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notjaded

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Everything posted by notjaded

  1. Anyone have insights on when Solis appears on the Encore?
  2. Thank you so much for your kind effort to verify the status of these cabins. Very much appreciated! Safe travels!
  3. Appreciate any comments from those who may have stayed in these suites or have knowledge of whether or not the PH suites 1023 and 1025 are wheelchair accessible. The reason I'm bringing this question to the community is different information in various Seabourn publications (pdfs) and Seabourn web pages: I see one Seabourn pdf deckplan where the suites are clearly marked as accessible. I see another Searbourn pdf deckplan in which they are are not marked accessible, and the accessible cabins are listed and do not include these suites. When I try to make a dummy booking, I see the wheelchair sign popping up. When I call into Seabourn, the agents say that the suites are not accessible. (But, why does their own pdf show them as accessible?) If anyone has actually stayed in one of these suites, it would be great to know what the reality is. Thank you!
  4. OP here again with some additional thoughts: 1. Ms Notjaded commented that the bathroom lighting on V was ill-suited to cosmetic application. She also thought the the placement and design of the makeup mirror impeded in the desk was poor. 2. As the trip planner and higher-end cabin consumer, I absolutely loved that the higher the cabin status, the greater the priority for excursion and restaurant reservations. I understand this is not a popular view.
  5. OP here with mini-review follow-up. our first Viking cruise is complete. We went on the ship to search for Northern Lights and found them, so we are happy campers. Our Viking vs SB review: 1. Like smaller size of SB, but we were not bothered by Viking. 2. Enjoyed the Chef's Table food much more than SB’s TK. 3. Our V ship much more modern than those on SB we have sailed. Had a huge shower in their PH suite, much bigger than SB. 4. Felt the staff were uniformly customer-service oriented, which was better than our last SB cruise. However, they were constrained by bureaucracy. and the guest services folks did not seem to have the same level of ability to understand and resolve problems without referral to corporate. 5. Food in buffet restaurant superior to Colonade. Loved the noodle and sushi bars. Overalll, a positive experience and we would not hesitate to consider V on a unique itinerary.
  6. Nah, look at the wine list someone posted up thread. The last item in the first page is a Napa cab for $180. Somehow my wife noticed it. πŸ™‚
  7. OP here with a post-cruise update: My wife was able to find included reds to her liking, which was a pleasant surprise. Our cabin attendant kept stocking our PH with her most recent favorite. we had $80 of OBC left toward the end of cruise, so in true Ms Notjaded fashion, she ordered a $180 bottle of wine. Thanks for all the help.
  8. OP here with an update: I happened to see the ship's captain right outside my cabin, and was explaining the situation and the various responses of his staff. He immediately said that he sound was normal and the bow was hitting the water. As soon as he said that, he actually heard the sound and felt the vibration and said that it was not the bow, but the metal plates flexing under pressure and the low temperature. I told him that I would like to be able to sleep in a different cabin until so long as this situation persisted. We were just notified by the housekeeping supervisor that: 1) They are planning to have a welder fix the problem, but they cannot do that while the ship is at sea due to safety concerns. 2) They are giving us a second cabin for us to use as sleeping quarters. I thank everyone who contributed useful insights into ocean engineering. As an aside, I think they owe me a free cruise for bringing this matter to their attention. :)
  9. Ms notjaded and I are currently on a cruise on the Venus. While we have hundreds of days on Seabourn, Silversea and other lines, this is our first Viking cruise.. We started out in calm seas and all was good with our veranda cabin, which is located on deck 6. Our cabin is located approximately 1/3 of the way back from the bow. Since encountering 25-ft seas, we have been hearing a loud, reverberating and repetitive banging soundβ€”Ms. Cruise thinks it sounds like a sledgehammer against metalβ€”(usually in sets of two) accompanied by intense vibrations on the floor. We have surveyed on each side of our cabin, as well as spaces on decks immediately below and above us. The noise and vibration quickly dissipates within a cabin on each side of ours. No noise or vibration is felt above or below our suite, or by an identical suite on the other side of the ship. Walking about the ship on multiple levels, we have not heard/felt anything like this. We registered a complaint, and finally, someone from maintenance showed up and proclaimed the noise was typical in rough seas and was caused by the anchors swaying in the rough seas. He but he could not explain why the noise/vibration could not be detected elsewhere. We later spoke with the ship’s general manager. He denied it was an anchor issue, and said the situation was caused by the hull design. He could not explain why only our room was affected. Our impression is that he couldn’t care less. Not a good representative of the company. So, experienced Viking cruisers: Any insights on causation? Many thanks.
