I had never been on a curnard cruise before and have been put off by rumours that they are quite formal cruises. However I booked the cruise just a couple of days out before embarktation at a ridiculous price. So let's on the cruise Overall I can discount a.lot of the critiscim i read on the formality of curnard although on gala nights there is a need to dress up. From boarding the ship and throughout the cruise I loved the white glove service The service level by all staff is very high. There was a bit of administration issues around dining appointments and table allocation and it did fustrate passengers because there were no dinning room.managers available until the first sitting at 5.30pm Quite a few people including myself had dining room arrangements cancelled by their computer system. To their credit the managers worked very hard and got it sorted out quickly. Dining room experience with waiters was excellent. Range of food and quality was high. If a dish wasnt to your tasting it was quickly replaced by the waiter. The size of the meals were and dishes were served hot. They did a very good job My cabin was well appointed and maintained. The service from my cabin stewardess was excellent my room and bathroom were always spotless. What I noticed was the high number of cleaning rags used by the staff. They were using a separate group of rags per cabin. The shower was a little bit smaller than what I expected, water pressure and temperature were excellent. The buffet was very good for breakfast and lunch. I particularly like sushi and there dishes available both for lunch and dinner. Sometimes I would call in early for a small plate of sushi before my main meal. On the subject of allegey food, the selection of gluten free food was better at dinner time, they had an entire bay of gluten free meals at nights. Also in the afternoon tea time, there was also a very good range of gluten free sandwiches and cakes. Overall, the staff were very helpful and service was excellent. If you like reading and need a quite place, this ship offers a number of venues and places just to let you get away from the crowds and just enjoy and occasionally falling off for 10 minutes. The old cigar room which has been relocated to level 3 is now the admiralites room, lovely quite place to read. The promenade deck on level 3 is totally under cover. Whether you relax on a deck chair with a blanket or walk around the ship, you can relax or excerise or watch the clouds go by. It is one those classical decks from a bygone era which seems to be lost in some of the modern ships. The pool.deck gave me mostly joy but a little of disappointment. Pools are fine and unlike the more ships don t have 50 children jumping in and around. It is more refined because of t h e clientele. There are lots of places to sit including a reasonable amount of shaded seating. However the spas are incredibly small and can either fit 2 to 3 people. They are in the sun. If the ship needed a refit, this is one thing that needs to be replaced. They are ridiculous small and ineffective. For non smokers,the amount of space offered to people who consume tobacco is the highest I have ever seen on a ship. Most companies are reducing these areas. On a bad day you can only go down one side of the ship to avoid these passengers. Entertainment was not to my tastes. Except for the trivia and kareoka at the pub, i found the entertainment was 1930s era. I didn't go to one show at the threatre and the number of sessions allocated to ballroom dancers and the number of participants at the queens room couldn't justify the event. There was a reasonable population on the ship to justify a dj and some more modern dance music. Embarktation and Disbarktation service was well coordinated. The tender service at port Arthur was well managed. The nunever of tenders operating and their frequency just made the whole process flow so smoothly. I did two short excursions and found that well organised from the purchase, meet and greet and the service provided by the operators. However when it came to cost, we didn't realise that the price offered was in American dollars. A lot of ships that operate in Australian waters during their stay offer australian prices. I found curnard did not clearly disclose this fact. As a result not only did we have to the equivalent in American dollars but the currency conversion rate was very high.disappointed with this lack of disclosure. Read Less

I have been on this ship before and enjoyed it. The cabins spacious, the food excellent, entertainment not the best, but OK and the staff so courteous and helpful. On the 2nd port this time we were put into lockdown in our cabins while a patient results were awaited and unfortunately he was positive for Covid-19 15 March 2020 End of cruise holiday. Food is excellent apart from the fact that it is hard to get enough vegetables and it often turns up cold. Two gentleman hosts take dancing lessons and arrange for singles to sit together if they desire . This is much appreciated. This cruise has Bridge lessons with an excellent instructor. The cabin 426 is spacious with a walk in robe and big two bowl sink, shower and large bath, all scrupulously clean. The crew appear mainly Filipino and have a high standard of English. Unfortunately some of the land tour s , although expensive, were quite disappointing. Our 4 hour tour took in two churches, a few market stalls and a historic prison which was converted to market stalls in the cells. The wares were quite high quality, particularly the table cloths and ladies' clothing. Not much to see over 4 hours. The route was interesting. Now we have to see what will happen with our own quarantine/ incarceration . Read Less

My husband and I have just returned from our March 7 - 15th Galapagos Islands Cruise and we cannot wipe the smile off our faces. Our hundreds of photos are a beautiful reminder of what we experienced and learned. Silver Seas has mastered the Art of cruising, in making their guests feel like no one is more important than them. The staff is not only helpful but always pleasant and most resourceful! The naturalists are phenomenal...always taking good care in all circumstances..including getting on and off and "up and Down" the Zodiacs..:) and providing the best information to us. Our cabin person Leo could not have been more available to our needs and the dining room staff...headed by Christian, made every meal a dining experience.....under the most creative Chef...and pardon me...but I am lost to come up with her name.....but she was exemplary in her food prep, creativity, presentation and offerings of local foods..including a very fine fish selection. Tom and I met people from all over the world amongst the 90 guests and hopefully we will connect with them down the road. One observation, I would make is to not take along or purchase the Keen open water sandles, as they do allow sand and stones to get in upon a wet landing. The ship sells excellent closed nylon/rubber water shoes and while pricey, you are able to use any Cruise Credit to purchase them along with the excellent toggled hats to protect from the sun. I would redo this trip in a heartbeat..but taking in the western islands this time. Thanks to the Silver Seas staff and organization for an unforgettable week with you. Wendy Hickey & Tom Gallagher Read Less

