cruiseej

@FlyerTalker Your description of the outlets is that there is only a single US outlet in the entire suite, at the vanity? I've been on Odyssey, Sojourn and Quest and have never experienced that in a suite. There was always a US outlet on the floor level of the TV unit.

Interesting... I haven't seen overt tipping on any of our cruises on Seabourn, Silversea or Regent. Or maybe I'm just oblivious because I don't do it. 😉

Ah, got it. So that ship is more on a par with the Seabourn ships, although it's about one-third more people than the smaller Seabourn triplets. I think most would agree Silversea is a bit (but not too much) more formal in terms of dress codes and Seabourn has somewhat better entertainment (live band accompanying shows versus pre-recorded soundtracks). People rave about the crew on both cruise lines; (I wish I had a dollar for all the posts which say "only on Silversea" and "only on Seabourn" while describing similar lovely interactions with staff. 😉 ) Food is highly subjective, even among fans of one cruise line. For example, skim this forum for people who love the La Dame restaurant on SS and those who find it overrated or not worth it, and the people who absolutely love the Thomas Keller Grill on Seabourn and others who say it's not their thing. We've been on two highly enjoyable Seabourn cruises in the past year, but none on Silversea since the resumption of cruising, so I can't offer a direct assessment of the quality of food and drink. My two cents: if you're cruising for the itinerary, you probably won't go wrong on either line. If you're primarily focused on the onboard experience, the two lines aim to deliver comparable experiences, but there are ups and downs on both due to staffing levels and onboard leadership/management. Most people come off most cruises on both lines with very positive feelings, but you'll find some complaints/misses on both as well.

True. But in those cases, you know the tip has been included (and how much). Generally, one doesn't tip above that, or very nominally if the service was unusually outstanding. There are now some fine dining restaurants which include a 20% tip even for a party of two or four, as chefs/owners are addressing the issue of good pay for their entire staff by adding the charge automatically. (Doing so makes it a service charge for tax purposes, which means the employer pays payroll taxes on it, rather than the employee needing to report it and pay higher social security tax.. but that's getting off topic. 😉) I think the point when it comes to a Seabourn cruise is that the tip has been included, and it is distributed among the staff, including those you don't see or directly interact with. (When you go off ship on an excursion, it is always noted that tips are not included, and it's on travelers to tip their guides/drivers in any areas of the world where this is customary behavior. The same for a taxi driver or pre/post-cruise hotel bellman.) Seabourn and other luxury cruise lines include tips so their staff is already well compensated and not expecting to receive tips to complete their compensation. In any case, you asked if people tip staff while aboard. The simple answer is that some do, directly to one or two staff members; some do, via the crew fund to provide some non-compensation benefits for the entire crew; and some don't, because they feel their cruise fare has covered this. There could be 100 more posts in this thread, and you will hear variations of these three points of view. 😉 If you feel compelled to tip, then go ahead. (Although some people feel that the more people who do this, the more it undermines the tip-included concept, conditioning crew members to expect extra tips.) And know that many people don't tip individual crew members, as it isn't expected.

@alithecat What does it show on your Silversea Voyage Confirmation/Invoice. This is what it shows for us: And on My Silversea, it shows this: We have our air through SS and you don't, so I'm not sure if yours just ends after the flight to Santiago. They might just leave you at the airport, since that's where your travel with SS ends! You might also find you can book a transfer or tour ending back at the airport with SS as an add-on excursion, but I don't know if that info will even be available until we're on board. If you can reserve a day room at the Holiday Inn without pre-paying — so you can cancel it if you find there's better option from SS once you get on the ship — that would cover your bases.

