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We sail the Nova next summer, June 20th Vancouver to Seward.  Our first post Covid cruise and we are more than ready for it.  If anyone has insights into the Rocky Mountaineer Train from Calgary to Vancouver, would love to hear from you.  We are in the early stages of looking at pre and post cruise adventures.  Also Share any must pack items unique to cruising to Alaska....our first trip there.

Appreciate your thoughts on Culinary situation on SS.  We have only done one SS cruise and the food was very good but certainly not up to the standards of the fine cuisine you were expecting.  Not sure why you were expecting it, as we were not.  We did expect very good food but that was it.  Certain dishes at La Dame we’re a cut above. We are not sailing at this time due to uncertainty regarding Covid restrictions on board, but for the price of a cruise  we rented a gorgeous villa outside of Cortona in Tuscany with a full time chef for 20 people for a full week and Francesco’s farm to table meals would put a Michelin star to shame.  Cruising at this time is not the place if you are looking for a foody experience IMHO.  

As an aside, if you purchased self test/monitored test kits, as I did.....here in US most insurances will reimburse you for them.  We bought a boatload of them, so that is good news.

This will be a really big help to all the Travel Agents who work so hard to make our trips easier.  They were suffering terribly.  Their lobby group and the lobby group of the airlines worked hard to make this happen.

We are more than overjoyed as we have a family of 15 headed to Tuscany for a few weeks in two weeks. The thought of all that pre entry testing was very worrisome.  Thank the Lord & pass the meatballs!

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-drop-covid-testing-incoming-travelers-2022-06-10/

20 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

 

I don't think it's "anxiety" for most who question it.

 

First, to be clear,  or formal night, it's more than a jacket: it's a dark suit. That's in addition to a sport jacket which is required on informal nights (assuming one doesn't want to wear the one suit jacket every night!).

 

Second, some fans of formal nights note that people can choose to eat dinner on a formal night at La Terrazza or The Grill without formal clothing. I note, however, that one can't go to a lounge or the theater on formal night without wearing a jacket, so it's more than just dining in a different venue.

 

For me, the only issue is luggage weight. Depending where we are traveling and for how long, weight of our luggage is usually an issue; we're usually right up against the 50 pound weight limit. Assuming the suitcase itself weights 10-13 pounds, that leaves 37-40 points for clothing, shoes, etc. So a suit which may weight 4-5 pounds, uses up more than 10% of my luggage allowance. That's a lot if it's an outfit which will be worn for one night only. If it's Caribbean cruise with light clothing, it's probably not an issue, but in colder climates requiring sweaters and more layers of clothing, it can be. So there's the practical matter that can be an issue.

 

For some, it's a lifestyle issue. One of the things some people who have worn suits to work every day for 40+ years enjoy about retirement is that they no longer need to wear a suit. In the US at least, "smart casual" wear — nice pants and collared shirt — is acceptable In most restaurants, even high-end restaurants, and some people are happy that clothing fits the relaxed life they now enjoy.

 

For a few people who may be retired for many years, they may no longer have forma clothing which fits them or looks good, so they feel they'd need to purchase new clothing to wear once in a blue moon.

 

Please, please don't pick apart my choice of language above! I'm not out to debate dress codes, only to respond to the comment about "all the anxiety" over packing for a Silversea Cruise. I understand why some people have the opposite point of view, and that they like the opportunity to get dressed up and wear their formal attire. And I do believe that anyone who chooses to sail on a Silversea cruise should know what the dress code is and be prepared to follow it, whether it's their personal preference or not. 

 

 

Just to comment on one point only…,My husband wore his navy blazer, grey dress trousers, white shirt,  silk tie & pocket square to LaDame on several formal nights.  We were always welcomed graciously by name & felt more than appropriate. We were on the Muse Sydney to Auckland for several weeks in Dec 2019.  The ship was predominately Australian & American &  British, in that order.  Seemed like the British wore more tuxedos & gowns.  The rest of us were just slightly more dressed down.  The tuxedos & gowns looked great but so did everyone else in their dark jackets, suits & elegant cocktail dresses.  Everyone seemed to having a great time, I know we did.  On another note, my husband who enjoyed a fine cigar in the Connoisseurs Lounge was always welcomed to sit with the tuxedo clad lads. Great conversation & single malts. Came “home” very late. 

On 3/22/2022 at 3:59 PM, joseph123 said:

I think you are missing the point big time. I could throw on an old worn and dated jacket just to meet the dress code requirement and show up at dinner and that would be OK rather than showing up very nicely dressed without? Does not make sense. I agree... the things people stress over!