WARNING! This review is long. After reserving this cruise almost two years ago, we (group of 8) were a bit concerned if our cruise down the Nile on the Viking Ra scheduled to begin on March 6, 2020, would be cancelled. With Viking’s new cancellation policy, at least we could make a decision closer to the scheduled date so that gave us some flexibility with the ever-changing situation. We ended up going as scheduled and were thrilled with the entire trip, itinerary and experience that Viking provided. As soon as the trip began, we heard that Viking was shutting down all cruises for several weeks so this was the last cruise the Ra would take for awhile. We joked that we were shutting off the lights as we left each port. It was hard to think about the many tour agencies and other cruise lines that would be shuttering for awhile and how that would effect the many service people, vendors, guides and staff that we met along the way. Just like in all the countries around the world, their economy will take a hit and the poverty that we witnessed will only get worse. We had made our air reservations through Viking and we were so glad that we did. I’ve always been frustrated by their fees for any changes to the air itinerary even before the trip is booked so we have not always gone with their deal, but we decided to go with them two years ago because we knew with the length of this trip (17 days total with extension to Jordan), we weren’t going to add any more days (we do have to work at some point to pay for our travel! ☺) More on that later. From the moment we arrived at Cairo airport, the Viking staff took over. Someone met us at the arrivals gate and guided us through the areas at the airport. We had gotten our visas online through the government website ($25), another couple had gone through an agency, and the other four just paid for the visa on arrival. As so many others have said, just do it when you arrive. There was no line, they didn’t look at passports, they just asked for $25 USD (cash) and you walked on through. Took all of 2 minutes. Our luggage was taken care of and we really didn’t have to deal with carrying them the rest of the trip. Our Program Director, Hani, met us on the bus and gave a welcome, some history on the bus ride to the hotel and lots of clear and useful direction on ATM’s, restaurants, the information meeting the next morning and how our trip was structured. The Ritz Carlton Cairo was beautiful and in a great location right on the Nile and next to the Egyptian Museum. We had a bite to eat in the lounge and headed to bed. Our other breakfasts and one dinner were at the main floor restaurant and were all very extensive buffets (included in our tour). Our first touring day was the biggest one and after being awakened at 4 by the disco on the Nile or maybe on the small island in the middle of the river, I wasn’t sure how the day would go. We had an orientation meeting at 8 and started touring at 9. We started at the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, then a rug making school before lunch at a hotel buffet. The afternoon was spent on the Giza Plateau where we had time at the great Pyramids, rode a camel and visited the Sphinx. Let me just take a minute to say that Viking provides 2 Egyptologists and they are with you for the entire trip. You are broken into two groups and you stay with your Egyptologist (called Program Directors) the entire time. Our group had Hani and the other group had Tarek. We were so gratified all through the trip to have a Program Director leading us. Not only did they provide general information about each touring day, take care of all entry fees and most tips for the wash rooms, make sure we had the correct information for touring each site and gave us pointers on how to deal with aggressive vendors, but (what they were really trained for) they described, explained and enthused over the tombs, temples and pyramids we saw so that we could really appreciate and understand what we were seeing. Because we had the same Program Director each day, they could build on information they had given us days before and build on the picture that we were seeing of the country they loved. This was one of the few times when I saw the wisdom of going with a structured tour group instead of building a trip itinerary and doing it on our own. Great job, Hani! I’m sure you won’t get much from an in-depth review of each day, but I will insert anything that might be of use to future travelers on this itinerary. Day Two was the Citadel and mosque. Our PD did explain a lot about his personal Muslim faith and what it meant to him and his culture. I thought it was fascinating and insightful and the mosque was beautiful. Later that morning we went to the Egyptian Museum and our PD showed us the highlights. Since it was right next to our hotel, we headed back after lunch at the Ritz Carlton. One couple in our group paid to go into the mummy room and said it was worth it. If you can make it across the street (traffic is insane), there is a government shop (meaning that the prices are fixed) that had some good shopping. Our group booked two cars through the concierge and went to a recommended Middle Eastern restaurant on one of the islands on the Nile. The name of it was Abou El Sid and it had great food, including pigeon! About half of the large group went to the El Kalil market and dinner excursion. I heard mixed reviews. Day Three began early with a 5 am wake up call and bags out by 5:15. We had a buffet breakfast at the hotel and headed to the airport for our charter flight (8 am) to Luxor. As soon as we landed at 9:30, we headed to Karnak Temple. All transportation was seamless and taken care of by Viking. The buses they used throughout were comfortable with plenty of cold water bottles and a bathroom if needed. We headed to the boat at noon and a buffet lunch. Ah, the Ra. Beautiful ship. The common areas were well thought out, the two room suites were spacious and the top deck lounge area so inviting. Before we could get off the bus, medical personnel came on board with a questionnaire and took our temperatures. We had our temperatures taken each morning while we were on the cruise and that information was sent home with us incase there were questions re-entering our home countries. We heard there were 51 people on our tour so we assumed no one had cancelled before the trip but later we were told there were only 46 on the cruise portion, so I’m not sure if some left the tour after Cairo, whether we were not given the right original totals or we forgot someone at the airport. ☺ We were originally surprised more people hadn’t cancelled before the trip with the news that a Nile cruise ship had been struck with COVID-19 the week before After a welcome, port talk and safety drill we headed out to Luxor Temple. I thought it was great to see a temple lit up at night. Day Four was another early morning wake up at 4 am. We hopped on a motor boat for a 10-15 minute ride down the Nile and to the other bank where we took a short van ride to the balloon launching point. Yes, we opted for the Hot Air Balloon ride over the Valley of the Queens. It is something that you book when you arrive in Cairo and costs about $250, I think. I assume they have to wait to see what the weather will be like before they book. Only 13 of the 46 on our cruise did the Hot Air Balloon ride but each participants that I spoke with thought it was the “must do” experience of the trip. We launched on a beautiful, calm, gorgeous morning and were amazed at the sights below us. Such a unique way to see the temples and tombs that we would go inside later that day, plus just the topography and the graphic nature of that swathe of green extending from the Nile and then this sharp boundary where the desert begins. Amazing! Do it!! We had a wonderful breakfast on our return and then headed out to the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Ramses VI’s tomb and Queen Nefartari’s tomb are not to be missed. I think Ramses tomb is an extra fee. We also went into King Tut’s tomb which was an extra price. Our PD downplayed it, but we thought it was worth seeing. We also saw the Collosus of Memnon on the ride back to the boat. After lunch we had free time. During free afternoons our PD’s would sometimes have a talk including topics like – the Arabic language, Women in Egypt, hieroglyphics, ancient Egyptian medicine, etc. After dinner was a belly dancer and a whirling dervish in the lounge. It was hard to watch the belly dancer’s performance and I know that the staff said that they try to tell Viking that no one likes it, but it’s still on the entertainment schedule. You’ve been warned. Day Five we saw Dendera Temple in the morning and had the rest of the day to ourselves as we sailed back up the Nile.. It’s wonderful to sit on that top deck or on your balcony and watch the world go by. Day Six – the men in our group went to the 8 am tour of Esna Temple. We ladies decided to take the village tour and then did some shopping (you do walk by the temple on the village tour). I think enough people have reviewed the crazy, pushy, aggressive behavior of vendors. You get a bit used to it but it always feels rude because eventually you just have to be very firm. One note, if you really want something, just keep walking away. The vendor finally got to the price I was willing to pay for a galabeya (long flowing garment) when I was walking down the steps to the ship (Viking’s dock was right next to the village). Get a tunic or galabeya before Egyptian night on the boat. It was fun to see people wearing these colorful garments at dinner that night. We set sail again and enjoyed a Falafel demonstration in the restaurant. That night was an amazing Egyptian dinner and the Nubian dancers in the lounge afterwards were very entertaining. Interestingly enough, we ran into a sand storm in the afternoon and had to dock at Edfu since all river traffic was stopped by the government. It was only through the hard work of our crew that we got clearance to keep sailing about 5 hours after the storm ended and were able to dock in Aswan the next morning so that those going to Abu Simbel could make their flight. Day Seven – I think it was at breakfast when Karoline, our Hotel Manager, told us the bad news that Jordan had closed its borders and we would not be able to go on our extension trip to Jordan. Our trip was cut short by 4 days. Here is where we were extremely happy that we had done the Viking airfare. By the time we got back from our jaunt to the airport, Viking had rebooked us on a flight out of Cairo for Tuesday and handed us our new flights times. Easy. They were actually better flight times than we originally had and we didn’t have to try and rebook and cancel flights online or over the phone (Karoline said the wait time was sometimes 6 hours on the phone). Our friends (they couldn’t book through Viking because of another reason) tried twice to talk with someone on the phone and after an hour wait were disconnected. They finally were able to use the ships computer to book a flight home and decided to deal with cancelling the original flight and getting the refund later. To Viking’s credit, they worked with all of the passengers whether they had booked their original flights through Viking or not, but those passengers that hadn’t booked with Viking did have to deal with the logistics themselves. Abu Simbel. What can I say. There are no words. Mostly because we only saw the Aswan airport. ☺ We did see the Aswan Dam in a 20 minute stop on the way to the airport. But once we got to the airport, we waited for our plane to come from Cairo. Unfortunately, because of a bad rainstorm the day before, Cairo’s runways were flooded and flights were backed up. (We also heard that all the schools were closed, local transportation cancelled and electricity cut off because of the flooding. Because they rarely get rain, let alone a lot of it, they just don’t have the drainage in the city. Who knew?) After several delays and concerns over another sand storm trapping us in Abu Simbel if we did make it there, our PD called the trip off and we headed back to our ship. The Aswan airport was an interesting morning tour spot with bathrooms that included toilet paper and no attendant to tip, shops that had fixed prices and a free soda at the cafeteria. After a week in Egypt, all three were welcome experiences. The others in our group that didn’t go on the eventful Abu Simbel excursion, said that their boat ride (although too windy for a felucca ride) and market visit were good. That night a few of us (20 or so) went to the Phillea Light Show by boat. There are 5 light shows at sites around Egypt and I was glad to get to go to one. I think our group was divided on how much we liked it. It is very artsy and was trying to showcase the history of the temple in a different way. It was professional and the temple is beautiful as it’s perched on an island, but you do see the temple in the daylight the next day. Day Eight – We had a lovely boat ride to a Nubian village where we visited a local home and the Papyrus Institute before heading back to Phillea Temple. The afternoon was spent cruising before reaching Kom Ombo for a late afternoon tour of the temple and the small crocodile museum. Day Nine – our last day of touring started with a carriage ride to Edfu Temple before sailing back to Luxor. We really enjoyed going through the lock and the activity of the vendors in boats alongside us tossing up their wares…our last experience with the aggressive merchants of Egypt. I believe that this experience is usually seen on the way upriver but because of the sandstorm on our way to Aswan, we went through the lock at night. Day Ten – the next morning we had to have our luggage out by 5:15, then our last breakfast onboard before boarding the bus for the aiport at 6:30 am. We were saying goodbye to an amazing staff onboard the Ra. This was my third Viking river cruise and by far the best staff across the board. Karoline, the Hotel Manager was exceptional. She has been with the company for over 20 years and my only regret is that since she is on the Russia sailings in the summer, we won’t have her on our ship next summer on the Volga. I can only imagine the headaches she had with this last cruise as the craziness around the world with the COVID-19 crisis changed things day to day and she and her staff took care of everything. We passengers have no idea of the turmoil below deck but I’m sure it was a massive effort. My husband had an eye problem during the cruise and she took care of arranging an eye doctor to come to our room and kept us informed. Excellent service. The restaurant staff was also exceptional. Kai and Abdullah were the chefs and we loved the quality and variety of food (wine selection was not up to snuff but that was because of excessive import tariffs, I’m told). Priscilla was the restaurant manager and she was friendly, efficient, welcoming. And that atmosphere was carried through in all of the staff – Wadde, Anastasia, Mohammed and Hussein made each meal so pleasant with their excellent service, pleasant nature and interest in making our meal times relaxing. Although I didn’t spend as much time in the lounge, I do know that the staff I came in contact with there were very pleasant, unobtrusive and efficient. The ship and staff of the Viking Ra have set a high standard for the next two cruises we’ve already booked. Our flight back to Cairo was uneventful and after a buffet lunch at the Intercontinental Hotel (beautiful hotel!), about 20 of us headed out on the Coptic Christian walking tour of Old Cairo. We spent a very interesting afternoon looking at the area and visiting a synagogue and church. When we got back to the hotel, we ladies headed next door to the attached 5 story shopping mall for some shopping before our farewell dinner. Because of the times everyone was heading home, it was an anticlimactic buffet dinner as we all said goodbye and wondered what it would be like back home. Some headed to the airport that evening, but most of us didn’t leave until 3:30 the next morning for our 6:30 am flights. Just some general thoughts on this massive tome: This was the first time that I was truly impressed with Viking. Our other two cruises were nice and we enjoyed them, but if this is the service, attention to detail and staff that is the standard of Viking, I will continue to give them my business. I thought this cruise was very expensive but I will say that I could see where my money went. We had wonderful accommodations at the hotels and on the ship. We had security personnel on every bus, during tours and even some police escorts – a necessary precaution but the areas we went to did not seem unsafe. Tips and entry fees were taken care of by our Program Directors with only a few exceptions. This made for a streamlined tour and faster entries. Having staff assigned to the airports, each hotel and our Program Directors with us the entire trip made all the difference in our enjoyment and the ability to see so much in this jam-packed itinerary. Another plus for Viking is that we never had other boats tied up next to us. We always had our own dock and some of that could have been happenstance but I know that in a few of the towns, Viking has paid to have their own docking space. At Kom Ombo I took a picture of three ships docked against the pier with up to five ships tied up to each of those ships. We were the only ones that had our own docking space. During the sandstorm a ship tied up to us because everyone was forced to dock, but other than that, I was always able to use my balcony and have a nice view. We had rooms 300, 301, 302, and 303. I was really glad that we had a balcony (I believe all the rooms on the Ra do) because I sat out there many times and read, had a drink and watched the shoreline. Our rooms had plenty of storage between the two rooms. There is room under the bed to store your suitcases. The bathroom was the biggest I’ve seen on a cruise ship. Our room steward kept the place spotless and fully stocked. Our only complaint was that most mornings we woke to the sound of chairs being dragged across the floor of the pool deck above us. Maybe the second floor would have been a better choice for rooms. We had to be up early most mornings anyway but it was a negative for those particular rooms. Just an FYI, the odd numbered rooms seem to be most likely to have a view of the Nile rather than the dock. Lastly, others have alluded to the fact that this is a tiring cruise because of the itinerary. We are in our 50’s and some in our friend group were in their 60’s. Some days were longer than others but I don’t think anyone thought the trip was grueling. There is not a lot of time for just casually hanging around but there is free time and I thought the itinerary made the most of getting us to a lot of Egyptian sites, experience some of the culture and making sure we felt like we were on vacation. A few in the larger group needed to use walking sticks, but they kept up fine and never complained. This was not a perfect cruise in description (sandstorm, cancelled Petra excursion, no Abu Simbel excursion) but it was the perfect cruise in actual experience. I commented to our group that I couldn’t think of one fellow traveler in our group of 46 that seemed to be a complainer or challenging in any way. Everyone seemed in good spirits, positive, on time, considerate, rolled with the changes in schedule and pleasant to be around. I highly recommend Viking and the itinerary they have put together. Well done! Read Less

