kirtihk

You answered your own question. Precisely!

A better chance? Is it supposed to be a chance to begin with? If luggage deliberately “lost”, that’s not called a delivery; it’s called something else.

Your question is ironical. This kind of question is better to address directly with a company (cruise line) that you pay to. They will be "forced" to answer you one way or another, and it will be difficult for them to make an honest answer for such a matter.

Actually, a real balcony price is very close or something’s even higher than Aqua when one selects all the same features (all inclusive and SEA Thermal Suite package). I compared them on multiple itineraries and came up with this conclusion.

Even if "they were right beside you", it doesn't matter, because if, for example, someone (who sits next to me) cannot even look at caviar or despise, and I enjoy it more than anything else, just imagine that's person's review on such a food item! From the other hand, as I previously wrote on a few occasions (and see similar to some others' comments like "we don't cruise to eat salads or mashed potatoes"), a cruise a special event when one might at least expect some extra ordinary food choice for an also special (AKA really high) price. If I like plain bread and wine and need nothing else to eat during day (which is true) I don't assume that on a cruise only these 2 items (along with say limited salads, mashed potatoes, and cheesecake) will be served for me to be satisfied with food.

Yep. And who are those on the opposite spectrum of "they"? It appears those are non-"people" to be logical. And also, those are too little, I guess.

One would wonder what the "Government" considers going to heaven in the port of call. Is it still "unlawful" ("Who dare you to depart outside of the ship!")?

Who are they?

Let's see whether the following works: realism is when the majority say "declined", it is considered to be declined (as of their expectation). I eat the plainest food at home (being born in SSSR); I can easily (and literally) survive on plain bread and cheap ($4 a bottle) wine all day, for example. However, on vacation (and at cruising, specifically) I need to relax, not to survive; so, I would eat mediocre food if it's free (meaning the cruise price would be reduced by food price, so to speak), and the majority (like I prefer) something less boring than they might get during regular life.

Certain group of people will dismiss "your" facts the same way so many other not only cruise related facts are dismissed during last 4 (or so) years. So, I've been trying lately to say realism (to camouflage the "fact" verbiage, and sometimes it works (ha-ha!). Voyage, Voyage!!!

Precisely! You put in different (shorter) wording what I just posted. The reality is what it is: one would expect more variety and product quality when such a product increases (dramatically, not just a few percents for inflation) in price.

It all depends on price. If a cruise is $100 per person per day (balcony, refundable, with drinks, gratuities, tax, Wi-Fi) then, perhaps, the currently described food choices and quality would be acceptable by the majority of cruisers. However, with prices going over $300 (and over $450 on some ships and itineraries) the same majority cannot admit ("cope" with so to speak) the fact of overall reduced restaurant experience value - for such pricing one may find a great Regent, Ponant, Seaborn cruises where the whole ship is at your discretion as Retreat area and restaurant are on Celebrity (with pricing going toward $600-750 per person per day).

Yes, yes, yes… from the last sip of neat Scotch (enjoying sounds of piano or flamenco guitar notes) to the first glass of Champagne (preferably with black caviar)! So, sleeping time flies like a light!!!

I read your Ponant post (so many colorful details - sounds like almost a novel). In most, it correlates with our experience. Actually, I am similar to you toward what you expect and like on a cruise - it is a ship, ocean water, a whole cruising atmosphere changed from morning to day to night “routine” (it was developed and evolved in that direction over 24 years of cruising). My mantra is “every minute counts on a cruise”; therefore, I developed sleeping from around 1-1:30 am to 6:30 am only enjoying every aspect and angle of the best vacationing choice - the cruise!

The same with us (couldn't refuse - more than quadruple itinerary for less than double the price you refer!). What didn't you like in Fort-de-France? We will have a Seadream cruise in November 2025 stopping there.

Oh, you booked around us (combined 3-leg itinerary - March 14 - 30, March 30 - April 16, and April 16 - May 1). If you booked May 1 - May 12, we might see you, perhaps, around disembarkation (ha-ha!). Actually, I saw on some web sites that there are 2 choices: April 30 from Ashdod and May1 from Haifa (I don't know whether it's correct, though, because on the Silversea site there is only May 1st choice, and we disembark on May 1st).

Silversea already released a while ago its 2026 140-day Silver Dawn World Cruise and 10 individual segments (some cabin categories for different segments are already sold out). Regent went even further with bookings available up to May 2026 for all ship.

I wrote “from my experience” on purpose - therefore, I cannot evaluate other cruise lines. You must be correct, anyhow.

I should add: we had a South Pacific cruise on Ponant Le Soleal on March 8-24, 2020 (obviously, Panda cruise) - that was the best cruise, but now as all cruise lines, Ponant went down.

All right: as of today, - Seabourn, Regent, Ponant, Azamara and Celebrity (on par), Norwegian (just returned from 7-day New England and Canada cruise on Escape).

Of course, not!

I modified a little my post.

Nobody is perfect (from an experience for last 2 years) - not Azamara, not Celebrity, not Regent, not Seabourn, not Ponant, nobody…

Panda is even a better (fit).

One way or another, every cruise line (including Regent, Seabourn, Ponant, and others) was constrained to decline service since December 2019 in multiple aspects - we first experienced it on a Ponant Le Soleal March 8-24 South Pacific (obviously, Shmandemic) cruise; everyone knows a reason; so, there is nothing to discuss like "who is doing less damage to their image". It is what it is. I don't think hopping from a cruise line to a cruise line helps - it's "a dog is chasing its own tail, so to speak" mentality. Azamara is not an exception: we observed it during our June 24 - July 10, 2023 Intense Norway cruise on Pursuit.