Woodrowst

I do not know why so few are on your cruise. But I do know that the stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to Manaus - the trip most cruise lines take - is considered the most boring part of the Amazon. It gets much more interesting as the river narrows and splits into the Amazon and Rio Negro - where the meeting of waters occurs. You generally need a much smaller boat to go up the rio negro. I took a 12 passenger boat for a week from Manaus up the rio negro and we got very up close and personal with birds, insects, trees, plants, flowers, fish (piranha fishing), and the indigenous population. We bought fish from local fisherman who made their catch within hours of using their canoes to come alongside the boat. We swam in the Rio negro (the piranha get a bad rap and will only attack if they smell blood). We went out in canoes after dark to see Caiman, snakes, spiders, sleeping birds, the amazing night stars, and other things you can only see at night. I guess what I am saying is that maybe there were few passengers because word gets around that a cruise ship that goes from the Atlantic to Manaus is not the best way to see the Amazon; there are better options. Please understand I am not trying to be mean or belittle your choice of cruise. I just want those researching Amazon cruises to have this perspective as part of their research.

Neither the choir nor exclusive use of the Giant’s Causeway was listed in the tour descriptions. They have been trying to delight us and exceed our expectations on a regular basis and usually announce any “above and beyond” a day or two in advance. i have not been on the Dawn or Spirit so do not know if this occurs on both the Silversea expedition and traditional cruises. I am sure there are cruisers on this thread who have and can provide an informed comment.

So with great trepidation I thought I would post another couple of examples of luxury vs premium cruising. Today, our cruise on the Silversea Endeavour stopped in Iona, UK and provided a complementary tour of the Iona Abbey. The above and beyond was that they arranged for a Gaelic choir to provide a concert for us. Just beautiful. Tomorrow we are stopping in Portrush, UK and the ship is providing a tour to the UNESCO heritage site of the Giant’s Causeway. The above and beyond is that they arranged for us to have the site exclusively for the cruise ship; we won’t have to compete with the thousands of daily visitors at the Giant’s causeway. Premium lines such as Oceania do not provide these kind of above and beyonds - at least not on any of the six O cruises I have taken. I am fully prepared for the first response to be: This does not apply to me because I don’t like Gaelic choir music or hexagonal basalt columns ☺️

We are currently on the Silversea Silver Endeavor and have a female butler. Her name is Khai.

Getting back to the core of the thread (Luxury vs premium lines), I’m not sure the issue is need. It really is more about appreciation. The question is whether you appreciate the incrementally elevated level of service provided on a luxury line. I don’t mean to be rude, but unless you have sailed on both levels you really don’t know your answer. As an example, some who have sailed on a luxury line say they feel their butler added substantially to their experience. Some others have said that they did not find that a butler enhanced their experience. And a third group said they did not think a butler would enhance their experience but found after having one that it did. If you have never sailed on Crystal, Seabourn, Silversea, or other luxury line how do you know that you are not in the third group above; those that did not think that they would appreciate the elevated service but after trying it found that they did?

Tell me what is important to you on a cruise and I will be happy to see if I can come up with an example or two of the incremental difference of a luxury vs premium line in the area(s) that matter to you.

My point wasn’t about alcohol. It was about a level of service above and beyond a premium line.

People are always asking for examples of the difference between luxury and premium cruising. We have been on - and enjoyed- many Oceania cruises but are currently on the Silversea Silver Endeavor tootling around Scotland. Silversea is, of course, a luxury line where Oceania is a premium line. That is not to denigrate Oceania in any way - as mentioned we have enjoyed Oceania cruises and will continue to do so. Anyway, at dinner last night the sommelier offered us the complimentary wine of the evening. I asked if he had a Spanish Rioja. On a luxury line they always say yes when they can so he went to hunt down a bottle of rioja and returned with one shortly. Then he left the bottle on the table with me so that I could have as much as desired. That would not happen on Oceania. When I told him I appreciated having the entire bottle he said,”We want to spoil you on your vacation”. I can’t say I have ever heard an Oceania staff member say that. Again, this was not a post against Oceania. It was to give an example of an experience that shows the incremental difference between a luxury and premium cruise line.

We used the old city Dubai self-guided tour available online through GPSmyCity and enjoyed it. GPSmyCity is our go to site for self-guided tours. They have a number of tours Dubai and most other major cities.

We were on the Seabourn Venture to Antarctica in January. If it makes you feel any better (i.e. misery loves company) the Seabourn charter flight got us to Buenos Aires in the early afternoon and our connecting flight was not until nine hours later at 11:15pm. Seabourn took us out to a local restaurant for a very nice early dinner and returned us to the BA airport at 5:30pm. I believe the dinner was only provided to those who booked air through Seabourn. Some who were told they could not join us were upset.

