Live from the Prinsendam as the wizard & witches cruise May 17 - June 17, 2013

[sapper1]

I am confused here, cotton candy is a term we don't know in UK. I had always assumed that it was what we call candy-floss. Which is spun sugar wound up on a stick and looks like cotton wool. Over here it is made on a machine with the stick put in the drum to catch the sugar as it is spun out like a centrifuge and wrapped around the stick until there is a sizeable ball of sticky fluffy stuff on the end. So what is cotton candy?

 

We noticed sweets and treats in bowls outside the main dining room but though tempted avoided them for the same reason. People dipping in who do not use the hand santisers and blow their noses on their knapkins.

 

We are both speaking the same language differently. ;It is what you call candy floss. Instead of being on a stick it has always been served on a big plate at the end of a Caneletto meal for all at the table to enjoy. I will miss it.

[Traveling Dot]

I would like to add a comment about Alla Tours. In St Petersburg, I did the 2 day Comfort Tour with another 14 from our roll call. The reason why I picked this tour was that I read this on the Alla Tours website:

 

"The 2-day St Petersburg Comfort tour program will be a good choice for the families traveling with kids and elderly people who request frequent stops for rest."

 

I don't think that our guide had read this. On the first day, we walked without stopping for an hour and a quarter to our restaurant (not even enough time to take a photo) and I am talking about people with walkers and with mobility difficulties here. Then after lunch there was a further hour and a half of walking without once being able to sit down for a rest. Several of us complained to him more than once during the course of the day. He said we did not have time for stops and that in fact there was more walking in this tour than in the Grand Tour, which we all questioned.

 

On day 2, we met Alla in the morning to pay for the tour and again several of complained about the amount of walking. She spoke to our guide and from then on things improved a bit. However, I could not in all honesty recommend this tour to anybody who finds it difficult walking for long periods of time or who expects to find it more leisurely than the Grand Tour. The first day was so tiring that one of the group dropped out, which gives an indication of how demanding it was.

 

When we did our Baltic Cruise last year we used TJ Travel and before I booked I told them about my husband's trouble walking and his need for a wheelchair for tours of the Peterhoff Gardens and the Hermitage. Not only did they accommodate my request but they supplied the wheelchair for him. I did have to push him but he was able to enjoy the tour without having to walk great distances. From what I remember the only long walk was at the Peterhoff Gardens from where we were left off by the boat into the gardens themselves and of course they are gardens so you are going to have long walks there. All the other places our driver let us off near the site we were touring. :) I would recommend them highly for anyone who needs a slower pace tour. The places we ate each day where near where we parked the van and not a long walk away.:)

[sturnus]

When we did our Baltic Cruise last year we used TJ Travel and before I booked I told them about my husband's trouble walking and his need for a wheelchair for tours of the Peterhoff Gardens and the Hermitage. Not only did they accommodate my request but they supplied the wheelchair for him. I did have to push him but he was able to enjoy the tour without having to walk great distances. From what I remember the only long walk was at the Peterhoff Gardens from where we were left off by the boat into the gardens themselves and of course they are gardens so you are going to have long walks there. All the other places our driver let us off near the site we were touring. :) I would recommend them highly for anyone who needs a slower pace tour. The places we ate each day where near where we parked the van and not a long walk away.:)

That sounds perfect, Traveling Dot. It is good to hear that your expectations were exceeded by TJ Travel. That's certainly a company I would consider now if I returned to St Petersburg. Thanks for sharing.

[DrTee]

When we did our Baltic Cruise last year we used TJ Travel and before I booked I told them about my husband's trouble walking and his need for a wheelchair for tours of the Peterhoff Gardens and the Hermitage. Not only did they accommodate my request but they supplied the wheelchair for him. I did have to push him but he was able to enjoy the tour without having to walk great distances. From what I remember the only long walk was at the Peterhoff Gardens from where we were left off by the boat into the gardens themselves and of course they are gardens so you are going to have long walks there. All the other places our driver let us off near the site we were touring. :) I would recommend them highly for anyone who needs a slower pace tour. The places we ate each day where near where we parked the van and not a long walk away.:)

 

I had similar problems with SPB tours last year. I ended up not returning for the second day. They seemed perplexed that anyone might have mobility issues and were not accommodating at all. You can read details in my blog (link is in my signature). My biggest problem was actually getting into the van, which involved a very high step up. Others were struggling with it, but I had recently injured my knee and it was close to impossible. It was a very humiliating experience to have everyone's hands on my ass trying to push me up.

