MBP&O2/O

I agree with you. Last SS we had a meet and greet with the butler, and after pointing out ... quite nicely that I had more sea time than him, I suggested he went and looked after Mr & Mrs Demanding and I would seek him out if I needed him🙂 He indicated his understanding....with big grin. The one before that was 'intrusive' ...opening drawers to find and clean specs etc. We had to have words🙂 I have only used the butler once .. a very early breakfast for a stupid-o'clock excursion😒

Have a look at the first few pages on this forum. There is an abundance of advice and information there. Everything from weather to route to clothing.

Unless you watched the series Benidorm 😁😁

Post cruise: Our last one was Seabourn. Kicked off at 0830 for a flight at 1800, which was the only flight of the day. The only available excursion was $250pp for three hours. As it was DIY flights we had no options. As an aside the flight was $1000pp cheaper than SB offered.

John Bull. I agree with you. Is it under the Package Holiday Regs or similar? They must have a valid excuse ... sorry a valid reason .. to make " a significant change. If they don't then you can claim a refund. Minefield area🙂 I sympathise with the OP ... we have one booked for November and it was booked purely on the itinerary. If they mess about with it I will be seriously dischuffed!

Interesting comment about the staff. We returned from an SB cruise a few months ago and found the same problem with them🙂 The highlight was asking someone behind the bar for a drink only to be told the bar was closed, so if I wanted a drink i could go down to the pool bar and fetch it myself .... from two decks down and at the other end of the ship. It would have then been served in plastic glasses and probably been watered down by the the time I had struggled back with two glasses as it was raining heavily at the time.

FB can prove useful with the private groups. With public groups it is a matter of using common sense. Idiots and WUM's will post on FB and some people will believe without question😄 I would also suggest that there are some very VERY vociferous people on CC who will defend their beloved cruise line to the death 😏 and accept no criticism whatsoever.

The last few flights we have done have been classified as 'multistop'. Fly to destination 'A' and home from 'B'. I researched Google Flights and found what I wanted and passed the details to my TA.

I would have thought, that with the crowds, a walking tour could prove frustrating at best? Not something I would entertain. As stated earlier, tube and bus will get you everywhere.🙂

Wait until the start changing the ships names😁 Aura of the Silver Ray? Magic of the Silver Spirit? Poetry of the Silver Muse? The list could be endless. Of course there will be a small price increase to pay for this but hey ho the esteemed guests will oblige. If it is of any consolation I was talking to a manager in a local supermarket .. part of a chain, and he said their corporate head office was well aware that customers did not like the way they did things but that was the way they chose to and that was the way it would stay.

Silversea have a few that fit your criteria. However, recent reports are somewhat conflicting with quite a few people saying a drop in standards is happening. We have one booked in the Med for an off season November cruise .... 10 nights visiting Italy , Sicily, Malta, and Spain. We avoided Croatia but there were plenty covering that area. The pricing structure needs good research as to what floats your boat. A good TA would be worth their weight in gold.

600/700 or less ..... nothing bigger than 12000 Age immaterial. Adopted the same policy when at sea. Always accepted the smallest 'deep sea, non UK / European coast' ship I was offered.

We boarded in Vancouver in September... one other ship in port. I allowed for two hours ... it took 40 mins from leaving the hotel room to being in the waiting lounge sipping something fizzy. Embarrassing really. But yes it was a single queue for US Immigration.

Forecasters predict a very active year for 2024. Have a look at https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/marine/?atlc which may give you the information you require.

Looking back at what Andy said, we used to get minimal notice for a drydock. Probably because we were 'tramping' and you never knew where you were going next? I suspect the companies booked the docks and then were slightly flexible with which ship would be available, obviously trying to programme movements accordingly. Being so far down the food chain it was a need to know basis🙂