We chose this cruise for a late-Winter getaway to the Western Caribbean as a great way to evaluate the all-inclusive nature of Regent. We were not disappointed at all. The accommodations are very nice (especially after getting bumped up two levels), the food is very good, and the crew is exemplary! The Coronavirus was just getting a foothold in the USA and Regent was surprisingly well prepared. Hand sanitizers were everywhere you looked and proper hygiene was highly recommended and later required. About three days before the end of the cruise, the CDC bumped up their report and Regent took a more stringent approach. Too many changes to write here, but as an example, the library was off limits, due to the prospect of sanitizing each and every page of each and every book, etc. The numerous free excursions were top-notch and the shipboard entertainment was amazing. The cruise director even sang and has a voice bar none. The free wine and liquor was also top notch and flowing. I really can't find anything bad to say about the cruise, but if I had to, I would say that I think Oceania's Mariner had a more beautiful atrium reception lobby with all it's Lalique crystal (which I believe is now gone). I highly recommend this ship and crew to anyone wanting a great voyage. It was worth every penny. Read Less

We were looking forward to the places we had not been to and on entering the ship and cabin, our YouTube expectations were met by the fixtures and fittings we found. On sailing North from Singapore to Thailand all was well, but after the first port of Phuket the cruise went pear shape. Myanmar and then Sri Lanka closed its borders. So back to Malaysia and after landing in Penang, and the port for K.L., plus Malacca with no problems we headed to Langkawi and Malaysia then closed its borders down. Back to Singapore and what was going to be a recurring problem, one day out Singapore closed down, then Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Four things that saved us were the fact that the Captain had not jumped overboard like one other shipping cruise line captain we know about, no cases of Covid 19 had been detected on board with the crew or passengers and we were tested every two days, plus 10 days of not landing at any country and a third of the passengers were Australians, we headed to Darwin, Australia and home for us in Perth, Western Australia. During all this Cooks tour our Captain was praised by the passengers for keeping us up to date with the daily port closures, plus walking through the ship and entertained us with his funny version of English (I cannot speak his language of Italian). The crew and choice of food were magnificent with staff always happy and helpful and if you want to be on a ship in these bad times then this was the one. So we had a good clean happy ship that although maybe did not take us to our stated ports, but it brought us home safe and well and happy, what more can you ask for. Read Less

