farbster

We did a London-London cruise around the British Isles and Iceland in July 2013. The sail away was fantastic, except i was running around London trying to get my camera fixed and my wife was a nervous wreck hoping that I'd make it back.

The return to London had the time changed as it was the day of a rather large bike festival (Prudential) in London. They had to get us off the ship before they blocked roads off. We ended up sailing in very early in the morning (or late at night) and it was cold, but very fun nonetheless. My wife slept through it.

Sometimes stuff happens.

Thanks to this thread, I had my TA check. We're saving $4,000 total on our cruise for this summer ;)

If you need help using your miles, please let me know. I have someone I can refer you to.

Hi,

I have not yet been on Seabourn (sailing July 2016), but I have been on 3 Silversea cruises...

The cruise ships are much smaller and it is easier to see the same people and make friends.

The nickel and diming isn't there. If you want a drink (soda or otherwise) by the pool, you're not signing anything.

I would imagine that the average age of the passenger is a little older than non-lux ships.

Smaller ships also lend to some more interesting ports for a number of reasons. One, the passengers have already been to Barcelona 5x or Nassau 4x, so they need to find ports that are new to interest them. Also, with a smaller ship, you can go places the large ships can't handle.

If you can swing the bill, give it a try!

If you're a first time passenger with Seabourn, look at the referral coupon thread here.

We are finishing our cruise next August in Monte Carlo. Our plan is to pick up a rental car and drive it to Lake Como and then return it to the Milan Airport prior to our flight home. We will likely fly out of the LIN airport.

Does anyone know or have experience with a car rental agency that will not charge an arm and a leg for a one-way rental? I have seen fees for both 600EU and $2,000.

We could go to Nice to get the car, but that wouldn't be quite as convenient obviously.

Thanks!

What do you like to do?

I haven't been on a SS cruise since 2013, but I remember the logo clothing to be awful. I would have bought a polo shirt, but I'm only really interested if it is an "Under Armour" type of material, ie. a golf shirt. The days of me buying heavy cotton shirts are long gone. I suspect I'm not the only one.

As to buying really expensive stuff onboard, I'd rather buy from my local stores.

Hi,

If I get a referral coupon from my friend, will it in any way mess up my credit from Amex Plat and from my travel agent?

How much will I get and how much will my friend get? Also, is my credit good on my first cruise or my second?

Thanks!

How are you able to tell if it has either of those days? We're booked on Barc-Monte C for July 25, 2016.

I see codes for tender or sea days (TR and CO), but not sure about the other stuff...

How many rooms do you think went away?

We have booked a cruise for July 2016 through our TA and made the initial deposit. It is our first on SB and I wonder if I'm eligible for this referral coupon. We already have credit from TA and from Amex Plat.

If we get this $400, is it on top of all of the credits we already have?

Thanks for your advice.

No problem whatsoever to get there earlier and then have a nice lunch...Start relaxing early :)

It's funny, we were on a Silverseas cruise and our private excursion in Ephesus took us to a carpet factory. The guide made out like we were going to this special restaurant that his friend ran and that he knew the food was good. As it turned out, it was the carpet factory. We had a fantastic lunch and the tour was interesting. We didn't buy anything and I suppose after 4 years, we won't be getting a follow up phone call :)

Thanks to everyone for their response.

As to the waitlist, I am hopeful that my TA will be able to pull something out of thin air :D

I would do the more adventurous explorer cruise, but that would have to be with my next wife.

Trying to figure out what to pair this with? Maybe visiting Oslo and Gothenburg on one end and Copenhagen and Stockholm on the other end. No interest at all to see Leningrad via cruise ship (that's the next cruise if we did B2B).

We're looking at the Copenhagen-Copenhagen cruise this summer on the Whisper (#4518 sailing on July 27, 2015).

Previously, we were on the Cloud, sailing London-London. That voyage (18 nights) went to the Brit. Isles and Iceland, with Reykjavik as the midway point.

