MBP&O2/O

Define rough? Some people will think any wave with a whitecap is a rough sea and throw up accordingly.🤮 Others eat breakfast in F8. Anything goes😁

If it ain't broken then don't fix it! Awful awful interface.

Strange how views differ. I personally would never dream of taking food of a ship. Being that rules and regs change frequently and the shipping companies are probably not fully 'au fait' you stand the chance of upsetting someone who may deem your actions as irresponsible, and they may take action. I am surprised that the companies don't put a blanket ban on this practice as they could be held responsible for any breach.

Normal practice was head forward as ships are invariably trimmed either even keel or by the stern. If the latter then your head is above your feet. On occasion I have sailed when the ship was 'down by the head' ... ie trimmed with a deeper forward draft than aft ...and sleeping was strange🙃

It depends on how wet you are prepared to get. One good downpour on a jacket that is only showerproof will ruin your day. My jacket is fully windproof and water proof and weighs in at 550grams. My shoes are Gore-Tex lined. One pair Meindle and one pair Keen. Both good grip soles as well I may come home dripping wet but I am dry under the jacket and my feet are dry as well. The dog on the other hand ........😁🦮 I do a lot of dog walking over wet terrain and It rains where we live and when the wind rips in of the Artic it can be very cold.

I put Silversea on the other post. Smaller ships, no crowds, no hassle, decent food and a choice of dining. I sailed Seabourn last time, and the basis of that one trip ... never again. You pays your money and makes your choice🤪

Arriving early and having a couple of days before the cruise is my preference. Handy if your luggage decides to go AWOL, as it has a chance to catch you up🤔

Also, there will probably be a small (?) Charge .....circa $60.

Re the Nova (and Ray), the marketing blurb for the S.A..L.T. kitchen says "Enjoy destination-inspired menus, including the Terrain menu, which offers recipes and flavours specific to the port visited, and the Voyage menu, which draws inspiration from the best flavours of the voyage. ". Is this an accurate comment? We have a mediterranean cruise bookedon the Ray and Italy features highly on the agenda ... which is good 🙂

Silversea?

Some lines prohibit them I believe. There was a long thread about this not too long ago .... not a popular idea!

Does anyone know of a website that shows berth assignments for Civitavecchia? There are numerous sites which list the daily port schedules...ship, lay over times etc., but I cannot find a site that shows the proposed berth for specific ships. Experience tells me that proposed and actual can be somewhat different🙄 I know that berths 10/11 have a minimum depth of 7.7m and that the depth increases as you move upto berths 12, 13,etc. Is there any rhyme or reason as to where they berth ships? Thanks

Does this look better? Took less than a minute. Sitting here having breakfast in our last port before going to Florida, I analyze that this trip has been a total disappointment. The food, service and variety of entertainment does not compare to our last journey in the dawn I also compare our recent trip on December 5 at the crytal serenity and see that the quality of the food, fruits, and service was much better at crystal. Cold breakfasts, slow service, lack of personalization, long waits at dinner, little variety at lunches on the terrace. I spent the whole week looking and observing and giving the opportunity for improvements but I came to the conclusion that this new "Silversea" is far below the luxury market. I honestly feel like I'm in a celebrity boat without any differentiators. Silversea was one of my favorites. My memories of my trips on the Dawn and spirit were wonderful. But here in Nova something as basic as hamburgers are frozen and of poor quality. The fruits don't look fresh, the mango reused... in total I don't feel like I'm in silversea.

We used to do it all the time. White open neck shirt, white shorts, white socks and sandals. Part of a tropical uniform. 🤭 Much more practical and comfortable when you consider black shoes as the only other option!

In my humble opinion ... The Med can be like a mill pond one day and vile the next. Variables include when are you travelling? What ship(s) / itinerary are you considering? Scroll back through a few pages as there are numerous sea-sickness threads. Don't talk yourself into it, as many appear to do🙄

9000 pax and crew !! Of which 6800 are pax!! 22 decks ??? Like a floating sail 🙂 Frightening if anything goes badly wrong.

In my limited experience, all of the 'meet and greet' private transfers only need your flight number and they will make their own arrangements. The ones I have used also claim to have a 'free' waiting time for delayed flights.

Yup. I have seen a couple of crew members suffer the same way. Sacked on the spot, disembarked, and flown back to the UK at their own expense. One from the Bahamas and one from Capetown.

This was attached to an email ...

Ss sent me one when I made the initial query.

Yup ... that $60pp is a taking into account my previous cruises. Noy paying that for a buffet lunch 🤭

Bit of a difference in latitude in those two 🙂 I have been around Tahiti and the immediate area in December, the weather was in the main very good, and I have seen dreadful weather in the North Pacific in January .... in similar latitudes to Hawaii. You pay your money and hope for the best

Silversea say 'yes' .... at $60pp if we want lunch.

Keep an eye on https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/ Good source of accurate berthing information

I wonder if they will allow previous customers, with a confirmed booking, to visit a ship in port? We have one for next year and the Silver Dawn is popping in to our local port a couple of months earlier. It would be nice to have a browse.