Having experienced their river cruise previously, wanted to try the ocean version with Viking. I was not disappointed by the experience. I found the company extremely professional in their approach to just about everything. The organisation/logistics efficiently well managed. Catering on board....great choice of restaurants/food and beverages and wonderful crew service at all times. The cabin (Penthouse Veranda) was worth the upgrade cost....very well designed with more than enough storage for 2 people and space to relax as well as the balcony of course. A complementary mini bar, was a welcome feature with guests able to ask the stateroom attendant for their favourite tipple! Entertainment was a good mix, catering for the demographics of the guests and the itinerary. Inclusive excursions were a bit basic, but gave you a rough idea to be able to navigate your own way around the ports at you leisure later. Some of the optional excursions were, I thought rather expensive, however, some of my fellow passengers (more seasoned than me!) had made their own arrangements with alternative providers at a better rate for the same excursion. A lesson for future cruises...! I also felt that the descriptions provided by Viking on their web site, at the point you might be considering booking these, were a bit scant on operational details. For example, the trip over land to the Arctic Circle involved a 4/5 hour return coach journey out of a 7 hour total excursion. Leaving little time to explore the features 'sold' to you on the web description. Also, on this particular trip, the actual Arctic Circle Centre we found on arrival was closed for the winter!! This fact was never mentioned previously!! Another point worth mentioning as regards the pre/post extension on this particular trip. The hotel chosen was the Radisson Blu in Bergen. An international chain, of course and in a great location right on the Bryggen. However, the over all experience at this hotel was poor. From the amenities offered, customer service and guest information....all below par for a 4* standard of hotel. Again, some guests had made their own arrangements hotel wise, and I think this might be valid suggestion for future bookings, despite having the convenience of Viking making all your on shore arrangements. I felt it did not represent good value for money at £389 for 2 nights bed and breakfast! The embarkation process at Tilbury could have had a smoother process for guests arriving into Tilbury town....no transport was immediately available to take people from the town to the dock area and a walk would involve c.20 minute route (with suitcases in tow!). So despite some of the above niggles I've mentioned, I would still highly rate Viking on the back of this Northern Lights Cruise and would not hesitate to make another booking with them. I have of course learned of some alternative options as detailed above and, with most things have a bit more experience to do things a bit differently next time. All crew and staff worked very hard to make your experience a 5* one, and with the few exceptions mentioned, I think they achieved this goal. Read Less

We did arrive a couple of days before the cruise in Buenos Aires. It is a fabulous city to visit and take in the shows. We have taken 5 cruises on this ship and we just love it. It has the perfect size and the best service and food ever offered in any other cruises. We were also very lucky because the weather was perfect during the whole cruise. I do not think these cruises have much to offer for children entertainment. This cruise was organized mostly to visit antartida in all its beauty. Seabourn had in every stateroom a fabulous jacket with lining which was excelent for everytime one got off the ship among the ice and the penguins. They also rented very comfortable boots . We also received a great backpack to carry everywhere. On board there were 20 additional staff members to help understand the land we were visiting ,its fauna ,weather etc. This personnel are all professionals in their fields and during the whole trip were giving talks in the main lounge or on the outside decks of the ships. They were also available for questions in all of the outings. Plain fantastic. The staterooms have a very comfortable size with a sofa for lounging around. The bathroom is of a comfortable size with excelent amenities . They would not allow any of the bottles to run out. The room was fixed in the mornings and also at night while we went to dinner. When we arrived at our cabin the first day there was a bottle of a delicious champagne bottle in ice. There was also a bottle of my favorite white wine in the refrigerator and a bowl of fresh fruits. Very welcoming. The food was always excelent in any of the diningrooms. They have many gourmet choices and also available were the basic dishes that some people prefer. All just delicious. I cant say enough about the excelent service at all of the diningrooms. All of the employees have been trained to cater to all of your whims and needs. You would meet the head chef everywhere walking around the restaurants and talking to the travelers. Very very lovely person. There is a fantastic restaurant on board handled by Tomas Keller. They do not have any extra cost but one does need a reservation to enjoy their wonderful food. I havenot mentioned the breakfast buffet the Colonade on the top floor with a marvelous view of the area we were cruising. It had choices for every ones idea of an excelent breakfast. You could also order whatever your heart desired. Before each meal both bars had music and singers just to have a drink and enjoy the company. We loved to be there from 6 to 7.30 and just relax. As everywhere on Seabourn ships, all drinks are free. They also have some canapes to enjoy with your drink. There were late afternoon parties on the pool deck with great music. A great way to mingle and meet new friends. We like to take all of the ship tours mostly because they offer what we want to see and we know we will be back on time for the ships sailing. They have chosen good sights and great places to have a snack or lunch all included in the price. The guides were all very good and spoke excelent English. I liked most of the lectures offered during the whole trip. The persons offering the lectures were also very knowledgeable. The 45 minute lecture was enough and after they all had some time for questions. I cannot say much about the shows on board, because we were always so tired and sleepy that we just went to bed. On this trip we used the zodiacs a great deal to go to land sightseeing. The organization and helpfulness to all of the passengers by the employees in this area is unbelievable. Always on time , always with a smile and always catering to every need. I personally enjoyed our cruise through the Chilean fjords the most. Many hours of cruising through some espectacular scenery. I cannot say enough about our marvelous experience on this cruise. Read Less

Hello, we just got back from our Viking Ocean cruise from Australia and New Zealand on the Viking Orion. First let me tell you it was well worth the time Money and experience. We had a great time on the ship and the ports of call. The crew is absolutely fabulous, they were the friendliest and most helpful staff I have ever cruised with (with about 12 cruises so far that saying something). The food is excellent and the preparation is 5 star. The rooms are spacious and well setup. Free use of the laundry rooms was a very nice perk for a 2 week cruise. The onboard entertainment is fun and professional. Brian the Cruise Director is a classical trained singer and has an exceptional voice. The embarkation and disembarkation was quick and organized well. With all the Virus scare going on they were very careful checking us in the first day. Most of the included excursions are just a bus ride around the local city. The quality of the excursion is based on the quality of the driver who talks about the area and sights. He has to do this while driving so can sometimes loose his train of thought. All the ports were worth stopping at and exploring. We did 3 privet tours and one Viking paid excursion. All the passengers were friendly and had no problems with any of them. The only complaint I have is the constant changing of tables when dining (first come first assigned and rotated to balance out the restaurant. The plus side of this is you meet more people, The down side of this is you don't really make any real connections with your new friends and get to know them well over an extended cruise. The internet is spotty and weak and very bad in port. We really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the cruise and the enrichment lectures they had on the area and people we were going to visit. From the lands history to the origin of the people living there. Informative and relevant information was passed on to help you get the most out of each port. We will be doing another Viking cruise in our future, both Ocean and River. The have earned their quality reputation. Read Less

The cruise to the Amazon is an excellent cruise, although there are a lot of at sea days. So bear in mind that Viking does not have large shows, casinos, or a lot of shops. But that said, the Viking Sea is a very nice ship which is well designed and has enough open spaces so that you never really feel crowded (except during port talks where the entire ship tries to show up in the Star Theater). As usual, the Viking experience is very good. Their policy of unlimited wine and other drinks at meals is very good. Dinner at the chef's table (changes every 3 day) is not to be missed. Those dinners include a wine partnering with 4 wines per meal. Given their standard policy, you really have to drink a lot to justify the beverage package. Manfredi's is very good but not exceptional Italian fare. The ability to eat in the standard restaurant, the World Cafe, or in your room (all with similar menus) really makes Viking a good deal (that and there are no formal nights - only collared shirts and no jeans required for men in the restaurants make it perfect), Read Less

