Peacemkr59

I definitely have a bunch in full get up. Purse bra lipstick and heels. I got you guys covered

When Nate posts his pictures for that event, you'll have to add yours!! :)

And Rick has been ordering those greyhounds now...I guess its his new drink of choice!!

I have a bunch of pictures. Some will be posted here...

I think you're right about having your pants off more than on. I was going to keep it clean but you said that which I am taking as permission to post the "good ones".

Not sure if I have any pics of him in the bra. I'll have to check when I get home from work. I do have a video...

I am waiting patiently for that day's photos!!

Uhh oh. Did I hear Anna request pics from the quest. I thought I was safe all pics destroyed. I think I spent more time in the quest with my pants off then on. This could be ugly. Brace yourselves.

Yes I'm hoping someone has some pics of Rick wearing my bra lol and I guess that would include some of you pantless!! I'm having some serious Kenny and Beth withdrawal!! I'm in need of some comic relief!!!

Hey Nate did you happen to get any pictures of The Quest in Studio B. My battery died :(

Nate, I'm still bit confused about the whole private beach for Gold card holders and the over the water cabanas....if you are lucky enough to rent one of the cabanas which are in the private beach area for Gold card holders (and you're not staying in a suite), do you get to go to the picnic in the private beach area which is obviously less crowded??

Anna, October 12, 2014, Eastern Allure. The crazy eights reunion tour exactly one year later.

"Just Saying".

If we can swing it we'll be there!!!

Nate, your review and your pictures have made the withdrawl from our roll call much easier to handle. Miss all of you and all the laughter we shared!!

 

We woke up and went to Windjammer for breakfast. Sorry no pictures.

Aaron & I went down to Chops Grille to change our reservation. It was pretty booked up already, but they were able to accommodate our change. If you want to book a specialty restaurant, my suggestion is, you should either reserve it before embarking or do it right when you step on board.

More pictures from around the ship as we walked to Chops.

 

 

They say you're not allowed to smoke on your cabin balcony. Judy talked to her room steward (different than mine) who said she would bring an ashtray. She brought Judy this ashtray and said you can smoke on your balcony as long as you don't throw the cigarette into the sea.

 

You can smoke on the balconies until 12/31/2013...after that, their new policy of no smoking on balconies starts!

You were a great sport with the sexy man contest, I personally believe you were robbed. I did hear you had special "behind" the scenes pics on your camera.

I have some of those "behind" the scene photos as well!! So many laughs!!

You were such a great sport!!

Good Question. I saw a sign that said you must have a gold card in order to enter the private beach (Nellie's Beach). Until 10 minutes ago I assumed if you're one of the upper tiers in the C&A you had a gold coloured sea pass card. I just looked around and gold cards are for people staying in suites. So I guess if you're in the upper tier you can't get in to the private beach. That seems a little weird to me.

You can also gain access if you book an over the water cabana because they are located on that beach. The OTW cabana give access to up to 6 people and its ok if none of them have gold cards.

Good info. I thought you had to be in a suite to even book one of those!! Next time I'll be trying to book one!!

Thanks guys! Below is a map of Labadee. Adrenaline Beach is the northern beach under the zip line. The small red circle is where we went in the water and all the way across had rocks.

The private beach, for upper tier Crown & Anchor members and over the water cabanas, is located at Barefoot Beach Club. The red oval to the right of that is where the girls went and said the water was beautiful & calm. Around that area there is a small aqua park with inflatables in the water for climbing and jumping off of. Kids may like that. I am unsure about Columbus Cove more to the right.

Nate, is the private beach for upper tier Crown & Anchor or just for suite passengers? And if it is for upper tier, what tier is it? Diamond Plus?? What about the cabanas? Same? Thanks?

Sun setting over Miami

We Popped open a bottle of wine to enjoy watching our first sunset on board.

Great pictures!!!

The Cantilevered Whirlpools on deck 15 forward outside of the Solarium.....

are these for adults only? are they open in the evenings?

 

Thanks

Don't know about adults only but they are open at night!!

Hey Nate, I've been on lady o 3x now. You couldn't have told me about the arrows on the room at the beginning of our cruise. Never knew it. Great info thx.

Kenny, I was thinking the same thing. Been on Allure twice and now Oasis...never noticed the arrows before. It really would have come in handy!!! :)

Great review Nate!! Wish I was still sailing on her!!!! So much fun!

We are booked for a June 2014 trip and final payment is due Dec. 5th. I asked our TA why so soon and she said that Viking requires this on their promotional specials. Our special is the "2 for 1" which is a sales gimic that has been discussed on this forum. While I don't like the idea of them holding our money for six months, I'm trying to look on the bright side. The trip will be long paid for and it will almost seem like a free trip (I know that stretching it!).

