dawntrdr

I did a port to port cruise in January and the days are indeed showing on my Venetian Society statement and are included in my running total toward the next benefit milestone. .

In general, I find that SS's price is more than booking yourself, but it does include the breakfast and transfers. I don't try to break it down by element, though I admire those who can. The hotels they choose are, at least in first world ports, reliable and secure, and often in a good location for touring. If it's my first time in a new city, I trust Silversea's choice. On my second visit, I may choose a different hotel and DIY.

If you book your hotel with SS (up to three nights before your cruise), they will include the transfer from the airport to the hotel and then from the hotel to the ship. Also, SS usually includes breakfast in their hotel package.

Thanks for your updates, Tucson Guy. If you happen to hear about it, let us know if the suites on Deck 6 are getting any noise from the Atrium or the public spaces on 5. Particularly, I see that the piano and combo area in Dolce Vita is directly below several Deluxe Veranda suites. The amplifiers (there are several) are attached to the ceiling. It's hard to believe this wouldn't be heard/felt in the floor on Deck 6.

Wow, I hadn't really thought about suite size (other than I knew that Cloud, Wind and the Expedition ships should be reasonably smaller). Comparing Deluxe Verandas, there is a noticeable range: Cloud: 295 sq. ft. Shadow: 345 sq. ft. Spirit: 376 sq. ft. Dawn: 387 sq. ft. Nova: 357 sq. ft.

Thanks for the view. It looks more narrow to me than a Deluxe Veranda on the Dawn - am I mistaken?

The Shadow was updated in 2019 and it does show an Arts Cafe on Deck 5. The kind of moved all of the retail shop merchandise to the periphery and put tables in the middle. It is more of an "on the avenue" experience rather than the separate room they have on the Moon and Dawn.

Greetings, Lois! I hope you have a a fabulous time. If you are looking into something to do in the walking vicinity of the Conrad St. James, the Churchill Museum and War Rooms is wonderful (but buy tickets in advance online). Also, the Tate Britain is a lovely visit and it has a good cafe on site.

It appeared to me from the video that the Marquee has an uncovered seating area by the starboard rail (full sun), the partially covered "gazebo" area (lovely) and a completely covered area. Smart! I suspect that, just like on the current ships, there will be heaters hung from the roofed areas. I have also been on cruises where they installed glass partitions to blunt the wind across the deck.

Orvis makes a travel blazer too.

Even if you book your evening meal at the first seating (7:00 pm), you will never conflict with a lecture. SS knows to schedule lectures so they end no later than cocktail hour!

Silversea has posted its own 11 minute tour on its website. At silversea.com, click on the top picture for Nova Itineraries or just go to the ship description and scroll down to the "Introducing Silver Nova" video. There is also a one minute video on an email going out today from Barbara M.

I believe that "catapult" is what is known as a slingshot in the US and Canada. Used in, for example, Dorothy Sayers' "Murder Must Advertise."

I did that a few times too! I believe in dressing for comfort, but the comfort I am talking about is this: I am never comfortable if the person waiting on me is dressed better than I am. So, an evening of wearing control-top pantyhose is a small price to pay to really enjoy my dining experience.

I agree this is all from a press release and not someone who was actually on the ship. The Points Guy review of Crystal Serenity was done by someone onboard a promotional cruise, and the gushing review showed it.

Here's the confirmation from Cruise Industry News that the Silver Nova indeed has left on her inaugural voyage: https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/08/silver-nova-departs-on-its-maiden-voyage/

I haven't boarded from Dubai since pre-covid, but at the time, the terminal building was large and airy with a reasonable amount of shops and seating. If you had to wait there for a while, it wouldn't be too bad.

That explains a lot. The "Champagne Bar" concept has been on mass market Royal Caribbean ships for years and, based on the price per (modest sized) glass, is a high margin revenue source.

Someone has actually sued a retailer who uses self-service check-outs claiming they are entitled to a discount for using a self-checkout because the retailer is making the customer its de-facto cashier/employee. The suit was dismissed. Here's the story: https://couponsinthenews.com/2022/08/18/judge-tosses-albertsons-self-checkout-lawsuit/

Yes, you are much more likely to encounter an irritating unbridled convention or charter group than children, and SS isn't going to stop allowing them on board, either. Fortunately, both problems are rare and just go with the territory.

If I were in your shoes, I would get a room at an inexpensive hotel nearer the airport and have Blacklane pick you up from there. You'd have to get to the hotel of course but the surcharge you save might cover the rideshare cost. And you'd get to sleep that extra hour rather than riding around in the wee hours.

Both the pool bar and the Panorama bars have an espresso machine with full coffee service, but only during their operating hours (which starts at 9 for the pool bar). Panorama does have the "early riser" continental spread with coffee service, times posted in the Chronicle.

There are going to have to be some enormous improvements before we get to that stage. Currently, I can't imagine a more frustrating experience that trying to get an answer from a Chatbot conversation, or calling for information and trying to determine which "press 1 for this", "press 2 for that" choice is most likely to result in an answer my question.

Less than two weeks until Nova's inaugural cruise...where's the excitement? I did not even see one of Barbara's personal video tours as she did with Dawn and Moon, and this is a totally different concept. Is there anyone scheduled for the inaugural cruise who might be interested in doing a "live from"?

The welcome desk will be open the day before sailing for the benefit of all the folks coming a day early. Yes, you can ask to be moved to a later bus. You could also ask about making private arrangements. By the way, there is very little to see on the road from the GB to Piraeus other than the outsides of some very large stadia. You can walk to everywhere from the GB - even the Acropolis if you don't mind a lot of stair climbing.