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Having recently had four cats share the same GI bug, I can whole-heartedly agree with this!

I always travel with a portable humidifier. Hotels and ships are notoriously dry.

My last cruise was a port-to-port offering Business Class air for $699. Silversea booked me on a flight with a transfer at Heathrow, which I was able to change to a non-stop. I was very satisfied. Given the accounts I've read here (and giving weight to the fact that one tends to only hear the horror stories and not the success stories), I don't think the time was right for Silversea to roll out door-to-door itineraries. There seem to be an inordinate amount of problems and issues with bookings, and I've seen too many cruises listed on their US website for DTD cruises with NO hotel or air being listed for thousands more than the same cruise PTP. $2K+ for car service to and from the pier? How does that even get published?? If the price is right, and I'm not traveling solo, I find the idea of a DTD attractive; all I have to do is pack. And, when I first started sailing with Silversea, flights and hotels were included, but now I've gotten spoiled by the luxury of traveling solo while having the young man stay home and tend to the fur kids, and as wonderful as that is, it's not worth 2X the price on accommodations, food and beverages, gratuities, excursions, airfare, hotel, and transfers!

Not luxury or interesting by any means, but whenever we have an evening and a matinee booked at the Met (we live near the Jersey Shore), we often stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Times Square for convenience. Rooms are quiet (especially if not facing 8th Ave.), clean, and relatively roomy, and you're more or less centrally located for sightseeing and a skip from Pier 88 for embarkation.

Absolutely true. I'm not familiar with Zevia, but wouldn't expect Silversea to be able to procure items with a limited distribution (although, it never hurts to ask!). They have, in the past however, procured items for guests that are not normally provided onboard, such as the blood orange soda. I believe they carry SP sparkling water still, although it needs to be specially requested onboard otherwise the default is the onboard filtered. Has anyone had trouble requesting items that Silversea was able to provide in the past? Could be due to COVID woes (there are still empty shelves near me and I'm sure that applies to cruiselines as well), or just due to internal changes with Silversea.

If you have enough time in Dubai I can not say enough good things about Platinum Heritage! We combined a few of their offerings a few years ago to do a fabulous overnight desert tour with astronomy and drop-off at the pier the next day. Our astronomer-guide was with us from pickup to drop-off and was outstanding. Utterly turnkey.

Silversea was able to get San Pellegrino Aranciata on the Whisper or Shadow for my young man a few years ago, but many things were different a few years ago...

What galls me the most is the single supplement. It's one thing to pay up to 200% of the going fare for accommodations and food, disgruntling to pay up to 200% for beverages, port fees, and gratuities, BUT to also pay up to 200% for flights, transfers, hotels, and excursions is offensive! I once considered Silversea fairly friendly to solo travelers; now... not so much.

Belowdecks in the Silversea Laundry...

Another consideration is how likely your prescription is to change. If there are usually "tweaks" each time you visit your opthamologist, you may be better off getting contacts rather than having custom lenses remade each time.

I thought I'd never respond to one of these threads, but... I agree that Silversea needs to state their dress code with more clarity and stick to it. It's no secret that it is a more "formal" line, so there should be no excuses. It seems Silversea has already accommodated guests that prefer to dress casually for dinner by offering The Grill, Spaccanapoli, and in-suite dining, and (horrors!), if one can be bothered to but pack a simple jacket, La Terrazza, Seishin, Kaiseki, or Silver Note (not sure about the new S.A.L.T. Bar). And there are usually ample casual nights to sample Atlantide, Indochine, and La Dame. If, after all that, the dress code still traumatizes you, just sail another line! With the absence of corsets, starched collars, and boiled shirtfronts, it really doesn't take much to get dressed for dinner, even without a lady's maid or manservant, and even after a day-long excursion, although formal nights are usually scheduled for sea days, and I personally prefer to schedule a more relaxed meal in La Terrazza or in-suite for port days that are especially grueling. I think we all book cruises with Silversea because they are unique in certain ways. Why clamor for them to lose their uniqueness?

