CJANDH

Great pics. Thanks. I look forward to hearing your impressions of the ship and service.

Pretty good response if they follow through. The extra included wines and the extended grill times are particularly good.

Can you tell us who is the Cruise Director on Mariner now?

Have you looked at the cost of that insurance?

We are booked on Mariner for Christmas in the Amazon in December this year. We are struggling to understand the requirements for Yellow Fever Vaccination. Regent has not published anything but my research indicates the following: 1. YF vaccination is not required to enter Brazil, but is recommended. 2. The CDC cautions against YF vaccination for those older than 60. 3. Two of the ports we will visit after visiting Brazil (Dominica & Bahamas) require proof of YF vaccination for entry if the traveler has been to a Yellow Fever endemic region, which the Amazon is. [They may accept a vaccination exemption letter/form from a medical doctor if you have a medical contraindication to the vaccine . . but not sure]. 4. Holland America have issued a letter to travelers on a similar cruise in February 2024 stating that a valid YF vaccination certificate or an original vaccination waiver/letter is required for embarkation. Pax without either of these documents will be refused boarding. Despite a formal request for information, Regent have not advised their policy on YF vaccinations. Getting a YF vaccination is not easy as it can only be given at limited clinics and may require travelling some distance to get it. It also costs $200 + per person. Given this, Regent needs to give us some time to comply with their unstated rules. Has anyone got some better information. Chris.

On our Christmas cruise last year we were able to order the Christmas Special meal in the specialty restaurants if we wished. They just needed a "heads up" ahead of seating.

We are travelling up the Amazon over Christmas and then visiting several Caribbean countries on our way back to Miami. Researching the requirements of the Caribbean countries we will visit, it seems we will need YF vaccination certificates to go into Dominica and Bahamas because we have been to Brazil. We are in our 70's and don't want to get the vaccine. Will we be denied embarkation on our cruise or just not allowed to go ashore in the two ports? Any advice will be appreciated.

I had been reading posts that said there was no directional signage or deck plans posted around the ship. As a result I spent some time copying deck plans for eac deck with public areas into a word document that I have printed out to take on my cruise in March. Maybe I didn't need to go to this effort. Anyway, in case anyone wants a guide to carry with them, I have attached the file below. Explora I deck plan.docx

Opening shore bookings a year out may not be the best strategy to keep customers happy. Many people cannot book that far out and will almost always find it hard to book a decent excursion after making their RSS booking 6 or 9 months out. Viking don't open their shore bookings until 3 months out. There is still a mad rush to book as soon as they open; but at least most pax get a shot.

Not sure a 5% saving to pay a year in advance is worth it these days. You can make almost that with an online bank.

Wow! Looks great. Wish we were there with you. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until March to get our turn.

I am a bit confused. Is the price for the Master Suite (per person) shown on the website for two people booking it? I had assumed it was for four using both bedrooms. If I booked the Master Suite for just the two of us what would I pay?

Is Explora Journeys set up to provide air bookings and pre/post hotel stays like most of their competition are? I have a cruise booked with them for March but do not see anywhere on their website offering air and/or hotel packages.

I think that many lines are getting tougher on cancelation fees. I just noticed that a Regent cruise I have booked for summer 2024 has a 25% of cruise fare cancelation cost for 151 days or more out from sailing. That is pretty steep. If I cancel a full year out it costs me 25% of the full fare. Wow!!

Unfortunately, I think this is a sound observation. All these changes, along with the outrageous rise in the prices of top tier suites certainly look like moves from corporate. I don't think Barbara M is strong enough to resist the takeover of her business by the bean counters.

This comment applies to their erratic pricing policy too. After years of sailing Silversea in their top tier suites we have switched to Regent and are trying Crystal and Explora in 2024. Silversea have more than doubled the price of their Owners Suite and are now not competitive with their "lux" competitors.

Thanks. That is helpful. I now know where Serenity will be for the first half of the year. I will be patient waiting for Symphony and the second half for Serenity. I appreciate your input.

Has anyone heard when Crystal will be publishing their 2025 schedule of cruises? I am booked through the end of 2024, but am eager to try Crystal, which sounds so good on this board. Thanks.

A strong fan base that is being tested by the aggressive price increases being implemented for 2024 and out. I am a top tier suite purchaser that has switched from Silversea to try Explora Journeys because Silversea have more than doubled the price for their top suites.

Yes, but they include ECONOMY air, not business.

Bon Voyage.

Agree with all of that:

My point in posting this information was not to suggest anyone uses it to book a cruise instead of using a trusted TA. It was to show that the new program allows you to quickly check out the final price for a cruise under various booking scenarios. While I always use my TA to make a booking, I like to explore options on line myself to determine which cruise line is offering the best value for an itinerary I am interested in.

It seems that SS may be testing (or transitioning to) a new way of pricing a cruise on their website. First, they have you click through various choices such as number of passengers and your choice of their three pricing option (DtoD, DtoD without flights or Port to Port) Then you are presented with a choice of suites that are shown as "Total Price" rather than per person. The link below should take you to an example for the July 4, 2024 Spirit cruise Reykjavik to Reykjavik. https://quote.silversea.com/v3/SL240704010?guests=A2-K0&airfare=DoorToDoor-flights--Economy&gateway=DoorToDoor-flights--ABQ Interesting way of showing pricing for various options. Will be watching to see if this will be a change for all cruises.

The sub-title says it is the Cocoon.