Astride

Hi frantic36,

It could be but I never experienced any thing else. My last cruise on SB was a 6 week cruise from Fiji to Vancouver in the spring of 2023. Robert was the CD & we had a solo gathering at the beginning of every embarkation port.

7 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

I was on Seabourn Sojourn last in February 2024 and I saw a gathering of solo travellers many nights in the club hosted by one of the entertainment staff. I think they met around ?6 - 6.30. 

 

@Astride I saw your reply as I posted. I wonder if it was different on my sailing as it was part of the world cruise or because Ross was CD and he was more pro-active?

I have always traveled solo on Seabourn cruises. I don't remember any solo cocktail hour except for the invitation for solo travelers to meet & have a drink at the beginning of every cruise. Contrary to what you think, I find that the hosted tables are a great way to meet other passengers traveling alone.

3 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Better yet, there is no caviar on Carnival. But they do have bologna sandwiches and Kraft dinner.

You just proved my point with this post. And it appears that CC removed your post about Kansas.

3 hours ago, Robisan said:

These two sentences are self-refuting. 

No, they are not contradictory. The first sentence expresses lack of understanding of an obsession. The second sentence expresses lack of empathy for that obsession. What I am saying is that, if one of the chief reasons for cruising on SB is the availability of free caviar & champagne, why not save yourself a lot of money & buy a large supply of caviar & champagne & stay home.

3 hours ago, Woodrowst said:

So what you are saying is that you can’t understand why anyone would have different tastes in food (or maybe anything else) than you do. How sad for you😔 

I am perfectly ok with people having different tastes whether it be caviar or cheese, champagne or red wine. What I find ridiculous is that, judging by the number of times I read posts about caviar & champagne on SB, you would think that a lot of people are motivated to embark on a SB cruise due to the offering of caviar & champagne. There are far better reasons to book a SB cruise & I find this obsession annoying.

I don't understand this obsession with caviar & champagne. Who cares? I'd much prefer a glass of fine red wine with quality cheese than a flute of cheap champagne with fish eggs. The only explanation I can come up with is that the combination has snob appeal.

Yes, I did it last May without a problem.

On 2/11/2024 at 2:40 AM, ssummer said:

According to SB:They ran out of pins, new delivery in the month of April😊

How dumb of them! I received the email but no gift. They should have had an idea of how many gifts would be required when they sent the email in the first place. And, if they did indeed screw up in that respect, they should at least have had the courtesy to notify their loyal customers of the shortage of gifts & of the anticipated late delivery date.

Just now, Astride said:

 

I wouldn't go near the Eastern Mediterranean in the near future because I believe that the conflict will quickly escalate & involve most countries in the region. Forgive me for being so pessimistic but I only see one way out of this dilemma & I don't see it happening. I would choose another region to cruise in for my peace of mind.

2 hours ago, Mahogany said:

We just cancelled April Dubai to Athens. My TA told me about a client on another luxury line RT Athens on October 18 that changed itinerary on October 15. And probably more itinerary changes mid-voyage. Back to the cruise drawing board for a spring replacement!

Who the hell cares? I always dress elegantly for dinner & I don't care what anyone else does.

23 hours ago, Mrs_Tiki said:

???? I have no reason or wish to argue, but that does not match what we saw.
 

What I don’t have a photo of is the crane removing older, weathered, white zodiacs onto a flatbed trailer on the pier. The black ones in the photo appeared to be brand new.

 

I will try to confirm with a crew member and check back if I gain any additional information.

I haven't seen the zodiacs that were unloaded & loaded in Vancouver. But I do remember that SB Odyssey was not allowed to offer zodiac excursions in French Polynesia last April. This had to do with the Polynesian gov't not wanting SB to compete with their own tour operators. So I just assumed that SB was just following governmental regulations by off-loading & reloading them. Note that I wrote "probably" in my post & that I clearly did not refute what you saw with your own eyes.

Probably the old equipment being reloaded due to regulatory reasons.

The only reason I can see for for tipping before service rendered is to obtain preferential service. And that practice is known as a bribe.

I agree with SLSD that we shouldn’t pass judgement on people based on the way they’re dressed. Pardon the pun but, since we’re not in their shoes, let’s refrain from doing so. The bared-footed gentleman seen in the Colonnade is probably the one I met who badly injured his feet on coral & couldn’t put his shoes on.

18 hours ago, lincslady said:

Not entirely surprising - it is quite pricey and a fiddle to put together for the staff.  I have seen passengers who suddenly realised it was always available, and seemed to order it practically constantly; not I suspect because they loved it but because it is seen as a special thing to do and boast about  back home.  

I think you've nailed it! The same can be said for champagne. Both have snobbism appeal. I don't particularly like either one but I find it's okay to order them if you truly enjoy them & do not go overboard (pardon the pun) simply because you want to brag about it.

Jost van Dyke used to be so pristine. White Bay is now just a tourist trap with too many inebriated party goers & mediocre food.

3 hours ago, Ovener said:

Have been to Santorini a lot, first time when I was 19 and the accommodation was £2 a night (admittedly it was inland and the hostel owner locked away our passports and then went missing).
 

Sadly the island has lost its charm.  Unless you are flying in and out of Santorini directly and out of season, give it a miss. On the last two cruises with Santorini as a stop we stayed on board for a relaxing day at sea. Everyone we spoke to regretted going on shore and they waited hours for the funicular/cable car.
 

