ggo85

Sorry for jumping in late but, other than free laundry one time and more space, are there any advantages to a Sapphire over Aqua? Also, anyone who was in a JS, how did you feel being close to the bow?

We moved to SS when Crystal was out of service. What we like better on SS: much larger cabin for the price; included (good) shore excursions; more dining venues for all meals What we like better on (old) Crystal: entertainment, great optional shore excursions (but pricey), dress code, and a slight nod to service. We will try Crystal again if there’s an itinerary we like. I don’t think one is better than the other. Just different. Go with what you like and don’t criticize those who make different choices.

We did Kaiseki on Moon and were unimpressed. As have many others on this forum, I’ve eaten extensively in Japan. This wasn’t anything remotely familiar to what I had in Japan. It wasn’t even that great for free, let alone a $40pp up charge. Was disappointed that there was no sashimi at dinner. Didn’t like the mostly pre-fixe menu. Lunch wasn’t much better - very limited and uninspired menu. Server was so rude that I actually complained - something I almost never do. Didn’t even try it on Dawn our last cruise. It never looked crowded at dinner. We’re on Muse later this year. Can we find the ship- specific menu anywhere? If it looks appealing, might give it an other try.

I'd like to wear mine, but it's tough with a cocktail dress. [Many women have earned military medals -- no one thinks about how they should be worn with women's formal attire outside of mess dress. Just saying.]

IMHO, most SS passengers don't want to be boorish. They want to meet the requirements. However, I also think many want to stick to the "low end" of the requirements -- to quote Hawkeye Pierce (of M*A*S*H) fame: "If the minimum weren't good enough, it wouldn't be the minimum." Others simply don't want to pack extra clothes and shoes if they don't have to. Dress code is a common question for those who haven't cruised a particular line in the past or haven't cruised recently -- i.e., "What do I need to wear to fit in?" Telling someone they shouldn't have an issue wearing a dark suit or a tux or a tie isn't helpful b/c they may (have an issue, that is). Likewise, it's not helpful to tell people you MUST wear a dark suit when they get on board and find 1/3 of the men are wearing coat and tie. It's more helpful to say say what you typically observe and especially if you know passengers will be denied entry to a venue if they aren't complying with a certain requirement. From that, people can decide what they want to do (eat at a different venue, choose a different cruise line, etc.). Most will conform, many on the low end. Since SS is one of the stricter lines when it comes to attire, questions are, IMHO, fair game and aren't always intended to start a debate (though the discussion often seems to devolve into one).

Like any business, SS must keep the current customer base happy but also appeal to new customers -- or they won't survive. Remember the old Girl Scout song: Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. If the "dress up" crowd becomes annoyed at easing of the dress code, what line will they go to? Not manny that are stricter than SS. If the new customers don't like SS's dress code, there are lots of other options. Also, one can always dress up. You can wear a tux on casual night if that's your thing. When I started cruising 40 years ago, even mainstream lines had formal nights and almost everyone wore true formal. However, in those days, most white collar workers wore suits to work every day. The "world" has changed wrt attire -- even more so after COVID. Recognizing that fact is being smart from a business perspective. Trying to ensure loyal customers aren't annoyed has to be part of the strategy. BTW, I'm NOT one who wants to see shorts and baseball caps at dinner. My idea of "perfect" is a collared shirt and pressed slacks or nice jeans for men and slacks/skirts with blouse for women. With a couple of "formal" nights where men should wear jackets and women dressier outfits. I thought the old Crystal had it done pat. But that's just me -- I understand and respect that YMMV.

My $0.02 on why some don’t love the SS dress code. My DH doesn’t own a tux. He had one years ago, but hadn’t worn it for more than 20 years so got rid of it. He has quite a few gorgeous suits- also from 15-20 years ago, but most have shrunk so no longer fit. 😀. His current job doesn’t require a suit; a coat and tie work for almost every “formal” social engagement where we live, so no need to buy a new one. Finally, he’s a minimalist packer. He doesn’t want to buy a tux or suit just for a cruise. He doesn’t want to pack a bunch of extra clothes for 1-2 nights. So he goes with the dark blazer and dark grey slacks, both of which he can also wear on informal nights. And a couple of ties. Women have more flexibility and many cocktail dresses aren’t bulky or heavy to pack. But I also hate bringing something to wear just once - so I wear the same dress on both formal nights! I fully understand and appreciate that many, including retirees, love the opportunity to dress up. Go for it! But don’t look askance at those who see things differently and enjoy SS for its many other benefits.

