ew101

Glad this thread got brought to the top again as I somehow missed it first time around....

 

I love sailing with Voyages to Antiquity specifically because they offer so many ports that are not often found on the itinerary of larger ships/mass market lines. Some of the delightful ports I've visited on their ship include:

 

Croatia: Zadar

Albania: Sarande (before everyone else went there)

Greece: Ithaca, Skiathos, Monemvasia, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Thessaloniki

Turkey: Canakkale, Tasucu, Antakya, Antalya

Cyprus: Limassol

Tunisia: Tunis, Sousse

Morocco: Casablanca, Tangiers

Egypt: Safaga, Sharm-el-Sheikh

 

Unlikely to be featured again anytime soon: Beirut, Tartus and Latakia (Syria)

 

Still trying to get to: Algeria, Libya

This is a good list. Libya apparently has some excellent historic sites.

Well the best way to see the smaller ports is by sailboat. You can Med Moor in front of the little tavernas. Ferry is probably second best. The cute port towns face the water. I can recommend Corsica - we liked it. What ever happened to Cueta? It was on some nice Holland Med trips in 2016. The whole concept of visting Africa - Tangiers, etc. seems exotic. We miss Turkey - I think the danger to tourists is overblown these days compared to other places. Hvar is great. One thing- I don't mind most ports- you just need to find the right place in each. One of our best trips was Canada new England and we had microbrews in each town.

We liked the Veendam a few years back in Canada/New England and could do some ballroom dancing. It seems like there is still an Ocean Trio and dance floor in the Ocean Bar?

I was unable to find any 2017 Fun Times issues out here- I know the bands also change regularly. We would go in month or two.

These are more readable- thanks :). We are looking for two step and or ballroom type dancing. It looks like there was some country from the DJ at 10:30 one evening. Can you remember if you saw or heard of this?

On Amsterdam the Neptunes trio still plays dance music in the Ocean Bar during the evening. See you there :D

What a great find- based on studying daily programs online -ballroom dancing is on the decline on HAL- the Neptunes seem to be going extinct. The only places we have seen good ballroom dancing lately are on Cunard - there was an eight piece orchestra every night in the Queens Room on Queen Victoria last week. And there is nice music and a dance floor in the Manhattan Rooms on NCL.

I got an ad for a 3 night trip on the Majesty to Kusadasi in March. I really miss Turkey and think a run back to Kusadasi would be good, and a return to Istanbul by ship would be even better. The Majesty is an old but arguably classic ship. I wonder if we can vote with our feet and try to book some of these? I think given the overall threat level to tourists world wide, the US State Department is playing "remember when" too hard with Turkey.

If I am not mistaken the current QE/QV were derived from existing platforms. If you are not needing a brand new hull, you can as the customer move some superstructure bits around fairly easily. It is just the click of a mouse in the computer aided design system. So it is a marketing decision not a firm engineering constraint. I am happy to be able to walk all the way around the ship and see out from time to time. The promenade deck does not need to be 20 feet wide. I watched the video - the Koningsdam promenade deck seems fine to me. I was taken in by all the negative comments that were posted when the ship came out.

We recommend the AeroBus to get downtown to major tourist squares. It is very cheap and there is room for luggage. To get to the ship from your hotel with luggage take a taxi. Taxi drivers know about the ships (ships generate vast taxi business) and it is a long walk out to the pier. There is a blue bus (few Euros) you can take from the Columbus statue square area out to the ships also. We were just there (11/1-4) and found the city quiet and safe. If there is a major demonstration locals suggest avoiding the subway and to take surface transportation to avoid being stuck in crowds. It is possible by the use of camera angles to make demonstrations appear larger on TV than they are and this should be taken into account.

After cruising for more than 25 years, we are old school. We like ballroom/Latin dancing, promenade decks, and days at sea. It is hard to argue with the pricing and choices from the mass market lines these days, but we felt we had to make a change. We have been looking at Cunard off and on, and finally an off-season nine-night trip matched our open dates and my (low) price point.

