Gourmet Gal

Leading up to our Moon sailing in Sept. some of our excursion bookings disappeared and then were reinstated and it happened to others on our roll call. I think they must have some computer glitches. Don’t panic yet.

The Nova is a beautiful ship though a little larger than I like. It looks like there’s an interior forward facing observation lounge but not exterior. Where would that be?

Wow! Les, so sorry to hear of your extreme difficulty getting your trip booked. I just ain’t over ‘til it’s over! Good luck.

What’s Taulk? Never heard of it.

Excellent observations and comparison. SS compared very well or better in many categories.

I was on the Moon in Sept and it was almost full. One washer and dryer per laundry room and honestly, it was rarely a problem.

Other than your hotel issue I would say that’s been my experience on all my SS cruises but then I book mostly for itineraries and select cruises with few if any sea days.

It might be helpful to know which were the specific areas that were underwhelming?

No, never did the Poles mostly because I don’t like rough seas, sea days and I really hate cold weather so no comment other than if you’ve never done an ocean cruise you should research how rough the seas are at the time of year you are considering. Many cruisers have a hard time dealing with the big passage down to Antartica. SS does have some departures that will fly over the passage to avoid the rough seas. Some people will chime in here and say the seas were just fine on their cruise but they could be the exception. Have fun planning!

Lovely voyage. Thanks for sharing!

First please, it is Silversea not Silverseas. And yes, it’s true that SS is the most formal with suit and tie required on formal nights in most venues however many people can make it work just fine with sport coat, tie and dark pants. La Terrazza and The Grill are informal attire required on formal nights. The excellent room service is also not a bad option on those few formal nights. Expedition cruises do not have a formal requirement nor do the Med cruises of 7 days or fewer. Seems like SS is beginning to relax the dress code a bit. Is the cruise you are considering an expedition cruise? Outstanding service is evident on SS ships and you can avail yourself of as much pampering as you can tolerate but be assured that you will never get a chance to pour your water yourself!

As I recall your nightly rate on the cruise was only $330 per night. Yes, flights are expensive now but with that nightly rate it isn’t hard to exceed that with air fare. Not sure how many nights you had planned but sorry to hear it isn’t working out for you. It would have been easy otherwise to justify the possible negatives for such a great cruise price. I think the dress code issue gets overblown, and there is always good food to be found somewhere on the ship. Service is usually excellent and the ship is beautiful.

I sure understand. Crystal claimed to be a luxury line yet subjected pax to those tiny cabins…not a luxury experience. I sailed Crystal exactly once and was underwhelmed but will concede the entertainment was pretty great and really the best aspect of the line.

It never hurts to request the exact flights you want and then go from there. Glad it worked out for you.

Interesting. The cap in the US is much higher.

Not a world cruiser but I’ve had to insure around-the-world jet trips and found Travel Guard to be reasonable although we had to self-insure a portion due to maxing out on their limit. It was worth it to take the risk on a small portion rather than pay for a second policy. Is Travel Guard available in Canada?

Can I just say, it’s amazing how excited people are about “free” laundry! You earned it!

I didn’t say I had mega-yacht owning friends but I’m not slumming on CC at all. Most of my travel is land-based so I don’t cruise very often. When I do I have questions and enjoy the research and I find plenty of helpful people willing to share their experiences here on CC. This thread is a good example.

I thought the Otium benefits extend to in-suite perks as well?

So funny.

Depends on your definition of significant. But the answer is yes, I do know some yacht owners. Don’t hold it against me. 😉

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed review. Can you share with us anything about the Otium concept and if you were able to enjoy any of the benefits? Also, I quoted this remark because I find it puzzling as one who is a bit tired of the demonization of the wealthy. Do yacht-owners have a monopoly on “telling other people how to live”? I’ve certainly not encountered that and I also do not know any yacht-owners who seem to be major contributors to the world’s ills.

Yes. Be sure to confirm with Tauck your flight info and non-Tauck hotel. I believe there is a place for that on your account page but I think I also called Tauck just to be sure. Back in April I arrived a week before my cruise and stayed at a non-Tauck hotel and the transportation was flawless. We happened to be staying at The Peninsula in Paris and they were kind enough to transport us in their RR Phantom to the Tauck hotel but an Uber would have been very easy as well.

No personalized stationery on my Sept. cruise on Silver Moon. Cincicruise, the keychain houses the small bottle of sanitizer.

It appeared about 30 days in advance for my cruise on the Moon last month.