Woodrowst

Tell me what is important to you on a cruise and I will be happy to see if I can come up with an example or two of the incremental difference of a luxury vs premium line in the area(s) that matter to you.

My point wasn’t about alcohol. It was about a level of service above and beyond a premium line.

People are always asking for examples of the difference between luxury and premium cruising. We have been on - and enjoyed- many Oceania cruises but are currently on the Silversea Silver Endeavor tootling around Scotland. Silversea is, of course, a luxury line where Oceania is a premium line. That is not to denigrate Oceania in any way - as mentioned we have enjoyed Oceania cruises and will continue to do so. Anyway, at dinner last night the sommelier offered us the complimentary wine of the evening. I asked if he had a Spanish Rioja. On a luxury line they always say yes when they can so he went to hunt down a bottle of rioja and returned with one shortly. Then he left the bottle on the table with me so that I could have as much as desired. That would not happen on Oceania. When I told him I appreciated having the entire bottle he said,”We want to spoil you on your vacation”. I can’t say I have ever heard an Oceania staff member say that. Again, this was not a post against Oceania. It was to give an example of an experience that shows the incremental difference between a luxury and premium cruise line.

We used the old city Dubai self-guided tour available online through GPSmyCity and enjoyed it. GPSmyCity is our go to site for self-guided tours. They have a number of tours Dubai and most other major cities.

We were on the Seabourn Venture to Antarctica in January. If it makes you feel any better (i.e. misery loves company) the Seabourn charter flight got us to Buenos Aires in the early afternoon and our connecting flight was not until nine hours later at 11:15pm. Seabourn took us out to a local restaurant for a very nice early dinner and returned us to the BA airport at 5:30pm. I believe the dinner was only provided to those who booked air through Seabourn. Some who were told they could not join us were upset.

In this day and age one has to differentiate between traditional and expedition cruises. The expedition trips are mostly on the Venture and Pursuit. Expedition voyages are very different animals than the traditional voyages in terms of dress, activities and ambiance. In fact, most of the criticism of expedition cruises I have seen posted on CC revolves around passengers who were not aware of the difference and expected a traditional voyage. Seabourn includes excursions on the Venture and Pursuit, mostly because the out of the way destinations that define an expedition cruise do not have the infrastructure to provide excursions on their own. The classic example is Antarctica. My comments also apply to traditional vs expedition cruises on Silversea.

One of the long standing rules of conventional wisdom has been that if there is a place that you must absolutely visit then a cruise is not the way to do it. Go by land, not by sea.

I haven’t heard “trunk” used for luggage since my sailing on the Titanic. Luckily I had travel insurance, but that is for another discussion.

We were on the Venture this summer to Antarctica. Landings and zodiac rides were fairly brief - 75 minutes at a time. As such, I did not feel the need to take the backpack. The trips were too short to need water or to change layers. I don’t remember seeing many other passengers take backpacks and I suspect those that did used them mostly for photo gear.

With all the posts confirming short distances you now know why they call them landings instead of walks or hikes ☺️

Sounds like a great plan.

Keep in mind that there are substantial luggage limitations for the charter flight from Buenos Aires to/from Ushuaia. Boots are big and take up a lot of that precious space. Most of the people I have heard about who bring their own boots do so for orthopedic reasons. My wife has wide calves and consulted Seabourn about whether to bring her own boots. They told her not to and they were right. When she could not get her calves into the boots they made a small slit at the top that took care of the issue. I was impressed, since they essentially had to throw the boots out after the cruise since they had been cut into and were willing to do so. I found the supplied boots quite comfortable. Are you concerned about an orthopedic issue?

It depends on your definition of hiking but you will at most walk a mile or so at most landings. It can be less. The things to see tend to cluster at and within a short walk of the water. And the boots, while comfortable, aren’t really made for long walks. You land on the Antarctic peninsular for the sensory experience (sight, sound, smell), not for aerobics. Standing next to a penguin and watching it is a lot more fun than walking by it. If what you want is to truly stretch your legs I believe there are boutique lines that will better serve you than Seabourn will.

If you are interested in the kayaking I would book it in advance. I waited until I boarded the Venture and was lucky to get one of the last remaining slots. I thoroughly enjoyed the kayaking and felt it was worth every penny.

I fully agree with MEFlowa. If shopping is your thing, check out authentic shops on land and get a bit of the culture with your shopping experience. Some pre-cruise googling can help locate authentic shops that are often within walking distance of the pier.