josephone

We are now on regent Dubai to Singapore! We are loving it!

Dubai for us is catch up your time change--remember it is 12 hours! Jet lag for us is serious.

We loved each of the stops on our trip. We went to five ports in India and loved each one! Remember the names in India have all changed!

In Burma-Myanmar no ship can go further than Thalia because the river is not open to us. The sites up the Irrawaddy are terrific! It takes 1/2 a day to go up the river and the tide is vigorous, so everything can change in a minute! Then you go by land to Rangoon or fly north to Bagan or to mandalay we just came down the Irrawaddy and are steaming to Phuket. We are spending Christmas in Singapore which is gorgeous at a Christmas! It isn't just sky scrapers and American malls. The malls here are very different!

I don't know if it still exists, but the Singapore Zoo at Night is amazing!! We have been several times. Many of the animals are nocturnal and they don't even know you are there!!!

:)

TC

We have been several times on the voyager. We have experienced the vibration in the Veranda. Sometimes, I just couldn't stand to be back there. But, it hasn't slowed us ferromagnetic booking on the Voyager. But, we always book a cabin midship or forward!

Thanks for asking the question. We are on the voyager in December and it looks very empty. I am hoping for an up sell. Any other thoughts from any of you kind folks about the penthouse suites that involve something you won't get in the regular suites?

Thanks

Josephone

Hello

To further confuse this discussion, we did Northern Europe with Seabourn. We love them, but chose them for this journey because they also went to Murmansk. The visit to Murmansk was a real highlight for us. We are both WWII age and remember our parents discussing this part of the war. It is very little known and we found it fascinating.

WE have sailed Regent, Seabourn and Silversea. We do not sail Crystal because of the staterooms. We are not tiny folks and those small suites are much too small for us. I can't stand a hotel room that size, so I can't imagine booking several weeks on them.

We are currently booked on a Regent journey of Dubai to Singapore. We can hardly wait and I have already booked all our excursions and the journey isn't until December!

We like the three ships named earlier equally well and it is all about the ports for us also!

Josephone:)

Hello

I was on the Seabourn Board and they are having a massive price decrease of about $2000 US per person. I think their bookings are way down.

Instead I think that Regent has made big additions like the airfare and pre-cruise hotels etc.

Thanks for the great photos!

Very sorry for the disrupters!,they are everywhere these days!

I hope that's the last you hear from them!

When does Voyager go into dry dock? We are traveling in December

TC, can we expect changes on the Voyager in December?

Thanks for photos and review of the new ship!

Corregidor is very interesting, but you have to be interested in pre WW11 gun emplacements and military quarters. We enjoyed it very much, but my father and grandfather and grandmother were all in Asia during the thirties. It was just like all the photos that I had seen from that era!

Thanks for the great review! We are ready to go! You travel as we do. Love shopping with the chef!

Hello

Several folks have talked about the luggage service. It is terrific and very inexpensive. We did it many times on our trip to Japan and it worked every time!

We hired a car from the airport to our hotel and were delighted that we did. Our plane was hours late and the car company kept track and were right there when we exited customs. "Every hotel we stayed at had the luggage service and happily did it for you.

I wish the US had this service!! It makes a real difference!

WE just returned from a trip on the Odyssey from Barcelona to Istanbul. The most fun we had was the last night when we joined three Brits for dinner in the main dining room. We all wanted some caviar so we each received a full serving with all the condiments as our appetizer! It was wonderful fun!

:)

Just off the odyssey and we ate the TK meals offered. Personally, we would just be happy with regular Seabourn chef food.

The TK thing is just good American cooking--guess what we eat at home! Plus we really don't eat beef in huge portions each evening. Also be aware that on TK evenings the waiters stand outside the dining room and you must search to get them to deliver more water, bread, etc. They are all well trained folks and quite embarrassed that they have been reduced to poor servers in coffee houses in California I guess!

Unbeknownst to Seabourn, guests are not fans of the different country called California.

Bring back caviar all the time in my book! (Yes you can special order it and we had it almost every day at no extra cost!)

We landed in Istanbul last Saturday, the 7th, I think. We then went down to Gallipoli and had a lovely 2 day trip there. Not many visitors, but Turks. We are now in Istanbul for 5 days and it is wonderful. Staying in Sultanhamet . Clearly visitors are down quite far and it is easy to get around walking. Did have short dispute with a taxi driver, but had my way and shouted back!

Visited several Seabourn ports with no problems and loved them all. Turkish folks are still generous and kind. If you get lost in Grand Bazaar, they will kindly walk with you to the exit!

Water is drinkable and local food is fabulous!

We heartily recommend it!

Jeni, my apologies. I just read your actual review of TK and you beautifully describe all the food and have pictures. My take is that it is plain American. I use the same wine tumblers and very plain white plates. I also in a pinch use a white ram akin for butter. But, the plating is different and very lovely. All the other cruise ships have more formal food and China.

Thanks for all your work in the write ups!

What is this cuisine? How different from other food?

Thank you for giving us the menu at R2. I assume the portions are small!!! I might have to run a mile to eat either the R2 menu or the TK menu!!!

:)

Hello

We did the tour to the Cape. We had lucky weather and did see the Cape, but staff told us that it is covered in fog most of the time.

But, the gift shop is incredible and I am not a shopper! I bought a Cape that I wear in Montana all winter! It is wool and amazing.

You will love the trip and as someone earlier said, many of the towns are very small.

We did hire a taxi for a day, but it was very, very expensive!

Happy travels

Hi

Thanks for your excellent posts.

I will join Odyssey in late April. It has been awhile since we were on Seabourn.

I am curious to know what is being served in R2 now.

The other question that I have is do you need to make reservations at any locations?

thnks:)

Hi

We are also waiting for the Spirit! We are staying at The Atlantic hotel and love it.

Hi

I am totally confused. Was there another CDC inspection in 2015 or is still beating on the 2013 bad inspection?

thanks to anyone who can enlighten me.

Hi

You will love all of Malaysia! I taught there. Be sure to see the gorillas in sandakan! They are amazing! I am guessing I would go with a ship tour for this unless you find a provider. There are lots of good tours in Malaysia. Try the general Malaysia country site.

You will have a terrific time! Just remember it is very, very hot and rainy on Borneo!:(

WE have the butler deliver tea and coffee very early every morning. Usually the butler comes in while we are sleeping, wraps the pots in napkins and it is ready when I arise. When my husband needs food early, such as a muffin, that is delivered also!

I don't know how we use the butler, but we always do!

Thank you for your great comments and review of Seabourn. We left regent for Silversea and are considering trying Seabourn again. We had wonderful memories of our trip to the artic renewed with your review.

Now where do we go next? Tough to decide!

Happy trails all!