cruiseej

Just be vigilant in checking on your flights when you get within 3-4 moths of travel, because that's when the airlines update their final schedules; great flight times/connections can be ruined when an airline changes one of your flights. There's been a lot more changes to schedules over the past two years as the airlines have struggled to ramp up staff and equipment in the aftermath of the pandemic. Seat assignments can also be changed if they change planes to a larger/smaller plane than what was listed when you originally booked. Hopefully you'll have no changes, or changes of just a few minutes. 😀

Well, there are currently are two hands on the clock, and I am likely be having a drink somewhere on the ship. 🤣

I think the only reason they might not deliver on your special request is if your requested date falls on an evening when it would be difficult for the kitchen to execute special requests, such as a Chef's dinner, or following a Galley Market lunch. In the worst case, you might have to celebrate your anniversary a second time on the next night! A special request for something you already know is in the kitchen's repertoire makes it much more likely they can execute your request. We talked with the Executive chef on one cruise, and he said there are some things which are just not feasible to prepare for one person — beef Wellington, for instance — but most things could be made for two people. We asked if the goat cheese soufflé we had enjoyed on a prior cruise would be on the menu while we were aboard, and when he determined it wouldn't, he offered to prepare it for us.

Perhaps that's the case, but as I wrote above, I just did it the "old way" a week ago, and my request was responded to and the credit issued within a few hours on a weekend night. You could try sending an email and stock documentation to Seabourn (e.g. the "old way") to see if they will process it; if they are truly no longer doing it except through the app, I'm sure they'll reply and tell you you must use the app now.

Your itinerary doesn't say where you stop in the Falklands? (I can't find the detailed Quest itinerary on the Seabourn website any more because it's sold out.) We we in the Falklands for two days last winter on a Silversea cruise, and really enjoyed our day with stops at New Island and West Point Island, both of which offered different and great colonies to see up close.

Perhaps Carnival does, but Seabourn doesn't. I just last week sent an email to Seabourn and received my OBC credit. In fact, I sent it at 4:30 pm (US Eastern time) Saturday, and was shocked to see that I got a reply that my credit was issues that same night at 2:30 am. Who was working on shareholder credits at midnight on a weekend?! You can do that, but you can also take a screen shot or download a PDF of your brokerage statement, and then redact everything but your name, address, and the line showing your holding of CCL stock. It takes me just a minute to create a redacted proof of stock ownership; attach it to an email with your name, booking number, ship, and sail date, and you'll be all set.

Is it correct to assume the Napa burger will be gone when the TK Grille exits?

I would ask where else you are visiting on your cruise. Do you make other stops in the Falklands? Are you visiting South Georgia Island? If yes to both, you will likely have lots of awesome penguin colony visits, so Seal Bay might not be worth the effort. If this is your primary shot at a large penguin colony, then it might be worth the effort if you feel you can manage the rough rise.

This is a great example of how people can have very different experiences with the same cruise line, cruise ship or same cruise. We went to Antarctica on the Silversea Cloud last winter… and had a fabulous time. The expedition staff was outstanding; the expedition leader and captain did a magical job getting us to places early, avoiding storms, and not missing a single landing; the food was reasonably good; and we weren't aware of anyone in Covid quarantine. Your cruise was an entirely different experience, on the same ship, in the same region, during a different part of the same season. We had a great cruise on Sojourn last spring in a season where I saw reports from other cruisers complaining things were amiss on Sojourn. So I find it's hard to generalize about cruises, because there can be significant differences, actual and perceived, for myriad reasons.

Really? I wonder… This cruise isn't an Expedition cruise. And while Quest was outfitted with a full complement of zodiacs in order to do Antarctica cruises, that's not mirrored on Sojourn, which does not/cannot go to Antarctica. All the ports on this cruise can use the ship's tenders, so there are no wet landings as one would have with zodiacs. However, they do have some zodiacs onboard for use on small group "Ventures by Seabourn" excursions ($$$) in a some places. But I looked up a sampling of the ports of call on this cruise in Iceland, Greenland and Canada, and didn't see any "Ventures by Seabourn" excursions listed; I wonder if they offload them after the summer season in Norway?

I don't know why you're so exasperated with me. I'm not "backed into a corner". I only asked for information and opinions about connecting through Montreal. I've received some useful information from people in this thread, which I appreciate. That includes an introduction to Porter, an airline I wasn't previously aware of. Would I prefer not to have to get up at 4 am for a flight home? Sure. Would I do it if it works out best? Sure. Would I prefer not to arrive home after 1 am when my wife has to get up just a few hours later to go to work? Sure. Would we do it if it works out best? We have in the past, and we would. Would I prefer not to spend several hundred dollars more per person for only a different flight time? Sure. Would I do it if it seems like the best option? Probably. Would I prefer a flight combination which gets us home in under six hours instead of more than 8? Sure. Would I take the longer routing if it was otherwise best. Sure. It's all about gathering information and then making an informed decision about what works best for us. That's why I reached out to this informed group for useful information and opinions. There's no reason to tell me I'm blind to "harsh realities" and then "give up". Sheesh.

