drron29

Agree with @jollyjones. We cruised on Dawn August 2022 and on the Moon March 2023. The major difference was the staff. We knew more on the Moon than on the Dawn.

Having been walking in Tokyo the last 5 days and on the Shinkansen today to Kyoto today I think both places people are more dressed up than the average SS passenger on an informal night in Atlantide. Very few men without a jacket. I don’t count winter coats as jackets. Winter though hasn’t really arrived.

Well basic Starlink internet was good enough to upload a 100+ photos in a day for my cruise reports on the Moon and Muse. Sea days were slower as obviously more people using the internet. So quite sufficient speed for me and most people. I wonder what you couldn’t do with the speed you measured?

Well I will help.

Here is Cairns weather. June until October is peak season but May is reasonable. Cyclone season has ended and the weather not too bad. Major benefit in May is that accommodation Should be cheaper and easier to book. Further South the weather will be slightly milder but the outer reef will be further off the coast. I quite enjoy Townsville. Worked there for 6 months.

Well I never thought I would need to say this. Silversea need to consult with british Airways on how to present a cheese plate. Business class on SYD - SIN yesterday. Simple with 3 very nice cheeses.

According to Barbara Muckhermann in her Q&A aboard the Muse a month ago the proper procedure is that only 50% of the restaurants should be available to book before boarding. The remainder to be available when boarding. Personally I doubt that this is what occurs. But it is the official policy.

And all the best to you @mysty. May your wishes come true. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year as well as the most amazing World Cruise ever.

I reported this from the Muse a month ago after the Barbara Muckerman Q&A that we had onboard. The SS Air was in the process of being taken over by the RCL air department. So all air arrangements are now through RCL and not SS. More agents that book more airfares and so hopefully better prices and choices.

We have just had morning coffee with Malcolm AKA RooFlyer who will be joing you on the Wind. A very good friend of ours. He is flying to Santiago today and we are flying to Singapore then on to Japan to have Christmas with the family. Hope you have a great cruise. I am sure you will enjoy South Georgia and Antarctica. Finally thank you for your cruise report. Maybe we will do a TA sometime.

Sure it wasn't the Spirit of Tasmania.😉 https://www.spiritoftasmania.com.au/?ds_c=Retail+|+Brand+|+Mainland+Australia&ds_ag=SoT+Brand&ds_k=spirit+of+tasmania&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4NWrBhD-ARIsAFCKwWvQCKjozo0Sh1fG1ME75fFaEDwof7hWnwfD3aGeov0orF2N_PXfBVAaAmdWEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Have never used the SS hotels so don't know. but I am presuming you are talking about the benefits of a Virtuoso booking. If so I doubt you would get them as Barbara muckerman's talk to us on the muse a month ago said SS has contracts with hotels for a fixed number of rooms which means a discounted rate. When we book a Virtuoso hotel the Virtuoso rate is more expensive than doing it direct however the benefits make it a better option. Especially so with Intercontinental hotels as i have diamond status. have never missed out on the Virtuoso upgrade with a second diamond up grade. So often get a suite and sometimes club access as well.

Indeed once when it was time to pay in full when we made the booking on board a deposit was accepted as a hold for I think 3 days. So we emailed our TA to pay from our card that they have on record. The extra benefit for us is that our agent is a Virtuoso agent and most SS cruises are Virtuoso cruises so you get OBC or an Excursion thrown in. There easn't going to be that much difference if we lost the 5% booking on board and our TA doing it and getting the Virtuoso benefits. It was much better though to get both.

On our last 3 cruises Dawn, Moon and Muse the people more likely to try it on at restaurants on formal nights were usually older persons. and i mean older than me. I am 77. All of our first few cruises were Expedition cruises.definitely no formal nights.

Yes.

We always book door to door without flights, transfers and pre cruise hotel. They have always done this for us. Then we still have the better cancellation coverage.