  10. Thanks for all the insights here, the sum of which have convinced me to deal with the luggage problem by hiring drivers, porters, skycaps, and meet/ greet services. Yesterday, driver came to home, picked us and six bags up, dropped us to skycap. Meet at post-customs arrival hall by another driver, who took luggage and us to hotel and into hands of valets. Luggage in our room 2 minutes after us. No worries. Spent a couple hundred dollars extra for these services.
  11. Thanks. I have a question, when you make a wifi call, how does the phone indicate that it is a wifi connection vs cellular?
  12. OP, sorry to hear about your situation. Did you use a credit card or external-to-Viking cruise insurance? If so, there may be provisions for you to claim the loss once the unused vouchers expire.
  13. Just got off the phone with a Verizon rep, who I suspect gave me very inaccurate information about the coverage provided on our International calling plan. At first, he said that my month-long plan included unlimited cruise ship voice and text while on Viking. Since I've never had this before on other ships, I pressed him on it, and then he said that while the included minutes plan did not work on the ship we are sailing (Venus), he noted several ships that the plan worked on. So, Viking experts, are Verizon minutes on board included in your international roaming plan? Many thanks.
  14. Can anyone post information about the packing instructions/warning that LF provides? Thanks!
  15. Was considering using LF on our upcoming voyage ex-Hong Kong, but now reconsidering. Any additional stories anyone has to share? @Nachosdelux: I like your logic about tipping. We arrange for private transport and meet and greet services to help ease the travel pain. @shark b8: Aloha. Any thoughts about shipping from/to Hawaii was part of the problem?
  16. We are going on the Venus next week, and Ms Notjaded is already missing her pickleball! She asked that I survey the community to see is there are table tennis/ping pong tables aboard and where they are located. Many thanks!
  17. Many thanks for starting this thread, and your review. Quick question for now: Do you think that there would be a benefit to bringing walking sticks and crampons for navigating ice and snow while on excursions?
  18. Looking forward to our very first Viking cruise, and wonder about what time we should schedule ourselves to be at the port to get processed to board. We are in a penthouse suite and can board at 11:00 and go right to our suite. If we come at 11:00, would one expect a madhouse and long queues? I'd appreciate hearing from experienced Viking cruisers about when to board so as to make the process less onerous. Many thanks!
  19. My wife and I are sailing next month, first time on Viking. Ms. Notjaded has asked that I inquire about whether there is a marked perfumed scent with the shower gel/shampoo/conditioner. Many thanks.
  20. OP here. Thanks to all who responded to my initial query. I have an OT followup, courtesy of Ms Cruise: Does anyone find the provided shower gel/shampoo/conditioner to have an objectionable fragrance? Thanks again.
  21. We are taking our first Viking (Ocean) Cruise, and are in a Penthouse Suite with complimentary laundry and dry cleaning. I would appreciate it if someone could inform about what the typical turnaround time is to receive back one's laundry and dry cleaning. Also, how would you characterize the quality of these services? (i.e., do you trust your clothes with Viking's laundry/dry cleaning?) Many thanks.
  22. OP here. Love all the information presented here. Was surprised to read here that, like Seabourn and Silversea, Viking allows one to bring their own alcohol aboard. So, I Googled alcohol import allowance for Great Britain, where we are picking up our cruise, and found: --------------------------------- Alcohol allowance How much you can bring depends on the type of alcohol. You can bring in: beer - 42 litres wine (still) - 18 litres You can also bring in either: spirits and other liquors over 22% alcohol - 4 litres sparkling wine, fortified wine (for example port, sherry) and other alcoholic drinks up to 22% alcohol (not including beer or still wine) - 9 litres You can split this last allowance, for example you could bring 4.5 litres of fortified wine and 2 litres of spirits (both half of your allowance). --------------------------------------- Looks like we can easily bring a case of a favorite wine with us and my favorite Wino will be pleased. Thanks again for your help with this pressing problem! πŸ™ƒ
  23. OP here. β€œWino” sure got a lot of attention, and great information from the group. Glad that most knew I was using the term in an endearing manner.
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