cruiseej

I don't think anyone would criticize anyone for not bringing a tux on a Seaborn cruise. A dark suit fits within the cruise line's suggested attire for formal optional nights, and as others have noted, even a nice sport coat will suffice. On warm climate cruises, like the Caribbean or the Med in summer, there are even fewer tuxes and suits, and more sport coats; on a holiday cruise at Christmas and New Years, there will be more tuxes, but it's still not required nor worn by everyone. Like Mr. SLSD, I find a sport jacket and suit provide me versatile options for many nights, and because of the weight limit of two suitcases, I do not also pack a tux. But for people who have a tux, who like to dress up and wear it, and who don't have a luggage weight problem, it's of course fine to bring and wear; it's just not expected for all men to be wearing a tux.

No, that's actually not what he said. He explained that he didn't want to continue posting links to his videos here because he knew some of their opinions about Seabourn would ruffle the feathers of Seabourn loyalists, and he didn't want to deal with negativity about his comments or have to justify or explain them. But he did not did not ask people to stop any discussion they might want to have. That said, he probably won't post further in this thread, so the conclusion/summary @SLSD was looking for will probably only be revealed in the final video of their series on their cruise, over on their YouTube channel.

Since the thread post have been drifting, I wanted to return to the original poster's question. Summing up the replies you've received here, and our own experience, the answer is that if you want to wear a tux, you will not feel out of place, and if you want to wear a suit instead, you won't feel out of place. I agree with the posters above who estimated that 25% (or fewer in the Caribbean) of men will be wearing a tux.

Yes, if you have 100 or more shares of CCL stock, you can get a small onboard credit. See this web page for details: i'v e I've received the credit for two short Seabourn cruises in the past year. Based on the current stock price, we would have to spend about $100,000 on additional cruises to receive enough credits for me to break even on my stock purchase! 🤣😬😢

The Wind's first post-renovation cruise is scheduled for May 28 from Piraeus (Athens). It's been anchored in Souda, Crete until late last week. It's still docked in Kusadasi today, and is expected back in Souda later this week. I'm guessing the ship is in a shakedown/training/provisioning phase getting the ship and crew ready to serve passengers at the end of next week.

As noted above, custom air & deviations used to be handled starting about 270 days before embarkation. Our travel agent has told us they have shortened this to 160-200 days before embarkation. (Last year, before our cruise was canceled, they booked our flight at right around 270 days. We rescheduled to a mid-December cruise from Puerto Williams, but Silversea won't book our flights yet; we're now about 220 days out. I'm crossing my fingers that seats will still exist on our preferred flights when they are willing to look at our requests and book us!) As for airlines they contract with, I would guess it's not possible to say with certainty for 2024, since there is so much in flux with airlines these days.

@SLSD You're asking to see the epilogue before you've finished the book! 😉 I think they indicated that they would share those thoughts at the end. No good storyteller wants to jump to the end prematurely.

I think what they're telling you is that they don't have contracted seats available on the flight you're asking for. So they're giving you a price quote for switching to your desired flight which they would be purchasing basically at retail (perhaps minus a little bit of discount). I don't know if you've mentioned where this flight is from/to, but $2,600 per person for one way does seem pretty pricey. Although… overseas business class roundtrips can easily price out in the $5,000 range nowadays, so it may not be far out of line, unfortunately. I agree with the post above about pricing the flight(s) on your own, to see how the cost would compare if you were to book on your own and take an air credit from SS.

Not necessarily. There are some cruises departing from the Marghera industrial port on the mainland side of the causeway into Venice. They just don't have enough capacity there for all the cruise ships scheduled this year. Seabourn may have some of those slots next year, and there may be more capacity there by next year.

We've been on two cruises in the Caribbean (both on Seabourn) in the past year, and we had multiple excursions canceled due to "operational reasons." (Not to mention some ports canceled or changed, with the ebb and flow of Covid cases.) I think the thing to keep in mind is that the excursions operators on Caribbean islands are mostly small companies, and many have had a wide variety of problems coping with the Covid crisis and trying to stay in operation. They may fail to get whatever certification their government requires for operating tours if they don't have enough vaccinated workers, or enough workers overall. Or due to staffing issues, they may have limited vehicles, hours or days of operation. And if there are other, larger cruise ships in port on the same day, a smaller ship like Silversea's or Seabourn's may get bumped if there are limited resources. I don't know if conditions in the world will be the same by November, but from our experiences on cruises last October and this March, you should expect that for a cruise in the Caribbean (especially before peak season), there's a good likelihood one or more ports on your cruise might be changed and/or that one or more excursions might be canceled or changed.

