irvington

Thanks for this thread. It caused me to upgrade to a suite with a bathtub for my cruise in October.

I tried to post this earlier, and I don't see that it came through. I read the Terms and Conditions, and I don't see that this penalty converts to a FCC. Honestly, if it did convert, I would book much earlier and more trips!

I’ve only taken one cruise with Silversea so far, but I booked close in time to departure, many excursions were gone, and things opened up later. I do plan to take the advice on booking dinners ahead. I really loved Silver Note.

I don’t see this in the Terms and Conditions but I would love to be wrong.

Thanks so much. I'm relatively young and healthy, so anything can happen, but I'm less worried about my own health. I think since I'm still working, I know I only have 3-4 weeks I can be away. And if my mother or mother in law is ill, or one of my kids gets married or needs me for some reason, etc. that could be it for that year (other than some long weekend). So it just seems kind of crazy for me to predict what my life will be like 1-2 years in advance. I actually feel some angst about booking something 6 months away. LOL

I've noticed the same thing. I had a blast on my solo Silversea cruise last fall, but with work and other issues, I don't plan vacation 1-2 years in advance. At the time (Sept 23) I noted 3 cruises I was really interested in that qualified for the solo special, and they were still available for a few months, but gradually dropped off that solo list. (One on the west coast of Africa, one from Costa Rica to Chile) Going forward I think I may try to just bite the bullet when I see an itinerary that really intrigues me, and it is on that solo special. Part of what scares me booking so far in advance is that port-to-port makes more sense for me, but it is far less refundable. (and I gather that you can't transfer to another sailing?) For now, I decided to book one for this fall that I was interested in that *did* qualify for the solo special (Singapore to Cairns). But I'm curious too what happens to cause them to be added or removed from the solo special list. My working hypothesis was that they only offered the solo fare when they were afraid the cruise wasn't booking as quickly as they would like. But if bookings increase, they pull it off the list. I'm hoping they're not getting rid of the concept entirely!

PS I thought the lectures on board were excellent and a big cut above what I’ve seen on Celebrity, HAL,NCL.

I didn’t go to any of the “big” shows, and that’s never been my thing on cruise ships - I don’t think they compare well to what I could go see at home. But I was very pleasantly surprised by the caliber of the musicians on the Muse last year. There were 2 different piano players, a guitarist, and the duo in Silver Note and they were all a cut above the similar entertainment on Celebrity. There was also a Jazz night that was quite good. I enjoyed going to Silver Note for a nightcap and the show, even when I had eaten elsewhere.

I find solo cruising much, much easier than traveling by myself on a land vacation. So I think it might be a good way to see if traveling solo works for you.

I very much enjoyed Silversea as a solo traveler.

I've been curious about this too.

yes, I took something similar a few months ago from Yokohama to the airport. It had been decades since I had been in Tokyo and I appreciated getting taken to a number of sites before I left. We had a full day tour to Haneda and we had 4 stops plus lunch I believe, and of course saw a lot from the bus as well.

I'm looking at the Wind for 2 upcoming possible cruises but based on the itineraries, which seem less typical. But I'm following in case the situation is really bad. Then I'd rethink these plans.

you're so lucky you got onto the Bunker Hill hike!

The next day we were transiting the inside passage and the weather was wonderful again. I woke up early and went to the observation lounge to drink a coffee and watch the scenery.

I wanted to add some pictures to my review. I have time due to jet lag insomnia! We had lovely weather leaving Vancouver.

That's what's scheduled! Do you think the smell issues still persist?

I'm not sure it is worth planning a trip around, especially since it could be raining cats and dogs, but I was really glad to have seen them and was surprised some folks chose not to get off the ship! each to his own.

Port to Port would always be better for me (easy access to airport, I like to be in charge of my own hotel and air) but I take it that it isn't always available.

Thanks for this review. I'm thinking of a similar (but condensed) version of this in 2024 and this is so helpful.

Happy to. I will post some pictures later unless I manage to go back to sleep - this time change always gets to me. Kodiak was small of course, not a lot of sites to see on the self-guided city tour (I think all the excursions were full by the time I booked), but the weather was great and I enjoyed sail in. I think this was the port we were supposed to dock but at the last minute the captain pulled out due to safety concerns and decided to drop anchor. There were a lot of semi-joking conspiracy theories about why there was a last minute change but I never heard more on the official story. I went to a small but lovely museum. I really enjoyed seeing another Russian Orthodox church. Unfortunately it was not open, nor was the bookstore, but I was able to peek through the windows and see some icons. Dutch Harbor was especially memorable. We again had wonderful weather and heard (as we so often did) that this was one of the rare nice days and the only one they had all month. I got closed out of the Bunker Hill Hike, and this was the shortest time in a port of call we had (not sure why, we had 4 or 5 sea days after that!) So the plan was to do the only other "excursion" they had which was a loop done by school buses once the kids were in school. Exited the ship and waited; learned they were only running 2 of these loop buses out of the usual 4. Uh-oh, everyone worried. But they appeared, with funny, chatty volunteer guides on board. They shuttled us basically 2 places, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Museum of the Aleutians (from which I also walked to the big hotel, which was skippable). Unfortunately they didn't stop at the WW2 museum which I had been particularly looking forward to seeing. But by the time I calculated it, I didn't think I had time to walk there before we left port (and everyone was very worried about missing the exit). But the 2 stops were amazing! The museum was very good and did cover the WW2 era, along with everything else. I was tempted to buy a woodblock print of an old Quonsett but it was something like $400 which was outside of my budget for an impulse purchase. The Orthodox church (cathedral?) was open and there was a very friendly priest (bishop?) who was willing to chat about anything and everything and pointed out all of the interesting interior art and architecture. I knew of the history, but wasn't aware that the Orthodox church had so much of an ongoing presence in Alaska. A very interesting bit of culture to learn about.

Several of us had troubles with the balcony doors when the sea got bumpy. The repair team were old hands at it.

I agree with all these observations! and the Japanese attire was exquisite,

Just heading home from the Muse and I had a blast. You will have a great time.

I meant to include a screenshot of the itinerary.