Catlover54

I wish you a wonderful cruise! It will almost certainly be a step-up from your prior Holland America cruises ( to partially match the step-up in price). The most significant improvement will be the increased amount of public space available per passenger that you will see, and the general ease of getting off and on in ports, compared with HAL.

Indeed, that is how chat boards usually work. Of course, if CC, like some social media, explicitly stated they only want to hear about good things, then anything questioning the happy order of the day would be a an inappropriate rules violation. However, I still don't think we see overwhelmingy negative things about SB on this forum, (most people who take the time to live blog and note negatives, also note positives). It's just that *anything* negative is unfortunately construed as an all out unfounded, silly, and even fraudulent attack not just on SB, but oddly also on themselves as individuals. Readers who don't like the posting patterns of certain posters also have the freedom to use the "block" function that CC offers, the equivalent of "avert your gaze", and I'm puzzled why that does not happen more often.

That would be very helpful, thank you! Even the pax reporting to the woman who wrote the "guy" article I referred to said everyone seemed to have a great time. In a few days the second group will be off, and we will know even more. Though I adored my Crystal Endeavor cruise in 2021 (2nd voyage of the ship), many things were broken and/or not in service yet on that brand new ship. There had been a rush to finally get the ship going, as they were very much behind schedule . Ritz was behind 33 months before this trip, and many were unhappy with no FCC or compensation for canceled trips. On the Endeavor, we and all guests received 25% FCC (which was many thousands of dollars) for the deficiencies, (like no pool) but that was of course pretty much all lost when Crystal went belly up. RC likely has deeper pockets, and their new pride and joy won't go BK so quickly. But if we had broken AC in a hot climate, combined with a pool out of service, DH would not be a happy camper, and FCC would not optimally make up for it, so we're being more cautious.

The "scrum" problem is only experienced by *some* passengers. Pre-Covid, I lost track of how many times DH and I *on a full cruise* precariously carried our buffet plates back to our suites because there was nowhere to sit, much less a staff person to orderly assist pax to get in line for the next open table (it was a free for all, once the privileged had been taken care of, e.g., survival of the fittest and pushiest).

The OP specifically said " . . .If you feel we don't need to pack so much for a 21-day trip, please don't lecture me on that; I've read many posts about what to take and not to take, so that's not what I'm asking. . . " He/she likely does not want "come on folks" or "50 lbs is plenty of weight" advice about what works for you (even if it makes sense to you). People have their individual preferences, habits, health issues, and bodily concerns. The weight limits for a cold climate, combined with the headaches of a connecting flight on top of the other risks and concerns, are one of several factors that makes us (especially my DH) pause about booking Antarctica.

A few months ago it was just a push button coffee machine (no juice, no pastries, no server), other than the day we traversed the Panama Canal. But it was at the peak of Omicron with a very low passenger count. That was my first Moon cruise so I didn't know what the usual routine is. In the morning, is it still just a push button machine, or is there now more? I agree it's a beautiful venue, similar to the Observation lounge on SB in the morning, great for sail-in.

In Montreal recently, our cab was not allowed to go through to the port where the luggage dropoff area was until we had dug out our electronic boarding passes and shown them to the port authority agent (who also spent a couple minute looking into the cab's trunk). Our passports and general booking paperwork from online were not enough. Perhaps this was just a particularly vigilant agent, but just in case, I would try and get them available to you online before boarding (depending on how far the cab will be from you board).

Once you get status, you can choose (among other benefit choices) to get 1 bag of "free" laundry per person per 7 days. Your partner/spouse may also choose to get similar free laundry if she is of the same status. So a suite can then get 2 bags free per week. The higher the status, the more other benefits you can choose (if you don't sweat a lot, or prefer to just do your own laundry, you then can get other benefits). The benefits options for status may not be of interest to you right now if you have none, but if you like SB, and decide to rebook (with an on board booking discount) , you can study what they are on the SB website (or, SB square personnel can go over them with you). For some other benefits (like discounts on shore excursions), only one person need have the status to have it apply to both. These can add up if you do both shore excursions via SB and also order premium wine (where a higher status can get you 25% off the stated, quite inflated price). We don't pick our cruises based on the few hundred dollars we can get in benefits, including laundry, due to status (we mix and match), but if you love the line and that's all you will cruise, when you compare its price with that of other lines, per diem, of course take the benefits into account. I wish you a wonderful cruise!

