The Odyssey, on-the-sea - Dec 18, 2021

[netpj]

We cancelled last week and received a 50% refund and 50% FCC to be applied within one year.  We're hoping we can apply the FCC for next winter.

[fudge]

Just now, netpj said:

We cancelled last week and received a 50% refund and 50% FCC to be applied within one year.  We're hoping we can apply the FCC for next winter.

Thanks for that, next winter is that this year ending December?

[netpj]

That is a good question.  We are going to check with our TA and will let you know.  This is our last day on Silver Whisper so have been communicating by email.  We had to cancel by Jan. 4 to receive the 50/50 split.

[Dunnedg]

Hi Fudge. We are thinking of cancelling this week. We can cancel by 7th and only our deposit moves to FCC. An issue for us is that we have a number of ‘stored up’ holidays rebooked for this year and using a FCC before December could be a challenge. No issue with on board credit.  We are not scared of covid but we certainly don't want to be bobbing about the Caribbean and not being able go to the Islands we had hoped to visit. To put it more in perspective, on 14 March 2020 we boarded a clipper ship in Barbados to visit pretty much the same islands. We left Bridgetown in full sail that night. We wakened up the next morning back in Barbados with the cruise cancelled as all ports had closed to cruising because of covid. I have a feeling of deja vu.

[fudge]

Just now, Dunnedg said:

Hi Fudge. We are thinking of cancelling this week. We can cancel by 7th and only our deposit moves to FCC. An issue for us is that we have a number of ‘stored up’ holidays rebooked for this year and using a FCC before December could be a challenge. No issue with on board credit.  We are not scared of covid but we certainly don't want to be bobbing about the Caribbean and not being able go to the Islands we had hoped to visit. To put it more in perspective, on 14 March 2020 we boarded a clipper ship in Barbados to visit pretty much the same islands. We left Bridgetown in full sail that night. We wakened up the next morning back in Barbados with the cruise cancelled as all ports had closed to cruising because of covid. I have a feeling of deja vu.

Hi,

Thanks for your post, the more we share the more informed we become. To be fair, we have done this cruise before so losing one or two Islands is not a deal breaker however, if we do " catch it" by chance that would really be bad news. Looking on the Silversea forum/board it sound like hell on earth, people stranded in hotels or in foreign ports, that is not my idea of a luxury cruise. 

We have a further two cruises booked for 2022 already, one in June and one in October so having to choose another by the end of Dec 2022 is proving very difficult. The world in general is a real mess at the moment, will it ever end? We love cruising but not at any cost. 

[shark b8]

First, Dunnedg, thanx for the kind words. Trying to keep things “lighthearted” is maybe a not-particularly-well-disguised way of whistling past the graveyard, with the Covid cloud still hovering over everything.

 

As to your question, I would have to go back to the original itinerary many months ago, when we first booked, to see which and how many ports were changed. Just working from memory, I’m almost positive that Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Trinidad and Tobago were on the list, but if I recall correctly, they all changed before we sailed. We’ve been to Martinique before, so no tragedy there (although our previous visit was about 100 years ago 😎).  And I agree with you about the destination importance - to me, our cruise decisions are still *all* about the ports.  In our case, there are still far more Caribbean ports we haven’t visited than those we have, so I guess we were a little more willing to accept substitutions than we otherwise might have been.  The one missed port a few days ago in St Bart’s - well, it seemed very odd to me that right up until it went away, there were absolutely no shore excursions listed on Seabourn’s website, that’s the first time I’ve ever encountered that.  I even went to the Square to inquire, thinking it might be a website glitch - no, they said, they have never had shore excursions in St Bart’s.   Huh.  OK.  Anyway, that was the only canceled port (iirc) which resulted in an additional sea day, rather than an alternate port.  I did look forward to Trinidad & Tobago, if for no other reason than it’s the source of my beloved Zaya Gran Riserva rum, but alas, it was not to be.  

 

It’s so sad, frustrating and distressing to read of fellow cruisers being forced to cancel, a matter of weeks ago we all thought this was going to finally be behind us, but the cruel Covid gods seem unwilling to go away.  We’re scheduled for the Mediterranean in April, so we’ll probably have our own decisions to make….

[shark b8]

No more than 10 minutes after I posted the last message….the Captain comes on the P.A. system and announces that our call to St Martin tomorrow has been canceled.  He will keep us updated as to whether we will visit an alternate port.    Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

[tjcox9]

1 hour ago, shark b8 said:

No more than 10 minutes after I posted the last message….the Captain comes on the P.A. system and announces that our call to St Martin tomorrow has been canceled.  He will keep us updated as to whether we will visit an alternate port.    Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

We need more emojis than CC provides in order to match the frustration you must be feeling, but thanks for trying to keep it light. 😪😷 Thanks for keeping us up to date as best you can and we so look forward to being at sea again.

Edited January 5, 2022 by tjcox9

[FlyingScotSailors]

5 hours ago, fudge said:

 

We have a further two cruises booked for 2022 already, one in June and one in October so having to choose another by the end of Dec 2022 is proving very difficult.  

Fudge, you should be able to apply the FCC to your other booked cruises, if you have not paid in full. 

[cruiseej]

@shark b8 Thanks for your updates on your cruise.... and I'm sorry you're continuing to lose ports of call.

 

We're booked on an Odyssey cruise at the end of next month (assuming we can still get there and the ship is still cruising) and it has a scheduled port call in St. Barth's. I've been puzzled why there are no excursions listed there, so the explanation you got fills in a little more and saves me from repeatedly checking to see if any excursions have been added. But it's still puzzling, because in following the Silversea board on CC, I see they call on St. Barth's and have excursions there.

