Patti22

You should be able to board by 12:00 and then enjoy lunch on the ship. Enjoy your cruise!

Pop-I,

Please excuse my incorrect spelling of optional. Just a typo. We have never been seated in the far reaches of the MDR when DH is not wearing a tie. Always seated at a window table for two if one is available. The only reason I replied at all was because the OP was new.

PoP-I,

I respectfully disagree. There is no "shunning" on Seabourn. You do not have to have a tie (altho I like them, DH hates them on vacation). Also, kind of harsh suggesting that someone who does not wear a tie go the the Colonnade. Our group went to the Colonnade on one of the formal nights because we wanted to, not because we were not dressed appropriately. Also, "optionable" means just that. There are a million posts regarding this issue.

I bring a very small spray bottle for water and use the hair dryer. In addition to the shower, it works well. Also, the cruise lines we use have a laundry room with irons if need be.

DH has worn black blazer and slacks both with and without tie. He hates ties but will occasionally acquiesce. No problem either way. I normally wear long black skirt and sparkly top. However, we have been told that this would never do on another cruise line which we have considered. Hence, we sail on Seabourn and Regent and are very comfortable on both.

We also stayed in a club room at the Sheraton prior to our Seabourn cruise last summer. The hotel was very nice, reasonably priced, and within easy walking distance of some beautiful areas of Stockholm. Also, just a short cab ride to the cruise terminal

Thank you, Travel Cat 2

I have a request in to United with the Frankfurt question. I should hear something back today and if it is informative, I will post. Patti

Travelcat2,

Have you experienced what I described coming home? Do you travel on United or Lufthansa? I would like to figure out what the variable might be. I believe we will have to go thru Frankfurt next year on Venice to Istanbul and would like to avoid this scenario. Any insight appreciated.

Pepc,

On our last trip thru Frankfurt, we did not have to be rescreened. One trip en route to Istanbul thru Frankfurt, yes we were rescreened.

We normally are flying to US from Frankfurt to change planes and we are on United or Lufthansa. On our last two trips, there was no jetway. Had to walk down long flight of stairs to a bus and then way out on the tarmac to the plane which had very steep stairs to climb to get on the plane. Very difficult with carry-on luggage.

Thanks, TC2

We have just completed our dining reservations and now trying to sort out our house-sitter.

Hi DCP,

As I stated, we have always been asked to give our passports upon checking in on the ship. How else would govt officials be able to check who is on board? We have cruised in Europe several (10) times on both river and ocean cruises. It is normally up to the ship admin to show who is on board and that the appropriate docs are presented. Also, some countries require certain vaccinations before allowing folks off of the ship and those cards are included with the passport We cruise on Regent and Seabourn.

This is off topic, but our last two transfers in Frankfurt have been awful. Had to carry bags down stairs (no elevator), then on a bus and then had to climb up outside air stairs with our carry on bags. I am avoiding Frankfurt in the future.

On Voyager Feb. 1 - can't wait.

In my experience, most of the time the ship keeps all passports so that they can have them available when customs officials come on board. We did keep our passports on recent Stockholm to Copenhagen trip as we were in Russia for three days. They are serious there about having your passport available at all times.

I would not let anyone who is not a government port of entry official stamp anything in my passport. Ran into a really grumpy immigration official in Chicago and he went over almost every stamp!!

We have a wonderful TA. Get OBC and any specials they are offering. Also, we get offers for upgrades (really upsells) from TA also. We often also let the TA deal with the air offers from the cruise line. It is nice to have the personal touch.

I agree with TC2 and rallydave about having a Regent rep on excursions. I have seen these Regent reps help someone who has an injury (with a first aid kit), take someone to the bus who became too tired and also served as the "sheep dog" who made sure that all were back on the bus. Rallydave did a great job of identifying who these people might be and I always appreciate the fact that they have a way to assist with any issues that come up and a way to contact the ship if anything comes up (traffic in several ports in SA).

FKGirl,

You are sailing with our good friends Bill and Martha from Houston. Heard from them yesterday aboard the ship. We are very jealous. Would love to be with all of you. Please post when you can.

Patti

I was excited about the interior changes from the dry dock, but the blue stripe, please, it is really ugly. We board in Sydney on 2/1/14 and will bring our white paint.

JaneBP,

We did experience some of what you mentioned on our July Stockholm to Copenhagen trip in July. For the first week, a group sort of took over the Observation Lounge and were loud. So sorry about what happened to your mother. Inexcusable!!

We cruise on Regent and Seabourn. Never have we experienced anything other than a smooth on/off on Regent. Very easy, takes no time and very organized disembarking.

I am very surprised at this unSeabourn-like behavior. We have never experienced the "heathen" behavior. Disconcerting as we plan our next Seabourn cruise for fall '14.

We are now looking at 1888 hotel. What is your feedback on this hotel? Thanks, again, Patti

Also, you hopefully will understand that we do not really know what date it is after coming from the US!!! Thanks for bearing with me.

Sorry about the date issue. We are arriving on Jan 30 and on board on Feb. 1. Thank you to all who have responded.

We are arriving in Sydney on 1/30 departing on Regent Voyager on 2/1. We are looking for a hotel that is charming, 4-5 stars and not a high rise hotel. Please provide suggestions. Thanks.

Thanks. Looks like I will put this cruise on our list!!