How different are these cruises? We did enjoy the ports like Faroe Islands and seeing puffins, but I'm curious if we would feel we were on the same type of cruise.

We are somewhat locked into the dates near this cruise and we've already done Greece and Med with Silversea. My wife isn't interested in Explorer cruise.

Thanks for your advice!

The problem is that the cruise line is run to make money. They must have figured out that the line will be more profitable if they include excursions, even factoring in the loss of some loyal customers.

Now if they would only unbundle the alcohol for us. I drink more because it's included, but if they didn't have it I'd not have a drop...We're sooo getting screwed on the liquor, but what can you do other than sail a line that charges extra...

In your experience and perhaps the experience of others onboard, is an expedition cruise the wrong choice if you're not that into nature?

There is no way in the world I'll ever mention to my wife that the ship was stuck for 4 days. I'd never get on that cruise!

Was she stuck? How did she get through?

We made a whole special Chinese dinner last summer on the Cloud. We were on the London-London cruise that stopped midway in Reykjavik. We had become friendly with a bunch of other couples and decided to host a party!

We worked with Jorge the head of the MDR. They printed up invitations and put them on the door and people RSVP'd to the Reception.

Cocktails and appetizers were had in the Bar I believe and then we went down to eat. I had worked out with Jorge several days in advance the menu items. I gave him some suggestions and he was able to do every one!

Some of the menu items were: salmon in an Asian glaze, beef and broccoli, shrimp lo mein, duck and maybe a chicken dish? They came around and served everything family style.

ColonelWes ordered up some of his favorite after dinner drinks and it was a really great time.

I got the idea to do it after hearing about people here made an Indian dinner. Other diners were looking over to see what we got.

They really did a wonderful job in making everything I asked for. I only picked dishes that I thought would be easy for them to do. I figured they would have beef and broccoli and could make them together :D

Any update? Hope she is improving.

Totally agree that you should request ahead. Your mazel and you'll get on the ship and they won't have it. Might not be easy for them to run to Joe's Discount House of Liquor and Hooch to obtain it for you. I'd also recommend following up once on board as well.

As having what you want for your cruise is clearly important to you, increase the odds of not being disappointed by using the published pre-order routes including TA, and then recheck once on board.

 

Some extra pointers.

 

1. When ordering on board, if you are ordering champagne just repeat when ordering ( with a smile ;) ) " Champagne please .... not Prosecco :) .

 

2. When ordering brands for your suite, when they arrive, just check that all bottles delivered are sealed. You will get the drift. ;)

 

3. Can't emphasise too much how rewarding it can be if early in your cruise you get a chance to chat with the sommelier in a quiet moment. Seek them out if you can before service. Sometimes they have some oddities ie bin ends or if they have been able to source independently (rarer now) and if you chat and tell them what you like sometimes they will tell you of stuff that isn't listed because there isn't much. They sometimes have stuff in nooks and crannies .... They will also mark you out as interested and if you are lucky they may pop by and say "I've found something you may like to try". The sommelier can often do more for your trip than the MD (particularly you by the sound of it) but people often overlook making friends with them and sometimes treat them like they are invisible. which I think is a missed opportunity. Make friends early.

 

Athens to Venice is a great cruise ... hope you enjoy it.

 

Jeff

Not sure if you guys have any time in Rome, but I would highly recommend the private Vatican tour that includes a private visit to the Sistine Chapel. Wow is all I can say.

Terrific TR. Thanks to everyone!

Wes - glad you saw our friends from our cruise last summer. Charlie was a terrible black jack player :) Did you ask him about the sheik LOL. If you have an email address for him, please send it my way...

I agree that if you're that concerned, you should have the evacuation insurance. Not sure how it works, but I'm sure there are lots of options.

Think about it this way...if you were a really good doctor, would you be working on the cruise ship? Probably not...