zltm089

Following!!!

Big seafood fan here and Vancouver is on my list!

Following this thread.

I'm also on the fence and not sure if I should book my Alaska cruise. I'm not bothered with the virus itself but more about quarantined, cancellations, delays and closures etc. How how cruise companies are treating their customers with regards to refunds and compensation. 

Thanks for all the comments. 

I'm not too bothered with the actual health concerns of the corona virus.

What I'm worried about is due to some "Health and safety" excuse my cruise is cancelled/quanratined/delayed etc

Last thing I want is to be locked inside my room, plagued with delays, cancellations, missed ports, medical tents outside, and feel like I'm in some zombie apocalypse movie etc 

When I've spent so much time planning and money on a cruise and then it turns out to be like a Diamond Princess experience. I do get it, "it's one of those things that can happen ". Just trying to get a real feel of what exactly is happening with cruises at the moment. 

With all the Corona virus stuff going on, ships quarantined etc 

What are your cruise plans for this year?

I was planning a cruise to Norway and Alaska, but bit apprehensive with all the horror stories.

Multiple threads on CC about Corona virus, so what are your thoughts folks? My main concern is getting on a ship that's quarantined or last minute cancellations, not too bothered about the risks of catching the virus itself.

What are your plans? Have you cancelled anything? 

Kind regards 

Kevin 

With all the Corona virus stuff going on, ships quarantined etc 

What are your cruise plans for this year?

I was planning a cruise to Norway and Alaska, but bit apprehensive with all the horror stories.

Multiple threads on CC about Corona virus, so what are your thoughts folks? My main concern is getting on a ship that's quarantined or last minute cancellations, not too bothered about the risks of catching the virus itself.

What are your plans? Have you cancelled anything? 

Kind regards 

Kevin 

Following!

Cayman island

Best lobster in my life!

19 hours ago, pris993 said:

Yes, I can tell you I have cruised Princess, Celebrity, Holland America, Cunard recently... we are elite on both Princess and Celebrity... very little difference between of them.   Different cruises prefer on line over another, each has its pluses and minuses.  

Do you know of other cruise lines which are in the same category as Celebrity, HAL, Princess and Cunard?

On 12/10/2019 at 10:02 PM, vakamalua said:

No, not premium.  Nor are Celebrity or Holland America.  Just mass market.

Mass market lines are NCL, Royal Caribbean, Carnival and PnO.

HAL and Celebrity are a step up imo.

5 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Celebrity and HAL are not “premium light”.  They are “premium”.  I don’t know much about HAL but have sailed on Celebrity and thy advertise that they are “premium”.  Perhaps you are thinking of Oceania, Azamara and Viking Ocean that are “luxury light”.

My understanding so far, 4 categories 

Luxury - seabourn, silversea, regent and crystal. 

Premium - Viking, Oceania and Azamara

Premium light/ mainstream premium - Celebrity, Cunard, Princess and HAL.

Mainstream/ Mass market- RC, NCL, Carnival and P&O.

On 12/12/2019 at 11:53 PM, martincath said:

If you are intrigued by what @Gardyloo suggested then yes, Granville Island market traders will sell you live Dungeness and cook them for you on request... and fresh bread, salads etc. are also available from the many and varied stalls and stores in the public market building. But if you plan to eat outside at the picnic tables and watch the buskers (no need to worry about the mess from such a fun meal when eating outside!), do also watch out for the cheeky seagulls who will happily snatch your food if you leave it unattended😉

 

Too much hassle. 😂

I'd rather sit down in a restaurant.

Thank you for the suggestions though.

11 hours ago, Madio said:

That's good news that it was easy to book the restos. From which one was the menu you posted?  And when was your cruise? We're on the Edge on March 15, and apprehensive about booking specialty dining ahead because we will have access to Blu, and don't know how good that will be.  If it's really good, we may want to spend our OBC's on something other than specialty dining.

Menus are from Normandie and Tuscan.

I was on the 24th of Nov cruise, western Caribbean. 

I've heard positive things for Blu.

I spent my obc on excursions 

Booking restaurants onboard on the day wasn't an issue at all.

On 1/7/2020 at 1:51 PM, itsanita said:

Great review, thanks for taking the time. 

 

Do you remember what time the shows were?  I have heard 7 & 9 and also 7:30 & 9:30.    This will make a difference when making reservations for dinner.  

Oh no sorry, can't remember.