Certainly see your point & my husband will not wear a tuxedo unless it’s a formal wedding, gala or on board the QE 2.  He does have a great navy hopsack blazer which he wears on the plane with jeans or casual trousers.  Come formal night he pairs it with trousers, shirt, tie & throws a pocket square in his pocket.  Other nights if we go to show or casino, he wears that jacket no tie. Other nights its nice shirt, sweater.  It’s the only jacket with which he travels and works every time.  No need for a suit or tux. 

We stayed in 1108 on Muse for two weeks, Sydney to Auckland in 2019.  We absolutely loved the cabin & location.  It’s a very quiet part of the ship.  We heard nothing. 

1 hour ago, les37b said:

Captain's announcement.... Props are fine.

 

4 guests and 3 crew tested positive. We are unsure if that is the same 4  we know are in jail or another 4.

 

Meanwhile we went ashore and had a whale of a time. 

 

Unfortunately another 2 downers. This morning my wife noticed that a black bin liner used to hold her shoes to go to quarantine doesn't appear to have come back. My wife actually took a photo of all the luggage and the black sack clearly there. She was going to carry that herself but the nurse insisted the butler took it. My own (novelty) video of the butler and my wife, shows he didn't have the bag. They are looking at security cameras now. So about 7 pairs of shoes down.

 

Then, despite being off the ship today and already having a proper c19 cert, she got a Chilean email saying she has to quarantine for 10 days and report in each day.

 

Just when we thought we could relax.  I'm sure the COVID thing will turn out fine, but the shoe thing seems to be not going well.

 

Oh no, as someone who is very emotionally  attached to her shoes, I can only imagine the angst.  When you say “ bin liner” I am

assuming we Americans would  call it a trash bag. This is bad!!!  Praying for the shoes!

9 hours ago, Reef Knot said:

I'm not a facebook user by choice but realise that having an account is pretty much essential to access many sites. So like me and many others I'm sure, just create new email address and a facebook account with your pets name or whatever rocks you boat. Adjust the privacy settings to the max and you are good to go. If and when you think it's getting too intrusive just delete the account.

And voyageur the clue is in the title Cruise "Critic"

I have Facebook account & use it only for sites related to goods & services that I purchase.  For instance, during a recent home renovation & some problems with a major vendor, I went on their FB page to address issues, because the local representative was not helpful. Within 24 hrs I had a call from regional manager who said Corporate asked them to call me and talk about the issue. Within 2 days,  the issue was rectified to my satisfaction.  All companies worth your attention should have social media staff.  It does matter.  No one likes bad press.

Good Luck to you & your wife Les. Wishing the remainder of your journey goes very smoothly.  Thanks for sharing your trials & tribulations knowing that you helped many people organize their thoughts regarding future plans.  I, for one, am extremely thankful for your insights & recommendations.  These are unprecedented times in travel & taking off the rose colored glasses right now will help everyone make sound  decisions based on their own tolerance level. The true victims  right now in the travel industry are the hardworking crews, TA,  all staff in hospitality industry, small shop owners etc.  I pray this is all over soon and government bureaucracies step aside as I fear they see no end game.  Just MHO. 

2 hours ago, jimmajimma said:

The itinerary (Guayaquil to BA) was officially changed about a week ago. It has been know for quite some time time by Silversea that Argentina was a no go.

 

I was supposed to go on this segment (Guayaquil to Buenos Aires)  but was fortunate enough to be informed by an anonymous source of the new itinerary last Thursday. When I found out that the revised sailing only included Chile (maybe/depending on Covid results) and disembarkation was in Montevideo, that was enough for me to make decision to not proceed.

 

Unfortunately, SIlversea has chosen not to be transparent and sent out letters a few hours ago (24 hours before embarkation) to give passengers the revised itinerary. It was exactly the same itinerary as the one I saw last Thursday - so what were they waiting for?? 

 

I assume they did this because everyone would have had to be in transit by now in order to reach Guayaquil to board the ship tomorrow unless you actually live in Ecuador.

 

Since I had info from an anonymous source and I promised her/him I wouldn't post anything, I haven't until now. But now the letters have been sent out and the new itinerary is out there, I feel that everyone should know how this really transpired.  It was NOT a last minute change.

 

I have a lot more detail about how the past 6 days have gone for me personally regarding this but I think you will all get the general idea from what I have written.

 

I'm sure the changed itinerary would not have affected some passenger's decision on whether to go or not. But the revised itinerary should have been communicated a week ago so that anyone on this segment could have made an informed decision on whether to proceed. Now it is too late as most people are probably reading this email upon arrival in Guayaquil.

 

I will be cancelling future bookings with SIlversea based on the horrific lack of information and obvious calculated lack of transparency.

