PaulaJK

Jennifer, See you onboard….will be the person with thd worried expression! Paula

We are on the leg prior to yours, Mahe to Dubai stopping at Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and several UAE. Although, unlike yourselves, we are not in the canal or Red Sea…but…we are in this increasingly volatile area. We have the same question as do you. I literally cannot imagine that your leg will proceed and wonder if they will cancel both and go elsewhere…. but then who am I? Early notification does not seem to happen. Paula

We depart early Feb for CPT where we board Spirit which sails the Indian Ocean into Mahe for a second leg into Dubai. Not in the canal or Red Sea but visiting Oman, Qatar and UAE. We are concerned whether this leg will sail ..the following leg out of Dubai goes to Athens via the Suez Canal. I can’t imagine that that leg will sail. Does anyone have any information or thoughts about our leg? SS is silent.

Thanks all……

As we have several ‘bags’, this is not a complaint but rather, a packing question. Does SS supply a pool/ beach bag?

Terry…a vote here for Udaipur. While the sites..eg forts…in these hallmark cities felt somewhat repetitive to us, the Oberoi hotel is fabulous. We had a room where you stepped off of your patio into a pool. The entire property was spectacular. Keep us posted. Seems that you will sail….now to get some info on our SSSpirit Mahe-Dubai segment.

We board Feb 11 which includes a segment with Oman, Qatar, UAE, the very routes tgat they have been cancelling. The following cruise on 3/3 goes to Egypt, Suez Canal and others. i can’t imagine that this sequence will sail….but no word from SS…so no shock that you have not heard about March 20. I understand your distress and share it.

To date, the SS cancellations are not across the board. Ss moon has had stunning changes, debarking and us sailing ‘nakef’ to Mumbsi. We are still booked on SS for Oman, Qatar and UAE in mid Feb…. would love to be reassured of their plans..however, it’s early.

Testing

We share your concerns ( and hopes) as we,also, are on this segment. Unfortunately we also are on the previous leg. CPT-Mahe. At booking time, to get space we had to book two segments altho we eventually got one thru cabin. We booked flights independently . I worry about being stuck in Mahe. i have read about the recent cancellations involving DOH, Oman and Dubai. May I ask where you heard that all UAE are cancelled? As you know, our segment includes these ports so at this point it is hard to believe that it will go forward as planned and difficult to imagine an alternatd itineray in that region.

The world is a mess…but I do hope that SS decides what to do sooner rather than later. I don’t have much hope that ‘things’ will settle down before our cruise… but I would appreciate knowing whether they are working on an alternative itinerary. you seem to be in a difficult spot…as are we as originally we had to book two segments to find space ( later got 1 cabin but still 2 bookings). So worry that segment 1 will sail CPt- Mahe but Mahe to Dubai will be cancelled. Our air returns from Dubai.

We are following the routes aNd cancellations of Moon on other posts. Our cruise and for those on Spirit’s grand voyage..…sails Capetown to Mahe and Mahe to Dubai. The latter segment includes Muscat to Dubai. SS offers no info. We are imagining that the 2nd segment might be cancelled, similar to recent happenings..and after we are on board.. Of course, we would be traveling long..from NYC…for a relatively short cruise if this happens…and, perhaps left in Mahe. Does anyone have any news, rumors, insights,etc? Sympathies w the Moon pax..and even SS ,except for late notification.

Mrs Waldo, We also are on the Mahe-Dubai segment. After reading the above posts, I doubt that swapping itineraries w Moon is likely as it sounds as though Moon is canceling at least one cruise and perhaps others. The region is an unclear mess and seems murkier by the day.I didn’t hear anything about India but would be happy to visit there. I hope that we are not cancelled. I suspect that we might not have any clarification for a while.Paula

Claudia, I am familiar w your postings…so very happy to learn of your initial impressions. Paula

My thoughts go forward to Moon pax. Having experienced disrupted cruises ( pirates, entangled prop) w daily uncertainties and rolling itinerary changes, I recall how pre occupying and anxiety making this can be. i am not certain what lies ahead for Spirit. We board in Capetown on Feb 11. No geography scholar, I recognize that we are not coming from the Red Sea but we are sailing Muscat to Dubai. Concerns appear in the above posts. Does anyone have news or thoughts about this? Well wishes to all onboard Moon..and all ships.

Would appreciate your thoughts/ experiences as we board in a month. Have read recent reviews on CC and frankly, some are unnerving.

Most excursions appear to be contracted locally. While no tipping is required on the ship, that does not apply to on land and independent contractors ( the soa)

I have just revisited mysilversea ( super program!) and worked the select and included excursions into a better package..still pining for some of those old, well remembered tours that were so much more interesting than city orientations.We also enjoy a shuttle into town which adds a different persoective.. Does anyone have suggestions for Tolagnaro, Madagascar? Since we are sailing to some Gulf states, I am listening to the news and wondering if our itinerary will stay intact,

No Bruzin here but thanks for your post. I think that it is too late to anticipate added excursions, included or not…disappointing…makes me wonder why we are even stopping at the port.

Wes, Thank you for sharing your friend’s post…it is very relieving. P

I look at both included and priced excursions, both on SS and other lines. The excursions I was remembering were..as far as I can recall… a mix. Interesting comment Mrs Waldo. As we booked late, we probably missed the earlier offers..hopefully you ‘wonderings’ don’t apply. That would be maddening! I find the current offerings rather dull…and it’s not as easy part of the world to arrange independently. Dies anyone know whether SS regularly offers shuttles in each port? Paula

Fabulous photos, Flossie.

Hi Wes, Great to hear from you. First, best wishes for 2024. Your expedition travel of this area is enviable.Clearly you greatly enjoyed it. And your March plans sound exciting and a little exotic. . Not certain that we are zodiac material at this point! …and while I have many photos of that rock, we didn’t try to influence it. I do hope to pull out some enjoyable port visits but the other line really nailed a lot of them. I would like to repeat some of them. Are your friends enjoying SSpirit? In one of the ironies of life, it seems that as soon as you book a trip ,negative views crop up.

After a long absence, we are joining Silver Spirit in Feb/ Mar for travel between Capetown and Dubai. We have visited many of these countries previously and of fond memory, are many of the excursions we experienced, The other line offered excursions which often included tour of local sites followed by an afternoon at a fabulous beach,a ferry to a deserted island, a rainforest w picnic, a party at an upscale hotel w catering, beach and live music. We are very disappointed w SS offering which mostly feature viewing sites during a 4 hr bus trip. Has anyone utilized pvt guides in Madagascar, Mahe, Bahrain,and Muscat? other comments on things to enjoy on SS very appreciated.

We sailed Mariner from Venice to NyC in late summer and the movies were present and the entertainment skimpy w band musicians in lounges vs dedicated room entertainers. I suspect that this is not a CD issue but a Regent policy. Our Beatles and ABBA evenings were squeezed into the Horizon lounge..no on deck parties despite mostly lovely weather…disappointing and boring.