[DrTee]

I organized the Tilbury transfers - there were 9 of us - so according to their website - a car for 4 people (used by 3) and a van for 8 (used by 6). We barely had room in the 8 person van for the 6 of us and our one piece of luggage each and one carryon. The tires were almost flat and we had over an hour wait because the vehicle they sent broke down (before we ever saw it) and a replacement had to be sent. The specs were on the EA website and so that is how I booked the vehicles. BTW Tom and the others with him experienced the same problem as we had - vehicle breakdown - replacement sent .... I would suggest that anyone using EA should have a cell phone # so you can be contacted when delays happen. I was woken up at 3:00 am on the 17th June by someone in London at EA looking for Tom! BTW - Tom and the others made it to London albeit later then expected - I went back to bed - shaking my head!!!

 

G--I suspect that someone misreported how many bags they would have, if you get my drift. But we worked it out.

[DrTee]

Lou I'm not sure who booked your vehicles in Tilbury, but I had emailed them about bag size, etc. That is the biggest fall back with any company in europe. That's why we booked two 8 person vans even though there were only 10 of us. that way, we had room for everyone's bags:D The cost to go to the larger car was minimal (6 pounds if I recall correctly). The website was specific on how much luggage could be included with each car but the cautious person I am I asked what they considered to be a medium size luggage (it was 62" - the same as most airlines).

 

Just to elaborate on Mont St. Michel - the taxis are only permitted to go where we were left off. the shuttle was about a 10 minute walk max as I recall and that too is on the Mont St. Michel website. It probably would have been not as noticeable if the weather was nicer:rolleyes: after all we had pouring rain and cold weather. Not the best by a long shot.

 

I did see other cars going further in.

 

The real confusing part was why they let us off in town and not closer to the pier. I enjoyed my walk to the pier (well, the first half of it), but we specifically asked him if he could take us closer and he said no.

[2ozbods]

Hi NoWhiners. Three days ago we vacated cabin 365 at Tilbury and found it convenient, both to the main dining room and the lower promenade (outside) deck and and certainly for the larger laundry which has at least 7, possibly 9, washing machines with dryers over, washing soap provided, and 2 irons. I heard a few people say they would have packed lighter if they had known there was such a good laundry on board.

We had some air con problems in our cabin but they were attended to most efficiently and it was arranged for the thermostat to be replaced, nothing was too much trouble. In fact we so appreciated the position of our cabin we have booked the same one in a future cruise next year.....enjoy your cruise.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[kazu]

I did see other cars going further in.

 

The real confusing part was why they let us off in town and not closer to the pier. I enjoyed my walk to the pier (well, the first half of it), but we specifically asked him if he could take us closer and he said no.

 

Our driver asked us if we wanted off there in town or to go to the pier. Our group voted to be let off in town and do some exploring.

 

So, it sounds like you didn't get the same offer:confused:

 

He wouldn't take you closer to the pier??? I'll happily email the company on that if you like with recommendations as you should have had the choice IMO.

[kazu]

G--I suspect that someone misreported how many bags they would have, if you get my drift. But we worked it out.

 

Or the bags grew on the cruise;) that can tend to happen - people either have fatter, heavier bags at the end or an extra bag. I knew it may happen to us so I planned for the worse. It's amazing what you can accumulate over 31 days:eek:

 

All those Belgian chocolates and stuff take up room even if they are not that heavy;)

[DrTee]

Laundry--

 

I usually send mine out, but this time I had some things that needed some special care, so I used the laundry on Deck 10. I later learned that the other one is quite a bit larger. The one I used had 3 washers and 3 dryers. I would pass by and see if a machine was available and if it was I'd grab my stuff and get down there. I always did it at times I thought other people would probably be off having fun. The machines are different, meaning one might be really new and another a real clunker.