We were a little stressed over the dress code. I despise neckties, but could manage a sport-coat without great suffering. My wife found a large selection of new formal dresses online for around $69.95 each, which only required hemming and some fussing over shoes. I owned a tuxedo, which after a bit of dieting and a replacement set of trousers from eBay still could fit.

Embarcation in Barcelona was the worst we have ever seen. We were not told when to arrive and when we did we were assigned groups in a tired outer hall. After 45 minutes they seemed to stop calling groups and angry guests just stormed up and went into the departure hall where there was a long snaking line. We were commiserating with some fellow passengers when one disappeared. He came back shortly and said to follow him. He found the “group check in” was under-utilized and he made our own pretend group. We wonder if the others ever got on, despite the fact that we did not leave until the next day. A little supervision would have fixed this. Cunard cleverly checks passports for UK arrivals at sea, so getting off the ship and to the bus in Southhampton was on the other hand the fastest we have ever seen. We walked off the ship about 8:30 and were at our gate at Heathrow by 11:30.

All modern ships are nice, but the Queen Victoria was a cut above. They got rid of the wasted space of a massive lobby. The “woodwork” was upgraded and just felt classy. There was a half bottle of Champagne waiting in our stateroom. The cabin was well appointed, quiet and had some nice touches. We were delighted to find a tea kettle, which allows the use of proper boiling water for making tea. Our cabin attendant acted more like a butler.

Smaller cruise lines are better than large ones for one reason lately. There is not an aggressive “draft” of literally thousands of experienced crew to go to newer vessels. They get to learn their craft and perfect it. The main dining room team was amazing- down to deftly removing skin from fish and applying lemon. You never got a trainee waiter, even for breakfast, which is normally a pick-up team. Eagle eyed head waiters maintained service standards, energy which on other, lesser lines, goes to upselling you to alternative dining.

The Britannia main dining room food was as reported- you get to eat what they are serving. It is well prepared, but is probably not what you want or were expecting. We would scan the menu and it was sometimes unrecognizable. The choices were explained to us as British food. There were 1000 Brits aboard out of around 2000 total. We had lovely Indian in the pub. The wine list was large and varied but not cheap. The beer list was extensive- they even had an IPA.

One iron clad industry rule was gone- you could actually buy wine ashore and bring it aboard to drink in your cabin. And it was a great luxury to find self-service laundry on most decks. Sales pressure was limited – the photo staff was unobtrusive and there was no overt selling of unlimited diabetes (fountain beverage) packages. They had the old style per minute Internet service (who remembers logout.com) which was pokey slow.

The dancing was lovingly cared for. The Queens Room was in the center of the ship and had a large dance floor. A social director called the dances and there was a seven-piece dedicated orchestra. There was a dance couple, who were internationally ranked and some dance hosts and a hostess. The dances were split between ballroom, Latin and some British Sequence Dances. A lesson or two were mixed in. This was the place you could use the dance lessons you took on other lines. The dance floor was often quite full. The Queens Room was the home of several balls, such as the Black and White.

The Captain was charming. You got the sense he was very much in charge of our happy ship, and was not just a minor functionary assigned to read us policies from headquarters. One night he decided we would dock early in Gibraltar, and get a good night's sleep at the dock rather that "driving around in circles all night."

The fellow passengers were normally retired, accomplished and well-travelled. There is great brand loyalty to Cunard (pronounced with a leading “Q”) and there seemed to be demand for shared tables at dinner as the conversation was quite interesting.

All in all we were impressed. If you are tired of waiters in training and smoky casinos and don’t mind dressing up for dinner this is the place for you.

The US State Department got pretty worked up over the coup aftermath and attacks against tourists which were bad. But lately it is hard to argue the safety of tourists is at risk in Istanbul more than anyplace else. We felt when we were there the Turks have organized and competent police departments. State just updated the travel warning web site last week, and it has a lot of history and a few tweaks. I think cruise lines and their insurance carriers do follow this guidance as unlimited lawsuits would result if there was an incident. We want to go back to Turkey right now, preferably by ship. I don't think the waiters and shop owners in Istanbul or other tourist centers voted for President Erdogan, especially the places with a picture of Ataturk prominently displayed.

