Gourmet Gal

I find balanced critiques of any aspect of cruising appropriate and helpful here on Cruise Critic. Yankeeclipper, thanks for elaborating. I agree that SS food and bev does not measure up to RC, FS or especially Peninsula but then, honestly, which cruiselines are Peninsula caliber? That’s a high hurtle but I would love to know. I’ve sailed on only 3 older SS ships and am booked on the Moon this Fall. I wonder if others can comment if there are differences in the quality if food on the various ships. The Moon seems to have garnered some very positive reviews related to food. Hope your RC cruising meets your expectation. I booked with them pre-Covid and it’s been so delayed we gave up and cancelled. Now I don’t see any interesting itineraries but the ship looks beautiful.

Thanks for your thoughtful post. We can only hope there is an easing of the dress code to reflect the style of the demographic that SS is courting.

It’s hard to underdress for a river cruise but easy to overdress. Country club casual is safe and works. A pashmina or Hermes type cashmere shawl always works when traveling.

Butter, pastries, bread…not the items I want to waste calories on when on a cruise ship anyway!

Which cruise line is giving you heads up about odors? My answer to your question is that I’ve never experienced that issue on Uniworld or Tauck. But then I also avoid bottom deck staterooms or those in the aft.

Thanks for the thorough review of your dining experience. Good info for those who focus on dining while onboard. My priority on a cruise is always the itinerary and then the category of ship with respect to level of service, food, accommodations, amenities. For true high-end culinary experiences I would never expect that on a ship - I book land-based trips for that with a focus on restaurant choice. I’ve sailed SS, Crystal but not Regent or Seabourn and have always found the food to be just okay. I don’t expect a Michelin * experience but usually the dining is pleasant enough although the service can be over-wrought in some venues.

The OP is actually on a cruise longer than the 7 day exception indicated in the SS dress code so perhaps there will be a couple of formal nights after all.

Sorry to hear your family went through such a trying time. Alaska will be a wonderful getaway and sounds like SS will be a nice fit for you. Don’t worry, the pictures are pure marketing meant to convey a “luxury” experience. I’ve rarely seen pax on any cruise line look as put-together as the marketing pix. And keep in mind, very few pax have even heard of CC so these forums only loosely reflect the average passenger. Your husband’s attire sounds perfectly fine for “formal” nights if he includes a nice slacks and you would only need some dressy tops to fit in on those nights. Also, it’s true that you can dine at the grill and La Terrazza on formal nights with informal attire and of course SS does a great job with room service anytime. Just wondering, are you sure there are formal nights on the Alaska cruises? I could be wrong but aren’t the formal nights billed as optional on the Alaska cruises?

I doubt that avid Carnival cruisers don’t sail on SS because of the dress code but I’m not saying “anything goes” should be the standard either. Just looking for a dress code that matches the age we live in where one can be elegant, stylish and tasteful in less forma l attire. And no, not too much to ask that gentlemen wear a jacket.

So well said. Agree 100%. Perhaps the SS dress code is going to be relaxed in the near future and staff knows that forcing the issue is soon to be a moot point. Fingers crossed.

I thought the fashion police resided only on this forum.

jtm1, thanks for the reports! I have a keen interest because I have an upcoming cruise on the Moon and I appreciate any feedback and observations. As for Covid, the current variants are far more contagious than Omicron. Of course each country has their own trajectory and the ship will have it’s own. I’ll be boarding in Sept. and hope the masking requirements are even more stringent as I have an extended stay in Portugal after and will be boarding a river cruise just three days after disembarkation from the Moon. Hoping to remain Covid negative throughout.

Thanks for taking the time to post your impressions scseas. I’ll be onboard in Sept and appreciate reading the details as I anticipate my cruise.

So you tested positive or began showing symptoms 2 days later so very likely you contracted Covid on the cruise. Sorry to hear it.

How do you know there are unvaxed pac?

That lag time is problematic especially for a business seat. In the past they’ve done a much better job. I wonder how this poor service compares to other air departments currently in light of the airline turmoil and Covid staff shortages? Good luck.

So it sounds like the problem is not lack of choice of flights and if you know your preferred flights then SS Air should give you a yeah or nay if they will book it with the deviations. Sometimes the problem is that they do not have a contract for bulk fares with your preferred airlineS but they should tell you that. SS Air has been a weak spot with SS for the past year or so and despite the advantages sometimes your preferred airline and routing has to take priority. If money is not an issue then I would decline the air from SS and book directly. It seems SSAir has contracts with fewer carriers than in the past. This is based on my attempt to use them this Fall and not being able to book the same carriers as in the past with SS. Transfer from the airport by SS is only slightly more convenient than making your own way either by taxi or private car. I wouldn’t base the air decision on that.

Not much of a benefit anyway. You’re probably better off making better stock investments than cruise lines.

I also hope there are no more dangerous variants but the current ones can be “mild” or asymptomatic if you’ve been vaccinated. Also, the “mild” symptoms means up to anything not serious enough to require hospitalization and can be far worse than a slight cold. My vaxed and boosted husband contracted Covid on a river cruise in April and he was miserable with full-on flu-like symptoms for 10 days…fever, aches severe cough, congestion. Not a slight cold at all. Being vaccinated only helps to avoid serious life-threatening consequences - it doesn’t seem to be all that helpful in preventing illness so I am hopeful that CL’s will continue to require testing before boarding no matter who pays for it or who conducts the test. Masking doesn’t hurt either but thats’s another conversation…

Wow! And what if you had booked it before today?! Seems insane to charge $4000 more for a ride to and from the airport.

I can understand why your friend is reconsidering.

To answer your question, all the excursion prices are quoted when your booking window opens up. Even the included tour prices are listed because if you would like to take two tours in one day you’ll be charged for the one of them.

Glad you had a great trip and you were able to make it home unscathed and Covid-negative. We also received vouchers but will never get to use them. The letter arrived a few days after we made final payment on our upcoming Douro cruise, so too late to apply to that cruise. It will probably be our last with Tauck. I really think they had it within their power to handle the Covid situation better than they did and a true measure of a company is how they handle problems. The voucher is a nice touch but the damage was already done for us and there are other great river cruise choices.

Is that PP or for both of you? If you subtract the air and car, what is the difference in price? Does the D2D also include a hotel night?

Do you have seat assignments? This seems very odd.