Capri73

The only (relatively) easy way to fly to Europe is the direct British Airways flight to London. Otherwise you need to connect through somewhere like Dallas or Chicago.

 

We also have a beach house in Massachusetts so, for this next cruise, we are leaving from Boston with Aer Lingus to Dublin and then Aer Lingus down to Barcelona.

 

We chose Aer Lingus for two reasons. First is that their Business Class fare was very reasonably priced and the second is, coming home, we clear US immigration in Dublin.

Thanks.We used BA in Aug but for our next trip getting to Greece is a real pain.

Enjoy your trip.

Hi Neighbor,

Off topic but being relatively new to Az we find flying to Europe a challenge.Have you found an easy way or I should say not as difficult.

I hope I have not asked you this before.

Thanks

We just took a SS trip after 10yrs away. Been loyal to SB ever since.The itinerary is why we choose SS.I will not go into the ship or the trip itself,not the right thread.

I will tell you why I tried to use the laundry.I sent 4 items to be washed or cleaned.My white sweater came back yellow. The other items were also not done right.I think one was.After that I was not going to send anything.

Back to SB where I have free laundry and it is always done perfectly.

We have done this for years.They really appreciate it.

The difference is the Wind has several laundry rooms. Seabourn has 4 washers/dryers to serve up to 480 people. It can be a war zone. One of very few areas that SB fails. No problem on the new SB ships.....there will be zero.

No we just got off the Wind 1 room and only 3 machines for the entire ship.2 were not working,

Lovely.We just got off the Silversea Wind and it was nasty.Two machines out of 3 were not working,people were lined up in the hall not happy and no drinks.

I use the $50.00 bag of SB but Silversea did not have that option.

Thanks so much.Did you get a private car to the pier or will a cab do?

Now if I could find an easy way to fly from Az we would be all set.

Any Hotel recommendations.

We returned yesterday from exactly the same itinerary. All the ports except Rhodes were tender ports. Know some people do not like these but to us it usually indicates a more non spoilt island. The gem on this cruise to us was Megisti. No excursions there, a tiny place but we thought beautiful. Patmos we did the St John's Monastery excursion. Because I am disabled on Rhodes we did the panoramic drive round the island. Paphos was also a great day. A lovely drive up into the hills to a monastery with wine tasting, and on the way back drinks and Greek 'donuts' in a little village with a textile museum and workshop. If you have not been before to Santorini do not think you need an excursion - just go up on the cable car and wander around. We left there much later in the evening and dinner on the Colonade restaurant balcony at the back of the ship looking at the lights of Santorini was amazing. Spetses was probably our least liked island, but mainly because I could not get very far over cobbles with my rollator.

We are doing this trip next year on the Odyssey.Did you stay in a hotel prior to the cruise?If so which one?Did you get a taxi to the pier ?

Thank you

No it was in the main dining room.

Do not worry too much about formal night.We just got off the Wind for an 11 night cruise,Two formal nights.We saw men in a sports jacket and t shirt under.Jeans with a sports jacket,The theme was if you had a sports jacket on you were let in.Women did seem to dress nicer but still no real formal attire.

Thank you for your insight.

 

I'm looking forward to the refurb that the ship is having right before I board.

 

Since I'm traveling solo the bathroom shouldn't be an issue. I've found the those cruising on SS are very friendly and I've enjoyed my cruises. You're right about the food it is a personal issue, but was curious how a cruise that is a wine and gourmet theme is different.

 

BTW how was the entertainment?

We found it enjoyable. Not New York theatre but ok.They have one show a night at 10 pm.Sometimes we found it a little late due to what we were doing that day.

We just got off the Wind last Friday. She will be in better shape for you. As far as activity bring plenty of books. It is a small ship but friendly people to talk to are always available. We do not require a lot of activity so we were fine. The bathroom is the smallest we have ever seen. We really had an issue with this.

Staff are great, food is a personal issue. We found the Main Dining room food not for us we preferred the Italian restaurant.

SS has slipped in quality in our opinion for this last cruise.

Enjoy if you have any questions I would be happy to answer.

Thank you.

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if SS still provides shuttles into towns too far to walk?

We are trying to decide if we will need private transfers into Porto Portugal.

Thank you in advance.

We will be on the Wind in 2 weeks. As soon as final payment was made I was able to book excursions. Usually do not do this but wanted to be sure we got to see Normandy Beach.

I went to My Silversea and found all the information needed. Prices, times, and details about the tour. This was in the same box that had dinner reservations.

Hope this helps.

We used Friends in France. They were great.

11:30 is tight I would stay over.You cannot count on the traffic.

Perfect,cannot add.

Even when you follow up it does not always happen. We were told to be at the MDR at 9am.Waited and waited ,finally someone from the restaurant came to us and asked what we were waiting for. We said shopping with the Chef. She said they left at 8am.We had confirmed the night before at dinner. He had it wrong.

It has been a few years but our last experience was fabulous. We had room service for breakfast for our entire 14 nights. Our last morning we did not put our order in believing that they did not do room service. A knock at the door the morning we were leaving. "Are you OK" do you want your usual breakfast? Yes but did not think it was available. This is all before we had a butler.

We are returning to SS this Aug. Have been loyal to SB but the smoking issues has gotten to us.

We are looking forward to a wonderful trip plus room service.

We read Rick Steve's books. He recommended a driver in Sorrento and Amalfi. We used both and they were excellent. I unfortunely cannot remember the names but get his books wealth of information.

We thought the Wind was in great shape! Had a fabulous cruise on her. Probably the best food we have had on any cruise in the past few years (including cruises on the Seabourn Sojourn, QM2 Queens Grill and the Shadow). The complimentary wine was uniformly drinkable and sometimes quite good. We noticed a bit of wear and tear in carpets, etc but overall thought the ship was in great shape. Despite recent reports we had no issues w/ the AC even though it was very hot and sunny for most of our Caribbean cruise.

Thanks so much.

WOW! We have been on numerous SB cruises and none of what you have been told is allowed. Yes SS is more formal but I have never seen jeans,windbreakers,etc on any cruise we have been on.Our last cruise was May 2015 I cannot believe it has changed that much since then.

Thank you so much. This makes us feel so much better about our trip in Aug.The Wind has had so many negative reviews lately:) we were getting worried.

I guess no issues with air conditioning.

Smokers are in the minority too but they get to smoke on their verandahs. Wild children are in the minority too but when on board they get to disrupt other peoples' vacations. So those who want to have breakfast and lunch in the MDR, though in the minority, should be able to do so.

You are 100% right. We have had misbehaved children, smokers, etc. Nothing has been done about any. Talked to our agent from Canada,MD ,HOM ,etc, seems like SB is loosing it grip on what people want. We have never gone to breakfast, always have room service but not the point. We love SB but lately are starting to think outside the box. We have many perks so giving her up with be with sad thoughts.