No, there are no "harsh realities" here; you're making this into way more than it is! 😉 My original question was simply whether people who have traveled with a connection through Montreal, an airport I've never flown through, thought it was viable or too risky to book a connection there with a 1 hour and 15 minute layover. That was it: plausible idea or bad idea? Then you brought up wanting dates, flights, etc., so I provided that. And I explained why I was focused on the short connection through Montreal versus the longer connection through Toronto. Each has trade-offs. And yes, there are other options I had pushed aside because of too-late arrival or significantly higher cost. I wasn't familiar with Porter, but the smaller Dash-8 planes (after a 20-day trip with larger carry-ons) was a negative, as was the total travel time of more than 8 hours, and the connection of just 55 minutes in Toronto (I know it's not the main airport, but if there's any delay in St. John's or Halifax, the timing is tight. But there's another flight an hour later, so I'll take another look at it.)

Thanks for that info. I know Air Canada expects it to work, because they sell it as a valid connecting flight (e.g. I'm not trying to piece together two separate flight bookings and hope it will work). But we all know that airlines will sell connections which are technically do-able but risky in practice, and thus my question about how viable this seems for any who have flown through Montreal as a connecting airport in the past.

Good to know. It isn't showing up labeled as an expedition cruise on the Seabourn website, but that may be because it's sold out, or because, well, it's Seabourn's website. 🤣

Thanks for your thoughts. Planning to fly home on Sunday, September 29, two days after the end of our cruise. (The outbound flight is Newark to Reykjavik on September 11 on Icelandair, the only nonstop option.) Yes, I always research flights which are available first, including pricing, and then check what's available through the cruise line. In this case, Flight Ease seems to offer same or slightly better costs than buying direct from the airlines. I did say "viable" flights. 😉 Yes, there is a 5:25 am flight, which pretty much obliterates a night of sleep! And a 5:35 pm flight which gets to Newark near 11 pm and gets us around 1 am, which isn't acceptable to those in our group returning to work Monday morning. And a couple other flights which cost hundreds of dollars more. So yes, there are other options — just not better options. I've flown through Toronto and have a sense for how sprawling it is. I haven't flown through Montreal before, which is why I asked the question here about connection time.

Quest, which previously did Antarctica trips the entire winter season, now goes to Antarctica once a year; in 2024, it's part of of an 80-day Grand Voyage around South America. The shortest segment including Antarctica is 26-days from Santiago to Buenos Aires. @hoya68 I believe it was previously limited to right around 400 passengers so they could try to get everyone one landing — limited to 100 people — per day. Also because the expanded expedition staff used up some of the regular passenger suites. But because it's no longer considered an "Expedition Voyage", I don't know how the staffing for and experience in Antarctica and South Georgia may have changed from the trips prior to the new expedition ships.

I don't believe that's correct; even though it may seem illogical, you will go through US customs in Toronto in order to board your flight to the US. We have Global Entry, which from what I'm seeing online, is available in Canadian airports (Montreal or Toronto) for passengers to the US. Is that incorrect? But if we miss our Montreal to Newark flight, there's only one more flight that day, 3 and a half hours later. And it's a small plane (Embraer 175) and there are four of us traveling together — how likely is it for there to be four empty seats on that later flight? And would FlightEase do anything for us that the air carrier wouldn't be obligated to do anyway? Yes, that's exactly the concern I'm weighing. There are only three viable flights from St. John's that I'm seeing: Air Canada (main line) 7:00 am to Toronto, connecting at a United Express flight with a 1 hour 45 minute layover in Toronto; Air Canada (main line) 7:00 am to Toronto, connecting to Air Canada Express-Jazz with a 2 hour 30 minute layover in Toronto; Air Canada Rouge 12:35 pm to Montreal, connecting to Air Canada Express-Jazz with a 1 hour 15 minute layover in Montreal Okay, there's a fourth option, a turboprop flight to Halifax and then to Newark, but it has the same 7 am departure time and a three hour layover in Halifax, so no advantage over option 1 or 2. I'd much prefer the 12:35 pm departure, allowing a good night's sleep, breakfast at a reasonable hour, and then heading to the airport. And St. John's to Montreal to Newark is about as direct as possible — the total travel time is under 6 hours. But there's that 75 minute connection… On the other hand, we could allow more time for a connection by flying through Toronto. But that adds extra time flying further west to Toronto only to fly back east to Newark, so the total travel time goes up to 7 or 7 and a half hours. But there's that 7:00 am departure, requiring us to leave the hotel in St. John's around 5 am and be up around 4 am, which puts a bit of a damper on a nice last night in St. John's. (These flights would be economy; it's not worth the added cost for the relatively short flight to upgrade to first/business class, and there's no first/business class on the small plane from either Montreal or Toronto to Newark.) I'm thinking we probably have to deal with the 7 am flight via Toronto in order to feel more confident we won't miss the tight connection in Montreal. Does anything think otherwise — e.g. that the short connection in Montreal seems sound? @FlyerTalker, any advice?

