Observer

3 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

I didn't use a tense and last cruise was 2017.

 

 

It is challenging to write a sentence with a verb without using a tense.  
 

“does not compare” which you said is present tense

”did not compare” would be past tense 

“will not compare” would be future tense

2017 is hardly the present.  

1 hour ago, Keith1010 said:

The quality of Silversea dining does not compare to what the old Crystal offered in terms of quality or service. 

 

A statement like this using the present tense to describe Silversea dining prompts the question: when did you last done on a Silversea ship? Was it a Muse class ship with the multiple dining options?

Please share with us the basis of your sweeping judgment.

11 minutes ago, May B said:

Just the fourteen forward staterooms, designated as singles. One of them is already being held, so 13 still remain. Please don’t all go booking them before I can get my friend into one of them! 😳

Am I correct in understanding that all of the designated single cabins are with windows but no private verandah?

Thanks. This is very helpful. That comes out to around $925 a night for a single with veranda. I wonder if this includes port charges, taxes, etc.

15 minutes ago, May B said:

I.

 

From the one example I asked about, single supplement for a veranda sounds quite high. The double veranda stateroom total was $8800, while for a single, that stateroom with veranda is $7400. The single stateroom, forward on deck seven, is $4800. 
 

This is very helpful information. Thank you. Could you tell us more about the cruise you were exploring? Region? Length? Ship?  Date?   Each of these items could have a material difference on the pricing.  The single supplement for a veranda stateroom does seem quite steep. Thanks again.

Crystal holds a sweet spot in my cruising life. I was eagerly looking forward to its return.

What I see thus far is disappointing.  Crystal was very friendly to solo travelers, with decent single supplements for cabins with verandas. Do they now imagine that singles will be satisfied with a window rather than a veranda? Or is it singles who want a veranda will be willing to pay the full fare for double occupancy?  

I hope that Crystal will soon be announcing decent single fares for veranda cabins.  Regent offers some sailings with single supplements of 25 or 50%, and Silversea has a lot of 25% single supplements sailings as well as many at 50%.  I was initially attracted to Crystal by its reputation and its affordability for a solo traveler (who insists upon a veranda). 

In any case, the fares seem to be very high on a per diem basis. Luxury lines like Regent and Silversea are including such items as excursions, airfare, laundry in their fares.  Some of us would prefer fewer inclusions, and in some cases price reductions are available if items are excluded from a booking.. But from my quick study of several itineraries, it appears that the Crystal fares are very high while offering few significant inclusions.

Staffing ships in the luxury market is a huge challenge now. I know that some Crystal veterans moved on to other lines. Perhaps a number of others have loyally waited for the relaunch.

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

I'm wondering if this could be some kind of glitch? But I assume once the booking is done, they cannot change the price?

I assume that somewhere in their terms and conditions is a provision to correct errors.

For quality of in-flight service and comfort, I would readily take Austrian over United.  Austrian is a fine airline.

This makes no sense at all to me. I wonder if it is an error.

On 12/11/2022 at 4:53 PM, Observer said:

Any suggestions regarding a person in management (and email address, please) whom one could write to express serious disappointment with this apparent decision?

Thanks to GOARMY for the contact information.   I wrote to her a month ago and have not had the courtesy of a response. I understand that there has been holidays, etc.  But there was not any acknowledgment of my message or an out of office reply.

Friends who sail both on Regent and Silversea say is that they may be canceling voyages on Regent because of this decision. They see interesting health implications in a time of viruses. On many Silversea ships there are consistently three outdoor options for dinner.  They lost a parent to Covid and are being as cautious as possible. they recently returned from a Caribbean cruise on Silversea and say they had every dinner outdoors at three restaurants.which offered al fresco dining.   

These are not normal times in Peru. However, I do not react automatically to State Department travel advisories. Having lived and work abroad for a number of years and having good cooperative relations with the consular services, I know that State Is hyper-cautious.  Part of this is the CYA mentality of many bureaucrats, who quite reasonably do not want to be called in front of congressional committees if a citizen or two happens to have been injured in a riot.  Why were they there?  People should exercise common sense to retreat from such situations.

