tfred

most companies hate to start any discount program (OBC or off the top) because once you start then when it stops the crying starts X eliminated OBC from suites and then the yelling started they need to have some other value added concept - priority restaurant Rez, dedicated hot line, spa something

Agree. I don't think that is systemic to SSea but rather ship management

I asked. Via water taxi only from the Marittime

I think this is correct. There doesnt appear to be any private and direct from Fusina to the hotel. There is a ferry that seems to run that runs every two hours to Venice, then we would have to make our way to Gritti the hotel does have its own taxi for hire from Marittima

we are ending our cruise on SSea Moon in Venice, then spending 3 nights at the Gritti Palace. My question is the best way to get to the Gritti I don't see a transfer to direct transfer to Venice from SSea. The options seem to be bus from Fusina or water taxi from Fusina to the old cruise ship port Can a water taxi from Fusina take us to a specific hotel? Is there a long line for that ? should we take a water taxi or bus to the Maritime terminal and then a Gritti water launch to the hotel?

My guess is that given the size of the balcony people were using the lounger as something to walk on instead of moving out of the way. Probably would make X nervous with someone falling over(board). Not a problem with a larger balcony such as a suite

the fluidity wouldn't surprise me these days. The top 10 might make it and those would be very familiar brands Down list would become murky with the "that's interesting" items not available. On X in the Retreat, they really cut back the list, especially the included list. Aberfeldy 12 was the best of the included list.

Just received my SSea e mail with status match. Included was a VS number. I am Elite on X. We have an upcoming June 2024 cruise Congratulations! Your Loyalty Status Match is complete, and we are thrilled that you are now enrolled in the Silversea® Venetian Society®. As the leader in ultra-luxury and expedition cruises, we are eager to share the world’s authentic beauty with you. Your new Loyalty Status Match 250 VS DAYS level rewards you with exclusive savings and benefits on Silversea’s rich roster of global voyages. Enjoy Venetian Society onboard benefits on sailings departing 5 June 2024, and onward. Venetian Society Member Savings are applicable on new voyages booked on or after 30 May 2024. For complete details see Terms and Conditions.  Known for immersive discovery ashore and indulgent experiences on board, our sophisticated fleet of small, all-suite ships navigates the seven continents visiting iconic cities and lesser-known ports in extraordinary all-inclusive comfort. We look forward to welcoming you aboard Silversea!

they may get it for you, but it does take someone away from Luminae to run to the other end of the ship to get one plate. Means less service for everyone else.

Companies have any number of ways to fire you without any benefits (other than your ability to buy insurance) Happens every day, especially now First is a re-organization where the staff is juggled and your position and title are eliminated Someone else does your job with a different title. Second is a PIP (Personal Improvement Program) that details the ways your are not performing up to the level the company mandates. The "improvement" period and measurements are almost impossible to achieve - by design. Multi year severance programs are unheard of.

almost by definition any island that can handle multiple 3000 pax ships are erased for culture (looking at you St Martin). Cruises have gone from visiting islands and cultures to floating hotels where 1/3 of the pax never get off the ship. It almost doesn't matter where you go if you stay on the ship. Cruise lines are just reacting to that market trend.

Every hospitality venue on earth wants to book groups. They consume and pay extra for everything that is provided above the normal user. Meeting rooms, stand alone buffets, better wine. Big profit for the location the issue arises when the size of the venue doesn't allow the "other" users space to avoid all the groups togetherness. Big hotels - easy. Big ships - easy. Smaller ships - not easy. There is really no place to hide from the noise of a boisterous group. No easy solution for the unaligned everyday pax.

