A Tucson Guy

18 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Anywhere you like.  Tuxes are never required.  If you have a suit and tie, you're good.  Even a sport coat and tie will pass muster.

I think after May, you will not even need a tie- hooray!!

1 minute ago, vistaman said:

yes but some regulars on SS are not accepting it anymore -  the downfal !

my very upmarket Champagne was heavily mistreated  on the Dawn in La Terrazza -  a sommelier was supposed to serve 120 guests  ??? - the head sommelier was knowing her duty , as was the sommelier in Salt and in La Dame  

on Regent I can eat a Dover Sole in Compass Rose  , in Prime 7 and in Chartreuse , on SS only in La Dame  - during my week in the Med there really was no special fish at all ...

I had a far more "luxurious" feeling on Regent as on SS despite the Pommery bubbles ( for how long ?? ) and the caviar  ( portions reduced last year it was a full small jar - now a tea spoon )

 

 

You can ask for 2 or more portions of caviar on SS.

2 hours ago, jollyjones said:

There is one thing that keeps niggling at me - I assume it's just on the Nova, it certainly wasn't on the Dawn in February.

And that is the new uniforms for the suite attendants.

The men wear navy blue trousers - docker style - with mid-blue checked not-exactly-gingham but very similar short sleeved shirts. Very much 'civilian' clothes - I have seen pax wearing almost the same outfits.

The women wear long sleeved navy blue tunics and trousers of a style one might expect in the spa. The tunic could be considered to be a descendant of hospital scrubs but is more fitted and fastens down the front. The outfit is plain navy blue but with mid blue trim around the neckline and down the front.

This seems a rather discordant design choice - I think that all members of the same team should have uniforms that don't need to be identical but should fall within the same design theme. It's almost as if the designer thought men and women should not look at all alike.

It's just a small niggle to my costumier's eyes, and the crew say they are very happy with them, they are very comfortable, so this is really just an idle observation that I post as I await the 11am departure for my little bus tour here in little Golfito, Costa Rica.

 

PS the butlers are unchanged - black tailcoats and white gloves - although they ditch the coats in the morning in favour of gold coloured waistcoats.

 

 

 

Interesting comment. I never noticed their clothes and for me, I could care less.

If anybody can get the email for the new CEO and share it, that would be wonderful. I did email Barbara asking for the email for the new CEO, but she did not respond. Thx.

We did 4 Door to door cruises on SS in the last 2 years and the SS air desk did great by us and we fly out of little ole Tucson AZ.

39 minutes ago, Port Power said:

I also enjoyed Muse last year, and Dawn and Wind to follow.  Yes, there were a few issues with meals, but not enough to ruin the cruises.  Any disappointments were made up by mostly wonderful crew and other excellent experiences. (Particularly Drew in SALT Lab.)  I felt special on many occasions as Maître d’s and waiters called my by name and knew my preferences. Your comments as a solo passenger align with mine.

 

Based on my experiences during 114 days of SS cruising last year, I’ll be back. I have a booking on Wind in June and on Silver Ray in 2026.  However, it is the price that will stop me rebooking.  Fares are just too high now, especially as a solo.  We have to book 18-24 months in advance usually to find 25% solo supplements. 

And how about the crazy expensive Business Class airfares!!!

In my opinion, I think Barbara has somebody that checks her emails and then forwarded the email to the right person in the food chain. That was my experience with sending emails to Barabra. It worked for me on more than one occasion.

On 4/3/2024 at 11:37 AM, Katsings01 said:

I understand that all of these Dolphins (in all of these locations) were bred in captivity (capturing wild Dolphins has been illegal for many many years). They have never been, and are not, able to survive in the wild. They appear to be very well treated and loved. One Dolphin is 44 years old (almost twice the average age of Dolphins in the wild) and still going strong. In fact, during the pandemic when there were no visitors, the Dolphins were stressed because they missed their routine and the trainers had to don life vest and dress as tourists to keep the Dolphins happy. They provide interaction and better understanding (I learned quite a bit) so they are good ambassadors for their wild counterparts. 

Good info- thanks!!

21 minutes ago, Pies4u said:

Really? Headphones or ear pods would, surely, be a safer and more sociable proposition in order not to disturb others? Just a thought.

 

I certainly wouldn’t want to be next to anyone who played music in their balcony - on the basis that sound travels and you can hear most conversations, even if somewhat muffled occasionally, when neighbours are on their balcony. That is unavoidable but music that is loud enough for you to hear it would carry well beyond the confines of a balcony on a ship.

 I second this emotion!!

10 minutes ago, Isr45 said:

Similar comments to these on the Seabourn board re the massive increases - this is not just Silversea.

I think Regent prices are also on the upswing!!

