Tarwood3

https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2019/04/articles/pollution/federal-judge-threatens-to-imprison-carnival-executives-for-continued-environmental-crimes/

Hopefully RCCL is never accused of such terrible environmental disasters....

Hi there....both cruise lines are pretty similar.  Both ultraluxury and both do a great job.  We have done many on both lines, although right now we are taking a break and trying a few new things.  Ovation is a brand new ship and gorgeous...Ive done Encore which is its sister ship. The crew is absolutely amazing and I would say that as amazing as Silversea’s crews are....I feel like Seabourn edges them out a bit in that area.  Seabourn doesnt have butlers...the suite attendant takes care of everything which is fine by me...I definitely don’t miss the butlers.  Silversea does upchage for LaDame...but its such a unique dining experience... that it is well worth the money.   Silversea has better pool decks ....they are larger and go down the side of the ship as well.  Seabourn’s pool deck is smaller and more confining if you will...however, if you are doing a port intensive Baltic trip, I doubt you will be lounging by the pool anyway.  At the end of the day, you will love both....I personally love Helsinki...and think its worth a stop.  We are doing the Baltic’s next year;however, we have decided to do Oceania because they also stop in Riga, Latvia and Klaipeda, Lithuania...in addition to the regulars all the other lines do....only a couple cruise lines go to Latvia and LIthuania, so thats why I chose Oceania for our Baltic trip...Happy Cruising!

7 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

They were on the first few cruises on a new ship, and the first in her class, so the crew was still finding their rhythm, I’m sure. There were also punch list issues to fix (similar to issues that pop up during the six months after a new home build). Personally, except for a few quite balanced & comprehensive reviews of the early cruises, I gave later reviews more weight when I made my decision between final payment & cancellation.

I forgot to include in my post that we were on the December 9th maiden voyage and thought things seemed great.  Luminae was a bit slow for food to come out the first 2 days but after that , we didnt really notice anything particularly off on the ship....so I guess thats why I was surprised by the negative comments just the cruise before.  Oh well...as long as folks are enjoying it now and more realistic reviews are being published now!

On 4/2/2019 at 6:44 PM, UnorigionalName said:

 

I think it's that while a wide variety of people like it and give positive reviews about the Edge, the negative reviews come from a fairly narrow demographic.  So it's not most the elite+ members don't like it, but that most people who don't like it are elite+ members.

I remember looking at many of the negative reviews and the common denominator were the folks who were on the 3 day preview cruises??? Not sure why this was the case.......

It shouldn’t affect it.  We had the same thing happen not too long ago.  We just called our TA and they called X and the credit was reinstated.  I think there’s something with their computer system that might delete the credit when theres a change in cabin category...it has to be input manually.  Just call...should get sorted out easily 

9 hours ago, Fairsky84 said:

 

Agree. I can understand the 70yr old passenger whose cruise 40+ times not being a fan of Edge. That’s acceptable IF the ship is effectively drawing 35yr olds to cruising for the first time. Is there any evidence it’s working? 

 

While Edge-class might ultimately be ok for Celebrity once they work out the bugs and make some adjustments, can anyone think of another new class debut from RCI/Celebrity that has been met by so much criticism? Sure, every ship has its oddities but Quantum-class, Oasis-class, S-class... all were nearly universally praised for their design, innovation, cabin comfort, and layout. I don’t recall any M-class fans criticizing S-class when it launched. It was widely embraced as a step forward. Edge is the first new class I’ve seen that has received this degree of pushback, even if it’s not “most” passengers complaining the % is enough for Celebrity to take notice. 

We did the Edge on the maiden voyage Dec 9th .  We took our moms who are in their 70s and we all LOVED the ship.  Its completely different and we liked the new experience.  And we actually loved loved loved being able to sit in bed, and control the drapes, a/c, tv, lights etc all from my cell phone! We loved all the specialty restaurants.  We thought the decor was beautiful...very much to our liking...and our moms loved it too..so I’m not sure that just because one is 70+ means they wont like it.  We were in a sky suite and loved our regular veranda...not sure how I feel about an Infinite Veranda...guess I would have to experience one to comment on that.  We loved the Retreat area of the ship as well as Luminae.  Only thing I wasnt crazy about is the Martini Bar...it kind of lost its original draw.  It seemed like they tried to combine too much into that one space....its large but still so difficult to find a seat and doesn’t have the wow factor the martini bar has on the S class ships.  Otherwise we are huge fans.  Only other disappointment is to see that every winter season (2019, 2020 and 2021), they have Edge doing the exact same 2 itineraries over and over and over? I dont understand the logic in that?

