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Hope everyone had a great time in San Francisco today. It was a warm day, a little sultry due to the spin off of moisture from Storm Hilary. Warm enough that it would have been a good day to explore SF without any fog! We will catch up with you in Ft. Lauderdale.

We've watched a number of YouTube videos about the Silver Nova, including the one on the Silversea web site. Also a good tour provided by YouTube cruise guy. All very impressive. Includes all of the features we loved on the Silver Moon, but several have been Improved. And all of those lovely nooks and crannies outside on deck. Looks like a lovely ship and experience, so someday with the right itinerary, we will sail!

Thanks for the replies! We've very much enjoyed Coriander on the QM2, so now we can also spice it up on the Elizabeth! Great one!

Thanks Hattie! I read about Frontier, but I assumed that was just an Alaska thing. We will be on an Atlantic crossing.

We've sailed the QM2 many times and enjoy the specialty restaurants that are set up in the evening in Kings Court, like Coriander and Bamboo. On Sept. 5 we board the Queen Elizabeth for the first time. Asking those who have sailed the QE recently, are there similar pop-up/specialty restaurants in the Lido on the QE? If so, what is the additional charge?

We love Earth and Ocean as it is our favorite dining venue on Seabourn. On our Antarctica cruise a few years ago, we dined at E & O outdoors in the cold a couple of times and were happy. Not totally comfortable, but the staff did their best to provide blankies, etc. And the food and wine made it all worthwhile. A little adventure on a cruise ship.

Very quick and simple answer: You cannot share a drinks package as Cunard will not allow that. And given the amount your drink, a drinks package would not be a good buy.

See what you think about the included excursions. Since we are usually DIY guys, we are not keen on lines that include excursions.

The big change that I noticed since Covid is that there are a lot of new staff. I understand that this is true for all cruise lines as so many seasoned staff were out of work and had to find another way to earn a living during Covid. The newbies needed to be trained and at first there were a lot of hiccups. On our last QM2 crossing in June, the hiccups were fewer.

On any QM2 sailing, there are a number of staff who serve the position of concierge. And there are others who assist. The one consistent person has particular and limited hours.

JPH: Thanks for this as it has been fun to think this through. I do believe that Seabourn is a good buy for a cruise vacation for those of us who like alcohol. One can definitely get a better buy on a mass market cruise line, but that is a totally different experience. My comparison point is to how we like to travel, a long-term stay in a major city in a tourist apartment, just getting to know one place. That is a better buy that Seabourn, but again, a totally different experience, in the end not really comparable. But again, it was fun to think about all of this.

I do not know of any plans for Seabourn to include free excursions. They have always been available to purchase, if you want.

We did the same thing once and enjoyed a great movie that we had been dying to see. Dinner, a show and a good bottle of wine. Nice alternative on a long cruise! Seabourn made it easy. We will definitely do it again.

We boarded the QM2 in Cape Town a long time ago, 2015 I believe. We took a cab from our hotel, and that was easy peasey. But at the terminal there was horrible chaos, big crowds, no organization, passengers who were elderly or disabled at risk, and it took a couple of hours to board. I hope it has improved.

Only $10 corkage? That's a deal!

I have spent a couple of days thinking about how to respond to the prospect of paying $160 for dinner on a cruise ship when I have already spent $500+ per day for my "all inclusive" experience. Even if I had excessive OBC to burn, I think I might find another way to spend it. And my one experience in La Dame was nothing special. So I am not their target customer. But I do love Silversea, for other reasons.

I'm just sayin' with Markham. On the Silver Moon this spring we kept going back for the pizza. It was high end restaurant quality, a shock since we never expect that on a cruise ship. Nice setting outside on deck and impeccable service. I think I am still in shock. But I was well-fed. The Seabourn pizza experience was pleasant because we could get it off-menu and when we had a craving. But it was Round Table quality, not restaurant quality. At least it was made to order and had not been sitting out under a heat lamp for an hour, which is what you find on the mass market ships. But Silversea is made for pizza lovers.

LadyL1: I can't answer your question about the rules. We simply received an opportunity to bid, so we did! It's all a bit of a black box to me. Yet another reason why I am not at all confident that our bid will be accepted.

Yesterday we submitted bids for upgrades on our Sept. 5 Queen Elizabeth sailing. Our TA thinks the cruise is sold out, so both he and I don't understand why bids are being accepted. Maybe Cunard knows something that is not disclosed to TAs? Anyway bidding was painless.

Yes, in both venues. Presumably the pizza one would order via room service would be of the same quality. We found the pizza to be OK, edible. A casual alternative to a full mean in the Restaurant.

No, we ordered in the Restaurant and in the Collanade.

We've ordered pizza in the restaurant and in Collanade for lunch and it was OK. Yes, mediocre compared to our favorite places at home and in some simple spots in Brooklyn. But still OK and a nice alternative to a fancy pants lunch in the restaurant.

This is a total mine field with different cultural tipping habits, different gratuities included packages on board, and different experiences with service in QG. Recently we sailed on QM2 on a crossing and had grats included. We are from the US, a tipping culture, so are used to tipping. The service we received in QG was adequate, nothing special. Same with the service in the stateroom. We felt a little shake down on the last day as our stateroom attendant was hovering, so we gave him and his assistant a little extra. Then we went to QG for breakfast and as we left it seemed as though the wait staff were also hovering. We did not hand over any envelopes as we were not all that impressed and witnessed a bunch of frowns. Not White Star Service. Just weird. Like I started, a total mine field.

Recently on the Silver Moon, we had a lot of OBC, so we spent some of it on La Dame. It was a very weird experience trying to get a reservation in the generally empty restaurant. We finally found a bar tender who volunteered to talk to his friend who arranged our reservation which we could not do with our butler or on their bizarre TV screen system. Anyway, we made it , spent our money and it was a big MEH. So a big increase in the up charge, who cares! Major rip off. But we did love the Silversea experience and the food was good in the other venues, actually better than Seabourn. We had been told early on via CC and elsewhere that La Dame was not worth the up charge. We can verify that advise. Live and learn.

I've heard that a big benefit of an inside cabin is that you get no sunlight so that you have no idea that the sun has risen. So then you can sleep and sleep and sleep as though morning has never broken. Very good for those who board a ship to catch up on their sleep and rejuvenate.