pavementends

The traffic in Bangkok is indeed horrific. But then Viking- or the organizer of the pre-cruise- knew that. It seems to me that a much better description of these tours is warranted. This one should almost have come with a warning. Of particular concern to ME is timing, especially length of time on a bus. I did a pre-cruise in Athens, which was more days and was OK. In that case I did not want to get involved in detailed planning so I took the easy way out. But I have come to the conclusion that it is much more satisfactory to (1) make my own flight arrangements to arrive a few days early and (2) organize my own hotel, transportation, and activities. Considering that pre-cruise tours are fairly pricey, it is possible to book excellent hotels, a limo from the airport and to the port, and taxis to get directly to attractions, AND still come out ahead.

Yeah, it's not a monthly sale, more like a weekly sale. Or daily. Now that we have internet I suppose they can be hourly.

I've been on the Hurtigruten coastal ferry. I would do it again but it is a VERY different experience. The good thing about it is the chance to get off and stroll around every few hours. Less nice: basic cabins, not much food choice, pay for drinks, I think even water. Best wishes, remember there is nothing guaranteed about the aurora.

It's not only whether a particular ship CAN visit certain ports. It's a question of whether there is demand for a particular port, whether space can be reserved, and what the port cost is. There is really no alternative to looking at individual cruises and then making the best choice available.

The cruise I booked during the sale (which ended Mar 15, didn't it?) went up a fair bit. But then that's the thing about a sale- it's an incentive to book now (or then) and not later. If the prices never went up then it wasn't a sale.

I never do email surveys so I discarded without reading. So thanks for posting this. I've got a reward credit card and don't need another. Unless it's really smokin' deal. By the way, unlike some other lines (not to be mentioned) SS doesn't charge a fee for using a credit card (nor do they offer a discount for cash) so I am happy to get rewards on that other credit card. Now if they included some travel-ish insurance for free...maybe not even then.

You can't go home again (cf. Thomas Wolfe) and you can't step into the same river twice. Fortunately I've only started to cruise Silversea so previous experiences haven't stopped me from having a good time. As for price, I have been able to book at what I consider to be reasonable prices (although this was during the recent sale, not afterwards. And for a couple, not single). I can't help suspecting that the extremely high cabin price mentioned above for an Antarctic trip was either the last very high end cabin or a website error. Yes, the Antarctic costs a lot but it doesn't need to be that much.

Gotta be blunt here. You prefer the wrong thing. Which, of course, you are welcome to do.

Getting foreign currency from AAA is so...last century.

I got a couple months delay by just asking, but payment was still due quite early. That's just how Viking rolls.

I have done a 4 day pre-cruise in Athens with another cruise line. So my experience may be only partly useful. I suggest checking out the hotel. I was at the IHG Athenaeum Athens which was very nice. Also be aware that the daily excursions may involve long bus rides. Make sure you are up for that amount of bus travel. For me it was just OK as the cruise was a late choice and I didn't feel like thinking.

I've been on both Viking and Silversea. I have another cruise booked on Silversea. I am not planning to do Viking again. (I like the more-inclusive pricing and found the dining substantially better. Included drinks- and I might say not weak drinks- is another thing). I think the discrepancy in cost between cruise lines is a fair bit less than it first appears. A big complication in comparing- in addition to differences in what is included- is the existence of sales and promotions. I've decided that if I can get a cruise I'm interested in at an acceptable price on Silversea I will buy it. Viking does lots of elegant promotions that create an aura of luxury. This seems to work with most of their clientele. Maybe most move up from mass-market as opposed to looking for better value than luxury lines. They also send a phenomenal amount of mail, sometimes more than one in a day.

Can't think why Tillie's comment would be objectionable. As far as I can tell there is not a required party line here. My (original) post and my complaint is NOT that Kaiseki wasn't Japanese enough and not that it wasn't kaiseki. I was expecting an interesting asian-influenced dining experience that warranted a surcharge over the included restaurants- which, I might say, I found highly enjoyable. On my ship (Moon) and my cruise Kaiseki didn't deliver. I will be back on Moon later this year and I am very much looking forward to the experience- although I don't expect to try a surcharge restaurant again.

Unless a particular ship has single-occupancy cabins (and I'm pretty sure Silversea doesn't) then a cabin sold as a single doesn't yield as much revenue as one sold as a double. So single cabins will be sold with a modest supplement only if the cruise operator is sure it can't be sold any other way. Yeah, sometimes it sucks to be single. And the astonishingly priced cabin mentioned above....usually that sort of thing is either a mistake or indicates that that cabin is not really available. I don't see any reason to take it personally. ALL of us need to look at price and product and make our decision, whether Silversea, someone else, or just staying home. Unless you are really so prosperous that price doesn't matter at all. But then most of those people don't cruise commercial.

OK so I'm not a tuxedo guy, I'm a nice-sports-coat-and-tie kind of guy. Have never owned a dark suit. (I guess they will have to bury me in my Metallica T shirt). So is there anything better or more interesting about Atlantide on formal nights? Or should I just make the reservation for La Terrazza and hit Atlantide on some other night, when there is no question about being appropriate? I'm happy with both of them, will have plenty of time to sample both. just don't want to miss anything. Whaddaya think?