Did the immersive African Cape cruise Fe 2020. Booked it for 2 significant life anniversaries Boutique six star so didnt. Mind paying more, WHAT A LET DOWN Tired old ship with worn out carpets and furniture in public areas. Cabins compact not boutique. They said bathrooms were small - too right they were about the same size as an aircraft toilet. You couldn’t bend down in the shower unless you stuck your rear end out of the shower curtain. { no glass cubicle too small ) We’ve been on pads of cruises and had better for less Food was good and on the upside it’s small and not rammed with passengers but on sea days you were struggling for sun bed space which despite a polic6 saying they couldn’t be retained or reserved this was not enforced so lots of books and towels had a good days sunbathing whilst their owners were elsewhere Entertainment not good in fact on sea days we spent most of the time in our cabin due to the aforementioned sun bed issue watching very outdated films or CNN back to back - yippeee ! Wi fi was about 150 dollars for the cruise so we sacked that. Land tours wer3 equally extortionate mostly consisting of long days on safari so we sacked them as well Tge itinary ( cape of Africa Cape Town Richards bay Durban port Elizabeth ) was spoiled by constant warnings about safety and the possibility of getting robbed. Complimentary buses took you to shopping centre. - really immersive. - don’t think so! Goodness knows why folks like Azamara in our view ( and we are both well travelled and well cruised ) its an overpriced mediocre overblown overrated little boat. We’ve been on much better for less not value boutique or six star. Put us off cruising again. Read Less

I just want to make a couple of points in comparison of these two lines as many on board have sailed on both lines. As a matter of fact just over one month prior I did a 31 day "Around Australia Circumnavigation with New Guinea, Bali, Komodo Island on the Oceania R-Class 1. I am not loyal cruise ship passenger. My priorities are first the itinerary, then the quality of the ship/ line closely behind. Oceania has had my earlier preferred rating. I have sailed on RCL, Holland, Celebrity, Oceania, Norwegian in the past. I will say my bias is to value, not overall price. I cruise on average on 14-31 day sailings. 2. I am a sophisticated traveller, not a vacationer, I work in/ own/ manage a Real Estate Development company and the other half to a lawyer who travels with me. 3. If you cannot tell the difference between Sea Island Cotton and Egyptian Broadcloth I feel this review is not for you. Important Differences Between Oceania vs Azamara Quest. R- Class ships. 1. Internet - Oceania is Free - Azamara is punitive and expensive by any standards - Not to Oceania. 2. In - Cabin Entertainment: Oceania has over 100+ Free On Demand movies - Azamara again is outrageous Hotel priced PPV movies - Nod to Oceania 3. Specialty Dining: Oceania has two FREE specialty dining per sailing and are exceptional - Azamara charges a Fee - Nod to Oceania 4. Outside Grill: Oceania has a Surf and Turf Lobster with Filet of Beef on a Ciabata Bun everyday, Azamara with Nachos and burgers - Nod to Oceania. 5. Grand Dining Room: Azamara is slightly better here with more choices, quality of the beef product superior to Oceania and the staff on this sailing was exceptional - Nod to Azamara Quest 6. Upstairs Buffet Dining: Well I will say this, I rarely eat in the buffet as I cannot stand the Herd Mentality and getting run over by a 90 year old grandmother behaving worse than a Brazillian at Disney World. However that being said, I did eat there twice on a 26 day cruises. - Oceania has Lobster everyday - Nod to Oceania 7. Ships are Identical and from the prior Renaissance Cruise Line - Push 8. Entertainment was Better on Oceania, not much however and that too is objective 9. Guest Lecturers: Oceania is far superior 10. Alcohol: Well this is where they Separate. Azamara regular brands for me were just fine, however there were a few Amarula's and Drambuie that padded the bill on Azamara. Oceania is an expensive proposition with various packages. - Nod to Azamara Wines: The house paid wine on Oceania is garbage, truly, high in acidity, poor quality and way overpriced for the pour and frankly the experience. Stay away from Oceania House Wines - Wines on Azamara were far superior. South African, Californian, Italian, Chilean, all of very good quality. Nod to Azamara 11. Friendliness of Staff: Overall and not on a individual basis, Azamara was much better than Oceania. 12. Shore Excursions: Slight Nod to Oceania, just more of them. Azamara Excursion staff however was exceptional. 13. Country Club or I call it The Blazer Effect: I can count a level of civility on a cruise by the number of blazers worn by men in the dining room. Likewise for stylish dresses on women. Standards have dropped substantially as more school teachers with puffed up 401K's or I call them the FANG group of senior vacationer. They started cruising at 65 and have 20 cruises under their belt in 5 years. Enough said on that, however I have really begun over the years to discount their reviews as they eat all their meals out at Denny's. Oh the days when cruising was Glamorous. Long Gone. Today's seniors in plaid shirts and women in Legging abound. My final Score and I am sure I know I am missing a few and if able to edit I will do so. A Toss Up - With a slight tilt for to Oceania, because I am not large drinker. However, based on price, destinations I have no problem recommending both lines. You literally need an excel spreadsheet to factor in all the Free stuff on Oceania, vs all the included items such as alcohol on Azamara. Offset that by the outrageous internet pricing on Azamara, I mean really, their pricing is like from the year 2000, and the lack of movies on demand or if they could even place more movies on their own in-house TV channels is simply lazy. Cheers to All Read Less

We wanted to try Silver Seas as a comparison to other lines weve used like Regent, and were very pleasantly surprised. This cruise was not destination driven for us as weve been to these ports several times over the years, so the fact that itinerary was changed due to the virus issue didnt fase us. It was always about the ship board experience for us, and we both feel it was the best ship experience of all our cruises in the 30 years we have been cruising.The food was of a consistently high standard, but the stand out experience for us was La Dame and Indochine, the food and presentation had a finesse not seen in many land based venues these days. The service was amazing everywhere, and the whole crew were polite but friendly.Our butler and his 2IC WERE FABULOUS, and thank you both for our special surprise, what a great team.Again thanks heaps Akash and Amool. Namaste,Cheryll and Peter. Read Less

We wanted to celebrate our 70 th birthdays this year and to see the Northern lights if possible. The Norovirus situation ruined the cruise. For it to happen is unfortunate. To happen on two consecutive cruises is worrying but for the problem to still not be resolved on a third trip is irresponsible. We were told that the ship would be delayed for a deep clean due to one or two cases of Norovirus. There was no mention of the true scale of the problem. By day two people were going down with the bug in droves. We were made to feel that it was entirely the fault of passengers not being hygienic. I suspect that the transportation of sick passengers from the previous cruise infecting the vehicles which were then used to transport new passengers to the ship for the next cruise might have been one source of the Norovirus. There could not have been enough deep cleaning in the turn around time. The ship infected us, not the other way round. So many activities were curtailed as attempts were made to bring the virus under control. We were fortunate in that we got to do some of the trips before my husband succumbed to the bug and we were confined to our cabin for 4 days. Also people in several cabins on either side of ours all became victims at the same time . How do you explain that, Captain Julian? We had washed our hands very very carefully and avoided the public areas as much as possible yet we both went down with it. It is hard to think of any positives for this cruise. The ship was very stylish and the crew cheerful. It was so difficult for them. There were some very entertaining and knowledgeable speakers and it was possible to see recordings of their talks on the tv in the cabin. The whole two weeks became an endurance. We were so glad to get home. It was our first cruise with saga but have been on several other cruises. This was a total waste of money and an experience we would never wish to repeat. Read Less