OK, so it’s a blown out volcano. But the beaches are black and hard to access, Fira is packed with tourists and Oia is full of five star cave hotels with staff dressed in white suits like henchmen in 1990s Bond films. I know, I’ve stayed in one of them…and done the mountainside walk from Oia to Fira accompanied by wild dogs. But there are much better Greek islands without the Disney feel…and if you want a great view of the Aegean, just climb up a hill on any one of them. The view of the island from the ship is great in any event. 
 

And talking of Bora Bora, I have never been anywhere more disappointing. By the time you’ve had your eighth plateful of tuna marinated in coconut, received 200 mosquito bites, had a three legged gangrenous hound use your laundry as an overnight dog basket, and had a lizard do its business on you all night from your villa’s rafters, you’ll never want to go back. Many thanks to Lonely Planet for your recommendation as to the best hotel there back in 2004. 

My comments will not help HalFan but I'd like to share what I experienced in 1985 on a small Greek cruiseship visiting several islands in the Aegean. I had a bad experience climbing up a steep hill on a donkey trail to visit a tourist site on another island. The poor donkey was looking for shade on the narrow trail to the top & stuck to the wall of the trail in so doing. I was terrified since I'm afraid of heights. And my right leg was badly scratched from it rubbing against the stone wall. Our next stop was Santorini so I decided to skip it since the only way to the top at the time was either the donkey trail or the funicular. My husband went alone & loved it. After lunch, when all the passengers except for me had left by tender for Santorini, I witnessed something inconceivable in our day. The crew in the outdoor dining venue cleared the tables of all dishes, glasses & cutlery & then proceeded to gather all the foods remnants & beer & wine bottles in the table cloths & throw them overboard. I am not kidding you. The Aegean must be full of glass bottles.

I will book my return flight with Air Canada. Btw, I contacted the Canada Passenger Agency & I was told that moving up a flight departure time is equivalent to a flight cancellation & a refund is in order. I was told to file a complaint after I have attempted to resolve the issue with Air Transat. The problem is that AT puts you on hold for hours. When an agent finally took my call, she transferred me to another agent & I was put on hold again for another couple of hours until I threw in the towel.

On 11/29/2022 at 12:43 PM, CalmSea said:

For most airlines, if they changed the timing of your flight, you can change to another flight with no change fee. I am more familiar with Air Canada. For AC, you can do it directly on their web page, as long as you have not yet officially accepted the proposed change. AC has several non-stop flights between YVR and YUL, and mnay 1-stop ones. Also, they often change the timing of their flights again closer to the date of the flight (1 to 3 months beforehand), and you have another window to change flights.

Unfortunately CalmSea I booked my return flight to Montreal with Air Transat. Never again! They refused to reimburse me & their next flight was 2 days later. The cost of 2 nights' accommodation in Vancouver with meals & transportation thrown in would probably exceed the cost of my premium economy flight. I was told that my flight required a 6 hour change in  departure time in order for me to qualify for a refund. This is not the first time that Air Transat has behaved unethically with me. At the start of the Covid pandemic, I booked a flight to Rome with them for a Seabourn cruise. The cruise was cancelled. So was the Air Transat flight. But Air Transat charged me a $300 cancellation fee. Reliable old Seabourn came to my rescue & refunded me the cancellation fee. My advice to all my Seabourn friends is to stay away from Air Transat.

9 hours ago, frantic36 said:

 

I have to agree with LMB01 sadly. 

 

We disembarked in Vancouver in 2017 and I distinctly remember it being one of the slowest ports organisation wise and that was due to the the Port Authorities not Seabourn. I remember standing with others waiting for bags to be brought out and three guys would push one large baggage trolley loaded with bags while others stood waiting with smaller trolleys obviously hoping someone would employ them to take bags out to transport, so they could get a tip.  I was worried because we had a late morning tour booked and was concerned we would miss it.

 

After this experience I am wary of Vancouver Port but loved the city.

Thank you. I will try to get a later flight on another airline.

12 hours ago, LMB01 said:

No way

7am is the likely arrival time

ship has to be cleared and luggage offloaded

though, if you are disembarking early, you usually keep your luggage and take it with you

When we disembarked in Vancouver in Mid-August, a few people got off around 8:30 before there was a glitch and no more people got off until 9am.  Traffic was heavy and it took 30 minutes to reach the airport ( but we were staying the night at the airport hotel for that very concern).  

 

 

 

 

Thank you. Your input has been helpful.

The itinerary for my cruise shows a disembarkation time in Vancouver of 7:00 am. Since my flight home has been moved to an earlier time slot, I'm no longer sure if I can make it in time to YVR for a 9:40 am flight departure time. Does anyone know what is the earliest time I can leave the ship if the expected disembarkation time is 7:00 am? I've been on many Seabourn cruises but never had to leave the ship early to make a flight. Your input would be most appreciated.

36 minutes ago, skybluewaters said:

 

Apples and oranges.  The offer to Crystal Society members by Seabourn was done to attract new customers.  It was an Introductory Offer.  This is a standard type of offering that exists in many industries/businesses.  It would make no sense to give existing customers the benefit of an introductory offer.

I totally disagree with you. Introductory offer or not, why should my Crystal Society points have no value while yours do?