jollyjones

Yes. They knew it didn't work against Noro. It was PR and CYA. (Since this is the acronym thread)

But how does the comparison work if you are a solo? If I see a Seabourn cruise that interests me, I look at the solo pricing and turn away fast.

Wow, am I at a disadvantage! Having cruised exclusively on the Moon and Dawn recently - seven times in the past couple of years - I thought I knew every inch of those ships and was sure I just had to figure out where they'd moved things to on the Nova and I'd be home free. Wrong. Ah, hubris! This is the Through the Looking Glass ship, it's sort of the same but at the same time, it's all completely different. When they called her the Nova, they meant it so much more that we realised. Now I've got to forget all I knew and start again, it's a good job this is a 23 day cruise, it may take me that long to properly understand the underlying dynamics of the spaces and activities and people flow in the little village that this cruise ship is, and find out how I fit in. Don't think I am disturbed by this, it'll be an exciting adventure, and so far I am very happy; all my meals have been well cooked from quality ingredients and well presented, both the Dusk bar and the Salt bar have served me perfect cocktails, the crew have been unfailingly efficient and smiling despite what must have been a very difficult turnaround day for them, and my team came third in Trivia. (OK, full disclosure - third equal with six other teams). With so many sea days Trivia is a serious business on this cruise. Well, isn't it always. But what are all these differences to which you allude, you ask?? I think they will have to come in future instalments, there is so much to get my head around first and I do want to try and get it right. My goodness, don't I sound pretentious!! Just follow the other thread by flyers if I am annoying, but I know there's some other solos out there who are interested and there's no doubt that the solo's impression and experience of cruising may differ markedly from that of couples or groups. To be continued ...

Everywhere - schools, care homes, restaurants, hospitals etc etc - suffer from norovirus outbreaks, particularly in the winter. Cruise ships are obliged to report outbreaks when they rise above a certain percentage of pax or crew so they appear more in the news. Clickbait.

I have posted about the virus on Chris's thread but I'd prefer to start a new thread since (I hope) my cruise is not going to be defined by norovirus. This won't be a 'live from' but will be my random observations about this new class of ship. I have sailed all the classic SS fleet, including the Cloud and Wind in the before days (I don't do expeditions) and I can already tell that this ship is 'now for something completely different', to steal the line. I am definitely not expecting the Spanish Inquisition, but I'm not sure what else I'll find, yet. Watch this space. PS apologies if you're not a Monty Python fan.

There certainly has been an outbreak of something on the Nova - described by Captain Failla as 'gastrointestinal illness' - which SS is taking very seriously. They probably think it's noro because the advice given to us yesterday at embarkation has a very strong emphasis on hand washing with the suggestion that hand sanitiser is ineffective. **I do wish pax would remember that high alcohol hand sanitiser may work against corona virus but does not work against norovirus.** Boarding started at 1pm which was earlier than I expected, but much of the ship was closed and sealed off for cleaning, which they clearly were doing very thoroughly. We were not able to access the cabins till 4.45pm - this became very tedious but entirely understandable. Made more tedious by the fact that the still-like-new carpet pile is so thick it's quite difficult to haul your carry on wheelie bag around - silly but true! So I didn't do as much exploring yesterday as I'd hoped - that's now the plan for today, a sea day, and I shall be keeping an eye out to see what infection controls are in place.

" Fish at the Pool Grill was good (but tiny) at lunchtimes." I agree with that but it's so simple, I just ask for two portions ...

There are three Long Bays in Bermuda. Somerset, Warwick and Cooper's Island. To the OP, your best bet is Tobacco Bay, get the ferry from Dockyard to St George, then a short taxi ride over the hill. Despite the reef, most of our beaches can see rough conditions depending on the weather.

And consider that if not owned by RCI with its deep pockets, SS would probably not have survived the Covid shutdown. Especially since it is possible that Manfredi sold the first tranche to RCI because he was already a bit over-extended with the new ship orders (I don't know that for a fact but have heard suggestions that it was so). I for one am very glad that my favourite cruise line is still sailing at all, even with some modifications, and I'm very excited to be boarding the Nova in a couple of days to enjoy finding out all about her.

