gcornell

Hi. Wondering if anyone knows when Celebrity usually releases Japan cruise schedule for July 2025? Thank you

I don’t tip on the excursions unless the service was exceptional. I always tip restaurant wait staff in the US as they are not paid a fair wage. Not sure why tips would be expected if paid a fair wage.

I’ve yet to have them say no to any reasonable request.

For us it all depends on the business air prices on DD vs doing ourselves. For our Med cruise this year, we saved at least $10,000 by doing D2D and business class upgrade for 4 people. For our Iceland cruise next year, I did the P2P prepaid as flights aren’t pricey to Iceland from NY

From the Points Guy website which is my personal favorite for news and tips. https://thepointsguy.com/news/silver-nova-cruise-ship-debut/

100% agree. I always tell my friends and family considering SS don’t go by what you read here and the group on the unmentionable website which is even harsher. You will experience none of it on the actual cruise. If anything, I found everyone we met to be exceptionally friendly and welcoming and I travel with kids which is even more polarizing than the dress code. I’m here for the info but I wonder if either site helps or hurts their reputation and business

Interesting. They never locked them on our cruises. I throw in a load at 5:30am before the gym.

I purposely choose the rooms closest because we pack very light and do laundry every other day. Never an issue.

Sounds like something for everyone. Thanks for sharing

This happened to me as well about 4 years ago. Family of 4 trying to book an Antarctica cruise and every time I balked at the price he found additional discounts. However, I think those days are gone.

Nah. Don’t stress it’s vacation and you are paying a lot of $ not to stress and Blacklane has it all figured out. About an hour before scheduled pickup you will get an email and text message with the phone number of your driver. You can then call or text to figure out those details. Easy

One of my biggest concerns on any trip! Just got off the Spirit. We get up at 5:30am to hit the gym so there were no options for us as the Arts Cafe opened at 6. What we did is grab a coffee before bed, put in fridge and an ice coffee at wake up. Did the trick.

Sorry but I am not being pedantic about custom order sushi on the Spirit. Also, I confirmed with the hotel manager and the restaurant manager that it’s the same sushi except if you custom order. I’m glad it was different on the ships you were on.

I ran into the restaurant manager the next day and followed up. As always, SS was more than accommodating. He asked for a list of what we would like for lunch. We eat the basics. Had it ready for us on our return after an excursion. So while initially disappointed they came through again.

Yes. 30 days. It can be done by exception after 30 days if both SS and your new agent agree but the commission still goes to the CC so your new agent would be working for free. As I have said many times, the CC I previously used was really, really good at one thing… taking my deposit. Then it became painful to get any assistance.

Thanks All. Booked the Alda Hotel. Definitely pays to check the various sites. Sometimes booking direct is best. Other times using a certain online booking site and this time using a different popular one saved me 20% and much more favorable terms.

Currently on the Spirit. Butler went missing for several hours. He was found in an adjacent vacant cabin with the door locked from the inside when Guest Services attempted to move a couple having problems with their original cabin. Could explain why it took 2 days to get a few diet cokes in my fridge. 🤣 Seriously though the value added is declining IMHO.

Just finished lunch at Seishin on the Spirit. Very disappointing which is probably why only 1 other table was in use. Sushi is the exact same as La Terreza. Asked for a simple tuna/acovado roll and was denied as all the rolls are “pre made”. The sushi chef was simply cutting up and plating rolls from the kitchen. Also, the rolls were the type you would find at cheap sushi restaurants. 75%+ rice with a little piece of fish. What’s confusing is I asked the Hotel Director about this on the elevator the first day and he said each roll was made to order. Going to try to track him down before we leave.

It’s all true. Just boarded the Spirit Athens to Venice and by 1pm all prime chairs had towels/stuff on them. Reminds me of my pre silversea cruises. Anyway, boarding opened at 12pm on the dot, on the ship 10 min later and having lunch few min after that.

Thank you. Silver Spirit, July 4-14, 2024, Thanks for the tip

Hi. Flights and cruise are booked. Looking for a 1 night hotel close to the cruise departure port. Can anyone please advise which port silversea uses in Rekjavik? Thank you

SS admin is good at one thing.. taking deposits and payments very very quickly. I’m a control freak when it comes to travel so, for me, the system works.

It’s not much. About $3.75 all in per mile. I was 4 miles over and the charge was $15. You will get an email with a link 30 days prior to book your ride. It does the calculation, enter your CC and gets charged a few days before the ride.

Only if you want to tip twice. I don’t. “Tips and gratuities are already included in our rates, as well as all taxes, tolls, and fees. If a chauffeur requests any form of payment or advertises alternative services, please let us know by providing feedback after the ride.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not concerned with anyone else. In fact, I’m with my family and rarely pay attention to others, and would actually prefer to drive my imaginary Ferrari on a road filled with Hondas, Buicks and mini vans. 😜