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/turkey-travel-warning.html

Actually the Constellation had a four piece band in the aft lounge that played before dinner to a large crowd.

I am trying to find some ballroom /Latin dancing opportunities on the ship. Some years back on the Constellation the Neptunes were a trio. Is there even a dance floor in Cellar Masters 5?

In the Hotel Director talk at the Crown and Anchor event aboard on 8/30/17 a 2018 drydock was mentioned with dates but no other details. This ship seems to be "offline" for bookings during that time. Is there any speculation of what might be changed/added?

1. Just ask to change to early or my time dining >>> That worked - My Time was sold out but 6PM was possible.

2. Boleros Lounge, good to go. >>> Nice Latin from Acapulco Gold - we needed to brush up on Merengue- but talked them into a Tango and Rumba

3. Low.

We got there at 10:30 and were on the ship by 11:10

There are a few bands aboard now. Rockport is a classic cruise line cover band- 70s/80s hits. There is a Latin band Acapulco Gold who are quite authentic. And an Island band Initiative.

We got possibly the last outside cabin for an upcoming trip at a great price. But we are on the 8:30 MDR list. We would like to beg, plead or bribe our way to 6:00 or anytime dining- sharing a table is fine- any strategies? We like to dance- ballroom/Latin- do any of the bands or venues make this possible? (Note- this is not as easy as it seems- you need a band and a dance floor- game shows don't count). And I like craft beer/IPA - what are the odds of that? And sorry for the FAQ but as a non elite member when does boarding start? I do not like to miss a moment on board.

The RCCL Majesty has a real wraparound promenade deck. These are rare on Carnival. Boleros is also a draw for us as we know a few Latin dances.

Thanks for the tip on the Istanbul layover. We were strongly advised not to travel there last year and we loved it. We felt very safe and want to go back. Did you have to call Turkish Airlines direct to get it?

I think the Breakaway represents the future of cruising. If you have a long list of experiences, shows and venues for the week, the larger ships have that. We have been cruising forever and like the slower pace of the smaller ships- the all around promenade deck, the head waiters at work in the MDR etc. I like the all inclusive nature of being on a ship and the unique identity you sometimes get- such as on the Jade. You won't find that on the newer larger ships under the NCL banner much any more. If the industry growth ever slows, you might see more staff stability but for now it is all about expansion. Some of the new concepts really work- the blues club, the Waterfront and Manhattan Room for example. I would be very curious to see the "future drydock punch list" as there are some changes I would make.

Except on certain ships with more venues the beer list (and often the actual beer) comes from Corporate. On the Breakaway recently they had A Little Sumpin Ale from Lagunitas. This was not bad and like an IPA. It is good to put this issue on the comment cards.

The atrium and other work looks amazing. The only mystery left for me is the new lounge- did Medusa become Bliss?

The British Colonial Hilton is 10 minutes away. This is a $350 per night hotel so everything is neat and tidy. They like you to buy passes online as they do fill up. There is a pool grill and they also BBQ stuff. We have been there maybe 5-6 times.

http://www.resortforaday.com/British-Colonial-Hilton-Day-pass-p/nsnabch.htm

You take the cruise ship bus from Livorno to the train station which is pretty far from the port. The train to Pisa for us required a connection both ways- the signs are very good. Remember to validate your tickets in the yellow stamping machines. To switch tracks you have to go in the tunnels under the tracks. When in Pisa, you arrive a few blocks from the main gate- it is not obvious which way to go. As you go in the main gate go to the tower. Keep walking past the tower and turn to the right and the actual town is cute and there are nice little places for lunch.

The bands were done by 9:30 PM. When we finished dinner there were chairs by the stage, as there was usually a line for tables.