commodoredave

More like La Damn Rip-off!

Thanks. I believe Seabourn is similar with its Thomas Keller restaurant. Is there any other luxury line out there who chages this much to dine in an alternative restaurant?

Silversea, which proudly boasts to be an all-inclusive cruise line, has just announced an eyewatering increase in upcharges for its La Dame and Kaseiki speciality restaurants. For example, the upcharge at La Dame will increase from its current level of $60 per person to $160 per person -- that's right, $320 per couple to dine in a speciality restaurant! In my view, this may cause some Silversea loyalists to start looking at other ultra-luxury lines -- including Seabourn and Regent.

Can anyone give me an idea of how these new upcharges for the two speciality restaurants compare with what's now available on Regent? I suspect some of us might want to rethink who we will sail with in future.

My first-ever cruise on the QM2 was a similar short itinerary from NY to Halifax. It was horrid and I swore never to sail in the QM2 again. The ship was packed with extended familes with many young children, and since the weather was bad, everyone was crammed into the indoor public areas hogging tables and chairs all day. I would have debarked the ship in Halifax had we been allowed. Fortunately, I tried a trans-Atlantic on the QM2 several years later and the experience was completely different. There were some children on board, but not so many as to take over complete areas of the ship. And the limited children's facilities on the ship were sufficent to keep the children occupied and busy without disturbing others. Sure, if you want to bring children on the QM2, a short 3 or 4-day cruise from NY is the time to do it. But if you want the real QM2 experience, take a longer cruise where the passenger mix will be more appropriate for a grand ocean liner like the QM2.

When I sail with Celebrity, which is not very often, I choose AquaClass cabins rather than the Retreat. I have sailed in Princess Grill several times with Cunard, but only when it was offered for a healthy discounted sale price. I might try the Retreat if it was offered on a sale, but at normal prices it seems a poor value compared to suites on SB or Silversea.

I think you meant to say a can of "service" worms!

Where do I apply to become one of these "elites/$$$"?

But it may have the same effect in terms of fewer ships and fewer passengers visiting the city each year. And that's not a bad outcome.

I agree. The greed and short-sightedness is shared between some ports and cruise lines. Eventually something had to give and we are now beginning to see the consequences.

I think what they mean by restricting river cruises is capping capacity so that only the two of us can sail!

Good point. I recently took a river cruise from Amsterdam and it certainly was a great place to begin or end that type of cruise. However, we did not dock at the main cruise terminal and instead the boat was moored at a tiny dock that was across a bridge and about 10 blocks away from the main terminal. Are you sure that river ships will be part of the ban that will close the main cruise terminal?

This topic is getting lots of attention in the Ports (Europe, Amsterdam) board. Here is what I said there: The intention to ban cruise ships in Amsterdam is part of a growing trend among popular tourist destinations to reduce carbon emissions, reduce daily visitor numbers, make cities more attractive to local residents, and increase the economic value of each visitor (spend). One of the unfortunate aspects of this kind of ban is that it may not distinguish between mega-ships and small ships, or obnoxious visitors and respectful ones. It also doesn't allow for a reduction in daily cruise ship visits to address over-crowding and reduce environmental impact, as they have recently done in Norway and before that in Alaska. This trend will likely continue and may pick up steam as local resentment against tourists grows in some regions. The cruise industry has brought some of this on itself by building ever-bigger mega-ships with too many passengers on them, and sailing too many of them into the same ports on the same days and weeks. The impact at times can be over-whelming to local residents and their environment. Unfortunately, I don't think we cruisers are going to get a lot of sympathy from the general public for this situation. In fact, (excuse the pun), the tide has turned against us. The only saving grace may be that these types of bans and limits may reduce cruise line demand for mega-ships, and increase demand for smaller ships. It may also require spreading out passenger visits to a port and/or region over a longer season, which would reduce over-crowding and make our visits more enjoyable for all. But no matter what new rules are adopted, smart people and companies can and usually do figure out a way to make things work for the benefit of most.

