Critically Cruising

1 hour ago, Keith1010 said:

Yes those green pastures that one thinks are there until things go wrong. One correction . Not a long term Crystal Cruiser.  

Sure seemed that way from the posts complaining about refunds.  

Take a look over at the Silversea forum.  You'll see folks that are "fuming" over the SS delay in announcing changes, including a long-time Crystal cruiser who left for greener pastures.

Looked at my wave and wind forecast app....you folks are in for a rough ride pretty much all the way to Hawaii.

Wear those shoes with the grippy soles.  And handrails are your friend.

1 hour ago, Aloha 1 said:

When you start messing with "the finest cuisine at sea" you risk losing your customers.

THE FINEST CUISINE AT SEA®

You forgot to include the registered trademark symbol.  The legal beagles will be coming soon.

2 hours ago, Vallesan said:

I wonder if Oceania passengers have ‘too high ‘ expectations after travelling , sorry to use the phrase,  on “mass market” lines?

Perhaps this is due to Oceania over-promoting their product. "Best cuisine at sea" and other luxury pronouncements may be a bit much for a premium-level line.

4 hours ago, ak1004 said:

How about someone like me who posts pictures for their 90 years parents? They don't have smartphone to talk via WhatsApp, but they have ipads, and this is the only way for me to let them know that we are fine.

An email saying

"We are fine - having a great time.  Will send you pictures when we get home"

would seem to get across the exact same message without hogging bandwidth.

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

It's all matter of cost, but it looks like the more expensive the cruise line is, the worse the internet is..

Not in my experience.  Which should be equally valid.

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Part of the issues would be resolved if people would only wait until they get back home to post all those pictures.

Oh so true.  Do the grandkids REALLY want to see them?  Think back to your youth, and the interminable slide shows you sat through of someone else's vacation.  Or the 8mm movies.

36 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

I find it amusing when people complain about how poorly the dancing bear dances instead of being impressed that it dances at all.

Folks just accept technology without understanding all that goes into making it happen.  I used to say that there needed to be a "drivers test" before anyone could use the "information superhighway"  (as it was often referred)

11 minutes ago, Roland4 said:

So yes, it is possible.

Pointing out the difference between possible and desirable.

Too many believe that Starlink = home fiber internet.  Wrong.

Starlink is just an improvement on what a ship may have had before.  It's not any kind of land based equivalency,

I regularly get 900+ Mbps at home, but am under no illusion that I will experience anything close when at sea.  Sadly, too many people think that they will.

Looking at the docs, plus reflections and it seems that they have used up the old "blue waves header" paper and are making the full transition to the new corporate identity using "Tiffany Blue".  Oops...I meant "Crystal Aqua".

It's just such a ubiquitous color - on the room service menus, reflections, note pads, and more.

For those chomping at the bit for a place to dump their spare cash -- bet they are hoping for it to be installed during the "dash around Africa" with no passengers aboard.

My wager -- The Lounge stays.  Most under-utilized space on the ship will be converted - thus, Pulse will be no more.

Inside info - no.  Logical thought - perhaps.

14 hours ago, occasional cruising said:

We can only hope that whichever decision they make is the right one. Tough business.

Those last two words are so true.  It's not a simple decision, like should the buffet stay open for a late shorex.  Talking multi-millions, plus human lives.  But as Tripacian said, whatever they decide will be criticized by those who didn't get an outcome that THEY want.

OMG.  In contrast to Louis, the Discovery Princess next door toots out "The Love Boat" theme with its multi-tone whistle.

Fortunately, they don't do the whole song.

Is Perry Grant aboard that ship?

If someone needs to be prompted at the entrance to the Marketplace, they will be oblivious to any kind of consideration elsewhere on the ship.

Case in point -- the fellow who took the white ceramic nut dispenser and put it up to his lips to pour the nuts into his mouth.

You either know what to do or you don't.

15 minutes ago, Bakingnana said:

our travel agency will charge for getting answers for us and no satisfaction in the end

You don't have an agent, you have an order taker.

Big difference.

