5waldos

It is worth comparing the BC fares you can book yourself with the deal offered by SS. One a trip to Alaska the premium to upgrade was twice the cost of the tickets I could buy myself. Why the great difference I don't know but there it was. And I prefer having some control over the flights and days and airlines.

Perhaps not my preference but the refillable bottles are far more earth friendly than the millions of tiny single use bottles. Especially a thought today- Earth Day. If it is the same product (and yes, this is a big If), I think of the great Pacific and Atlantic plastic dumps in the middle of the ocean, now bigger than the size of Rhode Island, and wonder how many of these small bottles contribute to them.

It is a wonderful excursion but not sure it is $425 wonderful. Especially since there are usually more than one person going meaning a lot of money. Agree that taking one of the Kenai Fjord trips would be far less expensive and give you a similar experience. Have all the excursions gone up that much? Seems to me that some of the helicopter trips to the glaciers were about that price or not a lot more. As far as help with excursions, for further info beyond Cruise Critic there are other websites which review excursions. Not clear on the rules of CC which I can mention so I will have to leave it to you to google for advice on trips. You can just google ship excursions in Alaska for information also.

I don't remember SS as being seriously Italian, if the truth be known. And as far as the Prosecco vs Champagne- people used to complain that unless they made a very specific request for Champagne they were often given the very much less expensive Prosecco and complained bitterly about it. Requesting Prosecco instead of Champagne would make them happy.

Sounds good turtlemichael- we will actually be in Cairns for 3 days so we have time to try several restaurants. We booked 2 nights on our own at the hotel- for less than half the price that SS offered it for. Then the 3rd night SS takes over. Of course- we will have to find our way to Bangkok if they have booked us there which will cut back on time for meals 😜. (And a moment of serious thought- I really will have to check that SS has only messed up online and not in my actual reservations. The possibility exists that they put the wrong hotel number in there too which could be a problem. )

Guess drinks are out of the question, too.

But it’s included which is a blessing.

Ah websites. This is the description of the hotel that SS has us booked into the night before our cruise out of Australia. Gonna be a long day as they get us from Bangkok to Cairns the morning of our cruise! 😜 I brought this to their attention nearly a week ago so they fixed the picture. But left the description. I am assuming that the actual booking is correct- yes? SIMPLY HOTEL: SHANGRI-LA HOTEL Code: BKK100 Shangri-La Hotel The Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, is a 5-star luxury hotel in Silom district, Bangkok. The design and appointments express the welcoming warmth and richness of Thai culture throughout the hotel, from traditional teak dining pavilions to the most up-to-date room features. The hotel has a total of 802 rooms including 72 suites in two wings.

I think you go to the very top of the thread and on the right hand side there is a box that should allow you to unfollow.

If only I had read everything that SS had sent me- on expedition ships, at least, SS does indeed arrange for visa's for Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands (where I don't think a visa is necessary anyway but never mind). I thought I remembered them doing this and indeed- they say that they do.We are responsible for our own visas for Australia- you can do this online. I don't know about any other places. So- greatly relieved- all visas obtained. And highplanesddrifter- missed your message above- guess you already know this.

YEA! I seriously think that I had something to do with this since I have been "discussing" the issue of the Solomon Islands NOT requiring testing for about a week now and as of yesterday morning SS had not made any adjustments. My rep contacted those who decide again. Your trip is very nearly the reverse Of mine in October. I have a question about the visa needed for PNG- did SS arrange this for you? I have obtained the Australia visa so that is done and hope that SS does the other one. Have a wonderful trip and will be looking forward to any trip reports you might make.

I think that many of us recognize that life is just complex and after 3 years of a virus hunting us down to try and kill us (okay- yes, being overly dramatic but sometimes that's what it felt like) we aren't going to let little, or big, civil disruption stop us. As in- Oh he$$- never mind I'm going anyway! I know for me, I look into the future and don't see things quieting down any time soon, and realize that I don't have many more years to traipse around before I simply am too old. I am NOT ready to stop traveling. And if that means taking more risks- I guess I am going to take more risks.

That would be very nice indeed. I would absolutely prefer to have the money refunded to me. OBC is useless on expeditions, and who knows what the future holds.

Ours is paid in full. I understand the gold rule but hope that SS doesn't take advantage of it. Giving us on board credit would be a real waste. So- I wait and have fingers crossed.