8 hours ago, dawntrdr said:

Query whether SS pays a different commission scale to a TA than it does to its in-house Cruise Consultant.   

I do not believe that the in-house cruise consultants are permitted to offer any onboard credits anymore.

9 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

But I suspect that the whole P2P thing will be very confusing to many people.

Booking a Silversea cruise used to be fairly straightforward. Now it is an ever-changing target.  Management seems to be fond of tinkering. And then there are the stealth changes, such as the sudden abolition of any onboard credits when cruises are booked directly with a Silversea consultant.  I am not optimistic about my favored cruise line under its new leadership.  

15 hours ago, kjbacon said:

Ok, so are sport jackets or suit jackets expected in the bars for before (or after) dinner drinks? 

About 25% of the evenings have casual dress code.  So no jacket expected anywhere on the ship.  On dressier evenings, one can always drink at the pool bar, which is open until late every night.  The pool bar is always casual (as is the Pool Grill restaurant.)

11 hours ago, kjbacon said:

Are dinner jackets for men also expected in the bars? We can’t go to the bar to have drinks before dinner without him wearing a jacket?

 

I’m not sure that I see where SS is coming from in terms of elegance with a dining room full of dinner jackets on chairs!

To be precise, dinner jackets or other formal wear is never required on Silversea. The jackets that are expected on nights designated “informal“ are sport jackets or suit jackets but not dinner jackets.

I agree that Silversea is a bit dressier than Regent. However, there is always a very casual dinner option on Silversea: the pool grill.  It is outdoors (though service can be in covered areas with heaters if the weather is inclement) and some guests can and do appear in shorts and T-shirts.  The menu is largely steaks and chops and fish, that can either be prepared in the galley or can be cooked by the guest on a hot lava rock at the table  there are a few salad options and a few desserts.  Since it is outdoors, it is quieter than typical restaurant venues. In this period of multiple viruses floating around, it may will also be healthier to be sitting in an open air venue rather than in a possibly crowded indoor restaurant.

15 hours ago, GOARMY said:

Observer:  

 

That person is
 

Jennefer Teegen, Director of Guest Experiences & Loyalty

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

7300 Corporate Drive

Miami, FL 33126

jteegen@rssc.com

 

Jennefer has responded quite promptly when I have contacted her on past matters.  

 

GOARMY!

 

Thank you.  I will write to her shortly.

Any suggestions regarding a person in management (and email address, please) whom one could write to express serious disappointment with this apparent decision?

This is very disappointing news.  Of course it is losing money. Nearly everything on Regent loses money. The money is earned with the very high fares. I assume that the bars lose money and the restaurants lose money.

Luxury cruise lines are supposed to offer services, and the pool grill offers a quick, light dinner in a very casual atmosphere.  Had Regent promoted dinner at the pool grill?  Every guest dining in the grill is a guest who will not be crowding other (indoor) outlets.

 I can imagine myself making much greater use of room service at dinner time, and this is presumably a far more labor-intensive way of delivering food.

I hope that Regent will reconsider and reverse this unfortunate decision.

14 hours ago, Pcardad said:

I can't find the post...

 

 

I cannot find it either.  I am pretty much a klutz with social media.  I am reassured that fizzy says that s/he saw it as well.  So I was not fantasizing.  I certainly hope they are not abandoning the light dinner option al fresco at the pool grill. 

1 hour ago, Pcardad said:

 

Are you comfortable sharing where you heard this info pls?

 

It was on Facebook.   Dare I say?  🙂

I was very pleased to learn in another thread on this board that dinner is available most evenings at the pool grill. It is a light dinner, and the dress code is very relaxed.

However, in another social medium, someone said that pool grill dinners will no longer be available beginning in January. This would come as a great disappointment to me.

Can someone who is currently on Splendor or who otherwise has access to authoritative information cast any light on this matter?

TIA.

Many thanks!

I hope someone can help clarify a matter:

The Splendor deck plan on RSSC site shows the Coffee Connection on the port side of deck five and Meridian Lounge on starboard side.

But we are otherwise assured that the deck plan is incorrect and the Coffee Connection is starboard, etc.

This is important for a noise-sensitive friend who was planning to book a G2 on the starboard side.

Will be grateful for clarification.

TIA.