Scorer9

On 4/13/2024 at 10:33 PM, pinotlover said:

I don’t believe I said or suggested that jackets are required in the Specialties. I only reported what was being worn on our cruise. 
 

My experience is that Carribean cruises, along with other very warm weather cruises, are typically more casual than other cruises. We were definitely not a warm weather cruise! A higher percentage of jackets were worn by the gentlemen on this cruise than other cruises such as to the French Polynesia. Some won’t wear a sports jacket under any conditions and that’s allowed .

 

I always take a sports jacket because sometimes it’s freezing cold in the Specialties . Just like my wife always carries a sweater or shawl. Neither are required by code, but we prefer not to be uncomfortable in any venue. Slipping a jacket off is simple if it’s too warm. Bringing a jacket, sweater, or shawl, even on a warm weather cruise, means one has options and can adjust to the surroundings environment. Not bringing them eliminates options. 

I agree with all you say. We have been on Nautica for the last 10 weeks, all of them quite near the equator, and have found the specialist restaurants and the GDR often to be cold. I wear a jacket, my wife wears a cardigan. On the other hand, Waves is usually very sweaty at lunchtime 

17 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

Thanks for all the reports from the new ship.
 

No experience of Grandeur but on Splendor and Explorer we like the excellent lunch menus in both Chartreuse and Prime 7, with a slight preference for the regular offerings in Chartreuse.

I believe the lunchtime daily specials are the same in Chartreuse, P7 and La Veranda.

Correct!

10 hours ago, bitob said:

Another heads up

 

both prime 7 and chartreuse have been open for lunch on sea days. If you want a table you have to line up at 1145!

I don't think this normally happens. We were in Chartreuse on Grandeur two days ago. Arrived at 12.15 & had a lovely meal with most tables empty.

Captain announced at 7am that Grandeur will not be calling in at Provence today due to weather conditions - it's become windy. Today will be a sea day, but will ensure we can reach Barcelona for the end of this leg of the journey.

They don't offer it on Queen Victoria.

We certainly have a story to , but it was far better than the uncertainty over a plane journey. It took us two hours to get out of Lima airport when we first arrived in Lima. It took us a couple of minutes to get our luggage when we arrived on the bus to Lima.

We arrived on Mariner yesterday after a 22 hour bus journey from Cusco to Lima. Seemed the best option, as it was not clear when we could get a flight. About 300 passengers are waiting to get off the ship today. When it does depart, the itinerary for the next few days will clearly have to change.

We are currently on a cruise of the Scottish Western Isles, starting and finishing in Greenock. "White" face masks are mandatory at all ties in public indoor areas, apart from when eating or drinking. Everyone is complying without complaint.

30 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

The most attractive we've seen. Definitely better than the O class libraries.

They're good, but not nearly as good as the libraries on Cunard ships.

37 minutes ago, Canuker said:

The OP is asking about Southampton to London.

It's the same in reverse. We always take taxi to Southampton Central, then train to Waterloo. No need for 1st Class train ticket - there is always plenty of room in Standard Class if you avoid the rush hour. We book saver fares well on advance at between 6 to 10 pounds each. Only negative, as previously commented, is that there is only limited storage space.

20 hours ago, RJB said:

one and the same just using different words.   

Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish would not like being called English. 

2 hours ago, StanandJim said:

I always think that it is telling when somebody knows in advance that the Service that they receive will not warrant an additional tip.

 

Indeed, happy to tell you I give tips, but think additional tips are unnecessary. Might change my mind if the Butler saved my life.

43 minutes ago, RJB said:

The difference is the tip for the butler.  

Exactly! Which is why I will not be paying more on top of the $23.

9 hours ago, clo said:

How much please? I didn't know that.

We'll be paying a service charge of $23 each/day in a PH, as opposed to $16 each/day if we had a cabin without a butler.

Apart from getting taken ill off the ship, all of this is really the Butler doing their job. Like everyone else in a PH, I'll be paying an increased daily service fee on our forthcoming cruise, so I won't be providing the Butler with any tip. There again, I'm British & we tend to have a different tip philosophy!

Queens Grill get first priority, then Princess Grill, then Diamond and Platinum.

QM2 can also get busy. We left the liner 10 days ago after 44 nights on board. Had a great time, but we certainly had to wait a while for lifts after talks and shows. Also sometimes in the morning when lots of passengers were going to the Royal Court theatre to report in for excursions.

The QM2 listing is way out from who has been speaking on our cruise for the last 11 days.

It was in the post from Bigmike911 earlier today.

I'm amazed any ATM in the UK would ever have given out £50 notes. I've withdrawn £100+ every week for many years in the UK and have never received one.

I've just had the same problem.

We embarked on Silver Shadow for the first time two days ago, having previously sailed only with Regent & Cunard.

We both think the ship is great, particularly the food. Don't see what the problem is with the wood - doesn't look very dark to us. Yes, some things should be updated in the refurbishment. The shower, TV & particularly the TV control in our suite have seen better days. Still 20 nights to go, but so far we are impressed. La Dame tonight. It will be interesting to see how good it is.

Safarigal was talking about transfer back to QM2, not QE2.

We were invited and asked to attend an afternoon presentation by Silversea earlier this month in Glasgow. It included a 3 course lunch plus a choice of either a wine or whisky tasting. A charge of £20/head was made. Unfortunately it was cancelled due to poor weather.

The current Voyager cruise from Singapore to Sydney has been hit by serious illness. A few hours after we left Singapore a helicopter was summoned to winch a seriously injured patient and then back to hospital. A second, quite separate, incident occurred a few hours after we left Darwin on Sunday. In this case we turned back to Darwin so the ill passenger could be taken to hospital.

The captain has announced after both incidents that the patients safely made it to hospital. Both cases are rumoured to be heart conditions.

As a result of the second incident we do not have enough time to make the scheduled stop in Cooktown tomorrow, so we are heading straight to Cairns.