The other posters are quite correct, it is all domestic travel but your concern about an ESTA being denied seems extreme - if you got it once, unless you have indulged in criminal activity since, the chance of it being denied is slim to none. And if an ESTA was denied for reason, your chances of getting a visa are less than slim to none.

But why wouldn't you renew your ESTA anyway? Do it right now, it's quick, cheap, and simple, then you won't have any anxieties. You don't have to wait for it to expire to get a new one, I think it's only $20. Make sure you go to the official US Gov website so you don't get ripped off with extra fees from the 'ESTA agency' sites. https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

And even when they are in evidence on My Silversea, once you board they may be on completely different nights. I'm boarding the Nova in a week and the bow ties are currently visible on My Silversea, it'll be interesting to see what actually happens. And Hi Ron - love the bow tie but not sure I'd drink something such a fluorescent yellow.

Dawn Feb '24 it was definitely done one lunchtime in La Terrazza ... but I don't think it was advertised well, if at all, I only found out because I happened to go to La T for lunch - it was a big spread but the queues were long, it was a bit of a pain if you're not interested in crabs and suchlike.

In Lisbon it can vary a bit depending on which terminal it is - there are two. There's the main one which is the first one you come to as you go up the Avenida Inf D Henrique - a big building you go up the escalators to check in upstairs - I haven't had to wait there for more than a few minutes. There is the little one further along the road, a single story building where I have had to wait for half an hour or more before check in starts. I leave my hotel by noon and walk up there so I guess I'm usually there by 12.30pm or earlier. In Lisbon, I expect to be on the Pool deck with a champagne by 1pm.

This is nothing new. While in Skagway on a cruise many years ago, I bought a piece of polished agate in the Alaska shop, which advertised that all their goods were locally made. It had a Made in Alaska sticker on it but when I peeled the sticker off after I got home (I don't like stickers) hidden underneath was a Made in Brazil sticker. Ah well, I wrote it off to experience - it was inexpensive and at least it wasn't Made in China - no, it didn't have a concealed third sticker! I still have it, it is an attractive paper weight, but I look at it every day and it reminds me ...

It's all electronic these days Ron, maybe look on the app? Or the TV. I haven't had a paper one for several cruises now.

Looks like parsley under poor lighting ...

Since all the waitlisted cruises follow a Doha to Athens cruise, my guess is that dates and itineraries may be changing. The Doha one through the Red Sea is still showing available but I can’t think who in their right mind would book it.

The OP is talking about Kona which is on the Big Island and is a tender port. It's a small town with a few things to see.

No. But a chaotic boarding process in Barbados is absolutely typical. That’s Barbados, not SS. Happy sails Spins and Dr L.

But the vegetarian offerings appear to be much more interesting. What an improvement.

Yes, the regular wifi is just for one device but as stated it's not much to pay to add a second device. You get either four or six devices on the premium (can't remember), for the $20 per day full voyage or $30 per 24hrs. No extra payment required.

Nasty little letter. Simple solution. Everyone completely ignore it. File it immediately in the trash.

Some high bandwidth sites inc. places like YouTube are blocked on the regular wifi. It's good enough for email and basic web browsing and doing photos as Dr Ron said (if you have the patience) but I always buy the premium because I don't like being irritated by the inability to access a site or if the speed is too slow to make it worthwhile. Many would disagree with that but it's my holiday, my choice, I want to enjoy rather than be irritated. One thing to consider - if you buy the premium for the whole voyage at the start, it's about $20 per day. Thereafter it's about $30 per day.

11.30am would be just fine - the next day. Why ruin the end of your cruise worrying about making an early flight? Which IMO is far too early. I increasingly frequently allow an extra day at the end of cruises and find that I enjoy the afternoon and evening visiting wherever it is, then have a relaxed journey to the airport the next morning. It's just so much more enjoyable. And no worries about the ship docking late or immigration being slow to clear or whatever else might happen to slow disembarkation.