dawntrdr

It appears that all Dawn cruises between April 2 and May 2, 2024 (5 voyages) have been changed to "Waitlist", including the two mentioned in this thread.

Did you folks now on the Wind hear anything about a protest at Dournenez, France on May 6 which prevented some pax from going ashore? It sounds like the Finn citizens have been much friendlier.

The Silver Nova is out for sea maneuvers:

Some people enjoy the challenge of making their own plans. But if you make your own plans and something goes wrong, you are the only one to fall back on to fix it. It's in your lap alone. I have been happy with Silversea air arrangements. Nevertheless, I look at them carefully and, with connections, I do a little homework to see what the other flights might be available at that airport if there is a problem. I keep their emergency number, and my CC's number, at hand. Travel is always subject to risks, regardless of who makes the plans.

We just got off the Wind in Hamburg; just prior to its current cruise. They are changing Captains in Helsinki.

@Host Jazzbeau, I believe you are correct; I had a booking for this cruise until a few months ago and I assumed that the bookended hotels had to do with accommodating the long flights (or recognizing that SilverSky might have a more limited choice of contracted flights).

In the past, pre- and post- one night hotel stays have only been included on expedition cruises (and sometimes not even then if the cruise involves an overnight on the ship at the destination, such as at Tower Bridge). I have never had a classic cruise (nor seen one on offer) where a pre- or post- hotel was offered unless the destination had such inconvenient flight times that there is no way to get a flight the same day as arrival or departure. I agree that if it's in the cruise description, @Mountain Traveler should not have to pay for their pre-cruise night.

That's not decoration; that's a fire hazard.

The standard soaps and shampoos are Bvlgari (Bulgari), although they have other scents available if you ask (for example, DH always asks for Ortigia Siciliana, which is less perfume-y). They come in bar soap, liquid hand soap, liquid shampoo, conditioner and liquid shampoo/body wash combo. There's a lotta soap! The bath salts are not automatically in the room but can be requested from the Butler. The "Otium" program in the Dawn boasts that you may request a luxury bath experience with salts, LED candles, rose petals, etc. I beta-tested it in the Moon and it was pretty nice. Amenity kits are in the bathrooms; I believe they include q-tips. I don't have a specific memory about the magnified mirror, but I use one and I don't recall being disappointed.

Not to mention that Crystal is re-introducing two ships to the ultra-luxury category this year. Not new ships, but more competition in the race for the ultra-luxury customer.

It's a gorgeous book - evocative text, inspiring pictures, high quality paper and printing. Personally, I am looking at three cruises in 2024, so this was very helpful for me to see what is available by destination all year long. Thumbs up from me.

By signing the Magna Carta?

Sounds about right. I was offered an upgrade to a Silver Suite for $2 grand per person ($4k total). The original difference would have been about $7k per person (14 day cruise). I did not take it since it was becoming increasingly clear that everything would be shut down by then and in fact SS cancelled the cruise two days later.

I believe that once a sailing date approaches (maybe within the last 30 days), booked passengers can call their TA or Cruise Consultant and ask if they can negotiate an upgrade for an additional payment that is less than the original spread. This was offered to me back in 2020 when a lot of cancellations started coming in due to Covid.

not exactly a fully Willy Wonka, but close.

The Dawn has the enlarged Otium spa and offerings; the Moon has a more traditional spa setup.

Me too - it seems to go right through the Sunset Bar. Either the drinkers or the walkers are going to win.

It looks like both sets of elevators are glass-sided.

Door-to-Door ("D2D") is the default; it's available on all itineraries - EXCEPT that when the sailing date is close (a few weeks or months away), they may not offer air and instead give you a credit instead. The Blacklane home to airport transfer will be offered but, as a practical matter, it is not available in all cities so you will get $100 pp credit for that too. Port to Port ("P2P") is offered on many but not all cruises, and I don't believe it is offered at all on suites above premium veranda. Note that Port-to-Port is different than the Port-to-Port Prepaid promotion. The latter has more discount but is non-refundable.

Thanks for your review and the photographs which brought back happy memories. Agree that the entertainment needs to be improved and I understand that there is a new company or team starting to handle it.

I don't think that "Atlantide" is an Italian word; therefore any acceptable English pronunciation would do, including "Atlant-EYEd." My first SS cruise was on the Cloud in 2018, and the main eating venue there (as on the Wind) is still called "The Restaurant", not the Ristorante, and that ship goes back to 1994. That said, an Italian Christmas Eve dinner, or any specialty cultural meal such as a St. Joseph's table, would be a great idea.

What a fabulous church! With those windows, the inside must be stunning.

And passengers who are departing independently (don't have a ship-arranged transfer) are usually given an early debarking slot - or you can ask to be put in one.

Original Poster appears to be referring to the "Suite Upgrade" promotion launched yesterday. The promotion applies to Vista through Deluxe Veranda suites (not all ships have all types of suites, so this is generally speaking; the full details are under the Terms and Conditions). For example, if you book a Deluxe, they will charge you the Classic rate. In addition, they will give you $500 per person OBC, maximum of $1000 per suite. This is available on about 130 voyages, including one I was considering. What I noticed, however, is that SS raised the prices of the veranda suites so that for example a Classic veranda is about $800 higher than it was last week (on the cruise I was looking at). Netting everything out, it is still a savings, however. I calculated that I can get the Superior veranda I was looking at for about $500 net less than it was. Plus, I get the $500 OBC per person. This is a savings of $1000 over what I would have paid on a booking last week. This is combinable with VS savings and Onboard booking savings. I agree that it makes a difference whether OP bought D2D or P2P, since this only applies to D2D fares. OP appears to have booked before the promotion, and but the promotion terms say "Cancel and re-books do not qualify." The issue is, doesn't this conflict with the Silver Guaranty Fare terms? I would definitely raise this with my TA or Cruise Consultant.

I see that SS has started a new promotion today - two class upgrade on suites, 15% (reduced) deposit and $1000 OBC per suite. I wonder if this is to compete with those cheaper travel agency deals.