turtlemichael

1 hour ago, Tothesunset said:

Now here's an interesting thing: I'm in Poland just now and when I click your link I'm denied access to the site, a message saying something to the effect that "my" country has been blocked. So I changed to my UK VPN and, guess what, the site opened. 

 

How odd. 

I can see the site in Australia. I just ordered home delivery from the nearest store (Honolulu) for Aussieflyer.

On 5/3/2024 at 10:25 AM, jpalbny said:

Brr! Sounds like it's time to reinstitute the late morning boullioun service...one thing that we look forward to while cruising in Polar climes. Stay well and stay warm!

It was certainly there this time last year on Shadow. It was morning sustenance for many in the knitting circle in the Panorama Lounge as well as many around the pool.

1 hour ago, julmops said:

Good morning all,

 

We are on the Muse from Seward to Vancouver on June 6 and have are on a GTY Vista Suite.

 

We are still waiting for the stateroom assignment at 38 days before embarkation.

 

In your experience, when can we expect to get the stateroom number ?

 

Many thanks in advance for your help !

 

Any time from now until you get to the ship.  It varies but a week or so in advance is not unusual.

Great pics Mysty. Thank you. We loved South Korea. What did you think of your tour?

2 hours ago, mysty said:

 

I have to admit that this adventure has involved more post time than other adventures.   I need to resize photos to post and that requires more of an effort.   However,  I made a commitment here and I intend to honour it! 😁

Your dedication and the quality of your output deserve an award. Thank you very much and enjoy the remaining days of this cruise.

We are booked on a back-to-back on Nova from Cairns to Auckland in November/December. The two legs booked separately attract the discount but not the combined voyage. Oh well.

For us, a very important aspect of our cruise is the fellow passengers. I can identify differences in the four lines we've sailed on - Celebrity, Regent, Seabourn and, of course, Silversea. Silversea has suited us very well in this respect. We have many long term friends in Australia and overseas who we maintain contact with and have visited with too.  What are the differences with Crystal?

4 hours ago, commodoredave said:

I didn’t get the “esteemed guest” salutation, but Bert did say as per below that he was looking forward to meeting me onboard in due course. DW is very upset she wasn’t included and would like to make it very clear to Bert that I will not be sailing without her.
 

 

I am looking forward to meeting you onboard in due course.  Best regards,

If he had put an s on you to get yous, he would have covered all possibilities.

That Drayton Vermentino is a passably decent wine. I'd be very happy to have it with my dinner.

50 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

the locals at least - stood still and a Chinese copper came running towards (at?) me furiously blowing his whistle. I was given a good old dressing down (actually he was shouting in Chinese so for all I know he might have been giving me his favourite pulled pork recipe). 

 

Apparently, I had commited the offence of approaching the statue. But how else to read the plaque? 

 

Top tip for Mysty. Take binoculars. 

That was his one job and you were maybe his highlight of the day. Petty bureaucracy is similar everywhere, just more so in China! Let's hope his boss appreciated his efforts.

7 minutes ago, drron29 said:

Re The comment about no fruit bowl in suites. We had no fruit bowl for the first 2 days of the current cruise. So I asked our butler if they were no longer supplied. He said they were available on request so I requested one. I was asked what fruit I wanted so that is a positive. 
 

 

Our experience of automatic fruit bowls on Silversea was the fruit was usually so under ripe that it would not get eaten. Peaches like cricket balls for example. The only bits we would eat were the grapes! On request seems reasonable but you have to be told by Silversea that that is possible.

The OP was asking whether they would be disappointed on Silversea, compared with their last sailing 5 years ago, given the increased number of adverse comments in recent times. A perfectly reasonable question to me.  My last cruise was the World Cruise 2023 on Shadow. Prior to that it was a Pacific Island cruise on Muse in 2020 and the World Cruise in 2019 on Whisper. All were excellent in most respects. Of course, you'd expect a WC to be good given it is their premium product. The next is on Nova in November. I haven't deserted Silversea for anyone else. I've just done a lot less cruising as there are many other things on land to do and the attractions of cruising after 600+ days are fading.

Now, I'm interested to know what are the intentions of the many people here with significant adverse comments. Is it to move to another line, keep sailing with Silversea or cut back sailing overall? Is it so bad now, for the price, that you don't want to sail with Silversea any more? I'm particularly interested in the views of those who have done many trips on Silversea rather than just one, or even none. 

1 hour ago, DavyWavey70 said:

In a very disturbing turn of events, tonight whilst watching some YouTube videos in the interest of future adventure planning, an American gentleman during a suite tour pointed at a kettle and called it a coffee maker. Upon my exclamation my DH informed me that Americans don’t have kettles and make their tea in a microwave. Please put my mind at rest that these are just scurrilous rumours! The British method of making tea isn’t quite as ritualistic as the Japanese method but not far short. The thought of making tea in the pobty ping sends shivers down my spine. 

You mean it's not the night bottle?

2 minutes ago, mysty said:

 

At the Temple of the Tooth!  Vegetarian meal!  It was interesting! 😅

I'm nearly over the indigestion!

1 hour ago, turtlemichael said:

Great pics, mysty. Much better day than last year. We were largely limited to indoors because of storms. Glad you enjoyed it.

I also remember our food hall lunch from 5 years ago lol

Great pics, mysty. Much better day than last year. We were largely limited to indoors because of storms. Glad you enjoyed it.

1 hour ago, commodoredave said:

if we all continue to book future cruises regardless of the situation, nothing will change.

And the person who thought of it will get a hefty bonus!

I'd suggest to the chef he Google what a chowder might look like. You'd have to conclude from a comparison of the menus and your comments that the food budget has been severely trimmed.

I think that the new structure of fares is superior and cleaner than the one it replaces, I have two provisos. Using the previous name for a different type of fare now is sure to give rise to initial confusion. Second, as always it depends on the dollars they charge for these new fares.

25 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

It's mostly just a change in terminology.  Door-to-Door still means what it always did.  The middle grade that was called "Door-to-Door Without Air" is now called "Port-to-Port."  The old Port-to-Port has changed the most, becoming "Essentials" and losing shore excursions [without getting any cheaper].

 

But yes, at today's prices I think I have booked my last Silversea cruise too.  So glad I have two more booked at the low prices of the past!

I would be reasonably confident that, if Silversea prices are out of line with the competition, the market will react to this. Unless they have some other agenda, Silversea will be forced to act too.

4 hours ago, drron29 said:

We booked a cruise for December 2025 just 1 week ago. The P to P fare is nearly $A6000 dearer than our D to D fare minus air.

I really am starting to believe we have booked our last SS cruise.

This in the explanation of the D to d fare means that is definitely out of the question for us.

 

"Our industry-leading Door-to-Door All-Inclusive fare available on all voyages; air must be purchased through Silversea as an air credit is no longer available on this fare type."

Our next booked cruise, booked 3 months ago, Cairns to Auckland 32 days on Nova in Nov-Dec 2024 has gone up $1000 per pax on D2D in a superior veranda. Without flights the newly named P2P has around the same increase. This looks pretty normal to me but maybe ours is not as popular as yours.

I don't want to start a conspiracy theory but it looks like the Hotel Director's signature has a $ sign in the middle of it. See the letter above. 😆 Now, where are my pills? 

Bait and switch comes to mind.