Sololux

Many years ago we tried to do casual on SS. We thought we had it organised by pre booking a table in La terrazzo for the formal night as it was made clear on the program that formal wear was only obligatory in the main dining room. OH was wearing shirt with no jacket or tie. However, everyone else was in full formal outfits.

Doubt it judging by how many courses some of the bloggers were getting through in their videos.

The main problem is language. Although I can understand a certain amount of French and “franglais” I don’t have sufficient fluency when it comes to making sure I fully understand terms and conditions written in French. A U.K. TA has made it very clear that their liabilities only kick in when I start with them on U.K. soil. To be fair, although I would start from Toulouse I would quite likely have to still fly to Paris to get to several cruise embarkation destinations - there’s a few that could b3 direct but not many and some with very limited flight times. As that could then mean having to cross Paris to change airports I’m better off going to Heathrow (knowing too well how fraught that could be) as all terminals are in one, relatively, large location.

I would recommend this as well. You have no ability to control the third parties.

We did a B2b a decade ago with San Juan as the mid point. We had to go reception for the passport check and then returned to our cabin, I think it was around 7am.

You have all raised good points. However, I’m not naive but not stupid either - OH worked in roles which had commission structures. It’s been obvious, from some of my research that some TA’s are more preferential TA’s to specific cruise lines and they are passing on more ‘value’ back to their clients as they receive better commission rates.

Thank you for the feedback. It would be for the whole trip. The last thing I’d want would be in the middle of two TA’s. I was wondering how much leeway they would have in their commissions to either discount the price or provide on board credit. We used to only use one TA when we last cruised and I never really knew whether we were getting a good deal or paying full up money. We haven’t been on any cruises, or holidays for that matter, since we moved to France over 10 years ago. As I’m looking at around £30k to £40k budget I would think their commission was going to be significant.

This is the reason I have to fly from France to the U.K. first then onwards to the embarkation country as U.K. travel agents have advised that I must I must book my France to U.K. flight but they can then handle my flight and cruise requirements, legally, from the U.K. onwards. Everything would then be covered by U.K. T&C which they are familiar with.

Sorry but can you give a hint to the name of the site.

I’m thinking of booking a relatively expensive cruise and will be travelling solo. I’m interested in getting a good deal but using knowledgeable TA’s. I’ve identified two in the U.K. who can provide the level of service and expertise that I think I need for the type of cruise I have in mind. I will be looking for cruise, flights, hotels pre cruise and possibly post cruise plus transfers airport - hotel - ship and return My question is should I just stick to asking one TA to produce the package or ask at least one more to assess what deal they are offering?

Yep, I’m hooked on business class as well. I preferred to book my flights with SS. When BA cancelled our mid morning U.K. to Rome flight SS got us quickly rescheduled onto an AirItalia flight at a 7am departure. Ok, it was an early start but no stress. I learnt that if I was doing a same day flight and cruise to always book with the cruise line - it’s their responsibility to get you onto the ship. If we were going to arrive a couple of days before the cruise departure then we’d book the flights ourselves - this was usually for a Seadream cruise though.

I would recommend avoiding Heathrow if possible. The terminals are not that close and, as a very frequent user of the airport, there are often problems. If there’s a problem in the morning then delays and cancellations get more frequent later in the day. To be fair, as others have stated, most of the large hub airports can be fraught. If you do have to use Heathrow make sure you have plenty of time for terminal changes - it’s better to be sitting calmly with a tea/coffee than having to run and find the correct gate. I’m never surprised these days, when talking to fellow passengers, at how little time they have before their next flight and them starting to get very stressed. Before boarding the plane at Heathrow for your next flight check with customer services that your luggage is now in the same terminal as you. OH was reassured when he was informed that his luggage was in the right terminal and properly logged in their system. Use apple AirTags etc to track exactly where your luggage is. Personally, I would prefer to fly to Heathrow the day beforehand, stay overnight as there’s lots of hotels close by and having my luggage with me. It’s then easier to go back to the airport and check in fresh again. I know it sounds a bit longwinded but I’ve had too many problems at Heathrow in the past to trust that everything will go as planned!

Many thanks for your feedback.

Thanks Seabright. I’m not able to book yet, see my thread on last minute booking, but would be grateful for your views. The longer crossings look great but what threw me when I was thinking about it was the price for flights.

There are two U.K. TA’s that I have already contacted. Because I’m in France they can only work with me from me flying into the U.K. first. Fortunately there are three BA flights a day from my local airport. There’s no way I feel confident, especially with the language constraints, with using a French cruise specialist TA. I have seen one advertising EJ

Thank you for your help. I hadn’t realised how much of a problem the flights would be.

Hi, due to family constraints I will be probably be able to make a last minute cruise booking - I can’t book anything until event x occurs and then I can travel probably in the next two to three weeks following event x. I’ve needed a holiday for the last two years but I don’t want to book anything in case I have to cancel at short notice and I need to fly back to the U.K. On the plus side I’ve discovered Explora Journeys so, after plenty of research, I’m now happy to book one of their cruises for 2 to 3 weeks. Unfortunately it’s just one of those “waiting games” that I have to deal with. This time I will also be travelling as a solo, OH will be looking after our fur babies! I know I will have to have flexibility if I want a specific suite - I particularly wanted a stop in Istanbul but might have to forgo the port, and perhaps the eastern Med as well, for the western Med instead. I can live with that. Can you explain what other ramifications there could be. For example, shore excursions may be fully booked by then, I may have to take whatever flights are available and/or stay longer or for less in hotels pre/post the cruise. Does a last minute booking change the price of the cruise, a little or significantly. I'm trying to work out how many moving parts there are and what I need to do to manage my expectations!

Thank you for your feedback CJandH. I’m gravitating more towards the Med and not during school holidays if possible.

Hi, I’m thinking of either the serenity or cocoon suites. My concern is related noise. The cocoon suite is on deck 6 so would there be a lot of noise from the aft pool and bar on deck 5. The serenity suite veranda is larger on deck 9 compared to deck 7. However, there is another pool on deck 10 and I’m wondering if you get a lot of noise from sun loungers, etc, being dragged across the deck, especially early in the morning.

I came across this on the internet. It’s helpful as you can see the balcony sizes on each deck.

Many thanks for taking the time to produce that. It is extremely helpful.

We were on Sea Dream on a B2B, several years ago. When we got to San Juan, the end of the first trip, we didn’t realise we would need to get up early and go to the reception for a border security clearance check. The policeman was not happy that he had to wait for us to get dressed, we were the last couple to be cleared. After we were able to go back to our suite. Had Sea Dream informed us we would have got up early. Lesson learnt was check with reception the night beforehand if you’re going to have to be present for a border clearance check when doing B2B.

I would happily chose this menu.

If you are in either of the two serenity on deck 9 do you get noise from desk 10 - when they are moving loungers or chairs around the pool, especially very early in the morning?

Thank you for taking time out to provide your review. I’m hoping to book on EJ soon but am currently constrained due to family commitments. I’m trying to get a good insight in what does and what doesn’t work well so that I have realistic expectations, nothing like doing plenty of homework! My last cruise was 10 years ago and although we took lots of cruises we only booked on Silversea and Seadream cruise lines, sometime two or three a year. It sounds like a lot has changed in the intervening period so it’s like looking at cuise options for the first time. As I’ll be the solo person on the cruise this time, while OH is looking after cats and chickens at home, I’m looking very carefully at what the main players are offering and what people say they are actually delivering.