highplanesdrifters

1 hour ago, kej1 said:

Apologize for the horrible spelling mistakes.  Between my fingers and the rogue spell check on my iPad I’m embarrassed, but hope you get something out of this!

I for one am grateful for the report, minor spelling issues and all.

I frequently suffer from fat finger spellcheck errors along with a plethora of grammatical errors.  It's tough trying to get real time thoughts down quickly with the pressure of getting to dinner or a tour on time along with knowing that the internet is currently working and you need to hit send. IMHO, no apology necessary. Of course I send shivers up Fletchers spine with most of my posts. 😂

On 5/4/2024 at 4:23 AM, Aussieflyer said:

My question is - when does this become a deal breaker for you? Is there a 'line in the sand' that once crossed means that SS is off the table and you will look for alternative ship experiences? 

I eliminated SS traditional ocean ships from my searches when SS went D2D fares. Paying an exorbitant rate for crowded bus rides is not my cup of tea.  Blacklane does not service our city.  Unless you are at a major international hub Silversea air useless. You never know what Silversea is going to consider a "luxury" hotel anymore.  I was shocked when I compared similar itineraries on similar ships SS vs. Seabourn. 

21 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

When they farm the food & service at Atlantide to "Applebee's" I'm out.

 

There was one trip of late where the food was so bad I would have played La Dame prices for Applebees.  And I'm not sure if I've ever been to an Applebees. 😂

22 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 If that doesn't hit home the Gin choices according to attached are Beefeater or Gordons.  We loved Gin & Tonic's, they are another casualty of aging for us.  

 

https://docs.vikingcruises.com/MVJ/onboardbeveragemenu_oceans.pdf

 

 

 

 

$9 for a shot of Titos? If that's what they're getting it should up the stock valuation.

G&T victim here.  Might be a bit snobby about the options though. Should I be, been ages since I've tasted them?

13 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

It’s 30F outside and pool deck is deserted apart from our little feathered Japanese stowaways, who are struggling to survive

 

I'm surprised the pool waiters haven't offered them a blanket and a cup of warm birdseed.

18 hours ago, mysty said:

According to the Chronicles,  the high today will be 35F / 2C.  BRRRRR!

So no grill tonight in a strapless gown? 😃

20 hours ago, machotspur said:

We chatted with quite a number of (Brit) first timers whose previous experiences were with the likes of Oceania, Azamara, Viking, Saga (and others that I can't recall). Without exception they failed to see why they should spend £000's more with Silversea versus their usual preferred operator, as the Silversea product was no better - and at times inferior.

All very interesting, thanks for the perspective. 

Reading through some threads sounds like the ball is being dropped on a regular basis, crowded buses, bad service, less then desireable food, etc.  I can see their point.

As mentioned we experienced this on Seabourn Encore last fall. It was in the Mediterranean. We called it the hop on hop off party cruise.  It was all about the pool parties with zero enrichment. A bit of a zoo full of Holiday Makers. Lest you think I'm anti party, we did find ourselves dancing till 1 a.m on one occasion.  But every night, crikey, good for them!

I like the smaller ships and will continue to roll the dice on them. 

22 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 I think it is for what is now currently routinely promised

All of your comments once again are spot on!  Especially the one above.

Our last expedition in Feb/March, 35 days on Cloud was our best trip to date.  The service and food were excellent.  I felt the old days were back. Sebourn Encore last November was a mess. I feel it's the luck of the draw when it comes to which ship is going to have enough trained staff to deliver.

We board Seabourn Venture in a month and have 2 more booked on Pursuit. We are trying Ponant next February.  It will be interesting to see what we get.

22 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

For example our move to our first cruise with SS was my wife’s insistence that I should stop nagging about having my own cruiser but instead have a better experience and save money by booking 801 on Whisper for our first trial cruise. She was right.  It was a stunning experience.

A very smart woman!  Suite 801 is our favorite of all time.

22 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

Re expeditions.  I’m lucky,  I’m not nimble and the idea of getting off of a ship into a dingy so I can see some penguins seems a daft idea when I can stay at home and watch them on youtube with some cake and some booze and my own bed at nights.  But I’m just a lethargic.

I love it.  That's what makes a market.  The thought of getting on a bus gives me the shivers. 😃   FWIW,  I still love being lethargic with cake and booze.

Again, brilliant comments. Thanks.

22 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Cathie Wood

😂😂😂  a lot of customers have stopped drinking her Koolaid. Fund outflows faster than a Maelstrom. 

22 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

NO Champagne😡except for seperate purchase

Oh, the humanity. 

22 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

900-passenger

I'm out.  I can just see all those busses lined up. Gives me the heebie jeebees.  I suspect the cruising tide with lift their ships. Today's weak unemployment number is probably not their demographic. 😃

23 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

Probably a good idea.  I have most of mine buried in cans in the back yard. 😬 IMO the biggest concern is the US National Debt.  Heaven forbid there is a time where they have problems selling the hundereds of billions they issue every week.  Neither the Red guy or the Blue guy seem to have a viable solution.  So cocktails on the veranda sounds good to me.

