envirochick

The maitre’d had such horrible judgement and decision making skills in this particular case...it’s hard to believe.

Anyway, I wanted to say that jeans nowadays are rarely denim. Truth is most are a combination of elastane, viscose, or some other synthetics and cotton. Very far from denim of yore and not much different from dress slacks/pants, except perhaps when in a 5 pocket, typical jeans style.

I personally enjoy wearing dresses for dinner, yet I observed many ladies wearing what looked to be casual pants or perhaps even dressy jeans on my recent August cruise in both the MDR and TK. Denim was absolutely worn at night in the Colonnade. It didn’t taint my experience in the least.

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Somewhat off topic, but wanted to mention that the 2019 NZ/Australia cruise (16 days) had significant price drops over the past three months.

 

In fact, a V1 is about $400/day (someone already noted this). Is a V1 on the Encore less desirable because of its forward location? Is it worth paying more for a V5/6 because of its mid-ship location?

Are you referring to the Dec 21, 2019 Holiday Aus/NZ cruise? I’m not seeing pricing anywhere near what you’ve quoted. Closer to $700/day.

Another vote for ECCO here. I normally, even in cooler, dry weather wear open toed ECCO sandals and love them. They have good support and are attractive with any outfit. I put over 50 Miles on one pair on a Middle East trip last year. Aquatalia booties are my go to for wet, cooler weather. I love their waterproof suede, comfort and their stylishness. My other pair of long distance walking shoes (besides gym shoes) are Merrell hybrid hiking shoes. For city walking, though ECCO is a go to brand for me.

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Good for SB. It’s amazing they could do it while sailing.

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We were on the same cruise (didn't meet, or at least know we did? ;-) but never noticed a rotting or mildew smell. We had lunch or snacks at the Patio Grill at least half of the cruise so we were definitely in the pool area, though if just lounging we normally went up above the Sky Bar. We noticed crew trying to epoxy and do other fixes a couple times. Nope, not gonna work.....[it was oddly soothing to walk over the smooshy areas and see the water squirt up. Just me?]

Lol, Hoya. Just you! Squishy was not comforting to us. The smell was very prominent the first few days on the side of the pool away from the bar/food. Mainly in one back corner; it did improve as time went on. Still a great cruise and we enjoyed Seabourn overall. How did you think they stacked up?

Hello all,

This board has been so helpful to me in planning my first Seabourn cruise. There were a few wine lists floating around, yet I took Seabourn veteran’s advice and asked for a current list at the square. Before the evening was over it was in our suite. Then 2 days later I received an update. This is from Sojourn Alaska, so ymmv. Thanks again for all the help.

Envirochick,

 

From what has been posted on another thread, a passenger who wil be on the Sept. 11th voyage has been given a $250 OBC to make up for any inconvenience experienced as they perform the deck repairs during this cruise. Many have commented that because of how extensive the damage they believe it can only be done while in dry dock. I guess only time will tell. If you hear of any further updates, please post. Thanks

Well, it seems they should know more than I. I surely will post if I hear more. Have a fabulous cruise, airtana.

Envirochick, has anyone in management onboard right now addressed the issue or stated that the planned repairs will take place on the cruise Departing on Sept. 11th. The rotting smell sound very horrible and not something one wishes to encounter on a “luxury” cruise ship.

I have not spoken to anyone about this issue, simply reporting back what I’m seeing while onboard. My opinion is that the deck cannot be repaired while sailing. It requires extensive work. I can’t imagine it would be fixed in the next few days prior to your cruise. Regardless of this issue, make no mistake this is still a luxury cruise experience.

Good! Now if they'd only fix the Champagne!

I agree completely and am not a champagne snob, yet the house champagne isn’t nice at all (even my husband agrees, and he’ll drink just about anything). I did find an alternative in the brut Prosecco, but don’t get me started on the house Cabernet!

Staying on topic, I’m on Sojourn currently and the deck is still in disrepair. It hasn’t been an issue for us and didn’t seem to upset very festive pool activities yesterday. Far more concerning in my opinion, is the rotting smell in certain places on the pool deck. We completely avoid those areas. That is something that absolute warrants repair.

SuperCrew, Thanks very much for the info. I’ll look into it. We’re not looking for fancy, but as I said clean and a good bed for a good nights sleep is important.

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It's been a few years but I've stay at both the Aspen & the Best Western. I'd probably prefer the Aspen but either is decent.

Have you looked at this list: https://directory.soldotnachamber.com/list/ql/accommodations-1.htm ?

