conchyjoe

I don’t really think it matters very much whether they are “aspirational rich” or really rich. We do enjoy cruising but there are also so many and varied ways to get better value for your money outside of purely cruising, compared with the new Silversea price points. Fortunately our next SS cruise was booked over a year ago and is at the old prices for a Silver Suite. We will see what happens after that.

I noticed the same huge increases for a 2024 New England cruise. Typically we budget at around $10,000 pp for a 10 day cruise in a Silver Suite. Now it seems SS are quoting around $17,000 pp for a 10 day cruise (port to port).

I remember the premium soaps in 2012-2013 so just a few years ago. Would much prefer if they reinstated feather pillows rather than premium soaps which I can easily pack if desired. Packing firm goose down pillows is a pain, but we did it on our last Seabourn cruise since they are no longer available through housekeeping.

Aaaah

The good old days

Have a look at the website Stormsurfing.com

And Nara, along with Kyoto.

Everything in the bathroom is from Molton Brown so you should be able to check with them regarding allergen info. My DW is allergic to PEG and did check their website awhile back to confirm product info on bar soap and has not had any problems on cruises since. Just Google “Molton Brown allergen” and you will get tons of info.

As many above have commented, you really have to be prepared for anything just as you have to for the Chilean fjords. We did the complete trip from Copenhagen to North Cape and back in the month of June and the weather was generally very good. Some days were quite “warm” and very pleasant. On June 23rd we were sitting out on our veranda at midnight in dressing gowns and sunglasses as we headed north. Two days later as we reached North Cape in the early morning it was foggy and drizzle. You just never know.

Although I can’t say that I have consciously noticed a bottle behind the bars, I cannot believe that they wouldn’t have some as it’s a pretty common ingredient in so many drinks and coffees.

You won’t be disappointed, Seabourn is still very good and much better than the mainstream lines. Enjoy it while you can.

You will still have fun on Seabourn, the service standards certainly slipped a little due to Covid staffing issues but seem to be back closer to historical normal now. Deck crowd seemed full complement and were hard at work on our last trip in September. But what do I know, only have ONC, N.Sc. 😊

My two cents/penny worth … Unfortunately the writing seems to be on the wall for cruise lines like Seabourn, Regent and Silversea. The bulk of their customers (including me) are baby boomers who saved and worked diligently over their working lives to be able to afford cruises that, in their latter lives often cost as much, or more, than the price of a new car. But the fact is that we are all aging and in 20 years the vast majority of Boomers will be gone or incapable of cruising. Will the 35-40 year olds of today, many of whom are perfectly content that their property is mortgaged and they have regular monthly payments on many of their possessions, have the financial resources to afford a luxury cruise or the funds to provide for a comfortable lengthy retirement?

Thank you. You can actually buy an Actv pass online these days via their App which we have done. It then activates upon your first validation but is only valid until the end of the same calendar day so may not be 24 hours as they advertise. No worries since we sail again at 5.00pm. Thanks to all that replied, I think we have it all worked out now.

Thank you all. Since it is an embarkation day I figured out that there would have to be fairly continuous shuttles from Marittima to Fusina. It takes 22 minutes by road.

Seriously now, make sure you have this phone number stored in your cell phone. +47 51 61 70 00 If you twist an ankle on those scrambles or something worse, this is the number you need. Alternative number is 113 but not sure if that will work with non Norwegian cell phones. Have a great time.

Duh, you are right, no cream cheese, could buy that ashore though. Flags can be difficult things, I remember that some guys raised one in South Georgia a few decades back and it caused all sorts of problems 🤣

I highly doubt you will even see Customs when you disembark the ship. Some other food ideas I have been considering (all perfectly legal) are ordering hard boiled eggs, bagels, cream cheese & smoked salmon for room service breakfast. Norwegian petrol stations often have small stores attached. Nut and fruit bars are generally readily available and a whole host of other items. If you take Mr. Luxury advice make sure you buy a Norwegian flag!

I wasn’t suggesting that the OP flaunt their hosts rules. There are many sandwiches and pastries available onboard that do not contain meat, meat products or dairy and are therefore perfectly OK to take ashore in Norway.

Norway has the fairly normal food import regulations, no meat or meat products, no dairy. That said I would simply go down to Seabourn Square and grab some sandwiches and pastries, wrap them up yourself in some packed Cling Film and head ashore. Most likely answer if you ask the ship for a picnic box is “No”.

We are on a B2B in May which has a mid cruise stop in Fusina. Does anybody happen to know if Seabourn offers a shuttle from Fusina to Venice (or Mestre) for those passengers staying aboard for the next leg of the B2B? Since we will be staying on in Venice for a few days at the end of the second leg we thought our short mid cruise stop would be a good opportunity to learn how the Vaporetto works etc. with a day of self guided discovery and education. Any thoughts from experienced Venetian’s would be appreciated.

It’s a great trip especially if it’s mid-summer and you experience the midnight sun. We did almost the same trip a few years ago on SS and really enjoyed it, all the way up to North Cape and back and a glass of champagne on the balcony bathing in warm sunshine. It is however very much a scenic trip and worthy of lots of pixels but we found the shore excursions and ports to be a bit bland and what really surprised us was that there was little evidence of wildlife on the voyage north other than a few goats on a farm. It’s not Alaska which is what we were expecting but was still very enjoyable. To answer your question, we have used International Medical Group (IMG) in the past but fortunately have never had the need to make a Claim.

They have changed one thing with the Shareholder Benefit that I found out this week. Normally we just have our Financial Advisor send a letter via email rather than send a full brokerage statement. Have done this on all our previous cruises without problem. Now we have been advised by Seabourn that the letter from the Financial Advisor must be dated within 30 days of the cruise departure date and should be submitted no later than 21 days from the date of departure. If you are happy sending them account statements or a proxy card then it’s 3 months before departure date and no later than 21 days prior to departure.

They have changed a lot. Not a chinagraph pencil in sight! It’s all gone digital and very electricity and satellite dependent. Not sure how they would cope if it all goes down.

Markham I would not worry about them. Having lived in the Caribbean for many years I know that laying out in the sun is not a good idea and they will learn their lesson sooner or later.