bubbulz

We did four Uniworld cruises, two with butlers and two without. We were always pretty low maintenance, but we still loved having the extra attention for the small extra services. I expect to have pretty minimal requirements for a butler on my Silversea cruises, but I am still looking forward to having one available just in the event that I do, in fact, need somehing.

I'll see how it goes when I actually fly later this year, but Silver Air booked my business class flights to Santiago for much less than I ever could have, and they booked the exact flights I requested.

Going purely by many of the photos I see people posting while on their cruises, many people do not comply with the dress code. 🤫

*Meclizine

Wow, I feel like I could have written your post! We started cruising with Uniworld in 2015 (Castles along the Rhine) followed by a couple of others. I have another one booked for this spring. My husband was adamantly against any type of ocean cruise, but especially in regard to large ships, and I shared the sentiment. I started researching smaller lines when I wanted to visit other places not serviced by river cruises as well, and I wasn't interested in the least in going on one of the behemoth ships. I now have two cruises booked on SilverSea (one ship holds 200 passengers; the other about 600 (and that is about the largest I'd be interested in). Since I haven't been on the cruises yet, I can't comment other than to say that all of my research (including questions asked here) indicates that I will not be disappointed. One of my booked cruises is an expedition cruise, so there are not formal nights and I expect it to be very casual. For the other, there are two 'formal' nights, but there are always restaurant options that do not require formal attire if I don't feel like dressing up. I prefer casual in general, and that was one thing I really liked about the Uniworld cruises. Lastly, I, too, get seasick but I plan to take meclazine and also go equipped with the patch just in case, particularly at the start of my trips. I'd also suggest booking a cabin as low and mid-ship as possible to limit motion, but from everything I've heard the Silversea ships have excellent stabilization.

I went back a third time after the first two flight offerings were not acceptable to me and I specified exactly which flights I wanted. For me, it was worth the $150 deviation fee. I think the problem is that most people just blindly accept whatever SS Air comes up with and then they are stuck with whatever they get (and it’s not always the highest quality airlines nor the best routing or schedules.) As far as booking through the cruise line or on my own, this is my first time not doing all my own arrangements. But for an Antarctica cruise I felt it was safer booking D2D in case my embarkation port changes or there are other schedule complications.

Interesting reading… Thank you so much for posting this. The Air Wrap wouldn’t take up too much space but I’m more concerned about damaging it permanently. I think I will stick with the hairdryer provided in the cabin. 😉

Anyone know if it is even possible to use an Air Wrap onboard? I don’t typically use a blow dryer. I know there is at least one 110 outlet in the cabin, but I’m not sure if Air Wraps are allowed, or whether they are compatible for use onboard. Not a huge deal, but I don’t want to take it unless I’ll be able to use it.

I’ve stayed at the Aria in both Prague and Budapest, and both hotels were outstanding. The Four Seasons in Budapest is unbeatable.

No secret… Just the specific cruises where they have waived the single supplement.

I’ve sailed on Uniworld three times and have a cruise booked for April. Like gnome and Lois, I’ve never brought anything dressy with me. During the day I have dressed very casually, and in the evenings I have typically worn pants or leggings with a tunic or nice blouse. I, too, have never even packed a dress. Unless you show up in shorts and a T-shirt and flip-flops for dinner, I doubt you will feel underdressed. 😉 ETA: The trip I booked for this spring is one of the solo specials. Those prices are terrific!

This is what I've decided to do with my flights to Santiago later this year. I didn't like the airlines/flights that SS was coming up with so I told them specifically which flights I wanted. Even with the extra fees I'm paying less than I would with a commercial ticket bought on my own. And this way there's less risk to me if they change the port of embarkation for my trip, etc. They also booked the specific seats I requested. So far, so good ... All of that said, I'm glad that I transferred my booking to a TA so they're acting as the intermediary with SS.

I stayed here last year and really enjoyed it. They also had a terrific breakfast and happy hour.

Looks incredible! Thanks so much!

Good morning, everyone! I am sitting here with a huge grin on my face since I just got off the phone with SS and I have rebooked my cruise to include South Georgia and the Falklands. Thank you all for your helpful feedback.

On the positive side, I never would have seen your question if you had posted where you intended. 😉 I spent 6 weeks last year traveling around Tuscany and was really happy with the driver i used much of the time. (I also did some small group tours and also took trains and buses.)

I agree. I’m glad that I posted the question here since it completely confirmed what I had been thinking about changing my booking. Now I am getting excited about the trip all over again and will have a month less to wait for it, assuming I get the dates I’m aiming for. Can’t wait to make the call tomorrow. 🐧

Thank you so much! This is definitely reassuring.

In your first example, did you have SS book your extra hotel nights? I was told that if I added extra days, but had them book the hotel that the deviation fee was waived. I also recall reading that on their website.

This is essentially what has been happening with me. The more I heard and read, the more I felt that I needed to do the longer trip that included South Georgia at a minimum. Thank goodness I still have time to switch. Thank you for the wonderful photos!

Thanks. Decision pretty much clinched. I will be calling first thing in the morning to switch. Appreciate all the helpful input.

Thanks, and yes, I saw the recent issues with the flights and that is definitely another consideration to factor in. At this point I am just about to make the call to switch. (FWIW, there have been other 'once in a lifetime' trips I've taken that I've repeated as many as 7 times, so there's always a chance I'd be back. But always, there are no guarantees with life.)

And that is what I fear. But hey, you only live once, right? But seriously, weighing the pros and cons on this one is tough, especially since there's really no way to predict the conditions.

Thanks, Wes. This is really helpful and confirms the way I am thinking. I am on smaller boats a lot and take Meclizine each morning on those days. I’ve also used the patch when I was sailing a lot but wasn’t crazy about the side effects (although it certainly beat being sick!). I also know that after the initial discomfort of the first few days I’ll get my sea legs and do better in general. (I, too, have dived the Spiegel Grove on some pretty rough days and fed the fishies on those days as well. 🤢) Thanks for your feedback and the terrific photos!

I recently booked my first SS cruise for the end of this year on the Endeavour, choosing a shorter cruise that avoids sailing the Drake. However, by doing so I won’t get to visit the Falklands or South Georgia. At the time I booked, my schedule at the end of the year wasn’t expected to be very flexible but that has changed, so I could do the longer cruise with the extra sea days if I choose to. I am still far enough out to switch to the other itinerary. They are both on Endeavor; the longer cruise is about a month earlier at the very start of the season. All and all, the cost is about the same for the two of them despite the significant difference in the length of the cruises (18 days vs. 6 days). My original choice was heavily influenced by the fact that I get seasick and had never actually been on an ocean cruise. But now that I’m thinking more about it I’m wondering if I am being foolish focusing on skipping the Drake and the sea days given that this is probably a once in a lifetime trip for me. I’d appreciate feedback, particularly from folks who have done cruises that included the Falklands and South Georgia. Thanks.