highplanesdrifters

If the TV works.🤣

Last year when Cairns was our first port in Australia all guest were required to vacate the ship for the entire day until 8 pm. Australia required some type of fill blown inspection. An excursion and dinner was offered.

Sensei, I've learned from the master - Grasshopper

Good luck, and keep us posted. Not defending Silversea, but things are a tad crazy in Iceland these days. That does seem over the top!

At the briefing for the following days activities you should be told what conditions will be like. You can then assess if it's too wild of a ride for you. Most are not. The other issue could be getting in and out of the zodiac. If the swells are swelly, you will need both hands using a sailor grip to get in and out safely. Have a discussion with the expedition team about how they can help you in and out safely. I have been on many trips where disabled passengers were helped in and out of Zodiacs. Think Parkinsons or MS. On a recent trip the team was able to give a zodiac tour to a lovely woman in a wheelchair, without the wheelchair of course. Amazing how careful and kind they often are.

It does sound like fun. I wonder what the back story is on the price hike. Did the vendor Jack up the price, or did SS make a big pricing mistake and decide not to eat it? Either way, not cool.

It's a Daily Double! 😃

Insane! Care to tell us what this excursion is. Something special for an additional $7,200!

@Pizzasteve Most excellent pizza, my favorite food group. Tell us more details about which cruise and ship you are on and perhaps we can help with more suggestions. Supplies usually depend on where the ship is. You can request specific items in advance, not that you'll always get them though. Once onboard you can also chat with the food and beverage manager and request items. Even better, cozy up to your favorite bartender, magic can happen. We have never gone thirsty. 😃🍻🍹 MOST IMPORTANT - Get yourself a decent Travel Agent. FYI, within a certain amount of time you can transfer your reservation to a travel agent, so it may not be too late to do so. Navigating through the web site and trying to get information from Silversea can be insanely challenging. They have staffing problems to begin with, and much of the staff they do have are lacking in basic knowledge about SIlverseas working of their products. Same goes for Seabourn. Wine - There will always be a recommended pour of red and white for the evening. If not to your liking, ask what else is available. It may take awhile to find a favorite. I usually take a picture and then show it to the waiter the next night. They will often get to know your preferences and have it available. Consider spending some OBC on a revenue bottle of wine in the beginning, gets their attention. Wink wink.

Sweet! Please post about your trip. Who are you sailing? We dont go until next Spring. I'll post on Ponant boards.

In general the waters are calm. FYI, wind, swells and ice pack can cause interruptions in zodiac operations.

Great, thanks Terry!

Highly recommend C2C. We picked this because of the 5 days in South Georgia. We only got 3 there due to weather, but they were amazing and power packed.

The Blue Lagoon might be a miss, but The Retreat at the Blue Lagoon should not be.

If this is a one and done for the area I agree. I'd even take South Georgia over Antarctica. That being said we've always enjoyed the Chilean Coast and people. The other issue is the timing. After Antarctica the Chilean fjords and coast will be rather anti climactic.

@jpalbny. Hope the eruption of Popocatelpetl doesn't cause you any travel stress.

Look at all that velvet, nice!

Wow isn't enough. Holy Gobsmacking WOW!

Consider posting the full itinary, what ship it is on, and or link to your cruise.

Last time we were there in 2022 our driver happened to own the company. He said they were expecting a 30% increase in cruise traffic and there was no way the country was ready. He said his company was already stretched to its limits. Thanks for the article.

Great! Had my eye on that too. Nice to get your review. 😃

Great advice! We are doing just that, skipping Tokyo and Kyoto. Trying Ponant for the first time. Starting in Kagoshima (inland sea) and ending in Ishigaki (sub tropical). Lovie grew up in Japan, and I did a lot of biz there, so it will be fun to explore those more remote places. On our way home we are looking for a Ryokan in Hakone if you have any suggestions. They best all seem to be booked. Thanks for all your great visuals!

I grew up in Chicago where the motto is "Vote early, vote often".

UGH! I'm late in planning our before and after for Japan cruise next spring. Prices and availability, YIKES!

Just checked it out. Looks clean and and very nice! We like The Pearl in Reykjavik but really like The Retreat at Blue Lagoon. Although the latter is very iffy these days for volcanic reasons.🤯 We spent one night at the Center Hotel Arnarhvoll. It was one night too many. Nice rooftop bar though.