I have read a few of the recent reviews from guests, but I have to disagree with most. The suite we had was a Penthouse Suite 2 and the environment in our room was perfect. We could control the temperature on our own thermostat and it work well. The tub and shower option was excellent. The staff on this cruise was not the same smiles that we were used to having but the service was still the great service we have come to expect from Oceania. The reviews that say that they can see the difference between Frank Delrio and Bob Binder are correct. The cruise line has become more oriented towards making more money since the prices go up a lot, but on the Riviera this ship was still quite full and the guests are taken care very well. The service in the buffet dinning room was exceptional. There were more than enough personal to take care of our every need. There was only one place where the service was slow for us and that was in the Polo Grill where there were fewer servers than they needed. Do not know why this was, but it existed? The butler we had was excellent. When we put the do not disturb sign up, and we were never disturbed. In fact I thought our butler who was from India was outstanding. One more word the cruise director also was outstanding and could not have been better. He booked very good entertainment acts and had them well spaced on the nights that would go well for the guests. A really nice job. Ok you may believe that I am connected to Oceania? No, I have no connection at all with the cruise line or any of the ships or any of the staff. This has just been my honest opinion. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the port calls in Vietnam and Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the cruise was canceled in Bangkok through an abundance of caution due to the Coronavirus. Yes this was disappointing, but this ensured that the ship and us did not got stuck in 14-days of quarantine somewhere. Regent did the right thing and was more than generous with the refund and future cruise discount. The embarkation process in Bali was smooth, taking only about 30 minutes total from beginning to end. Our room was ready as we boarded. Since we had sailed Voyager in this room a year earlier, we new what to expect and were not disappointed. For those wanting a more relaxed dinner experience, Regent is serving dinner on the pool deck most evenings. We were planning to take advantage of this, but did not get the chance. We did have at least one dinner in each of the other restaurants, and enjoyed our meals. We made it to a couple of the evening shows and enjoyed the magic/comedy shows the most. We also enjoyed the Enrichment Lectures. Regent should consider an earlier time for the evening shows. One evening the show was at 5:30 PM, which was great and had the most attendance! We did not use any of the fitness or recreation facilities. We were in a Penthouse Suite and the service was great, as it was throughout the ship, no disappointment here. We also enjoyed each of the excursions. We have two more cruises booked on Regent and our very much looking forward to each of them. Read Less

We have just finished our "Capetown to Singapore" part of the Sojourn World Cruise. BACKGROUND My wife and I used to be died-in-the-wool Seabourn fans and have Diamond (250+ days) status. We loved the experience. That all fell apart on a cruise in 2016 when they were introducing Thomas Keller (but before they had the separate TK Grill). The quality and variety of food dropped so bad that we started doing a lot of Silversea and Regent. We did not regret changing cruise line. But rather than be dogmatic, we decided destinations were the most important criterion, and we booked the above cruise on Seabourn as the great majority of the destinations were new to us. And who knows - maybe the food quality was again as good as the brochure says. It is fair to say that we got onboard with an attitude "This is Seabourn's last chance". Well? They blew it, and our next cruises are now booked on Silversea and Regent (presumably delayed now). We are departing with a few $1,000 Future Cruise Credit (FCC) that we will not be using. My review and comments follow. The elephant in the room was the Corona virus effect with cancelled ports and final destination changes. It is important to note that we had formed the "They Blew It" opinion BEFORE the massive port disruptions, and our decision was based on food quality; MDR & TK. Seabourn's handling of the port disruptions only reinforced our "Never Again" decision. FOOD The MDR certainly serves great quality 3-star restaurant food and wine. But we booked and expected 6-star, as it used to be. The dishes were unimaginative. The prawns and scallops were tasteless (too watery). The beef was not as tender or tasty as it should been. The Thomas Keller Grill was disappointing. Service was average. Food was better than the MDR - but presentation was disappointing. Have a look at the (delicious) cakes in the photo: This presentation is worthy of a cafeteria; not a 6-star restaurant. Maybe that is how Thomas Keller was served cake in his childhood, but I don't care. WINE The wine was average at best, unless you sprang for 'Revenue' wines. Long gone are the days when they happily served Sancerre, Chateau Neuf du Pape, ... PORT DISRUPTIONS. Through no fault of Seabourn, what we got was a lot different from what we paid for. Cancelled Ports: Mombasa, Maldives, Colombo, Hambantota, Chennai, Sabang, Phuket, Langkawi, Penang, KL, Singapore Added Ports: Fremantle (Perth) The cruise was basically cancelled, and we were re-routed to Fremantle (Perth)/Australia and disembarked 4 days before the scheduled end of the original cruise. [Note: Glad they did get us off early as around this time, borders started to shut rapidly.] COMPENSATION OFFERED 1) USD500 pp (Refundable, onboard credit) for Mombasa which was cancelled for safety/security reasons. [I am OK with this as it is fair.] 2) If we stayed on until Perth: 25% of our 'fare paid' for the port disruptions. This as a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) that must be booked within 12 months. We chose this option. 3) If we disembarked in Seychelles: 100% FCC of the unsailed days, but must be sailed within 12 months. Later - when the cruise was cut short by 4 days, we were offered an extra 4 days compensation, on a pro-rata basis of the cruise fare paid, as > 100% as refund , or > 125% as FCC BOUQUETS There were many things we did like on this cruise. THE GUESTS: Many interesting, charming, interesting people with whom to have dinner. THE LECTURERS: Seabourn often gets great lecturers. [I have problem calling a 1-way interaction a 'Conversation']. This cruise was no exception. The stand out was Richard Stone ('Royal Portrait Painter') who had both fascinating content to pass on, but a wonderful method of delivery. THE COLONNADE FOOD: Excellent variety each day. All well done and tasty. Themed meals such as: French, American, Indonesian, Italian, ... WAIT-STAFF: Most were great. Some (including MDR) are clearly in the wrong job and way beyond their level of competence. This was a surprise as in the past Seabourn has stood out with its consistently good service. BRICKBATS THE PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES: Under the pretense of being environmentally responsible, SB has banished single-use water bottles. OK, I get it. But the replacements are an epic fail for a number of reasons. 1) For reasons I don't understand, 90% of them have had the 'O-ring' seal in the cap removed. No problem if you keep them vertical. But no fun when you return from an excursion to find the bottom of your bag wet. [After a few days we worked out the problem and commandeered some with O-rings.] 2) They are stored in the cabinet above the room fridge. So water always 'warm'. [Yes - I know you can store them elsewhere. We did.] 3) The water used to fill them is generated onboard. Not necessarily a problem ... but for a few days the taste was terrible! It later improved, Wonder what we were drinking? BTW - same water served at dining venues. We started asking for Evian for a few days, simply as the onboard water tasted bad. THE MDR: Both food and service notably below par. See comments above. This straw broke the camel's back for me. SB needs to wake up and realize their competition beats them on food and wine. COFFEE IN THE SQUARE: Why is the line so long at times? Why don't they add a self-serve, automatic machine as an OPTION for those not wanting to wait? THOMAS KELLER GRILL: Hits and Misses. They should all be hits. Glad this is free, as some plates I would not pay for. Presentation also poor overall. The decor is more laminex train carriage than high end restaurant. PORT DISRUPTION HANDLING: I have no complaint at all with the fact that Seabourn had to re-route us as we were sailing during the great cruise industry shutdown of 2020. The 2nd leg of the cruise transformed to one with 16 days at sea with zero ports of call (except the embarkation and disembarkation ports). Again - no complaint there. We booked a 2-leg part of the World Cruise: Capetown-Seychelles, and Seychelles-Singapore. I have no complaints about the 1st leg ports/routing. But - and this is a big but - during the 2nd leg we were not given full information and if we had received that information, we would have flown home from the Seychelles, avoiding 16 days at sea. Let me explain: > 22-Feb: We are advised of some itinerary changes with final destination changed from Singapore to Fremantle. Male/Maldives not cancelled on this new itinerary. If we disembarked in Seychelles, offered 100% Future Cruise Credit (FCC) of the un-sailed days on any sailing before 22-Feb-2021. As we wanted to see The Maldives and Sri Lanka, we made the decision to stay onboard. > 26-Feb: Male/Maldives announced publicly that they had closed the port to cruise ships. > 27-Feb: Male/Maldives closure known to Seabourn/Seattle. Seabourn started negotiations with The Maldives to get exemption to dock in the port. This was ultimately unsuccessful. Passengers not told of this (yet). > 1-March: While in the Seychelles, we went on a full day tour. Came back to the ship about 2 hrs before departure, and found a letter in the room announcing the Maldives port cancellation. At this point, simply impossible to pack, disembark, book hotel & air, etc. If Seabourn had told us on, or about, 27-Feb that "the current situation is that we can not dock in The Maldves, but we are trying to change that", then we would have absolutely disembarked and taken the 100% FCC. In a crisis, communication is critical. We were kept in the dark way too much. When the (overworked) Seabourn Square staff fielded the many questions from the guests, they did an outstanding job, but their hands were tied and all they could say is we will pass your concerns onto Seattle. They also said that you will not get a reply until AFTER YOU DISEMBARK. Excuse me!? As I write this (1 week after disembarking) have yet to receive even an acknowledgement that they have received the complaint email we send while onboard, let alone an answer. CREDIT CALCULATIONS We booked Capetown->Singapore (2 segments, back-to-back) and here is the exact text we were given in a letter on 22-February giving us the option of getting off in The Seychelles and claiming a credit: "In recognition of these significant changes to your voyage, you will receive a Future Cruise Credit of 25% of the cruise fare paid for the 12-day portion of your cruise that has been revised". Importantly, Seabourn did not do the 25% calculation for us and different guests had different understandings of what this meant. Different interpretations included: > A 3-day credit (25% of 12-days)? > 25% of the full Capetown-Singapore fare paid? > 25% of the Seychelles-Singapore fare? When I forced them to give me a dollar figure, it turns out the correct interpretation was (2) above, even though 12 days represents 31% of the 39 cruise-nights. Why is this important? Because guests were making Get-Off/Stay-On decisions based on this letter. Again - poor (and confusing) communication. BTW - as I write this, if my wife or I login to our seabourn.com acct, there is no FCC shown at all. Again, poor communication. SUMMARY Sorry Seabourn. You blew it. We will wave at you from our future suites on Silversea/Regent as you go past. Read Less