So if we know that the 2 for 1 is a sales gimmick and not a "real" promotion, one they always have, so its nothing special, why then do they ask for final so far in advance? That would mean that all their cruises need to be paid for that far in advance because we all know that every cruise sold is a 2 for 1 promotional special...right?? Who pays full price?

Why can't I find any sign of this payment policy in the official Viking Terms & Conditions that they post on the websites?

 

The earliest I can find is 120 days before departure and the latest seems to be about 10 weeks. It varies between countries it seems, but nowhere can I find anything documented that would support paying as much as a year in advance?

I agree, I have read so many times on these boards that people have had to pay in full at time of deposit or shortly after making deposit, then others state that they made final 90 days out. Seems there is not a set policy. Doesn't sit well with me at all.

Final payment in June 2013 for a cruise not sailing until October 2014....that's really way before final payment should be due and that doesn't sound like a group policy or a TA error. I've heard others say this about Viking before. I've heard great things about Viking but things like this are bothersome..regardless of the cruise line!

Nan-L,

What ever happened with the final payment date? Is it 90 days out or a year out?

Nan-L, you never mentioned when your final payment is due? Please let us know what you found out!!

Can you find a smaller urn? We planned a burial at sea for my father on RCL and had a much smaller urn than you describe when my mom changed her mind. I attended someone else's and saw a biodegradable urn in the shape of a seashell that also could easily fit under an airline seat or in the overhead.

I have just returned home from the most wonderful two weeks on MS AMAdante on an APT arranged cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. Our Cruise Director, the amazing Kata, often spoke of APT’s goal “to exceed expectations” and I can honestly say this trip surpassed all mine easily. I have made many independent trips to Europe but this time went with my elderly parents and I was a little unsure of whether this would be as good as it was advertised. It was. I loved it.

 

There is so much I loved about this trip that I will just try to highlight some things that stand out for me: The ship was immaculate, beautifully furnished, confortable, and staff went way above duty to offer service. My cabin was perfectly sized and the bathroom was much roomier than I imagined. Unlimited fluffy towels changed twice a day is a pure indulgence for me, as we live in a place with water restrictions! Whenever there was a little problem ( such as my sliding door getting stuck once) the Pursers would actually come down to my cabin immediately and then arrange the right person to solve the problem.

 

Food was great- and I am a real foodie! Breakfast was fantastic, I cannot think of a single addition I would make. The dining room staff knew that I liked a poached egg, just one, on unbuttered toast, and delivered one every morning without me even asking! I loved the flexibility of lunch- each day we ate in the lounge, where there were a range of “light”options, but I would often sneak down to the Dining Room too if there was a salad I wanted. The glass of wine was something I could get used to . Dinner was varied every night and of course some dishes were better than others but all were at least good. Some fabulous restaurant quality. My parents and I sat alone most nights- just our choice, and it was fine: no pressure at all to join another table, although we were happy to do so sometimes. I loved the little unexpected foodie touches: the demonstration of making apple strudel by the Pastry Chef, different cakes designed to fit the itinerary, an onion tart for morning tea one day as we floated into Austria.

 

Coffee…well, not bad, from a Nespresso type machine. I realised after two further weeks in Europe that pretty much EVERY cup of coffee in Europe is made from a push button expresso machine, so given that, the ship coffee wasn’t any different. I did enjoy getting back to my local barista with home roasted and ground single-origin ristretto though. My only suggestion to AMA would be….add on more tea and coffee stations! It was awfully crowded at “peak” times such as just after a shore excursion returned.

 

Best aspect of all was our Tour Director, Kata, and her unbelievable energy and commitment to making sure every one was happy and satisfied. I really enjoyed both her daily written bulletins, thoughtfully placed on our pillows during dinner so that we had time to look in detail the night before. But she added to this with 15 or 20 minute little “talks” just before dinner , outlining the practicalities of the following day: when and where each excursion would be going, something about the various choices, and importantly for my parents, some comment about “for those with walking difficulties”. She was also available from 7 am to midnight for any questions. She was an amazing resource of information about each place but if she did not know, she was very ready to add that too, so that I always felt she was giving an accurate profile of each place.

