RetiredandTravel

I did not get the pre one night hotel or a credit (Connoisseur) when we had 3 day pre-cruise package. The pre cruise package was included, maybe thats the reason.

This is somewhat off topic but our next two cruises this year are on Silversea. Silversea recently went to the "all inclusive" model, excursions are included. In my experience Regent offers a much wider variety of "included" excurions. Regent included excursions also include more high quality trips.

Enjoy your trip HPD. Thanks for the trip report.

Not that I remember but as CWN points out there are several fish dishes. We were also underwhelmed with the dinner Easter offerings at Compass Rose. There may have been a large Easter Brunch festivity we missed so be on the look out for that. There was a private Passover (seder I'm guessing) dinner for a large group at La Veranda. It might be possible to have a private dinner set up if interest was large enough. I'm not sure how one would orchestrate that.

The included excursions show a price, I don't know why they do that. If you pick an included excursion it will (should) show no charge.

We put in the waitlisted first. Not sure if that matters.

Our cruise is 9+ months out. It would be a very poor showing if waitlisted excursions don't open up. Napier for example has 1 included excursion. New Plymouth has zero included excursions, waitlisted or not. In my experience Regent offers a much wider variety of included excurions. IMO if SS wants to be in the "all inclusive" game they need to ramp up the included excursion component.

Must have changed we have 3/4 excursions waitlisted with another booked on same day same time slot. The waitlisted has diagonal lines thru it. Booked this AM.

Thank you!! Considering the cost and time to get to Australia from the Eastern US I don't want to get shut out.

Thank you. Any experience with waitlisted excursions?

I just put us on the waitlist and picked another excursion at the same time. Both excursions show, waitlisted with a different background.

Say What? So if I sign up for an included excursion the may come back later and charge me? thanks

Our cruise is over 9 months out and several of the "included" excursions are waitlisted. Is it reasonable to think that if we go on the waitlist we will actually get on the excursions? I looked at a few different room types and I'm guessing this cruise is 2/3 full. thanks

Room choice question. Is there any advantage to either side of the ship for cruising Milford/Doubtful Sounds? Or in general for a Sydney> Auckland trip? Tons of great information. Thanks.

Thank You HPD. I would lke the road trip details. Is there a town or two (resort) on the South Island we could use as a base and explore during the day?

Very helpful. The time of year may be the overriding factor for us and its good to hear the positive comments on #2. Thanks Woodrowst, my initial thought was to do a land based trip to both Australia and New Zealand. Its just too many stops and geographical distance for our taste. Thats just our own perference. Thanks again.

Thanks. Looks unanimous. I think this Muse itinerary is probably best but we are on the Muse (10 day Alaska) in May/June and would really like to try the Nova. https://www.silversea.com/destinations/australia-new-zealand-cruise/auckland-to-sydney-sm250202014.html We have never been to Australia/NZ everyone's insights are invaluable.

thanks everyone. The advantages to #2 is it goes to Hobart for two days, eaiser time of year to get there (Eastern US so we would probably leave 12/30 or 31 for #1) and it has less sea days. Of course two sea days + two outstanding sights is better then four days of average sights. I've read that the cruise from Australia to/from NZ can be choppy. Is there any difference between going to/from the North Island or the South Island? Again great input. We plan to book once the air schedules open up, some biz class prices are outlandish.

We also plan on spending time in Sydney.. Your help is greatly appreciated #1 - Sydney > Auckland (Nova) https://www.silversea.com/destinations/australia-new-zealand-cruise/sydney-to-auckland-sn250105016.html #2 - Auckland > Melbourne (Nova) https://www.silversea.com/destinations/australia-new-zealand-cruise/auckland-to-melbourne-sn250121016.html

Previously I described our serious toilet flooding issue on the Mariner in 2019. Housekeeping did a remarkable job cleaning up the mess (took the entire day to dry with the door open) and the head of housekeeping apologized. What surprised us the most was the entire lack of acknowledgement by anyone in senior management on the ship. Not an apology note or call, maybe send some cookies (included) or wine. Crickets. Things go wrong, sometimes its how its handled thats important.

Interesting. Can you use the OBC for tip?

There are multple discussions comparing SS to other lines in this forum. If you search this forum for "oceania" for example you will find the comparisons. Although the standards have decreased some recently SS is probably one of the most formal in dress of the cruise lines. Under "packing your cruise luggage" you will find the dress code. https://www.silversea.com/travel-informations/general-information.html Cheers! '

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/SouthKorea.html

unless the economics are overwhelming I would go with th convenience of the car service at the cruise terminal. We had an exceptional experience with Tokyo MK car service but only one trip and it was pre-covid. They charged $225 from Narita to the Hilton. I would guess that regular taxis are less expensive and in our experience Tokyo taxis were very reliable.

If you are new to Regent I think it is. Once you make Silver (21 nights) you get the same priority on booking excursions & specialty restaurants. So the advantages are the internet & some discounts as Irishwitchy describes. I think there is also a hotel night and generally a better location on the ship. https://www.rssc.com/discover-more/blog/upgraded-amenities-of-your-concierge-suite