SLSD

We wore masks on our flight TO Copenhagen in June, but not on the way back. We are not concerned about getting terribly ill with Covid at this point--but did not want to get it before our cruise! We were two of VERY few on our flight(s) who wore masks.

To be specific, we were told that it was a zoom conferences about Luxury Cruise preferences. The word marketing was not used. It was obvious, by the end of the conference that it was indeed all about the best way to market their cruises. They wanted to know which photographs were more appealing to us.

Actually, that is just the title of my thread. The actual title had to do with preferences.

We are so envious of you who do not have to fly!

There will be excursions offered at each port. They just don't have them all arranged yet.

I'm happy we are going to meet as well. Something to look forward to in addition to the cruise itself. I think it is a great itinerary.

I think it's the comfort zone that Mr. SLSD enjoys--knowing the ship(s), knowing the drill. There will be more cruises in the future.

I have looked at Regent. My husband really likes Seabourn and wants to stay with it. Perhaps we will try it another time. Their dining looks appealing. I don't particularly like other things about the line---included excursions/air, etc. The same with Silversea even though there are some options.

If there is a buffet breakfast in a hotel--we do partake if that is the choice. But, have no desire to have that as our only option on a luxury cruise line. There is a difference. Thank you for the additional info about Canterbury--I'm beginning to think it is where we would like to be. We always enjoy cultural sites and would enjoy the cathedral and all connected.

YES! I really enjoy the live from threads and I think most people who post here enjoy them as well.

I will be most interested in hearing about your cruise and how it compares to your June cruise on Ovation. I know we both enjoyed our lunches in the Restaurant--even on some port days.

We won't be driving in the UK. We've discussed this thoroughly and I don't think we would be safe drivers due to the differences in sides of the road and sides of the car for the driver. We think it would be too stressful. I know many Americans DO drive, including a friend of ours who we think is a terrible driver in the US! We wouldn't want to put anyone at risk--ourselves or someone else. As far as our preferences. We would not feel a need to go and do everything that could be done in just a couple of days before the cruise. We would enjoy strolling through a town like Canterbury or Rye--enjoying lunch in a pub, seeing whatever sights there were to see (such in in Canterbury). We would like a comfortable place to stay--that serves a good breakfast. We'll figure out a way to see the countryside. We haven't decided yet how many days pre-cruise to enjoy. Probably no more than two full days.

Such a good suggestion. I value hearing about your experience. Thank you so much.

I want to read about these places--very interesting indeed.

Thank you so much for this suggestion. It is a good one. Thank you for taking the time to suggest this.

Thank you for your suggestions of towns, villages. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Yes we will. We are experts at a work around. But, should we have to work around on a luxury cruise line? So--we don't do buffets in our regular land life and we don't do them on cruises either. Are you suggesting that we are being impudent to consider writing a letter? Would you not write a letter with a suggestion that would make your cruise much better? We are all different. We all value different things on a cruise.

By the way, our travel agent (Virtuoso) tells us that we booked the very last Veranda on our itinerary. We don't love our suite location. We are on the waitlist for another suite. It is ok if we have to stay with this suite. There are only a few Vista suites left. So surprising to me as our cruise on Ovation this summer was not full. Another person on our cruise (the first 14 days of it) tells us that there were very few Verandas left last February when they booked. Once again, so surprised. Am I just out in left field to be surprised?

I'll take a look at Deal. We don't mind booking a car. We once took the bus from Heathrow to Oxford--going back, we booked a car. Keep the suggestions coming!

We looked at that itinerary. We have children in NYC--so that would be an appealing place to disembark. Thank you for the suggestion.

What about staying in the village of Rye? Are any of you from the UK familiar with Rye? I actually have a couple of pieces of pottery from Rye Pottery which I have owned for years.

This has been a brutal summer in Texas. I'm sure everyone has seen the news. We are staying indoors with the exception of brief forays to the grocery store or to visit friends. Yesterday, we booked a 28 day Seabourn cruise for next summer. And yes, it is Norway again, but we are adding Iceland this time. Reading our poster MaryOGreen's wonderful blog The Modern Postcard has convinced me we can return to Norway and have all new experiences. I tried to convince Mr. SLSD to try Silversea, but he resisted. I gave him all the arguments, but he was not having it. For starters, he is put off with the idea of the butler. We HAVE cruised Silversea in the past and he flat out prefers Seabourn. Not even the charms of the new Silversea Dawn could budge him. So--Sojourn, here we come, but not until next July. Hopefully, a month out of the brutal heat will make summer 2024 survivable. And yes, we feel very very fortunate to be able to sail on Seabourn We have spent a good amount of time in London. One of our sons lived there for several years with our now daughter in law. Visits from us were in order--and have loved visiting London, but would like to experience some of the countryside--or at least a small town or village within a reasonable distance of the port at Dover. I seem to remember that some of you here, in this forum, had suggestions for either a country inn or hotel to stay in out from Dover. I've searched, but haven't been able to find that reference in our Seabourn forum. I would be so appreciative if one of you remembers that conversation and the names of the recommended lodging places. Meanwhile, I need to start a letter writing campaign to the new president of Seabourn asking that the Restaurant on Seabourn's Sojourn open for breakfast and lunch on this 28 day cruise. After this next cruise, our calendar will be more open--but the only truly cool weather cruises I see during the summer are Norway, Iceland and Alaska. Any other ideas for the next one?

Next summer, Mr. SLSD and I will be sailing out of the Port of Dover. We are not interested in staying in Dover, but would rather stay in a village or small town within an easy distance. We would be interested in a hotel in a large old home, or a country inn--something like that. Extra points for being close to interesting things to see. I seem to remember a discussion about this some months ago, but I'm not finding it in a search at the moment. Was it Fletcher who suggested a place, or was it one of the others of you who lives in the U?. I would appreciate some guidance---Thank you!

I meant to say we had NO substantial complaints! LOL. multitasking, talking, and typing at the same time.

We stayed at that same Marriott in June. I agree with your rating. I had substantial complaints,