I think the status match program is really to get R and X pax to hand around and move up a notch or two. SSea pax would go in the other direction only for specific reasons- eg large family events with kids The demographics and itinerary are certainly different from SSea to R- less so for X

No cruise line - big, small, luxury or mid range- can survive on poaching other cruise pax. They have to get non-cruise people on board as a substitute to a land vacation. The newbs have no preconceived notions of what cruising was, but they do know what an expensive land vacation looks like and luxury cruise lines want those people Higher end resorts are pretty busy these days and the Exploras of the world want to get those customers on board as MSC et al think is an equivalent experience. Forgetting the number, the Royal Group president said there was a good increase in first time cruise customers in the last year That would be the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons crowd along with upper end Caribbean hotels drifting over Can it be done? I am sure that it can but it will take some time, deep pockets and an interesting marketing plan.

what are you getting cheated or fleeced out of? I don't see any lessening of SSea benefits for existing VS members. All that R or X users get is free laundry with really nothing else The people who are getting fleeced are airline club passengers who now can't get into clubs because of low cost upgrade schemes that allow everyone to use a club. I dont see anything like that here RCG is trying to make sure that R and X bigger spenders know that SSea even exists when wanting to move up a notch It is less expensive for RCG to get existing customers to move than it is to go chase down unknown users

You know that NCL holdings is looking at this as well to see if it is successful. With them owning NCL, Oceania and Regent they would be a likely candidate for the same process less likely would be Carnival corp with everything from Carnival to Cunard.

X and R certainly have European and Asian cruises. The meat and potatoes are the Caribbean cruises. Big profit for them. the non Caribbean cruises are port intensive with most pax get off and touring Caribbean cruises are floating hotels with many pax staying on board or just taking a quick Wally tour of the immediate port. I agree that SSea is an easy upgrade to consider for Retreat pax looking for more interesting. We are on a SSea Rome to Venice 12 day this August. It was actually less expensive than a X Med cruise so it was a no brainer.

at the moment RCG think that mirroring the status across lines is enough. Maybe that will change Sooner or later they will start to weed out low profit guests no matter what their status. What will drive this is access to Retreat lounge. That is the X premier product and they will not allow that to be clogged with the DYKWIA crowd pushing the full fare paying suite pax from the bar. Airline clubs already do this for a reason - too many people with low profit status.

RCG is not crazy enough to think that SSea can stand on its own without bringing in new customers. With the launching of Explora, Ritz Carlton and the existing Seabourn and Crystal, the lux cruise segment is getting competitive. New to the market cruisers have no idea what the differences are and make choices that would be different than seasoned cruisers The status match program is just a way to let Royal and X cruisers that there is this other nice cruise line that we own and when you want something unique you can look at SSea for vacation fun. Sort of the old GM model of start with Chevrolet, move to Buick and then a Cadillac There will not be hordes of Royal and X pax jumping to SSea. Royal and X are 7 day, Saturday ships leaving from Florida. Literally half the pax never get off the ship. SSea is longer cruises, harder to get to get to ports and doesn't conform to most working people's vacation schedule.

Hotel chains also purge the status ranks every year of “under performing “ guests That usual is nights and dollars. Cruise lines don’t do that but probably should

Free laundry means something on SSea. Longer cruises with what looks like enough B to B folks. Laundry, for the most part, is not worth it on X. 2 day turn around on a 7 day cruise makes it difficult to use. You almost have to show up with dirty laundry to get any use out of it.

not going to happen. Royal and X ships have a very specific segment - regular 7 day cruises generally out of Florida Pick your level of "opulence" to cruise at SSea cruises are longer, start midweek, from harder to get to ports for most people. VS benefits are good but not a game changer. The status match is just to make sure that if you are tired of X or R that there is this other cruise line that we own that you may like and you get some recognition of your previous patronage

I would hope so I dont want the Retreat lounge jammed up with the DYKWIA (do you know who I am?) crowds from Royal demanding access in the lounge, sun deck and Luminae. what is killing airport clubs are associated memberships that allow access. What used to be an easy access to an airline club is now a torture - long lines, no early access, access only on departure, not arrival.

it would be nice to cross earn points but not to be. Next up will be to weed out long term, but low profit members that really dont cruise often but clamor for "benefits" that crowd out pax who are paying top dollar for it now. Every airline and hotel have requirements for maintaining status - cruises don't. I would expect that will change

Depends on the ship. Edge Class probably not as the two kitchens aren’t close. Older ships it’s a possibility