Woodrowst

3 hours ago, shipsmail said:

We have booked a cruise on the S. Endeavor mid April. But we still cannot see, what hotel is included pre-cruise?

Any experiences, what Hotel Silversea is using?

Perhaps we are on the same Endeavor cruise:  Edinburgh to Portsmouth departing April 20?   SS is using two hotels for the pre-cruise night: the Sheraton and W.  It is curious that when you log into your account the  SS website only shows pictures of the hotels and does not name them.  But I did get an email from my TA about 10 days ago telling me that my wife and I had a room at the Sheraton.  You can ask your TA or call Silversea to find out whether you are booked at the Sheraton or the W.

There is a cruisecritic roll call for our cruise, so feel free to check it out.

David 

I would encourage you to book in advance.  I was on the Venture this summer and did not feel that I had enough information before boarding to make an informed decision about paying for a kayak trip.  They gave us a full lecture about the kayak adventure onboard and it became clear that this was a unique experience.  The problem was by that time almost all of the slots were taken.  I was lucky to grab one of the few remaining times.  I wish they had made a YouTube video that could be seen in advance similar to what was presented on the ship.  It was a great activity and I felt it was worth every penny.

22 hours ago, shepherd really said:

I'm on Marina right now, going from 90 degree heat, down to 31 degrees cold and back up to 90 degrees in a few days, all in temperature controlled comfort.  I also have good vision and can see what the ship looks like, so these observations and claims all come down to, for me;

 

Who am I going to believe, them or my lying eyes?

Why do you feel the need to set up an us vs. them situation?  It can be both.  We experienced that this summer on the Nautica.  Our assigned cabin was unbearably hot and Oceania was nice enough to move us to another cabin.  The second one had working air conditioning and the temperatures were just fine.  Same ship same sailing.  If I had been forced to stay in the first cabin I would have rightfully complained that the cabin was unbearable.  If I had started out in the second cabin I would have said that I had no complaints.  Why can’t both be right?

22 minutes ago, EbonyJ said:

Hi everyone.  Looking for some advice for those of you who have booked flights via Seabourn.  

 

We will be disembarking Seabourn Quest in Montreal and our flight home is at 11pm.  Has anyone had experience of how Seabourn will handle this on the day?  E.g.  Do they use a day room at an airport hotel?  Would there be somewhere to store luggage?    

 

We are trying to work out if we should try and get an earlier flight or if we should make private arrangements to get to the airport and book a private excursion.  

 

Any suggestions or advice most welcome. 

We were in a similar situation in Buenos Aires coming back from the Venture in Antarctica.  Seabourn has chartered a plane from Ushuaia that landed in B.A. at 1:00pm.  Seabourn took those of us who had late night flights and had booked air through Seabourn out to dinner at a very nice restaurant.  They got us back to the airport at 5:00pm.  Of course I do not know if my situation applies to your Montreal disembarkation but it does show that in at least some situations Seabourn makes provisions for late departures for those who booked at through the cruise line.  To know for sure you may want to ask your TA to check with Seabourn.

23 hours ago, markandjie said:

 

If spa services are important to you then I would recommend pre-booking them. Worst case scenario you will have to change or cancel them, but at least you have the slot. The expedition team will also work with you to put you in a different color group if your original group conflicts with your appointment, assuming your appoint will not start or will conclude with enough time to make it work.

 

 

I definitely wasn't clear, as that's not my point at all. In fact it's the exact opposite. My issue is that the ship (specifically Hotel and F&B) IS on a specific schedule and they are not always sufficiently flexible (or perhaps do not appear to be) to accommodate expedition activities.

 

Case in point: we had a hosted dinner the same night as the polar plunge. Due to the impressive volume of passengers who took the leap the briefing for that evening was delayed. We attended the briefing and then when we arrived at dinner we learned the officers and some guests had been waiting for us (and others) for 30 minutes because they did not move back the group dinner time to accommodate the change in briefing time.

I guess my original statement still stands.  Things changed and you had to decide between the polar plunge and a hosted dinner.  That happens on expedition cruises.   I signed up for kayaking on the Venture and then they announced that morning that there would be a special champagne celebration on the zodiacs at the same time.   So I had to choose between the kayaking and the zodiac (I chose the kayak).  It was no big deal.  It would have been unrealistic and privileged of me to expect the ship to change the time of either activity so that I could do both.  So my point stands:  Expedition cruising requires the willingness to be flexible.