 

So as you bob around the Caribbean in search of an island which will have you, if you happen to see the Destination Services manager in Seabourn Square, would you mind asking them why Seabourn doesn't offer any excursions on St. Barth's while competing cruise lines like Silversea do? Thanks.

 

In the current environment, where some islands require cruise ship passengers ashore only in bubble excursions, it makes it likely that advertised port calls on St. Barth's will actually be sea days because the ship can anchor there but not send guests ashore. 

[shark b8]

1 hour ago, cruiseej said:

would you mind asking them why Seabourn doesn't offer any excursions on St. Barth's while competing cruise lines like Silversea do? Thanks

 

I certainly will.  A week or so ago, when I innocently asked about St Bart’s shore excursions (and was told, no, that’s right, there aren’t any), I accepted it as, well, just a weird travel blip. Then, after St Bart’s was erased from the itinerary (and considering the shore excursions you mention from competing cruise lines) seems like it’s an even more legitimate question, deserving a more definitive answer.

[shark b8]

Many shore excursions put a wristband on you, so as to identify at a glance who is on what team.  Been building up a decent collection.  Actually…..wish there were more.   🤪

 

 

[Dunnedg]

Shark b8. Thanks for update. Did you not also miss out on Dominica?

[fudge]

17 hours ago, netpj said:

We cancelled last week and received a 50% refund and 50% FCC to be applied within one year.  We're hoping we can apply the FCC for next winter.

Thank you for posting this, we contacted out TA yesterday and got the same deal. We have until the 9th January to decide which way we are going. Such a difficult call at present but we are now 75 per cent that we will cancel.

[netpj]

Hello Fudge:  Our TA is double checking with Seabourn about the expiry date and terms for the FCC part of the cancellation.  We are convinced we made the right choice to cancel.  Silver Whisper has just docked in Fort Lauderdale.  We had antigen tests yesterday (we are negative) but more people tested positive, numbers not provided.  We just don't want to take another chance on a cruise right now - this is purely a personal choice.  

[shark b8]

You are of course right, Dunnedg - we missed Dominica on the first leg, we’re doing B2B’s. The fact that Dominica was abruptly canceled and we headed back to “home base” Barbados early made me fear the worst, that our trip might be truncated.  Fortunately not the case, and on the second leg we did, indeed, make to Dominica, and had quite a lovely day.

[shark b8]

So after announcing last night that Sint Maarten had been canceled, it turns out that…..we’re there after all.  For whatever reason, we are in Philipsburg, not the previously scheduled Marigot.  Shore excursions have had their starting times revised, presumably take into account different driving times.

[shark b8]

Help!  We’re surrounded!  The Philipsburg port is a busy place right about now.  On our starboard, the Allure of the Seas, aft finds the AIDAluna and the AIDAdiva, to port we have the Explorer of the Seas, and MarineTraffic.com tells me that the Harmony of the Seas is on the other side of the Allure, out of sight from Colonnade breakfast view.  If my back-of-the-envelope math is correct, that adds up to well over 18,000 passengers….although obviously doubtful any ship is sailing with its capacity. 

Edited January 5, 2022 by shark b8

[Dunnedg]

32 minutes ago, shark b8 said:

You are of course right, Dunnedg - we missed Dominica on the first leg, we’re doing B2B’s. The fact that Dominica was abruptly canceled and we headed back to “home base” Barbados early made me fear the worst, that our trip might be truncated.  Fortunately not the case, and on the second leg we did, indeed, make to Dominica, and had quite a lovely day.

 

[Dunnedg]

Thanks again. Strange that you could dock this week but not last? There had to be some reason but we will probably never know. It’s good news for you and that you have now got to StMartin. StMartin was a replacement on our itinerary for Guadeloupe and is down as Philipsburg. We had just about decided to cancel. Not sure now😩. Will sleep on it. 
Thats a  load of shipping tonnage in one small harbour. Reminds me of Barbados in March 2020 when cruises stopped!

[rkacruiser]

10 hours ago, shark b8 said:

For whatever reason, we are in Philipsburg, not the previously scheduled Marigot

 

Nothing wrong docking at Philipsburg other than its a larger port than Marigot, in my opinion.  More options of what to do/see, if one is interested.  

Edited January 6, 2022 by rkacruiser

[marazul]

11 hours ago, shark b8 said:

 For whatever reason, we are in Philipsburg, not the previously scheduled Marigot.  

Philipsburg is in the Dutch side of the island. Marigot is in the French and France has just increased the Green Passport and other  requirements for entry in most places.

 

Other than that,  a good reason for SB to tender to Marigot is the absence of the megaships now surrounding the Ovation in Philipsburg.

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by marazul

[shark b8]

Good news, bad news…..

 

Our call to St Kitts tomorrow has been canceled.  We were there a little over a week ago so no real tragedy for *us*, but…. the disappointment and frustration can’t help but mount.

 

We had a wonderful day in Sint Maarten today - I’ll try to elaborate tomorrow after a good night’s snooze tonight - but….increasingly difficult to maintain a great attitude & stiff upper lip, no matter how hard one tries.

[shark b8]

Going back to yesterday……in Sint Maarten, we boarded the “Stars and Stripes 87”, the yacht which Dennis Conner steered to the America’s Cup victory in 1987, over the Aussie’s Kookaburra.  Everyone on board was given an assignment (mine was “to assure victory”, of course).  Anyway, we did race a Canadian 12-meter yacht, and as was foretold in the stars, we won. (“USA, USA, USA”)  It was thoroughly exhilarating, that first moment when we counted down the seconds to the moment the race actually began, then turned into an astonishingly humbling moment of appreciation of sea and wind power - we all had to hang onto ropes for dear life, as the sails filled with the wind and we found ourselves flying across the sea, at essentially a 45-degree angle to horizontal. Wowie kapowie, was THAT fun!

[shark b8]