I think you're comparing apples and oranges; both fat under the broad category of fruits, but they ain't the same. 😉 Airlines are jammed now, and the focus is on current and short-term demand. For cruises, the analysts focus on bookings for not only the next few quarters, but the next year or more. (After all, you can only book airline tickets for the next 11 months, whereas cruises are often booked 2-3 years in advance.) Airlines have reduced their capacity somewhat significantly. While cruise lines did ditch some older ships, they also have plenty of new ships under construction and coming online this year and the next two years. Finally, for consumers, purchasing an air flight for a vacation is a smaller expense than booking a cruise vacation; to the extent people are feeling the pressure of inflation, there is likely a shift from more expensive to less expensive vacations taking place.

Does it seem weird even if you know the tip has already been added? We go to some nice restaurants in the US where an 18% or 20% tip is automatically added. Would you feel compelled to tip anyway, when the restaurant is telling you they've already charged you for the tip to insure their workers are properly compensated? That's basically the same situation as on a Seabourn ship. Yes, the crew works hard, and is delightful. But the tip has been included; no further tip is necessary or expected. And why tip just your cabin steward or waiter, but not the chefs, bar staff, laundry staff, destination services staff, customer service staff, etc., all of whom contributed to your excellent experience onboard? If you appreciate the staff so much you want to express it monetarily, you can make a contribution to the crew fund, as others have suggested.

The first thing I'd note is that the Silver Wind is now an expedition ship. So that means less entertainment, and less formality, than a "classic" Silversea cruise. That may be a plus to some and a minus other others. The refit didn't really change the look of the ship much, except the addition of zodiac storage and launching hardware. Caviar is always available on Silversea ships, like Seabourn. The house champagne is Pommery, with Blue Top Monopole also available on request, I believe. We were on the Silver Cloud, the sister ship to the Wind, for an expedition trip to Greenland prior to Covid. We found the crew excellent and enjoyed our cruise. I think we felt the food was a touch below Seabourn, but food is subjective and can vary over time and which chef is aboard. We enjoyed the expedition environment, but missed the band and singers we get on Seabourn. We were happy enough with that Silversea experience to book an Antarctica trip which has been canceled the past two Decembers; with luck, the third try will be the charm and we'll be going in about 6 months. (That's a long way of saying I can't provide a recent, post-Covid report comparing SS to Seabourn.) We consider Seabourn our first choice for cruising, but will choose other lines base don itineraries. (And cost… I really wanted to book the Seabourn Venture for Antarctica, but the cost of the comparable trip including South Georgia Island was so much more expensive on Seabourn that my wife and our friends voted to go withSilversea. 😉 )

I always thought if you did a deviation to arrive early, you gave up any included transfer. Otherwise, the cruise line would have to have staff at the airport, and transportation lined up, for several days before every cruise in order to serve people arriving 1, 2, 3 and more days early. I was under the impression that the situation described by @whystayhome was for an arrival on the morning of embarkation.

In that almost all flights from North America arrive in most European cities in the early morning hours, typically between 7 am and 9 am — and in this case at 7:15 am in Copenhagen — are you saying that despite included transfers, most people find themselves on their own upon arrival? And have to wait around the airport for hours until meeting a representative for the transfer?

@margbem alreayd answered how many. My advice, especially if you're from the US: one of the best accessories to pack is a small multi-outlet extension cord. For under $20, or even under $10, it eliminates the need to unplug and re-plug various power adapters and chargers throughout your trip.

Well, I'd say that a fire on a ship doesn't happen very often, and that getting a credit for a disruption on a cruise — like a major itinerary change — happens, but is pretty rare. Certainly not "all the time." 😉 People who were on cruises when Covid shut things down generally got FCCs for another cruise, but those represent a tiny, tiny fraction of all the cruises which were outright canceled over the ensuing two years. So when thinking about FCCs at this time, I'm describing people who paid a deposit or full payment for a cruise which was canceled, who declined a cash refund, and instead accepted a FCC for the amount they had paid plus, in many cases, a bonus percentage of what they had paid. These FCCs represent the money people paid, not a freebie handed out by the cruise line (except for the bonuses they offered so everyone wouldn't ask for cash refunds).

