Chas2crews

On 2/16/2023 at 9:06 AM, Lois R said:

Good morning, was your flight domestic? I always book my own when flying domestically but when I book something to Europe I let them do it.  Guess I have been lucky as I haven't had many negative issues. I did have something happen recently (the airline changed the time, so that was not SS's fault), but they did find me a new flight😃and hopefully going forward it will go smoothly too.

 

Oh, I saw your other posts and happy to see you enjoyed sailing with SS as a solo. I always go solo as well and love the experience😃

 

 

So my flights were Continental US to San Juan and then Barbados back to the US.  I hear you on the European flights, but some of the European fellow sailors also had weird SS routings.

And, yes, Lois, I think SS does solos very well.  With any luck, this might be my last solo as the spouse is very curious now that I have described how rich and how much fun this cruise was. 

I recently departed the Dawn in Cabin 511, and can confirm not a whisper from Dolce Vita or Guest Relations.  I loved the location for shore excursions and other departures from the ship. 

Based upon my recent cruise on the Dawn, I strongly suggest booking your own flights.  The number and complexity of odd routings I heard from fellow passengers  defy logic, and seems to undermine a luxury cruise label.  That said, my Blacklane pick up and return home were absolutely flawless.  Booking my own air and hotel made me somewhat of an outlier as I had little about which to complain for the entire trip.  

I finished my first Silversea cruise on February 8 on the Dawn, and I can confirm Silversea does an excellent job with the solos.  The cocktail session starts at 7:15, and crew members rotate who joins the singles group.  They can help break the ice and smooth over arrangements for group dining if that is what the group (or some subset) wants to do.  The hosts were all great, though some were “greater” than others in my opinion.  
 

We also had the luxury of having a Silversea veteran cruiser traveling solo, and he was a fountain of knowledge for us first timers and Venetian Society members alike.  I would say if you dined alone as a solo, it was because you wanted to dine alone as a solo.  Also, a number of folks made excursion arrangements and assembled  trivia teams at the cocktail hour.  I highly recommend solo travel on Silversea.   

I won’t go on my first ( and maybe only) Silver Sea cruise until 2023, but in an era where all clearly know the style of cruise ship they are choosing, this should be a nonissue. It reminds me of a true story of the couple that decided to retire early and move to Costa Rica for the beauty, the low cost of living and the favorable weather. Some 40 or so days later I saw one at work, and I commented that they must be back to do some final cleanup. They said no, they had actually left and returned to the States.  When I asked why, without the slightest hint of irony, they said, “They speak way too much Spanish there.”

11 minutes ago, seamus69 said:

Apparently, she did occasionally think about the fact that we sailed on 100 years, to the day, of the sinking of the Titanic! whoops!

Yes, that April 14 day always makes you do a double take if you’re on a ship.  

2 hours ago, TeaBag said:

So glad that you have booked a cruise.  I wish you had booked it out of Vancouver (not biased, of course) as the inside passage between the mainland and Vancouver Island is spectacular scenery and smooth seas.  When you sail from Seattle you sail west of Vancouver Island in the open sea and I hope it is not rough for you as that might turn your wife off cruising.  We want her to LOVE this cruise and maybe even want you to book another while on board!

I was also going to suggest a river cruise.  We did Budapest to Amsterdam on AMA and it was wonderful.  Sail at night and wake up in another lovely European city.

I hope you both enjoy your first cruise together.

Thanks for the optimism, TeaBag, and she is a Vancouver fan. as we took The Canadian train trip there from Toronto.  I think we booked this Seattle departure at a time when the Canadian port concept was unclear.  Fingers crossed!

Nothing too personal.  Yet. After the family cruise, I have a solo Transatlantic on Silversea. That will be #1.  I will want to do Capetown to Portugal, maybe on Seabourn.  That’s #2. I need a Panama Canal passage (but also would like to hit Brazil), so maybe someone goes north from Lima, through the Canal, then down to Rio.  That’s #3. Number 4 should be Singapore to Athens.  That would be the end.  (I hate missing the Galapagos, but maybe that is a land visit like in the Jodi Piccoult book.).
 

The good news/bad news is that for the most part, solo likely costs about the same as the two of us, so I would be in position for the spouse to join if there’s a change of philosophy.  And if there is a change in philosophy, maybe there will be more than 4.  But by then, I will have blown my splurge budget and have to be back on RCCL, Celebrity, NCL.  Which then goes against the old marriage philosophy, “Never start something that you can’t afford to keep up.”  If someone likes four luxury cruises, it may be hard to say let’s drop back to the mass market lines.  