57 minutes ago, markandjie said:

This is one of my biggest frustrations with the Seabourn Ventures product...the ship operates on its own rhythm without much regard for the timing of Ventures activities. That means at times that you'll miss breakfast or lunch because of the timing of your zodiac ride, for example. Or that there's little advanced information on when you can/should book spa appointments to avoid conflicting with an excursion. Where they do accommodate and offer an earlier breakfast or later lunch it always feels like a last minute heroic adjustment rather than, you know, the thing they should have done in the first place. Hoping this changes, because otherwise it's a fantastic experience.

That is the nature of expedition cruising regardless of the cruise line.  If having everything on a specific schedule is important to you (and it is to many people), then expedition cruising may not be for you.

19 hours ago, CTCruiser76 said:

A little background, we are in our upper 40’s and have been loyal to Royal/Celebrity cruisers for a number of years, but based on recent cruise experiences, we are ‘looking around’ at other cruise lines for summer 2025.

We would like to go to Bermuda, but due to work obligations, we cannot go until June or after. While searching other lines, I found Oceania travels to Bermuda in July of 2025.

 

The O ship that travels to Bermuda is the Insignia. It holds around 670 passengers which seems VERY small from what we are used too. We are concerned that this ship will be very boring for us, even though we are not ‘party animals’ by any means. Also, the room sizes seem very small. We tend to spend a lot of time in our room/balcony reading and relaxing and the concierge class staterooms are around 200 sqft with a very small bathroom and shower.

 

We are considering a PH room, but its 3k more than the deal we can get on the Concierge level room. We are not sure if the room size justifies the 3k upcharge?

 

Current O line cruisers, can you help us decide if we should take a chance on this small ship and get out of our ‘comfort zone’?

 

Tell us why O and its small ship experience is superior to the larger mainstream cruise ships. 

 

Thanks!!

It is a quieter experience and that quietude is valued by those on board.  So if you value non-stop entertainment then an Oceania R class ship is not for you.  Here is my handy-dandy (absurdly reductionist) test:  Can you thoroughly enjoy sitting within 15 feet of and listening to a string quartet?  If the answer is no, that may also indicate that an Oceania R ship is not for you.  But if the answer is yes, why not give it a try? That is really the only way you are going to find out and it may expand your travel horizons. 

If I needed four cabins I would not book a cruise waitlisted.  I would pick a cruise where I had secured specific cabins.  Booking four cabins waitlist means you have to play the odds and so have to ask yourself:  Do you feel lucky?  I would not want that kind of anxiety and I would not want to have to deal with being told close to boarding that one or more of the cabins were not available.  Sure, you or your TA can call and get an idea of where you are on the list. But it is no guarantee since others with preferential status may sign up after you do (i.e. it is not necessarily first come, first served).  
 

In summary:  Why create this level of anxiety and uncertainty?  Since there are so many cruise lines and cruises out there, why not find one you like that has four cabins available at your price point?

23 hours ago, JPH814 said:

Regarding number 1: Yes, you can ask your steward once on board.  But on check in day the stewards are busy and have many duties to perform.  That is why Seabourn provides a very simple checklist on the website where you have to register before your cruise.  You can tell them what kind of liquor, wine, soft drinks whatever you prefer and it will be stocked before you arrival.  Do the crew and fellow passengers a favor and use this simple option

As with others I could never find this on the website when I took a cruise on the Venture last month.  My steward asked us what libations we wanted stocked during his first contact.  I asked for Jameson and felt a little guilty when he provided a 750 liter bottle. I just wanted a few drinks and there was no way I was going to drink anywhere near that much in 12 days.  I probably should have just ordered from one of the bars when I wanted a drink.

8 hours ago, Aussieflyer said:

The South Island is more picturesque.

With the understanding that my three week tour did not go everywhere, I would agree that the South Island is more picturesque and I would spend most of my time there.  From my experience, the major reason I would go to the North Island is to visit Rotorua.  The Māori culture is more prevalent on the North island and Rotorua gives you a chance to have an immersive experience with this fascinating indigenous people.  Rotorua also has huge bubbling mud pits to see (and smell ☺️).  I would say Rotorua was a highlight of our NZ trip but I would also say that about every other place we visited.  What an incredible country.

PS:  As an older person, I appreciated that NZ has free public bathrooms everywhere.  There is never a problem finding one. They are well maintained, and some even sing to you!

5 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Very helpful.   The time of year may be the overriding factor for us and its good to hear the positive comments on #2.

 

Thanks Woodrowst, my initial thought was to do a land based trip to both Australia and New Zealand.  Its just too many stops and geographical distance for our taste.  Thats just our own perference.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

I certainly respect your decision.  Let me say just one more thing and then I will be quiet.  In terms of stops and geographic distance in a land tour of NZ:  New Zealand was the one and only place I did not mind driving between stops.  The scenery is so magnificent that I could spend two hours just staring outside the window.  I have never said that about any other place I have visited.

