canderson

Sounds like not much has changed since I was there in 2018! Speaking of which... Stayed in the Aldgate area and had a couple of good meals at a Halal restaurant serving Indian cuisine on St. Mark St. https://www.halalrest.co.uk/menu

And some of us wear them (outdoors) because we got tired of the liquid nitrogen treatments and the lectures by our dermatologists. @Silver Spectre So what's the head covering du jour in the UK these days? Haven't been there since 2018.

To further clarify... First, you must select "ACTIVITIES" from the "MY BOOKINGS" page. Once you have selected "TOUR PROGRAMME", it is necessary to select "ASHORE". THEN select "Download tour Programme" to received the PDF file. Note that the download will NOT work if you have pop-ups disabled in your browser settings, or have not made an exception for the my.silversea site.

Ah, right. Wonder is SS has restarted that? As of our last cruise in November 22, Celebrity was still avoiding that practice as a leftover from their pandemic policy.

For SS first timers ... what are "hosted tables"?

Aargh. Indeed it is great stuff, but I remember when Bin 95 was affordable!

So you're saying that if we can't come to terms on flights, it's actually $2,348 pp that would be discounted? Or that we can chip in to make up the difference between preferred flights and the $2,348, which amounts to the same thing?

Yes, I believe so. We're on the Dawn TA in November. Here's the relevant piece of the invoice from SS. The air promotion is priced separately, so if we don't take them, the price of the cruise would come down by $1,598 pp.

Granted, we're still a ways out (7 months), but all that shows up in our booking are the transfers to/from airports, but no flights. Do those just normally populate in "My Bookings" at the my.silversea.com site once they are established? Should I make contact and preemptively suggest my own preferred flights, or wait until Silversea comes up with something, and counter that if necessary? This is our first time with SS for any of this planning stuff. VERY different from other lines we've worked with in the past.

Uh, no. This is BYOB.

Which Illy machine am I likely to find in a Silver Suite on Dawn? Do they take the iperEspresso capsules? I ask because I have my own morning blend that I particularly prefer and want to be sure to bring a compatible refillable capsule.

If I understand correctly (1st timer with SS here), I shouldn't expect to know what flights they've selected until 60 days or less prior to our Nov '23 cruise. That's a bit late to be looking at alternatives, much later than we're accustomed to on other lines, and the business air credit is only about $1,500 pp. How/when do you discover what's "on offer"? I will say that the pre-cruise hotel they've chosen is first rate, though our TA is struggling to get them to commit to 4 nights vs. 3 for some reason.

While all of the lines may benefit from the practice you describe, I really don't think that's SS's prime motivation for stocking some higher end wines. Rather, I'm sure they stock them simply because some prefer them and will buy them. Even when the two of us are dining alone, I'd still prefer a really nice pinot with my duck + berry sauce rather than a mediocre one. Based upon the list I've seen here, SS certainly charges less for their wines than their sister lines where you can expect 2.5X retail prices, so if you're correct that SS is trying to leverage some kind of "We buy, you buy" dynamic, they're certainly leaving a lot of $ on the table.

Simple. Politely decline the offer if you hope to avoid the back and forth.

Not that I can see. I'm pleasantly surprised by the prices. Agree that sharing a few nice bottles is a win for everybody at the table if it's done equitably, which it often is.

No, for that, you get one of these:

I'll be wearing mine on my tank top (can't find one with lapels, even at Men's Warehouse), so I guess we won't be speaking!

True enough. A ride in an F16 runs about $8K per hour, so it's about a $40,000 fare. But they don't serve dinner. Not even pretzels.

It's ONLY a 5 hour trip at ~Mach 1 😁

I've always preferred a porter or a stout with my S&K pie. Wonder if they have any of those on a list? 😁

If that list is anywhere near current, that's just EXCELLENT, Silver Spectre. The Tig is $100 currently? Can't touch the '18 for less than $150 here at home.

So rare to find one with any residual acidity. Sadly, gave up trying.

Also first time SS cruisers and had same question. Answer may surprise. Read forward from this link:

People often do when the situation warrants. All the same, it's interesting to share experiences here, both good and bad, as a way of managing expectations. Service isn't uniform, so understanding the norm and above helps people to better understand when issues should be escalated. It's the Hotel Manager's job to provide additional training, not the customer's job to explain... especially when it comes to what we've come to call "intuitive service". Few customers would understand how to convey what it takes to develop that special skill.

We grabbed 1105 to put a stake in the ground while we could, and then began investigating the options. Silver is all waitlisted now. No shot at 1114, but I do see the appeal re location.