taxatty

As we all know, this "too bad" rule is basically universal in the industry. You should get some port fees refunded, but that's about it. Anything more is up to the largesse of the cruise line, as far as it's concerned.

If you don't need lie-flat seats to sleep and otherwise be comfortable on an 8 hour + flight, or because AA dynamic pricing business redemptions now often require a ridiculous number of miles unless you are very patient, get lucky and find something through Expert Flyer alerts or another method (another reason to only book one-way AA award flights), PE can be the sweet spot on AA if you use FF points. We've flown AA (and BA) PE using FF points several times across the ponds, but it's often 80-100% or more than economy if you pay in cash, which isn't so great. Sometimes you can book a good one-way AA PE cash deal within a few weeks of the flight, as we found once AKL-DFW-MIA.

If you'll ever use them again, as mentioned above, buy the boots for cheaper than renting. You can stuff them full of socks, underwear and other clothes so they are more efficient to pack than you'd think.

If you cancel an AA award trip using miles on a partner airline such as Qantas or BA, it can take a while for the miles and cash fees to be refunded--if a week has gone by and you haven't received the refund, calling AA is in order. In contrast, if you cancel an AA award trip using AA miles, I've always had the miles redeposited within an hour, with the credit card cash refunds coming in a few days or less.

On AA international flights booked through SS, upgrading with miles + cash was possible, but it took three calls to AA before finding an AAgent that was willing to put us on the upgrade waitlist, after being told by the first two that it couldn't be done. The initial upgrade was at the gate, and the return was by email two days before leaving. We also have AA status, which may have helped.

Food porn at its finest.

We do many cruises out of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale as we live relatively close to both ports. Most people we speak with on the ships only seem to have flown in for the cruise, many only a day early at most, and then are catching flights out the afternoon of disembarkation day. Florida just happens to be where they get on and off the ship. My guess is that Disney, Universal, South Beach and the other major Florida attractions probably are seeing more of a downturn in traffic than cruise ships.

You can purchase door-to-door without flights and keep the pre and post cruise hotels along with (if you want them) the Blacklane transfers.

The same result appears to apply to pre and post cruise land excursions. We have paid between 40-60% of what the cruise lines wanted for the same types and quality of accommodations, transportation, etc. for land excursions in Europe and Southeast Asia. You just need to have a bit of DIY spirit.

Thank you--I've always wondered how this distinction applied.

No effect on the Cloud, at least for now.

We also greatly enjoyed the Rocky Mountaineer train--we went from Banff to Vancouver, with the overnight stop in Kamloops at a decent 3* hotel. The trip was extraordinarily scenic except for the last few hours into Vancouver.

There should be an SS service desk in the lobby of the hotel starting the morning before the cruise--you could always ask there upon arrival, and if you don't like what you hear, you could always then book a (likely cheaper) taxi or other transportation to the ship through the hotel concierge.

Barbara M. has commented on another social media website that "Silver Nova will be ready on August 14th and she is the most gorgeous ship you will ever see...Crew is working hard to finish up the last touches.. but they are minor last touches."

We just brought bottles of wine and some olive oil home from Australia after our SS cruise there using something like this- https://www.amazon.com/Vinolock-Reusable-Wine-Bottle-Protector/dp/B019HN0W30/ref=sr_1_6?crid=TTZQN2TPI5S6&keywords=wine+bubble+bags&qid=1691022009&sprefix=wine+bubble+bags%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-6. These went into a fold-up 60L duffle bag similar to this one as checked luggage, surrounded by some clothes and souvenirs as extra padding. https://www.rei.com/product/195807/rei-co-op-roadtripper-60-duffel. We bring the duffle bag empty in its pouch and it usually goes home full. We've now used this packing system several times without losing a drop.

IF you can get one. We tried for almost a year before our recent Adelaide to Darwin Ghan trip and a Platinum cabin never became available. You may have a better chance at a Platinum Cabin by buying the travel package you're considering. The extra expense is substantial.

Maybe SS could start by simply providing a decent, properly-cooked hamburger--I agree with others here that it doesn't based upon my SS experiences--but now there would probably be a $25 upcharge.

We just took The Ghan train in the opposite direction (Adelaide to Darwin) to get to our Darwin SS Kimberley cruise--it was a very worthwhile experience with excellent food and service and good excursions. The Darwin to Adelaide return trip adds an extra day and night that as shown on the map includes a stop at the Coober Pedy opal mines. Whether you like it or not depends in part upon how well you sleep on trains--we did better than expected.

