M&PGermany
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Posts posted by M&PGermany
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Hi Catlover,
first of all may I just say how stupid I find this current Hapag Lloyd rule. It is totally non-scientific.
I shall write them on social media and see what answer I will get. Normally they respond very fast but probably they have staff furloughed, too.
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Arrrrghhh....Sorry if that sounds mean, but... How lucky am I not having to deal with "royalty" guests all the time who think that the world evolves around them, complaining to all kinds of managers all the time about tiny occurrences (how's the bee stitch by the way?) as if they owned the company.
Funny though, I treat these hard working people like friends, not like staff. I talk to them, make jokes with them, I appreciate the things that they do for me, sometimes I will bring them little surprises from shore, I tip them... and guess what: I WILL GET EVERYTHING I WANT. With a smile.
And I'll tell you another secret: Many times they tell me stories about passengers that are unnecessarily complicated and who don't know any other way to enjoy life than making other peoples lives miserable. And then we laugh together.
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I have accepted the fact that Seabourn is not very adventurous when it comes to cruise scheduling. They mostly and especially at the moment try to sell the all time favorites over and over again. It's what they generally do and you have to decide if that's your cup of tea.
As much as I have loved Seabourn in the past for their nice ships and their great crew I have come to realize that there are others out there that do it just as fine and maybe even better. I personally was very very impressed with Silversea (and their new SALT program on the Moon) and I really liked their schedule. One example: In Cyprus when we were just finished with lunch and getting ready to go off the ship to explore the place the Ovation was already leaving port at 2pm.
Future will show if Seabourn will survive with what they've got to offer.
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Disturbing news when you have a cruise coming up. We too try to minimize contacts 2 weeks before the cruise... as a sort of mini-quarantine. But one can never be 100% safe.
On a side note: Why Seabourn keeps inviting G.B. remains a mystery to me. His vlogs are so boringly repetitive and his filming on board can't really be described as discrete. He doesn't even care whether you're being filmed nor does he ask if you mind. Very rude.
We met the lovely "Visit with us" couple on the Silver Moon this August who were extremely careful not to disturb any passengers with their filming. The same can be said about Matthias Morr ("Schiffstester") who is the most well known German cruise vlogger.
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9 hours ago, mcondition said:
Espresso capsule coffee cannot be compared to freshly brewed coffee beans. If room service brings fresh espresso within 5 or 10 minutes, its worth the wait to drink real coffee. I got a super-auto coffee machine home and my friends love it. Previously I used nespresso system.
Nothing beats a freshly brewed coffee from fresh beans. But until then I'd be quite happy having a machine in my suite rather than having to wait in line at Seabourn Square which can be very busy.
Funny too, that on Seabourn I always wait in line (because the 2 fellas behind the counter are normally busy) whereas in Silversea's Arts Cafe I ordered at the counter and was always told to take a seat as I was going to be served.
On HL Europa 2 no standing at any counter. They'd rather keelhaul a waiter if he'd made you stand and wait.
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On 9/29/2021 at 10:53 PM, Captainlyle said:
We have been exclusively sailing with Seabourn the last ten years.My wife and I a very interested in trying something new.We have booked a cruise on the Silvermoon and where thrilled with all the dinning options .Can anyone tell us what to expect as far as service and friendliest of the crew.I always presume that food is something that is judged by people subjectively however would appreciate any input from all of you that have sailed with Silversea.Thank you in advance
for your input and advice.
PS. We return to Seabourn time and time again mostly for the crew.
I always thought the crew on Seabourn was unique and especially nice compared to others (as I was once very disappointed by inflexible, arrogant and stiff staff on Regent). After my recent first SS cruise on the Moon, however, I can only report the best about them (some even transferred from Seabourn). Cheerful, helpful and chatty people, all hard working and trying to please the guests.
For the food on Silversea (which in my opinion was remarkably better than on Seabourn) please visit my thread: https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2795938-the-silver-moon-food-and-drinks-extravaganza/
The Silver Moon is a wonderful ship. And I will definitely be back as soon as possible.
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Unfortunately several luxury cruise lines still don't have a simple espresso machine in the regular cabins. Seabourn, Silversea, Regent... none of them.
Hapag Lloyd has one in every cabin. Even if it's not too much trouble to get a coffee at a bar I think it's much easier to just quickly brew one in the cabin. Personally I loved the minibar setup on Europa2.
And Seabourn could use the space in the cupboard above the minibar, too.
