canderson

Would have to agree. It takes me all of about 15 seconds to tie a full Windsor, and another 5 to slip on a jacket. All of the other prep/clothes are baseline anyway unless casual implies going commando!😮 Just a sexist guess, but I wonder if the ladies feel a need to spend more time on makeup and hair on non-casual nights?

You make several interesting assumptions in that sentence. They may instead be making a very smart marketing move in leaving things as they are on Muse class ships as a 'last refuge' for many who appreciate that style of sailing. There really aren't good alternatives now. It could just as well prove to be a profitable niche for SS for some time to come, rather than sinking the ship, as you say. Note the use if the words "may" and "could" vs. a declarative sentence, which should probably be avoided until we see what happens with Muse class bookings vs the overall market in upcoming years.

Yes, it only works one way. What is never known is whether there are cabins shown as 'not available' that are in fact not yet booked, but rather, being held in inventory for other reasons. This was especially true during COVID when certain sections of ships were often blocked off for use as quarantine areas. But if you look at the available cabins (on the X and RCCL sites, for example) for a mock booking, you can be assured that these are indeed unoccupied, and from that you can say, "The ship cabin occupancy can't be any greater than 'x %' ". What can't be known is how full it actually is. That said, unless you're a SS agent with access to the full available inventory, which SS doesn't provide on their public website, you can't count available cabins to get this information. At least that's my experience. When doing a mock booking, I never see more than 3 cabins offered in any given class on the SS site. Conversely, on the RCL and X sites, when selecting "You pick", or whatever, one sees all cabins available in the selected class.

What system are you using that shows all available cabins on SS ship? Unlike the other two RCG public web sites, the SS site doesn't seem to allow for this, providing instead only a few cabin options for any selected class during mock bookings. AM guessing you're not on a public SS system?

I always hope for a meal with the Chief Engineer. I find most are pleased to answer well considered questions about their ships. While there are similarities between many ships of a certain age, the differences are fascinating to me, and the technology keeps evolving. Have never sailed on a Fincantieri ship. For sure I've never sailed on an ocean going ship with just a 21kn max speed (17kn "service speed" per Fincantieri)! Consider that a plus. Makes for an extra night aboard on a TA 😁

From @Fletcher 's description, I wonder if it's a botched (rushed) sous vide preparation problem? Shame to hear this as it's something we'd likely order.

Raises a question ... did SS ever restart this practice post-COVID?

Thanks. I'm sure we will.

Everything being otherwise more or less equal in terms of itinerary, I might just as well sail on Oceania as on Nova. Next month's cruise being our first with SS, we have no 'brand loyalty' as yet. But our first SS will be aboard Dawn, and the 'vibe' there should be as close to what we're looking for as we're going to get for that itinerary on any line. So we will stick with Muse class for a bit if it continues to work for us. If SS goes casual on their non-Nova/Ray ships such as Dawn, that opens up options on other lines. As I've said before, we chose to try out SS because of the manner in which they've chosen to differentiate their product vs. another line we had enjoyed for some years that had begun - in this way and others - to resemble any number of other lines that we might have chosen.

I would absolutely agree. But please don't assume that it's always "snobbery" and not something else that is at the heart of the difference in opinion re ambience and dress codes. As an aside, a little thought experiment: For those who say that visual cues don't impact the dining experience - imagine someone putting up a little sign at their table, tall enough to be read by all nearby, the content being something quite "politically incorrect". Imagine the results. I maintain that everyone takes in the visual elements present in any venue, even if not consciously, but that everyone processes them differently, and assigns different importance to them in assessing the overall ambience of the venue. If that weren't true, the earlier query by our moderator about tablecloths or bare tables would have no meaning, and Silversea could save a few bucks on dining room laundry. If a cruise line continues to choose for a while to cater to a customer base for which a different dress code, even a somewhat older one, is still important to their perception of ambience, one should assume they do so with intent. Perhaps there's a reason SS hasn't yet gone the 'full Oceania' route in this regard? It's respect for that decision, and an appreciation of it by a sufficient percentage of SS's target market that allows for this, not "snobbery".

I'm not yet convinced. Those 55 and up still hold 70% of the country's household wealth. Of that group, 'Boomers' represent 21% of the population, but control about 50% of the $. Of course, that doesn't define who's willing to spend their $, but it does describe where the $ can be found. Would seem that if a business wants to succeed in a market where attracting discretionary income is key (which is the case with cruise vacations) they would continue to find new ways to focus on where the money is. If cruise lines are finding it necessary to more aggressively focus on the demographic that controls the 30% to succeed, perhaps they aren't providing the right product for the demographic that controls the 70%? While there's certainly room in the cruise market for lines that cater to a younger demographic, one would think that lines that don't try to shift focus to those folks and instead are the most successful in serving the 55+ demographic should be doing very well.

