Saab4444

There are x-thousands with Diamond status and constantly growing, nothing really special anymore beside the financial benefit of drinks and small other stuff. But if you still spend much extra on an additional cruise you still spend a lot of money....

Shore power connection is needed.

There are a lot more still scheduled for Suez before Resilient Lady including Queen Mary 2, Arcadia, Crystal Serenity and Mein Schiff 2 in March/April.

According to the past pattern in early November 2024.

Al this has been discussed in the OWC thread in detail some weeks ago as cruiseboy89130 constantly refers to this point in various threads... To go around Africa to Gibraltar takes additional about 10-12 days, to East Med little longer about 14-16 days. If Serenade has do this they have to adjust the 18 day Dubai to Athens plus cancel the 11 day Athens to Instanbul cruise and they can continue as scheduled in Istanbul from June 7th. It does not make any sense to cancel more parts from the UWC.

Harmony is going to Europe for dry dock but Summer 26 cruises for Europe and Transatlantics back and force are not published yet.

They can sleep in Winter. E.g. in Tromso they offer midnight concerts every night in the famous Arctic Cathedral.

Yes, it is the time of the midnight sun in Northern Norway so this is the perfect time to visit with daylight at midnight.

You tender and go by bus to the North Cape. Issue is that big ships like Preziosa have a high chance to skip ports like Spitsbergen and North Cape due to weather and it is very crowded with so many people. I would do those beautiful ports with much smaller ships.

I would consider Celebrity Eclipse from Amsterdam.

According to the official Royal schedule Europe 2025 is published, any additiional ship (e.g. Jewel) would be an unexpected and late change, I doubt it.

I trust 2025 will also be changed soon, step by step…

Why did they change this? If I understand it correctly all stops in Dubrovnik and Kotor are now gone so no more Adria visits beside Split for big ships. This is a big change for the future!

It is not that pretty clear as they can not simply retire all smaller ships without having at least some replacements that are required for many itineraries and ports.

A broken coffee machine is not really a dry dock topic and I trust on Icon they will break down from time to time in some months as well due to extensive use....

Biggest is not best per se. I am not sure how many frequent travellers would agree that those are the best ships in the World….

In general it is vice versa, Biscaya is much more rocky than the North Sea and there sre no waves at all in the Fjords.

The smaller cities and ports in Norway are much easier to navigate with a baby, sure a more relaxed experience. Spain/France ports are more industrial and cities are bigger and more crowded.

This time frame is just for standard technical refurbishments and some cleaning/replacements as you mentioned above. Why do you ask for removing public space and adding more cabins? Are not enough people on board now? Cutting a ship in half and lengthen it takes some months and has never been done for such a big ship, will not happen.

My point was that people with later departures than Athens are not in danger and I agree that a lot can happen until May.

A cargo ship needs about ten days more from Indian Ocean to Gibraltar compared to standard schedule via Suez, not ten days.

The trip around Africa takes additional about ten days. If your understanding would be correct the trip from Dubai to Athens around Africa would be much faster which is impossible.

No worries! If they have to go from Dubai to the Med around Africa on May 9 they simply have to cancel the next 11 day cruise from Athens to Istanbul on May 27. With this adjustment they will be back on UWC schedule for all June departures and later starting with June 7 from Istanbul. They will not make more adjustments than needed.

Do one in Winter or at least between October and March. Cunard and P&O offer some from Southampton.

The answer is no, not all the same, and please look into your cruise planer to find details for your specific voyage.