frantic36

Thanks edinburgher, always helpful. I will share this good news with my husband as we were planning to do the long walk when we are in Malaga later this year.

I suppose it is banal but a heartfelt thank you. The guide didn't deserve the abuse and it is good to know others are there for them in times like this. Some guides aren't great but this sounds like an abuse by the entitled.

I am so sorry for the guide and yourselves who had to deal with this ugly scene. I find this willingness to yell at the messenger deplorable. I am trying to work out ways to have a better dialogue with people of opposing views and just walking away seems better than this ugly confrontation? Julie

I remember when we first started sailing Seabourn in 2010 that the scheduling at that time was 2pm boarding, similar to hotel scheduling. We were told at that time it wasn't important and to turn up at 12MD or earlier by people on CC. After a couple of cruises we decided we wouldn't bother to board earlier because we encountered a few times where people were waiting for awhile. I have no issue with people boarding early but I would kindly request if people do go earlier than advised they don't complain about crowding in check-in or having to wait for awhile in queues. With regard to Diamond and above getting in early the last time I experienced this was in Alaska in 2017 but since we usually arrive later it is not something I look for.

You have to apply for an Australian ETA seperate too an airfare so it is the same as an ETIAS. A friend visiting from California in April must have been given the same misinformation as he had the extra stress at the airport of applying for his ETA before his flight. Luckily he went early for check-in and the ETA can be done online and he got it quickly within the hour.

A quick question that hopefully won't offend anyone. When I board Regent I will have my sent out luggage tags with suite # attached but will also have my old Seabourn leatherette tags that I just leave on my luggage with name, phone # etc for years now, will that cause an issue? Just for the record Seabourn no longer sends out the fake leather pouches either.

I took the luggage tags with us and then waited until the day we were boarding the ship to attach them with the use of a stapler the hotel lent us. To be honest I only did my husbands as I couldn't find mine but when we got to the ship the staff attached a tag and wrote the suite number on it as we got to the port entry in Civitavecchia.

If you do a search in Silversea board and also on the Regent board there are some discussions of people who had cruises cancelled due to charters. I will agree I would be as annoyed as you are if it happened to me but you aren't immune on other lines. It's another reason I am actively trying to avoid 7 day cruises or combinations of them.

Okay, interesting how you interpreted my comment? I said I enjoyed dressing up as we don't get much chance here where I live. I also said I no longer worry how others are dressed though I do enjoy seeing some of the different fashion. That's because there is a wide range of passengers from other countries and they have fashion brands that we don't have where I live. As for self-anointed fashionista that made me LOL. Having just got back from walking the dog and wearing my usual comfy clothes I am nowhere near a fashionista 😂.

If i am reading this correctly you will be visiting Vietnam 3 times within 30 days. It doesn't matter to the government you are on a B2B just how many times you visit so do the multiple e-visa. Having visited Vietnam on three cruises now that is what I would do.

Believe me the weather last year in July/August was hot so I know the difference.

I guess anything is possible but my husband and I prefer warm weather cruising and have often travelled in July, August and September to the Med. In fact as much as we enjoyed Alaska and Antarctica for the scenery and wildlife we are one and done because we don't enjoy the cold. Maybe that will change as we get older but we are in our mid 60s now and I feel the cold worse then when I was younger. The Med cruises in Summer also have a younger demographic which was interesting to experience.

What a wonderful and humble attitude and I applaud you.🙂

I love fashion and I can guarantee with some fashion it may be considered haute couture and the price reflect that but it isn't necessarily elegant.😁

I do feel that Regent, Seabourn and probably Silversea should be more pro-active with qualifying that if an excursion is rated 3 man strenuous if someone is frail they should be dissuaded from doing them. I am not talking disabled as I am sure many of us have seen disabled people especially young ones who put abled people to shame. It is all well saying people can sit on the bus etc but sometimes that won't work.

Expedition cruises don't have formal nights from what I understand. Have a good cruise. Friends who have recently done Venture really enjoyed it.