On 2/14/2019 at 3:51 PM, eneq said:

 

I agree. All of their marketing is geared towards a younger demographic. Plus, Branson has said it will be a "party ship."

On 2/15/2019 at 9:22 AM, eneq said:

 

I highly doubt you'll be outcasts. Just because they are focusing their marketing towards the under-40 crowd doesn't mean it will be only be younger people on the ship. I'm sure there are plenty of people of all ages (other than those under 18 of course!) who will enjoy VV's atmosphere and offerings. 

Branson only says “young at heart”...he’s not just targeting millennials.  And from the facebook group I’m on for the maiden voyage, most of us are far from that.  And not sure how folks are so quick to nix Virgin for a cruise because there’s no drink package.  They said the drinks will be well priced...so until you actually know the price of drinks, perhaps folks shouldn’t be pre judge.  Just wait and see they come up with....

21 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

We have matching MSC status, but I can't get over the food photos and reviews.  Maybe if they introduce an affordable dining package.  We're planning to book Allure of the Seas next month onboard Eclipse, and that's the only way I'll return to RCCL.

 

We're also going to put a deposit down on Azarama.  Hopefully we'll get to try Oceania and Windstar before too long.  I would never pay Luxury-Light prices for X.

Azamara is one that has really raised their prices a lot.  We have sailed all the luxury lines, and have done a lot on Celebrity as well.  Azamara has gotten as expensive if not more so than Silversea and Seabourn and AZ isn’t as inclusive as the others.  Therefore we haven’t booked Azamara lately.  We have an Azamara booked Sep 2020 only because no one else is doing the itinerary...but we are paying $17k for a 14 day and we booked way in advance.  

Ive noticed the most price increases in Suite class on X.  In many cases, its same as Silversea and the others and for that kind of money, we prefer Silversea and Seabourn even though we do love X.  The last couple X cruises we booked, we dropped down to Aqua class because we thought Sky Suite was too expensive for the itinerary.  

This concept sounds like Earth and Ocean which has been on Seabourn for a few months now...interesting..

I never understand why folks complain so much about Muse being “big”...kinda laughable...its only 600 people.  In all honesty, it feels no different than any of the other ships....nothing is crowded....it is larger and therefore the space per passenger is pretty similar to the small ones.  Only difference we found is that folks were much more social and friendly on the Muse ...and the demographic was more diverse, good mix of ages and nationalities.....definitely our preference.  The ship is gorgeous!

We also did the Mumbai to Dubai trip last Feb on Silver Spirit...it was her last cruise before dry dock.  We LOVED the trip.  Its shorter, but thats what we always look for because we have dogs at home and cant leave for long periods of time.  All the ports were great, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  We spent a couple days in Mumbai first which we really liked.  At the end of the cruise, we spent one day in Dubai.  We just stayed at a resort that was beautiful....we would defintley do this trip again 

On 2/13/2019 at 1:19 PM, uktog said:

All the more reason to stop speculating and wait for Bonny.

 

Sorry but misinterpreted twitter posts can cause panic. As you say it must be unsettling for those affected - yes it is, been here SO many times before with Azamara.  

 

I won’t believe anything unless it comes from Azamara either through Bonnie or their reservation people and it will keep my frustrations in check if we can just wait for that verified info rather than guess based on spurious agent offers. 

Dont mean to be snarky, but why all the back and forth , waiting for Bonnie, why not just call Azamara directly and get your answer immediately? 

Hey there, we are 46 and 51, so a bit younger than you.  We have sailed Silversea a lot.  In short, without going through a multitude of reasons, I would say you would enjoy the newest ship the Muse the most.  It has been the most diverse in both age and nationalities of any Silversea ship we have ever been on.  We enjoyed it immensely, more than any of the other ships.  The old timers tend to cling desperately to the smallest and oldest of the ships , such as the Wind.  We thought we would find the Explorer (an expedition ship) to be a much younger diverse, more fun crowd and were shocked that it was quite the opposite.  The ship is small, few public venues, and the bar had very few people in it before and after dinner.  I dont know if folks were exhausted from the daily excursions or what, but the energy on board was non existent.  If you are going to travel as a single, you will find more singles on the Muse than probably any other ship, mostly due to its size.  Silversea is fantastic at making sure its solo travelers have a good time.  There are always lots of meet and mingle opportunities they organize and you will be invited to dinner with officers.  But hey, dont listen to any of us, just go! You will never really know unti you try it for yourself.  We are “samplers” ...we try everybody! But Silversea always feels like “home” ...even though we are youngsters, lol, or at least like to think we are!