38 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Are you referring to the 3-pre nights UNESCO Sites of Greece including Athens, Meteora and Thessaloniki?

https://www.silversea.com/destinations/mediterranean-cruise/athens-piraeus-to-athens-piraeus-mo240609011.html

That looks wonderful!  We did something similar following a cruise that ended in Athens, only we went to Delphi instead of Thessaloniki so we could be driven back to Athens instead of flying.  A real highlight of that entire trip!

Details of our trip are in this blog (posts 16-18):

 

We are doing the other tour since we did not want to fly again. Thanks.

We are doing this pre-cruise out of Athens. Has anybody done this pre or post-cruise extension and let me know what you thought of the trip.

Thanks.

2 minutes ago, The Hudson Co. Landlubber said:

Infrequent cruiser here. Fourth one in 30 years, 5 years since last.  Going to Med on Regent Splendor, very soon. Excited, expect it will be great.  I lurk these board for info and I get a ton of valuable stuff, thank you all you experienced people!  I doubt you realize how helpful you are.

 

Here is my question:

 

My regent rep is not very responsive or helpful.  He's not horrible, this is not a complaint, I don't want him replaced... but I have to email him or leave msg 2 or 3 times to get a response.  Been waiting a month for him to arrange a pre-cruise land tour for us also.  Just for $30K I would have hoped for a bit more responsiveness.

 

Cruise is in 40 days and fully paid for. Do you recommend I transfer to a travel agent to help with stuff?  Since we are novices we have more questions than some I guess.  I know a TA might give us some benefits also?  I have never used one.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

I don't think RSSC will now let you transfer to another TA. I use an independent TA. This morning I decided to add a precruise for my Barcelona to Montreal cruise in August of 2025. I emailed my TA and 30 minutes later, I got the new RSSC invoice for the precruise add on. That is how things are supposed to work This TA also gives me a "gift" of almost 10% of the cruise- I call that "found money". 

After four dinners on the Nova last year, the caviar is a much better grade than served elsewhere on the ship and the house wines are a LITTLE better than the other house pours. If you really enjoy the better Osetra caviar, the $160 upcharge MIGHT be worth it. The menu on the Nova for La Dame was very similar to the menu on Moon and Dawn.

12 hours ago, agape01 said:

I am very interested to know about this stateroom.

This is a aft position stateroom and I am wondering whether was there any noise disturbance from the bar below?

I have this impression that the view from the balcony on this stateroom is amazing. If you could post some pictures of balcony views would be greatly appreciated.
 

We heard no noise from the restaurant below- go for it.

13 minutes ago, Thundery said:

Ask your butler. We actually had the couches taken out and got 2 loungers

Thank you

1 hour ago, Abuckett said:

Hope the couple at The Grill wearing swimsuits didn’t get splatter on their delicate skin. 🤣🤣

That grease is HOT!!

31 minutes ago, Observer said:

I have been gobsmacked by the price increases on Silversea.  I have cruises booked well into the future. I have compared the list price of my cruises (before various discounts) and the prices currently being asked.  To say that the differences are substantial would be an understatement.

 

I have been sailing on Silversea so long that I have two rid myself of my benchmark highest price of $500 per night solo occupancy.  (Big Macs have also gone up in price.)

 

I share the dismay of many regarding this development.  I understand that it will bring Silversea out of reach of many people, quite possibly including me.

 

But I wonder if there might be good news here. Some of this is doubtless a revenue grab by RCL. But it may be that Silversea will be able to up its game significantly.  Crew will be paid better and there will be less turnover.  Provisioning of food and spirits will be enhanced.  Higher quality lecturers will be engaged.  Etc.

 

Is this all implausible?  

From your lips to God's ears!!! Let's hope you are right.

Yes & yes

 We were in 6088 on the Nova with a connecting door and there were no noise issues. 

59 minutes ago, jeb_bud said:

Check the deck plan before booking a PHB. Some have large balconies and some have smaller balconies. We had a PHB with the shallow balcony. As I recall there was a table with two chairs and one lounger on our balcony. 

Thanks. That was the first thing that I checked and I have a cabin with the larger balcony!

34 minutes ago, Tsunami74 said:

We were next to a penthouse B on the Explorer recently, and they asked us in. 

Their balcony had no lounger, only a couch,  while ours in a concierge had one (which I used a lot!!)

So apparently not all B penthouses have loungers.

I wonder if you could ask the butler for a lounger or two? Has anybody had experience with this?

The balconies are larger on the Penthouse B vs. the Penthouse C in most cases. I think the B cabin may have two lounges on the balcony, I hope. We moved up to the B Penthouse for the larger balcony. Please advise if anybody can confirm. Thx.

Hooray!!!!No more ties!!

On 3/15/2024 at 9:06 PM, PhD-iva said:

You are allowed to share your own email address (see mine in my signature). This is a nice way to solicit some private / additional information off-line….

I do not see your email in your signature. Am I missing something?