frantic36

Okay so you think Seabourn should be USA centric only? I don’t agree that this is a way to move the brand forward. Hopefully you are wrong and they do care what other demographics think and send out surveys world wide. You and I will just have to disagree on methodology.

Enjoy the Kimberley region as I think the landscape is stunning. We did it last year for a week on a small ship that had a helicopter and will be doing it again this June on Seabourn Pursuit with no helicopter so interesting to see the variance. We did some good hiking last year there, especially seeing the Aboriginal rock art.

I'm still wanting to know if they included people from other countries or only the USA. I know CC is a small sample size so maybe those who use other websites can tell me. I am hoping it is people from other countries otherwise the survey was flawed to start with in my opinion. And all the cross referencing you mention does not work if that is the case.

Thank you for your blog @RachelG as it was interesting and the accompanying photos excellent. We were in Valencia for the first time last year and really enjoyed it and are looking forward to returning next year.

They need these loyal customers to sail on the ship. Of course a survey like this with such out there suggestions will be discussed. I am sure it is discussed on the other site which I don't belong to as well. Maybe you're right as I said I find it interesting that so far on CC only Americans received the survey and that is a poor way to conduct a survey. I am quite certain Europeans, people from the United Kingdom, Australians etc have different viewpoints on what they consider acceptable. Some of the things mentioned like not including gratuities, having different classes with wine only included at meals would be unacceptable to me. The whole vibe of having pre and post dinner drinks at the Club & Obs Bar charged would change the atmosphere. Sometimes I only have a ginger ale but I don't want to have to pay for it. My question is why include red herrings like that if they aren't considering it?

Well that is a silly assumption to go forward with at HQ. Of course people want to discuss such radical suggestions as this goes away from what we have chosen to sail Seabourn for. I am trying a Regent cruise later this year but only because I want to have another option as Seabourn have introduced too many 7 day sailings in the Med. My husband and I would still prefer Seabourn though as we don't want included excursions. We haven't received this survey and we're in Australia. I find it interesting that it seems to be only those from the USA. That also isn't a good survey if they only choose a subset of their passengers from one demographic.

I haven't sailed on Regent yet but this just reminds me that doesn't matter, luxury at some point in your cruising life when boarding you will encounter glitches. Which is why for us I now find a nice local restaurant for lunch and go later. Because of loyalty on Seabourn they usually book my transfer to board earlier but I try to push it later. I am looking forward to trying Regent but even though excited to see the new ship will aim to avoid the early boarding. Is there ports you can drop of luggage but go for lunch before boarding? I have done this in Venice and Piraeus previously. We are boarding in Tokyo but curious for others as well.

Agree with all of this plus I like to keep up to date with world events as sometimes they impact the cruise I'm on. For example last year a few days before we arrived in Casablanca there was the terrible earthquake near Marrakesh. Since there was an overnight tour planned there the ship did give some information but I was able to flesh out more of the story by checking the internet.

And this is why even when included I prefer to do my own transport. Cruise line transfers invariably mean waiting for everyone to get organised to board the bus and then you have a large group arriving at the same time so the check in process takes longer. @PacificView when were you told that boarding would be late so you could arrange a taxi for 5pm? I've had bad starts before though not losing a whole day but have had to have extra sea days for various reasons. But you have to learn to make the best of it otherwise you just waste a cruise being angry.

I do the same and take a copy of my invoice after final payment which lists all my OBC. This means there is no question what is due. My Virtuoso credit isn't usually applied till I'm onboard. Last cruise was the first time it wasn't there but it was a glitch sorted out in a few days. As we are usually on for a few days we also check the source account every few days but that's just us. They have an unusual accounting method so sometimes we need to get clarity at Seabourn Square, ie they would debit us for the laundry but since we get included laundry they then credit it back. I am not clear what is meant by the charging for every day of the cruise means?

It looks very mystical, though I know in a practical sense could be concerning if you can't see where you are going.

Unfortunately I can't help with La Goulette as we didn't stop there. I just checked our itinerary for last year in case my memory was faulty. It looks very interesting and I have never been to Tunisia.

Thank you for your input about your cruise. I am sorry you weren't able to do your snorkelling trip as I know you were looking forward to the experience. I am sorry this won't help now for you but for future travellers if they are diverted to Pago Pago we did this private tour: https://tisasbarefootbar.com We did the full tour but another couple just got themselves to & from the private beach and had lunch and multiple snorkels on their own. We were happy to just have a fuller tour and more limited snorkelling but the other couple did 3-4 snorkels from the beach which they enjoyed. I hope you are enjoying the Signature Suite as we are booked to stay there in the cruise from Honiara at end of May.

I love my Camilla for the space and weight savings 🙂.

I am not a light packer as I like choice. My next cruise in May is tricky as we will have a charter flight to Solomon Islands from Sydney. Luggage restricted to 23kg + 7kg carryon away for 28 days. Because it will be hot & humid I will want to change clothing during the day. Thankfully I have laundry included but it will be a two day turnaround. My plan is to cut right down on my shoes and be more ruthless with clothing selection but it will be a challenge.