We started cruising about 4 years and average 5 cruises a year.  Before that , we traveled extensively on land, which we still love.  Silversea was our first cruise line and were defintley spoiled.  I never thought I would like cruising as much as I do....it seems to get better and better for us.  We are “samplers’...so I think that also keeps things interesting.  We are all about new experiences and so we arent particularly loyal to any cruise line, however, we have done Silversea and Celebrity the most.  I would say our favorite cruise line is Seabourn but for us, it’s difficult to find an itinerary that works for us.  We have 3 dogs and cant be away from home for more than 2 weeks .  So we dont do cruises more than about 12 days max and SB is mostly 16 days and longer with the exception of a bunch of shorter Med cruises which we have done all those ports multiple times so they arent high on the list of places to see and do anymore.  SB also seems to be the last cruise line to release itineraries for a particular year and by that time , we have already booked something else.  Its frustrating as we really want to do SB a lot more.  We are considering dropping back to maybe 3 cruises in 2021 and beyond...concerned about the economy.  I defintley dont think doing more cruises makes you tire of them or lose the excitement. ...but I do see a lot of folks that never seem to get off the ship at ports and just want to lay by the pool all day.  To each his own I guess. We are intrigued by a longer cruise, such as 30-45 days once our dogs pass, not sure how we will feel about being on a ship for that long, but we will definitely try it at some point and see how it goes.  It does seem like cruises are getting more and more expensive each year .  We keep a spreadsheet of our total cost per day and it’s defintley creeping up across all cruise lines.  I think a recession here in the next year or 2 will see some dramatic changes in prices.  I dont know how Royal Caribbean and others who have been launching so many big ships constantly will be able to survive in a recession and higher unemployment.  Anyway, that’s off topic...lol

Agree, the website is no longer user friendly.  I want to see everything on one page, but you have to scroll back and forth , up and down the screen for just one cruise.  Ports are often difficult to see.  Some maps load and some dont.  I have given up.  I will wait until the new cruises are posted on CruiseTimetables.com.  Much easier to scroll the cruises that way.  

On 2/10/2019 at 4:01 PM, Travelcat2 said:

As I do final packing for our cruise that leaves a week from today, it occurs to me that there are things that I wish were sold in Regent Boutiques.  Depending upon the itinerary, you may not be able to pick up some simple things that you may have forgotten to pack.  I'll start the list with one item - will add more as I think of it - and maybe Regent will be reading.

 

Reading glasses. 

 

 

 

I’m surprised this thread hasnt generated more interests...I was hoping to see what other think about shopping on board...

6 minutes ago, eroller said:

 

 

Wow thats awesome and I’m glad to be proven wrong!   Still it takes a long time to develop.  I’ll be very surprised if it’s ready in time for the first cruises.   

Agreed. I’m on the inaugural so I may not get to see the private island. I will just hope for the best ...

On 2/9/2019 at 12:53 PM, eroller said:

 

 

I think it’s very unlikely to be their own private island.  It takes an enormous amount of time to acquire one of these islands, obtain the necessary approvals, permits, and public support, then develop it.  MSC, Carnival, and Disney are all in the process of developing new private beach experiences, and it’s taken years just to get where they are.  MSC’s has already been delayed over a year.  Also these developments tend to be very public as they require government approval, and often times there is a backlash from local citizens.  It’s very difficult to keep them a secret.  

Richard Branson announced this morning that he indeed purchased a private island in the Bahamas as the secret destination!!!

OMG...dont get me started on shopping in general in ALL luxury ships.  For a man in particular, its nearly non existent.  They stick a few Polo shirts in a corner and maybe a pair of shorts and thats it.  The women’s section is huge...and then there’s the huge jewelry stores, watch stores etc...I hardly ever seen anyone in any of the jewelry places.  They take up so much real estate, it drives me crazy.  On my Regent cruise last month, I was thrilled that there was actually a Regent Tshirt  and some candy and actual toiletries in case you forgot or ran out.  Silversea doesnt even provide these things... Seabourn was terrible too.  Do folks really wait to get on the ship to buy expensive jewels and watches? Seems to me that anyone into high end watches and jewelry, probably has a jeweler at home where you have a relationship and know you are probably getting a fair price?? My mom , for example, has no interest in shopping in those fancy stores on the ship, she “assumes” they are marked up by a ridiculous amount.  Expensive items like that, she would prefer to shop locally here at home.  