1 hour ago, ryndam said:

I have no issue naming names. He was Perry Grant. Ladies of a certain age loved him. Not so much anyone else. He’s gone bye-bye.

Yep...that's the name.  Couldn't place it.  Will have to write it down, if only so I can properly avoid.

3 hours ago, History&Wine said:

8.  Agree, the Avenue is too loud.  Maybe ok if you are alone and like loud music.  Definitely difficult if not impossible to have a conversation.

Over the years, there have been Avenue entertainers that pretty much DON'T want folks to have conversations.  They are the attraction, and the focus, and if you want to talk among yourselves - how dare you intrude on my show.

Don't know if that's the case you're experiencing.  Trying to remember the over-the-top entertainer that turned the Avenue into a floor show -- and hoping he never returns.

3 hours ago, westmount said:

My Flight would be at 445 PM and was worried, as a rep from Seabourn mentioned arrival at 5 pm , which didn't really make sense unless the incoming passengers flew down late morning. I gather the flights down are early morning then.

Westmount 

Don't take that AC flight.  Lots leave later in the evening.

Same as for coach....research, research, research.

Also recognize that airlines have learned to truly monetize the first class cabin, so you won't be finding "deals".  For example, on an upcoming DL flight, they will sell me an upgrade to F for a measly $540 for a two hour flight.

And for the record, DL is currently monetizing 80% of their F cabin systemwide.  No need for them to sell the seats cheaply.

2 hours ago, les37b said:

Whilst there were no direct flights for that cruise, I'm now of the opinion in the future, that anything we book needs to have direct flights unless its something exceptional. Our next cruise coming up is Bali to Bangkok and we were unable to get direct flights for this - but have been given Emirates on the way out and chose to give Qatar a go on the way back which we are fine with.

I assume you mean "non-stop" which is not the same thing as "direct".  They are not synonyms.

You would never get a "direct" or "non-stop" from the UK to/from Bali.  Because none exists.

4 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

No clue but it's still not acceptable when one can fly to JFK and then on to Iceland.

4 hours ago, turtlemichael said:

As they offered you flights via Seattle, I guess it is Icelandair ? Given the number of more convenient, for you, locations in the US that they fly to it is likely Silversea does not have contracts for those destinations. It's a bit hard to fathom that they would not have a NYC-KEF contract. Keep fighting!

Just because there are flights from JFK to KEF, and just because there may be a contract with Icelandair, does NOT mean that there are any available contract seats between JFK and KEF.  Because it's not about the seats available on the open market, it's about the seats that SS (or any cruiseline) has available.

"Fighting" won't make seats appear out of thin air.

10 minutes ago, marieps said:

We interviewed at ATL on the way back from an overseas trip.  It was seamless and the numbers stayed the same.  I don't remember linking my new passport (Issued 2021) to my new GE (2022), but there have been no issues.  I guess I should consider myself lucky.

It's when you get a new passport AFTER receiving your TT number.  The passport doesn't automatically have the TT attached, so you need to add that new PP number.  In your case, you had the PP, then got the TT  - reverse order.

1 hour ago, Z'Loth said:

Just make sure you update your trusted traveler number on your airline profile. 

At my renewal, the number stayed the same.

Passport numbers, OTOH, do change and you need to update your TT number to be linked to a new passport.

8 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

Just got my flights for a cruise from Iceland to Lisbon.

Silversea has us flying from Miami to Seattle, a four hour layover and then Seattle to Iceland. 

How can this be an ACE?  ABSURD

2 hours ago, Desperate to Sail said:

We're flying LHR to DFW in May. Rather than put us on one of the direct flights to DFW (there are more than 1), they are routing us through ATL with a 4-1/2 hr layover. Won't budge. 

 

Clearly, flying is the worst part of cruising.   

1 hour ago, alithecat said:

We were booked Santiago to Toronto to San Francisco last January. Flying into snowstorms. No thanks. We took the air credit and went via Houston instead. 

Flying is the worst part of cruising.....if you accept cruiseline-provided air.

You get what they have in their contracts.  Nothing more.