bubbulz

7 hours ago, ak1004 said:

and if we do it and don’t like the flights that they offer, or can find better prices on our own, can we get it removed? Both bus air and $1,150 air credit?

That is what I was told.

Unique private Tuscany tours +39 320 973 2131 (on WhatsApp). I used him as my driver throughout Tuscany last year, and he was wonderful. Very friendly, easy to coordinate with and good English in case you don’t speak Italian. (PS Did you mean to post in river cruise ports?)

1 minute ago, ak1004 said:

and if we do it and don’t like the flights that they offer, or can find better prices on our own, can we get it removed? Both bus air and $1,150 air credit?

Yes. That is my plan. I’m waiting to see what they come up with for my trip in November.

1 minute ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And although UA calls all of their business class service "Polaris", there are still routes that have the old business class seats, which are WAY past their prime.  The term "Polaris" won't guarantee you the latest seating.

And even though on some flights (e.g., some to Hawaii) may have you sitting in a 'Polaris' seat, it's not considered 'Polaris' in terms of the service or club access. (BTW, United still has some business class routes such as to the Caribbean. They don't call it Polaris.)

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Good to know🙂 thank you. Is the Vienna airport pretty easy to access? I have never been there before. IF this is the flight I end up with, I have a 90 minute layover for my flight to JFK.....I was told that is plenty of time.

VIE is very easy to navigate and 90 minutes should be plenty of time. And although Polaris on United is nice, business class on Austrian is a step above. 

I love Austrian. We flew twice in Business Class to Budapest via Vienna.

I am really torn about having SS do my flights. I am going to see what they come up with and then decide. This will be my first cruise with them, and since it is in Antarctica I am hesitant to book my own in case there are schedule changes with the charter flights. If I do book my own, I will probably pad the international flights with extra days on the front and back. 
 

Hope all works out well for you, Lois. It is disconcerting to hear of all the issues. 

I looked at the Uniworld site and this is in their FAQs:

Are three people per room allowed?

@cruiseej @alithecat Thank you both for the helpful info. I have status with United so my strong preference is to stick with Star Alliance. It looks like my options are United through Houston, Air Canada through Toronto or Copa via Panama. That said, that Flagship lounge in MIA is really nice so that is tempting!

If SS can't route me via IAH I may end up doing my own flights and possibly add an extra night in Santiago in both directions just to be on the safe side. But I will go ahead and notify my agent of my preference. Thanks.

On 1/16/2023 at 7:49 PM, tabber said:

Sorry, don’t know much about the different veranda suite pricing.  We had originally booked the Medallion suite on the Silver Explorer, over a year and a half before the cruise.  That suite category disappeared when the ship was switched to the Silver Endeavour and we were reassigned to deck 7 in a premium veranda suite.  Not sure what we would have booked had we been only been looking at the Endeavour deck plans, but I feel like we would have probably gone with the least expensive veranda suite because skipping the Drake sealed the deal for us on this itinerary.  FWIW, some passengers on our cruise did get seasick early on, but the seas improved after the first night.  I take Bonine every day because I am also prone to motion sickness without it, and did not suffer at all.

We chose the business class upgrade through Silversea.  American Airlines to Santiago and Delta (Latam) back.  The new Latam lounge in Santiago is an amazing lounge with a top notch bartender, and we had a wonderful time there waiting for our flight back home.  

 

Thanks, tabbed for the very helpful info. Skipping the Drake is what sealed the deal for me as well. I am on small boats frequently and take meclazine each day and it works. I, too, chose the business class option through Silversea. I don’t have flights yet but I’m hoping they can get me routing via IAH to Santiago on UA. Lastly, thanks for the photos of the cabin entries.

Thank you for all the details. I am booked on this ship/itinerary later this year. I’m confused a bit about the pricing on the veranda suites. It looks like the pricing goes up by about $4k for the first upgrade and by $8k for the top level veranda suite. Since all the veranda suites are the same size and configuration, I am wondering if the location makes all that much difference. Seems like a pretty significant jump for just a 6 day cruise. Also, since I’m fairly prone to seasickness (thank goodness I’m skipping the Drake!) I’m thinking the lower level might actually be better for me although it will be in the forward section of the ship. I’d be interested in your thoughts re: cabin location.

I booked ‘door-to-door’ right now but may end up doing my own international flights if I don’t like what they come up with. Can I ask what airline you flew and how your flights were? I’m finding no non-stop flights from airports near me. Thanks.

