jpalbny

Terry, the highway between Delhi and Agra is (was) new and very nice, when we were there. Other "highways" are noticeably different. It's all part of the experience! It would be quite an experience driving there.

With all of those imposter Taj places, I hope you're getting to see the real one soon, in Agra! Glad you're safely in India and enjoying the scene. Seven years ago this week, we were there: Have a great cruise! Hope your ship arrives on time as scheduled.

I almost always DIY because both my name and Chris's are so easy to mess up. Luckily the correct spelling of our names is saved in my browser's auto-fill memory! I only used the "service" because the website had a glitch yesterday and I couldn't DIY. The agent figured out the glitch, which was helpful, then put the booking through, but somehow mangled it beyond belief. Now that I knew what the problem was with the website, I was able to cancel and rebook myself. Back in antediluvian times you did have to call them to take advantage of the International Airline program (cheaper fares). I have been using those fares for about 10 years. Now you can book those directly on the website - it's much easier. I was excited to find Iceland Air fares there, at a (slight) discount from the price on the Iceland Air website. I don't usually see those fares discounted much, as they are pretty cheap to begin with. And - it looks like this ocean voyage is FULLY BOOKED! I guess everyone else wants to take advantage of this cheap opportunity to experience Le Commandant Charcot. We met other friends this weekend and they were interested, so for now they are on the wait list.

Thanks for the reminder Ron! This is going to be me.

More plans fell into place today, though not without some consternation. We planned to fly to Reykjavik a day early, which meant leaving on Thursday night and arriving Friday morning...Ridiculously early and with no sleep, as the 5h flight from BOS or JFK is just too short for any meaningful rest. So I saw that Iceland Air is doing a day flight. We booked that instead. We leave JFK at 1PM and arrive in KEF at 10:30PM. Much nicer. And half the price of DL. I know DL has lie-flat seats and FI has much less appealing seats like domestic F. But on a 5h flight where we won't sleep enough to make it worthwhile, I didn't need to pay more for DL. And we can definitely tolerate the FI seats for a daytime flight. That was the easy part. I tried using the Amex site to book their fine hotel choice in Reykjavik but kept getting an error all afternoon, and again this evening. Finally I contacted them and they put the reservation through. But when I got the email confirmation they had completely mangled my first name, dropped a letter from my last name, booked the wrong room type, and put the wrong phone number on the reservation for good measure! More time was spent fixing all of this. My swear jar got heavy for some reason.

Bula to you and myster. My phone cannot handle "bula" though so if I wish you "beluga," please be understanding and know that it has nothing to do with whales. Enjoy your sea days and we'll catch you at the next stop!

Exactly how I learned about it - the Day of Silence was referenced extensively on my online booking portal's website when I was looking for hotel reservations for last March. I just happened to go a year earlier than you!

I agree with cboyle. You definitely can combine the status match with the Ponant bonus. In December, we told our Silversea friends (who have not sailed Ponant at all) about the status match and they used their Venetian Society status to get Grand Admiral status on Ponant. Then they booked their first cruise on the same ocean voyage that we're taking in October. Their fare included the Ponant bonus as well as the status match discount. They got the OBC for Grand Admiral status, but no other credits. So they couldn't combine the New Cruiser benefit with the Grand Admiral discount (which would seem weird to do both), and neither of us could benefit from any referral credit. The latter was a little disappointing but oh well. We each had already received over $1000 in discounts and benefits for the cruise based on the status match so it's not a bad deal. Depending on whom you ask at Ponant, you may get a slightly different answer.

Yes! We looked carefully to make sure we would not get caught up in this when we visited last March.

Welcome home! Madagascar is a challenge to visit, for sure. Those "roads" sure are sketchy! Update when you can, and I also hope you're on the mend.

Sure was! Glad you enjoyed, and have a nice cruise!

That was exactly our thinking, and why we went for the Privilege Suite on Le CC for our upcoming ocean voyage. We have only had the Prestige STATEROOMS (half of a Prestige Suite) on Le Bellot and Le Laperouse so this will be a big upgrade for us!

Oh, fudge. I'm sorry to hear this! I hope you can manage a fun celebration on Sunday regardless, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that June happens for you. If not, come join us on Silver Cloud in The Kimberley!

We had some fun cruises on Celebrity. Our last one was 2008. Since then we've been on fifteen Silversea cruises and we have three more booked. I hope that helps answer your question.

As long as our cats aren't lurking there to knock her over the edge!

A more contemporary reference from Cheap Trick: "Father says your mother's right She's really up on things Before we married Mommy served In the WACs in the Philippines Now I had heard the WACs recruited Old maids for the war But Mommy isn't one of those I've known her all these years Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, They just seem a little weird..." Now try to read it without singing it!

Yes, all sorts of eggs to order, and also pancakes, waffles, maybe even French toast? During lunch at LT you can also order a whole pizza. We almost always do that rather than eat the stuff that's been sitting at the buffet, unless it's fresh.

Does that go along with the dress code on formal night? 😉 You are all making me homesick for Silversea! Our final payment is due on the June expedition cruise to The Kimberley next week - so it's slowly getting closer. Keep on having a fantastic time and I'm looking forward to your next port stops.

Jazz, I wouldn't drink their drip/filter coffee either. It's dishwater pretty much no matter where you get it from. I won't even drink it at home! Just order an Americano if you want a stronger coffee. They will make one for you no matter which restaurant you're in; the only (slight) downside is that you have to wait for it rather than having them pour it right away. IMO the wait is well worth it. Enjoy the rest of the cruise!

Lirio, thanks for the tour of Uruguay! Now I really want to visit.

...And now you know more about it than I do! 😛

Better than what my phone used to autocorrect Mysty to! I like it!

My information from doing this trip in 2015 may be dated, but it was a simple walk from Lyon Perrache station to the ship. It was at le Quai Claude Bernard. I posted a map of our walking route in my trip report: Note: there are two TGV stations in Lyon. Our train's first stop in Lyon was Part-Dieu. We stayed on the train until the next stop at Perrache so that we had an easier walk. You'd have to verify where the ship docks now though because they have done a lot of work on the peninsula between the Rhone and Saone since then, I think. Things may have changed. Re: disembarkation - We didn't end in Arles - we ended in Avignon. If your ship does sail all the way to Arles, it may dock at Qual Lamartine, which appears to be very close to the train station. We saw river boats docked there when we visited Arles. But our ship didn't sail further south than Tarascon, and we disembarked the cruise in Avignon, not Arles.

Don't we all!

Beautiful views of the fjords! Glad you're having a nice voyage. @highplanesdrifters - the Le Creuset pots in the photo were being used in solar ovens, I assume? I think that's a photo from the tour in Coquimbo. @JSR - Valparaiso is a nice place to visit. But those hills! Glad you got out and about to see all of that great street art - I think I recognized a few of your photos from our tour there in 2017. I have a similar photo of the lady dancing under the grapevines.