zelker

19 minutes ago, Mahogany said:

Maybe that's a perk for a GRAND voyage.

Yes, it is and yes, we're booked for the full 90 day Grand Africa voyage.  @Borna Are you booked on the full thing or just a segment?

3 hours ago, Borna said:

I am registered for the 2024-2025 African cruise on Sojourn.  Many countries visited on the cruise require visas. 

Does Seabourn take care of the visas?

Or, is that responsibility on my shoulders?

thx

I was told when we put it on hold last week that Visas are taken care of.  And this is from the website (under Book and receive, first line, to the right) ...

21 hours ago, DAllenTCY said:

February 18th....Zaandam (14 night) and Koningsdam (35 night) cruises at the same pier.

David

actually the K’dam leaves on February 17th for the 35 day cruise, not the 18th

Yes, it quite clearly shows on the confirmation what you would owe should you cancel once you've put a deposit on something. So for example, if we would have gone forward with B2B 8 night and 28 night bookings, the deposit would have been $25pp per segment but the penalty for cancelling outside of 120 days would be $100pp per segment (because the "regular" deposit would have been $100pp per segment).  And had we booked it as one cruise for 36 nights, the deposit was still $25pp but the penalty for cancelling outside of 180 days would have been $1,000pp (because the "regular" deposit would have been $1,000pp).  

If you put down a deposit, you are agreeing to the T&C's, including penalties.

@TayanaLorna  We were just looking at summer of 2025 cruise(s) and were ready to put the $25pp deposit down, thinking that's all we'd be on the hook for but sadly, as you discovered, we would owe an additional $75pp for the shorter itineraries are an additional $975pp for 35+ day itineraries (which is what we were looking at).  So for now, we wait on putting a deposit on anything.  Viking's deposit and final payment policies are why we hesitate to book anything with them that's more than a few months out.

I know this is a really old thread but here goes ….

We’re considering booking the 90 day Africa on Sojourn next year.  We haven’t been on Seabourn for 6+ years and i was just reviewing some of the policies, including the current smoking policy.  I’m very sensitive to smoke and cannot believe they are allowing vaping/e-cigarette smoking in staterooms, and while I admit it’s not quite as bad as smelling cigarette smoke, it still bothers me.  
 

Question:  are we likely to smell fumes in our stateroom from neighbors who are vaping?

10 minutes ago, cruisr said:

I was just told by a Seabourn reservation agent that the person referred will not receive the shipboard credit until their 2nd cruise.  She said its a recent change.  That does not sound right.  Anybody hear this?  I am referring two new suites (5 people) to Seabourn.  I know I get the referee credit on my next cruise but it makes no sense my referred friends don’t get it on their first cruise.

That does not sound right ... here's the current info from the website (literally just checked it), which matches what we all expect it to be:  Seabourn Referral Program

By any chance has anyone stayed in 3066?  Curious if we will hear noise from the two restrooms below or smell fumes from the beauty salon.  And finally, we’re considering a Longitudinal from Ushuaia to Milwaukee and wonder if being that far back we’ll likely feel more motion or vibration.  Thx.

56 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

For a comparison, take a look at the Sum23 promotion going on now. All the legs of the Sept-Nov repositioning/WC are now on sale. The Antartica segment is sold out so there is that. It’s anyone’s guess what will happen next year. Part of the promotion might have been driven by the Polaris accident causing the cruise to be undersold. Just a SWAG on my part.

Not all segments for the one we want (on Octantis) are available so there's that, too.  Too much effort to try to figure it out (I HATE Viking's website, it's so NOT user-friendly). 

Oh well, can't take it with us, right?  😉

11 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Typically the discounts are on the legs of the WC. As the date gets closer the entire cruise might go on sale. It’s a roll of the dice.

If that's the case, the trade-off would be losing a lot of perks.  Guess I'll break them apart and take a look to compare.  Thx. 

By any chance, has anyone run across a promo code that works on a Longitudinal World Cruise (other than EBD, which does nothing)?  We're seriously considering V (Buenos Aires to Milwaukee, sails February 2025) ... but maybe they don't offer discounts on the World Cruises? Thx.

Someone on our roll call just posted about this group being onboard Koningsdam for the December 21st holiday cruise -

Luau Out - Holiday Bridge Cruise (larryco.com)

50 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

The 4/5 star mariner perk - a single day pass to the thermal suite did result in miscommunications between the spa staff and the front desk -guest relations. Print out your list of Mariner perks and be prepared for any possible confusion, if this still exists.  

 

Spa staff claimed it was available only on port days, or only for a few hours - both not true. Guest relations  confirmed it was one full day pass, with no restrictions.

Just so there's no confusion, the free day pass is only for 5* Mariners.

Also, I don't use mine so have been allowed to let DH use it as well as his own.  YMMV.

On 5/11/2023 at 9:30 AM, cruising Katie said:

I spent 69 days on the Noordam in a Signature suite on deck 8.  To say that I got used to the noises from above would be a lie.  Early morning clatter of dishs/glasses, chairs being pulled out and in.  The evenings were just as bad with trolleys back and forth.  I tried to change suites but all was booked.  I just learned to live with it.  I put the tv on a little loader and the music station.  Never will go on that deck again.  