 

Cans in the backyard, brilliant.  I've been putting my spare change into those Crypto machines at the Grocery store.

Blue vs. Red = Cocktails on the Veranda.😃

Interesting note - CC would not let me post the above post until I made an edit.  I figured it was Blue vs. Red.  Alas no, I mentioned a Crypto coin by name.

34 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

We don't consider SS a real upgrade from O, definitely not worth 50%+ higher price.

Good to know, thanks for your opinion.

22 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

 

I have no idea whether what I've said is helpful or intelligible or founded on sound thinking

I think you hit the nail on the head and explained the current situation perfectly.  

Add in:

Along with new cruisers there are also the upgraders.  Will folks find the upgrade from Oceania, Viking, etc. worth it?

Lots of folks trying expedition, will all the new ships get supported?

Will the excessive marketing to a younger demographic work? Enough with all the influencers on board!

Although we currently have 4 expeditions booked I'm actively looking for alternatives. 

20 hours ago, fudge said:

We have just been notified that our cruise Jeddah to Athens has been cancelled, sailing June 1st. We received a generic note from SS which had the wrong cruise details, nothing about refunding flights, visas, incidental costs, poor show, we knew this would be cancelled  a long time ago.

🤯🤯🤯

12 hours ago, Will Work for Tiramisu said:

But my DW & I are always up for doing things in the most antique, non-efficient ways.  

I'm a non-efficent antique.

10 hours ago, canderson said:

Insofar as you take it for what it is, yes.  However, all it tells you is that at that moment in time, at LEAST the number of cabins shown were available.  There may be cabins not shown in available inventory but that don't actually have pax assigned yet, either.  There are several reasons that this may occur. 

 

So assuming you could book any of those 58 cabins, while you can't say how full the ship will be, the fact that x cabins are available tells you that at that moment in time, it can't be any more full than ((available - x) / available) percent full so far.

Quite accurate.  The cruise lines play with inventory all the time. Holdbacks are common. A ship shows waitlisted, and then poof plenty of cabins available. Or the opposite. 

Have a fabulous journey!

21 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Just enjoying the ride,

Me likey the ride too.   Money on the sideline getting 5%.  Yessir!  Don't tell the market police.

What a fascinating report. Thanks!

Sounds like Greg got the tide charts in the wrong language. 

That ghostly Romanesque building, wow.

@Fletcher. Off topic, did you ever take that trip on Aranui 5? Asking for a friend.

It's a Blood Sport because the prizes are so big.

3 hours ago, kej1 said:

I actually used their past cruises to this region and High plains drifter’s cruise critic blog from last year

Thanks for the shot out.  I'm now using your excellent blog to help plan our return to the area in September. 😃

We had some small problems on SS Explorer in regards to communication and excursion planning.  Nothing like you have experienced. Except for Heli rides all third party excursions were included, even a flight over the Bungle Bungles.  Shame on Seabourn! They are already having trouble filling the ships.  We are branching out and exploring other luxury expedition lines.

Indonesia - we're looking at 2026, 2025 is already booked for us. 😁  I like the Seabourn Itinary that does north PNG and Raja Ampat.   FYI, Ponant has some pretty nice itineraries. And then there is Paspaley by Ponant. Waiting for everyone to drop 2026 plans.

Back to your regularly scheduled excellent programming.

Good luck in Honaria.

15 hours ago, flyers said:

guess some people just don`t have a life outside of cruising

Some people have second and third homes. Others dont want the hassle and choose the sea.  😃

Thanks for the report!

16 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Upsized and maybe the shoe right?

 

https://www.renaissancecapital.com/IPO-Center/News/104435/Cruise-operator-Viking-increases-proposed-deal-size-by-20-percent-ahead-of-

 

 

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/equities/overallotment-greenshoe-option-ipo/

 

Hmmmm, still a little frothy out there.

Speaking of shoes, I keep expecting one to drop.  Inflation, a plethora of geopolitical risks, etc., etc, etc, and yet here we are. A parabolic market and all we get is a 5% correction.  I would have though the Stimmie money should have worked it's way through the system. Perhaps not.   Can the Boomer spending and kid gifting be adding more than I thought?

Range trade through the summer and cocktails on the veranda!

I also said no to the rediculous options.

9 hours ago, kej1 said:

Btw, I’m wrong we are still going to see the bungee jumping/ diving.  Just from another location!  Yay!  Just boarding zodiac now!

The RomRom was one of my favorites. And so happy you'll get to see the land diving.   Ours was a huge event drawing people from all the surrounding islands. YAY is right.

Looks like a beautiful day and lovely place to visit.

52 minutes ago, jollyjones said:

 

Maybe she wasn't so wrong to be surprised?

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c97zx45vp28o

 

Very interesting, thanks.   Although I dont think I'd worry about ironing my clothes if I didn't have power. Or even if I did have power.😃