The intention to ban cruise ships in Amsterdam is part of a growing trend among popular tourist destinations to reduce carbon emissions, reduce daily visitor numbers, make cities more attractive to local residents, and increase the economic value of each visitor (spend). One of the unfortunate aspects of this kind of ban is that it may not distinguish between mega-ships and small ships, or obnoxious visitors and respectful ones. It also doesn't allow for a reduction in daily cruise ship visits to address over-crowding and reduce environmental impact, as they have recently done in Norway and before that in Alaska. This trend will likely continue and may pick up steam as local resentment against tourists grows in some regions. The cruise industry has brought some of this on itself by building ever-bigger mega-ships with too many passengers on them, and sailing too many of them into the same ports on the same days and weeks. The impact at times can be over-whelming to local residents and their environment. Unfortunately, I don't think we cruisers are going to get a lot of sympathy from the general public for this situation. In fact, (excuse the pun), the tide has turned against us. The only saving grace may be that these types of bans and limits may reduce cruise line demand for mega-ships, and increase demand for smaller ships. It may also require spreading out passenger visits to a port and/or region over a longer season, which would reduce over-crowding and make our visits more enjoyable for all. But no matter what new rules are adopted, smart people and companies can and usually do figure out a way to make things work for the benefit of most.

New ideas are often much easier to come up with than to effectively implement. I chalk this one up to making their pitch of "Door to Door" possible rather than providing a benefit that customers were clamoring for. In addition, perhaps another way to make a few dollars on the cost of the transfers. As posters in another thread about Blacklane have noted, the company is mainly a broker and contracts out most if not all of their transfer business to other chauffeur companies.

It might be helpful for Seabourn to say something about the Brazil Visa issue to travel agents and/or customers with bookings in Brazil. Initially, my travel agent (a very large firm) advised me that no Visas were necessary for Brazil -- I had to correct them and point them to the correct information. The current uncertainty is causing some people to avoid or cancel cruises to Brazil as some have stated on this forum in the Ports of Call Boards.

As there are only so many places that cruise ships can visit each season, it may be difficult for them to completely drop the Med in future summers. However, cruise lines might just extend the seasons for certain destinations like the Med and spread out the sailings. I've seen this happen with river cruises over the years. In fact, I believe one of the river cruise companies recently announced it was expanding its cruising season in Europe.

Click on the "S" class cabin information forum at the top of this page to find insights about various cabins.

Google directions says Morristown is a 40 minute drive to Cape Liberty. And since we will be arriving at Newark airport and taking a taxi/Uber, I want to be getting closer to Cape Liberty not further away.

Has anyone considered staying in Jersey City which is just a 20-minute drive from Cape Liberty? I want to arrive a night before our cruise, but I would like to stay someone with some ambience and good restaurants without having to go to Manhattan again. Any thoughts?

On my very first Seabourn cruise back in 1994 (pre-Carnival), we had an older woman on board in the top suite who was very wealthy and demanding, and at times plain grumpy. However, she could also be funny at times. One night we were sitting with her and two people from Australia in the lounge talking when she finished her drink. Without looking up, she screamed at the first person to walk by that she wanted another drink, and right away. It turned out to be the Captain, and he replied "yes mam" and immediately went for the drink. When I told her she had just ordered a drink from the Captain, she said "he better get it right this time!"

A grand idea. And if one swallows an oyster that tastes a bit off, just order a vodka martini!

Good decision. We've only been offered paid upgrades twice, and took it that last time. We were very happy with the outcome and price.

In my case, it was the local drivers in Toronto and Lisbon who sent me a text message about an hour before arrival to confirm the ride.

In March we were on the Moon and tried all the restaurants, including Kaiseki twice - once for lunch and once for dinner. Both were disappointing, especially dinner with the upcharge. In contrast, those of you who sailed on the old Crystal may recall how wonderful their sushi bar and Asian restaurant were. That set the bar for us and we have not found anything at sea any better since.