This is a creative SS method for eating up (pun intended) a lot of the current $1000 per cabin OBC promotion for certain cruises.

We separately booked an extra two nights at a different SS-pre-cruise hotel and received an upgraded room. Upon request, as with canderson, the hotel allowed us to stay in the upgraded room for the third night for no additional charge--maybe you could do the same thing at the Athens hotel.

I wouldn't do this, however, if you plan on taking more luggage than you can personally carry or roll on a train.

Bingo!

You may also wish to consider taking the AA nonstop CLT-MAD flight, followed by what have become numerous, relatively cheap and fast trains from Madrid to Barcelona--it might work out better for you.

A belated follow-up--we just got home from Australia. We were lucky enough to see both the Horizontal Falls and Montgomery Reef during a spring tide. The "Falls" weren't high in height, either in the morning (incoming) or afternoon (outgoing) but were quite powerful. We were taken in the Zodiacs to see the effects of both tides. The SS Zodiacs weren't allowed to go through them when the tide is going in or out--only the local concessionaire's speed boats, which our Expedition Leader said that SS can't book. Sorry for the duplications below--CC isn't the easiest place to upload files. C0087.MP4 C0081.MP4 Montgomery Reef was more impressive to us--SS got us off the ship starting at 6:00 AM shortly before sunrise to catch them at the optimal "water pouring off a table" time. We also saw some large turtles there, followed by a nice surprise from the crew at the end which I won't divulge. C0087.MP4 C0087.MP4 C0087.MP4 C0085.MP4 After our Kimberley cruise, we spent disembarkation day enjoying Darwin, then took an evening flight back to our Australia starting point of Adelaide where we went on an escorted visit of several excellent McLaren Vale wineries. We finished our trip by flying to Melbourne, renting a car to spend two days sightseeing and hiking to various lighthouses and waterfalls on the spectacular Great Ocean Road, ending with four days in Melbourne--all very worthwhile. If you're flying many hours to get there, do try to explore more of that vast country than you can view in nine-hour shore excursions.

From our SS pre-cruise documents-- PRE-EMBARKATION TESTING REQUIREMENTS Guests Embarkation Testing Requirements All embarking fully vaccinated or up-to-date guests must hold proof of a valid PCR negative test result performed within 48 hours of embarkation OR a valid Antigen negative test result performed within 24 hours of embarkation. • The PCR test must be administered by a laboratory. • The Antigen test can either be performed by a third party, i.e. laboratory, pharmacy, telehealth advisor OR guests can perform a self-test at home where they must take a photograph of the negative result with a time stamp. (Note--this is what we did with a $12 test kit for two persons.) • If guests choose to have a PCR or an Antigen test by a third party, the certificate must contain the guest’s name (as shown on the cruise ticket), the date of the test, and the result. You must provide digital or printed proof upon embarkation. Unvaccinated Guest Testing Requirements Unvaccinated Guests (we only accept unvaccinated individuals from 0 to 11 years old) must present a valid Antigen or PCR negative test result performed within 24 hours of embarkation: • The PCR test must be administered by a laboratory. • The Antigen test can either be performed by a third party, i.e. laboratory, pharmacy, telehealth advisor OR guests can perform a self-test at home where they must take a photograph of the negative result with a time stamp. • If guests choose to have a PCR or an Antigen test by a third party, the certificate must contain the guest’s name (as shown on the cruise ticket), the date of the test, and the result. You must provide digital or printed proof upon embarkation. • PLEASE NOTE: All guests aged from 0 to 11 years old must complete a Covid-19 test. Silversea will NOT be providing pier-side testing for guests; as such, it is imperative that you arrive to the pier with your individual negative test result. If you arrive for embarkation without a valid negative test result, you will be denied boarding Pre-Arrival Testing Option • The Antigen test may be administered by a verified third party, either a laboratory or pharmacy OR a self-test at home, verified by a third party (telehealth provider, pharmacy or laboratory). The Certificate must contain the guest's name (as shown on the cruise ticket), as well as date of test, and result. You must provide a digital or printed proof upon embarkation. • Whilst approved self-test kits are now readily available at pharmacies and drugstore chains, Silversea is pleased to make them available for order pre-cruise. We suggest that you order them at least one full week in advance of your sailing. These tests allow you to complete your pre-cruise test at home, or in any place of your choosing, with the help of live video supervision by a Certified Testing Guide. Your results are typically ready in about 15 minutes. Please click here to order your home self-test kit. For guests participating in a Pre-cruise Land Programme, Silversea will provide necessary testing if required.