Sorry for the confusion. I thought I remembered him posting separately during his quarantine, but perhaps that was on Facebook. Anyway, I was just having a little fun with the posts; nothing more. Apologies to @frantic36 and others for the off-topic posts.

Sorry, I guess I'm not understanding your thinking. No one got a FCC just for a cruise being canceled. The FCC is what the customer already paid, whether deposit or full payment. Some people chose to get FCCs in lieu of cash refunds, largely because the cruise lines were tacking on 10%-20% in bonus credit for people who took the FCC instead of cash refund. But the base FCC amount is still the money a customer paid to the cruise line. Why do you think it matters whether it was a deposit made onboard on a previous cruise or a cruise booked from the living room couch? It's still money a customer paid to the cruise line. Terry, I'm not an expert on travel industry accounting either. To be accurate, the FCCs which represent money customers paid to the cruise line should be listed on the balance sheet as "prepaid income" — money received for services not yet delivered — which falls under liabilities. The "bonus" FCCs the cruise lines gave out in exchange for customers not taking cash refunds may be a different matter; since no money changed hands, I don't know how they accounted for those credits when they were created.

There's a third option to consider, depending on your timing: renting a car and driving. I liked being able to stop at some scenic points along the road to take better pictures than I could have from a bus or train. Several years ago, the cost for a one-way rental was expensive, so I hate to think what it might be today! 😉 It's about a two-and-a-half hour drive straight through, but there are roadside pullouts and some attractions you can visit along the way, depending on your timing.

VeriFly is a division of Daon, a biometrics company headquartered in Virginia which has been creating digital identity systems for governments, companies, and organizations for more than 20 years. VeriFly says the app meets strict privacy and data protection regulations, including Europe’s strict GDR rules. The app gives users complete control of their data, and the company says it will eliminate all of your data immediately if you decide to stop using the app. The only benefit of the app is that it speeds your boarding process on a plane or a ship, and reduces the number of documents you need to fumble with and present at check-in. Even though Seabourn gives you a boarding pass (the equivalent of an airline boarding pass), you still may have to present your Covid vaccination records and your recent Covid test record; this just makes that process digital and speedy, because a human at VeriFly has already looked at the documents and given you a thumbs up. You don't need to use it if you prefer not to.

Ypu. I don't wear one every night, but I typically wear one more than on just a required formal night, due to the ambience of the restaurant. But no one without a jacket would feel out of place, either. (Besides, the room is sometimes chilly, and the jacket provides welcome warmth! And if I've decided to wear a jacket and the Restaurant is on the warm side, off comes the jacket!)

Wait… is this Barry posting about Hope, on Hope's account? Or have I somehow missed a chapter? The first mention of jeans in this thread was from @Hobar, so I'm confused! 🙂

We've used VeriFly flying on American Airlines, and it saved a lot of time and shuffling of documents at airport check-in. The first time, it was still fairly new, and the agent at luggage check-in broke out in a smile, "Oh, you used VeriFly. Thank you for making my day easier!" But VeriFly wasn't yet available for Seabourn on our two cruises in the past year.

It used to be, but times have changed. We go out to many nice restaurants, and I wear a sport jacket on occasion, but it's pretty rare nowadays. I'd say that 8, maybe 9, out of the last 10 times I've worn a sport jacket have been on a cruise! For some, it's having worn this type of clothing to work 5 days a week for decades and now being free of such dress rules. For me, It's generally about packing space/weight, not about being anti-jacket or anti-suit. This is definitely a good idea, as it solves the luggage issue. But I've found that depending where we are flying to and from, it's not always a practical. For instance, when we're flying from our home in the winter, I prefer something warmer for getting from the airport parking lot to the shuttle van to the airport, so I'll often wear a fleece jacket. That can be comfortable on a plane, but not when we land in a tropical destination, but the fleece can be scrunched up and squeezed into the carry-on. A sport jacket wouldn't be asm warm in the cold climate, and I wouldn't want to stuff it into an already-crowded bag in the hot climate. So in these instances, I pack the sport jacket in our packed luggage. In the case of going to Alaska, @Dusko seems to want to travel with only two carry on bags, so is probably already planning to wear a fleece or outer jacket needed in Alaska — so wearing a sport jacket as well may not be practical. And jeans, waterproof/water-resistant pants, long and short sleeve t-shirts, sweater(s), underwear, socks, belts, outer jacket, gloves, hat, and one or two pair of shoes (dress shoes, walking shoes/sneakers)… Obviously, this is all do-able, but it can be tricky. 😉 (I'd never be able to do it just using a carry on; I'm usually up against the 50-pound limit for a checked bag! Although that includes a sport jacket and possibly a suit.)