 

The itinerary was excellent- only a couple of places I would leave out if I was designing it myself. I felt Cologne was just too rushed: I had spent a few days there previously, and really we only got to see the Cathedral. I felt that we needed at least a day and a half in the “bigger cities”, as we had in Vienna and Budapest. The smaller towns were more ideally suited for the short stays and walking excursions: Rothenburg, Wurzberg, Regensburg, Passua, Melk, Durstein- all gorgeous in their own way, and I felt we had time to really enjoy them and see quite a lot. Bamburg I hated: we were moored miles away, it was raining, and it seemed to be jam packed with tourists ( it was a Sunday). Even though we were also moored well out in Vienna, there were regular shuttle buses and we were there long enough to make it worthwhile. The evening concert in Vienna was a real highlight! Much better quality music than I had expected. But Budapest has to be top of my list: sailing down through a misty morning, seeing those fabulous buildings lining each side of the river, will stay in my mind forever. The local guides were all good apart from one( Bamberg….) and some were superb : we may have been lucky, but they were mostly knowledgeable and helpful. The trip is really busy: if you took up every option, as I did, the days were spent mostly off the ship, but I did enjoy returning every afternoon , quite tired!

 

Now anyone reading this who was on this trip will guess who I am when I mention….the bikes. Having the bikes on board was one of the highlights of the trip for me . There were four 30 km accompanied rides- I did three of them and they were fantastic. It really does give you a different perspective of the river and landscape to pedal along the canal paths. Riding from Melk to Durstein was absolutely fantastic: we wound our way in and out of several little villages along the way and through acres of orchards and vines, catching glances of the river as we rode. I insisted on “photo stops” very often!! In addition to the organised rides, the “boys” ( the deck hands) were very happy to get out the bikes any time the boat stopped, and after the first few days, automatically got me out a bike as soon as we docked, so I rode on my own most days as well. The Pursers got very interested in “researching” the best direction and bank for me to ride. The bikes are quite upright mountain bike style- good for looking around and very comfy, although a bit heavy at times. My bell didn’t always work- an essential on the river bike paths which are very busy and shared with earnest looking German hikers who really don’t like a random Aussie cyclist careering into their walking sticks. Still, that is the only negative comment I have! If you are on a APT ship, I strongly suggest you have a go at riding independently – it was very, very easy and added another dimension to the trip. In some little towns I rode in to the town and sat in the sunshine sipping a coffee, feeling like a real traveller for a few moments. And I will admit I did enjoy getting away on my own each day for just a little while( I think at 50 I was definitely the youngest on our trip…)

 

Having read through the forums before I went, I have noticed quite a few questions about dress code. Maybe it is an Australian casual attitude ( 85% of passengers on our trip were Aussies) but honestly, no one cared at all what anyone else was wearing. It just is not an issue. Most people wore casual and comfy clothes suitable for walking. At night we all tended to add on another layer, but apart from the Captain’s dinner, there was no trend of getting dressed up. Some nights I did dress up a little because I felt like it, other times I stayed in pants and a top! I think people were more interested in how your day was and how much you had enjoyed the excursions than what you were wearing. So pack light and enjoy!

 

So were there any downsides? I would have liked a few more hours in a few more ports- for me, I would have liked the same itinerary over three weeks, not two. Not sure if my bank balance would allow for this. And the Internet was patchy. My cabin Internet hardly worked at all- but my personal laptop had intermittent connectivity, very good in bigger ports and non existent most sailing days. Did I miss it? Not really. A couple of times I really wanted to get some information prior to getting to a port ( such as whether the Spanish Riding School was open on the day of our visit) and the wonderful Kata just rang on her mobile for me, and even booked tickets. I used text messages to stay in touch with my children and had coverage at all times.

 

I hope this whets the appetite of those of you planning or dreaming of this trip. I know this is not in the league of Mike Preismann’s account and those fabulous photos of his which honestly sold me on the whole idea originally- thanks Mike! I am sure there is much, much more I could write, but I would be very happy to answer any questions you have.

 

I cannot recommend APT ( AMA) highly enough and would do this trip again with this company in a flash.

Loved your review! I returned I few weeks ago from the Legendary Danube cruise from Prague to Budapest and cannot say enough good things about AMA and the Amalyra. Although we only had 1 guided bike tour on our cruise (to Wahalla in Regensburg), I loved the idea of having the bikes. We took them up to the Melk Abbey on our own the day we were in Melk. We caught up with the group that had gone by bus and our cruise director bought us tickets and gave us headsets so we could join the group!! I would have loved more organized bike tours and I suggested that in our survey. The availabilty of the bikes was our primary reason for choosing AMA and will choose them again when we do the Rhone in France!!

We are doing 3 nights in Prague prior to our cruise on 7/24. We are also doing this on our own. I was able to get the Marriott in Old Town for $80/night on Priceline (considered 5*). We paid $90 per person for the transfer from Prague to the ship and will be doing sightseeing on our own. We are going to book the optional excursion to Terezin through AMA's desk at the Hilton Old Town when we arrive in Prague. This should cost us considerably less money than the $1400 they were going to charge us for 2 people!!