but is there any discernible pattern in the weather on the Shetland islands? I'll probably want to spend most of our time in the southern half of the mainland, and so we'd probably go to Sumburgh Head first. However, if it's really foggy there and we find that out before we go, we may head up north, as I love the scenery up at Eshaness. Should we just toss a coin as to which way to go first?

 

Thanks for any info/advice you can give me. I know I ask a lot of questions. If you can only answer a few, though, that's OK!

Roothy, thank you for the info about Lerwick disembarkation. I appreciate your input. We will be arriving in Lerwick on July 14 on the Viking Sea (this will be our first Viking cruise (either ocean or river) and we are really looking forward to comparing it with our Oceania experience (which we loved!)

Andi2008, seeing you're enjoying the series "Shetland" you may be interested to know that Jimmy Perez's house is easily reached on foot in Lerwick. It's along the south end of the street (Commercial Street is locally known as "the Street" and is pretty much the only street for shops) at the Lodberries. It's a lovely walk and you can continue along there up to the Knab where you'll get a good view of your ship if it's anchored there.

 

 

Rasmie: THANK YOU so much for sharing the info on Jimmy Perez's house and the photos! I will defintely be checking it out during the day we are there. PS, I just finished SHETLAND, and I am going through serious withdrawal, lol. Loved all the characters on that show. Excited I will be able to see Shetland in person in about 80 days! Thanks again for your help. --Andi

I have found this thread so helpful. Thank you all! We are coming to Lerwick on July 14 on the Viking Sea and I am so excited. We just booked the cruise two weeks ago, and as luck would have it, I was still in the middle of watching the BBC television show "SHETLAND" on Netflix and so I was absolutely delighted when I realized Lerwick was a stop on our itinerary :) PS, if you like BBC crime dramas, which I do, I recommend the Shetland series!

I do have a quick question: for those who have come into Lerwick via cruise ship and NOT done ship-provided shorex, I am curious about [generally] how long it took for you to disembark the ship once docked.

Thanks for any insight you can provide (I am curious about same info for Kirkwall too, in case any of you came into that port as well and did your own excursion.)

Andi

Thank you so much for posting your photos and telling us a bit about your independent day on Shetland. I am so excited that our cruise is stopping there in July...and your post gives me the encouragement I need to rent a car so that my hubby and I can toodle around on our own while we are in port. Thank you again!

My daughter and I had the great fortune to see this beautiful ballet performed by the Mariinsky Company while in St. Petersburg a few years ago. It was amazing!!!! I wish I could give you better advice on the production you have the opportunity to see. But just being in an amazing theatre in St. Petersburg seeing a beautiful ballet was so awesome.

"Did you say anything to this person? Did you say anything to the Princess rep? Did you self report to the ship that you had been in contact with a sick person? YOU may have infected others,and ruined their cruise! You did the very same thing this person did,you knew they were sick, yet you went on about your business,possibly infecting others on the way! How is that different? Don't mean to sound harsh but........"

As the original poster of this thread yesterday, I knew my post would likely elicit strong opinions shared by people who disagreed, as well as others who were understanding of my situation. But to be accused by this responder of doing the exact same thing as the lady on the bus, I take offense! My husband and I were both completely healthy when we arrived in Anchorage, but we brought items with us to help keep germs at bay...we understand the health issues that can abound on cruise ships. So we brought a dispenser of anti-bacterial wipes to wipe down surfaces in our cabin, we used the Purell dispensers through out the ship religiously, especially going in and OUT of the food areas. However, none of these items were at my finger tips on the bus, as our bags had been put under the bus at the airport and there were no empty seats on the bus that we could move to. (Thank you to the poster who defended me against your attack--I truly appreciate it!)

For those commenters who pointed out that there can be many different types of coughs, not all contagious, I concur with you. In May this year, my husband and I traveled to Normandy to visit the DDay Beaches. We were on a small van with 16 other people (all seats taken) and there was a woman on board who coughed frequently, but I could tell her cough (which was dry and deep and loud) was more likely related to an emphysema-type condition, and not a phlemy, bronchitis type cough as was exhibited by the lady on the bus. When I began to cough and shiver in my cabin the night I became ill (I did not have those symptoms in any public areas that day), I did everything I could to limit potential exposure to others, which is exactly what the lady on the bus did not do.

I also appreciate the suggestions folks have made on methods they use to try and ford off bad bugs while traveling. I will add those to my list. And yes, I realize there is always the possibility that I picked up a bug before we left or caught it somewhere else. I should have reported her, but by the time we had retrieved our bags from the bus, I lost track of her as several buses were unloading at the same time and the line in the arrival terminal in Whittier was long.... shoulda/coulda/woulda....next time I will act differently.

Finally, to the poster who expressed skepticism that my OP yesterday was in fact genuine, I can tell you that I have been so sick, it hasn't been my top priority to turn on my computer. I think I have turned the corner today. Thanks to all who wished me well and understood my need to share my experience.

Andi

I don't know your name. I barely remember what you look like. But I will never forget what you sounded like, sitting behind us on the Princess bus that picked us up from Anchorage Airport and transferred us to the Island Princess on August 24. I knew the moment I first heard your deep hacking cough, that my husband's and I greatly anticipated cruise of Alaska was in jeopardy. Over and over you coughed, spewing your germs on all of us around you. You did not have the common courtesy to wear a mask or even cover your mouth with a tissue or hanky. I don't know how you could fill out your Health Questionnaire with a straight face, let alone hand the form over to the Princess Representative, knowing you were so sick. What I DO KNOW is that on the night of Day 4 of our cruise, I became very ill with a high fever and that same hacking cough. It stuck with me for the rest of the trip, and I missed going ashore in Juneau and Ketchikan, and was holed up in my room for the final at sea days so that I would not infect anyone else. My husband too became sick, one day later than I did. We have been home now for 5 days and both have seen our doctor because the high fever and deep cough will not go away. I was diagnosed with the start of pneumonia, for goodness sakes, something I have never had in my life. We are now taking strong antibiotics and still it is a slow recovery.

I am realistic enough to know that every time we take a cruise, there is a risk that we will catch a bug given the close proximity of so many people and the fact that lots of people don't use the antibacterial stations as they enter the buffet area. But this is the first time in all our cruising we we experienced someone so ill BLATANTLY board the ship, intentionally knowing their cough and germs would be spread to innocent people. This was a trip of a life time for us. Your behavior has put us in the situation of really wondering if we will ever cruise again--it is just not worth it when irresponsible people like you ignore the rules that are in place to protect cruise passengers and staff.

Frustrated and still feeling cruddy!

Andi

December 1986, "Tahiti & It's Islands" on American Hawaii's Liberte. A wonderful and memorable first cruise - 9 months later our daughter was born :)

I was thrilled to find your review and the info you provided. We are looking seriously at this trip - it sounds fabulous. I notice they offer either north or south bound itineraries - from your experience, was one preferable over the other. Did you pick your month of travel for any particular reason?

Thank you.

Andi