BeeMinor

10 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

If you mean separating the people who had no problem complying with mask, vaccination and social distancing requirements in order to help mitigate the spread of a deadly virus vs. those who whined and/or screamed about guidelines or just didn’t bother complying in the name of “freedom”, then yes…wishful thinking indeed…

At this point we're really talking about the grey area between those two poles, since the people in the latter group who advocated for "vaccine freedom" or whatever can't sail anyway. So in that sense your wish has already come true!

As a vaxxed/boosted person whose absolute risk from contracting Covid is very low, I'd be happy to take a cruise with no testing or masking requirements, but that's me. Others may not have the same risk tolerance for whatever reason and should act accordingly. IMO it's like airlines saying that they'll do their best not to have peanuts present on flights, but if you have a severe peanut allergy, maybe flying isn't your best choice. I'm sure the cruise lines will pick up on these distinctions over time and figure out a way to make accommodations and/or monetize it. (Who's ready for the 2020 Pandemic Theme Cruise, where you have to flip a coin to see whether your cabin has toilet paper?)

I can't speak to the swim in, but we have done the other excursion you mention. There's a pretty steep walk down/up to and from the parking area to the beach where you can access the Baths, but navigating the rock formations themselves isn't difficult for a reasonably fit person and the pace isn't very fast. Parts can be slippery so wearing grippy water shoes is very helpful; when we went some women had on heeled sandals and those were definitely not the right footwear.

Our excursion gave people the option to stay at the overlook area if they preferred upon arrival, so if your mom decided she wasn't feeling up to it at the last minute that could be an option. Hope her treatment goes well and she regains strength quickly!

We stayed in 2133 on Equinox (same set up) a few years ago. I can't recommend it.

When my husband asks "which ship was Equinox?" I say, "you know, BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM." And he knows which one it is. We haven't sailed S-class again mostly because of the noise situation.

2 hours ago, Bucephalus53 said:

So on a Cruise from London to London...which I obviously fly to and out of Heathrow...I may not be able to get back? I am thinking that they will have to cancel my reservation in May, no? (for any Americans, not others on the cruise)

Assuming you are a US citizen the ban does not affect you, although you may undergo additional screening if you were within the Schengen area. It's currently limited to 30 days so I wouldn't automatically assume a May trip would necessarily be affected.

What a baffling policy. I wasn't aware viruses knew what passport you carried.

I watched the Fauci interview on Meet the Press yesterday, and my sense from it in context was that cruising was a high risk activity for people we all already know are people at high risk--older people and especially older people with complicating conditions. He delivered that message as part of an array of measures people could/should take to protect their health, along with avoiding things like sporting events or air/train travel. It was also, if I recall correctly, in response to a direct question. It wasn't like he sat down and right off the bat said, "So Chuck Todd, the reason I am here today is to tell everyone about the dangers of cruising."

I take the later State Dept/CDC to be more of a heads up that those who cruise do so at their own risk. The US government will not guarantee that it will be able to evacuate you from a foreign country if you are on a ship that is quarantined or stuck at sea. Those are, I'm sure, expensive and time consuming efforts on the part of the government, so I'm not surprised to see them seek to deter that eventuality. It also seems like a direct response to the Grand Princess situation. This is a shift in policy after the government arranged from the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Wuhan some weeks ago and from the Diamond Princess when it became obvious the quarantine was being mishandled there.

What all these announcements seem to be lacking is a time frame--to be fair something that I doubt anyone can provide. It's apparent that the federal government thinks it's a bad plan for people to go on cruises, like, this week. But with as rapidly as the situation is evolving it's not clear at all whether they are suggesting people cancel their plans for six weeks or six months from now. It's also a blanket statement. There is a clear difference between a 300- or 500-passenger Silversea ship and 2500-6500 passenger liner on Princess or Royal Caribbean. More people=more risk of a negative outcome.

Sounds quite similar to the cruise we are (hopefully!) taking this June. I haven't been to Sardinia before, but based on the research I've done into options our loose plan is to make Olbia a beach day; there doesn't seem to be much to do in town, although it may be worth a walk around. Assuming we actually make it I'll report back!

14 hours ago, worldtraveller99 said:

Thank you. The monkeys and Shakespeare connection is an old metaphor, that anything is feasibly possible. I agree, I would hate to be quarantined too. In fact if it became worldwide would they close all shopping malls, all sporting events etc? I hope this targeting of cruise ships will end!

