jpalbny

Wishing you safe and easy travels to Reykjavik, and a restful cruise aboard one of our favorite ships!

Great pictures! Thanks for posting.

I think I'm looking at it the same way. I just tried to explain it without going into excruciating detail. For my next cruise, #3, without the status match we both would have been a Major. Thus we would have received 5% off and E50 OBC per person. With the status match we both will be a Grand Admiral so instead, we will get 10% off and E150 OBC per person. So that's an extra 5% off and an extra E100 per person for cruise #3, above and beyond what we would get without the status match, which is what I based this statement upon. Maybe I should have said ADDITIONAL benefits? Above and beyond what we'd ordinarily get based on our real status? I tried to do the same math for the cruises up until #7 at which point we'd make Grand Admiral on our own without the status match, so at that point it becomes irrelevant and of no extra value, since then we will have earned that status and benefits and will have caught up to the status match.

And every time we've been cruising to a destination where we've needed to show passports anywhere, Silversea has given them back to us for just that purpose. It's not like they lock them up and throw away the key. I've also had to borrow them from time to time mid voyage when we're off on our own DIY excursion in some port and need to rent a car, for example. It's never been a problem.

Exactly. And I agree, it's really a nice offer. Like you, we have only done 2 Ponant cruises so we'll have to book 18 more before reaching Commodore status. And it's tricky to figure out your benefits exactly, since on your "level up" booking you don't get the discount on that booking, but you do get the on-board benefits. For instance - when you book your second cruise, you don't get the "Major" discount of 5% on the booking, but you become a Major immediately AFTER booking, so you DO get the benefits of free laundry and the €50 OBC pp when you actually TAKE that second cruise. And you now get the Major discount when you book cruise #3. Which we haven't done, yet. But since we now have Grand Admiral benefits, we'll get extra benefits on cruise #3 (extra €100 OBC x2, and extra 5% off on the booking) as well as #4 (Extra €50 OBC x2 and extra 5% off on the booking) and #5/6 (Extra €50 OBCx2, and extra 2.5% off), and #7 (Extra 2.5% off). It's confusing but I think I've figured that correctly... After we book our 7th cruise we would have reached Grand Admiral status anyway so it will be a wash after that for the on-board benefits of cruise #7 and any subsequent bookings. But they will still be giving us €500 in OBC, plus discounts on 5 cruises, so I'm happy to have that.

Yes. And every other cruise line I've ever been on has, as well. SOP for most cruises, including every cruise I've ever taken from 1992 up to June of this year.

Great architectural details, Lirio! I like doing that too. Here is another one from Dubrovnik - inside the Rector's Palace, this railing is attached to the wall by a hand!

Looking forward to your impressions of Le Bellot. That was our first Ponant ship, two years ago, for our Corsica trip. We really liked the ship. Your experience on a North American itinerary, marketed to North Americans, may not be representative of their "regular" sailings. I think someone else reviewed this type of sailing last year on these boards and said something to that effect. I have not found the WiFi to be as terrible as the previous poster - it can be hit or miss but I was able to upload pictures during both trips without too much hassle. At times it was slow and there were errors, upload failures, etc... but eventually it worked. Agree that the connection would not be fast or reliable enough for videoconferencing, and it's definitely not as fast as my cell network when I get a land-based connection. I thought I ran some speed tests on board but I can't find them now so I must not have saved the screenshots. But it's free (included at no extra cost) so you get what you pay for.

Thanks for posting despite the slow internet. Looking forward to your pictures when bandwidth allows!

LOL. Sadly, yes. 20 hours each way plus a 3+h drive to/from JFK on each end would make about 46 hours of travel time. That would barely leave time for lunch!

It's hard to predict - agree w/ carefreecruise. If it's a port that they are familiar with they might add excursions quickly but if it's uncharted territory - who knows. Keep checking. Silversea's web presence can be clunky and unpredictable; fortunately, the onboard experience is much better.

Wow! You will have a great time with Ron and Ann. Very envious that we can't join you. Bali is just a little far for a quick weekend trip!

Looking forward to your report! We're hoping to take a Kimberly cruise with Silversea next year.

Agree! Sintra is an easy DIY from Lisbon. Just grab a train from Rossio and you're there.

Hope your cruise went well! Yes, the disorganization here is giving me flashbacks to two years ago when I tried to apply for the "passe sanitaire" for a trip to France. They delayed processing my application so long, that I had already returned from my trip when they got to it. SMH.

As in, les petites pierres de Gaul? Too late for the other ones...had that useless thing out 20 years ago.

Why not; I usually gain one anyway.

Me too!

Always an adventure! Those last 5 miles are a nail-biter. Lois, have a restful day in London and looking forward to your onboard reporting tomorrow!

They always are, but I solve that problem by putting the fries on the stone after I "cook" the steak (about one minute per side). The stone is plenty hot still after I'm done with it so the fries stay nice and crispy even if it's cold out.

Here you are: https://www.calameo.com/read/000132423cc2631e3cc7f?authid=kxkX8RGSXX3s Will also try to attach the file directly.ponant_status_match_EN (5).pdf

Albany is on the way, Davey. Hope you drop in!

Since we're talking about a thesaurus, I was using the real definition (upset), not the slang definition (unperturbed).

I was nonplussed.

Yes, I agree with you on that. But, marketing "sometimes" isn't exactly reality... The term "exclusive" is theirs, not ours. Maybe I should have said: As we all know, one way to generate demand is to make something seem "exclusive."