I have not been to these ports and don't know if SB has either. To see shore excursions offered (as of the time you are looking -- more may be added closer to sailing), go to the SB website, e.g., next month's cruise that goes there is here: https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/T2P28A/6269A.html Then scroll down to the port you are interested in, and on the extreme right you will see the words "learn more." Click on that. You will then see tenative (no promises) excursions and cost and a brief description (sometimes vague, especially early on, and details can be important, especially if you are on a school bus, or there is no AC in a vehicle with a long drive, etc.). Repeat steps for the next port. Right now I see two offered for San Andres, none yet for Bocas del Toro, which sounds like a newer up and coming port with beaches and nature) Good luck!

I looked at official reviews and also ran a search on this forum, but cannot find much in the way of details about the "hydrotherapy" pools on Saga ships. I saw a picture of one on one ship, and understand it is a bit bigger than a standard hot tub (approximating dimensions) , and it looks to be indoors, and has chairs nearby. A few questions, for those who use these: 1. How warm is the water? (I assume it is salt water, correct me if I am wrong) 2. Since Covid, are they open, or shut down for maintenance and/or social distancing? 3. Can anyone use them? If so, do upper staff (like entertainers) get to use them? 4. What are the approximate hours? 5. Do you have to make an appointment to use them, and if so, with a full ship, how hard is it to do that? 6. Do the pools allow only one party at a time (especially since Covid, and especially if you have to book them) 7. If you have to book them, what does it cost? 8. Does the water stink of chlorine? 9. Since Covid, if you sit NEXT to the hydro pool, since it is indoors, do you need to wear a mask? Any and all answers would be appreciated, factual, opinion based, positive and negative. Thank you!

Most people like the attention even though it is not asked for, computerized and mass produced (e.g., pax have been known to land up with TWO days of decorations and TWO cakes showing up, due to some programming error!) If it really is a 'worst nightmare' and you are sailing around your birthday, which the computer will know, on the first day of the cruise, go to SB Square and tell them you do NOT want any of that stuff, and would rather age discretely and with silent dignity. 🙂

There are reports online by the "guy" about the first sailing (they were not on board, but interviewed two women they knew who were -- one who has never cruised, but who travels a lot. Both women were happy with their food (no menus posted) and service. One woman who described herself as Jewish was happy with the breakfast lox and bagels. One of the women's suite attendant did not introduce herself until several days into the cruise, for unclear reasons Several of the top suites were not ready yet, so those pax were downgraded to a base suite. there were problems in some suites with climate control, some other pax got locked into their bathrooms due to some electronic problems, and there were a few other issues on this shakedown cruise.

I am also "fairly confident" you will enjoy your first ever SS cruise, based on your post . That is often the case when pax move from a premium or mainstream line experience to a "luxury" (as defined by the industry) line. The mere increase in passenger public space is refreshing, even if nothing else is better! I totally agree with you that debt, staff shortages, and inflation are huge problems (not to mention Covid, which relates to all three of these). However, I disagree that people are "more cranky" , a la worrying about migratory dairy products. If anything, people are *more* keen to travel, keen to cruise, and keen to "be happy happy happy " after 1-2 years of lifestyle restrictions (and some people just running out of lifespan) -- to the point that so many make excuses for inadequate products and services which are pedestrian or mediocre but which are still dubbed "luxury." There are simply many undeniable clear objective negative changes, some of which are outlined in post #3. These are not just subjective changes, e.g., "I didn't like the taste", or "my butler wasn't nice." We have mean boarding waits previously almost unheard of on luxury cruises, we have objectively quantifiable inferior cuts of meat, we have 20 minute waits or longer for water or wine refills instead of 10 minutes or less, etc. and these are happening more often (not always) . Many people are seeing very little to replace both the objective and subjective cuts on many cruises. The problems are about more than cheese moving. In any event, regarding "moved cheese" analogies, "Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams said that patronizing parables are one of the top 10 things he receives complaints about by email.[7] Adams' retort to the message in the parable is that it is a "patronizing message for the proletariat to acquiesce" [and become more rodent-like]."

