bethtex

2 hours ago, Emdee said:

Absolutely. I am not a shareholder but I do see it as a smart business move. When we outgrew rccl and my DD grew up we moved to Regent and Crystal. This will definitely cross sell between brands. 
 

After a brief foray into Silversea we never cared for the classic product but liked the Expedition product. We still mostly cruise Regent and Crystal but will certainly consider Silversea for the correct itinerary and ship. I don’t think the Free laundry will be the deciding factor. 

The extra 10% discount that is stackable with VS 5% discount will help us pick a cruise.

It will keep SSea full with new cruisers.  If the average age now is 70, need to attract 50-60 yr olds.

As a shareholder, I think this is a smart business move. 

the Allianz annual plan has limited trip cancellation coverage.  The coverage amount is per year, not per trip.  We pay extra to upgrade our trip cancellation coverage to $10,000 per year.  For more expensive trips, I also put on our Delta Amex card which has coverage also.  Figure if we need to cancel one expensive trip on short notice, I won't be out too much.  If need to cancel trips later in the year, usually will be within refund period because we space our travel out.  Just a risk/benefit analysis and how much you are willing to risk.  Still our annual policy is less than what we have been quoted for covering one trip.

Have had to make two small claims and both paid quickly.  My parents had Allianz annual plan and my dad had a heart attack on board.  His Medicare supplement paid 80% of medical, and Allianz reimbursed the rest (medical, hotel, flight change).  

excited about this!  I am Elite on Celebrity, and will get benefits for a 250 day cruiser on SSea.  I have 28 days on SSea and 20 more booked.  May book more with the discount, especially if stackable with the on board booking discount.  

This is a good business move to keep folks sailing "in the family" as they look to upgrade their experience.  It will incentivize us to keep sailing SSea rather than look at other similar lines. And maybe SSea cruisers taking grandkids might consider Celebrity with the perks available now.  

I am excited by this.  Elite on Celebrity.  Have cruised SSea twice (Antarctica and Baltics/Norwegian Fjords)  and two more (Arctic/Svalbard & Antarctica again) booked.  With the additional 10% discount, may be booking more, especially if stackable with on board booking discount.  It is stackable with the 5% discount on certain cruises for VS members.

I think this will attract a lot of single cruiser from Celebrity to SSea.  SSea has many cruises with only a 25% single supplement, and sometimes runs a special with no single supplement on some cruises.  With Celebrity charting 200%, will make them more price competitive.  

We prefer Celebrity entertainment, have found food very good on both (we don't pay extra for specialty restaurants), and base our cruise decisions on price and itinerary.  

This benefits RC and Celebrity cruisers the most, don't see much upside for regular SSea cruisers.  A good business move to keep us cruising "in the family".  Especially as more 50-60 yr olds looking to upgrade their experiences.

went in Dec 2019.  Waterproof pants and long underwear were enough.  Light weight long underwear for hiking, and heavier/warmer when on a zodiac cruise.

definitely was glad had my wide brimmed hat with a chinstrap - kept the sun off.  Also a good warm beanie hat.  Sunglasses were necessary but not ski goggles.  I had both ski gloves and lighter weight gloves that could also serve as a liner.

I usually wore a light weight wicking/dri-fit longsleeve shirt, a turtleneck and a light fleece or sweatshirt with my parka.  Often shed layers while we hiked - 32 and sunny was plenty warm.

one pair of waterproof pants enough.  Easy to do laundry on board and pack less.  We bought our own pants and muck boots (Hisea on Amazon).  Will now have them for Arctic this summer and Antarctica again in 2025.

Thanks - good idea 

There in early December before , penguin eggs, but no chicks.  Going later might be fun.

Thanks - appreciate all the information and insight.

Good idea to go at a different time of year.

Thanks everyone for your answers to my questions 

We went to Antarctica in Dec 2019 on Silver Cloud.  It was the most amazing trip.  2 excursions a day (except one day when weather prevented and we sailed by ice bergs).  We only had about 200 passengers and were divided into groups of about 50 for each landing/excursion. 

We want to go again, but SSea prices have gone up quite a bit.  So looking at other lines.

Was looking at Hurtigurten, but it looks like the cabins are considerably smaller, and only guaranteed one landing a day.  Is this correct?  One post I read mentioned paying for excursions - do you have to pay extra for anything?  The dinner choices seem limited too.

Also considering Viking.  Some good deals now including air.  I think the only extras to pay for are gratuities and submarine (it costs extra).  But what can anyone tell me about excursions?  how many a day can we expect? 

What about Seabourne?   how would its expeditions compare?  What costs are not included in the basic fare?

Linblad and Nat Geo are more expensive than SSea so aren't under consideration.  Any others I should consider?

Finally for people who have been to Antarctica more than once - did you feel your later trips were less "special" than your first trip?  Our first trip was so perfectly spectacular, we wonder whether we should stick with that rather than risk being disappointed in another trip.  

when you talk about excursions being expensive, is this for basic going ashore/hiking, kayaking, zodiac rides?  or something more.  Trying to compare with other lines where everything is included (though on one the submarines are extra $$).

my parents were just on Beyond and were telling me about this

we are doing TA on Edge in April and are going to get reservations for each night ahead of time - booking most nights in one restaurant and one night in each of the 3 others.  So most nights we can have our same waitstaff (which we prefer)

Also like to have "shared tables" so we can meet new people.  14 nights of just us is too much togetherness!  We will ask each night for a larger table and ask that anyone who asks for a shared table be seated with us.