Heard Oceania was wonderful so friend and I decided to take this cruise. I had done similar cruise in terms of ports on Princess the month before with husband, daughter and 6 year old granddaughter. Speciality restaurants were excellent. Food in dining room for dinner was good but not outstanding. As this is small ship, buffet limited. Casino is tiny. No craps table. Very limited programming on ship. Lovely large library which was wonderful as Princess eliminated on ships. Met some lovely people and enjoyed both shared tables and dining by ourselves aome nights. Bartenders at bar in Martinis were great. Loved happy hour every night. Also pleased we could get cappuccino and latte at no extra charge. Dining room hours need to be expanded, in terms of opening earlier for dinner and staying open longer at breakfast. Spa prices high like on other cruiselines. Will try one of their larger ships but won't go on their small ships again. Read Less

> We have cruised many times but this was our first Regent cruise. > We drove to Miami, and the afternoon before we were to embark we got a message from our travel agent that we were no longer going out of Terminal J, but rather terminal F. So the closest parking was parking garage G which was a bit of a walk to our terminal but very doable with the nice weather we had at boarding. > Check-in was relatively easy, but we did have to wait until embarkation began around noon. Water, coffee and some pastries were provided. When boarding began, it was a very long walk through the terminal to get on the ship and we felt sorry for some folks that seemed to struggle with the walk. > We had nice lunch at La Veranda, and cabins were available around 1:30. We had a so called superior suite, which had good storage with a walk-in closet. Bathroom was very nice, a little narrow, with two sinks and nice shower. We thought the veranda was a good size with comfortable loungers. > Our overall dining experiences on this 10 day cruise was great! We went to all the specialty restaurants including going to Pacific Rim twice. Enjoyed all the options in Compass Rose and also went to Sette Mari one night. To find anything negative about the food or service would be beyond picky! > We thought the singers and dancers on this cruise were outstanding! Also enjoyed the Beatles themed entertainment in the atrium on the last night. > We did have a small cruise critic meet and mingle get together where the cruise director stopped by. Regent provided mimosas as well as some excellent appetizers. Very nice! > The pool was nice, never too crowded, with plenty of comfortable loungers available. There were plenty of activities on the top deck (shuffle board, pickle ball, bocce ball, mini golf, golf practice net, and table tennis), and they never seemed to be crowded either. > We went on included excursions in all ports but one. They ranged from outstanding (Chocolate drink of the gods in Guatemala) to "glad we did not pay extra for this" (mangrove boat ride in Harvest Caye). Generally they were good. Had to tender in Harvest Caye which led to some issues getting ashore. We were informed about this the day before, then learned later that the pier had been damaged by NCL ship a couple weeks before, so tendering had been required since. > We really enjoyed meeting many of our fellow passengers! Global, well traveled, polite, interesting and fun! > We loved the quality and variety of the cocktails, but thought the wine offered was decidedly mixed, although they were happy to provide different selections if there was something you didn't like. Coffee was not good in La Veranda and room service, but liked the latte in the Coffee bar. > We were very impressed by all members of the crew. The cruise director, Lorraine, was very visible on the cruise and very professional. > A couple days before the end of our cruise, I asked at reception if we were coming back to Terminal F and was told that we were coming back to Terminal C. I explained that we had parked at parking garage G and was told that there would be a bus right outside terminal C to take us to our parking garage. Disembarkation itself was very easy, but when we got outside there was no bus in sight and no one seemed to know where it was, except for a crossing guard (who actually spoke and understood English)…….finally we found out that we had to cross over two streets and down another 100 yards to a bus which then took us to our parking….obviously not the best end to our cruise! > Overall we thought the cruise was one of the best we have done! Excellent service, entertainment, cabin, food and passengers. We will definitely be doing Regent again! Read Less

If I could rate Viking with a 10 star review, I would. We were on the 30 day Australia, Indonesia, Asia leg of the Ultimate World Cruise. When we signed up for the cruise we were worried about wildfires, volcanoes, and possible riots in Hong Kong. Who would have thought we would be faced with the Coronavirus outbreak? The itinerary we signed up for was definitely not the one we took. The ports pretty much changed on a daily basis with our original disembarkation in Hong Kong, being moved to Singapore, and finally Bali. Because we needed to bypass China and Malaysia, we spent 22 days in various parts of Australia, visiting some very interesting added ports. We even sailed to New Caladonia. The crew were short handed as many were not allowed to board in Sydney because of the regions they had came from, but the service was still excellent throughout the cruise. When we got to Indonesia things really changed, as we were not allowed to dock in Surabaya or Samarang because of a rumor that we had coronavirus passengers on board. We were also turned away from Bali for a day because of the same rumor, and then it all became political between the Indonesian countries. We had our temperatures checked in Komodo, Samarang, and Bali. Al three times everyone on board, including crew were deemed healthy, no fever. An executive from Switzerland flew out to negotiate with the Indonesian government in Bali, and we were finally allowed to dock in Bali for a day of tours and disembarkation. Who knows what that negotiation cost Viking, I am sure they paid dearly. The main reason for the 10 star review was how well Viking went far beyond anything we could have expected to keep us safe and healthy. Our original air itinerary was changed 4 times, everytime with the intention of keeping us safe and out of Asian airports, thanks to the wonderful and capable people in Guest Services. Our Cruise Director, Beven, was remarkable. He dealt with the whole situation with humor, transparency, and an ability to keep us all feeling safe and calm throughout all of the uncertainty. We were all in the same boat, so to speak. We were always kept informed as to what was happening whenever staff knew. The real downside was the flight from Bali, to Dubai, then home to San Francisco, 35 hours total, but again, to keep us safe. Since our flight left at midnight Viking put us up ia a lovely beach resort for the day, including a nice room and meals. We met some amazing people onboard and everyone seemed to interact more openly with each other because of our shared situation, which was really nice. We almost cancelled the trip last minute, but we are really glad we didn't, as we had a great time overall. This was our 5th Viking cruise and the entertainment was by far the best we have ever had. The talent, from the singers and dancers to the cruise director, and the asst. cruise director were extraordinary. The excursions were not the best, but with the constant change in itinerary, Viking did their best with last minute arrangements. The food was varied and very good. They had to be creative, as provisions were sometimes delayed because of the port changes. We were also nicely compensated with a very generous future cruise allowance. Overall, we are again greatly impressed with Viking and their regard towards safety for all of the passengers onboard. We felt much safer from the Coronavirus on board the ship than we feel being back in the US. As the Captain reminded us daily, WASH, WASH, WASH, and take care of each other. Thank you Viking Cruises! Read Less

