commodoredave

Well said. Like you, we have been moving towards more land based vacations and will continue to do so. Cruising will still be part of the mix in future, but a smaller percentage of it.

When I choose a land resort over a cruise (and I spend more time in land resorts each year than cruising), I avoid all-inclusive. On land, I like the ability to eat at different restaurants, drink at my favourite bars, and enjoy a variety of local entertainment venues. And I find the quality of all these to be superior to cruise ships. What I cruise for is the itinerary and the ability to see multiple places in one trip, without having to pack and unpack, and to do so in comfort. While this makes it difficult to do direct value comparisons, there is a limit to what I am willing to pay for a vacation, and some luxury cruises are beginning to stretch that limit.

I agree 100%. And I have almost always been able to book top resorts at prices below those referenced above.

Let me know if I should bring some strawberries aboard tomorrow for you! We arrived Yokohama yesterday and look forward to boarding Wednesday. Will you be staying onboard for the next leg, and if so, can I buy you a drink!!

True to a point. However, the financial losses caused by Covid are still being paid for by all cruise lines.

Agree. It’s one reason I have booked my Antarctic cruise with Seabourn.

Agree about pricing in Antarctic. It depends on itinerary. The longer 21-day or so voyages that include Elephant Island can be that expensive. But the shorter 10 - 12 day voyages are usually half the price.

I look forward to reading it. We are always interested in expanding our cruise horizons.

Good point. And that’s one ship I plan to try soon.

While your point is valid about some of the ships carrying more pax than SD and therefore having more voters, it doesn’t explain why Emerald, which carries the same number of pax is ranked so much higher than SD.

PS- Emerald carries the same number of pax as SeaDream, yet ranks 1st versus 9th best for SD. So while your point is valid for the larger ships on the list, it doesn’t explain why Emerald ranks better.

The secret to enjoying different types of experiences is to have an open mind, ample curiosity and a desire to get outside one’s comfort zone. We do have a handful of favourite cruise lines, but we like to complement them with a new experience every year or so. This year was Explora. Next year is Emerald. And I hope more to come!

For what it’s worth, her is the list of Top 10 small ship cruise lines in 2023 as selected by readers of Conde Nast Traveler: Small ships (Fewer than 500 passengers) 10. Variety Cruises. Score 86.75 9. SeaDream Yacht Club. Score 89.66 8. Silversea. Score 89.93 7. Seabourn. Score 91.34 6. Ponant. Score 91.45 5. Windstar Cruises. Score 91.87 4. Sea Cloud Cruises. Score 91.94 3. American Cruise Lines. Score 92.88 2. Paul Gauguin Cruises. Score 92.94 1. Emerald Cruises. Score 95.27

Just received this notice of a change to an excursion. At least this one sounds like an improvement:

I have found these 3 notices from Silversea of excursion cancellations: SM240403014 / 04/04/2024 / Japan / Shimizu / SMZ-G – Steam Locomotive Experience & Wooden Bridge on Guinness Book Thank you for your interest in the excursion SMZ-G – Steam Locomotive Experience & Wooden Bridge on Guinness Book, operating in Shimizu, Japan on 04/04/2024. We regret to inform you that due to operational challenges, this shore excursion has been cancelled. The booking has already been removed from your account and no further action is needed. We invite you to log into MySilversea to choose another shore excursion from our tour program. SM240403014 / 04/07/2024 / Japan / Hiroshima / HIJ-M – Taste of Hiroshima Thank you for your interest in the excursion HIJ-M – Taste of Hiroshima , operating in Hiroshima, Japan on 04/07/2024. We regret to inform you that due to operational challenges, this shore excursion has been cancelled. The booking has already been removed from your account and no further action is needed. We invite you to log into MySilversea to choose another shore excursion from our tour program. SM240403014 / 04/09/2024 / Korea, Republic of / Busan / BUS-C – Korean Cuisine Thank you for your interest in the excursion BUS-C – Korean Cuisine, operating in Busan, Korea, Republic of on 04/09/2024. We regret to inform you that due to operational challenges, this shore excursion has been cancelled. The booking has already been removed from your account and no further action is needed. We invite you to log into MySilversea to choose another shore excursion from our tour program.

My cancelled excursions have been removed from the list of those available, so can no longer be booked, at least for the foreseeable future or at no cost. When I have time, I will go back through my records to find the exact excursions that were cancelled and report back. Until then, everyone is in the same boat (excuse the pun) for this spring. Next year, who knows.

If you booked an excursion that was cancelled, you will get an email telling you. There may be more cancelled excursions than the 4 I know about as I only received notification of mine.

Ours went only to my wife's email address, and she didn't see it for a week.

Today we received notice from SS of the cancellation of yet another shore excursion on our upcoming cruise in Japan which starts in 9 days. This is the 4th excursion for us that has been cancelled on this cruise in the last 3 months. Having to find a last-minute replacement for a cancelled excursion is hard enough, especially since the most popular ones tend to sell out within a few weeks of opening up for booking. But try to find a decent replacement with just 9 days to go! Are we just unlucky, or is this (cancelling shore excursions) becoming more commonplace with SS? What about the other luxury lines that include them?

Thanks for the helpful information.

Thanks so much for this great information.

Yes. And since I will be sailing out of NYC in late June, I will stay in Midtown then and be able to walk almost every where we want to go.

Plus, we don’t arrive until 5:00 pm and have to board our ship in Bayonne no later than 2:30 the next day.

No interest this time in visiting NYC. Been there many times and will be there again in June.

Good advice. Thanks much!