On 2/13/2024 at 5:16 PM, RetiredandTravel said:

We also plan on spending time in Sydney.. Your help is greatly appreciated

 

#1 - Sydney > Auckland (Nova)

 

https://www.silversea.com/destinations/australia-new-zealand-cruise/sydney-to-auckland-sn250105016.html

 

#2 - Auckland > Melbourne (Nova)

 

https://www.silversea.com/destinations/australia-new-zealand-cruise/auckland-to-melbourne-sn250121016.html

 

 

 

I hope you don’t mind if I provide a contrarian view.  My wife and I love to cruise and have taken dozens of them.  But if you really want to see New Zealand I would recommend doing what we did - take a land tour.  New Zealand has an incredibly diverse topography and you will only get a small sliver of it with destinations near the sea.  You really need to go to the interior (preferably on both the North and South Island) to do justice to this breathtaking country.  My wife and I took a tour from Aukland in the north to Dunedin in the south.  We still were able to get out in the sounds as we took a ferry from the north to the south and took a small boat cruise on Milford sound. Milford sound is not to be missed and the local tour boats get you in much deeper than a cruise ship can.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program☺️

37 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

If they're going to charge more for "Antarctica" they ought to provide it -- or a refund making the cruise cost the equivalent of the S.A. sailings. 

 

 

 

This type of statement is what is confusing me.  The South Shetland Islands are close to the Antarctica peninsula and provide the same scenic cruising experience.  So exactly why is this change a problem?

11 hours ago, edgee said:

No exaggeration, except for the lack of advance notice, this move by NCL ranks right up there with the corporation's reniging on promise to refund guests booked on significantly altered infamous Riviera Red Sea cruise.

I have been to both the Antarctic peninsula and the nearby Shetland Islands and I don’t get it.  I am sure the penguins can tell the difference, but for the layperson both are indistinguishable from each other.  Same penguins, seals, whales, icebergs and beautiful vistas.  They are both wonderful places to do scenic cruising.  Plus, the change allows more time in the Falklands which is also fantastic.  So exactly what is the big deal about substituting cruising the Shetland Island for cruising the Antarctic peninsula?  Is it for bragging rights to say that you have been above the Antarctic circle?  That might not have happened anyway - not all of the Antarctic peninsula lies within the circle.

On 1/12/2024 at 4:24 AM, MillyDM said:

Hello @Lvntrvl

I'm sure that all of the ships that are used for Antarctica cruises are special vessels built for ice and rough seas.

 

 

The ships built specifically for ice and rough seas are generally those that do landings in Antartica.  Drive by ships are typically the same vessels used for more typical sailings in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and elsewhere.  While these ships are usually bigger than expedition ships, they also typically have a shallow draft making them susceptible to the same physics that makes a rubber ducky bob like a cork.  Stabilizers may help offset the left to right bobbing, but the disadvantage in rough seas of a shallow draft more than offsets any advantages of a larger ship.  I would rather be in the Drake passage on a smaller purpose-built expedition ship than a larger ship that is meant for other areas of the world.

35 minutes ago, toseaornottosea said:

As a general rule, weather and sea conditions allowing, you have 2 zodiac trips each day.  One a landing where you get out of the zodiac and walk around and the other a zodiac cruise.  Those are included at no extra cost.  Then there are kayak trios and submarine trips.  Both of them are extra cost. I don't recall the cost of the kayak trips but the sub trip cost $1,000.  Both of them also subject to weather and sea conditions as to go or no go.  Weather, wind and sea conditions determine everything on an Antarctic cruise so be prepared that schedules can and most likely will change.  Just go with the flow.

Toseaornottosea is quite right; Antarctica excursions on the two Seabourn expedition ships consist of zodiac rides and landings.  There are no charges for either and you do not sign up before boarding the ship.  The only excursions that cost money are the submarine rides and the kayaks.  T…..a has given the submarine charge. It should be noted that you won’t see fish or mammals when in the submarine.  The focus is on flora and wildlife (e.g. sponges, starfish) growing on the sea floor.  This focus is made clear on board but not so much when people sign up prior to sailing.  As a result, many are disappointed that they, “didn’t see anything”.  
In terms of  Kayaking, I was charged $200 for the kayak in Antarctica on the Venture last month.  It was really neat to be that close to the water.  It also gives you bragging rights to be able to say you kayaked in Antarctica.  This bragging right is much warmer than the polar plunge “I swam in Antarctica” bragging right. ☺️ 

In addition to the excellent recommendations you have received to your post, your cruise lines should have a suggested list for their Antarctica cruises.  A google search works well, too.

