frantic36

We had to have proof at the beginning of the year for going to Antarctica. I'm not sure if this will be needed for the upcoming season?

There is no clothes steamer on the Odyssey class ships apart from maybe the ship's laundry.

Well I can't see clothes steamer on there but this made me confused... "Alcohol in violation of the company alcohol policy." What is the company policy re alcohol? We and others have often brought alcohol onboard especially from ports we visit and even on embarkation. Is this cut and paste from a stock standard policy 😜? Anyone know what this means?

This would be a terrible idea. I am someone who likes to do a lot of research and books part of our holidays ie hotels, some flights myself. When we started with Seabourn in 2010 there were many experienced people in their Australian office I could contact to gather information even book. Now, though they try, it is hit and miss and I rely on my TA more to resolve any issue. My TA had to help resolve an issue we had recently with our Milestone Cruise Award after I had even spoken to guest services in Seattle. Also the wait time on the phone will increase and it can be bad enough now.

I will be sailing on Regent Explorer next year, we were going this year but changed due to conflicting travel. My question is why is Sette Mari so popular and my husband and I prefer to eat late so 8pm and later, does this mean we are unlikely to get a chance to dine there?

I have never visited Hawaii and am looking forward to visiting them next January at a number of ports. My heart goes out to the people for the destruction and loss of life. My sister's family in Western Australia two years ago were caught in a wildfire on their farm property and I know the trauma it caused. Thankfully they are slowly rebuilding with support from the government and community spirit. Insurance helped but sadly they discovered they weren't covered as well as they thought they were.Still they know they are better then others. I hope these people get the same support.

I just wanted to say thank you for this discussion regarding water bottles as it has reminded me to pack our insulated water bottles for our cruise in two weeks. We forgot them for our cruise earlier this year and Seabourn's aren't insulated and bulky and it sounds though Regent's may be better they still aren't insulated. On warm weather cruises which we prefer I like to have cool water when out exploring for lengthy periods.

Pre-Covid I have had port fees refunded on Seabourn for missed ports and friends onboard from other countries have as well. I don't recall it on our cruise earlier this year but I wasn't looking for it. I will be curious to see if they still do this going forward on upcoming cruises.

After using Luggage Forward once the tight restrictions on what is allowed plus one suitcase being delayed and when returned the Panama Hats in a hot box slightly damaged likely by customs, we will do as you do. I keep my fingers crossed but so far Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways have had no issue. We have a tight connection in Changi soon so I hope I am not jinxing us. Mrs 2SN would look gorgeous in a sack but that doesn't negate the frustration of being without your luggage so my sympathies.

I think you will find a variety of opinions. My husband and I have been on post covid and found we were generally happy with our experiences but some others here will disagree and others agree. There has been some issues but I have found that in high end land resorts post Covid as well. For your itinerary SLSD had a thread recently about a similar if not the same itinerary and the discussion on ports on page 1 & 2 were discussed in reasonable depth starting from post 21. This might be of some use. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2949844-best-upcoming-itineraries-seabourn-or-luxury-competitor/

I can only help with Spetses. It has limited car transportation but that makes it unique and it has many lovely old mansions making it a popular place for visitors. We visited the Bouboulina Museum. "Lascarina Bouboulina is one of the few female heroes of the Greek Revolution and notably one of the most renowned women in the history of Greece.The museum is housed in the home of Bouboulina, and displays a collection of personal objects and memorabilia. The building itself is noteworthy for its architectural details, especially the intricately carved wood ceiling in the main salon." It was easy to walk to it and we booked our tickets at the site. They only allow a limit group in at a time and don't open till 10am. It was very interesting and the guides very informative. https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g189496-d1822757-Reviews-Bouboulina_s_Museum-Spetses_Saronic_Gulf_Islands_Attica.html https://www.visitgreece.gr/islands/saronic-islands/spetses/ Lots of good seafood restaurants there. This won't be a shopping with the chef place I wouldn't think but I have been known to be wrong.

