commodoredave

There may have been people waitlisted for lower categories.

Sounds like the standard formula for selling: cutback on expenses, increase revenue and paint a pretty picture.

Much cheaper on X that SS for sure -- especillly if travelling with kids. We have never taken our kids (now grown up) on ultra-luxury lines like SS, Seabourn and Regent, but have done a number of family cruises on X, NCL, Carnival, Princess and RCL with them.

Just got back from 14-days in Japan on Silver Muse. What a fabulous cruise destination and what a great cruise line to do it with. One important thing to consider is the number of pax on your ship that you will be sharing port visits with. IMO, X has far too many pax for many of the smaller ports of call in Japan.

What’s wrong with RCL? Just because they’ve cut everything back and turned the lines they’ve bought into far less than they were before, doesn’t mean they would do the same with Virgin. 🤓

It’s not for everyone. Families with kids will love it. People who are kids at heart will like it. But it’s not for people who want a traditional dining experience. It’s a niche experience.

Right now there’s Port2Port which includes air, Door2Door which does not include air, and Essential which is the lowest fare based on later booking. How would you change it?

This situation doesn't sound like the old Cunard where I have always received an attentive and caring reception to any concern or complaint I have brought to the attention of onboard staff or management. Have things changed? Or is this just an unfortunate one-off?

Geez…you just gave them the idea to do it!!

HAL is already working on the next survey for Seabourn. I’ve heard some of the questions will be: 1. Would you like more than 1 more meal per day? 2. Would you be willing to pay extra for a mattress on your bed? 3. Do you want the ship to visit more than 1 port? 4. Would you pay extra for gin in your martini? 5. Are you willing to wash your own dishes? If you would like to suggest some more survey questions, please do so as there is no area that HAL is unwilling to explore to improve the Seabourn experience.

Dinner service on SS starts at 7:00 pm. Room service is 24/7. Plus, you can have free caviar and champagne sent to your room. Having said that, the bingo still disappoints!

I do not like included excursions for the following reasons: 1. I usually prefer to do my own thing in port 2. I often cruise to ports I have been to before, and therefore may not even get off the ship 3. Cruise lines that currently include excursions also offer others for an additional price, usually because the included ones are very basic 4. Many of the best excursions sell out before all passengers have a chance to book them as on my recent SS Japan cruise 5. If I do my own thing rather than taking an included excursion, I am not getting good value from my cruise fare For these and other reasons, please do not add shore excursions as part of the fare.

I guess if they don’t want people to stay on their ships for very long, removing storage is a smart strategy.

It’s these kind of situations that make people wish they were colour blind!

Better than the bingo on Silversea where the winner gets points to use in buying trinkets at the end of the cruise. Talk about killing the spirit of bingo!