MamaFej

Thank you so much to the people in this thread who post the PUP opportunities. I was traveling with limited internet access when the latest webinar came up. I was able to watch yesterday. Y'all are awesome!

I hear you. We don't vacation, we travel. We enjoy learning about places, cultures, cuisines, geology, flora, fauna, etc. We have traveled, including cruising, quite a lot in the last 8 years, though we've never been to the Caribbean. We live within 90 minutes of the LA ports, but have only taken a few cruises to and/or from there. We've both flown andcruised to Hawaii and RV'd to 49 US states, and a few Canadian provinces (having cruised to others). We love new experiences and revisiting special places. I think that for those who enjoy traditional vacationing, the idea of weeks at a time on board would not be attractive. That is neither right nor wrong. My way is neither right nor wrong. It is a wonderful thing that humans have different interests and preferences. It is also wonderful that there are so many options for different types of vacationing and traveling. Cruising is a delightful fit for a variety of ways to get away from home. It is also a wonderful way to meet a variety of people from a variety of backgrounds.

Our B2Bs included 23 nights on the Connie, 17 on the Azamara Pursuit, and 33 days on the Summit this year. PapaFej and I genuinely enjoy each other's company, and don't feel the need to be entertained every night. We do enjoy sitting in Cellar Masters when it isn't crowded and playing Scrabble, Qwirkle, or cribbage. I work on my cross stitching between turns. I crafted a fabric Scrabble board that uses regular letters, so we have our own set that doesn't require brute force to clean up, like the commercial Travel Scrabble does. The whole thing fits into an airline ammenities bag. We enjoy the live music in the various venues. The rooftop movie venue at the aft of M class ships is a nice place to relax. We were in Blu on the first and last cruises of our Summit B3B, and MDR in between, where service was dreadful (it was not the fault of the overworked staff) so we ate most dinners in the OVC. We really got to know the sommelier in Blu, who also worked for a couple of hours in Cellar Masters in the afternoon. It's quite easy to develop a rapport with crew, especially when you are on for an extended period. We don't drink a lot, but because we were playing/hanging out in Cellar Masters quite a bit, we also got to know the head bartender at CM, the Cellar Master herself, and one of the Assistant Beverage managers. We find that special treats from onshore small businesses (micro breweries, chocolatiers, a hot sauce specialty shop) make lovely gifts of appreciation for the hard working crew. These are in addition to, not in place of cash tips. All told, we spent 94 nights on 5 ships on 4 lines on 5 continents this year. We have 142 nights booked on 6 ships on 4 lines on 3 continents and lots of islands next year, with wo TPs and a TA. Plus, lots of land time overseas and RV time in the US and Canada. Retirement is fun!

Sigh. What wonderful plans we had for those overnights! It broke my heart to have to cancel them. We have an even longer trip to eastern Asia planned for early 2024, but it won't be the same without you and Greg.

And now that song is in my head. Gee, thanks.

If you haven't already sailed Azamara, you might look into it, and consider jumping on a January cruise. This will grandfather you into the loyalty program at you current level. Once the programs completely separate on February 1, only those who have previously sailed Azamara will maintain their status. If you don't like it, you still had time on a ship. We tried Azamara last June, on a great deal, largely to get grandfathered in. We enjoyed it, and have just booked two more. I'm glad we will get to maintain our loyalty level, mostly earned on X.

The bigger the prices, the bigger the sale?

We met lots of wonderful people, from a variety of places and backgrounds, including a lovely couple in a 1500 square foor suite, decked out to the nines, and full of friendly conversation. I imagine that if I met you on a cruise, I'd say that you are a lovely person, too. If have seen you offer lots of helpful advice here over the years. I was just surprised at how many bargain-hunting middle class folks we also met. I think they were as surprised as we were. I hope I did not offend. It was absolutely not my intention. I definitely hear you about the working hard and getting lucky bit. Most people at our income level do not travel as we do. It is a combination of hard work, tough choices, wise investments, opportunities to make all of those pay off, and sheer, dumb luck that have led us to where we are now. There are billions of people on this planet, and tens of millions in our own country who have to work harder than we for far longer, who will never have the opportunities we have had. We recognize how lucky we are. We don't kid ourselves for half a second that everything we have is due solely to our work ethic and choices.

@Jim_Iain, on another note, you might want to consider jumping on a January Azamara cruise. This would grandfather you into the Azamara Circle loyalty program at the Zenith reciprocal level before the programs officially sever. https://www.azamara.com/loyalty/azamara-circle/member-benefits Azamara may or may not be for you.. It's certainly not as high-end as other lines, definitely not like Ponant, but we enjoyed it quite a bit when we sailed with them last June. We have discovered that we really enjoy small ship cruising, having done several in the last 13 months. If you end up hating Azamara, you could always bonk me on the head with a paper towel roll the next time you see me. If you end up liking it, you could flash me one of your awesome smiles.

Re: river cruises, we did our first on on the Duoro in April. We loved it. We have another booked, also with Ama, on the Mekong for early 2024. As TrulyBlonde mentioned, you don't have the flexibility on excursions, which I thought would be a probelm for us, but it wasn't at all. The curated experiences were fabulous, and we did end up with free time options ashore. As long as you were back to the coach in time, you could skip anything you wanted.