We're looking at return flights from a Seabourn cruise ending in St. John's Newfoundland and for one of the flight options we're considering, I have a question for anyone who has flown through the Montreal airport (which I'm not familiar with). We'd be flying Air Canada from St. John's to Montreal, an Air Canada Rouge flight, connecting to an Air Canada Express-Jazz flight to Newark in the US. The layover time is 75 minutes. Is this viable, or asking for trouble? The flights are both in the Air Canada family, but one is Rouge and the other is Air Canada Express. It appears we go through US customs in Montreal, and have to go from the domestic terminal, to the US terminal, passing through US customs and immigration on the way. That sounds daunting for a 75 minute layover, but Air Canada and Seabourn FlightEase show it as a valid connection. Thoughts? Our alternative is St. John's to Toronto with a longer layover, but it's a 7 am flight (which means being up about 4 am — not the most pleasant way to end a trip!) and about two hours longer total travel time. Thanks in advance for your advice!

Because most people generally want to/try to follow the rules. 😀 The assigned check-in times were a direct byproduct of the safety precautions when cruising cautiously resumed after the pandemic shutdown. There were extensive documentation checks, and in many ports, on-site testing by port authorities and waiting for results. Assigned times were needed to spread out people arriving and not having too many in the waiting area at a time. Those procedures no longer exist, and thus the assigned boarding times, which many had learned they could ignore, are no longer needed.

There are no musicians specifically in/at the outdoor bars. From time to time, there is music on a small stage at one end of the pool. But it's not every day, and usually for an hour or so. One or two times, there will be a music performance as part of a sail away party or other evening event on deck, weather permitting. By contrast, there is live music in the Observation bar and the Club every night, before and after dinner. That's a major piece of the cruise experience for us. The Club, in particular, tends not to be crowded, especially before dinner, and most evenings.

I was going to say Silversea (not expedition ships), but I re-read and see that wasn't one of the lines being asked about. They compete in the same luxury cruise market, but maybe the OP already ruled them out?

They'd certainly get a table that way, but… just before the restaurant opening, a lot of other people will queue up in the same area, which sounds like it's exactly what they're trying to avoid. If they aren't planning to go to the show in order to avoid the theater, it might be a better strategy to go to dinner later; as the first seating starts leaving (about 90 minutes after opening time) there will be plenty of tables becoming available, and there won't be a lot of people queuing at the entrance. Just another thought…

@alithecat Absolutely! We originally wanted to do the new Seabourn expedition ship for Antartica, but the price was so much higher, plus no included air, that we "settled" for our trip on the Cloud. And the Seabourn ship scheduled for the same itinerary the same week was the one where their stabilizers broke and they couldn't go to South Georgia. We were on a Seabourn cruise this summer and they were offering an astounding 35% off bookings while onboard on expedition cruises. I don't think we would have booked the Greenland/Canada trip at their full regular prices, but the promotion made it much more affordable. I messaged our travel agent, and she just said, "wow, that's an amazing price." Our first Silversea expedition trip was on the Cloud from Iceland to Greenland —it was great. It obviously hooked us enough that we immediately booked the Antartica cruise. (Which was canceled in 2020 due to Covid and in 2021 as Silversea juggled ships and itineraries; 2022 was our third try, and the third time was the charm!)

I was just going to post when I saw @alithecat beat me to it! We were on the same Cloud trip to the Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica in December 2022-January 2023. And I agree it was a fabulous cruise. The Cloud may be older than all the new expedition ships, but it didn't feel old to my wife and I or our friends on the trip with us. Crew was excellent, expedition staff was outstanding, food was very good, wine was okay but good enough, and the captain and expedition leader did a great job at dodging storms and getting us into great places throughout the trip. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Antarctica on the Cloud. And we're also headed to Greenland (and Canada) next summer, but we're trying one of the new Seabourn expedition ships.

For what it's worth, I have never requested cash at the end of the trip, and have never had a problem with receiving a credit card credit within days of leaving the ship. I'm not discounting others' experiences above; I just wanted to share what has been our experience. I just looked at my credit card history for our last two Seabourn cruises, one earlier this year and one last year: this year a refund posted to my credit card account one day after disembarking, and last year the refund posted two days after disembarking. If you end up with a lot of refundable OBC, consider whether you want to have that much cash during your onward travels; I usually do not like to carry a lot of cash when traveling.