pavementends

Look up Emma Cruises Superyacht on youtube for a video. The ship (and the company) appears to be considerably smaller than Viking. They also seem to lack the all-encompassing marketing reach of Viking.

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?

We had no difficulty finding available laundry machines. The only complication was understanding how to add detergent. Now if you choose times likely to be popular (middle of the say on sea days, say) there might be an issue. The laundry machines near the more expensive cabins are more likely to be free. Personally I go with wrinkled permanent press shirts, whoever does the laundry.

We haven't heard from anyone who has actually stayed in one of these cabins and one person who bought it and was moved. Maybe they don't really intend to sell them? It seems that choosing this cabin because it's bigger might not be the best idea. I have been in one of the other no-balcony cabins on Shadow and they are just fine.

NOT a good idea. They have offered to compensate for differential air fare and expenses, which is something. Still, many people will be inconvenienced by this.

The usual way to make a martini involves stirring on ice or shaking with ice, so necessarily some water is added. And then there is the question of the amount of vermouth. For a truly intense martini, keep your navy strength gin in the freezer along with the vermouth and glasses. Pour gin directly into the glass and add any vermouth thought necessary.

I only bought ONE drink on a recent cruise. I found the prices reasonable but the drink (martini) was weak.

If you buy the cruise using an appropriate* credit card, you will be protected if you miss the cruise because of your own sickness or accident. You can get broader protection (including for illness/ death of a family member and other issues) if you buy additional trip insurance. This of course costs extra. Almost all of us find that cancel for any reason (CFAR) insurance is prohibitive in cost and only covers a fraction of the trip cost. * Usually more elite credit cards that you pay extra for.

I would take this to mean that a significant number of cabins have been sold in that category since OP first looked. Discounted solo cabins are like cabins offered in the port to port category. They yield less profit so are offered when there are plenty of open cabins. Buy it when you see it or it might be gone. I don't think it has anything to do with RCI. It's just yield management that everyone does.

Before booking my most recent SS cruise I had a look at Seabourn and this did not seem to be so. But then I don't get special offers from them, is there a trick to get them?

I suppose this is intended mostly for new SS cruisers, who are baffled and befuddled when first encountering their butler. It's not much of a vacation if you feel an obligation to maintain/ keep busy your butler. So don't. Now with a little bit of advance thought you can come up with a thing or two to ask for during your first encounter. I suggest thinking about this before boarding. A few easy ideas: a bottle of something you would drink; ice bucket refill every day; and (my usual) a fruit plate in the afternoon. And then explain that except for these things you will probably not need anything else. But if you do you will call. Other than that, a pleasant greeting on encounters should suffice. Oh, and a photo with the butler goes down well, indeed, I think it might be what they call "instagrammable." Or "Xable," I don't do social media. The only other thing I asked was an early-morning breakfast the day of departure.