I have not looked there yet. I will now. Most of the cabins, vrbo’s and air bnb’s don’t make sense for one night once you add in all the fees. They’re more geared towards longer stays. That’s why I’m gravitating to a simple motel. Thanks.

Wondering if anyone can help with this. I’ve posted on TA and am not getting a response.

I need advice on lodging in Soldotna. It’s just an overnight stay. Have looked at the Aspen and Best Western. Both get mediocre reviews, but there’s not a lot to choose from. Looking for a clean room with a comfortable bed. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Hi I have just come back from that cruise. Yes we did arrive at 7am .

If you can handle you own bags and not put them out for others to take off the ship , then go and see the personal in the square and they will assist you in how to get off earlier.

We had to be outside by 8am,I know that is not as early as you want , I do think it could be done by 7.15am

They were people on board that had book day tours and had to be off by 7.15.

Hope that helps.

Thanks so much for posting the info. In the end I did push our bear viewing overnight back one day. We’ll head to anchorage on disembark day and rent a car, then turn around and come back to the Kenai Peninsula. The itinerary doesn’t flow as well and there’s some backtracking, but everything worked out. How was your cruise Shyla? And tips you’d like to share?

We just bought two moderate zoom lens pairs that come with eye cups, lens caps and carrying cases. We’ll simply put them in a safe spot in our carry on, probably with a sweater or travel blanket abutting and call it good.

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LOL. We have our layers ready. Think we’ll leave the shorts at home.

Lovely of the Parisians to share their fabulous scarf tricks with the rest of the world!

So I have been able to change our lodge trip to the day after disembarkation. We’ll probably head to Anchorage, pick up a rental car, sightsee on the way back down to Kenai and then catch the 9:00 am flight to the lodge the next morning.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

Dress shirt & slacks mostly, polo occasionally in Colonnade or Patio. MDR hued pretty closely to the code, though some shirts weren't strictly dress shirts. Col/Patio was more relaxed but still 50%+ were within code. Honestly, nobody cared what others were wearing.

 

... Adding, interestingly there was much wider variation in women's dress, from quite formal to IMO (and DW's) very casual.

Thanks for the info. I understand re: ladies. I’m usually dressed beyond casual on casual nights, but I don’t do much more than that on formal nights either. I don’t attend galas any longer and have no real formal attire to speak of. More power to those who do and enjoy wearing it.

Surprised the patio was even comfortable considering the temps. All very good to know. Much thanks.

Sorry should have mentioned - Vancouver.

Wow. I wouldn’t think tides would be an issue in Vancouver. Interesting.

Robisan, I have to ask, what is your dinner attire on this cruise? I saw some of your posts on the dress code thread, so I’m wondering.

I have just sent a note to our lodge asking if we can bump back one day. We were so looking forward to this part of the trip, so we’ll see what we come up with. Truly wish I wouldn’t have misconstrued arrival time for disembark time.

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So I’ve called Seabourn again. Two persons explained the ship goes through customs and disembark doesn’t occur until 8:30 am. Even with their Denali land tours, disembark is not earlier than that.

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Tides are an issue on this itinerary. Today we couldn't doc before 8am because of tides and as I write this at 8:50am only early birds + 1 group have been called to disembark.

 

... and 2nd group just called.

Which port are you in currently?

Call Seabourn first and ask at what time the Denali post cruise extension is scheduled to leave.

We did say goodbye to some people the night before because they were leaving "early" on that Denali extension.

Thanks for that advice, marazul. I will calm them this morning.

envirochick -

go to the website to "book your excursions" and see at what time they offer the day of disembarkation excursions and extended trips. The Denali excursion will be there.

Only one excursion listed: Kenai Fjords. It is a 9 am excursion. I’m going to call the vendor today and attempt to reschedule for the following morning. That seems to be my only option.

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Here's what I see on the SB website---a 7am arrival in Seward:

 

DAY 11:

 

September 11, 2018 Arrives 07:00 AMSeward (Anchorage), Alaska, US

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That's true. That is what it says. I was thinking disembark wouldn't be long afterward. Now I need to ponder what to do about this...even the lodge was certain we'd be off at 7 (based on past experience, perhaps with other cruise lines?).

Thanks for the information. Were others leaving the ship before you? We have a driver picking us up to catch a small plane on the other side of the Kenai, spending a couple of days at a remote lodge after the cruise. I've never seen actual disemarkation be hours after a posted disembark (unless something unusual ocurred).