So am I totally off base thinking that way too much real estate is allocated to all these stores ? Maybe I’m completely alone in my opinion lol

20 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

As a reminder, I started this thread to share information about a new ship that was so mysterious that one could not tell if it were a luxury cruise ship or not.  As articles have slowly emerged about the ship, I (and others) have updated the thread.  The "unique" cabins/suites, dining venues, tattoo parlor, drinking games in the Korean restaurant are all part of the Scarlet Lady experience.

 

Yes - people have made good natured jokes about the ship but no one was being disrespectful.  This has always been meant as a light hearted thread.  Tarwood "gets it"...... we are talking about essentially nothing but it has been fun discussing it.  

Thanks TC...this has been a fun thread!! Speculating is half the fun!

On 2/9/2019 at 11:51 AM, ronrick1943 said:

Tarwood, I have to say you thought this out.  I agree to many people talked about nothing---who cares if they have a tattoo parlor, it's something most people won't use, but it's great PR.  I think you'll have a great cruise and look forward to reading about it once you cruise.  

Thanks so much!! Appreciate it!

22 hours ago, gnomie1 said:

As I mentioned previously, although Virgin is not specifying any age category, this appears to me to be marketed to the younger crowd looking for a unique holiday experience. The fact that the length of the cruise is short and is in the Caribbean (short travel distances) speaks to the fact that they are gearing the trips to those individuals still working looking to get away. While many people who travel Regent are retired and can travel for longer periods of time, those of us still working are not so lucky. Friends who I travel with are not allowed to take off more than one week at a time (which is not unusual) which greatly limits our options so I can see the market that Virgin is going after, however I don't think this type of cruise would be my cup of tea. In my younger years maybe I would have considered this, but back then I was too busy paying off student loans to even consider such a luxury.

 

gnomie

A lot of people have said they’re marketing to younger but Branson has always said anyone is welcome as long as they are young at heart....and I love this statement.  My mom is very much a senior, but very young at heart and enjoys new experiences and has a real joie de vivre.   I know she would love this ship as well.  She loved the Edge when we went on it too.  I belong to a facebook group for those of us on the inaugural...and from thepics of the people that have booked so far....I’m one of the youngest (51)...so, I think folks will be surprised..... Ithink there will be a good mix of young and old and I think that’s awesome!

We booked on the first day as we were pre deposit holders.  We booked the inaugural on April 1st, 2020 and are staying in the cheeky corner suite with biggest terrace, deck 13.  Should be a fun cruise! Hopefully there’s plenty of LGBT on board!

I would think the secret location would be a private island.  There’s no reason to say ok, the secret location is Key West or Bimin etc...that would be very anti climatic.  Since Branson has a history of buying his own islands, why not....and create a hedonistic spot of his own.  I agree with others that they arent going to dock at another cruise lines private island....VV wants to be different and set themselves apart from other types of cruise lines.  

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Glad to hear that you will sail on Regent again.  The Explorer is an amazing ship and I have no doubt that Splendor will as well.

 

Your perspective on the Regent forum is interesting as some people feel that this forum is contentious.  IMO, it we are just a group of people with strong opinions.  I am very loyal to Regent but have tried one other luxury line and will try another later this year -- just so that I understand statements from posters that prefer other cruise lines.  As much as I defend Regent, I have no problem taking them to task when I feel they deserve it.

 

 

I have never experienced any contentiousness but I’m not on every thread...so perhaps it happens.  I dont mind if folks disagree with one another , as long as no one is disrespecting others...  

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

Tarwood - the "drinking contest" was in one of their earlier descriptions of the ship (not sure if linked it on page one or not.  Anyway, it is a feature of the Korean restaurant.  I wasn't put off by that as much as the Korean restaurant having the "loudest servers at sea".

 

While this ship is not for us, I can imagine that it will be an amazing experience and will be enjoyed by many.  

Agreed....loud servers doesnt sound like something I would enjoy, but Korean food is certainly something I love.  Will have to see what that is all about.  Hopefully its not like some restaurants you go that have “live entertainment”.  The band is so loud that you cant carry on a conversation with your table mates...that would defintley suck!