labrasett

And you can carry some slip ons in your carry on bag and change once on the flight and put the big boots into the hatrack!

I am so with you Desperate to Sail. We are doing our own flights travelling down to S. America in March because we are staying on and doing a post cruise trip booked through another company but we have asked SS to book our hotel an extra night ahead of our cruise and we have asked them to arrange our transers, this is not the cheapest way to organise these parts of our trip but it takes the headache out of doing it ourselves! We also decline the chauffeur car to departure because we love our train journey to the airport it is part of our holiday, when we get in the taxi at our home to take us to the station our trip truly begins. We all have choices as to what we pay for and what we accept as included in our trips and I dont understand the moaners.

I have a medical issue which dictates I should not get cold. Sooo I have no intention of missing out and have bought myself a full length wetsuit and intend to get a thermal rash vest and shorts to wear underneath plus a hood, gloves and boots. If you feel the cold then prepare ahead and get some extra "stuff".

SherylC - for ladies it is really quite easy to "dress" for evenings on expeditions, just take several lovely scarves and possibly pashminas and some pearls or necklaces. I was complimented on my different look on many nights but it was all smoke and mirrors with the use of accessories which took up little space but changed the "look". We have been on lots of expeditions down south and believe me you really dont need lots of layers just a small number of the right ones. Have wonderful trip and dont angst about the weight of the bags, if you can get past the initial airline check in without penalty you will be fine.

There is always going to be some differential based on where you live. In the past we hesitated paying for an expensive ski holiday priced in Canadian Dollars until our return from a long weekend. During the weekend the exchange rate changed some 10% so by having delayed we saved a very significant sum. With the US dollar being where it is against the UK pound at the moment a straight conversion on a price quoted in US$ would cost UK people much much more than it was would have a month or so ago! Life is tough on so many fronts at the moment but somehow the knowledge of having some booked (and paid for) future cruises brings some comfort during these uncertain times.

Simple solution if you dont want to wear the boots during flights but you dont want to pack them is to put a pair of lightweight pumps into your hand baggage and change once you have boarded, you can then put the boots into the hatrack. Come on folks this is not a huge issue. 50lbs is plenty of weight for main bag for an expedition and 17 lbs plus purse of rucksack provides lots of extra space for camera equipment etc. Remember you really dont need lots of "heavy weight" clothes for antarctica, a couple of sets of thermals plus a mid layer are the only extras you need. Waterproof pantss are lightweight and take up no space and the parkas are amazing. If you pack lots of clothes you will take most of them home unworn.

Nothing to do directly with SS but an acquaintance with whom I was talking today is travelling from UK to Australia in November and her flights have been changed three times so far, in each instance by the airline. She has had itineraries with one and two stop overs, one with 1.5 hours stopover en route then changed to 30 hours and the latest proposal has her with two stops with a small number of hours at each airport but travelling a day later than originally planned. She says she would start again with a different set of criteria but she is now caught by the fact that since she booked the airfares have increased dramatically so they are keeping the faith with the original airline and will suck up the current and any future cchanges. This is just an example of the current air travel chaos which so many people are experiencing.

You dont need lots of "heavy clothing" for Antartica, dont overpack. The parkas are extremely cosy and require only a couple of thermal layers underneath. Dont overpack, its not necessary.

Come on folks, for goodness sake, Ss expedition cruises are not inexpensive so you can certainly afford to rent boots if you dont want to take your own. Personally I would much rather have new boots than boots (rentals are all new) that have been worn by numerous other people no matter how much the cruise line may try to disinfect them between rentals. I would never decide "not to go on any wet landings" the whole joy of being on an expedition is going ashore whereever and whenever you can and the more remote places (the best) will almost certainly require boots. Dont miss out.

So maybe life is not fair, some you win some you lose. You will be getting more than you paid for. Sometimes people get an upgrade on ships and airlines but that doesnt mean that everyone else should get a refund.