 

That’s is just awful.  I don’t think

I could trust Silversea on just about anything at this point in time.  What a fall from grace as perception is everything.   We had an early inkling of Silversea not being upfront way back when we booked the original inaugural of the Dawn.  Was assured over & over that it was a go, to only find out from people we know in Italy near the shipyard that it was never on schedule. Fortunately, Barbara worked with our TA to get a timely refund. People respect communication that is timely & honest, even if it’s not what we want to hear. For us, that trust must be earned back. 

18 minutes ago, worldtraveller99 said:

Well it is a plague - but mainly for those who already have a medical condition which may need hospital treatment. I think that is why eg Ecuador is frightened, as they don't have the vaccine (or do they? I'm not sure) and they don't have sufficient medical facilities. 

 

Maybe all travel this year should only be to countries with both of the above, until all countries are better vaccinated? And between those countries insist on full vaccination certificates and stop worrying about testing (or masks??) ?

That takes me back to governments…..if this is such a plague then all travel should be prohibited but it’s not.  We can travel but we can’t get back to our own homes because of some tests that may or may not be accurate.  We should not be having to quarantine in another country.  If you allow your citizens out then you sure as hell should let them back in, especially as we know more of the risks & issues & treatments for this virus.  

2 hours ago, les37b said:

 

Thank you.... And believe me, I will be reporting.

 

It's got to the stage where the boogie man is no longer the virus, but the test and potentially devastating outcome that brings. 

 

When it's so bad someone needs to tell you because you have no idea, it's time to move on.

You are so right.  My problem is with the government restrictions around the world.  At this time in the “pandemic” there is no reason IMHO why a citizen of any country in the world can’t get home for any reason. My country included.  This is not the plague.  

7 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

This may not be a popular post, but I believe that SS should cancel its current cruises and have a break for a month or so to let things settle back down. The world cruisers might be unhappy and would probably get asked if they wished to continue, but if they did they may be better off skipping ports for a couple of weeks and not allowing any segmenters on. Looking at Les's posts on the current Moon voyage it looks pretty much as if his wife and the other female guest got infected either from someone else on the ship (crew?) or whilst on a port tour. Its worth noting that they are guests who took their own LF tests with them, tested every couple of days and self reported when positive. For all we know the ship may have a number of other guests who are asymptomatic, SS has stopped mid voyage testing, but not explained why.  At present its not too awful (but not nice either) if people are quarantining onboard the ships, but getting kicked off and ending up in quarantine somewhere like Ecuador for an extra 14 days and needing a negative PCR to escape is not an outcome that most guests would vote for.

I have to agree with your assessment. Following some of these stories on CC & FB and it’s all so crazy.  Testing all the time, all types of tests, PCR, antigen, now self testing. Who knows how accurate these tests are, who knows if people are actually very ill.  Add to that foreign ports with various restrictions.  Time for a timeout.  Feel bad for the couple who self reported since she no symptoms & he is negative. No good deed goes unpunished.  Hope they get home soon. 

Thanks for sharing your experiences on the Ovation.  One of our favorite ships, the vibe is so fun on Seabourn and we miss it very much.   We have sailed two Seabourn ships, Encore & Ovation and we rate them very high.  We sailed Silversea too and highly recommend it, but the food, vibe & decor (love blue) on Seabourn gets the nod for us.  We felt the staff on both were very comparable but will give a slight edge to Silversea….might have something to do with our Butler who treated us like royalty.  Enjoy and I look forward to your reports…while turning green with envy.  

We hate masks, as most people do.  We understand why Seabourn & Silversea have the protocol.  It must be done, given the level of concern of most people.  That being said, the mask debate is sometimes so interesting as people bring up very salient points.  We too marvel at the virus’ ability to not infect a person sitting at a bar or a table for hours while onboard a cruise ship; but just that quick second a person passes another on the way to the table or in a hallway is deemed dangerous.  If we felt it made sense or was worth the inconvenience, we would comply & we would scratch our heads.  

However, Masks are not a part of our everyday life, but for limited mandates….airlines, doctors offices & of course, the nail salon.  We have attended numerous major US college football games for 3 months with well over 100,000 screaming people. All our college grandkids have had the shots as have all  our family and friends, with just a few few outliers.  

We are enjoying our land life with trips coast to coast since the beginning of Covid.  We go to restaurants where our servers sport big visible smiles.  We are active outdoor people. We see everyone and go everywhere, no masks, no mandates.  

We chose not to cruise, not out of fear, but because it is way too inconvenient for the amount of money spent.  We hope our plans for 2022  land trips to Europe come to fruition, as it depends on mandates of shots (as they are not vaccines )for some of our grandkids who are very young.  

Maybe a return to cruising in 2023.  The cruise industry does owe a debt of gratitude to all those who choose to put up with the inconveniences and spent big money and, by most accounts still enjoy the  cruise experience.  Hat off to you all!

