70 Days Grand Voyage 6/23 Silver Moon

[chrism23]

It is a good feeling to start a thread about sailing again. We are looking at the South American Grand Cruise 6/13-3/16 2023 on the Silver Moon.  The good and the bad.  This cruise is 70 days.  I have been on 8 Silversea cruises but none longer than 21 days.  For those who have been on a World Cruise or a Grand Cruise, I would like very much to here from you about your experience.  70 days sounds very daunting.  I fear that boredom will set in and at some point it would seem too much.  On the other hand, the deal offered by Silversea in Barbara Muckerman's 4/13 letter sounds too good to pass up.  I really haven't done all the math yet but I will start wit the 15% saving on offer which in this case would be about $15,000, which even by Silversea standards is serious money.   

 

Having been stranded on shore like all of you for more than a year I want to get to sea again.  I do have a 2022 Silversea expedition cruise to Scotland and Iceland booked but that is a paltry 11 days.  I have too much pent up desire.  I want to go book the Grand Voyage.  (the deadline is 5/6) The world cruise is a little too much.  This Grand Voyage of 70 days seems about right.  It has a lot going for it-Ft.Lauderdale to Fort Lauderdale so no crazy plane trips (good bye Australia).  The Caribbean in the winter.

 

So I know many of are veterans and have done this, many have probably done a a World Cruise.  So should I do it.  I am quite frankly clue less.  Any advice would be greatly valued.

 

Cheers and Happy Sailing

chris

Edited April 15, 2021 by chrism23
typo

[Stumblefoot]

Haven’t seen the letter you reference from the CMO, but based on your discount amount ($15K), that implies a per diem well over $1K (probably around $1,215).  Seems very expensive to me based on prior grand voyages.  But, I have no idea what class of suite you are referencing either.

 

For us, our longest sailing is around the length of your prior experience.  As much as we enjoy SS ships, we’re always ready to return home, or move on to our next adventure, when the voyage(s) are over.  As such, we could not imagine doing a world cruise or grand voyage, because it just isn’t in our nature, but that is just us.  There are plenty of good folks here that feel just the opposite.

 

Ultimately, in the end, I wouldn’t let our opinions sway your decision one way or another.  You know the product.  You know the service.  You know what you like.  Whatever decision you arrive at will be best for you.  Enjoy planning your trip!

[Observer]

This is a great voyage.  There is little danger of boredom.  There are some special events on and off board for Grand Voyage passengers.  There is a lot of variety in this itinerary, including variety in weather.  One will want winter clothes while sailing through the Chilean fjords (really spectacular!). 🙂  I assume that this 2023 cruise fare will include "free" included excursions.  I would go for it!  Great ship.  Lots of variety in dining.  And YOLO.

[nowornever]

Putting the $ aside, you are the only one who can decide how you feel about a whole lot of sea days & a certain sameness in the ports.  Do you enjoy trivia or bridge or lectures?  On this itinerary, there are many of the above.  When you do the GV, there is usually one special shipboard event per segment for the voyagers in addition to the very special pre-arranged & included activities.  For instance, last year there was the trip to a pyramid in Lima with cocktails, dinner & local entertainment.  In previous ones, we've had a trip to a winery between Santiago & Valpo with tastings & lunch & then there was Carnival for 2 years with spectacular seats for the full voyagers at the Sambadrome.  Be sure & check out if you would be in Rio at the right time.   Plus you get the very nice benefit of luggage shipping & a very nice pre-night hotel & gala dinner so you can get acquainted with the others.  Ultimately, it all comes down to what you want on a cruise.  Have fun planning.  

[rkacruiser]

113 days on the Amsterdam's Grand World Voyage in 2008.  Boredom?  No.  Many special events, a variety of lecturers and performers (a few great, many good, a minority poor), cuisine that sometimes matched the area of the world in which we were sailing, and the opportunity to visit ports that I would never have considered visiting on my own.  Ports like Oman, Brunei, Viet Nam, Malta, Sochi, etc.  

 

One got to really get to know the crew and they you.  A couple of my fond memories is being ashore at the same time when two of my favorite crew members were ashore in their home countries and I happened to meet them along with their families.  