This is a completely bizarre "complaint". An Explorer Suite on the Explorer would have been at the front on deck 4, quite small and with a reasonable window. Now you have a much bigger suite with a balcony, what is there to complain about?

I tend to agree with the location of the hotels, the Sheraton was lovely with the San Cristobal hilltop behind and the distant views of the Andes, I was disappointed to find we were going to MO earlier this year but actually loved the gardens and the hotel was very comfortable. Getting around in Santiago is relatively easy with good public transport and ample taxis.

Sorry, thats nonsense, the MO is a bit to the north east of the city and the airport to the northwest. The drive is about half an hour but it is a good road and easy travel. From the area of the hotel there is ready access to public transport which could take you into the city.

The MO is indeed a bit away from the airport but it is in effect en route to the city from airport. Also it is a very pleasant place to stay.

I would read that as saying that while you will get the days you wont get the discounts but laundry will be unaffected.

I dont think SS even have a ship called Silver Princess! As for babysitting, absolutely not unless you befriend a family with young children and choose to give them an "evening off" (why would you?). On a transatlantic you are unlikely to have children on board and since you have said you want to be "alone" then that is just fine but I suspect you will find yourself drawn in by the other lovely passengers and will almost certainly share some social time and what is more enjoy it!

You can usually ask for "room service" and get drinks delivered to any part of the ship.

Our experience has always been that the wine servers are very happy to offer alternatives and you can always ask to speak with the Sommelier. $8 bottles? I have never seen anything that would be that inexpensive at home (UK) on our cruises and we have had some very nice wines including some really nice ones from France which were definitely way more expensive than that. I would question your statement "wine stewards are trained to not recommend the higher end pours" I am guessing you would be happier going back to one of the other cruise lines since you have clearly not been happy on SS.

We did Cape to Cape this year on Explorer and as above were not able to disembark on Tristan, nor in fact in Falklands so we had lots and lots of sea days. We had much less entertainment than was offered on the world cruise because we were an expedition ship but I have to say the time did not pall, it was all so relaxing, notwithstanding really quite rough seas most of the way. Lot of time to chat with people, lots of lectures, no bridge and even my husband didnt complain about that which surprised me. We read a lot, chatted with lots of people, went in the hot tub, but only once, where did all that time go? I dont know. There was a lot of staring out at the sea which we both enjoy. No gym (I am allergic to unforced exercise). Lots of food and drink. A wonderful three week break. Go with the flow!

Wine is not a "guessing game" at dinner. The wines offered are paired with the food on that day's menu but you can always ask for something different if it doesnt suit you and you could taste and try several different wines if you needed to do so to get something you did enjoy .

SS have only this week opened up the booking of excursions from date of booking.

You make me feel quite exhausted, so much to do (not), perfect!!!

Bored with sea days? Why book a cruise with lots of sea days on a cruise line which has few onboard entertainment opportunities. SS is about quiet relaxation not hi di hi! Wine choices are numerous, so 3 or 4 white wines tried were thin and tart, what about the other dozen? Make friends with your waiting staff and get them to let you taste lots of the available wines. Wine at £12.95 (UK price) while obviously not top notch is not particularly cheap. We have done over 100 days on SS and only occasionally like the daily white wine offering as we are great fans of NZ Sauv Blanc and usually revert to it This years favourite Sauv Blanc was Tiki but we also had some very nice white burgundy on a couple of nights and several other pleasant wines outside our usual "comfort zone". The secret to a great SS cruise is, in our view, to do your homework about the ship, what will be available, where you are going, how many sea days, destinations (so you can choose excursions based on some prior knowledge) and most of all making friends with your crew.

Better to be the one testing positive before embarkation than becoming symptomatic on the ship and being quarantined in your cabin for day.

I think the "all around" menu is the room service menu from which you can order items even when sitting in the restaurants rather than order from restaurant menus for room service.