SLSD

I think several of us will be posting. I will enjoy seeing other points of view---all valid from our different experiences.

Our suitcases were out for so long that our dog forgot about it. He will see us leave on Thursday with just small carryons and through the front door. He is a fortunate dog as he (along with his sister the cat) have a wonderful housesitter coming. He may not even miss us.

On your subsequent cruises did you take measures to stay apart from people? Or did you socialize as usual?

It occurred to me that your full cruise reservation at The Retreat might be a way of separating yourself. We'll probably do that in our suite and on our balcony. I did read about what you went through including the isolation in the US upon your return.

We are hoping to avoid Covid. We may not be as convivial on this cruise as in years past. We may be mostly sticking to ourselves. We have a friend who just contracted Covid while vacationing in Italy. He said he was mostly outdoors. sigh....

Your comment reminds me of a dear 2nd cousin of my husband, who died last year at age 101. Whenever we were at her house, she would first ask us if we needed something medicinal--meaning alcohol of course. She was one of those women people refer to as "Southern Belles". Her charm, humor and hostessing ability is probably a lost art. So yes, we will be ordering something medicinal on our Seabourn cruise.

We got the minimum amount of cash that our bank would send. I was too lazy to go in and order it in person. We probably won't use much if any of it! I remember in Sweden that most businesses had signs that said credit cards only. We use cash so seldom now in our everyday lives. I might exchange some of the bills for even small bills at our hotel, if possible.

Markham, This all sounds great. Do you consider yourself to be a cruise person or an expedition person? As we are just a few years past our prime, we are mostly cruise people--which has kept us from considering Pursuit. While we are fully capable of getting into and out of a Zodiac, we are just not sure that we want to do that as the main activity of a cruise. Perhaps you will convince us otherwise. It is disappointing that Seabourn now allows smoking on Pursuit. I had read that earlier, but it still seems to be an effort to cater to a few in order to harvest their dollars. It would not enhance my enjoyment of the Sky Bar. I will be most interested to hear about the menu (photos please?) as you go forward. Of course preparing food for 270 is much different from food preps for 450-600. While I know you are a tux guy (and a dapper one at that), I doubt that you will miss formal night. Honestly, I think that ship has sailed. An ever growing number of people just don't want to lug formal clothing as they fly abroad. Thank you for your report and I will look forward to the next installment.

Yes, the plan for us is to arrive on the 9th. We have in the past gone three days early with plans to explore a city. We shipped one bag and, as of yesterday, it had made it to Leipzig.

The only thing we are nervous about is our connecting flight. We are all packed except for a very very few odds and ends. We have our Danish and Norwegian currency, our passports, etc. etc, etc. We hope to meet everyone on the ship.

We have looked at the Retreat on previous cruises, but it is not for us. One of my favorite things about being on a ship is the ocean view. The Retreat looks very comfortable, but does not have an ocean view. I know you will enjoy its other amenities.

I think you will be glad to have the sports coat. My husband always wears his on the plane. He usually takes two sports coats, but this time we are traveling light and he is only bringing one. He does wear it to dinner in the Restaurant. It certainly is not mandatory,

I look forward to hearing about your Venture experience in all its ramifications. I know you have been disappointed with SB of late.

You can try calling to ask for a reservation. If you are using a travel agent, you can ask them to ask for a reservation. Also, you can wait until you board and go to the TK Grill that afternoon and ask for a reservation.

I will be reading your wife's travel blog! Best wishes, Susan. My husband has a rather unusual name so I won't post it here.

Jondfk, Mr. SLSD and I will be on your cruise and hope to meet you and your wife. I will start our own thread about our cruise experience once we board-- as our experience will likely differ from yours. We are experienced Seabourn cruisers (the only other cruise line for us has been Silversea) and this is our first cruise since Covid disrupted our travel plans. Like you, we are not hard to please people. For example, you won't find me criticizing how SB makes iced tea (which I drink quite a lot of) or anything mundane like that. I don't expect perfection. We are not especially food people (or wine people) , but I will post some menus and photos of food for those who enjoy that. We are not pool people and will not be booking The Retreat either. Most of all, we are looking forward to having a relaxing vacation to new places. I hope your trip is wonderful with your expectations met. I will very much look forward to reading your reports.

There is a very good museum in Port Rupert. It has a lot of artifacts from early Alaska. We especially enjoyed seeing the Native American masks. They were fabulous!! It is very close to where you will disembark and a super easy walk. It is so close you can almost see the museum from the dock. The museum is well worth seeing. There is also a pretty sunken garden close by and another easy walk. There is even a regular grocery store within walking distance.

Don't worry about shops--they are just tourist shops and not very interesting at all. The real draw is the great outdoors.

That is what we found. There were quite a few people but plenty of room to have a good view of everything.

I don't remember how many passengers were on the catamaran we took for this excursion. It is a large boat. It was a very enjoyable excursion and I do believe many people signed up for it--and it probably had very close to the maximum. number of passengers. It was an added excursion on our itinerary--announced the day before. And it was quite popular. It is perfect for those who do not want to get into a zodiac. We got quite close to the glaciers--as close as was safe. It was memorable. If you are not doing anything else the morning it is offered, I would not miss it. The catamaran has an inside seating area as well as two decks. There is also a very decent restroom on the boat.

We have taken this catamaran trip and enjoyed it. We boarded VERY early in the morning--before 8am if I recall correctly.

Sadly, we don't eat Sushi, but I'm glad there are other offerings on the Sushi lunch menu!

I was just asking about the menu at Sushi for lunch. We don't do buffets--and will order from the Colonnade menu. There is a lack of choice at lunch I'm afraid. Some months ago there was a long thread about The Restaurant not being open for lunch. We've never sailed on Regent--but WILL be sailing on SB soon.

See menu above--there ARE. non Sushi offerings on the lunch menu.

The TK Grill is not an upcharge. If you buy revenue wine THAT would be an upcharge, but not the TK Grill meal.