ak1004

Yes I do. Doesn't everyone? I do get the miles when I book flights with Aeroplan rewards.

Well, for our cruise we get the fare from Silversea for $3,150, including all transfers. Cash price of those tickets with AC is around $6k..

Sorry for the confusion, I meant that we will be upgrading directly with Silversea, not buying economy from them and then upgrading.

You could be right. Or this point could refer to economy basic fares, as indicated in the following table: According to the table, only economy basic fares are not eligible. Business is business. I could be wrong of course, and this is why I'm looking for someone who actually booked with the cruise line. I could call Aeroplan of course, but not every agent would know, I already had some agents providing incorrect information.

I'm paying for a business class flight to Silversea in advance, it's not an upgrade. Here is a quote from Aeroplan - https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/aeroplan/status/qualification.html#/ They say that any ticket operated by AC or ticketed by AC is eligible. But no, I'm not automatically making an assumption - this is why I'm asking for a feedback from people that maybe have been in this situation.

we will be upgrading to business class. I know that business class tickets with AC qualify for miles, points, SQM and SQD. So personally I don’t see a reason why tickets purchased via the cruise line won’t qualify.

So the answer is yes. Thank you.

Does anyone know if the same is true for Aeroplan? If the cruise line books the flights with Air Canada, and I put my Aeroplan number into the reservation, is there any reason not to earn the points, SQM and SQD?

Hello fellow cruisers. Next year will be our first time cruising on cruise lines that book air (Silversea). My question is: if the cruise line books the flights for me, do those flights count towards SQM and SQD Aeroplan elite status? Have to be AC flights of course.

It was not my intention to open the "type of passenger" conversation. I just mentioned that SS is more expensive partially because it's more inclusive (there are other reasons as well). But you right, for people who don't drink and/or like to arrange their own excursions, Oceania might offer a better value.

Sorry, I meant more inclusive not exclusive.. Oceania doesn't include drinks, gratuities, excursions etc. Also SS cabins are larger, so this also explains part of the price difference if you compare apples to apples.

Thank you. I'm curious what problems did you have with Oceania. We had two cuisses with them so far and were very happy (except for not enough activities and mediocre entertainment, but this is less important for port intensive itineraries).

SS is more expensive because it's more exclusive, it doesn't necessarily mean it's better in all departments. Many people consider Oceania food the best at sea, but yes, it's very subjective. Just curious to hear opinions (even subjective) from people who sailed on both.

How does food on SS compares to Oceania? We sailed on Oceania twice, 2018 and last December, both times the food was outstanding across all venues. Planning our first SS cruise in December (Dubai-Mumbai).

The disembarkation is September 17 which is Saturday. We are in PH, so should be able to leave the ship early (or it doesn't matter?) In any case, if we ask to leave the ship at 9am, catch taxi at 9:30, isn't a full hour more than enough to arrive at 10:30? The problem is that the next flight is at 4pm.

How long is the drive from there to LAX airport? Google shows 25 minutes, is it correct? Would it be enough time to book a 12:25 flight? It’s a domestic flight.

I had a similar discussion with someone on Regent board a while ago. he mentioned that Regent represents a better value than Crystal. When I pointed out that Regent average cruise is over $1,000 per night and Crystal you can book for less than $500, he pointed out that those prices are for entry level cabins, and they never book entry levels cabins on Crystal (they are "only" 210 sqft). So when looking on the cabins that they book on Crystal, and add excursions and business class flights, Crystal indeed becomes more expensive. So I guess theoretically you are correct, we should compare same inclusions and same cabin size. Practically we look at things that are important to us, not to other people. This is why for us, Grills is not a good value. I think "Why Cunard" question is a very broad question, and one of the possible answers is what makes Cunard a good option compared to other lines.

The cuisine on Oceania is not American at all. It's more European than American. And just to clarify, when I said don't come to Cunard for food, I was referring to Britannia, not Grills. The food in Britannia was not bad, but in most cases just mediocre and not inspiring.

I was comparing what would make sense to me and what is a good value to me. Since the cabin size doesn't matter to me, my conclusion was that Cunard Grills is not a good value to me. It might be very different to people who care about cabin size.

This is screenshot from my TA email: So on my cruise it was not all inclusive. My TA is in the US. And on Canadian website they also don't mention Drinks, Gratuities, or Internet.

This assumes you want a 500 sqft cabin are would book a similar size cabin on the other lines. If this is the case, then yes, a 500 sqft cabin would be more expensive on Silversea and even Oceania. For us, we don't come to a cruise to spend time in the cabin, so couldn't care less about the cabin size. Entry level cabins on Silversea start at 305 sqft, which for more people is more than enough. And if I can get a 305 sqft cabin on Silversea for less than a 500 sqft cabin on Cunard, with everything included, for me it's a much better deal. Of course for people who want to sail on Cunard only and the price is not important (like the previous poster), this whole discussion is pointless. But I would assume even for those people there is some limit (like our friends who sailed with Celebrity for 15 years till they recently discovered they can book a similar cruise on Oceania for a slightly cheaper price - this was their breaking point).

You are right. What is poor value to one person can be an excellent value to someone else simply because this is the only option they would consider regardless of the price. To me, and this would be my answer to the original question (Why Cunard), trying as many lines as possible (in my price range of course) is a blessing. Variety is good (for me). Loyalty is boring and doesn't pay off (again for me). Different lines offer different pros and cons, and even if I have my favorite line, I will still base my future bookings mostly on the itinerary and the value for money. Personally I would like to try as many different ships as possible.

Obviously everyone is different. Some prefer to pay for cruise only and not to take any excursion, not to drink etc. But the simple fact is that when comparing fares, you need to account for what's included or not included in the fare. Otherwise the comparison is not apples to apples. I'm not sure why people still continue disputing this simple fact. The bottom line is that to me typical fare in Britannia is an excellent value, but Grills is not. We paid $1,200 USD for our 7 days TA while Princess Grills was over $4k. To me, this is a very poor value when you consider that no extras are included, and what you get is basically a better dining venue that comes with a better service. But again, everyone has different priorities.

We also don't drink, even when it's included. But as you mentioned, it's very unusual. Most people do drink, especially on cruise ships. So many people will spend an extra $30-50 per day on drinks. Add internet, gratuities, excursions - and an average passenger will easily spend extra $150-200 per day, in addition to the base fare.

Why it's a benefit? You pay rates that in many cases equal or higher than on truly luxury lines like Silversea, and then you have to pay extra for drinks, internet, gratuities and specialty restaurants? This is how a line rewards its most loyal customers?