No hand painted periwinkles?

Onslow was shiftless. Richard was positively pitiable. While KUA was one of our favorite UK sitcoms, I don't think dinner with either of them would be myperiwinkle? That said, I'll take Onslow for some decent pub grub anytime.

That line of thought is showing its age in these threads, and as a moderator, I'm disappointed that you've 'gone there'. "Ruined" is deliberate hyperbole used in an attempt to invalidate an opposing point of view. No, not ruined, nor are tablecloths even necessarily fitting. A 'trendy' restaurant may choose to go with a steam punk interior design. The use of the word "trendy" shouldn't be used to imply a particular vibe or decor, which seems to be the case here. A "trendy" restaurant with all of the other attributes that would cause one to expect tablecloths probably has them. Take the tablecloths out of a restaurant with La Dame's decor, and bare tables would certainly lessen the overall experience, yes. Can't say I'd be overjoyed with paper napkins, either.

It's been a while, but the sales of 'control top pantyhose' certainly seems to be on the rise! 😲

Some are more visually aware of their surroundings and overall ambience than others. As I asked earlier ... would La Dame be La Dame if it was decorated in death metal band posters? Perhaps that wouldnt change your perception of the venue, but it would for most people. Yes, that's an extreme, but you should remember that what different people see ... or don't see ... or ignore, can be very different. It's not dissimilar to the way different people react to how food is plated. Some appreciate the artistry - if there is any - and some could care less, finding it wholly unnecessary and saying all that matters is how it tastes, and some never give it any conscious thought. Just because dress doesn't much factor into *your* perception of the ambience of the room doesn't mean *others* don't take note of it. You don't "understand" this, as you say, because it's not something *you* respond to, which is fine. But others do, and that's what is worth keeping in mind.

You assume everyone's formal attire is packed in mothballs? Though I'll grant it all went unused during COVID, black tie events have returned.

Really hope you're able to successfully check that one off. It's an itinerary with an amazing history, but... We've done it in both directions, and were privileged to have David McCullough as our guest speaker for one of them. Recommend reading "Path Between the Seas" before that voyage.

While I agree fully, this simply shows that everyone draws their own lines in the sand ... in different places.

That's surprising. The new locks 'recycle' the water to avoid depletion of Gatun... but I didn't note in the article that the capacity restriction was limited to the old locks (which SS would normally use). Going to gave to do some additional reading.

Not Cunard? Would be fascinating to know what % of us actually made the SS decision with that in mind - vs Oceania, for example.

Of you Google it, you'll find a couple of recipes. Here's one. Use champers for the "sparkling wine". Sound like what you had? Ingredients 2 oz. vodka 1 oz. lemon juice 1 oz. beet simple syrup Top with sparkling wine Beet-infused simple syrup Add 12 oz. water and 12 oz. white sugar to pot and stir to combine. Add two rough-chopped (peeled) raw beets to the liquid and heat on your stove top (medium heat) covered for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer to clean glass jar. Store in refrigerator for up to three weeks. To make one delicious cocktail Shake your ingredients with ice & strain into a chilled martini glass or champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine. We like to garnish ours with a beet section, speared on a toothpick.

Many things tend to progress to a state of greater entropy. We're seeing that on just about every front these days. Some of us would prefer not to see it happen quickly - so quickly in some cases that it represents an exothermic reaction. Change in and of itself does not necessarily represent progress, providing a bit of a recent whipsaw to Karen Gibson's instructions. Using the historical reference to wigs isn't very useful in this context. They became popular to hide the effects of syphilis. For that same reason, they fairly quickly became unpopular a couple of hundred years ago. Contrary to popular belief, Washington never wore a wig. Like me, he was a redhead. He did, however, practice the powdering of his hair, since it was fashionable at the time.

Yes, it would be easier if the same dress code was required universally in every dining and entertainment space on any specific night - the way it used to be for most lines. Ah, but too much of a constraint they cried ... so now you have an attempt to cater to everyone's tastes at the same time, and the result is a bit confusing for some. It really was simpler 'back then'. It's due to the complaints about dress that things are less simple now. I'm sure the next answer here is going to be "anything, any night, up to a point yet to be determined" to simplify things again, which is exactly how some wanted it to begin with. As someone recently said it ... regression to the mean.

Are you able to discern the difference in the demographic from the last leg vs the current one?