stan01

OK, I will try to jump on this grenade. For men: technically I think the answer is "no", a polo shirt is not a "collared dress shirt" nor is it generally "elegant casual". I'd guess on our last Caribbean cruise less than 5% of men were wearing polo shirts other than the first and last night of the cruise. They weren't being turned away but some definitely did not look "elegant". "Tommy Bahama"-style collared, untucked button down shirts were fairly common.

The main thing I'd emphasize is what someone up thread already said: keep an open mind and don't expect perfection. The main thing you are paying for is a ship with fewer passengers which is mostly a very positive thing because there is less crowding and you are better able to get to know people (crew and other passengers). However, it does mean there are fewer choices in areas such as entertainment and dining. What I'd caution against is expecting perfection, because if you arrive on the ship with that in mind there's a pretty good chance something will let you down. Ask for what you'd like, and if there is an issue politely discuss with the management on the ship. We found ourselves frequently having to ask the waiters to fill water glasses. I'm not sure whether that was training or workload (probably some of both). We didn't complain about it, we just got used to raising our hand when we were down to 1/3 of a glass and asking for a refill. Shouldn't have had to do it, but I'd say its an example of avoiding a situation where a small thing could impact our overall enjoyment of the cruise.

Right, but for us either of those would be a whole lot of drinks! Agree folk need to do their own calculations. The other consideration is that adults in a cabin or suite together need to have the same drinks package, so if one adult drinks alcohol but the other adult does not the benefits would be much less than pay-as-you-go for the one who does.

Yes there are up charges everywhere and I don't think anything is fully all inclusive. There is zero reason to go to that Retreat area unless you want a private area other than your balcony, plus it is only on two of their seven (soon to be six) ships. You can pay for premium wine and spirits, you can pay for spa treatments, you can pay for shore excursions.

Cunard is offering different options to customers based in different countries. In the US, they do at times have offers that include service charge and drinks packages bundled. Right now they are offering this for Grills only I think. Of course, when those get bundled in the fare is likely higher so hard to tell whether it really is a bargain or not. We don't like having to pay for every little thing, but at the same time one has to consume a lot of alcohol to get their money's worth from a package. To be honest, although they are very different experiences, being US based we find Seabourn with its more inclusive pricing to be a better value for us than Grills. But we do enjoy Transatlantics and long cruises round trip from US/Brooklyn such as to Norway with no international air so we do both. Grills are cost effective if international business class air is part of the equation.

The marina deck may never be used in the Med, but let us know what ports you are going to and maybe someone will offer up a case they know of where it has been used in recent years. In the Caribbean the banana boat etc. are used at Carambola Beach, St. Kitts on Beach BBQ day. TK Grill has been replaced by Solis (new name, new menu). You get one reservation every seven days. When it opens up, you should be able to book two in advance whether you've booked one 20 day cruise or two 10 day cruises. There will be extra reservations available on the ship. If you download the Seabourn Source app you should be able to see the daily menu for Ovation served tonight and you can watch that for over a year while you count down to your cruise. I find it fun to think about what I'd have for dinner if I was on board. Also try Earth and Ocean and Sushi which do not take advance reservations.

Thank you for the tips, being we are booked on a QM2 Crossing I'm going against my instincts which are to travel light. No way to do travel light with formal wear!

We would like to do this, but will have 2 medium sized bags (would have to be checked for air travel) and two carry-ons for the two of us. I know the trains from Waterloo to Southampton do not have storage for luggage other than overhead, and our larger bags will be too big to put on the overhead rack. I guess we would put them on a seat next to us and hope for the best? Or stand if we must while our bag sits on our paid for seat? Just curious how we can expect to handle this on a busy summer day with several cruise ships in port at Southampton. Thank you.

The Red Sea issues I'm sure are very problematic and may continue to be. My guess is they will be a little later than normal hoping that something changes for the better there but realistically my guess is they are planning to keep running ships around Africa to get them between Asia and Europe which is very disruptive to a business. Then there's the water level issues in the Panama Canal which also could get worse. With Suez Canal and Panama Canal both having their own issues it's a tough bind to be in when running a business.

Seabourn has no facilities for kids, but that said if your kids self-entertain with you and maybe their electronics then its fine. As far as clothing goes, nothing fancy is needed. Button down shirt with sport coat is fine for father and son at dinner on formal night. If that's too fancy then I'd recommend a different line. If a teenage boy is in a sport coat he'll get lots of compliments from the other passengers on how handsome/dapper he looks and similar for teen daughter. If teen boy is in a tux he'll be the talk of the ship. If your kids can carry on adult conversations with people the age of their grandparents they'll be adored. Kids running in hallways, yelling and splashing at the pool, and making a mess at buffet and in restaurants will annoy other passengers. Parents and grandparents go on Seabourn to relax and escape if there regular lives are that way. If your kids act as adults and don't do that then they will be fine.

Call Seabourn on a matter like this yourself. Don't email.

Try logging out of your Seabourn account on the source app, then log back in again. I've seen this before and doing this step helped fix it.

I'd call Cunard and ask if its not clear in the package you are buying. You could be offered something different than others have been offered in the past.

You may want to check out the prices on hotels before you get too far. We've seen 400-500 pound and much higher whether booking a year in advance, or a few weeks in advance. Hotel room inflation may be worse than cruise inflation from what we've seen.

Of course, I knew that! I tried to edit post but it won't let me. So sorry.