A Tucson Guy

This does not always work. Last July, Scandanavian Airlines went on strike and could not do anything to help me. I called the SS Air desk and they got me on another airline the day before we were leaving. Some airlines will not make any changes unless it goes through the company that paid for the ticket, hence SS. It is a mixed bag out there.

I have taken this problem to the president of SS and she responded immediately and SS is working on it. Please see my respond earlier.

We are coming in early to Venice this August and using the SS hotel. What hotels do SS use?

This has been discussed way too much. Having gotten off the Dawn in Nov., on formal nights I worn a black Armani Sports Coat, black slacks, white shirt and a tie. In July on the Moon, I wore a dinner jacket, black slacks, white shirt and bow tie. On the Nov. trip, I just didn't want to carry the additional coat. I fit in on both trips. Don't fret over the dress code. Just have a sports coat, slacks and a tie and you will be fine- end of story, I hope!!

I have used these numbers before and got help and results- Emergency Air desk (to be used only enroute) 786-2757089 SS Air desk- 866-9814288

SS never ceases to amaze me. I sent Barbara Muckermann an email this morning explaining the problem above. In THREE HOURS I got an email back from Barbara and the name of one of her associates that is going to help me solve the problem. Barbara agreed that the 40 minute connection was not doable and she recommended a minimum connection time of 90 minutes, also. I call this excellent customer service!! I will post the "rest of the story" when I have it.

Many TA's will pay a 5% to 10% "gift" paid after the cruise. You may also get an OBC.

We were on the Moon in July 2022 and Dawn in Nov 2022 and both times it never showed up in My Silversea calendar. With a 12 night cruise, count on two formal nights.

Thank you Lois and Cruzin.

Here is a case where it may seem like SS Air screwed up, but maybe not. We are using SS Air for Bus. Air from Tucson to Venice and then Florence to Tucson this August for the Nova. When SS Air first booked the flights, we had Florence back home connecting in Heathrow (uggh!!) with a 2 hour layover and going from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5. This seemed just fine. I checked on the British Airways website for my trip a couple of weeks later and suddenly the Heathrow to Dallas flight got changed and now we have a 40 minute connection- that ain't going to work. I have to assume that SS Air was not looking at the new changed flight times. I contacted my TA and his comment was, "Since SS booked the flights, it must be a valid connection time". I then reminded him that the flight got changed to a new and not improved shorter connection time. My TA is now contacting SS Air to see what can be done. Hopefully SS will figure this out and do the right thing. "The jury is still out on this one!". I will report back on what has been done. Anybody else that has gone through Heathrow think that a 40 minute connection from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 is gonna work?

On my last two cruises on the Moon and the Dawn in 2022, the answer is yes.

Black tie and long gowns are not the dress code requirements. Please check SS website for actual requirements. Let us not scare off potential SS cruisers.

Be aware that many travel agents will give you a rebate/gift in the amount of 5 to 10% of total cruise costs. To many of us, that is worth considering.

When the 2024 Bus Air prices come out, you may find that the fares have gone up quite a bit. I doubt air fares are going down. I like to take SS Bus Air and pay the fee if the flights are more than 330 days out.

Some of us are very happy with SS air (like me) and some of us are not happy with SS air. So many things in life are this way. I don't think anybody wins or loses. It is just a different experience.

To kinda piggyback your comments, what is causing us angst is the over doubling of the cost of international Business Air with SS or if you book directly with the airlines. $7,000 for Bus Air add on to down under or the Orient from the USA starts to take some of the fun out of the trip. Sadly, when inflation slows down, we may never see the old lower prices for everything come back. What goes up may just stay up!! We just will not fly internationally in coach and I know a lot of people that feel the same way. We all have choices.

Just order steak tartare and then send it back to be cooked.

Yes they still have it- $500 each!!

Here's a different slant. We use our OBC to buy wines on the ship from the special wine list. I can buy the wines on the ship for less that I can buy in a wine store in the USA, let alone buying the same wine in a restaurant! On the ship we bought a bottle of Dom for $150 using the OBC. Most of the rest of the wine offering we similarly price- such a deal. I also use the OBC for dinner at La Dame. It is worth it to us to eat there. Different strokes for diffent folks!!

Just got off the Dawn in Lisbon and here is my experience and what I did. On formal night, I wear a very nice Armani black sports coat, black slacks and a tie. On informal nights, same sports coat, slacks or levi's and no tie. Casual night, Levi's or slacks and a shirt. I saw Levi's all over the ship, even on formal nights. The only dress code police was at Atlantide, when men had to wear a jacket on formal and informal nights. These comments applied to all the restaurants and bars after 6PM. Tuxedos and dinner jackets were in the minority on both of my cruises this year.

Post covid we have done two SS cruises and we have five more SS cruises paid for until 4-25. I see mixed opinions from many about SS. SS Air has been perfect for me and really came through last summer when some airlines went on strike. Life on the SS ships could not be better. I still will look at RSSC and Seabourn for future cruises. I only like the newer ships, just me. When I do the number crunching, SS beats RSSC every time when you factor in Bus Air. The current challenge with Seabourn is you cannot lock in the Bus Air before 330 days and I tend to book way in advance. With the crazy inflation, I pass on Seabourn since I will not know the cost including Bus Air. I am not a cheer leader for any cruise line, but right now, SS is getting all my business. Also for me, trying to use air miles for Bus Class is a joke and I don't even try anymore.

Yes it was after final payment.

The other side of the coin- We did the Nov. 2022 Lisbon to Lisbon. Originally it was Dakar to Lisbon. A few months prior to cruise date, I did notice that the fares had gone down. I contacted my TA with a copy of the screen shot showing lower fares and asked to get a refund. Lo and behold, a couple of days later we got a credit for $1200 each or $2400 in total. We were very happy.

Having just gotten of the Dawn after 12 glorious days, it could not have been a better cruise. We have four days in Lisbon and just finished our first of four days with Jorge of Premiere Tours. He is just wonderful to have as our private tour guide. It is now 6:30 and we can't find the butler with our caviar and champagne- we were just spoiled. In our opinion, SS has NOT lost its luster at all. Now looking forward to the Nova in August 2023.