Correct! A couple more useful bits: 1. There is a free self-service laundry (not sure what ship you will be sailing on, was deck 5 on the little type, e.g., Quest). Some people prefer to do their own delicate or finicky pieces there (or if they are in a hurry), to avoid destruction, shrinkage, etc. DH and I have mostly easy care stuff on cruises so we'd rather spend the time lounging instead of washing 🙂 2. The $50 bag charge (or a la carte charges) is for next day service (e.g., if you get it in my 9am on Monday, you will get it back the next day before dinner). For express (same day) you pay 50% more. Pressing and dry cleaning have different charges. There are times ("Covid" and all that) where you may not get it back the next day before dinner, but usually you do. On cruises that are not busy, you may even get it back same day, without paying extra! 3. I suggest taking an iphone picture of your top laundry submission sheet (it's a triplicate) as the copy you keep from the bottom is very dim . Also maybe write down a little information too, e.g., "black " shirt, or "grey" pants. This is so you know what is out and what is back (especially on a longer cruise), and check off items as they come back in batches. That way if some laundry pieces do not come back the next day, or the day after that, or only a few come back, and you call and staff initially say all has been returned to you, you have evidence with which you can start the hunt for your missing items. On my cruise a few weeks ago two pairs of expensive slacks had disappeared (all from the same batch). Fortunately we had 1) a picture of the submission slip, and 2) a proactive Seabourn Square staff person to helped successfully have the laundry people track them down.

It's a matter of degree, but isn't "nothing" that you consume while traveling to a foreign country. It isn't just the purchase of portable "stuff" that stimulates the Norwegian economy, but also services. On another thread, on 9/25 you even posted that you "often" [do an excursion and sample a local restaurant] before your walking around. #6 Posted September 25 " ... we will often do an early excursion, stay in the city/town or wherever we are, and sample a local restaurant for lunch, then wander. Saves going back to the ship and leaving again. " It all adds up to revenue for those involved in catering to tourists -- at least for the locals -- often immigrants and lower earners BTW, who feed you and clean the restaurants' dishes and the toilets you use, the bus drivers who drive you on the excursions, and of course the guides and the families who rely on them for their income. And that's not even counting the dock workers. Obviously the locals involved in tourism would prefer you also buy more actual "stuff" to take with you, because then the "something" you are using would be "more" income for them (depending on what business they are in). We have NIMBYism, often mixed in with environmentalism (both real and faux) all over scenic areas in both the U.S. and the western world. I live in such an area in northern California, and it is a tricky balance for local governments and residents who were there first. What made the area special originally was that almost no one was there, and the hordes of people coming to rent and visit, because they can now afford it, in their opinion, spoil the view (and sometimes leave messes). But the local businesses and the people they employ to cater to businesses (often undocumented immigrants) are happy to have the ugly visitors.

Recently, we got the balloons too, etc., and a bottle of wine that was on the complimentary list.

The computer is set to tell the stewardesses to decorate the cabin with "Happy Birthday" paraphernalia, and to have dining staff approach the birthday passenger with a birthday cake. This usually happens. SB may send a "Happy Anniversary" gift or decoration to someone who is not having an annniversary, or may get the date wrong, but it is usually fine (in our experience and per reports). If you want to increase odds of it happening, confirm, once on board, that it will. And if you have other special requests that are important , ask for them in advance of the cruise, and then again when you board confirm them ( ditto on YMMV).

Sigh. And this is Encore, not Quest, which is discouraging, as I have read reports that service is better on the bigger ships. Luck of the draw? LOL to your first paragraph, e.g., that "causing a scene" is forbidden in England. You better not visit NYC 🙂 Staff occupying good tables of 2/4 is something I also saw on Quest reecently, as well as the "some pax are more special than others but we will pretend they are all equal for marketing and social media " phenomena (repeatedly observed by us, but that started before Covid and occurs on some other lines too). The "premium" wine experience (other than in TK) -- NOT -- was also a pattern, not an exception, on Quest. You were lucky to get your wine before finishing your appetizer (we were lucky to get it before the entree was done, if we ordered from SB in the Restaurant. In anticipation of this, we had brought several bottles of our own premium wine on board and served ourselves at our tables on many of the nights, so we had peace of mind (much better price, and way better service) -- we just had to watch out to make sure the staff armed with the generic bottles did not top off our nice wines with their stuff, as we weren't interested in a wine "cocktail mix".