I have some recollection that the dining room (at least Atlantide) had a few spare ties for those without. Could have sworn I saw them hand one out. On our last cruise, we noticed that the dress code was casual on nights after a day in port. We appreciated that, though some still wore jackets.

My DH wore a sport coat, dress slacks and a tie for formal night. No one said a thing. In my (albeit limited) experience of 2 SS cruises, I would estimate for men: 20% wear formal, 20% wear coat and tie, and the remainder wear a dark suit. For women, 5% wear long, 50% wear true cocktail (short formal), 35% wear very nice dresses or dressy slacks with silk or sequined top, and the remainder wear . . . not much more than dressy casual. I suspected that the last group consisted of women who didn't own a more formal dress and didn't want to buy one for the cruise. it was clear they'd made an attempt to look nice (never saw jeans, etc.) but dressing up just wasn't their thing. Just my perception -- I could well be wrong.

This new policy only went into effect yesterday, JUNE 1, 2023. Any changes made before that would have been under the old system. The old system was fine until May 31. Since people seem to be confused . . . my TA who was on the phone with X said that, as of June 1, suite non-refundable deposits are just that. Not refundable. Not transferrable even with a fee. No OBC for a future cruise. The ONLY option is to buy insurance, which may cost close to the amount of the deposit. This applies to new bookings made after June 1. If you booked your cruise prior to June 1, you're probably grandfathered under the old policy in terms of being able to change for a small fee. However, that's only a guess because ours was a new booking so TA didn't ask the question.

^^^^ That's how it was before -- you could move your booking for a fee. Not anymore. That's the problem. If you don't take that cruise, you lose your entire deposit. I reconfirmed just now with my TA who just spoke to a supervisor at X. (And my TA has been doing this forever!) If someone else gets a different answer for SUITES, let us all know.

I could not believe it. My TA confirmed and reconfirmed -- the X person was on the phone at the same time I was. To be clear, this ONLY applies to suites, not to all bookings.

As of yesterday, if you book a suite, you must put down 10% of the cruise fare that is non-refundable. Per X, if you can't take that cruise on that date, you CANNOT use that deposit or any portion thereof for another cruise. It's just gone. The amount used to be $500 -- now it can be thousands. Yes, you can get insurance at booking, but my TA said the cost can be as much as the deposit. So, for example, if the deposit is $2,000 and insurance costs $2000, you're out $2000 either way if you need to cancel. (Obviously, insurance helps after final payment.) I fully understand that they want passengers to have some money at stake so folks don't just book up all the suites and then cancel late in the process. Still, that's a lot of money that could be lost -- and when you book a cruise many months (or more than a year) out, it's hard to know what will happen between now and then. Rethinking a booking we were going to make today. Almost certainly will choose another line with a more reasonable policy. SS has a similar cruise -- 3 extra days, same price, better cancellation / rebooking policy.

The one thing I'd recommend re Kaiseki is to check out the dinner menu before you show up. If you're expecting to walk into an upscale version of your local Japanese restaurant (lots of sushi/sashimi, tempura, teppanyaki, etc.) or an Imu Ima / Nobu equivalent, you're going to be at least surprised, if not disappointed. Not saying the food isn't tasty, it's just a bit eclectic and the options somewhat limited. If the dinner menu appeals to you, then go for it and enjoy!

We did Kaiseki for dinner on Dawn last summer. I’ve also had many meals in Japan and didn’t find the meal particularly authentic and definitely not memorable in terms of cuisine. It was ok but IMO not worth the surcharge at all. Lunch was good, but limited menu. We didn’t do either meal on Moon a few weeks ago. Kaiseki is usually fully booked for dinner and yet always looks at least half-empty. My personal view is that SS is missing an opportunity with this restaurant. But if they’re fully booked and raking in the surcharge, I guess they’re not going to change.

We did La Dame on Moon about 10 days ago. Underwhelmed. Ordered Dover sole and told it was a “house specialty.” We had the exact same thing prepared the exact same way that tasted just as good at Atlantide 2 nights later. Soup and dessert courses were literally not memorable - as in I can’t remember what they were. The wine pairing menu costs $10-25 more pp per course, though you can apparently get included wine pairings. I think they might have more options for caviar than other venues, but since we’re not caviar fans, can’t say for sure. More personalized service. However, our server forgot our one request — side order of white asparagus — and left bones in the fish. If it were free, we might try it again. But in our opinion, not worth the extra $$ unless there is something on the menu you really want and that Atlantide can’t provide.

