CJANDH

No I did not. Did it come as an email? Any chance you have a link to it that you can post?

I didn't build that into my calculation I must admit. So, let me see: it now costs me an extra $20K to move from a Silver Suite to an Owners Suite and for that I get some extra real estate, a second potty AND a free dinner at La Dame worth $320. Maybe a good deal after all. 🤪

Regent do not charge extra for their specialty restaurants. They limit reservations ahead of a cruise to one per suite; but it is not hard to get additional reservations on board.

This is another example of Silversea pushing the boundaries on pricing to see what we suckers are willing to pay. As I posted on another thread on this board they have more than doubled the prices on their top three suites on Dawn for 2024 and on. The Owners Suite now costs three times that of a Silver Suite when historically it was priced at about 50% more. They have lost me as an Owners Suite customer and I have moved to Regent who are still offering a reasonable upcharge for their top suites, even though expensive.

We have just debarked from Dawn after a wonderful cruise around the Norwegian fjords. We found the SALT Bar extremely noisy before dinner, often hijacked by a group of very loud people who took over the small bar. We found the Observation Lounge or Dolce Vita good for quiet pre dinner drinks. After dinner we headed for the Silver Note and sat quietly at the bar. Bartender Jose makes wonderful cocktails (just ask him to make something special for you from your favorite spirit) and the jazz duet will keep you entertained.

We have river cruised with Scenic several times. Once on board you will love them. However their communication from HQ is not much better than Explora.

Any idea how frequently? Where did you find the new requirement? There was a lot of chatter about muster drill on several boards some months back and it seemed as though most cruise lines had kept the e-drill (even those that reverted to full mustering after the pandemic switched back to e-muster after bad customer reaction). If there is now a new regulation, I am surprised there has not been more comment on other boards too.

Currently on Dawn. Just to confirm that, on this ship at least, Silversea have reverted to the full, in person muster drill. Is this fleet wide or just Dawn?

Would Silver Dawn be among the ships in question? I am due to board her on Wednesday!!! 😏

Hope that you are right. However, your conclusion is based on very little confirmed information. I would expect some clarification once businesses reopen after the weekend.

There is a very complete article in the Financial Times explaining the questions raised by this issue. You need to google "Financial Times Explora" to get a link to it. Scary read.

Thanks. That worked. This is a pretty complete review of what is known so far . . . and scary. All the industry needs now another issue to interfere with its financial recovery.

See this article. https://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-liner-launch-msc-explora-delayed-faulty-fire-panels-report-2023-7 It reports that Explora I has been delayed because of faulty fire panels installed on the ship. However, it also reports that 45 other ships may be sailing with the faulty panel installed by several of the world's largest ship builders. If there is a recall on all those ships, could we see another disruption to cruising? Hope not.

Seems you need to subscribe to the FT to read it.

Not a "nothing" if a cruise ship is advised it has the faulty panels and is currently sailing. Once they know, they will need to replace the panels quickly. Imagine the lawsuits if a fire breaks out and they know they have faulty panels. There is going to be a scramble to get in line for replacements and we could see a bunch of cancelled cruises coming up. The unknown is where the panels are located. Is it just a few specialty panels (say around an electrical station) or is it all the panels around staterooms?

Looks and sounds good.

How about Yellow Fever vaccination? We are doing the Amazon at Christmas and are getting mixed advice. Some say it is important and some say not reco'd for oldies. My doctor does reco malaria pills though. Start two days prior to visit and keep taking for seven days after leaving area.

Sounds like a return to the old muster drill. Anyone else sailing on SS right now seeing the same.

That sounds like the old muster drill before everyone moved to an E-muster. We are joining the Dawn in Copenhagen right after your cruise and were looking forward to an easier embarkation than you seemed to have had.

Or maybe you need a new TA.

That is a big number. Suggest you shop around. Try AARDY.com.

How much is that as a percentage of your total trip cost?

Responses: 1. Agree. I am not saying that cancellation insurance is not needed. Just that for some the loss from cancellation is not a major financial catastrophe and may not be worth the high cost of insuring against it. 2. Your "low ceiling and one trip coverage" statement is not true. My annual policy has coverage of $500,000 for emergency transportation and $50,000 for medical/dental coverage. The coverage is good for each individual trip taken during the year coverage. But even if it wasn't, what are the chances of needing to be evacuated more than once in a year of travelling? The cost of my annual plan, purchased in April this year is only $420. And it still has token coverage ($2,000) for cancellation, delay, baggage, etc. I tend to travel in higher end suites, so the cost of full insurance coverage runs in the thousands of dollars per trip. So I feel I am saving big time for a defined risk (cost of the trip if cancelled). The decision clearly is a personal one that depends on a traveller's financial situation and level of risk they are willing to take. BUT THE MEDICAL COVERAGE IS A MUST.

One thing that is not often discussed is: do you really need more than medical and evacuation insurance? Getting sick on a cruise and needing to be hospitalized in a foreign land can be hugely expensive (especially if you have to be airlifted). Coverage for this is essential in my view. However, before you buy a package policy that covers cancellation, delay, luggage, etc. ask yourself if you could not afford the loss incurred for even the full loss of your cruise. Sure it would hurt; but for some it would not be a financial disaster. The cost differential between "full coverage" (often 10% or more of your total trip cost) and coverage for just medical and emergency evacuation is huge. Allianz offers this coverage. Check it out and do the math. If you cruise several times a year, you might also look at an annual policy that covers the medical and evacuation risk for all your travel over a 12 month period.

I agree on the Silver Suite. It is a great layout and very competitive to the Regent equivalent. However, the higher end suites do not seem to be competitive with Regent and Seabourn equivalents and so far are not selling well.