Observer

No. A jacket is not required then. Jackets are never required at the grill/hot rocks. And on informal nights, guests can dress casual in La Terrazza.

I doubt/hope that the passengers were not in fact missing when the ship left port. Though it is very rude, it is not that uncommon for guests to decide at some stop that they will get a taxi and return to the ship independently without informing the tour guide.

I am 99% certain that Silversea has already purchased Endeavor.

And they are not mutually exclusive, especially on Silversea.

Is it really that great a mystery to you? Is this your first cruise? Ever? The ship has to be turned around, provisioned, sanitized, and perhaps inspected by Canadian authorities. And what difference would it make for you to know the revised itinerary 24 hours earlier? Why the urgency? One can hop off the hop on/hop off bus to explore the city and experience the city? Would you prefer a regimented coach tour? Perhaps Silversea imagined that the hop on/hop off bus provides optimal opportunity.... Stuff happens in life. It seems to me that Silversea has done a very decent job addressing this unfortunate situation.

Could it be that Silversea withdrew its promise of free luggage shipment at the end of the cruise because of so many bad experiences at the beginning? Was the (to me highly implausible) Ukraine excuse merely another among what seem to be Silversea's many exercises in shifting blame?

I continue to be surprised by the sudden suspension of this service. I assume that your four suitcases were not destined for the Ukraine. In fact, if FedEx had so much eastbound traffic they should have had lots of room on their westbound flights. Does anyone know whether this service has been restored?

Yes, there is pre--dinner music in Panorama. I believe it starts around 6 or 6:15 PM. Sometimes it is a pianist. Other times it is a small band. I've also heard guitarists The music in each venue is announced each day in the Chronicle. It may vary from day today.

The Saudis have major investments in high-end hotels that have bars. They do not generally allow liquor in the Kingdom, but I believe the liquor is permitted in some expat enclaves.

With the included excursions with no opt-out reduction, other losers are well traveled guests with lots of VS nights who resist being herded on "free"/included group tours and want to explore on their own. I know of three couples who met at trivia on SS and who had planned to sail together on a longish SS cruise. They have been terminally put off by included excursions and corresponding increase in fares. They will travel on another luxury line and rent vans with private guides at a number of ports.

Is the baggage valet service being offered to people disembarking from the world cruise? It was surely offered as an inclusive element for world cruise guests. It would simply be unacceptable IMHO for Silversea to say that FedEx is too busy. What about DHL or UPS?

What explanation was offered on the ship regarding the sudden removal of a promised service that was included in the fare? I have a vague recollection that they attributed this to FedEx, explaining that FedEx was too busy to take luggage because they were transporting vital supplies to Ukraine. This makes zero sense to me if the luggage is going east to west.

Why didn't Silversea contract with another vendor. If promised flights booked through Silversea were canceled, people would be put on alternate flights. Why not put the luggage with alternate vendors? I had understood in previous posts that the blame was laid at the feet of FedEx that would not take luggage because they were so busy sending items to Ukraine. It looks as though your luggage was going westbound. What would Ukraine have to do with this?

I do not like the included air and transfers, but I can opt out of them on D to D and get a refund. I very much regret the included excursions, without any opportunity to opt out with a refund. Some mischievously inclined friends who share my feeling about this and who are frequent Silversea guests say that they will sign up for excursions every day and appear very randomly so that the Shore Concierge folk will not cancel all reservations.