ak1004

Well, we sailed on Oceania twice already post Covid and both times had a great time. The only negative was lack of activities, everything else (food, service etc) was outstanding. So maybe it's matter of perspective? But if considered food on SS better than O, then I'm not worried..

So why people are willing to pay 30-40% more for SS?

I agree. If we somehow get our visas on time, this will be my first and last visit to India. There is no need to spend my hard earned money in places that clearly have no respect for tourists. Plenty of places to visit.

Thank you. In our case not disembark is not an option because the cruise ends in Mumbai. And we definitely not willing to disembark in the previous port as this would turn a 12 nights cruise into 8 nights cruise..

As we know, there’s always free cheese in a mousetrap, but I never saw a happy mouse there! They really need to stop using the term free, but unfortunately many lines are using this trick. Regent is promoting " FREE FIRST CLASS AIR* on select voyages." Oceania is promoting "FREE - 6 Shore Excursions or FREE - Beverage Package" etc. The correct term is of course "included", but I doubt any of the cruise lines will change it anytime soon. I actually like Oceania pricing structure. You can book cruise only, then add flight, and select beverage package or excursions. As long as you understand that it's not free, it's a good structure.

Well, we are beyond the final payment now and within 60 days prior to sailing, so if we cancel now, we will lose 100% of the payment. Will SS take responsibility for their mistake and allow us to move the money to another booking?

Yes, it's guest responsibility to obtain visas, but SS clearly failed to mention about Canadians and UK nationalities excluded from the e-visa program, so hopefully they won't hide behind T&Cs and will do something to help. Unless they just want to keep our money (it's a group of 12 guests that have this issue, not to mention other guests from Canada and the UK).

We are in Toronto, and they have similar processing times. The problem is that you have to surrender the passports, which means if they don't come back in time, we cannot travel at all. How much did it take you in Vancouver? What happens if we don't have Indian visa? Will SS deny us boarding with no compensation? And yes, the TA really screwed up, but I believe SS also has some responsibility because they didn't mention that Canada and UK are not eligible for e-visa.

On related note, we booked a cruise for next November with D2D booking plus upgrade to business class. Now the D2D fare went down by $800 CAD, but business class upgrade went up by $1,000 CAD. Would it be possible to adjust the D2D only fare and leave the business class upgrade at the previous price?

Hello everyone, This has been mentioned on a few occasions, but I thought it might deserve a separate topic. We are taking a cruise that ends in Mumbai on Dec.20. Our TA advised us that India does not require a visa when transiting, but this seems incorrect. We are a group of 6 couples. Silversea sent us VOYAGE CONFIRMATION where they mentioned that: "E-Visas are accepted for entry into India via 5 designated seaports (Cochin, Goa, Mangalore, Mumbai and Chennai). To obtain an E-Visa for India please apply at https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html" What they failed to mention is that Canadian and UK nationalities are not eligible for e-visa and have to apply to paper visa. And paper visa can take 7-8 weeks. Any advise what we can do?

Very helpful topic. We will be taking our first SS cruise in December, and I really would like to know what to expect. We took 2 cruises on Oceania post Covid, and I didn't notice any difference in quality compared to pre Covid. Those who sailed on Oceania/Azamara and SS, how do they compare? Should we expect a better experience on SS compared to Oceania?

The third link is a third party link, not the official Indian website. The information is not updated. Currently Canadians are not eligible for e-visa, only regular visa. Yes, but BLS are responsible for regular visa, not e-visa. Their processing time is at least 30 days and the cost is significantly higher. We prefer to do e-visa if possible using our other passport, just trying to understand if it's possible or we still need to apply for a regular visa.

It's impossible to reach them. And now we are getting some contradictory information that even if you have a foreign passport, you have to apply for paper visa with the Canadian passport and cannot get e-visa using the foreign passport.

Hello everyone, We are taking a cruise that ends in Mumbai on Dec.20. Our TA advised us that India does not require a visa when transiting, but this seems incorrect. We are a group of 6 couples. Some of us have foreign passports in addition to Canadian passports, so we can apply for e-visa, but one couple has Canadian passports only. India consulate website lists processing times of at least 30 days. Any advise what they can do?

Isn't Russ on the Spirit? https://www.facebook.com/rob.sinclair.921/videos/499756972018827?idorvanity=2090198437727097

Missed ports are part of the game. A 10% discount for a future cruise is actually very generous, we never got any compensation for any missed port. You can never know why certain ports are missed an replaced with other ports - there are dozens of factors impacting those decisions.

Our friends who are elite plus on Celebrity are now on the Edge. They say service and food leaves a lot to be desired, and the entertainment is mediocre as well. There is absolutely no comparison between ships like Celebrity and small ships like SS, Oceania or Azamara. A different league. Makes me laugh when someone says they prefer Celebrity over SS, but of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Looks like the Whisper got pretty bad reviews lately. We are going on our first SS cruise in December on the Spirit, hopefully will be better. Covid became a common excuse for everything those days, but we sailed twice with Oceania in the last year and didn't have any issues.

Hello all, We are looking at the following cruises: https://www.uniworld.com/ca/river-cruise/central-europe/rhine/remarkable-rhine-and-historic-holland/2022-amsterdam-to-basel/day-to-day https://www.amawaterways.ca/destination/europe-river-cruises/2023/enchanting-rhine/itinerary The first one is 10 nights from Basel to Amsterdam on Uniworld River Empress, overnight in Basel and Amsterdam. The second one is on Amawaterways AmaSiena or AmaLucia, 7 nights from Basel to Amsterdam with 2 Nights Zurich, 2 Nights Lucerne Pre-Cruise (total 11 nights). Ama is more expensive per night, which is surprising to me (I was under impression that Uniworld is considered slightly more luxury and more expensive typically). One thing I noticed is that River Empress is a 20 years old ship, whole both Ama ships are brand new. Is it a minus or it doesn't really matter? Any feedback about the companies, the ships, the itinerary etc. would be appreciated.