frantic36

You're right they are wonderful fabrics but one does wonder about the environment and manufacture as opposed to some great modern textiles that are useful in hot climates. It is wise not to be close minded.

Aaahhh please don't. I'm not subscribing to the fraud principle described here but if people use the term woke as a derogatory term it puts my teeth on edge as it is so political. By the way I wear a lot of silk, cotton and linen, have solar panels on my house, etc.

It was a lovely place to visit but that was a few years ago. The intricate wood carvings of statues and the building itself .

If people have already visited Bangkok when last we visited we organised a taxi to The Sanctuary of Truth. This was in 2019 and we organised a taxi from the port. It is a fascinating all wooden massive temple in a park.

One of my fondest memories was staying for 4 nights at a boutique hotel on the outskirts of St Paul de Vence. It was wonderful to wander the streets in the morning and late afternoon when the day trippers had left. Your right about the wonderful artisan shops, I still have a pair of sandals I bought from there 6 years ago. We were lucky in that our hotel room had a terrace on a hill and so we could see the coastline from there. I've been to both and like you enjoyed Eze but prefer St Paul.

My TA who I have used for years is independent but works under an umbrella group comprised of many independents. She doesn't do airfares but has access to an air department within the group and can sometimes get special fares for airlines ie Singapore Airlines. It also helps as there is back up if she goes away though she does check her emails regularly even when away. Do they have a similar type of situation in the USA with independents grouped under an umbrella network?

What about the rest of the menu which had a lot of meat and in the case of Lobster Thermidor and even dover sole there was a lot of butter. The lobster Mac & cheese had a lot of cream and depending on the night either a decent amount or very small bits of lobster. I'm waiting for the reports of the new Solis as I won't get to try it till next year as my next cruises are on Pursuit and Regent Explorer.

Yes it was and held on a sea day just before we got to Sydney. I missed seeing it unfortunately so I can't tell you if this was the winning boat. But from my friend's description of the winner I think it might be.

Jo was the Sommelier from LA and will be there until Cairns. She is not employed full time with Seabourn but is doing contract work when needed. Phillipe is the Head Sommelier in TK and Jo would have him co-host the Sommelier lunches as he is also very knowledgeable. I think Kevinash will take over from Jo in Cairns.

Because many people, not all, were tired of the repeated menus from TK and wanted change. Also the TK contract was ending and since it soaked up a lot of budget from F&B it probably impacted other restaurants budgets. The last comment is speculation on my part. I am one glad of the change as I liked the ambience in TK but was bored with the menu as we sail frequently.

The timing was odd with her Q&A on Sojourn. It was done at lunchtime on the day we arrived in Sydney. Therefore most people already had other plans for the day so I think there were less then 30 passengers at the event when the ship was fairly full. I had lunch organised with friends that day and everyone else we knew on the sailing also missed it so no clue what was discussed.

It has been this way on Seabourn for many years now and as Mahogany said it is easy enough to transfer to OBC when onboard or wait to book onboard if it isn't a high priority. Seabourn is not Oceania and it's best not to expect the same.

Elegant jeans are quoted as allowed according to the website. I asked Handre who is now Corporate what Head Office interpret elegant jeans as. He replied "well cut and fitted dark jeans". I suggested that maybe they needed to describe that as some interpret baggy, creased, poor fitting jeans I would wear to my sister's farm as elegant. Actually I don't wear jeans like that anywhere. Sorry to be controversial. I have no issue with true elegant jeans.

Sean is the Bar Manager and he is excellent. He has been with Seabourn starting with small ships but it was the first time we sailed with him. He is very precise so he would know. There were many Americans on our cruise and only 10 Australians which surprised us. I’m not surprised with lower numbers on your section as Australia & New Zealand know it is wet season so less likely to sail in this region as a gamble. We have done it and lucked out so I hope you are as lucky. Had no rain in Sydney today which hopefully is a good sign for you.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise. We just disembarked after enjoying our segment from LA. The storm in Sydney yesterday was quite amazing especially the thunder and lightning. Friends joining the Odyssey had their flight delayed from Brisbane over 2 hours as a lightning strike damaged one of the tarmacs and caused electrical problems in one terminal.

Nyepi Day is always like this. I am surprised Viking or any cruise line isn't aware of this culturally significant day as it has always been this way. The tricky part is the date changes yearly according to lunar cycles.

I saw Fakarava as you did and loved it when we visited a few years ago and would love to do a return visit. We swam in the beautiful clear sea, visited the shell church and then went up the hill to a small resort and had lunch which gave us access to their infinity pool. It was wonderful

Not necessarily a cultural thing. My husband is Australian and is a private person and prefers not to be asked or give an answer to what he does. As others mention we prefer to discuss travel related topics like places we have been or want to go, food etc.

Thank you all for your reassurances. I will take the suggestions onboard as they sound sensible. Looking forward to trying Regent later this year. Currently onboard Sojourn with multiple sea days and have enjoyed lunch in the MDR most days. MDR food has a smaller menu but I can always find food I enjoy and there is the option to order something 24 hours in advance even for lunch. I must admit after Trivia finishes, in which there are almost 150 participants, the Colonnade gets extremely busy. We have gone to Colonnade twice in 2.5 weeks thankfully early and that's enough even though the food has been good. But from my experience on other luxury lines any buffet can be busy at lunch time.

So which is it? Easy to get tables for two or easier if you agree to share? My question is, Is it easy to get tables for two if you dine around 8pm?

I am not sure that is this case with Compass Rose as well? I just have often read this response of being prepared to share in all the restaurants which makes me wonder if they don't have many two tops.

We are trying Regent this October and are also late diners. On a few occasions we are fine to share with people we don't know But we much prefer to dine alone or with friends. I keep reading this need on Regent to be prepared to share and it does concern us.

I do like Westies but these boys are Japanese Spitz puppies which look the same as American Eskimo dogs. Sadly they passed a couple of years ago but I missed them so much I now have another boy the same. Our sons take good care of him when we travel.

As a fellow Australian I can confirm it is exactly as @cruiseej stated. The staff at Seabourn Australia are nice but there are quite a few new ones in the last year or so and they quote from the book and aren't familiar with how it works when actually on the ship. I'm on Sojourn at the moment so I can check for you they still do it this way. I do private tours so am not familiar with current practice but other friends tell me they do this for tours they absolutely want to pre-book so they don't miss out.

Beautiful picture and I am a bit envious. We are on a different cruise line in the Pacific heading to Hawaii and it has been grey and rocking and rolling for a few days now. The good news is the weather is getting warmer from LA and we can go ashore tomorrow.