In this day and age one has to differentiate between traditional and expedition cruises. The expedition trips are mostly on the Venture and Pursuit. Expedition voyages are very different animals than the traditional voyages in terms of dress, activities and ambiance. In fact, most of the criticism of expedition cruises I have seen posted on CC revolves around passengers who were not aware of the difference and expected a traditional voyage. Seabourn includes excursions on the Venture and Pursuit, mostly because the out of the way destinations that define an expedition cruise do not have the infrastructure to provide excursions on their own. The classic example is Antarctica. My comments also apply to traditional vs expedition cruises on Silversea.

One of the long standing rules of conventional wisdom has been that if there is a place that you must absolutely visit then a cruise is not the way to do it. Go by land, not by sea.

I haven’t heard “trunk” used for luggage since my sailing on the Titanic. Luckily I had travel insurance, but that is for another discussion.

We were on the Venture this summer to Antarctica. Landings and zodiac rides were fairly brief - 75 minutes at a time. As such, I did not feel the need to take the backpack. The trips were too short to need water or to change layers. I don’t remember seeing many other passengers take backpacks and I suspect those that did used them mostly for photo gear.

With all the posts confirming short distances you now know why they call them landings instead of walks or hikes ☺️

Sounds like a great plan.

Keep in mind that there are substantial luggage limitations for the charter flight from Buenos Aires to/from Ushuaia. Boots are big and take up a lot of that precious space. Most of the people I have heard about who bring their own boots do so for orthopedic reasons. My wife has wide calves and consulted Seabourn about whether to bring her own boots. They told her not to and they were right. When she could not get her calves into the boots they made a small slit at the top that took care of the issue. I was impressed, since they essentially had to throw the boots out after the cruise since they had been cut into and were willing to do so. I found the supplied boots quite comfortable. Are you concerned about an orthopedic issue?

It depends on your definition of hiking but you will at most walk a mile or so at most landings. It can be less. The things to see tend to cluster at and within a short walk of the water. And the boots, while comfortable, aren’t really made for long walks. You land on the Antarctic peninsular for the sensory experience (sight, sound, smell), not for aerobics. Standing next to a penguin and watching it is a lot more fun than walking by it. If what you want is to truly stretch your legs I believe there are boutique lines that will better serve you than Seabourn will.

If you are interested in the kayaking I would book it in advance. I waited until I boarded the Venture and was lucky to get one of the last remaining slots. I thoroughly enjoyed the kayaking and felt it was worth every penny.

I fully agree with MEFlowa. If shopping is your thing, check out authentic shops on land and get a bit of the culture with your shopping experience. Some pre-cruise googling can help locate authentic shops that are often within walking distance of the pier.

I have traveled extensively to the UK. It would be hard to imagine not spending any time in London on my first trip to England, Edinburgh on my first trip to Scotland, Dublin on my first trip to Ireland, or Belfast on my first trip to Northern Ireland. They are all amazing. The good news is that each of these cities have wonderful day trips to smaller towns or rural areas so you can get the best of both worlds. Next month my wife and I have an expedition cruise coming up that spends its time going around the lesser traveled outer Scottish islands. But I would not do that as my first UK cruise.

If you have booked air through Seabourn and have a night flight Seabourn will take you out to a nice restaurant for dinner and return you to EZE at about 5:00pm.

My suggestion would be turn a problem into an opportunity by booking a car/tour guide for the day. Load the luggage in the car, enjoy a tour of Rome, have a nice authentic lunch in the city, and get dropped off for embarkation in the afternoon.

We were in a similar situation this past summer. United had moved our flight up to 11:45am. Everything went like clockwork and we made it with time to spare. I am sure you realize that not everything always goes like clockwork. The biggest problems are if the ship gets delayed in docking which can and does happen and the check in line at the airport - especially if your daughter is in economy. We were in business class and the line was much shorter. We let Oceania know about the early flight time and they let us disembark in the first group. We left the ship at about 8:15am and our bags were available. We had booked transfers with Oceania and the bus left about 8:40am. If you can be one of the first off the ship a taxi or private company will probably save you time. Yes, it is about a 30 minute ride to the Barcelona airport. We got there about 9:15am. It took us about 30 minutes to check in but again we were in business class. I don’t know what the wait time would have been if we were in the main cabin. Barcelona has a fast pass security lane and there was virtually no waiting. I don’t know what the wait would have been through regular security. I believe that anyone can buy a pass through the fast pass lane and your daughter should probably do that. We got to the gate at about 10:30am. Hope this helps. David

Consider doing what many experienced cruisers do - have a nice leisurely lunch on shore (perhaps authentic Cuban in Little Cuba near the ship) and then a nice leisurely boarding between 1:00pm and 2:00pm. It sure beats waiting in a cruise terminal and then trying to get lunch at the same time everyone else is. Just a thought. David