 

With our Cheeto in Chief I'd go with "even a stopped clock is right twice a day." I tend to agree that things will run their course and life will go on although not as smoothly as optimists may hope. The virus has already spread enough that significant containment seems impossible--as the US is conducting more tests of course more confirmed cases are coming in--but that's not exactly the message anyone wants to hear. It's going to be a rough time.

On an individual level, we assume by the time of our booked cruise in June one of these scenarios takes place: the virus has spread so greatly containment is acknowledged to be impossible so all regular life is on and we'll cruise; the virus has spread so greatly that all regular life is off and there will be no cruise; or, the virus is contained by seasonality (or whatever the medical way to put that is) and all seems to be improving but look out this fall!

My husband and I have discussed the eventuality that we may be quarantined so I guess we'll pack accordingly and be mentally prepared for that possibility. It is much easier to be sanguine about the situation as low-risk people with the luxury of flexibility in our lives and jobs.

This is a smart policy; extending the "wait and see" time frame will certainly reduce early cancellations to the benefit of the line while allowing people who really feel uncomfortable traveling to have a graceful way to reschedule. We still intend to sail in June but I appreciate knowing that if that plan changes we're covered. Win-win. And fortuitous timing for SS to get the financial resources of Royal Caribbean behind it.

36 minutes ago, Lois R said:

I know...…...it just is a bit odd (to me)…..they are saying they have about 20 people on board that "Potentially" have

signs of it.....that is why I added the part of getting them off the ship and onto land....and watching the story, the CDC

has not decided what to do. (if those tested are positive). I think they are flying the test kits to the ship today.

I guess there is no good answer.

Agreed about no good answer. Those 20 people could have a touch of a sore throat and a cough . . . which could be COVID-19 . . . or could be one of many, many other things. There's not much precedent for how to handle something like this on this scale.

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Well, Princess now has a ship in San Francisco that is not being allowed to dock.  The "GRAND" is their 2nd ship

that is being held up.  I just saw an interview with a gal from CAL who was on board from Feb 11-21st and she just

received an email from the cruise line.  

So it took them 2 weeks to inform customers there is a chance they are infected...…...someone on that cruise

has since died.   And after arriving in SF back in Feb, the ship did a Hawaii run and was now on its way back

home.  They are now trying to fly test kits over to the ship.   Wouldn't the better thing be to just quarantine the

ship NOW? OR get everyone OFF the ship and directly into a quarantined area on land?

Quarantining people on the ship didn't work too well last time! My understanding is that the COVID-19 tests were run only recently, so I'm not sure how anyone could have informed much more quickly than they were. Given that the virus is spreading pretty quickly and that some people are carrying it without symptoms, you could argue that pretty much anyone at any point could have been exposed to it.

23 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

Yup, but that’s their standard ‘in effect for..’ statement. And we know it won’t decrease in impact. That’s why we haven’t heard anything about that particular cruise yet. 

 

Den

Yeah. With as quickly as the situation is changing I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't announcements about changes until 31 days before any given sail date, especially for the cruises that are slated to either begin or end in Italy. Changing an embarkation or disembarkation port once seems like a giant hassle. Changing them three or four times seems practically impossible. 

I am watching what happens with the April cruises closely to try to get a sense of what might happen in early June, but there are just so many unknowns.

34 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

I posted this on a thread about Restricting Boarding if traveling through Northern Italy that Silverseas Health Advisory now states you can’t board if you’ve visited Italy (not just some of the northern regions) within 14 days. 
 

the Shadow departs from Rome in late April and visits many Italian ports. Waiting for word from my TA and Silverseas on what will be done. 

UGH. I just read the updated advisory and it says it's in effect for 30 days, so technically speaking the April cruises aren't affected (yet). 

I'm following this thread with great interest as my husband and I have a cruise on the Spirit from Barcelona to Rome booked in June. I'm not worried about the threat of the virus to my personal health any more than I am about any other nasty respiratory infection (risk is part of life) but I am somewhat concerned about the possibility of travel restrictions and, you know, widespread panic. We can go with the flow on itinerary changes but I am glad we booked our flights through Silversea and haven't prepaid any lodging on either end of the cruise.

The situation is obviously evolving rapidly--we did a quick beach break last week and got questioned about previous travel more thoroughly leaving Mexico than entering, which seemed backward--but I am hopeful things will settle one way or another. It appears we are beyond the point of containment and I can't believe over 7 billion people in the world will just stay home for the next six months. 

