Woofbite

To further confuse the SS dress code they have this to say about expedition cruises: For Silversea Expeditions guests, casual resort wear is appropriate at all times when on board, with the exception of two evenings when Informal attire is required. For men, this means a jacket, tie optional. Sounds like informal attire means the same as elegant casual and I don't know why they bother with Formal Optional since passengers are always free to dress formal.

Due to Coast Guard and fire regulations, these BBQs had to stop….too bad. How is it other cruise lines seem to still offer flamed desserts and outdoor BBQ dinners and HAL can't?

What was the going price for a ride? And the return and dismount which I've heard some crooks try to collect if that wasn't a joke!

I thought the crêpes Suzette served in the last Rudi's I ate at was equally terrible. A leftover crepe from the lido with marmalade. Not even very warm. I think some other companies still flame desserts.

I'd suggest including the Falklands and South Georgia in an Antarctica trip. Elephant Island is really tough to visit. I haven't managed a landing in three attempts. As pointed out, it really is a highlight for Shackleton fans so rate it accordingly. One interesting non-Antarctica site we visited on a trip out of Chile was to climb up Cape Horn to visit the small military station, chapel and albatross statue on top. The islands around Antarctica are as fascinating as the continent but I suppose there is a certain cachet in being able to say you've visited all seven continents and have the certificate to prove it.

In my experience, there aren't many places I'd want to sit or lay anything on the ground down there.

Airlines are such a hassle these days we consider 14 days almost a minimum cruise to be worth the effort. With Alaska especially, sitting on your private balcony watching the scenery pass by is worth the price difference to us and a lot of other cruisers. We grab those longer cruises when possible since there aren't many of them compared to the 7 day ones.

We were on the QM2. Sight lines for many seats in the theater were blocked by huge poles all over the place. There were lines for practically every event to get good seats and nowhere for mobility impaired people to wait. We were only able to eat in the Golden Lion pub one time and that was by sitting through trivia and bingo because almost no one ever left. Food in the main dining room was very ordinary and service so slow we gave up and ate in the buffet most of the time. The specialty steakhouse with its $75 surcharge was a lot to pay for a not very special steak dinner. There were a lot of pretentious people around but the true class acts stood out without the show.

Good luck with Cunard, Oceania and Viking. We did Viking Ocean three years ago, Cunard about 5 years ago and just got off our first Oceania cruise. All had a few things we liked better than HAL and a lot more that we didn't. Cunard was relatively cheap but nothing matched their beautiful ship or evocative advertising. The others we thought were just plain overhyped and overpriced. Of course everyone has their own expectations and opinions.

People really seem to like them. What makes them so much better than a fresh cooked one in Dive-In?

I plum forgot about that site. Thanks for all the suggestions!

How do you do that?

We just got off them the end of August and they still have them - for now.

Happened on our Glacier and Greenland cruise that ended August 22

I'm not sure HAL will go there in the future given the severe limits on how they have to operate: https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/ /cruises/articles/norways-svalbard-archipelago-sets-strict-cruise-limits

Make friends on board and ask them to check you in?

I couldn't agree more. We just returned from an Oceania cruise to Norway, Iceland and Greenland and they had Dr. Craig Cormick (Craig Cormick - Wikipedia) deliver probably 10 presentations on Viking history, Gods, customs, raids, etc. Funny, engaging, excellent. HAL should take notes.

Call it a "tasting menu" if you like but it was enough food for a family of four and as noted, you didn't choose items, they served everything listed:

What are the concierges for? Can't they handle such requests?

I suspect they are adding more pop-ups because lots of passengers have eaten in the regular restaurants so many times they crave something new. I wish they would freshen up the menu in the Pinnacle. I guess they did in Canaletto but many argue not for the better. Haven't had enough opportunities to eat in Tamarind yet to be bored with it.

Fixed dining wasn't an option for us. We were assigned Open Seating. I always have open seating but first night ask for an assigned table for one for the entire cruise and let my waiter and assistant know I like to eat fast. I usually arrive 10 minutes or so before the formal opening time when doors frequently are open, go direct to my table without checking in. Menu and drink are waiting, waiter isn't usually busy yet, takes my entire order and delivers courses promptly. I'm usually served and gone in half an hour or so. Frees up time for other activities or good seating in the theater or clubs.

It was announced mid-cruise and applied retroactive to all bookings best I remember.

If you arrive early, is there a good chance of being seated earlier than your reservation?

I'd prefer to have the plague!

I'm amazed at the analysis of all this. I just look for an interesting itinerary, check if rates are within reason and book it. If the cruise line is good I seek them for another trip. If not or the value wasn't there, I look somewhere else next time. Couldn't care less what category "experts" say it fits, (depends on ship size and age seems to me more than brand), or whether balcony has two feet more or less square footage or the menus may are slightly different than some other line, but that is just me.