TMLAalum

Ken, please let me know whether to choose port or starboard for the Reykjavik to Boston route, thanks! Planning ahead for 2024. There will be a group of us and my current thinking is to book OV cabins toward the stern of deck 3 on both sides of the ship so we can visit each other depending on views. Would prefer veranda cabins if pricing not too far above the OVs- have you made much use of your veranda?

I asked the Celebrity agent I booked with yesterday about ALLABOARD100. Not sure if that is what is giving us the $100 OBC for our no perks reservation since it isn't marked on our confirmation, but thanks to the OP for this thread!

I should know the answer to this, but are bloody marys included in the Elite breakfast? I know mimosas are, but I really crave a bloody or virgin in the morning!

@KenTheCruiser Did you do your walk around Qaqortoq and the lake on your own or via a Celebrity excursion?

@milling73 Wish cruise critic would have more appropriate reaction emojis for posts besides thanks, haha and like! Your experiences deserve a wow or angry or sad response! 😮😠😒

@kwokpot That foto of MSC's "IV" shows what Celebrity could have done with their IV cabin layout. MSC's opens up the space rather than chopping up the cabin by separating the window area into a "veranda".

@islandwoman I see from your signature, you sailed last month on the Infinity. Whatever precautions you took then should be doable on your river cruise, except room service and the flights over. As far as death, that can happen to any of us at anytime and surely will sooner or later. If vaxxed/boosted your chances of dying from Covid are minimal.

@islandwoman I don't think anyone would like to catch covid! Not only will you have to fret about dining on a river cruise, but what about excursions? You two can mask on the tours, but that is probably not enough protection if others are not. And the flights over! Those are petri dishes too. Our late 70s, health-compromised friends are currently on the Viking Heimdal and are having a wonderful time. Vaxxed & boosted and so far so good. As the saying goes..... You pays your money and you takes your chance(s). Prov. You must resign yourself to taking risks.; Everything costs something, but paying for something does not guarantee that you will get it. (The grammatical errors are intentional.)

A highlight on one of our longer itineraries was attending the Kid's Club Talent Show! And we didn't even have a child aboard!

Thanks, @milling73 Even though we aren't Viking cruisers, appreciate your insights about some of the pitfalls of river cruising for folks of limited mobility.

Great thread, Heinbloed!

If driving to the cruiseport, bringing aboard a mahjong set should work well! But my tiles alone weigh @6 lbs. which precludes me from flying with them😒.

Thank heavens for our wonderful roll call! Since we were luggageless before most members flew to Amsterdam, many of them brought items for us to borrow. DH and I shopped in Berlin and Amsterdam, primarily at the C&A stores. We were complimented on our clothing choices and luckily most fellow cruisers were of an age where they didn’t recall our many repetitions. So we didn’t spend a lot of money on the clothes we rushed to buy, which was a good thing since airberlin never reimbursed us a euro! And all our belongings were Intact when we were finally reunited with our bags at AMS. Actually, one of the more upsetting things about this experience occurred 3 years later when we were on an Avalon tour of Nuremberg and passed by a C&A. The guide pointed it out to all on our bus, loudly proclaiming the initials stood for CHEAP AND AWFUL!

We even did carryon only + backpack for a November Europe Danube River cruise preceeded by 7 nights in Germany, 3 in France, 3 in Switzerland and followed by 3 nights in Munich! We did wash clothes in a timeshare laundry in Germany, hand-washed as needed after and used Avalon's service for a few items. For that trip only a pair of Adidas and a pair of flats came with me, winter jacket was compressible, and several jeans and black slacks sufficed. I've learned that even heavy items such as men's golf shirts and jeans can be hand-laundered and hung to dry in the shower, though they won't be ready to wear the next day. Most recent carryon/backpack cruse/land was last September on the Millennium Alaska and on return a visit to family in Oregon for another week. We did have laundry available on all parts of that trip. Biggest mistake ever was deciding to check our carryons when we were routed CLE-JFK-BER at the counter vs. our original booking CLE-LGA-BER. Thought it would be more convenient since we no longer had to schlep across Queens from one airport to the other. HA HA HA. No bags for our entire 3 week trip that included a 2-week British Isles cruise on the Silhouette.

I sent a letter to celebrityengagementcenter@celebrity.com regarding possible FCC and received a nice written reply after awhile and learned we do have $100@ credit. We were provided with confirmation #s and expiration dates of 2049. Incuded in the letter is this information: I hope this helps. If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to contact our Engagement Center at 844-418-6824 from North America, 0344 493 2033 from the UK, or 1-316-554-5961 worldwide.

Sunset from Tuscan Grille would be my choice! No sea views from the other specialty restaurants as I recall, except Sushi on 5, but that doesn't compare to the aft views from Tuscan!

We had a blast in our Twizy in Bermuda! In fall 2017, we needed to pick it up at the Hamilton Princess Hotel, which was a bit of a hassle and extra expense, but we shared the cab with a fun couple from our roll call who had discovered Twizy. DH and I are septuagenerians and laughed aloud at my gyrations getting in the back of the vehicle. Drove all the way to St. George and back, charging it while at lunch. Caught the last ferry back to King's Wharf.

We nearly fainted from hunger when we shared a table with a slow eating, nonstop talker who ordered at least 3 apps. Our beleaguered waiter was following protocol by not serving our dinners until this woman had finished the apps. He was relieved when I asked him to please proceed with the rest of the meal for the rest of us!

Here are options from the Rome2Rio website from Zurich to Basel, with the train probably the best choice followed by taxi to where your river boat docks. Flying into Basel with an extra connection gives more opportunity for things to go wrong! We plan on flying out of Zurich when we leave Switzerland post our Rhine River cruise next year! Zürich to Basel (rome2rio.com)

One bedbug experience for me in 2016. Bites emerged about a week later. This was in 2016 and was the 3rd travel fiasco that year: lost luggage for 3 weeks in Europe that included the British Isles cruise on the Silhouette, no water when we arrived home because credit card payment did not register, and finally bedbugs at Breaks Interstate Park between KY and VA.

Ditto @Turtles06 recommendation of train from Paris to Amsterdam. To visit the D-day area you could book a long day trip from Paris or even an overnight. Bruges is well worth a visit. How much time do you have? IMHO it might be better to follow the adage less is more. What you don't see on your first trip to Europe gives you all the more reason to return! Also, do check out the Ports of Call Europe forum where you will get even more help from your Cruise Critic friends! Europe Cruises Q&A: Find Tips & Recommendations - Cruise Critic Message Board Forums

Those cabins look to be fabulous for a forward view over the bow. I would chose one of those over an Infinite veranda when we next sail an E-class ship. We did sail in 7003, which is a supersize OV with a large porthole window, on the Millennium and had no issues being that far forward.

Despite my pointing out the drawbacks of Viking vs. Avalon, friends booked Viking Rhone. I hope they have a wonderful cruise, but worry that they are what I consider "frail" elderly. They are also spending time in Paris as well as Scotland and will be gone 3 weeks.

Can’t hurt to attempt potty training before the cruise to give your family more options. Typically, crew love seeing and interacting with wee ones since theirs are far away.

Would Avalon be willing to contact your TA and insist they contact you? In our case, same thing in that Celebrity wouldn't touch our booking with that dishonest TA- except that Celebrity referenced the agency that had our booking and it was not the same one we booked with! It was an actual brick/mortar agency that the online fraudulent agency had channeled our booking through! Hope you get things unraveled Sanger727!