RetiredandTravel

We stayed in the Shangri-La Vancouver a couple weeeks ago. Wonderful hotel.

Yes I did see that Melbourne is a foodie town. The restaurants look great, it will be difficult to pick just three. Any recommendations? We got a great deal on the Langham (w AMEX-P benefits), less than $200US a night. You probably burn a lot more calories on the expedition cruises. I had three scoops of gelato and two cookies every aftrenoon on the cruise. You just can't do that. 😃

Many of the SS employees I met on the cruise were Filipino. Gesturing to someone from the Phillipines with your finger to come here is considered very rude. from attached "11. Come on over. In the Philippines, using your hand to make a “come here” gesture is one of the most offensive things you can do. In fact, this gesture is deemed so bad that you can actually get arrested for using it. We promise you that the last place you want to end up on your vacation is inside a Philippine prison." https://www.yahoo.com/news/18-gestures-that-can-cause-offense-around-the-114150011797.html#:~:text=11.,is inside a Philippine prison.

Three days in Melbourne and three in Sydney. We are taking the 18 hr Qantas DFW>MEL which arrives ~6AM, not sure we will do a whole lot the first day. I've done some investigating but haven't decided exactly we will do. This is a 22 day trip (w/o travel) also our longest, not sure I could handle 40 days. We are very disciplined at home with food, drink and excercise. When I travel it all goes out the window, I put on 10lbs in 14 days in Alaska. I will have to change my approach if we start going on longer trips. Stop acting like Bluto. 😇

Hey. Next cruise Australia/NZ (North & South) on the Nova. Six days in Australia prior. When's your next expedition?

Thanks .. Couple Questions on the Nova SALT Restaurant - If we arrive when it opens is it likely we will get a seat? SALT Bar - Overall impressions Marquee for Dinner - Is it the "hot rocks" concept? If so will they cook the food for us? thanks again

There are tons of youtubes if you google "what should I pack for a cruise to alaska". Think "layering" because the weather and your location changes. We were always prepared for it to rain. Have fun!

Muse was our first Sliversea cruise. IMO the cruise was excellent. The Arts Cafe was always busy and we often couldn't get a table. It will be interesting to compare to the Nova in 5 months, though reviews are a little concerning overall for this ship. 😀

The Arts Cafe was on our floor (8) which was nice. The big issue was it was always full. I'm very surprised that the Nova doesn't have a larger space given the popularity. I agree alainciao the coffee connection on Regent is a better space. I also agree on the self serve, thought the same thing when I was there. The coffee/drinks are better on SS IMO.

Excellent comparison. Thank you.

Our first cruise on the Nova is later this year so I can only tell you what I have read (in addition to Ports comments). Nova replaces Indochine restaurant with SALT. SALT serves local recipes. There is also a SALT bar & kitchen. Nova charges $160/ea at La Dame and $80 at Kaiseki (Nova $60 & $40). Some have written that the Nova is more of a warm weather design but I can't confirm that.

Sounds like a rough start. Luck of the draw I guess, our bitler was awesome. I'd say look him up but his contract was ending and he was going home to see his wife & kids. We didn't go to La T for lunch not a fan of buffets.

From the SS website "The number of formal evenings depends on the length of the voyage. A guideline for reference is below: On sailings of 7 days or fewer, Elegant Casual nights throughout. On sailings of 8-14 days, expect between 1 to 2 Formal Optional nights. On sailings of 15 days or more, expect 2 or more Formal Optional nights."

Agreed, but there has been so much capacity added that I think the product quality will be reduced some to be at a price point to attact people. Still a high quality product just not quite as high.

Cruise lines have added a considerable amount of capacity (ships) in the luxury/premium category over the last 5-10 years. Thousands (tens of thousands?) of new room have been introduced. When they add that many rooms the product will be diluted. Twenty years ago SS probably needed 800-1000 people a week to fill their ships. Today maybe 5-6k? This also true at Regent, Oceania, Seabourn, Viking and more. Basic supply/demand means they are attracting people who are willing to spend less on a cruise, so they cut corners to keep prices competitive. Granted its more complicated because there are more people willing to pay the higher price but one would still think they need the lower realative price point to fill ships. There are vacations that we feel a cruise is the best venue. We like the small luxury ships so we only have a few choices. . When we feel the product quality doesn't warrant the price we'll stick to land based trips.

Nope. I've tried them all my friend. Currently on max Nexium in the AM and Pepcid PM. I also have a esophageal condition which complicates matters. All under control now and I can eat spice just not SPICE!!

I love spicey food but now have GERD (occupational hazard). So spice , like many things, is a thing of the past.

Great inflation numbers but theres just a lot of supply. Janet Yellen told CNBC this week that the federal debt is in a reasonable place. huh Interesting Barron's article. NVDA 32% of the S&P return this year https://www.barrons.com/articles/mag-seven-nvdia-tesla-microsoft-apple-stocks-18f0dc4c?mod=past_editions

Now you tell me 🙄😁😁

Sounds very disappointing. Glad to hear the rest of the cruise is going well. They did have Pommery when we were on.

Thanks HPD. We are more "urban" vacationers but enjoyed Alaska and the cruise very much. I think we'll leave the expedition ships up to you, we do have that fabulous safari on our radar. I haven't had a chance to read your thread on your new adventure. Having Fun? I'm sure standards have slipped on luxury cruising over the years but its currently the only game in town if you want to cruise. Yes the TVs were working much better with the new system. Not a high bar. We couldn't get the sound to work. I'm not sure if that was the system or user error but we only had one day left so we let it go. Is it me or does the market always rally when you are on vacation. Enjoy!!

Well enjoy the Gritti anyway. Beautiful hotel & location. We've had some very memorable meals at the Gritti Terrace.

Sorry I meant transportation. Gritti provided us a water taxi at the train station. Thanks for the heads up on Venice btw 😁

I'm very surprised that the Gritti wouldn't arrange private transportation from Fusina.

Final Review https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=716209