 

Was there a negative?  Yes.  By the end of my cruise, my patience and tolerance was at the end with a small number of my fellow guests.  For all I know, these people may have felt the same about me.  But, this was a very few fellow guests.  Lots of very pleasant people, some of whom I remain friends, keep in frequent contact, and have sailed with again.  

[Lois R]

70 days......2 months and 10 extra days? Maybe I can figure out how to do that!  I guess when you are away for that amount of time you have to get all the "home stuff" taken care of ahead of time.....besides pre-paying the bills, having to make sure you have re-filled enough meds too!

 

Sounds like a great trip to me🙂

[rkacruiser]

On 4/15/2021 at 4:51 PM, Lois R said:

70 days......2 months and 10 extra days? Maybe I can figure out how to do that!  I guess when you are away for that amount of time you have to get all the "home stuff" taken care of ahead of time.....besides pre-paying the bills, having to make sure you have re-filled enough meds too!

 

Lots of planning required to be sure, but it is doable.  It is not as stressful as it may seem if the planning starts well before one's sailing date.  Maybe the most "stressful" for me was being sure that I made the IRS "happy" since my return date from my cruise was after April 15th.  That was a year that I didn't file my taxes until  mid-July, had overestimated my tax bill, and received a nice refund as result that I then invested in another cruise!

[chrism23]

Thanks for the tips.  Right now my biggest problem is finding a cat sitter.  I can't leave my furry friends in a kennel.  The Vet I use has some office staff who will to once a day visit for a price, we have used them before for shorter trips but not for 70 days.  It's funny  that a month or so ago I posted a suggestion here that SS provide kennel space on their ships and I absolutely go killed,  everyone hated that idea.  Oh, thanks for tip on the meds too,  this is going to get complicated.😀

[Lois R]

Hope you are able to figure out everything you need.  I mentioned the meds because although many medications can be ordered  90 days at a time, there are certain ones (I take a specialty medication) that I am only allowed to order once a month and I need to get an approval to order an extra refill ahead of time (this is because of insurance).

[Observer]

I get my meds through a local drugstore, and Express Scripts manages insurance, etc.  I have had no problem getting approval for large refill orders when I say I will be overseas (and thus not close to participating pharmacies).  I recall the pharmacist saying that two exceptions per year (no matter what length) are permitted.

[Lois R]

8 minutes ago, Observer said:

I get my meds through a local drugstore, and Express Scripts manages insurance, etc.  I have had no problem getting approval for large refill orders when I say I will be overseas (and thus not close to participating pharmacies).  I recall the pharmacist saying that two exceptions per year (no matter what length) are permitted.

Thanks for that information.  I have never taken a cruise longer than 2.5 weeks and I was working so always planned everything around work/vacation, etc.

 

I retired in Dec 2019 and when things get back to normal and I can ever take a longer...really longer cruise I will have to look into it all. 

[rkacruiser]

Managing the prescription issues is part of the challenge of booking a long cruise.  That is one reason that there needs to be some serious advance long term planning done before the cruise.  I booked my 2008  world cruise months before I booked the final segment of the 2007 world cruise.  

 

PBM with which I have dealt have been cooperative when a Supervisor finally understood my issues; made some clicks on their computer, and all was well.  

[nowornever]

We also do (mainly) mail order meds & they told me years ago that they will approve "vacation exceptions" twice a year to order more than the standard 90 day supply, as Observer said.  Plus, I order the day a refill is available & hoard.  Lois, about "bills,"  it's not a problem these days with automatic deductions for the utilities, credit card companies, etc.   OMG...do I wish I could put this to use right now (maybe Sept?)

[carefreecruise]

Your going to love the Grand voyage. We were on that one a few years ago. The ship will provide you with your own stationary and business/greeting cards. Lots of special events and side trips for the grand voyage group. Is it to long? Is it just right? It was just right for us.

 

We got to know other grand voyage guests on the Muse and on one of the last stops in Barbados, the Whisper was also docked. We decided to go over with another couple and have lunch, see what improvements were made, for the upcoming World Cruise.  Lunch couple liked it so much, they had their luggage transferred to the Whisper. They planed on starting the world cruise in Ft Lauderdale. So only you can tell what's the right trip length.