5 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

That was such an amazing place to be. We didn’t find it until about 5 days in but sailing into Haines it was absolutely incredible and we had views that you wouldn’t get from anywhere else on the ship. It would be such a shame if they did away with that. 

Yes, you are so correct…sorry to hear they did away with access to the forward facing deck.  We sailed into Milford Sound in New Zealand aboard the Muse & everyone was drawn to the forward deck.  It was magical.

Good Luck to our Australian friends....I hope the Muse (waiting patiently) off the coast of San Diego will be able to make the trek.  We remember fondly Dec 2019 Sydney to Auckland on board the Muse.  What a great cruise....despite some smokey days in Sydney.  We were able to get into all the Sounds and the Tasman Sea was like glass.  Hope to get back some day....loved everything about Australia and New Zealand.  

Thanks for sharing!  We and a group of friends were scheduled to be on her very very first inaugural which was scheduled for this past September, Rome to Venice.  It's wonderful to see that she is finally in the home stretch for completion.  Barbara M through my travel agent was instrumental in getting our complete refund in a very timely manner as soon as they realized the shipyard could not deliver on time. Barbara is amazing!

How about a lightweight hopsack blazer “ranger rolled” (you can google the process).  It would fit in your backpack.  My son did this while backpacking & it worked great.  Also, there are ways to

fold a blazer so that it takes up very little room and doesn’t wrinkle.  Just a suggestion. 

If you have time, take a cab to ……pasteis de belem…..the famous coffee and pastry shop. It may seem like a tourist place, but seriously  we tried the famous custard pastry all over the city and it just tasted the best there.  There is a walk up window….always a wait but wind your way all the way to the back dinning room, it’s large & airy and usually no wait, especially this time of the year.  

To chime in once more…..to compare the “typical” passenger on both lines feels to me to be a form of snobbery. Crew, decor, food service are subjective of course, but to generalize passengers as country club vs faculty lounge “attitudes” says more about the judge.  It implies…..well… not sure what it implies.  We enjoy people from all walks of life.  The best thing about cruising is that at the end we all go home to enjoy what we love. 

We have sailed two Seabourn (Encore & Ovation).  And only one on SS (Muse) We loved them both.  Will sail SS again in 2023. 

 We felt that SilverSea crew was better trained, more professional while still being friendly without being too familiar. We did prefer this. Our Muse crew drew heavily from the Philippines & India where I believe their training schools are located. They did an  outstanding job.  Our SB crews were from Eastern & Western Europe and tended to be less formal.  We loved them

too, but more impressed with Silversea’s crew. 
 

I am a fan of Thomas Keller so you’ll have to take my opinion with a grain of salt regarding SB, but we loved the restaurants on Silversea. Lots of variety with hits & misses as to be expected. 

Was not a fan of the Dolce Vita lounge layout, but it has been updated in the newer ships with a central bar, so I imagine that is the central gathering space.  There is not a comparable space to Seabourn Square, but the small Arts Cafe for coffee & treats is quite nice. The forward Observation Lounges are used differently also.  As you know on SB it is quite the place before & after dinner with great lounge music.  On SS it’s a bit more subdued & nice place to have quiet conversation.  However, there are other venues on SS that make up for that.  I felt the shows were a bit more slick on SB, and there was much more dancing on SB, especially while in the Mediterranean.  
 

As to Tiramisu’s comment, it was a strong statement, but we found mostly interesting, well educated, well traveled, good mannered people on both lines with a small peppering of obnoxious, self centered  people from all walks of life….again on both lines.  It might even be the itineraries that set the tone. On SB Encore, our Med cruise brought out the party animals, while on SB Ovation (Lisbon to Amsterdam) via Northern Spain, Western France, traversing the English Channel several times with stops in Devon (hello Agatha) Belgium & Normandy & finally to London & Amsterdam, we found ourselves immersed in great conversations based on those classic & historic ports.  On the Silver Muse we were surrounded by Aussies who are no slouches when it comes to good conversation & partying alike. I  venture a guess that you will love SIlversea just as you loved Seabourn. Enjoy every minute.  I say Silversea is just quiet enough and Seabourn is just lively enough. 

I noticed your comment about the wines being Spanish and not French….fear not, looks like your itinerary takes you up the river to Bordeaux.  One of my fav ports of call….we did similar itinerary on SB Ovation and Bordeaux was a highlight.  You dock right downtown.  We took a private day tour to St Emilion and two surrounding vineyards….Oh Wow!!  We were in port overnight, so had dinner in town, again, Oh Wow!  We did not have time to visit the Medoc, but plan to go back sometime soon.   (sorry SS fans, but this is the Ovation in Bordeaux).