21 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Silver Whisper is currently in New Zealand.  How do you envision Silversea changing this into a Greek Isles cruise by 20 March?

My statement was a generic one made without knowing the position of any ship.  Of course I have no specific knowledge of the specific port changes they could make.  Another possibility is that the cruise is essentially turned into a cruise to nowhere and spends most of its time at sea - that has also occurred with some lines.  I guess this could turn into a game of port/cruising roulette…..

SS may be deciding on alternate ports rather than cancelling the cruise.  A number of cruise lines have turned their Middle East cruises into Greek isles cruises. And some have refused to give refunds or even discounts when doing so saying that their contract states they can change ports at any time, even if it changes the entire nature of the cruise.  
 

I do hope they cancel the cruise rather than turning it into one you would not have booked in the first place.  Good luck.

I was on the Venture a few weeks ago.  The fitness center is a compact space that has the basics. Compared with my experience with bigger small ships such as Oceania and Crystal, the major difference is that it has fewer lower body machines. The view is lovely, although some equipment faces a solid wall.  There is an underutilized studio space for exercise classes down the hall that in hindsight might have been better utilized to expand the main workout space.

One of the things I appreciated was that the fitness center on the Venture was open 24/7.  I believe this was the first ship I have sailed on with such expansive access.

28 minutes ago, westmount said:

Thank you fellow travelers , I know a mess when it’s coming . I’ll change to a later flight or next day , life is too short to play with fire for no reason 

Westmount 

As the Templar Knight said in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:  You have chosen wisely 🙂

2 hours ago, westmount said:

My Flight would be at 445 PM and was worried, as a rep from Seabourn mentioned arrival at 5 pm , which didn't really make sense unless the incoming passengers flew down late morning. I gather the flights down are early morning then.

Westmount 

We disembarked the Venture a few weeks ago and our flight back from Ushuaia landed at EZE in B.A at 2:30pm.  That leaves you 2H15M to make your flight.  In many airports that will work but due to our experience I would not count on it.  I had heard about the nightmare that is EZE and it was confirmed.  I have traveled internationally to over 60 countries in my career and I can honestly say that the Buenos Aires airport was the worst I have ever experienced.  Besides the noise and chaos, there are myriad time gobblers.  First, you do not deplane at a gate.  The charter flight from Ushuaia lands out on the tarmac and you need to take a bus to the terminal.  That takes time.  Then, the baggage handlers take-how should I say it-a laid back approach and it takes a greater than usual time to get your bags at baggage claim.  Then you have to carry your bags to the international terminal for check in.  That takes time.  The check in was pure chaos with an endless line.  We were in business class and it still took us 2 hours to get our bags tagged.  Then you have to go through security, another chaotic experience.  There is no such thing as a fast pass lane as with many countries; you just have to wait it out.   Then, for whatever reason I still can’t fathom, they put you through an emigration line that checks your passport the same way that immigration did when you arrived in Argentina. This line took us 45 minutes to get through.    Then you have find your gate and it could be a 15 minute walk.

Having the experience I did, if I wanted a 4:45pm flight I would take a hotel room and fly out the next day.  Or take a later flight giving myself 3.5+ hours to make the connection.

14 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Some folks believe rules don’t apply to them.   Until the rules are enforced. They will continue to ignore them.

Here is an alternate perspective.  I asked the Seabourn staff in Buenos Aires if I could take my roller board with me on the plane.  They told me it was no problem.  I was fully prepared to check it if they told me not to carry it on board.  So I was indeed following the rules by carrying my roller board on the plane.

32 minutes ago, hoosier74 said:

I have a question about cold weather gear.  I've looked at the list and assessed what we have and what we might need.  When we were in Greenland/Iceland, the shop had a good stock of the Helly Hanson gear.  We have a good amount of OBC and I'm wondering if we might be able to use of it to get the some gear on the ship.  I know the shop is smaller on the expedition ships.  Does it still stock some of the gear?

A quick question:  Do you really want to take the chance that the onboard store might be out of stock with gear that you want?  It does happen.  You are spending a fortune (as my wife and I did) to have an incredible experience.  Do you want to try and save 1% or less of that amount by taking the risk of not bringing warm weather gear on board.  As Clint Eastwood once said:  Do you feel lucky?  Just a thought….

11 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

And don't get me started on that waste of space for a pool and a bunch of loungers!

I wonder if I can get a discount for embarkation boarding with the luggage bins rather than having to pay for the gangway….