MBP&O2/O

Virgin seems to tick all the boxes for putting me off cruising. Everything i don't want is offered. After starting to watch this I can say I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. Personal taste and all that 🤔

I know someone who suffers badly from motion sickness when in a car and they have never had a problem when cruising and / or tendering. A car is a totally different motion to a boat. Obviously smaller craft are more likely to suffer motion than larger ones .... plus the fact that they can be noisier and they may suffer from exhaust fume odour which may affect you 🙄🤢🤮 It may well come down to the weather / sea conditions on the day. If it is that bad they won't sail anyway. Fingers crossed and don't pysch yourself up to be sick.

What was wrong? As an aside I refuse to eat breakfast at Premier Inns. Anyone that can leave eggs under a hotplate for two hours does not inspire me. Their time span comments ... not mine. In this instance .... as cruising was just starting after covid and severe restrictions were allegedly in place. Help your self to the cutlery from a tray ... Cross contamination? Self serve buffet in place. People were leaving their unused cutlery on the table when they left and staff either left it there after they had wiped the tables or they put it back in the trays. Tables were not disinfected they were just wiped clean, and in one instance the cloth used had just been used to wipe down a toddlers high chair!

Too right I informed management! Pre booked breakfast costs were refunded. The attitude of management was essentially disinterest. We found a nice place in the shopping centre instead.

Glad to see you are not considering the Premier Inn offerings! I stayed there a few months ago and walked out due to the appalling hygiene standards in the restaurant.

I was under the impression that ships are now required to slow down where there are whales? Perhaps not in Alaska? From a recent article in USA today .....can' find a date but ......... Humpback whales have returned to Alaska's Glacier Bay, and a new speed limit on cruise ships has been implemented to protect them. The 13-knot speed limit goes into effect today in some areas of Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, according to park officials. At least 14 humpbacks were sighted in lower Glacier Bay in recent days, said the park's acting superintendent Tom VandenBerg. Specifically, the whales were seen feeding in waters extending from the mouth of the bay to an area parallel with the northern tip of Strawberry and Lars islands, according to a prepared statement. Cruise ships also are being restricted to a mid-channel course, or one nautical mile offshore, officials said. The humpbacks migrate to Glacier Bay in spring and summer. Several cruise lines including Princess Cruises and Holland America Line visit the park from May to September. The new speed limit is effective until further notice. It's not expected to have any impact on the cruise passenger experience. Existing rules also require cruise ships to maintain a 1/4-mile distance from whales in order to reduce disturbance and the risk of a whale-ship collision. Last summer, the park implemented speed limits of 10 knots at some times, 13 knots at others. When whales are not present, ships are allowed to travel through the park at 20 knots.

And after several years of a misspent youth in the Arabian gulf / Red Sea / Aden area I used to shiver when it dropped into the 70's 😁

I was under the impression that ships are now required to slow down where there are whales? Perhaps not in Alaska?

We went on an undersea 'submarine' tour in St. Barts. If you are claustrophobic, or even considering it 🙂 then avoid at all costs. No motion problems ... just people throwing up left right and centre because of the heat and being so confined. Of course when the first one gips then it is contagious. 🤮 As an aside there wasn't that much of interest to see.

As I said, I am not an expert apart from pointing and pressing the correct button 😄 Attached ... pointed, zoomed to maximum, and pressed the button. The 2 inch flower was 45 feet away and the camera in full dunce mode.

I am no camaera expert, but I have a four year old Sony HX400V bridge camera with excellent zoom facilities. It beats a phone camera hands down, and as it has built in WiFi I can transfer the pics to my tablet for ease of viewing. Never regretted it ... apart from the $$$.

We have booked a small group Whale Watch at Juneau (4 hrs) and a Whale Watch and Bear Watch excursion at ISP (6 hrs). Fingers crossed but both WW trips are offering the refund if no Whales are seen ... they also say that they have never had to offer the refund 🙂and sightings are guaranteed.

I live 20 miles from Newcastle International Airport .... Silversea Air department insist that my local airport is Edinburgh...... which is 115 miles away. As an aside, were I to insist on flights from Newcastle I would be charged a deviation fee!

You would be looking at an absolute minimum of 2hrs in a car at the best of times ... factor in rush hour peak traffic etc et etc ... h How long will airport protocols take .. UK airports are an absolute shambles at the moment!

My first SB cruise US next year. I am hoping I will be OK as I am extremely low maintenance and am quite capable of looking after myself 😁 I can empathise with the crew and am aware of their pressures

On our last SS cruise our 'consultant' was next to useless. Frequently ignored emails. Failed to send 'joining instructions' ...tickets yes, boarding times no! Post cruise she seemed not have the faintest idea when we made enquiries regarding another cruise ... UK corporate seemed to have lost the plot. Should you be concerned? Debatable but keep chasing them ... either personally or via a TA.

Maybe in retaliation for the USA increasing ESTA charges 😁

The only time I experienced anything like that was after a trip when i went over three months without even going onto dry land. When I eventually left the ship it was by tender ...so a long haul trip on a vibrating and noisy launch may have had something to do with it 🤪

I second the previous post. I do not swim or snorkel nor will I use a kayak. Walking is fine. Zodiacs are also fine. Thanks

Thanks for the report. Looks good to me 🙂 Most questions answered. I note you flew in to Quito but going home you checked in for Guayquil??? Any flight we book will fly home from Quito but refuel at Guayaquil.

I am awaiting a quote from Celebrity for a Galapagos cruise ... but not on the Flora, which I would generally prefer. I am told that the suite bathrooms have see through glass doors which is my main sticking point. Your comments would be appreciated. Ta

Loll 😁😁😁

Not as bad as you would think ... except when the 'I know best' bean counters get involved 😁

.... and 2 to 3 metres isn't really that big ... and yes the hull design has an awful lot to do with it.

Then of course you have the scenario where you are all layered up in the grungy damp and windy weather and suddenly the sun comes out and the wind drops and you need to unlayer .... and you have to deal with an armful of clothes 😁 Of course Murphys Law states that once you have stripped down the rain will start etc etc🤪🙄