You can still take the glamorous boat transfer from the hotel in Venice... to the bus to Ravenna! 😉

Some insurance companies will cover pre-existing conditions as long as the policy is purchased prior to final payment, not initial booking. I know this is the case with the Generali (formerly CSA) policy that our travel agent recommends over what the cruise lines offer. I'd also note that there can be differences in policies between what you can buy on the insurance company's website as a consumer and what a travel agent can sell. In particular with the Generali/CSA policies, the travel agent can sell us a "Freestyle" plan which does include pre-existing conditions if purchased at the time of final payment, but the consumer "Preferred" and "Premium" plans do not offer this.

I received the same survey. In part of my comments, I said they should avoid making the mistakes Silversea has made with their D2D air inclusive pricing! If a cruise line wants to offer air or private transfers or a pre-cruise hotel night in one easy price for customers who want to keep things clean and simple, that could be fine. But the same add-ons shouldn't cost more as the suite cost goes up (as they do with SS pricing). And if they raise the price by, say $200 per person to offer home-to-airport-and-back car service, then refund $200 if there service is not available/desired/used (rather than adding $200 to the price and then refunding $100 if not used). And hopefully the other line is not even thinking about the onerous non-refundable discount. Silversea could fix their errors by having a cruise-only price (for all, not just a few, cruises) and an "all-inclusive" (aka Door-to-Door) price which simply bundles in the three add ons of car service, air, and hotel. The price they build in for the hotel should be the same whether the customer is in a basic Vista suite or a Deluxe Veranda, and even high-level suites (unless they put those people in a fancier hotel). The price they build in for the car service should be the average cost for providing that service, plus a reasonable markup to cover their overhead in managing that service. The price for air should be based on their average contracted prices for the destination. If that were the case, customers could evaluate: (a) you might be able to find a flight or hotel cheaper, and you could opt out if you wish; (b) you might find Silversea's contracted rates are better than you can find on my own; or (c) you might prefer the simplicity of one-stop-shopping and having Silversea manage all the details, even if it's a bit more expensive. But it could all be simple and transparent and logical, rather than the mess they've created with the current D2D versus P2P pricing.

Different? I'm sure. A less-positive experience? Okay. "Pain and suffering" for trying Seabourn? Yikes! Unless someone was held in the brig and restricted to bread (and not the good bread) and water, I can't imagine it has been that bad for anyone. 😉

Is your iPhone up to date with the current iOS?

Interesting point. So perhaps they should offer the test to anyone who wants one — either at their cost or charging the passenger — and they could state that if someone tests positive at the end of a cruise, the cruise line will not be responsible for any costs associated with hotel stays or changes in air flights. At the beginning of the resumption of cruising last summer, it seems all the cruise lines took on the expense of putting g customers in hotels and paying for their air travel changes, in addition to giving them cruise credit for all or the part of the cruise they missed in quarantine. They needed to do that to give customers confidence in traveling and cruising. As we move into a time where Covid will continue to be with us as travel normalizes, perhaps it's time to change those rules. For instance, it makes sense that some cruise lines now say you must get a negative test result before leaving home/traveling to the port, to reduce the chances of someone showing up at the pier and then testing positive. Why should the cruise line be responsible for all the costs of hotel quarantine and rebooked air if someone tests positive when they disembark; couldn't that responsibility be on the customer — or more likely, their travel insurance? For 99%+ of passengers, this would allow them to be tested on the ship before flying home; for the <1% who test positive, nothing would change except that they'd rely on their travel insurance rather than the cruise line for any added expenses. Could that fly?

