MJN1

Off the ship and time for one last posting. We had a 'royal' farewell at Fredericia yesterday, Movie001.mp4 which brings me to the social aspects of this cruise. No sail-away party and no caviar in the pool event. Instead a chocolate extravaganza after dinner at Dolce Vita one night. Two formal nights. There was no strict to the letter adherence to the dress code, but guests were overall nicely dressed, and there was no need for 🫣 compared to what one sometimes encounters on Seabourn. Vast majority from USA, followed by the UK and the usual Aussie/Kiwi crowd. A sprinkle from Ecuador, Brazil, Europe. The stereotype of more formal, less party SS atmosphere clearly applied. Age-wise, not as old as we expected, but then we realised that WE have aged 7 years since our last SS cruise 😳. The overall take-away, we now love both SS (again) and SB and will be back on both lines

Same here, I.e. following you, same disembarkation port.

Not perhaps.... Clearly too many 🥂🍸🍷

Getting to the end of this cruise. The culinary highlight was last night's dinner at Silver Nova. Here is just the first course after a gorgeous sunset:

Much more positive encouragement 🤗

And the most recent learning is: the deposit is only 20% for Euro based P2P fares.

Now I better understand why the USA felt the need to pass the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which stresses that it is unlawful for a U.S. person or company to offer, pay, or promise to pay money or anything of value to any foreign official for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business... 😘

The only watch out: you can transfer the deposit to another cruise up to 150days before the sailing date. Afterwards the staggered cancellation penalties do apply!

We DO enjoy this cruise tremendously, but there are some 'silly' things, which deserve at least an 🙄... Last seating for breakfast at La Terrazza is at 10 a.m. OK, but why do they come to your table at 9.55 to tell you that the buffet will close in 5 minutes? And it does close exactly at 10:00! 🤔 One of our fabric suitcase covers was damaged last year enroute to a Seabourn cruise. As we lamented the fact on board, the room stewardess suggested the deck department could probably fix this. Voila, she returned two days later with the holes in the cover beautifully taped and stitched over. Needless to say, we sent a thank you note included some Austrian chocolate downstairs. Different cover, similar holes this year and another cover seam needed some simple stitches. So we called the butler and suggested how it could be fixed. He took the covers and called back 20min later. Yes, it can be done, but there would be a $20 charge. OK, so I did sign the charge slip he proudly presented later. 🫡 Dinner at the Atlantide: "What beer do you have?" "Stella, Becks and Coors Light(🫣)". "Could you get me a Sapporo from Kaiseki next door?" "Let me check." 5min later. "Sorry, the Sapporo is exclusive to Kaiseki". 🙄 As I always tell my wife: accept, appreciate, and be patient. So, I better do the same. 🤗

Tipping: the act of giving an amount of money to someone who has provided a service; Bribing: to dishonestly persuade (someone) to act in one's favour by a gift of money or other inducement; Subsidising: to pay part of the cost of producing (something) to keep the selling price (or the wages of USA employees in the hospitality industry) low. Let's not mix up the definitions of these three! 😘

We were on a kayaking excursion in Helsinki a few days ago. Several guests tried to tip the two ladies running the operation at the end. Both politely, but very firmly refused and did not accept the notes offered. "This is our job".

Yes, confirmed this today once more: the 25% deposit can be transferred without penalty to another cruise. (I guess any used car dealership would allow you this, too 😘). Had a wonderful tour and stroll through Gdansk this afternoon. It is amazing how this city has been, and still is being, rebuild after WW2. They even opened the Museum, normally closed on Monday, for us to see the famous "Last judgement" painting. So here are just a few impressions.

Did SS hire a used-cars-salesman (no woman would make it so complicated) to design its cruise fare structure? We are really glad we returned to SS and discovered the Silver Dawn. Thus met up with the future cruise consultant to book a Venetian Society cruise in 2024. I can understand that the 5% on-board saving plus the 5% VS discount and the 5% for 100 days are actually only worth 14.3% as they are applied consecutively. No big deal. However, those discounts (except the 5% on board one) are only applicable to the D2D fare, not P2P as this one is already a "promotional" fare! After deducting a small amount for the limo and a mid three digit number for the flights included in D2D, that fare turns out to be £ 2,100 more expensive than the P2P fare for two. However, P2P requires a 25% deposit, non refundable, but moveable to any other cruise. D2D has a 15% deposit, refundable except the first £200/$250 per Person (which one gets back if booking another cruise). Are you still with me? Or can I now sell you an 18months financing plan, some insurance and an upgraded warranty? We thus decided to clear our brains by going on-shore and walking around Klaipeda...

Venetian Society Event yesterday evening: 50/50 split newcomers/VS members. One person with over fivethousand days on board: the captain 😘 Next a couple with over 1500 days. We would need about 11 World cruises or 4 years of non-stop-cruising to catch up.🫣 Short (5h) day in Riga. Docked next to old city center, another beautiful city to stroll around. Nice fish sandwiches and a dark beer at the local market before heading back to the ship for scones and espresso at the Arts Cafe. The Dawn is cruising down the Daugava towards the Gulf of Riga, enroute to Klaipeda, Lithunia. We down to 4th and S.A.L.T.