On 1/27/2022 at 5:46 PM, Rogueperson said:

I am just running into this post and you're almost done.

 

As a first time cruiser, I am very impressed you decided to do a live thread.  That's an advance move there.  I didn't do live threads until after my...17th cruise.  Granted, most of that time prior to that, internet on the ship was a very costly (more than now) thing.  Remember per minute charges guys?!?!?!

 

I have one question.  It appears you have a balcony.  Are you on deck 7 or 8?  I have a bid going for a balcony and I'm a little afraid of getting deck 8 for its under the pool deck, but at the same time, all the snazzy suites are also on Deck 8, which either is poor design, or they designed stuff to muffle the noise that usually occurs on the pool deck.  I'm set on the 12 night in March.  37 more days!!!!

 

And yes, I plan to do a live thread.  Internet is already purchased.

 

I was on deck 8, and you will hear noise from deck 9. My guess is it was less under the Solarium where I was than under the pool or Windjammer. 

Last one. A great solo cruise experience so far. 

On 1/20/2022 at 2:45 PM, Ferry_Watcher said:

Busiest day at Pier 91, with the Ovation and Solstice in port at the same time.  Glad you found a cruise that suits everyone.   I know Pier 91 fairly well, and I post on the West Coast Departures sub topic page.

 

I also post a lot reminding people to have the correct travel documents (the very least a gov't issued birth certificate).  Since you are a veteran cruiser I know you know what is needed.  It's never too early checking passport (or passport cards) expiration dates, or gathering gov't issued birth certificates.

Again, you are onto something. Figured out wife and stepson passports expired TWO days before boarding.  All done now through expedited processing, but for others, it is NEVER too early to check.  Sorry for the caps.  

More. 

Hoping for warmer weather, which the Daily Compass can’t control 

Hubble mirror replacement. 

Internet is fabulous. I Zoomed with the non-cruising spouse with zero problema every day. 

Sorry for the folds.  Practice Pointer for the States Trivia:  bring a magnifying glass if you cannot fit an electron microscope into your carry on.  

These are so old school, but just in case someone out there likes them.  

Fairy tales can come true. Thanks to the good planning and good luck, we had a successful slot pull, and I was fortunate to win. I will skip the Powerball run when we dock.  

Good stuff, Ed.  I hope to meet you at the Slot Pull if not somewhere else over the next week.  I may horn in with a picture or two, but my current plans are to stay onboard throughout (save a Powerball run!)

Ovation. My hope is this— if the youths are happy, everyone is happy!  

2 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

@Chas2crews, have you looked at the 2023-24 cruises yet?  Yesterday I booked a 12 day Thailand & Viet Nam on Celebrity.  Hopefully the pandemic will be a distant memory by then.

 

Any movement on the Alaska plans? Since you may be limited on the number of cruises, you might like this 14 day round trip out of Vancouver, BC.  It is on HAL Niew Amsterdam and besides Glacier Bay, it has both Sitka and Skagway and the usual Ketchikan port-of-call.  But then they mix it up with Kodiak, Valdez and Anchorage.  Instead of Victoria, BC, the ship stops at Prince Rupert.  

Sail dates are Sept 11, 2022, May 7, 2023 and Sept 2023.

Something thing to consider!

Thanks, Ferry.  We are booked, omicron permitting, on a seven day RCCL from Seattle with the blended family. I am keeping fingers crossed it will go well, though RCCL is not “Luxe,” so I worry the wrong message may get transmitted. 
 

4 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

I am guessing that your new spouse was relieved when the cruise industry had to shut down during 2020 and the first half of 2021.  I imagine that with omicron running rampant now the spouse feels very justified in their resolve not to cruise.  (BTW, is the spouse F or M?  Need to know for the pronouns!).

 

Anyway, Alaska still awaits.  Hope to see you in Seattle/Vancouver this summer! 

Spouse is “she,” and it sounds like you’ve been eavesdropping. I am keeping fingers crossed for Alaska, and from there we will see where we stand. This is not the worst dilemma to have in a second marriage.  

Fantastically detailed review.  I love that you state a concern or a positive, and then provide supporting details. Were that only true in other walks of life.  As has often been said, food is subjective, so this gives me that additional information to help me when I take my first SS cruise in 2023.  I for one cannot wait for your similar review of Regent. 

Keep us posted, Wesley.  I would love to hear your thoughts on Regent as I will have three more lines to try.  Alternatively, I may get so smitten with Silversea that I just do three more on their ships.