Just this year we've spent 18 days on Volendam on Deck 7 in a Neptune and then another 30 days on Zuiderdam in a Signature Suite on Deck 8 - both times directly under the Lido ... and we concur 100% with what you wrote.  We also tried, unsuccessfully, to switch the day we boarded and a couple times throughout the cruise.  We shouldn't have to learn to "live with it".  We'll never book a cabin under the Lido deck on any ship again. 

2 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

FWIW, the thermal spa pass for my upcoming 17 day cruise was $299.

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

That's the equivalent of getting 3 days free. 😊 That's the same price I'm seeing on my upcoming 14 day and 16 day cruises.

Enjoy!

Buyer beware … we prepaid for what we thought was for an entire 18 day cruise (it said 14-18 days online and I even called HAL to confirm and was told it was) but when we got on the ship, the spa told us it was only for 14 days and wouldn’t budge.  The Neptune concierge even tried on our behalf.  Ultimately we asked for a refund because it pissed us off.  Not a good way to start a cruise.  YMMV.

2 hours ago, ris_scot said:

When I log in (in the UK), the labour day offer appears for about 2 seconds and then disappears and is not available for me to search.  This is frustrating that yet again HAL are being selective about which nationalities are made the same offers.

 

Possibly because Labor Day is a national holiday celebrated in the US and not in the UK?

2 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

Some how I missed the $1 deposit offer, which I would have used. So I've been waiting for the annual Labor Day sale. But the  $99 non-refundable - for a cruise a year from now- isn't attractive, especially with inflation and gas prices ($5.87 for regular).  Why would I send $99 to HAL, let them use my money, and risk not getting it back ? I can't do it....it's just not a good investment right now. 

   

IMHO, it's a worthless promo. 

Per info on the postcard, go to this link -

Labor Day Sale (viking.com)

Received a post card today for Labor Day Sale (August 29 - September 10) ... code LD23

Not sure if it's only for expedition cruises but I always try all the codes on any cruises we're looking at since they often work for several.

Correction!

Sorry, I was confusing SAN with SEA.  The earliest FlightEase flight out of San Diego is 11:30.

Just now, FlaMariner said:

 

I follow the guidance given by Flight Ease even when I book my own air.  I figure they have the experience and it is not their first rodeo.  

Us, too, which is why I posted that first.  But some people like to take chances. 🤷‍♀️

41 minutes ago, Cruiz'nBaers said:

I know this has probably been asked many times before, but, please indulge me.  I am trying to book a flight on our preferred airline for a return trip home after our cruise from San Diego.  Is 10:25AM too early to comfortably catch? It is the only direct flight that would get us home before 11:30PM.  Thanks for your help.

The earliest flight you can book on FlightEase is 11:00AM. 

Some things to consider if you want to go for it - are you the only ship in that day?  Is it over a holiday?  Do you have TSA precheck?  Also, are you able to carry your own luggage off?  So theoretically in a perfect scenario, you're the first people off the ship, grab a taxi and are at the airport in 10-15 minutes.  But things can and do happen through no fault of the cruise line and disembarkation can get delayed. 

You know the old saying - caveat emptor.  

4 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Anyone have luck with the $99 deposit? It's not looking like this is applied to any of the longer voyages.

From the same 3rd Party TA's site (bolding is not mine) -

• Reduced Deposit is a reduced per-person booking deposit available only for 1st/2nd guests in a stateroom on new bookings for select cruises and cruisetours booked outside of the final payment date.
• Applies only to full deposits and shall not further reduce already reduced deposits.
• Discount already reflected on listed/advertised deposits.
• Balance is due on final payment of the booking.
• Offer is available only on eligible cruises and cruisetours unless sold out or otherwise withdrawn.
• Reduced Deposit is non-refundable.
• A deposit is required for all stateroom guests and the amount of deposit varies, even if deposit is reduced per Offer.

This is what I found on a 3rd party TA website:

• To celebrate Labor Day, Holland America is offering guests a deal that includes up to 45% off cruise fares, up to $150 Onboard Credit per person (up to $300 per stateroom), and a low $99 Reduced Deposit (for sailings outside of final payment).
• Booking Window
• Offer applies to new bookings only made August 25 - September 11, 2023.

And there are a whole lot of caveats on what it IS and what it is NOT combinable with ... the usual.

29 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Interesting question. The Octantis 360 tour ( https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/content/expeditions-360/start.html ) confirms that the Zodiacs, sub and kayaks are stored aft in the Hangar, so it's not them, if you're concerned about noise.

 

The deck plan is not informative, but I would expect the galley to be aft of the restaurant and Manfredi's. So, my bet would be crew quarters / space  - but I've not been aboard so it's a pure guess. Hopefully a past pax will know the answer. 🍺🥌

3 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

The area is not public and if you look at a picture of the ship it has portholes. My guess is also crew quarters.

Saw the portholes and was guessing crew quarters as well but still, would be nice to know before we book a room over that area for 68 days.  Hoping someone who’s been in one of the N2 cabins will chime in regarding noise, or lack thereof.