How does SS typically handle refund for price drops? I was told that it could be an actual refund (preferred), a future credit, or onboard credit. We have an $900 price drop and if they issue this as onboard credit I will be quite upset- it would be extremely difficult to spend that much onboard an expedition ship. It would essentially be wasting the money- nearly daily massages? Stuff I don't want from the gift shop? Or is it money that can be refunded at the end of the cruise? Anyone have any thoughts here about what usually happens?

"f you do choose PNG remember to bring along some Kina, the local currency, for any purchases. Preferably in small notes. The locals away from the large towns have great difficulty in exchanging currency." Oh- very good thought. Thanks for it- will now have to look into where you get them but I have lots of time. I do rather agree that a large ship in PNG would rather overwhelm the place. Some of the stops we made, that number of passengers would be many times the number of locals.

An RAT? Not sure what that is. I think part of the problem may be that SS is relying on information from Oct, 2022. There is updated information as of a couple of weeks ago. They also need to have someone updating their website who understands what they are doing- the PCR requirements are nonsensical. Also, on one page at the top they say that you can do a rapid test yourself and simply take a time stamped picture; several paragraphs later they require 3rd party verification. SS is not alone in this kind of problem but seriously- how is it possible that one a single page so many errors can be made??? NM- figured out what the RAT is. Oops

We have similar requirements for a trip in the fall- possibly the reverse of what you are doing. The explanation given (at least for our cruise) is that the testing is required for entering the Solomon Islands. This is not true- I have been in touch with the Solomon Island embassy and have a formal note from them stating that there are NO TESTING REQUIREMENTS to visit the Solomons. Not to mention that it is not possible to reliably get a PCR test in the time frame as listed- it must be processed in a lab and can often take up to a week to get results. So, this may be something that SS has simply decided to require, which is their right, but if it is being done to meet Solomon Island government requirements- it is an error.

I do understand the potential usefulness of testing prior to boarding. In my case, SS claims that the reason for testing is to comply with the requirements of the Solomon Islands. Requirements which do not exist. If they are doing it because they think it is good idea, fine. Their ship, their rules. But if they are testing because of out of date regulations, they need to update things.

I am assuming that they will update the website, at least as it relates to the Solomons. I have no idea WHY they are requiring tests for countries that no longer require them. Virtually no countries do any more- why would SS require tests for only a few countries? Perhaps it is because of the significant penalties if the ship turns up with CoVid. It seems very odd to me that they would but who knows. Will let you know what their response is to me. Would it surprise me to discover that the website was wrong? Sorry but no.

I am not assuming- the instructions included on the SS website for the health form states that the Solomons require a CoVid test. And that in order to comply with their requirements, SS would provide a test during the 72 hour window.

They seem to require a preboarding test if you are sailing to a country that demands the testing no more than 72 hours prior to arriving. However- check out the official websites of the countries you are visiting- Silversea is NOT up to date on some of them. For example the Solomon Islands no longer (since October) requires testing although as of yesterday SS still claimed that it did. And it was because of this testing SS was requiring that we be tested before boarding. They would then provide additional tests on board (free) within the 72 ours of arriving in the Solomons. I am certain of this information since I have spoken to the embassy and received an official email about the testing. Since we don't sail til very end of September I am sure that SS has ample time to update their forms.

Just returned from Alaska. Although Glacier Wind in ICP was wonderful, the whales weren't. We saw some tails and a few backs, all at a distance. Friends of ours went whale watching in Juneau and were surrounded by about 2 dozen whales, so close that their tour boat had to shut down the engines. I have gone whale watching in Juneau about 4 times previously and was never disappointed. It really is the luck of the draw- and this time we drew the short straw.

No- you do the ArriveCAN before boarding the ship. Canadian regulations say that ALL passengers who will be entering Canada (and if you sail into Canadian waters, even if you don't disembark, you are entering Canada) must complete the ArriveCAN. Since it is connected to your passport, there is no need to show additional paperwork to demonstrate that you have completed it.

Your ArriveCAN was confirmed when you boarded the ship. No NEED to check it when you got off the ship. Nobody was (supposed to be) allowed to board the ship without ArriveCAN. Since it is linked to your pasport, assume that is when your passport was checked