I really don't like this open seating concept.

If flight not ticketed yet, call Viking and can probably change it.  Research options first.  Found cheaper to call them than change online.

We only have an 1 hr 25min to transfer in Zurich to Budapest.  Hoping we can make it - was changed and ticketed while we were on another cruise so would be $500+ to change now.

SS first booked me on flights I didn't like, so had my TA contact them and ask for options.  Was able to change my flights with no extra costs, and you probably can too so long as not ticketed yet 

We did Antarctica on Cloud in Dec 2019.  WONDERFUL trip.  

Diet Coke or Coke Zero/Light available.  I drank iced tea at meals 

Definitely call and talk to someone directly.  Good luck getting everything resolved to your satisfaction.

hope you were able to book.  Aug 22 - 29 on Moon now showing as sold out!!

there are still plenty of excursions available.  For some that were booked up, looks like they have recently added additional tour times.

see you on board!

if safety considerations, would expect this years cruises to be cancelled or changed as well

so makes sense that demand may be down so they are moving a ship and redoing the itineraries.

headed to Baltic and Norwegian Fjords in Aug 2022, and hoping no more changes to our itinerary.

just did the 18 day cruise & pre & post land tours in May

for the pre-cruise land tour, no meals included except lunch on Fox Island.  We did have a private car for the train and the meals in the dining car were excellent.  

on the post-cruise tour from Vancouver to Calvary, the daily bus tours included lunch 3 days which we weren't expecting.  2 days the food was pretty good, and one day not so good but adequate.

The pre-cruise tour we were on a bus with only other Celebrity passengers.  Had the same guide and drive the whole time in Alaska.

In Canada, a different bus and guide each day and other people on the tours, not just Celebrity folks.  The daily bus tours were done by Brewster tours.  The guides were very good.  A lot more included than we expected from what was on the Celebrity website.  

let me know any other questions you may have.

On 3/25/2022 at 2:28 PM, bethtex said:

• Ship:  Millenium
• Length of Cruise: 7 nights 
• Cruise Sail Date: May 20
• Date email offer received: March 25 
• Captain’s Club Tier [“PREVIEW” = first Celebrity Cruise]: Elite  
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: TA
• Current Cabin: oceanview
• Bid?  Yes/No: Yes 

If YES -  Bidding Details:

• Cabin Category:
• Starting Bids: Aqua $300, Concierge $200, Family Veranda $150, Veranda $100
• Bid Offer: Concierge $225, Family Veranda $250, Veranda $150
• Notification Date:
• Accepted: 
   

General Comments (offer details, etc.)  First time I have done a move-up bid.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  Only 3 Family Veranda look available, but lots of regular verandas.  Normally wouldn't be interested in Concierge, but in this case the cabin is 30sqft larger and has a balcony, so went for it as well.  Cost to upgrade our room to one with a balcony looks to be $1,000 a person, so any of these would be a real deal. 

Just checked and my veranda and family veranda bids show "expired' but Concierge bid is showing still pending, so hopefully we are getting it.

• Ship:  Millenium
• Length of Cruise: 7 nights 
• Cruise Sail Date: May 20
• Date email offer received: March 25 
• Captain’s Club Tier [“PREVIEW” = first Celebrity Cruise]: Elite  
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: TA
• Current Cabin: oceanview
• Bid?  Yes/No: Yes 

If YES -  Bidding Details:

• Cabin Category:
• Starting Bids: Aqua $300, Concierge $200, Family Veranda $150, Veranda $100
• Bid Offer: Concierge $225, Family Veranda $250, Veranda $150
• Notification Date:
• Accepted: 
   

General Comments (offer details, etc.)  First time I have done a move-up bid.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  Only 3 Family Veranda look available, but lots of regular verandas.  Normally wouldn't be interested in Concierge, but in this case the cabin is 30sqft larger and has a balcony, so went for it as well.  Cost to upgrade our room to one with a balcony looks to be $1,000 a person, so any of these would be a real deal. 

Stumblefoot - was great to meet you.  Appreciate all the advice you have provided over the years.

My husband has a similar reaction as your wife - he can't believe it.  

The internet has made our lives so much better, and our travel experiences, but he leaves all that to me.

Looking forward to the new itinerary on our upcoming European cruise on the Moon.  The new ports are very interesting.

Hope to run across you again!

RCL announced today cancelling some cruises and re-routing others to avoid Russia.  Should be more details available over the next few days.

I was disappointed that SS booked us on a flight arriving in Copenhagen only about 3 hours before cruise departure time.  And had us booked out of Heathrow only 4 hours after disembarkation at Southampton (over an hour drive and supposed to be at airport 3 hours before flight for international).  Doubtful we would have made the cruise on time or our flight home.  SS then charged us $300 (for 2) to adjust to better flights.   I think it is a racket to raise funds.  No reason for them to pick flights on such tight timelines.  

My family group of 8 sailing on Jan 6 are all going to wear KN95 or N95.  We have some triple fabric masks (or that have inserts).

We really want to do this cruise and keep ourselves (and others) as safe as possible.

One sister is buying some different color KN95s for us  - so we will be fashionable as well as safe.

haven't sailed, but my parents did twice this fall

don't believe any kids clubs are open to unvaccinated children

loving your trip posts  - keep them coming!