Hi everyone! Remember when Silversea very unwisely chartered out most of the Whisper to Utility Warehouse a couple of summers ago? As a person who survived that experience I now keep an eye on their holiday incentive program to make sure I never, ever have that happen again. Imagine my eyes turning into saucers when I saw this:

The good news is that a bit of further research showed that this is not a Silversea itinerary, so perhaps a Valuable Lesson Was Learned . . . and by that I don't mean how to sing "Income for Life" to the tune of "Sweet Caroline."

We were on the Summit over Thanksgiving last year. They ran "Black Friday" that seemed pretty much the same as any end-of-cruise sale--cheap t shirts, etc. It was absolute mayhem. The better merchandise (good watches, name-brand clothing and accessories, etc.) was not marked down. They did offer part of your total spend, I think 10%, back in vouchers for the shops.

5 minutes ago, Silver Spectre said:

Thanks for the response. I understand the form, however, it’s the final sentence that I am questioning, which seems to imply that by not signing it, you are still agreeing to it.

Agreed, that is oddly phrased. The "failure to do so" is particularly unclear as it could refer to either "not signing" or "not asking questions before signing." I would think it would have to be the latter.

15 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

Has anyone seen this on the Expedition ships before, and refused to sign it. And does anyone have an opinion on the legality of the final sentence? I raise these questions in the context of the full T’s and C’s that apply when booking an SS cruise and which this document does not form a part.

While I have not seen this specific form on a Silversea ship, I recognize it in a general as a model release. In plain language by signing it you're agreeing that Silversea can use any photos or video footage taken of you however it wants, including in advertising materials, without payment. Typically if you do not sign your face is blurred out so you are not instantly recognizable if they use, say, a crowd shot.

At least in the US, it's not uncommon to see a sign at the entrance to a large public event like a food festival summarizing this as "filming is taking place on these premises and by entering you agree to be filmed." 

24 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

So I mentioned a few days ago about some of our shipmates who play it fast and loose with the dress code. Nothing's changed. It's not going ruin my life but to me it's just plain bad manners by the few. 

 

It was the Venetian Society cocktail party tonight. I can't remember the numbers but a couple of people got to free laundry, another couple to 250 nights and there were 3 couples with 250+,the highest being somewhere round 1000.  Obviously we got nothing with a paltry 201 nights but I do think we deserved something just for being jolly good people (and for knowing what formal dress is!). Excellent dinner, too. 

 

Tomorrow sees us in Syracuse, Sicily somewhere about which we know very little beyond its status as being historically important. 

 

Anyway, 2 tired British Islanders are off to sleep the sleep of the righteous. 

 

Ciao. 

Ah, Syracuse is both historically important and quite nice to visit! We enjoyed it very much on our stop there last year and have kicked around going back for a longer land stay sometime. Assuming you dock at the same spot we did, when you exit the small port area head right over the bridge to have a wander in Ortygia, the oldest (and quite charming) part of the city. There is also an archeological park a couple of miles in the other direction that is worth a visit, if for no other reason than to experience the delightfully named Ear of Dionysius. 

29 minutes ago, MauiMagic said:

What a great idea! You are so helpful. This didn't even cross my mind, I can plan to get some exercise while out and about! I even have some of the things you mentioned on my list.... and it did not occur to me these activities would "count" as working out 😆I guess that's the downside of being addicted to barre classes.

I'll be in the Eastern Med late this September so hopefully the weather is nice for a hike up Mt. Vesuvius in addition to some tower climbs and walking around port cities. This may be the time to finally get a fit bit or something like that to count my steps.

Anyone else on the Sept 20th EDGE sailing want a fitness buddy? 

My pleasure! My husband and I have a Western Med sailing booked for next summer and I have already been Googling "Italian Riviera hikes." I find it way more fun to just commit to being active while sightseeing than trying to do a normal workout--in the Caribbean it seems harder but in Europe there's all kinds of stuff to do. Your phone can probably log your steps with reasonable accuracy. And all those barre classes mean your quads are strong enough to tackle the duomos. 😉 

BTW, if you are stopping in Athens, a good sightseeing/workout hybrid is to enter the Parthenon from the back entrance by the Acropolis museum. The lines are shorter at that gate and you have to climb alllll the way up the hill to the temple.

Have a great trip!!!