Huh? I don't think that I've ever said I disagree with Silversea dress code or policies. I think all I've said in the past is that my personal preference would be to not need to pack the extra clothing for a single formal night versus wearing nice pants, sport coat and tie. But I've never railed against the existing policy. Is this about me? Where did I chastise anyone? @Stumblefoot I've clearly ticked you off in some of my posts on this forum, because you've recently written several sharp rebukes to my posts. I honestly don't think I've written anything offensive, negative, or controversial, but you clearly see things differently. I'm sorry I continue to offend you. I think I'll aim to cut down my participation on this forum; I've always participated to share information and to share in the fun (and occasional pains) of cruising, but if I'm being told my posts are problematic repeatedly, perhaps I need to refrain from participating as I've enjoyed doing in the past. 🤣 Very interesting that the website has one definition and Chronicles has another (both published by Silversea) and the Facebook Silversea forum (not official) has a third. In any case, all I was trying to comment on originally was that when someone says a man might wear a "jacket and tie", as you say, it crosses a red line and brings objections that the dress code requires a dark suit or tux, and that a jacket and tie is actually not sufficient for formal night, but it is agreed that for a woman, "a dressy pair of slacks and nice top" is absolutely acceptable. It's not a big deal, and to whatever degree I have ruffled anyone's feathers in commenting that I found this amusing, I'm sorry. I will do my best to not comment on any post mentioning dress again!

@jpalbny First, I wasn't suggesting anyone was violating the rules; I was just noting that it seems funny to me that there are significantly different standards of "formal" for men and women. Second, since you've posted the definition of formalwear which I believe is from this forum's files, I'd just note that it does not agree with what's posted on the Silversea website. The image you shared shows: But on Silversea.com, in the section on packing clothing for a cruise, is what I assume is the official definition of formal clothing: Note that it does not mention "elegant pants or tops" there. I think Lois stated well what works for her, and is widely accepted as acceptable for women. "A dressy pair of slacks and nice top" doesn't really equate with true "formalwear" for women, but as I see it, everyone looks wonderful and I don't think anyone complains. But if someone suggests that a man might wear nice dress pants and a sport jacket, they're scolded for not respecting/following the rules (and even, by some, for negatively impacting their experience on formal nights). I just find these differing standards, along with the amount they're discussed, dissected and debated, amusing. 🙂

I'm wondering if anyone — particularly folks on the Odyssey now — have been able to find out from officers in the know why Seabourn isn't offering testing prior to disembarkation. Seabourn has been doing end-of-cruise testing on the Odyssey for nearly a year now, so it's obviously not something they can't handle. Even if they decided to charge customers rather than doing it for free, most people would be happy to pay rather than to have the stress of trying to figure out a way to get tested on their own. So if Seabourn has the staff and technology to do it, and if they could do it at no cost to the company by charging passengers who need such a test, why aren't they offering it? It just seems strange to pull the plug on this service customers need in order to get home from a cruise.

I wanted to correct my previous post, which I typed too quickly from memory. Re-reading my most recent emails with my TA, she told me last month that while Silversea Air in the past started custom air bookings at 270 days in advance, they now do it only 200-160 days in advance. But she did state that even for her as a longtime luxury cruise TA, "it is not possible to speak with their air department; the only communication possible is through email."

I always find it amusing that in threads about formal nights and dress, the focus is almost always on meeting the men's clothing standard. If someone asks whether a man can skip wearing a tie, or wear a sport jacket instead of a dark suit, those who are fans of formal nights sometimes chastise them for not conforming to the rules, and/or direct them to eat outdoors at the Grill or in their suite. But as Lois writes here: women need not wear "formal" clothing (e.g. fancy dresses or gowns), just something nice so they feel appropriate. I'm not complaining, and definitely not trying to start a debate about whether the dress code should or shouldn't be changed — I'm just noting the difference between the strong reactions to what men do/don't need to wear and the answers to the same questions for women. It always cracks me up. 🙂

I've found there are always other beers aboard, but in smaller quantities — so what's available one week may vary from the next, and for craft and local beers, it's likely to vary from bar to bar on the ship.

You can ask once you're aboard, in Seabourn Square, if you sign up for the premium Stream Internet and determine you don't need it/don't like it/don't find it makes enough difference, can they cancel it for you. (Don't mention the match you want to watch! 😉 ) The worst they can do is say no.

But is any cruise line doing this? I'm not saying that to defend Seabourn, I'm just aware of reading similar comments/complaints by passengers on a number of cruise line forums. A few cases of Covid on any ship is now commonplace.

@rkacruiser I ink your information or past experience is out of date. Our travel agent, who is a longtime experienced top seller with Silversea, recently told me that they can no longer call the Silversea air department at all; all communication is via email. We are trying to pay the deviation fee to secure flights for our Antarctica cruise in December. Where they would previously book beginning about 270 days in advance, we've been informed that they will now only do so starting at 160 days in advance, so we're still waiting.