 

I did go in one day and there were about 12 people in the laundrette. I couldn't see why there needed to be more than 1 for each machine, but apparently some couples have to stay together ALL the time. I left and came back later. I also walked into a skirmish one day, with a man bullying a woman about who had the rights to the next available machine. I think he was the same jerk from Texas that Mary Lou and Carol had an incident with at dinner.

 

But other than the sometimes availability issues and that it can be rather crowded, I love having the laundrette, especially when it is free of charge.

[NoWhiners]

I didn't personally use the laundry as used HAL's laundry service. It was very good by the way. Bobbie (sapper1) reported that she was very pleased with HAL's laundry on this ship as well. However several others did use the self serve and said it was good. They seemed pleased with it. hope this helps a bit:D

 

Wow, if sapper liked it, we might give it a try. She had the same bad experiences we had with laundry in the past. I'll tell DH but nice to know the self serve is good.

 

Thanks Jacqui

ML

[kazu]

Wow, if sapper liked it, we might give it a try. She had the same bad experiences we had with laundry in the past. I'll tell DH but nice to know the self serve is good.

 

Thanks Jacqui

ML

 

my pleasure - the whites were definitely white - LOL;)

 

Laundry service was very quick - less than 24 hours and very efficient. Nothing missing and all looking good. I don't think you can go wrong either way;) on this ship - at least based on my experiences the last two times on her;)

[NoWhiners]

Hi NoWhiners. Three days ago we vacated cabin 365 at Tilbury and found it convenient, both to the main dining room and the lower promenade (outside) deck and and certainly for the larger laundry which has at least 7, possibly 9, washing machines with dryers over, washing soap provided, and 2 irons. I heard a few people say they would have packed lighter if they had known there was such a good laundry on board.

We had some air con problems in our cabin but they were attended to most efficiently and it was arranged for the thermostat to be replaced, nothing was too much trouble. In fact we so appreciated the position of our cabin we have booked the same one in a future cruise next year.....enjoy your cruise.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Wow 2oxbods, thanks for this post! We just made our final payment yesterday, so we know we are getting close. Nice to hear that the cabin is in location--we got upgraded to this one from an F category. We are doing the Black Sea in October (no AC needed?), in and out of Athens. can't wait. I will tell DH about your post. FYI, our next trip is likely going to be Australia.

 

Thanks again

Mary Lynn

[NoWhiners]

Laundry--

 

I usually send mine out, but this time I had some things that needed some special care, so I used the laundry on Deck 10. I later learned that the other one is quite a bit larger. The one I used had 3 washers and 3 dryers. I would pass by and see if a machine was available and if it was I'd grab my stuff and get down there. I always did it at times I thought other people would probably be off having fun. The machines are different, meaning one might be really new and another a real clunker.

 

I did go in one day and there were about 12 people in the laundrette. I couldn't see why there needed to be more than 1 for each machine, but apparently some couples have to stay together ALL the time. I left and came back later. I also walked into a skirmish one day, with a man bullying a woman about who had the rights to the next available machine. I think he was the same jerk from Texas that Mary Lou and Carol had an incident with at dinner.

 

But other than the sometimes availability issues and that it can be rather crowded, I love having the laundrette, especially when it is free of charge.

 

Hi DrTee

 

I got a chuckle out of this post--I guess we can find drama everywhere! Thanks for the useful info too. By any chance, did you notice if there were certain times when it was crowded? or was it just sort of random? Given the high marks the HAL laundry service has gotten here, we may do a mix of HAL and self-serve. DH has resolved to get up early or stay up late if necessary to do the laundry--is it always open?

 

Thanks

ML

[NoWhiners]

my pleasure - the whites were definitely white - LOL;)

 

Laundry service was very quick - less than 24 hours and very efficient. Nothing missing and all looking good. I don't think you can go wrong either way;) on this ship - at least based on my experiences the last two times on her;)

 

Thanks Jacqui. I may try to convince DH to send some out early in the cruise and see if HAL can be trusted. That would give him more time to sleep or just relax. He is very worried about clothes being washed--he has bad memories of the 2 nights we washed clothes in our room on our Panama Canal cruise because we had disappointing experiences with HAL laundry. It wasn't really that bad but you would think it was a fate worse than death to hear him tell the story!!