If you’re changing airlines, allow yourself plenty of connection time. We changed from United to Lufthansa to go to Copenhagen with a 3-hr connection. We didn’t see our bags for 2 days. Thankfully, we had planned to spend 3 days prior to departure. Probably not as much of an issue if on same airline.

For MBP above, as my DH and I both say: it’s great to be on a ship when you’re not driving. We get it. A couple of postscripts. When we got our final bill, I realized they’d not applied $30 of onboard credit. It’s complicated but they’d applied my DH’s credit to only one charge on “his” account leaving a credit balance, which they zeroed out. All other charges and additional credit were on “my”account. They claimed we’d not specified that we were on the same account, which simply isn’t true. We were specifically asked at embarkation and I remember a short discussion. DH said, “We’re married.” Hostess said, “Well, some married people want different accounts.” We said we wanted one account for both and signed something to that effect. Oddly, the one charge they attributed to DH, I’d signed for. SS did sort it today, but it’s not great customer service to blame the customer (especially when not our fault). And a reminder always to check your bill. We were off the ship earlier than projected. My suitcase wasn’t there. When I reported it, the FiRST thing the SS host said was, “You didn’t put your luggage outside your cabin this until morning, did you?” I said we’d put both bags out at 8:30 pm (11 pm deadline). The next thing someone said was, “Are you sure you put the colored tag on it?” We’d put 2 on each bag. When another 6 people showed up missing bags. SS realized something was amiss and another hostess called the ship. About 10 minutes later, more bags were brought out, including the missing ones. Clearly, they let our group off before all bags were out, which can happen. However, again the first instinct was to blame the customer. One final point for dessert lovers out there. The dessert menu in Atlantide NEVER changes. There is a special each night but the other desserts stay the same. That was a bit disappointing. We’re not huge dessert people but would have loved to have had SOME variety. On the plus side, we’re staying at a lovely boutique hotel in Lisbon — the Memmo Principe Real (associated with Marriott). Right in the heart of the city. They couldn’t do enough for us when we arrived. Flawless English. Breakfast was fantastic, room ready by 0930, taxi ordered for tomorrow morning, and they set us up for a private tour of Lisbon this afternoon. Not the cheapest or yours”typical big American hotel,” but a real gem.

I’m a huge believer in people getting on the right cruise so they’ll love it and become another dedicated cruiser. I like to say: there is no perfect cruise line— each has its pluses and minuses. However, certain lines, ships and itineraries are better suited for some than others. It’s finding the best match.

To finish out this story, wanted to reflect on some of the things we love about SS. 1. They treat you like adults. There aren’t endless reminders, notices, and announcements. They tell you what you need to know and then are available if you have questions. They trust you to read the “daily bugle.” 2. No constant attempts to separate you from your money. You could easily come on board, have a fabulous time, and spend not a penny extra. If you don’t do spa and don’t want fine wines, it’s actually hard to spend money on board. We love that. 3. No photographers hounding you as you get on and off the ship, at meals, on formal nights, etc. 4. So many dining options. We’ve always found many things we wanted to order and never had an other than excellent meal. 5. Beautifully designed ship that doesn’t feel remotely crowded even when sailing at or near capacity. Lots of nooks and crannies where you can relax on your own and venues where you can meet others. 6. Included excursions that run on time and are as described. A nice touch that separates SS from most other lines. And most of all . . . 7. Service. We’ve had excellent service on many cruise lines and ships. On SS, there’s a level of refinement that makes it special and keeps people coming back. You get the sense the crew really wants you to have a great vacation. It’s sophisticated, terrific and memorable. It’s a great product and we’re looking forward to our next SS voyage later this year. i hope you’ve enjoyed taking this journey with me. I thank those who’ve read and who’ve commented. I appreciate your indulgence of my musings. And I respect those whose opinions differ from mine. May you all have fair winds, following seas, and a bon voyage on your next cruise!