17 minutes ago, MauiMagic said:

Great point, thanks. I just finished reading your full review- thanks so much for that! Yes, the $49 offer is for unlimited classes in any one class type. After what you said about the barre classes ( I'm a serious barre addict so beginner yoga masquerading as barre isn't going to do it for me!) I was thinking it may be better for me to get the HIIT class pack. I'm hoping that even though the classes sound a bit watered down, maybe the HIIT will offer the most strenuous work out, or at least the best chance to push myself. I'm not great at doing workouts on my own, really prefer to have a teacher and class format for motivation otherwise I just walk out of the gym after a few minutes of sitting on a machine and looking around. If I weren't going on a 2 week family wedding trip directly from the cruise where I have to be in formal wear, I would probably just skip the classes but I feel I need to maintain some small level of physical discipline with all of the overindulging I'm sure to do at the Bistro and beyond!  Also- my cruise is a 10 day so hopefully there will be at least 4 classes, making the pack a better value than purchasing individually. Assuming I actually manage to go to 4 classes....

Yeah . . . if you have barre experience you would be both confused and disappointed by the ship's barre classes. The boxing class I took was definitely strenuous so it seems reasonable to think the HIIT classes would be too. I also need the peer pressure of the class environment not to walk out of the gym promptly so I feel you!

Depending on where you're going there's also the option of planning some hiking days in port or planning to climb the church towers with 500 steps or what have you. 

Thanks for this great ongoing report! We decided (not without trepidation, I must admit) to switch onto a Mediterranean cruise out of Barcelona on the Spirit for next June after our Cuba dreams were ended, and I am enjoying both remembering previous visits to this part of the world and looking forward to future ones. My husband and I spent a week staying on the Amalfi coast as part of our honeymoon in 2008 and it is really a lovely region. 

23 minutes ago, MauiMagic said:

Thanks! I really appreciate this information. I have the option to purchase a "class pass" for $49 before sailing and if individual classes are 20+/each then it would probably be worth it for me. 

You're welcome! Fitness class info can be quite hard to come by on these boards. For $49 I would guess that's a class-specific pass? I considered buying one of those for barre before we went but even if I had liked the class it was only offered a couple of times during our sailing, and the pass would have wound up costing more than paying as I went. So you may want to see if there are dailies posted as you approach your sail date to make sure it's worthwhile. 

5 hours ago, MauiMagic said:

Hi, I know it's been quite a while.. but I'm searching for any info about the fitness classes. Were you able to take any on your cruise? How was the sign-up process and pricing? Thanks in advance, any response would be greatly appreciated! 

Hi there, we did take the cruise and I did take a couple of classes. I posted a lengthy review, including of the classes, here.  I wouldn't recommend either the boxing or barre class I took, or, probably, any type of class that requires the instructors to know specific techniques or form. Something like spinning that is what it is might be better. The sign-up process was very easy--I had no problem just showing up at a class and getting a spot--and classes were in the low $20s each if I remember correctly. The fitness center was pushing a week-long class pass hard but it didn't offer great value IMO.

34 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

Got ours too. Same spiel as yours but we are content with that as far as the rescheduling goes except that our return is 4 days later from BGI instead of MIA. 

 

I've asked for them to provide flights from BGI but am not hopeful. 

 

Cancelling and rebooking the flight scenario (taking into account flight costs, arriving at LGW instead of LHR, car parking etc) puts me about £600 out of pocket. Its enough to be annoying but not so much to be a deal breaker particularly as we are getting 4 extra days and included shore excursions. 

 

On the whole, in a world where children are starving to death, we don't feel too hard done by. 

Excellent point! I must say your offer is more appealing than ours. Switching us an equal-length cruise with different start and end dates and ports that largely are on the mainstream routes--Carnival goes to 3 out of 4 of them--and I would speculate is going to have a lower fare doesn't seem like much of a consolation prize, shore excursions or no.

It is odd to me that Silversea is offering some folks a generous extension of the cruise and not others. On the other hand, this is the same line that booked about 75 hapless fare-payers onto a ship with 300 passengers spread across two charters, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.

Just received the email with our change info. Our booking was bumped a full week (from Feb 17 --> Feb 24) to a Key West/Mexico/Guatemala/Belize routing. The email very graciously says that there is no additional cost to us for the additional days, which is odd as both our original sailing and the updated one are the same number of days! The incentive is a free shore excursion in each port. There is no mention of a credit for airfare change fees, etc., so anyone who had booked flights independently would be on their own, I guess.

Pricing isn't showing for the updated sailing yet on the website, but an identical sailing in January is several hundred dollars cheaper for the equivalent category than what we paid for the Cuba sailing and also eligible for the VS discount, which doesn't quite smell right.

Torn between canceling outright and attempting to switch over to a completely different sailing later in the year.