Astride

Hi frantic36, It could be but I never experienced any thing else. My last cruise on SB was a 6 week cruise from Fiji to Vancouver in the spring of 2023. Robert was the CD & we had a solo gathering at the beginning of every embarkation port.

I have always traveled solo on Seabourn cruises. I don't remember any solo cocktail hour except for the invitation for solo travelers to meet & have a drink at the beginning of every cruise. Contrary to what you think, I find that the hosted tables are a great way to meet other passengers traveling alone.

You just proved my point with this post. And it appears that CC removed your post about Kansas.

No, they are not contradictory. The first sentence expresses lack of understanding of an obsession. The second sentence expresses lack of empathy for that obsession. What I am saying is that, if one of the chief reasons for cruising on SB is the availability of free caviar & champagne, why not save yourself a lot of money & buy a large supply of caviar & champagne & stay home.

I am perfectly ok with people having different tastes whether it be caviar or cheese, champagne or red wine. What I find ridiculous is that, judging by the number of times I read posts about caviar & champagne on SB, you would think that a lot of people are motivated to embark on a SB cruise due to the offering of caviar & champagne. There are far better reasons to book a SB cruise & I find this obsession annoying.

I don't understand this obsession with caviar & champagne. Who cares? I'd much prefer a glass of fine red wine with quality cheese than a flute of cheap champagne with fish eggs. The only explanation I can come up with is that the combination has snob appeal.

Yes, I did it last May without a problem.

How dumb of them! I received the email but no gift. They should have had an idea of how many gifts would be required when they sent the email in the first place. And, if they did indeed screw up in that respect, they should at least have had the courtesy to notify their loyal customers of the shortage of gifts & of the anticipated late delivery date.

I wouldn't go near the Eastern Mediterranean in the near future because I believe that the conflict will quickly escalate & involve most countries in the region. Forgive me for being so pessimistic but I only see one way out of this dilemma & I don't see it happening. I would choose another region to cruise in for my peace of mind.

Who the hell cares? I always dress elegantly for dinner & I don't care what anyone else does.

I haven't seen the zodiacs that were unloaded & loaded in Vancouver. But I do remember that SB Odyssey was not allowed to offer zodiac excursions in French Polynesia last April. This had to do with the Polynesian gov't not wanting SB to compete with their own tour operators. So I just assumed that SB was just following governmental regulations by off-loading & reloading them. Note that I wrote "probably" in my post & that I clearly did not refute what you saw with your own eyes.

Probably the old equipment being reloaded due to regulatory reasons.

The only reason I can see for for tipping before service rendered is to obtain preferential service. And that practice is known as a bribe.

I agree with SLSD that we shouldn’t pass judgement on people based on the way they’re dressed. Pardon the pun but, since we’re not in their shoes, let’s refrain from doing so. The bared-footed gentleman seen in the Colonnade is probably the one I met who badly injured his feet on coral & couldn’t put his shoes on.

I think you've nailed it! The same can be said for champagne. Both have snobbism appeal. I don't particularly like either one but I find it's okay to order them if you truly enjoy them & do not go overboard (pardon the pun) simply because you want to brag about it.

Jost van Dyke used to be so pristine. White Bay is now just a tourist trap with too many inebriated party goers & mediocre food.

My comments will not help HalFan but I'd like to share what I experienced in 1985 on a small Greek cruiseship visiting several islands in the Aegean. I had a bad experience climbing up a steep hill on a donkey trail to visit a tourist site on another island. The poor donkey was looking for shade on the narrow trail to the top & stuck to the wall of the trail in so doing. I was terrified since I'm afraid of heights. And my right leg was badly scratched from it rubbing against the stone wall. Our next stop was Santorini so I decided to skip it since the only way to the top at the time was either the donkey trail or the funicular. My husband went alone & loved it. After lunch, when all the passengers except for me had left by tender for Santorini, I witnessed something inconceivable in our day. The crew in the outdoor dining venue cleared the tables of all dishes, glasses & cutlery & then proceeded to gather all the foods remnants & beer & wine bottles in the table cloths & throw them overboard. I am not kidding you. The Aegean must be full of glass bottles.

I will book my return flight with Air Canada. Btw, I contacted the Canada Passenger Agency & I was told that moving up a flight departure time is equivalent to a flight cancellation & a refund is in order. I was told to file a complaint after I have attempted to resolve the issue with Air Transat. The problem is that AT puts you on hold for hours. When an agent finally took my call, she transferred me to another agent & I was put on hold again for another couple of hours until I threw in the towel.

Unfortunately CalmSea I booked my return flight to Montreal with Air Transat. Never again! They refused to reimburse me & their next flight was 2 days later. The cost of 2 nights' accommodation in Vancouver with meals & transportation thrown in would probably exceed the cost of my premium economy flight. I was told that my flight required a 6 hour change in departure time in order for me to qualify for a refund. This is not the first time that Air Transat has behaved unethically with me. At the start of the Covid pandemic, I booked a flight to Rome with them for a Seabourn cruise. The cruise was cancelled. So was the Air Transat flight. But Air Transat charged me a $300 cancellation fee. Reliable old Seabourn came to my rescue & refunded me the cancellation fee. My advice to all my Seabourn friends is to stay away from Air Transat.

Thank you. I will try to get a later flight on another airline.

Thank you. Your input has been helpful.

The itinerary for my cruise shows a disembarkation time in Vancouver of 7:00 am. Since my flight home has been moved to an earlier time slot, I'm no longer sure if I can make it in time to YVR for a 9:40 am flight departure time. Does anyone know what is the earliest time I can leave the ship if the expected disembarkation time is 7:00 am? I've been on many Seabourn cruises but never had to leave the ship early to make a flight. Your input would be most appreciated.

I totally disagree with you. Introductory offer or not, why should my Crystal Society points have no value while yours do?