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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.