Overall, we experienced a very good cruise, and would definitely sail with Azamara again. This was our first voyage with Azamara, and we have previously sailed with Windstar, as well as Carnival, and NCL (never will go back to a large ship like those again! The Club Veranda rooms were small, but very comfortable. We used the balcony often, and it was adequate size. The entertainment for such a small ship was surprisingly excellent, great caliber musicians. The white night was absolutely fantastic - great spread of food, desserts, and entertainment. A fabulous evening, and a great touch. The AzAmazing evening concert with the Cape Town Symphony was also excellent. Upon arrival to the concert hall there was plentiful food and drinks, and it really was a special evening that we thoroughly enjoyed. Azamara also brought on local African tribal musicians and dancers at various points throughout the cruise, I did not expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did, but they were all fabulous, and truly a great and unique experience you don't want to miss! All staff and servers and room stewards we encountered or dealt with were all excellent, and performed their duties with smiles and with class. Everyone was top notch. My wife and I did the Chef's table. The seas were quite rough the entire day, so many people canceled, so by the time we sat down for the special dinner, it was just us and one other couple. It was an excellent experience, the food was very well done, though a little rich for our American tastes, but we still enjoyed it. The special wine pairings were also excellent. We took advantage of the Experience More / Indulgence package, which I thought was completely worth the $1,499 price for 2 people which included free unlimited wifi, chefs table, ultimate beverage package, $250 spa credit, and $700 OBC. With the unlimited wifi, better drinks, and shore credit, it made it a no brainer for us, and totally worth the cost. My only complaint and only reason I hesitated to give 5/5 stars is the food. I have to say, we had some truly excellent meals, and we only ever ate at the included dining venues other than the 1 chef's night tables. However, it was hit or miss in the main dining room. A few nights, the meals were just not very good. Edible yes, but very bland and sometimes dry. However on other nights in the same main dinng room, the entrees were fabulous, and perfectly flavorful and cooked. Perhaps it was just a few random off nights, who knows. Overall though, we found the food to be very good. We did an Azamara excursion in nearly every port, and though expensive, we enjoyed each one. Port Elizabeth - Pumba Game Drive was excellent Richards Bay - St. Lucia River cruise + Imfolozi Game Drive was amazing, and was our favorite excursion. Durban - Local African Spice/Medicinal Market was really fascinating! Though in a slightly unsafe area of Durban, with the guides we felt totally safe. This was really incredible to see all the local herbs and fascinating African medicinal plants/herbs/animals. Really would recommend this tour, wish it was longer actually, as it felt too short at only 3 hours including the drive time. East London - not sure why Azamara even bothers with this port. Absolutely nothing to do, and they only offered a few shore excursions which were all sold out immediately, so we were willing but unable to join any of the excursions. My recommendation to Azamara : Skip this port, and add an extra day in Durban!! Cape Town - What an incredible city. We did the Paarl and Franschhoek Wine Tour. I know some of the wineries were changed last minute, but we truly enjoyed this all day tour, especially the Paarl winery of Nederburg. Awesome wines, and a beautiful Winery. On the second day in Cape Town we did the Cape Point Natural Wonders tour. This was also excellent, with a beautiful drive along this winding coastal road all the way down to Cape of Good Hope where the two strong currents of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean meet, you can hike up to the lighthouse, and walk around the point area, then go to a beach to see African penguins and an excellent lunch overlooking the ocean. This was a great tour, and would highly recommend it! Sorry for the long review, but I felt it was necessary to write a review for the South Africa Itinerary, as it is a new voyage, and there was limited information. Would absolutely recommend Azamara, and this particular itinerary! Read Less

Crew as always is very friendly and available but found our room stewards did not clean up to AZ standards. Our butler was excellent and followed up on the poor cleaning crew as did Philip the hotel director. The room also is looking worn as some wallpaper is peeling. The food is standard AZ as not bad at all but not gourmet. Service all over ship and friendliness is what sets them apart. On departure day we were leaving as a walk off very very early, we let them know ahead of time all was set and were told they could get and our bags to the terminal and that we were not part of another large group. We were at the gangway area at the specified time and no one could accommodate us as they were were not ready. In the end the port manager had to drive us with our bags. AZ evening was terrific, well planned and enjoyable. White night was wonderful with great fun and food. The entertainment was ok their troop was good with enjoyable recognizable music. We did not use their tours but the port stops were excellent. We travelled as as couple and we love the casual friendly nature of other passengers. Read Less

We would strongly recommend that passengers considering a cruise choose Regent Seven Seas Cruises! There are so many reasons that make a Regent cruise outstanding and a cut above the competitors: • Perfect Size Ships: typically, 700-750 passengers. Not too big…not too small. On Regent you can always find others to share the experience without feeling lost, but you can also be very comfortable just staying by yourselves. • Extremely Luxurious Experience at Reasonable Prices: Unlimited wine and premium alcohol drinks include are included; Business Class Air included for suite bookings; Butler Service; Free Excursions • Incredible Selection of Land Pre-tours and Hotels (many are free!!) • Service, Service, Service, and Excellence • All the special touches… Specialty restaurants, Pre-paid gratuities, Unlimited WiFi Airport/Hotel transfers and more All that is great but it’s the intangibles that count most and are hard to simply list. Every day you feel special, pampered, sincerely cared for. Every little detail is just right…the crew always saying hello and being cheerful… We could go on and on, but Regent shows up when it counts most… Our most recent booked tour had one hurdle after the other. First there were issues created by China with its ports. Regent solved that by adding a fabulous land program so we could still experience everything we hoped for. Then the Coronavirus hit. Regent cared more about its passengers and crew then its own financials. Ultimately, they were forced to cancel the cruise to protect us from a potentially horrible experience or illness. But that’s not all…passengers were given a full refund and a 25% discount on a future cruise! How can you beat that!!! We’re off to the Middle East and the Mediterranean at 75% fare!! Cheers! Read Less

Hadn’t been to this part of South America as there are many sea days and unpredictable weather. The weather was amazingly calm and we were able to stop at all ports. Seeing penguins in the Falklands was the highlight as was the Falklands Museum. The drivers, the museum volunteers, the clerks at the information store were so friendly and welcoming. Also enjoyed Ushuaia and the catamaran cruise to see sea lions and penguins. Also enjoyed the Nature and History of scenic Los Lagos excursion. Can not recommend the included Highlights of Puerto Madryn and Welsh tea as it was a 1 1/2 hour bus ride each way (seeing a desert) for very delicious tea and sweets. We could have had tea on the ship. Nothing else to do there. The Viking staff is so accommodating, friendly, thoughtful, and thorough. They make the guests feel special. Food was outstanding at all the restaurants. I am a seafood lover and enjoyed shrimp, lobster, escargots, mussels, raw tuna, and crab claws. The British menu at Chef’s table was a real change from the usual items. We used credit cards and American dollars for tips and purchases even getting dollars back as change. I would recommend bringing lots of $1s and $5s for tips. The entertainment was good but I would enjoy more shows like The Beatles, ABBA, and Decades. Great lecturers especially Tom Macan. Read Less

Ship is beautiful but it caters to the 80 something crowd. Drinks are small and watered down. The wifi package only works if you have an iPhone, but I do not. The medallion app never worked with the exception of opening the cabin door. The food was just so so. The portions are small unless ofcourse you go the the buffet, but can you go to the buffet daily? The medallion was supposed to allow you to order drinks or meals by the pool without leaving your chair, however it never worked. It always stated the service didn't work at this location. It only worked if you where standing at the bar. Because this service was to be working, they didn't have staff walking around to take your orders. If you were bored and wanted to play bingo, you had to pay for it. Room steward was excellent. Check your onboard bill often. I had drink charges even though I paid for drink package. Read Less