Gourmet Gal

Well who would dare argue with a pink jacket!? The effort has got to be appreciated.

For those not familiar with NYC traffic, here's a recent article on how it stacks up vs. other cities in the US and internationally. . . . https://www.fox13news.com/news/us-cities-with-the-worst-traffic-congestion] Thanks for the list. I live in the Bay Area and I will say traffic is still fairly light with so many people working from home. Have family in NJ and after many trips to NYC can attest to the density of the traffic. I remember going into the city when Obama was in office and he came to town to see Hamilton…total gridlock even worse than the UN in session! Would think Honolulu would be a surprise for many who haven’t been but it really is bad at rush hour. Maui is even getting annoyingly heavy.

Well, I’m not really seriously arguing the point but I think SS is promoting a distinction without much of a difference from other lines in the same category. In the page you reference the term Ultra-luxury is used once in reference to the ships and the new ships certainly look gorgeous. I just think of SS as nicer than most and possessing some comfortable features I enjoy when cruising. Perhaps their marketing may have set the expectation a little high for you.

Seems like a fair question but I wouldn’t have high hopes based on the refund issues surrounding Scenic’s ocean vessel.

Enjoyed reading your well-written review. Good question regarding ultra luxury which I did not know that was how SS was branding themselves. I though they were branded as merely “luxury”. What would be the distinguishing factors, I wonder?

Tauck has partnered with Ponant in other parts of the world. You have the advantage of the excellent excursion capabilities of Tauck. The only problem I see with this New England itinerary is having to stay at a Marriott when there are so many truly great hotels in NYC.

The trains are so easy for Versailles, Disney, Amsterdam, Brussels. I would save the car rental for driving the magnificent roads and tunnels of Switzerland.

Sounds like a deal. So inexpensive. You can read many comments about Scenic by using the search function on this forum as well as reading reviews from actual passengers here on CC. I don’t sail Scenic but there are many happy cruisers here who have.

2 for 1 sounds interesting and too good to be true. Does that mean two passengers travel for the price of one? Usually that’s just a marketing ploy.

At least it’s mid-ship and a lower deck in the event of rough seas. Location above La Dolce Vita could be problematic, though. Perhaps someone else can comment on that.

Nice itinerary. If you look at the SS website you will see there’s a Grandstand package listed in the itineraries for this sailing. It is payable in advance and non-refundable. With the same risk you can easily purchase VIP packages online or just Grandstand. Pricing is bound to be less than what SS is offering.

On our Tauck cruise in Rüdesheim we did the mechanical museum, cable car and a really fun lunch with entertainment - all included. Touché! 😉

Tauck compares very favorably to Scenic. The company has a long history of excellent land-based tours and they’ve transferred their expertise to the rivers. On their river cruises there is always an onshore dinner usually in a castle or estate with entertainment. Private winery tours and cooking classes are usually on the agenda. My last cruise with Tauck included an outstanding cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, dinner in a castle, winery yours and an incredible lunch at a Camargue ranch.

Well, looks like this Sept 5 will probably have issues on the Rhine…seems to just be getting worse this month but I don’t know if there’s a parallel with the Rhöne. Next year is another year and you never know. I prefer later in the Fall anyway…cooler with Fall color and by mid-Oct. some rain could relieve conditions. The Rhöne river valley is very hot in the summer.

Then sounds like Scenic should compare very favorably to Tauck.

How late in Sept.?

Looks fabulous. I do mostly land-based travel and have cruised Silversea a few times but will definitely be considering this line for my next cruise.

Yes, art history is fascinating. Not to disparage the Kröller Müller museum but they do have the largest private collection of Van Goghs but the Van Gogh has at least twice as many and is the largest collection.

Not all ships have gyms. On my upcoming Douro cruise with Tauck there’s no gym and the ship is almost brand new. We also enjoy Europe in late Sept. to end of Oct.. lovely weather but not cold yet.

Sorry to hear you have to travel in August….romantic, scenic, historical and HOT! Good luck. As for the Moselle, that is usually covered as part of a longer Rhine cruise.

I’ve sailed Rhône, Rhine, Moselle, Danube/Main Canal, Seine and enjoyed them all. Any would be fine for a first-timer and one should consider the theme of the cruise. For example, the Rhine isn’t as scenic but my Tauck cruise was a culinary theme and was really fun. Your interests may vary. After various canal cruises the Rhine/Moselle was my first river cruise and was a nice mix of stunning scenery on the Moselle, history and wine. Planning to sail the Douro in October and I’ve been told it’s as scenic as the Moselle.

…but then there’s this.. Q. What protection is provided when I purchase an air ticket through Silversea? A. Guest purchasing airline tickets through Silversea air programs who experience travel disruptions receive assistance from our dedicated team to ensure that you will make it to the ship. There is also an Emergency Afterhours hotline provided in the event you experience delays at the airport while our offices are closed. I think this is what CC’ers have referenced when there are problems. This is in the Q&A section of the document quoted above by FlyerTalker.

Perhaps consider starting a separate thread for that question since it’s so unrelated to this thread’s title.

Travel R, you’ve asked quite a few questions since I last checked in. I’ll respond to a few based on my Uniworld and Tauck ezperiences. Coffee - in suites on Tauck there are Nespressos which make an excellent little cup of coffee and on both lines there is a coffee/snack station available all day. I’m an early riser and there was always coffee and tea whenever I got up. Fitness - not all ships have a gym but if they do they seem to be open very early. They’re super small. Many excursions begin from 8:00 AM on so if you’re docked and up early enough you can easily go ashore for a run or bike ride. Sometimes there are biking or hiking excursions. Excursions - on Uniworld and Tauck extra fee excursions are rare and most pax go on the same excursions in most ports but there are usually some choices that can be made online in advance of the cruise or you can sign up the evening before after the port talk. It’s not unusual to change your pre-selected excursion after hearing the port talk. A big portion of the cruise expense is to cover the included excursions. It seems a shame to pay outside vendors when you’ve already paid the cruise line. If the ships’ excursions are so uninteresting then perhaps consider a different cruise, a private canal boat or a land-based cruise. Why not go with the flow on your first river cruise to gauge the quality rather than try to re-invent the wheel? If you’re concerned about the size of the tour groups then I would highly recommend Tauck. They have 3 tour directors and then each tour director will use multiple local guides to divvy up the pax again. So groups end up being about 10 -12 pax or less as on my recent Rhine cruise. Attire - Country Club Casual seems to be the rule most of the time the exception being if there is an off-site special dinner such as the ones with Tauck. That would usually be at a castle, palace, mansion or special performance venue and pax tend to dress up more for that. A sports coat for men and dressier tops or dress for ladies are fine. Some pax get dressed up for the farewell dinner but it’s not all that necessary. River cruises are definitely more regimented than ocean because there are hardly ever “sea” days and there are usually AM and PM excursions. Sometimes there will be a half day cruise. There will still be snippets of time to do your own wandering or you can skip an excursion if the ship isn’t moving on. Evenings are very regimented because of the tight dining and entertainment schedules preceded by cocktail hour and port talks.

Well, thanks for setting the record straight! I’ve just been repeating what many many posters have relayed here so I made an assumption. Good to know. I agree with you on transfers…not a motivator to book a pre-cruise hotel or air. The only advantage I now see with booking air with SS is pricing especially for business and the ability to cancel with air penalty up to a point. Lately though, pricing has not been great and routings/connection times have not always been so great.