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I have been complaining about Seabourn's schedules for quite some time.
Boring ports, too little time in the interesting ones, no overnights.
For interesting schedules I can recommend Azamara, Silversea and -of course- Hapag Lloyd.
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May I suggest this thread for further comments on the SB website:
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1 hour ago, Sunviking said:
"It is impossible to step into the same river twice." I guess one can only hope it will be as refreshing and cool as it was the first time. I've sailed on the Quest several times, loved her and was quite disappointed that the Antarctic cruise I'd booked was canceled again. My late husband and I had booked it last year and when the same cruise became available this year I had to try again. I'm going on my first Silversea cruise on the Moon next month and I'm booked on the Silver Wind holiday cruise and looking forward to both. I know the Wind is an older, smaller ship but it is just being refitted and I'm going to enjoy the places (so many wonderful photos have been posted here on CC in years past). If the Wind has fewer bells and whistles, that's okay with me. From what I have read Silversea does a great job taking care of their passengers.
You will love the Silver Moon!
Very stylish, very modern, great facilities, great food, chatty lovely crew. It was our first Silversea cruise (after many on SB) and I can only say that we will be back!
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Sounds like you will all have a great (Silversea) cruise anyways. Have fun and live the good life!
It's a pity, however, that Seabourn are not really getting the restart right, or at least they are having a pretty hard time getting the ships back on the road. Basically all I hear from SB at the moment is nothing but bad news and unreliability for holiday planners. But SB are not alone. I have heard that several cruise lines are sending ships back to sleep over the winter season because it is just not possible to sell the cruises or because whole regions are still closed for tourism. It's good that Seabourn belongs to Carnival because many of the smaller cruise lines will really have to fight to survive.
I will invest in the future of the cruise industry on my autumn cruise on the beautiful Europa 2 in the warmer regions of our European continent. Btw, that cruise is marked as "international", so I guess Hapag Lloyd is open for foreigners again... Canary Islands, South of Spain, Italy anyone?
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Just in case you're looking for alternatives. Most of the cruises are marked as "international" (i.e. for English speaking guests, too).
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9 hours ago, markham said:
SLSD is right about what tourism contributes to the GDP or Greece and the US. By a factor of roughly 6. Look at the numbers. The relative importance of tourism to the US economy is much less, and it’s wise to be patient on this question of reopening the US to Europeans, as discussed above.
Happy and healthy sailing!
I don‘t really understand why you talk about Greece only when the discussion about travel restrictions concerns the entire European Union.
However I am pretty sure Greece will ignore any new rules just because they are very dependent on the tourism industry.
But it is also pretty clear that the American travel industry would like to see some of those Euros coming from tourists from rich European countries in their pockets.
To suggest that they could more or less do without any tourists at all in the US sounds funny when you see how many employees in that sector have been let go/furloughed in the past year.
That being said, Germany has now reinstated mandatory quarantine measures for all unvaccinated travellers from the US.-
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2 hours ago, SLSD said:
I understand Europeans being peeved about not being able to visit the US when we have been able to visit there. The simple fact is that the US does not depend on tourist dollars as a country like Greece does. I just don't think pressure on the US government is going to matter. Of course I could be wrong. We'll have to wait and see.
I would think that the US travel industry, airlines (who have already protested), hotel companies and especially the Carnival Corp. will have a different opinion on that.-
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8 minutes ago, cruiseej said:
But it shouldn't be about reciprocity; it should be about the potential to transmit the disease. And being vaccinated does not translate to non-transmission of the disease. As we now know, people who are fully vaccinated can still get infected, and they can transmit the virus, whether or not they have any symptoms of illness.
Well cruiseej, if they took that as an argument ALL touristic travel would have to be banned as also the tests have a lot of flaws, especially with the delta variant.-
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23 minutes ago, mcondition said:
Dear U.S. members 😉 I wouldn't worry at all, in Greece U.S. tourists are considered no1 target group. I think same applies worldwide.
Including Iran, Russia & North Korea 😃👍🏻 -
I don‘t see any reason whatsoever why vaccinated people should not be allowed to travel wherever they wish.
However, why Europe should be open for US visitors when the US government doesn‘t allow any European tourists into the US remains a mystery to me.
Don‘t get me wrong. But there needs to be reciprocity.
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To be honest, I think the one and only intention for the new travel restrictions is to put pressure on the US to lift their travel ban on (vaccinated) Europeans.
