geoffieg

We also have had good experiences with Tours By Locals.

None of us can predict where the Middle East goes from here. But the level of hate has been clearly exposed. Even if there is a "cease fire", the hate will still be there. I don't know that the Middle East will be a "safe" cruise destination for many years. And the cruise lines will, necessarily, delay facing reality for as long as they can.

Should we be concerned about how TKG standards will be maintained for the remainder of its tenure? We board Odyssey on Nov 23 and were looking forward to dining at TKG based on our several positive experiences there. Hope the Caeser salad does not suffer.

we were on the Shadow in May. It was in very good to excellent condition. There were no issues with the ship.

Enjoy. We disembarked today after joining the WC for the last leg from Manaus to FLL. I assume they were able to provision the ship today, as they ran out of a number of things the last few days i.e. Sav Blanc, Champagne, tortilla wraps, etc. A lot of the staff was staying on board to do the crossing. The staff was uniformly excellent.

Thanks. I hoped the email from SS was not what was real world.

We are embarking on the Silver Shadow on the 15th. TA just forwarded an email from SS stating that all crew are required to wear masks and masks are required in the theater, casino and during muster drills. For anyone on a SS ship currently or recently, Is that, in fact, the current policy on board?

Terry and Mike: Thank you for letting all of us follow along with you. We fly in the morning from Singapore to Hanoi, then to Siem Reap late Friday afternoon. Our Scenic program starts Saturday evening. We will try and pick up with a new thread, but don't see how we can add much to your incredible travelogue.

Terry and Mike: Thank you so much for the photos and description of the ship. Our cruise documents and swag finally arrived last evening, and then seeing your posts this morning has gotten me excited in a way I normally don't given how much we have traveled. Especially appreciate seeing photos of the suite and fitness room. Both of us work out almost daily. One question: are you using your phone for the pictures or a regular camera? I would prefer to rely upon my phone, but am worried I need to bring my digital 35 mm to properly capture everything. We start our first let tomorrow. Thanks again for taking us along on your journey.

thank you for continuing to allow us to follow you. As we leave Thursday for the first leg of our trip, your posts are getting us excited.

Interesting that several comments mention conviveality and friendly atmosphere. On Silversea, we have always met people on the first night that became good cruise friends. On our first Seabourn cruise this past April, we were struck by how the Seabourn regulars were unwelcoming and uninterested in first time Seabourn passengers. That was our number one takeaway. Having said that we are booked on another Seabourn cruise in November, with a Silversea cruise in May. Be interesting to see the differences today and be able to live time compare.

Since we are doing the same trip starting at Raffles Sien Reap on Jan 13, will be very interested on your impressions of the hotel, the Scenic tours and boat. Enjoy and Happy New Year.

We leave next week for a trip to Vietnam, including a Mekong River cruise. We were advised we needed a Visa for Vietnam, which we confirmed on the Vietnam government web site. We applied on-line and received the Visa fairly quickly.

When does the Scenic Mekong tour part of your trip start?

Terry&Mike. We are from Naples, so almost neighbors. We leave on Jan 5 for Singapore, then Hanoi, then Siem Reap to join Scenic for the same river cruise you are taking. Will be very interested to follow along with you. We have been to Asia several times, but never to Vietnam or Cambodia. We were supposed to do Vietnam three times, but COVID cancelled all of those trips. So we are excited to finally get there. Enjoy your adventure.

BuckGood: Where in Naples are you? We are in North Naples.

One point that needs to be considered about the new Crystal. Given ownership and the management being poached from Silversea, it would seem possible that the new Crystal will be a lot more like SS than the old Crystal. Until the Crystal ships are retrofitted and start sailing again, we won't know how big or small the cabins will be, nor will we know if the shipboard experience is Crystal or SS. Just because they were formerly Crystal ships does not mean the food, service, enrichment and entertainment will reflect the former Crystal.

With all due respect to the discussion, it misses a fundamental reality: Seabourn will need to depend on the next generations of cruisers and cater to them. Many of our kids and grandkids prefer casual dining...look around at the restaurants wherever you live. While there are still some of us dinasours that my enjoy a a relaxed course-by-course lunch, the reality is the three-martini lunch as a cultural phenonema has been dead for 40 years. Seabourn needs to adapt to survive. If that means cutting costs, which includes not opening the MDR for lunch when they may only get 10 or 20 diners, that is the reality. We can push Seabourn to return to the traditional service, with required formal attire, set dining times and formal dining. But that might be the end of Seabourn.