They are now formal optional and more likely for those dining in the Restaurant as @nancygp mentioned. The crew wear their more formal uniforms and they usually have either more classic fine dining menu choices or Chef's dinner menu. You don't have to dress formal but My husband and I do because we like too and we focus on ourselves now not what others are wearing. Though I must admit I have enjoyed seeing some of the fashion both on men and women.

While the need to have a travel agent nearby I wouldn't call old fashioned it certainly isn't necessary if you find a good one who specialises in luxury travel, especially cruising. Ours we have had for many years and though we talk fairly often on the phone I have never met her in person as she lives half way across the country. Unfortunately after trial and error I found it hard to find a local with the same expertise and resources. Good to know yours is working well. It would be interesting to know how the choose the TA.

That looks delicious and I wondered how they would do it in The Club. It is more like pre-dinner snacks which is fine with me. I'm glad you had a good cruise avalon. Unfortunately when there is a "large" crew turnover there always seems to be a few hiccups as new people find their rhythm with the old crew. I am hoping with the new training program the President wants to implement this won't be the case.

I would suggest doing before rather than after as it doesn't really start until almost lunch time unless you are big into snorkelling and relaxing with friends. The main reason I say before is if you enjoy a drink the crew do like to serve various drinks and it wouldn't be wise to drive after 🙂.

It was Brian and Susan. He was/is a real comedian with a wicked sense of humour 😅.

I'm curious as to the likelihood of cyclones at that time of January. We were due to stop in Madagascar and Reunion in January 2015 but we had to skip them to bypass two cyclones/hurricanes that were in that region. I really would like to visit Madagascar and would love to know the best time to go?

I did this cruise as my first cruise on Seabourn in 2010 on Seabourn Pride and did a similar itinerary in January 2019 on Ovation. Hong Kong was an amazing place to visit but I haven't been back since China reclaimed it. On a small group tour we did 1.5 weeks ago a couple from Hong Kong was there and they reassured us there was no problems for them and they worked very high up in the Corporate world. We did things like a red sailed junk tour of the harbour, a helicopter flight, taking the tour to Victoria Peak which was amazing for the views. Halong Bay we did a junk tour, explored a large well lighted cave and a kayak. We didn't do the kayak on our second visit but our friends did and enjoyed it. Da Nang you can either visit Hoi An or Hue. We have visited Hoi An both times and enjoyed the historic old town. Laem Chabang the bigger ships can't get right up the river like the smaller ships. We didn't want to take the long bus ride into Bangkok as we had visited previously. We went to visit The Sanctuary of Truth a large Wooden Temple about 20 minutes drive away set in a park which we enjoyed. Others did the long bus ride and enjoyed what they saw. Sihanoukville, Cambodia has sadly became very dusty and not great to visit due to the multiple building projects of resorts and casinos for the Chinese tourism. We hired a car to go out of town but I would seriously consider making it a sea day. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Viet Nam is fascinating and lots to visit and we love the food there. We even did a cooking class last time. Ko Kood as mentioned earlier is a great Seabourn beach day. Agree also that Singapore is a wonderful place to visit. We always enjoy it and even visit it just as land trip. Changi Airport, especially with the new renovations to the business class lounge is a tour stop in itself. Julie

I must admit I haven't looked closely at Venture and Pursuit deck plans as we are 4 cruises to look forward to in the next 18 months. There are definitely a reasonable amount of non-interconnecting rooms on the other ships but enough connecting for me to not want to take the gamble.

Some of us don't like to end up in connected rooms, near the front of the ship, near white spaces they may indicate service stairs so we are happy to choose where we go and pay to do so. We keep a watch on prices and if they drop then pre final payment we have got a price adjustment. That price drop is less likely these days I have found for the cruises I have booked. So if none of the above concern people and they want to take the guarantee price then that is fine and I won't have any issue with them getting a cheaper price. As Mr L said it's a gamble and not one I'm prepared to take having had suites in the past I didn't like when doing an OB.