Ambivalent about the spa, but $300 OBC sees me home with some bottles of much appreciated Montrachet or Opus One in my suitcase. Nice way to remember my cruise down the road.

I prefer a kir royale myself. <g> That said, I'll stick with champagne or vodka with caviar, and save the kir for brunch!

That's good news Lois! My cruise on the Spirit last November was unhosted, and someone just live-posted current Chronicles from the Muse that listed the solo gathering for tonight as being unhosted, so it sounds like that at least is beginning to get back to normal. Let us know if any tables are being hosted at dinner as well. Hope your leg is feeling better. Thanks!

Ditto on Silversea, but pre-COVID. Currently, ship-sponsored gatherings (like the solo cruisers meet-up) are passengers-only and no longer hosted by crew members. Hopefully, if we ever get past COVID, they will revert to more open interactions with the guests. Currently, it's still too much of a risk.

Silversea is currently offering eight sailings on the Origin with a 25% single supplement. A little too dear for me at the moment, but hopefully some day!

Lois, All things considered, please have two! Hope all goes well and you still have a fabulous cruise.

This has had me stumped as well, so I finally made an effort to find out! That, and the little ship icon next to your avatar mean that you've contributed a "Live From" review. Whew!

Well, I'll wait and see. There have been bumps with Silversea/RCCL; similarly I'm sure there will be bumps with Explora/MSC. They'll be sailing soon enough so it's only a matter of time to see how it pans out. Door-to-door isn't that earthshattering of a development as I see it, since when I first began sailing, airfare, pre-cruise hotel, and ship transfers were included in the fare and now air transfers and excursions have been included as well. If Silversea can get the credits worked out, or offer a port-to-port option that does not penalize, it will become much more palatable. I'm not a huge fan of included excursions since they tend to be of the type where one experiences a destination from the inside of a coach, and I much prefer to arrange something private to gambol about the local countryside on horseback, but on a week-long cruise, that adds up to about $300 - not the end of the world, and I can usually find at least a few that grab my interest! Thank you for the additional info.

I just peeked at their website and downloaded their brochure and agree they look very tempting, especially their single supplements! The only thing that gives me second thoughts, is that they seem to be targeting families with children, particularly small children and infants as a customer base. Was that the case with Crystal? Was that addressed during the webinar? I ask because one thing I prefer about Silversea that thankfully, does not seem to be changing, is that although they do not forbid children outright, they do not overtly solicit them. Children are rare onboard Silversea, and when found, tend to be at least as well-behaved as the average guest in my experience.

Perhaps similar to tipping upfront, tips are included on the lines I sail, and a generous donation to the crew fund has always been appreciated by the entire crew. The fund is used to organize activities for the crew, purchase supplies for their entertainment, and assist crew members with personal emergencies. As an example, a few years ago, on a cruise I took overnighting in Bermuda, a nightclub right across Front Street from the pier was reserved for a private party for the crew. You could check to see if donating to the crew fund is an option on the line you will be cruising.

Oh well. If I ever see you on a roll call (don't know if I can afford to cruise with this new D2D nonsense!), I'll bring you a loaf. <g>

Lois, Does your supermarket carry Levy's? That may be worth giving a try (it's my favorite!) It's a decent pullman loaf I can never seem to find. Bechi

I bought a bunch of ballistic nylon pieces from Andiamo over twenty years ago that are still in excellent shape; only cosmetic wear. However, I have since replaced them with ultra-lightweight Delsey Embleme polycarbonate hard side cases and only use the Andiamos for road trips because of airline weight restrictions. I would echo the previous poster's advice on weight. No large cases; you'll never stay under the weight limit, and definitely check the weight of the cases themselves.

Did a TA on the Spirit from Lisbon this past November and wouldn't want to repeat the experience of flying into the airport again! Would definitely look into flying in elsewhere a few days early. Anyone have any experience with other airports in the area?