Midpoint of this cruise and enroute from Mariehamn to Riga. The sea is a bit choppy and it is nice to notice that we are on a ship after all. On the dining front, we enjoyed an excellent dinner at Restaurant 38° during the overnight stay in Tallin and appreciated the added partitions and heaters at dinner at the Grill two nights ago. Yesterday‘s excursion in Helsinki, a 2 1/2h Kayak trip, did meet all the warnings (extensive activity, physical fit), but we alll made it back despite the strong headwinds. Today‘s hike in the north of Aland Island allowed to burn off some additional calories. Beautiful views of the islands all around. Buses half on both excursions. We also discovered that the Arts Cafe turns into a Cocktail Bar at 6:30 p.m., another enjoyable venue for pre-dinner drinks. We do love the number of bar choices on the Dawn, and - differently from the restaurants - they are all excellent. One practical aspect I forgot to mention: SS does return the laundry the same day compared to SB‘s 48 hours, a major plus. And needless to say, the free laundry after 100 days on SS does beat the SB Club benefit of a free laundry bag every seven days.

They do serve clotted cream, scones and strawberry jam, but no ice cream. Still enough to pull together an afternoon-tea.

On the practical side of things, the Chronicles are delivered in paper-form during turn-down service, while being available on the TV screen also. We had to make a special request for the Herald to be delivered as paper on SB, although that may have changed since. We did find the SB Source App to be easier to navigate than the SS Info system on the TV or Mobile, but this may be a personal (capability) thing. Being able to send messages via SB Source directly to fellow passengers was, however, a huge plus. One stop stopping for services at the SB Square, vs seperate desks for Excursions and Reception here, is a wash for us, but waiting times have been very short sofar. The Laundrette set up, one machine on every floor (compared to four on one floor) involves a bit more stair climbing to find an empty one and eliminates the social element, chatting with a glass of Champagne in hand, while waiting for a machine to finish. Last, but not least, the question of 'which floor' is best? We think we made a perfect choice with Deck 7. 😍

dawntrdr, apologies for the confusing description of "no glass of Champagne in sight anywhere." We did get the Champagne bottle in the Suite. As lincslady mentioned, the Suite Attendants on SB visit you before the Musterdrill with Champagne and Canapees to introduce themselves, explain the room, discuss the setup of the minibar, the choices of the bathroom products, etc. We see this as the "1st date" and usually discuss our daily routine and how we will communicate with them during the cruise. Yes, the same can be done by picking up the phone, but it is a ritual we have come to appreciate on SB.

Having been driven away by Silversea's constant cost cutting under its previous owner and happily encamped on Seabourne for many years, we finally returned, tempted by the CPH to CPH itinerary on the Silver Dawn, circling the Baltic Sea. Here are some first impressions after boarding last Friday, including 'apple to oranges' comparisons with the smaller SS/SB ships. Boarding was a breeze. We arrived 15min after the scheduled 2p.m. boarding time, with many pax already on board, judging from the crossed out names at the first security control. Check-in was at the Venetian lounge and we were in our suite within 15min after leaving the taxi. Wet towels handed once on board, but no glass of Champagne in sight anywhere. Lunch at La Terrazza was OK. Wide selection of food, beautiful, spacious lay-out of the buffet area. Less than average quality of sashimi and sushi. Luggage was at the suite after we returned, fastest delivery we ever had. Suite: standard Verandah cabin, mid ship; appealing color scheme, sufficient hanging space, manageable drawer space. Bathroom: tub and separate shower, a major upgrade vs the previous climb into the tub experience on the older ships. First major plus point! Finally met the Suite attendant just before dinner and the butler next afternoon, i.e. no personal welcome or glass of Champagne while unpacking. First minus point…. Restaurants: we had a great dinner at S.A.L.T the first night, OK lunch at Kaiseki the next day. Two great dinners at Altantide, a below average hamburger at the Grill (while not a big fan of TK, I do miss the Napa burger) and a very good pizza at Spacanapoli. The variety and number of restaurant choices is a huge plus. Atlantide being open (every day) for Breakfast is simply wonderful (and beats breakfast at La Terrazza hands-down)! Bars: again, a huge choice. Dolce Vita is maybe a bit too large for us, but is was great to see MaryBeth again after so many years. The S.A.L.T. Bar (and staff) is another gem! And the ship? The Dawn is simply BEAUTIFUL. Spacious, well designed, automatic doors to nearly all outside areas. One does not feel that there is a significantly higher number of guests compared to Whisper/Shadow or the Quest. Sofar, glad we came back. 🥰

Japanese cruise companies already include the Takkyubin (or Black Cat) luggage slips in the paperwork you get for boarding. Some international crusie lines like Princess or Cunard do accept this form of baggage delivery. You do need to provide a local telephone number for the receiving end and the exakt address, which is easy for a hotel, but more complicated for a ship. A hotel will only accept delivery of your bags if you have an existing reservation. I wouid suggest that you contact Silversea (via youur TA) AND the Japanese agent for Silversea to get the details on how to make this happen.

There are options for Service duck which may not be applicable to white fluffy Service Alternatives ...

Does anyone know when the onboard services are scheduled? [Otherwise we will skip the excursions and take a taxi to attend Mass followed by DIY sightseeing] We have experienced those at various times, sometimes at 10.00 a.m, sometimes at 4:00 pm. A few times they were led by the Cruise Director, often they were "do it yourself". Attendance has been anywhere from four to < 10 people. Suggest you check the daily schedule and then decide accordingly. Needless to say, that Mass in town is usually the more rewarding experience, although we did meet some nice couples at the on-board service.

Only in some parts of the World. Elsewhere it will be 311223....😘

Fudge, see my reply @ #11.... Yes, there is. If you use a VPN and go via a USA or UK server, you can go to the respective SB or SS websites in the USA or UK (or Germany) and see the list prices in the local currency.

To answer fudge's original question: yes, USD and GBP list prices for the same cruise do differ. In the past, USD pricing was lower, for our last and next cruise GBP prices were more advantageous. We book with either a USA or UK based TA, and had no problems and great Service with both.