I know for sure that they have 2 shows catered for "early" and "late" dining. You might want to go for the flexible dining option and then book the table so that you can get to the venue at least 20mins before. Some shows are quite popular. But during our 7 day cruise, some of them were repeat so no worries if you've missed it. Most likely to have another session lined up.

On 12/30/2019 at 4:13 PM, bikerunner said:

Thank you for the great pics and review.  The Edge is still a thought for me if I find the right cruise to go.  Any chance of getting pics of the prices in the Spa.  Kind of curious since Canyon Ranch is being replaced by the same people who run the Edge Spa.  Im guessing similar but I know my next cruise my travel partner will be using the spa amenities, treatments a lot.   

They sold entrance to the spa for the duration of the whole cruise and "daily" passes were not available when we asked.

Entrance price was quite high imo, and was about $450 as far as I can remember.

Massage treatments were very pricey aswell compared to onshore spas.

On 12/24/2019 at 3:25 PM, charlielinda said:

Thanks so much for balanced reviews.  We are sailing on the Edge in two weeks.  I am going with open mind and want to enjoy a new experience myself.  Honestly, life is good and if I’m on a ship ... can’t get better than that.  

Enjoy! ....Eden and the infinite verandas might not be to everyone's liking, but overall it is a very nice ship.

3 hours ago, Mich3554 said:

Then I would list what is most important to you.   Viking has no casino, no kids under 18, excellent food (supposedly not as good as Oceania) and all staterooms have balconies, and even the most basic room is larger.  Itinerary is another consideration, which line is going where you want to go?

Well the two most important for me would be the ship and food. I want modern, "recent" (ideally under 5 years old or recently renovated) and mid size ships (under 3000 passengers, ideally 2000)...I think the premium lines ships have  about 1000s capacity.

Itinerary and onboard entertainment, I'm not too bothered about (obviously as long as it's not going to a war torn country etc and it has a decent theatre...). 

Based on the comments I received in the Oceania section of the forum, it does sound like Oceania will win for the food and Viking will win for the ships... 

On 12/26/2019 at 1:08 PM, aungrl said:

First, I totally agree with other posters that it’s always best to try both lines as time/budget allow, because so much of this is so subjective.  That said, for a bit of a ‘contrarian’ view, we were Oceania loyalists for many years, back in the early 2000s, sailing with them as recently as 2016/17 after a break of a few years.  Even before our first Viking Ocean sailing in early 2018, our view of Oceania had dimmed quite a bit, when comparing the product and service of the 2016 period with those of a decade earlier.  As other posters have noted, Red Ginger is a superior experience, and we always appreciated the fact that servers with gloves served passengers in the buffet - rather than everyone touching the utensils themselves.  Those are two strong positives.  But in all other respects - for us, at least - Viking is far superior.  The ships are not only newer, we prefer the layout and Scandinavian decor.  No casino and no children for us is a huge plus, and the ‘open to all’ thermal pool/snow grotto/spa area on the lower deck is a real plus.  Viking also has the edge for us in terms of resident enrichment lecturers; we’ve rarely experienced one we didn’t think was first rate.  The included wine/beer with meals, and the mini-bar with alcohol if you want it that is replenished daily in all but the lowest cabin category, along with the one included excursion, are also positives.  (At least on the voyages we’ve taken, the included excursions have rarely skewed to the ‘panoramic bus ride’; they’ve been a mixture of walking and historic site visits.).  Given all of this, we would only sail Viking now, even if Oceania had a slight edge on the itinerary.  We have good friends, however, who feel exactly the opposite, preferring Oceania for a long list of their own reasons.  

Ideally I would love to try both lines. But since it will be my first proper "Premium" cruise and funds/budget allows me to only chose between one of them (for the time being...)

I do appreciate that food is highly subjective, but what I was after are comments regarding food on oceania including the members' cruising foodie experience (i.e their "foodie" background) and then see whether the "offical" reviews, reputation and numerous awards all tie up. Many of yous have done that and I thank you very much.

With regards to travel agents in the UK, I'm still not convinced. Will call around and see what they say.

Thank you all for the comments.

Both Viking Ocean and Oceania fall in the premium cruise line category.

Viking seems to have more recent and modern ships.

How is the food (buffet, mdr and speciality reataurants) on those two lines? Which one do you prefer foodwise?

Many thanks

Thank you all for your comments.

1 hour ago, wripro said:

Man I suggest that you pose these questions to you TA who should have a broader knowledge of all cruise lines and their product as opposed to just here.

By TA, I presume you mean travel agent?...

No thanks, I'd rather get the feedback of people who actually cruise rather than people who sell cruises.