Shopping with the Chef isn't done on every cruise as it would depend on which ports have good fresh markets open on the days the ship arrives. When you board the ship you can check at Seabourn Square with guest services if they will offer it on your cruise and put your name down for it. Maybe let us know which ports and someone might know if it is possible. I have never sailed in November in the Med but maybe excursions are low in number due to it being being late in the season. Usually if excursions are sold out they are still listed just with sold out on them. They may add more excursions closer to the time.Hopefully if you list your ports you might get some suggestions to easily DIY.

It must be different with Luggage Free. We used Luggage Forward earlier this year for the first time and they specifically state not to use air tags. I know a friend who has shipped with them and used air tags with no problem. We weren't willing to take the risk as we have heard of people having delays with getting luggage and bering told it was due to air tags being in the luggage.

I asked a friend onboard Sojourn how many cases and she checked for me two days ago. She could only find one case at that time and that person came down with it on Day 2 and my friend has been onboard for a week. So hopefully things have stabilised on Sojourn. @Techno123 I agree the hand sanitiser is always at the entrance to the restaurants, bars and before boarding the ship but the number of times my husband & I have stood used the sanitiser and other people walk straight past. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt that just maybe they have just washed their hands elsewhere or they have a special sanitiser they use due to skin sensitivity, probably very naïve of me.

My son does great pizza. I don't travel on a ship for pizza.

The senior staff have usually stayed more with one particular ship Ie Sojourn it is/was Captain Hamish Elliot and Captain Tim Davies but on our cruise coming up there is a Captain I don't know I am not sure why not Captain Tim. HD, CD and GSM used to stay but as well but again there is now more change. Apparently the new HD coming onboard Sojourn soon is ex-Crystal which will be interesting. So if you believe the concept that the ambience of the ship is led by senior staff then that was why I think you will see people recommend certain ships. That seems to be more likely to change now as new senior staff are hired, whether it reverts again in a year or so we will see. Just my thoughts and opinion. Julie

I've used Welcome pickups and they were good. This was pre-Covid.

Curious as to what champagne is the standard pour? Is there any difference what champagne you get in your suite if you stay in Penthouse?

It was unfortunate it took so long for you to get an included wine list, did you ask at guest services as well? I have no knowledge of Retreat/Suite on Celebrity so I looked it up and it appears there is a maximum of 100 guests so that would be the maximum in the Retreat main dining room at one time, is this correct? This compared to the Encore where the main dining room can have 3-4 times that amount as passenger capacity is 650. There is only 1 sommelier and x2 assistant Sommeliers and from my cruises I have found they are usually kept very busy with people who are purchasing revenue wine. Asking your wait staff or staff pouring drinks what is available by giving them varietals you enjoy can be helpful and they have been more than happy to let me taste various choices to find something I like.

We are staying at Hotel 1898 on 24 August. We haven't stayed there before but can report back afterwards if this isn't too late for you? It has lots of great reviews.

This is still possible as per comments on the Europe ports of call board. The taxis organise vans of 8 pax where the ship docks. You have to ensure you don't get off too late or the taxis move onto other places such as the border. The other discussion is the price has now gone up and they are asking €50pp now.

I would be curious to know the breakdown of port intensive cruises how many passengers are at lunch in the Restaurant on port days versus sea days? I know on our recent Quest cruise it was fairly busy on sea days but as I am usually eating onshore on port days I have no knowledge of how busy it is then. With regards to opening times for breakfast how does this compare with Regent, Silversea and the new Crystal for their main restaurant open times?

Australians, Europeans etc have had to get an E-Visa, the ESTA, to travel to America for many years. This is just another E-Visa to deal with so not a big deal. Much easier than getting one for China or India.

In 2013 we did this but I am not sure if it would occur again at this time. We had done a long cruise from Sydney to Sydney around a lot of New Zealand so about 24 days. We were due to disembark in Sydney. We had made some lovely friends onboard who were staying on and they told us that the next segment along the Queensland coast to Bali wasn't very full and we could get a good deal. The next day we checked with the cruise sales specialist and they confirmed this. I can't remember the price but we stayed on until Bali and had fun with our new friends who are still friends to this day. Julie

My husband said thanks though he naively thought he might want a good walk. I suggested he look at a topographical map and he changed his mind 😁. Especially since I had also booked a walking food tour for a few hours.