 

off to the Black Sea on the Elegant Explorer in October--our first time on her!

 

ML

[sapper1]

Or the bags grew on the cruise;) that can tend to happen - people either have fatter, heavier bags at the end or an extra bag. I knew it may happen to us so I planned for the worse. It's amazing what you can accumulate over 31 days:eek:

 

All those Belgian chocolates and stuff take up room even if they are not that heavy;)

 

Your Belgian chocolates made it home?:D

We won't discuss mine.;)

[kazu]

Thanks Jacqui. I may try to convince DH to send some out early in the cruise and see if HAL can be trusted. That would give him more time to sleep or just relax. He is very worried about clothes being washed--he has bad memories of the 2 nights we washed clothes in our room on our Panama Canal cruise because we had disappointing experiences with HAL laundry. It wasn't really that bad but you would think it was a fate worse than death to hear him tell the story!!

 

off to the Black Sea on the Elegant Explorer in October--our first time on her!

 

ML

 

I hope you enjoy her as much as we did:D:D The Black Sea itinerary looks very nice indeed. Have fun;)

[kazu]

Your Belgian chocolates made it home?:D

We won't discuss mine.;)

 

yes, they did - they were meant as gifts. My pillow chocolates made it home too:eek: I know some chocolaholics who will put them to good use;)

[kazu]

to mention a couple of things I noticed.

 

On our 31 day cruise there was verandah maintenance done twice (scheduled for long days in ports). it included things like silicone, staining, etc.

 

The balconies were cleaned daily.

 

Windows were washed on a regular basis whenever we were in port. Especially noticeable on the Lido, the Pinnacle Grill and our balcony.

 

Flowers for the entrance of the pinnacle grill and other key spots were changed about every 5 days.

 

The flowers in our room were changed at least 4 times on our 31 day cruise and they were all very nice:D

 

One other nice thing - DH went to order flowers for my birthday and he was told after that they were complimentary:D They were absolutely beautiful too and lasted quite a long time.

 

The towel animals on this cruise (especially the first 1/2) were the best and most unique I have ever seen. I think we lucked into a creative room steward. When he saw I was saving the best ones, they just got better and better. He told us he was touched we had kept them.

 

Is 31 days too long? Never. I'd happily do it again and now, so would DH:D

[gigianne]

All Belgium chocolates present and accounted for when we arrived home - they didn't last long once we gave them away! B - still have some here if you would like to visit! J - I have to mention that awesome birthday cake that they made for you - it was so beautifully decorated and absolutely delicious! HA went above and beyond on many occasions!!

[sapper1]

All Belgium chocolates present and accounted for when we arrived home - they didn't last long once we gave them away! B - still have some here if you would like to visit! J - I have to mention that awesome birthday cake that they made for you - it was so beautifully decorated and absolutely delicious! HA went above and beyond on many occasions!!

 

I wouldn't have bought any if you hadn't dragged me into the store so it's all your fault. :D

[kazu]

I wouldn't have bought any if you hadn't dragged me into the store so it's all your fault. :D

 

sorry, but I don't believe this one - there were too many chocolate shops - I don't think any one could pass them all by;)

[kazu]

All Belgium chocolates present and accounted for when we arrived home - they didn't last long once we gave them away! B - still have some here if you would like to visit! J - I have to mention that awesome birthday cake that they made for you - it was so beautifully decorated and absolutely delicious! HA went above and beyond on many occasions!!

 

Good thing we did in room dining so there wouldn't be any fuss - wasn't it:rolleyes:

 

Seriously, it was all very nice - especially the company:D who helped me celebrate:D

[sapper1]

Almost home--- only about 30 more km's to go. We are so tired it will take a week to recover from the vacation we took because we needed a rest. :)

[aquilegia]

Hope you got home safely and glad you enjoyed your cruise. The Prinsendam has just this minute sailed past our house. She's been in Portbury (Bristol) today, but I'm not sure which her next port is. We're regular Princess cruisers, but I'm very tempted to try HAL next year, I do like the look of the ships.