Gourmet Gal

The segment you speak of is shrinking but it looks as though SS can accommodate a more wardrobe diverse range of customers

Is there another airline you can switch to completely? Is there another hub you can fly through besides FRA? Otherwise, the train ride is the same length as your original (long) layover and not much trouble compared with navigating FRA. Why do you have to take a bus from the train station to hotel in Luxembourg? Why not just Uber? Same with Hotel to pier…why bus?

Thanks. Yours is a different young, female Portuguese chef!

Interesting about your Portuguese chef. We had a lovely young Portuguese Chef on our Douro Tauck cruise. She has a TV cooking show and is a media star in Portugal. She was ending her term with Tauck after our cruise. I’ve forgotten her name but would recognize it. Do you know your chef’s name?

Correct, so La Dame should be really excellent. It will be interesting to hear if Nova pax feel the experience and food are better than on other ships in La Dame and/or if the wines are that much better.

A $100 fee for a wine pairing in a very good restaurant is actually a typical price. High-end restaurants can be double that PP.

I wouldn’t move on from SS solely because the upcharge has increased in a venue that I can easily do without. The experience is barely worth the $60 and the $160 would be worth it only if I run out of things on which to spend OBC. The wine pairing isn’t important to me…I always regret ordering wine-pairings with tasting menus on shore…I just can’t drink all that wine. As to having to be “super rich” to afford it…if one can afford to sail SS then one can certainly afford an upcharge. It is the principle of the thing, though. I get that. BTW, Michelin* restaurants aren’t necessarily more expensive than non-Michelin. On shore a multi-course meal with wine-pairing is a bargain at $160 PP…if it’s actually good!

So-called “dress” jeans are usually dark denim or black, not faded, sanded, feathered, abraded or with holes. They do look great with dressy tops for women or collared shirts for men and nice shoes. My 28 y/o son actually wore his every night except formal night on our most recent cruise w/SS with and without a blazer. Honestly, I think they can look much better on some women than yoga pants and other skin tight pants I’ve seen worn at dinner.

If you’re looking for little surprises you may want to check at Tauck as well. They are known for their little surprise gifts and special events.

And “in this moment”. Not as useless as “that being said” or the companion “it goes without saying”

Fingers crossed.

Love it.

👏👏👏

I’m getting ready to take an extended trip and have been masking in public more than usual for the past week. Just don’t want to contract any virus beforehand. Likewise, I have friends with other health issues and they always mask when in close quarters to protect themselves. I feel Covid has fostered more acceptance of masking against viruses and as a courtesy to others when one is contagious. Many Asian countries have this practice imbedded in their culture and I’m happy to follow that good example.

Sorry to hear about those inconsiderate passengers. Sounds like they learned nothing from the pandemic…this would have been a perfect time for them to wear a mask out of consideration for others. It could really help with transmission of any sort of respiratory bug.

In my experience Tauck is worth at least $100 more per day than Uniworld. They are a tour company first and foremost and the quality of their tours definitely beats my Uniworld experiences. Can’t speak to comparisons to the more moderate-priced lines.

All under the category of packing suggestions and clothing guidelines with a lot of soft language. The one mention of dress code has an asterisk that explains ”for your guidance only” with the only real hardline being jackets required ship-wide after dinner. None of the language seems to justify the sometimes harsh criticism spewed by those who feel the “guidelines” have not been followed 100%.

For $160 PP plus what you’ve already spent for that meal in your cruise fare you can probably find a much more enjoyable meal on land…and you most likely will not have to wear formal attire. However, if one is a heavy drinker then it could be a bargain!

Funny, I watched it with the sound off!

You have found a rather broad brush to describe people who prefer not to dress to the nines on vacation. Sorry to hear your statistical cohort of the poorly dressed have such bad manners. There isn’t really a dress code on the SS website but that verbiage is used on the daily fact sheets so there could be quite a few pax who don’t realize they’re actually the dreaded “rule-breakers” until they’re onboard. I doubt very seriously they all have poor manners or behavior nor do they break all rules. On the other hand, boy, do I know some insanely rich, well-dressed but highly obnoxious people who truly think rules don’t apply.

Great video.

Good to know. It’s been a few years, I sail on SS usually. The Mozart Tea must have been on sea days. I’m usually off the ship all day otherwise.

That must have been fun to have all that space on a big jumbo. We’ll be going to Easter Island on this trip as well. So looking forward to it! I see what you did there. Hope the Constellations align for you!

Not with the waitstaff wearing that silly 18th century attire. I would also prefer that the service is not a buffet. I do like a Tower o’ Treats!

Which Around the World tour did you take? I’m about to embark on my second ATW with Four Seasons.