That’s why there are lots of choices in cruising. Not saying “my way” is best, only that it would be preferable for us to have more options. if SS can sell out with the status quo, then there will be no reason or impetus to change. And we’ll be back, but probably for more port-intensive itineraries, since we can then be more casual for dinner. BTW, I’ve cruised for nearly 40 years (started right out of college) so not a spring chicken but younger than almost everyone onboard. Cruised with SS, Cunard, NCL, Princess, Crystal, Celebrity, Viking River, and Norwegian Coastal. Never counted number of cruises, but a lot. 😀

Long post! Today’s reflections — things I’d like to see change on SS. This is my personal view. But I’m the age demographic that SS wants / needs to attract and, while I don’t claim to represent everyone who’s my age, I do think some changes would help them attract younger cruisers while not alienating their loyal fans. 1. Limit early booking of dining reservations, especially at smaller venues. 2 cruises and we’ve yet to do SALT, Silver Note, or Hot Rocks because we can’t get reservations for the (early) time we want. We got Kaiseki last cruise only after being WLed for a week and still not our preferred time. Some reportedly book one or more restaurants every night and then cancel once they get on board. IMO that’s unfair and deprives fellow passengers, especially new cruisers who don’t know the “game” or those who book later. While you can WL once on board, it’s nice to be able to plan / look forward to something rather than getting a call (literally) 2 hours before dinner that thenWL cleared . Another option is to charge for any meals after the first one at the popular restaurants. 2. Offer early (6 or 6:30 pm) dinner at some venues. We like to eat early and, currently, the only option is pizza. Having some venues open at 6:00 would also increase the number of reservations available for those restaurants. While this limits “turn time” for the crew, they could close those restaurants an hour earlier at lunch. 3. Introduce music between 7 and 9:30 pm. We enjoy music after dinner. But, when we finish eating at 8:30 (or earlier), there’s nothing to do for the next hour+ other than Silver Note (bar has only 5-6 seats and you have to watch others eat). 4. Start more shows earlier than 9:45. We only went to 2 in 10 nights, primarily because of the hour. This is exacerbated by the fact we were losing an hour some nights and there’s nothing to do after eating. So, once you’re back in your cabin, it’s a lot easier to put away your “informal” attire (more on that later) and just relax, rather than going out again for a show that won’t end until close to 11pm. The two shows I attended had maybe 100-150 in the audience. Sad, because the shows were good. Of note, they did have a “pre-dinner” show last night. Didn’t go because it was “Queen.” I’ve seen the SS show and the Crystal Queen show and the Celebrity Queen show . . .and I don’t even like the music. 5. (Realize this one is sacrilege to SS loyalists). Relax the dress code. I’m not for a moment suggesting jeans or shorts at dinner. But it’s VACATION. For those of us who work, that means relaxed dress with a couple of nights to dress up. Wearing a jacket almost every night gets old. It’s also becoming a caricature with men wearing white T-shirts, golf shirts or Hawaiian shirts under their jacket and tennis shoes or walking shoes on their feet. It’s really casual dress with a jacket, so why not just lose the jacket? And if you want to wear a jacket. — or a tux or a long gown — every night, go for it! Other options are allowing collared shirts (no jacket) after dinner or making least one indoor restaurant casual dining nightly. Cruising is all about options and the current dress codes will turn away younger passengers. Loyalists may not care, but any business must attract new devotees. SS has been helped by the Crystal situation (it’s why we came to SS). But Crystal is back, new luxury lines are coming (e.g., Explora), and other lines like X are expanding their “all-inclusive” options. My personal view is that SS needs to evolve to compete. But I could be wrong. We’ve loved our cruise and are doing SS again this year. But next year, we’ve booked other lines, partly due to itinerary but also due to the items mentioned above.

There are a couple of jigsaw puzzles in the Observation library on Deck 11. I have my own on my IPad. There is a daily crossword available in the Arts Cafe. It’s challenging but not insurmountable. This ship obviously won’t handle seas as well as the Queens. That said, the stabilizers work well and we’ve been ok in sea state 2-3. I think you’ll be fine on this itinerary if you don’t have a storm or high sea state. We did a southern crossing. I think Moon would have more challenges in the North Atlantic this time of year, which is why most cruise ships don’t attempt it.😀

This was marketed as a TA. However, for SS, that means a repositioning. That’s the only time they do them. IMO, the number of activities is the same as a sea day on a regular cruise. However, on a “regular” cruise, there are lots of port days, so a sea day without a lot going on is a refreshing change. On this cruise, it’s almost all sea days. We’ve never done a Cunard TA. However, they are much shorter and the ships much larger, so more going on. Not saying it’s better than SS — but some may prefer that approach. We wanted the longer, more relaxing cruise, so we were happy. For the most part, what we expected is what we got. So definitely met our expectations. My only surprises were that there were somewhat fewer activities during the day and fewer musical options in the evening than I’d expected. But in no way a major issue for us. I got through a lot of books and jigsaw puzzles!

They did a movie in Venetian - yesterday, I think. Only time this cruise. Quite a few movies available in your cabin. We watched Top Gun Maverick.