frantic36

That is a shame. We used Tom from that company in February and it was money well spent. I hope things are okay for him as he was only in his 40s and seemed to be doing well with the business.

Extra charges for public holidays and Sundays are normal because staff get higher penalty wages on those days. Goods & Services tax are always included in the total price but it isn't extra it is just written on the bill. In America I have to remind myself the price I see on the price tag is not what I pay at the till as they will add on taxes. I'm not sure what group service charges you are referring too as that statement is vague. Everyone pays them, these it isn't just because you're American. I have no idea why the Aussies you ask don't know about them because they should as they are normal.

I know on our Quest cruise at the beginning of the year weather played a huge part in our lack of landings in Antarctica. We only managed one landing and a zodiac drive by though some colour groups managed two landings before the weather turned bad and the other colour groups were cancelled. Thankfully South Georgia and Falkland landings were successful.

Exactly. If I am not going to take my tote bag I would not use it and give it to my stewardess so it can be recycled.

@markandjie thank you for the great photos and write up. Glad you're enjoying Antarctica again and Venture. The bartender should be proud of their snowman. When we were on Sojourn in September a senior officer said that people like himself often get recruitment texts and emails with extra incentives from other cruise lines. It doesn't surprise me with all the new ships coming online that recruitment is a big issue.

@directionfinder I just had a look at some cruises in the Baltic area for 2024 I could check a cruise, see the itinerary and when I clicked on learn more for example Dover I got times and a brief description on Dover. when I clicked on Djupivogur, Iceland I got arrival and departure time, a description plus that it was a tender port. I am actually not clear on what you were checking for as any itinerary I checked worked fine. If you were looking for what excursions are available I don't think you can see that unless you have a hold on a cruise or a booking. And some cruises they don't have them available till closer to the sailing. Sometimes I have trouble with searching on Safari but it works fine on Google Chrome so maybe a different search engine might work.

So cute! Who lined them up? Only teasing 😃

Since your questions are very specific and related to land travel it might be best to check Singapore forum on TripAdvisor which is affiliated with Cruise Critic. https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowForum-g294265-i1748-Singapore.html It has a lot of helpful information and the search function can be useful. When you search it shows up relevance first but if you look up the top right you can change relevance to date to get more recent information. I have been in Singapore quite a few times even once post Covid. But stay around MBS area so can't help with Fraser Place. I know in December/January you will get patches of heavy rainfall and humidity so I think an umbrella works better. Thankfully they don't last long and lots of underground malls to use. I'm sure there will be quite a few restaurants that will put on a Christmas meal especially in hotels. Maybe best to book in advance. The Christmas decorations are lovely in the city.

Does the Carbonara have cream in it? I'm hoping not.

Thank you. I decided to edit after I initially posted as I remembered you had mentioned the Conrad Hotel.

I'm curious if you want to take the steps can you? I am doing similar stops next year in Tokyo and your report is very helpful so thank you. What did you think of the Conrad as I am thinking of staying there rather than the Regent included? Mainly because it seems closer to the port and to Ginza.

Thanks for that confirmation. I was wondering whether to wait on the day but will now book in advance. I found that as well at Iolani Palace in Honolulu, they don't do walk up bookings.

I will be visiting Catalina and the Casino mid January. I am curious as to why you said can only view outside? I thinking to book VIP behind the scene tickets soon. Was it the day you were in Catalina or because no tickets available for walk up purchase?

I would think that a place to wait at the port would be under the authority of the port? Seabourn can ask but they request isn't always in their control.

This has become more prevalent especially in in tourist areas. The valet from the hotel heard your American accent and because so many Americans can't resist tipping they wonder if you will do the same. That is why so many here so please don't and just smile and say thank you unless they have gone out of their way to do extra work. We are trying to discourage the expectation of a tip.

Interesting?! vistaman who has very high almost excessive standards and doesn't like Seabourn due to getting a bad OB one year and maybe other issues, did one cruise on Explora and cancelled the next while onboard. I would try Explora as we have a friend there in Corporate but after reading recent reviews, like all new ships, I would keep expectations mid line.

Don't be coy, it isn't your usual modus operandi. I am curious if you are talking Oceania or Crystal or whatever?

@seabourn_noob I have booked with a few cruise lines ie Silversea, Regent and the old Crystal and have no recollection of any cruise line doing what you ask. Do you have a different experience?

We used Tours by locals for both Casablanca and Tangier and both guides were wonderful with very good English. We were in Tangier about 5 days after the earthquake so there were no tours to Marrakech not even ship tours so I can't help with that experience. In Casablanca we did a walking food and history tour with Issam. The only hiccup was we met at a local landmark and it would have been easier if I had arranged him to meet us at the port and then taken a taxi to the are with him. Once we started we had a wonderful day and learnt a lot plus walked a lot. The only thing I regret was we but my son a lovely leather jacket in the souk which he loves, now I wish I had bought one for myself as it was so soft and half the price from elsewhere I have travelled. In Tangier our guide Hamid took us to Chefchouan (the blue city) which is where he lives so he knew lots of people in town. He didn't drive but organised an excellent driver at no extra charge and our van was a quite new Mercedes van. The 2 hour drive one way was very interesting and went surprisingly quickly as we chatted about life. Chefchouan itself was well worth the drive. You do have to walk in the town as the streets are very narrow.

Thank you and yes hopefully to meet again in the future. I have friends on that voyage one who is a solo traveller from California and another older couple who have led a very interesting life. We are meeting up in Sydney as there is an overlap for us with Sojourn and Odyssey. I think you would enjoy meeting them.

Early December cruises can be less heavily booked in the Caribbean so that may help.

I haven't been there for 6 or 7 years but sadly it was a dustbowl in the city full of construction. I didn't hear great reports from people who stayed in the city. We took a taxi to a hotel on the beach which I had organised a day rate with prior. We enjoyed our day at the resort. It was modern and the beach was lovely with a nice pool in the resort. The road out to the resort was in bad repair. The hotel organised for a taxi to return us to the ship. I found my best resource for the current state of Sihanoukville the trip advisor forum.

We're both doing well Ann thank you. We are on the LA - Sydney segment of the world cruise any chance you might be onboard? It was lovely to meet you on Quest.

Holiday Cruises are usually pretty popular so I would be surprised if you received an upgrade offer on your December 23 cruise.

@cruiseej your probably correct. I was interested to see the partial refresh they have done on Odyssey from photos a few days ago, ie the sofa in the suite.