This sounds too familiar. 1. Going forward, almost always book your own air, hotels, and transfers (sometimes that is near impossible, sadly). YOU are in control that way (though might pay more, not always). But have good travel insurance in case of sudden "Covid" cancellations or delays. 2. There will almost certainly be sugar free beverages (coke, sprite or 7-up in diet form, or similar), though maybe not your brand of choice (e.g., maybe diet pepsi instead of diet coke). And there is always club soda, in a pinch, or iced tea. Don't worry about stocking your fridge until on board, get it from your room steward/butler. But DO bring your favorite sweetener of choice in little baggies, just in case the one there is not to your liking. With almost all luxury lines, service on board is better than the admin before

If you've seen my other posts, you know I am absolutely *not* totally accepting of the situation -- I'm just rebalancing, and 2.5 years into Covid, am tired of using Covid for an excuse for everything (especially since many cutbacks started pre-Covid). I still have non-SB options that provide most of what I want, but I don't know how long they will last.

It does not officially have to be long-sleeved or have buttons (just a collar). A polo shirt has a collar. I have seen many men in collared polo shirts. Obviously they don't look as dressed up as a long-sleeved shirt with a collar. Only 1 out of 7 nights is a "formal" night, so you would not have a problem -- try and get a TK grill reservation on the formal night (great food, nice casual ok)

My guess is that not a single terrorist will be stopped by this process (though I understand the general anxieties and that political situations are not always logical). It is a shame, for both pax and poor and middle class locals in India who might receive revenue from visitors.

I read elsewhere that India and Sri Lanka have gotten very picky about issuing visas, in general, but in particular to UK citizens (allegedly because some UK citizens are of Pakistani origin, and thus are considered, by association, suspects for potential terrorism). Visa hassles, delays, and costs for a line's pax create trouble, and pax anger, so if a line tends to gravitate to UK customers to a great degree (I think that is more true on SB than on Regent), it could create disincentive to go places that make trouble for them. Or, maybe Regent is just better organized and/or willing to spend more money.

LOL, is that the same "Barb" who was face-timing at SB Square on your other thread ? 🙂 Sadly, the situation is getting similar to what flying business or first class has become on almost all airlines I have been on the last few years, even on long haul flights-- it's a race to the bottom, to avoid airline bankruptcy and/or keep prices from going higher. That's what most people in the upper middle and lower upper western world financial classes have to settle on these days, a "beats the mainstream experience" attitude. Or, they are instructued to send themselves constant reminders that they are lucky not to be in Ukraine, (like some of my relatives), in a hurricane, or suffering from cancer (been there), so they should appreciate paying thousands of dollars a day for a mediocre experience. Unless one can routinely afford a private jet, or a private yacht, or maybe is an important person, to get around the increasing irritations of travel (which one used to be able to avoid by simply paying more), one automatically becomes part of that downwards spiral in many aspects of life that involve service (and not just leisure). We can take it or leave it, but we should maybe stop calling it "luxury", as CC member Saminina has repeatedly suggested (or redefine luxury to just mean more overall public space per passenger, which is still there ). For now, I'll continue to take it, to a degree, because I not only still adore being at sea, but also love seeing new ports that inspire me to read about local history, natural wonders that astound, and of course just watching people, with all their beauty, absurdities, contradictions and brilliance that make me smile (or cry). DH will put up with it less often, as he has less tolerance for nonsense and pretentious faux luxury, and for struggling to get a beverage, much less a refill, before his meal is over. He thus usually prefers the options we have at home -- e.g., we are sitting staring out at the waves of the Pacific breaking below our home right now on a 68 F sunny day, with an occasional deer strutting by, as he still recovers from his Quest cruise Covid. But yet here I am still researching yet more future cruise options, with or without the MDR open at lunch. 🙂

If you have no status, nor perks, then $50 per stuffed laundry bag.