My understanding is that the regular cruises are very fancy schmancy. Jackets required in the evenings in all public areas and such. On the Expedition cruise, some folks wore leggings, jeans, sneakers, etc. at any time of day. I think that Jobs would have gotten away with whatever he wanted to wear in any situation. Me, not so much. This adventure sort of fell into our laps. My very dear friend got a crazy cheap Agent Rate. I think it was largely because of the timing. Going home from the ship to nealry anywhere in the world required traveling on Christmas Eve, and during Hanukkah. There were several agents aboard, on Agent Rates. My TA friend couldnt get the Agent Rate for us, but the cruise was heavily discounted without it. He also worked some magic for us, and we just couldn't say no. I'm glad we didn't. It was not my first choice of itinerary, but it was utterly amazing, nonetheless. We had far more landings than average, we got to kayak, we actually saw Cape Horn, etc., etc., etc. When members of the Expedition Team repeatedly say, "Whoa! That almost never happens" multiple times, literally stop the Zodiac to get out their own phones for pictures, and gush over how well things are going, especially compared to the previous two trips, it's definitely a great experience! We even got to enter the caldera and go ashore on Deception Island. We were seconds away from having to abort, but a sudden wind shift allowed us in. We had far more good luck than anyone deserves. I think the current cruise is doing the Falklands, and other stuff east of where we went. Silversea has 3 or 4 ships down there this season. The ship holds 300, but we had only 174 passengers. As such, we got to to places only ships with under 200 are allowed to go. I would definitely love to visit Stanley, South Georgia, etc., but this was a once in a lifetime deal, and a less than perfect itinerary (on paper) was 8 million times better than never doing it at all. Because of the (relatively) low price, there were quite a few middle class folks like us, who would normally not cruise Silversea. There were also lots of people who probably had more cash in their $5,000 designer handbags than we have in our investment accounts. Nearly everyone was friendly. The staff and crew were phenomenal. For folks who can definitely afford this type of cruising at regular prices, holding out for other options may be a better choice. Keep in mind that 10-12% of this kind of expediton cruise ends up with no one ever getting ashore, or even onto Zodiacs. I was prepared for this, but we had just the opposite. @Jim_Iain, you have my email address, and my real name. Feel free to reach out, if you want.

I absolutely would not feel comfortable on one of their regular cruises. I am neither fancy nor schmancy.For those who are, it wouuld be a fabulous way to cruise. I would do another Expedition with them in a heartbeat, if I could actually afford it (highly unlikely).

Charla, we just got back yesterday from an utterly amazing Antarctica Excursion Cruise on Silversea. Granted, we had ridiculously good luck with weather, landings, wildlife, and even saw Cape Horn (our Expedition Leader is on his 12th season of Antarctica sailings, and ours was only the second time he has ever seen it) so the picture I have to paint might be a bit rosier than typical. The service was impeccable, and the excellence of the well-rounded Expedition Team was mind-blowing! There were so many experts in so many fields, and I cannot praise them enough. They told us, time and again, that we were on an Expedition, not a cruise, but it is very much a high-end cruise experience when you aren't doing the actual expediton excursions. Even the recap and briefing meetings have champagne. I'll talk your ears off, if you give me a chance, so you might not want to. -------- Also, yes, @jelayne, I know I owe you pictures! We have oodles!!!! Video, too! -------

We are in Chile, abs will be boarding a ship for Antarctica this afternoon. You might consider doing what Silversea calls a “Bridge” cruise, in which you fly over the Drake Passage and join the ship in Antarctica (if I understand it correctly). We were all noobs at one time. Most folks here are very friendly and helpful. Asking questions is a good way to get answers.

Howdy from Sunny Santiago. While I absolutely understand the disappointment some have at not experiencing Sunny SoCal, as a resident, I’m super grateful for the rain. I think we need to travel in December every year. Last year, we went to French Polynesia, and it rained heavily for several days. (This is me, taking one for the team)

He certainly is. He and I definitely have different styles of persuasion. Of course, selfishly, I hope he is successful. Thanks, again for letting me share your eclipse information.

Awwww, so sweet! I’m sorry I had to miss it, too! I’m currently on a plane, en route to Mexico City. We fly to Santiago tomorrow, then to Puerto Williams Monday to board the ship for Antarctica. SO excited!! —— I’m sorry you didn’t win anything at the B2B meeting. Perhaps you can find some modicum of solace in the Royal Suite you won via a Move Up bid. 😉😉😉

Wow! We got precisely bupkis on our B2B on Constellation in May and our B2B2B on Summit in August and September. I suppose it depends on the Hotel Manger.

I definitely would not tell my friend who carries a rescue inhaler in hers, nor the one who carries nitroglycerin in hers that it's pointless for anyone to carry a purse onboard. I have a very small cross body bag that doesn't hold much more than my phone, a lip balm, and my sea pass that I use when I don't have pockets. We all have different needs. Thank you for your post.

We make a good team! Wait, the flagpole is aluminum, right? I wouldn't be able to swing a steel one.

I think there's a sort of golden brownish yacht with a matching helicopter, that's there sometimes, too. As for value, I might be able to afford the flagpole on the back.

Was it the one with the helicopter? I'm not confident that one ever actually goes anywhere. 😉

I was so surprised when I spoke to him for a short bit on a staircase on the Summit. I was expecting to hear a Scot, but heard an American.

Be on the lookout for hitchhiking sea lions. They've been know to hop on the backs of fishing boats, with rather self-satified looks on their faces. I'm sure you're familiar with the look, given where you are from and your extensive travels. My grandpa was a master sea-lion impressionist: both the vocalizations, and the look.