pavementends

Inspired by the question about La Dame 1. How is Kaiseki? Worth it? 2. How do I get to try Silver Note? I have 3-4 wait list reservations, and on other nights it seems to be too full to even take a wait list.

Strangely...Viking was willing to give me free transfers. Don't know why, maybe it was because on this cruise there was only ONE flight that made sense for almost all of the travelers.

Sometimes there is a codeshare partner selling the same flight for the same price but...with advance seat selection included. There are some deeply annoying things about BA.

I booked myself in business for about $900 less per person than the Viking price. Got to choose my own seats and add a stop on the return. At minimum price-sensitive travelers should check the cost for booking independently.

The idea between SALT is that it reflects local cuisine. So to even attempt to answer your question you would have to say which cruise you are on. There are a few videos on Youtube that mention SALT. About outlets- I did not bring any adapters and had no problem with my all-US plugs.

Same here.

I, for one, do not consider a requirement for a penguin suit as evidence of luxury.

There ARE cruise lines (that I will not mention here) that are gratuity-included. And I saw on the web that sometimes prices published in the UK for UK-run lines do include tipping, because that's the way it's done there. For those of us who do consider price, we want to know what we are going to end up spending. I guess I'm OK with mentally adding on a recommended gratuity. I'm not OK with feeling pressure that I need to come up with more than that.

I concur that 3X recommended pressure cannot be explained by temperature change. Don't forget that the T in pV=nRT is absolute temperature. Seems to me that there is (and should be) a safe way to fill Zodiacs using a compressor. This would mean a pressure gauge AND a pressure relief valve at the filling location. I rather doubt that any ship is filling 10 Zodiacs using foot pumps. While this was a disturbing accident I am much more interested in understanding the Zodiac overturn accident that resulted in two deaths.

Can't see any point in having a recommended gratuity if more than that is expected.

Not being familiar with butcher's cuts in all languages I found (via Google) that a cote a l'os is a sirloin with a bone attached. So not one of those cuts that chefs are want to push for "flavor" as opposed to tenderness, like, for example, a flat iron steak. It SHOULD be adequately tender and if not there is cause for disappointment. I do seem to remember being disappointed by a steak on a recent cruise. I expect to give it another chance in a cruise coming up. As another data point, I made a special reservation to try a bistecca alla Fiorentina when in Florence. It was big- really big- but not particularly tender.

There is another cruise line (not mentioned here) that proudly lacks casinos. Silversea has them, although blessedly small and little used (from my viewpoint).

I've been on non-Silversea expedition cruises. It's common (nearly universal?) to have an expedition photographer who will provide some sort of free record for participants. What you get will depend on the particular person.

It is common to experience difficulties at CDG even in normal times. (I probably exaggerate, but CDG is one of my least-loved airports). You may want to check out flyertalk which contains information on delays in near real time. Also the news.

Oddly enough I was not happy with the regular coffee. I will try it again but if it still disappoints I may have to switch to a double shot cappuccino for breakfast. I would say be aware that there are things you can ask for that are not explicitly on the menus. Of course caviar (if you are into that). I don't think I saw grappa on the drinks menu but they were happy to deliver it. This time I want to work my way through the exotic cocktails. There are enough options (both dining location and menu) that if you find something that doesn't work for you you can avoid it. Another thing is to figure out what you can reasonably ask of your butler. This time I may get an afternoon fruit plate for the room. And maybe a box lunch one or two days. Last morning of the cruise I wanted to get off early to be sure of making my flight. Had a breakfast (a very nice one) delivered to the room around 6 AM. Hamburgers would have to be pretty wonderful for me to choose them over a multi-course dinner in one of the dining rooms. Except maybe for lunch.

Best wishes to OP in finding a cruise and cruise line that meet his requirements. I am on the same cruise itinerary in the opposite direction. I had no difficulty booking very satisfactory flights myself, but then my requirements are not as stringent. OP may want to avoid cruise endpoints without major international airports with flights to his home location.

LHR-KEF is about 3 hours so not really short. Delta also flies to Iceland. But they seem to fly from the eastern US so I suspect the flights are not long enough to warrant lie-flat seats. OP might want to consider flying to the east coast and connecting there to reduce the flight length. I suspect that he will need to book outside of Silversea. On a similar cruise I am flying KEF-Denver and I expect the Saga class to be very acceptable (for me).

To respond to the original title: Take 1.5 ounces by mouth before dinner. Repeat as necessary.

UK departure, Guest info pages, page for Health Acknowledgement. What I posted is direct copy and and paste. I have a feeling many of us do not actually read the entire page before clicking OK.

I requested and received a bottle of Glenlivet for the room. I was also pleased to get a grappa in the dining room, although I did not inquire what grappa it was, but it wouldn't have mattered; I like grappa but am not familiar with the brands. On a similar topic- do they have a "better" vermouth for Manhattans? I didn't ask last time, although the Manhattan I did have was a little disappointing.

Working through the forms for a cruise in June. It says "to board the ship, the vaccination certificate must be printed in two copies and presented at the terminal during the check-in and embarkation process." I don't remember doing this before- is it real- is it new?

Talked to the Air plus rep today. This is for a river cruise but (1) there doesn't seem to be another place to discuss this and (2) the air travel issues seem to be the same as ocean cruises. I checked pricing if I book myself compared to the cost of air plus. The difference (in business) amounted to about $900 per person. The only thing they said to persuade me was to say that transfers were included with the Viking air. I was surprised they didn't try harder. I'm having a hard time seeing why I shouldn't book myself. Thoughts?

Let's just say that the usual advice to arrive 3 hours ahead is completely warranted. And one might choose to be even more conservative. On the other hand since almost everyone will hear this and arrive early you could try to game the system and arrive late. A probably unnecessary reminder- not all flights from USH arrive at EZE. Some go to AEP.

I am on a similar-ish cruise on another line that has what I think would be a better itinerary. A couple more ports in Iceland in particular. The UK, Ireland, and Iceland can all be expected to have significant rain in May. On the other hand, everything will be green (at least in the UK and Ireland) and pleasant when it's not raining. And when it is raining there are pubs.

The schedule is an excellent reason for an extra day in Buenos Aires. That's what I did. You will use up some of the time waiting in line at Buenos Aires airport, which is hot, very crowded, and inefficient.