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On 8/28/2021 at 10:27 AM, Solon said:
Would be interested to know why you converted from Seabourn to Silversea.
Thanks…..
Hi Solon,
don't get me wrong - I would take any cruise on Seabourn at any time but I was really pleasantly surprised on my current Silver Moon voyage as from the videos that I saw on vlogs/YT etc. I was expecting SS to be far more "old-fashioned". I thought the ship style, food etc. wouldn't appeal to me as compared to SB.
Well, I was totally wrong.
1. The Muse class ships are exactly my cup of tea. Modern, crisp, perfect size. Beautiful suites. AND WOW, WHAT A LARGE POOL! I absolutely loved it!
(ALTHOUGH I must say how any ship designer can "forget" an observation deck remains a mystery to me).
2. The crew: Excellent mix from many different countries, very much like SB (some even come from SB). Some more senior, some very junior... Many many pleasant conversations with these girls and guys. Superb service in all venues!
3. The food: Very European, not just Steak and Caviar (which you can get too) but SOOO creative! I was impressed - and that's hard. The "buffet" La Terrazza much better than the Colonnade. So many different styles of restaurants. You get so many (more) choices. The quality of cuisine is extremely high. On SB all you get is Thomas Keller, Thomas Keller, Thomas Keller. The whole TK concept is hugely overrated. It's okay but nothing that would even get close to Michelin style cuisine. I'm very sorry SB, but TK needs to go. Just my M&P advise.
I have linked a video down below about Hapag Lloyd's "THE GLOBE by Kevin Fehling" on the EUROPA. In my opinion THAT something you can make a fuss about. That's Michelin star cuisine. Something REALLY special. Thomas Keller is not.
Obviously food is very important for me. And SS did a better job than SB in that category. I posted a lot food photos in another thread "Silver Moon Food Extravaganza".
4. The wines/drinks: We come from a German wine region so we are picky when we talk about white wines. The selection of wines was E X C E L L E N T ! We loved it. So many different local wines. Whatever you wanted, the Sommeliers would talk to you and make it happen.
5. S.A.L.T - the restaurant, the BAR (!!!), the Lab - what a great idea, what a great concept. There is no way one can not like it. A real game changer.
6. The schedule (i.e. late departures as well as days at sea. A good mix)
7. Included excursions: We didn't go on an excursion every day but we went on some and they were very well organized, we really enjoyed them and they were included in the cruise fare.
I hope that answers your question a little bit. Let me know if you have more questions.
All the best,
M&P
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Hanseatic Spirit was has been christened in an adventurous ceremony right in front of Helgoland island up in the North Sea just a few days ago. Nice video too.
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2 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:
Unfortunately you have to take it a month at a time—-it’s hard but whAT CAN YOU DO?
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On 8/23/2021 at 2:08 AM, boccenana said:
November 25th we will be at sea headed for Mumbai....or somewhere 🤔 Tucson/Oro Valley guy.
Elaine
I am pretty sure that no cruise ship on this planet will make a stop in India this year. -
13 hours ago, dawntrdr said:
It appears that Oman is open again - with testing restrictions, but open:
https://www.travelinglifestyle.net/oman-starts-reopening-its-borders/
But by November, this may have changed back and forth few times again.
Still a lot of restrictions, esp. for UK travellers. Not sure that their reopening will last… also Israel - closed for who knows how long. -
7 hours ago, Catlover54 said:
I was a big HL fan too and would have been happy to continue cruising with them. However, since July 2020, when they resumed limited cruises, only German, Austrian, and Swiss residents are welcome on their ships, regardless of vaccination status. It was true even when I was vaccinated early this year, and HL crew mostly was not (nor were the German pax required to be vaxed at the time) .
I think all countries and cruise lines come up with their own regulations at the moment. It‘s a huge experiment for the whole travel industry. So far HL have done very well with no outbreaks on their ships. And in contrast to many other lines they have restarted cruising already in late summer 2020.
And Catlover you‘re lucky! I won‘t be allowed to travel to the United States at all, being European. Regardless of any cruise line regulations. Regardless of being vaccinated. You can at least come to Europe. 😄
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Quest Antarctica Season Cancelled Too Soon?
in Seabourn Cruise Line
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If Seabourn weren't a part of the Carnival Corp. I'd be really worried about their future. They will operate only 2 ships over the winter season. 😱 Not enough to keep a company alive.
Even Hapag-Lloyd will (try to) operate all ships, Silversea has 6 or so in operation...