I guess you can think what you want, but legally, if someone prepaid for a trip and hasn't used it yet, in accounting, that's a liability. But because this isn't debt like a loan which needs to be paid, with interest, by a set date, it's not the ticking time bomb like the money the cruise lines borrowed to stay afloat. Huh? Except for the bonuses, these FCCs are not "given away"; they are money that customers actually paid for cruises which were canceled. If I paid $2,500 or $5,000 or $20,000 for a cruise which was canceled by a cruise line during Covid, do you really think I'm going to just ignore it and not use it? No way! Yes, there's probably some small change out there on mass market lines where someone's deposit might amount to a nominal few hundred dollars. But if they were concerned about those small amounts, they would have let the FCCs expire this year; instead, by making them valid forever, they've made them more likely to be used. Someone might decide to cruise 5 years from now and cash in the money they put down back in 2019. Clearly by making the FCCs not expire, more of them will be used over time. But without the cruise line having to give up 10% to 25% more than the customer paid, combined with higher rates, when people do end up cruising the cruise line will pull in more money while slowly reducing the liability on their balance sheet.

I doubt travel insurance will compensate for a lower quality of cabin on a ship, or the fact that you will be getting food delivered to your room instead of going to a restaurant. What SS might do in terms of a FCC is a different matter. Early on in the resumption of cruising, cruise lines seemed to be generously offering FCCs for days in isolation onboard or off the ship. They needed to, in order to give customers confidence to travel. As we settle uneasily into this time when Covid is still very much with us, I don't know if it's certain cruise lines will continue to be as generous. It's quite expensive for a cruise line to pay for a passenger in a hotel, all their food and drink, and new flights — and also to give them full credit for the days missed one the cruise. The cost is a little lower if the passenger is isolated onboard, but the cruise line is still incurring the expenses of food and drink, testing and cleaning, etc. for zero revenue if they give the customer a FCC for days in isolation. I envision cruise lines will eventually transition out of being financially responsible, pushing those costs onto customers' insurance.

I could put a different spin on this. 😉 If the cruise line sticks with the original expiration date, many of the cabins on their cruises this year will be taken up with people using FCCs. that, in turn, reduces their ability to sell new bookings to customers on those cruises, so it actually hold back their revenue potential. So perhaps a bean counter decided that hard revenue now was more important than carrying the liability of unused FCCs into the future. Well, if they were just trying to be "customer friendly", they wouldn't have added this important restriction. 😉 This enables them to write off all the "bonus" credits they awarded, and to reduce their liability to the actual amount customers prepaid. If the cruise line gets customers to retain only the 100% they originally paid, when customers decide to use that credit for 2023 or 2024 (or later) cruises, the customers will of course find that the cost of the cruise has gone up — so the cruise line will get an infusion of some additional revenue. Overall, I see this as a win-win for the cruise line and customers. The cruise line relieves pressure from potentially unhappy customers by giving them longer to use up their credits, but they also get to write down a chunk of unpaid credits and to earn additional revenues as people use those credits and pay the difference in higher fares. It will be interesting to see if any other cruise lines follow RCL on this, or at least give people an extra year or two to use their credits.

You prefer to get appetizer, main course and dessert served at the same time? 😉

These are apparently pictures from 2018. I'm not sure I understand why they were posted in a new thread today.