1 hour ago, cruiseej said:

I didn't want to jinx things by saying anything earlier, but I'll now say that our Silversea Air arrangements worked perfectly for our Antarctica cruise which concluded last week. With all the disasters that get reported here, I figured it was worth a positive report when everything works correctly. 😉

 

Last spring, the initial booking SS created had crazy bad connections, but as soon as our travel agent reached out, they corrected it to the flights we had originally requested, which included flying one day early and adding a night at Silversea's pre-cruise hotel. We had business class bookings on American, from PHL to MIA to SCL and back. The flights SS booked stayed locked in leading up to the cruise, American made only minor schedule adjustments when they finalized their December schedule, and all our flights were on time and fine (not that the latter has anything to do with SS). That was our first time booking air with SS, and our experience was a good one. Going forward, we'll evaluate booking on our own versus through SS once we see the costs, flights available, and potential complexity of the location.  

This is so good to hear. I just booked my first SS cruise to Antarctica today. Given all the (non-SS related) horror stories I've been hearing about people getting to where they need to be for their Antarctic cruises, I opted for door-to-door with SS. I figured that at least if things get hosed up, they'll be helping to get it straightened away. Also, all of the fares I was seeing right now are pretty crazy. Fingers crossed for a good first experience later this year.

I agree regarding the customer service. I have one of their special solo pricing cruises booked for next year. About a week after I booked, I happened to notice that the price went down about $500. I called my travel agent and they called Uniworld and I was immediately provided a credit.

Thank you, JP, for all the info. I looked through your postings and photos … All amazing and very helpful. I have a lot more research to do, but thank you for the running start here.

Thanks, everyone. I have done some relatively rough crossings on smaller, liveaboard dive boats and find that I can live through it if I medicate. 😉 But it is a concern. However, as with Cocos Island and Galapagos, etc., I figure this would be worth it. I’m also looking at the option of avoiding the passage. (I spend a fair amount of time on boats in general so you’d think I’d be over the whole sea sickness thing by now but I’m not.)

@jpalbny

@Gourmet Gal

Also think Lois and Papa B may have been on Silversea as well, but not sure about their polar cruises. TIA!

I'm starting here since I know a number of you have posted here about cruises taken with Silversea. I've been pondering where to go next (well, after the next couple of trips that already are planned), and have pretty much decided on a polar expedition, most likely Antarctica but I'm open to the Arctic. But here's the thing: I've never been on an ocean cruise, and they've never really appealed to me, particularly the large ships. I'm thinking a smaller expedition ship might be something I'd enjoy. I'm completely open as far as timing, but wouldn't want to push it out beyond early 2025 unless there were an overriding reason to do so. I do like a certain amount of pampering when I travel, and Silversea seems to offer that.

I'm looking for any info you might think would be helpful to help me decide regarding itineraries, month of travel, choice of ship/cabin, etc. I'd be traveling solo, and it seems like Silversea's solo supplement is typically 25%, which isn't horrible, but do they ever have specials where they waive it? I'm leaning toward Antarctica right now but the Arctic likely would be on my list for the future, particularly with an extension in Norway to visit friends.

I've only just started the research so anything you think might be helpful would be appreciated. TIA.

Now, back to your regular river cruising programming. 😉

10 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

That is interesting, and I wish it were true here. Just remember, they are only getting rid of change fees; any fare differences will be charged.

True but odds are I won’t make changes unless really necessary, and on balance I’d rather not pay an extra $350 up front plus change fees for the cruise line’s fare. And I prefer booking my own. 😉

36 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I don't know about where you are or what airlines you use, but the easy (and free) changes have pretty well disappeared in Canada, unless you buy very expensive full price tickets.

United Airlines originating in the US: “Enjoy more flexibility when you fly with us. We’ve permanently gotten rid of change fees for most Economy and premium cabin tickets for flights within the U.S., or between the U.S. and Mexico or the Caribbean. You also won’t pay change fees for international travel originating in the U.S.”

The biggest downsides in my case were: 1. Paying about $350 extra for the exact same flights; and 2. Being subject to change fees if I made any changes to the flights. Booking directly with the airline, I can go online and make any changes at any time with no penalty, and I can always rebook for free if the price goes down.

Looks like Costco changed over to Zurich recently, but I really know nothing about them. Pricing and coverage seems reasonable, including 50% CFAR coverage. I already have GeoBlue and Medjet Horizon so I'm not too concerned about medical or evacuation coverage. Anyone have any other info? Thanks.

I might have felt differently if the cruise line's price was less expensive but it's actually several hundred more. And I'm really picky about the seat I choose on the plane so I'd rather have the control. And the flexibility to adjust my flights with no penalty if I book through the airline is a big deal to me. But thanks to everyone for helping me work through this. Now to figure out whether I want the cruise line's insurance since it includes a full future flight credit if I cancel for any reason. (Again, probably not.)

Thanks, everyone. I’m going to stick with booking my own. I appreciate all the feedback.

Hmmm. It just got a little bit more complicated. If I book directly with the airline, I can make changes at any time with no fee. If I book the flights through the cruise line, there is a re-issue fee of $100 once it is ticketed.