Monday, September 16, 2019: Final Guest List

I have made the final payments for the trip and have closed the window for further additional guests. The final guest list is as follows:

• Segment 1: Fort Lauderdale to Buenos Aires
• Stephen H
• Segment 2: Buenos Aires to Valparaiso 
• Maria S
• Segment 3: Valparaiso to Papeete
• Maria S, Sarah B
• Segment 4: Papeete to Sydney
• Maria S, Sarah B
• Segment 5: Sydney to Singapore
• Maria S
• Segment 6: Singapore to Mumbai
• Maria S
• Segment 7: Mumbai to Rome
• David H
• Segment 8: Rome to Dublin
• Laura T, Diane H
• Segment 9: Dublin to Amsterdam
• Sarah B, Stephen H

We have given all the guest until the end of September to decide how much time they wish to spend both at the embarkation and the debarkation ports. Once this is decided, we can proceed with booking airline and hotel arrangements.

I have offered to provide business air to eveyone and one night's accomodations both at the ports of embarkation and debarkation. If anyone wants to stay longer, it is on their tab.

Here are the arrangements as of today:

Segment 1:

• Flight from IAD to FLL: January 5, 2020, United #6370
• Pre-embarkation night: January 5, 2020, stays with me in my hotel furnished by Silversea
• Post-debarkation night: January 27, 2020, Alvear Palace Hotel, Buenos Aires
• Flight from EZE to IAD: January 28, 2020, Avianca AV218/246

Segment 2:

• Flight from MIA to EZE: January 24, 2020, Avianca #AV217
• Pre-embarkation nights: January 24, 25, 26, 2020, Alvear Palace, Buenos Aires
• Post-debarkation nights: none
• Flight from Valparaiso to MIA: none 

Friday, May 24, 2019: Visa Update

Last week I followed the instructions that Silverseas had sent to Maxine for the visas I would need for the world cruise. There were four that they said I would need to apply for. I successfully applied for both the Brazilian and Australian visas but ran into problems on the Sri Lanka and India. Both of the later required that the visas be applied for within 90 days of visit. This would be after I had started the cruise so Maxine sent a note to Silverseas asking for guidance.

In the mean time, I got a message from VFS informing me that as of June 1, 2019, visas will no longer be required for Brazil. That was great, except I had already charge the visa application fee to my credit card and they would not cancel or refund. Hence, I got the worthless Brazilian visa for only $44.24.

While my credit card was charged for the Australian ETA application ($13.80US) , I have not received anything yet and when going on-line to check the status, they say they have no record of my application...even though they did charge me for it.

Not to worry however since, in the mean time, Maxine got a response from Silverseas saying that they would apply for all required visas and I did was stupid for following their previous instructions.

Whew, for only $58.04 wasted, I don't have to worry about visas anymore. I told Maxine this level of incompetence on the part of Silverseas is not a reassuring beginning.

Thursday, May 16, 2019: Guest Update and Visas

The latest in the guests for the world cruise. The last update was back in March. Since then, son Stephen has requested joining me on the first segment from Ft. Lauderdale to Buenos Aires. Friend Maria, has requested joining me on the second segment from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso, Chile. Here is the guest list as it stands today.

Before I took my April transatlantic crossing followed by the Portugal river cruise, Maxine had gotten a list of visa requirements from Silverseas.

Reading through it, there appears to be four countries that I will be responsible for obtaining a visa. These four countries are Brazil, Australia, Sri Lanka and India.

Today, I applied on-line for a Brazilian tourist visa  ($44.24USD) and an Australian Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA, $20AUD).

I tried to apply for both the Sri Lanka and India visas, but both countries required the applications to be within 90 days of arrival. We will dock in Columbo, Sri Lanka on April 13, 2020 and a few days later, in India. The 90 days prior to arrival will be in the second half of January, 2020, after the cruise begins.

I sent an email to Maxine asking her to find out if Silverseas has a recommendation on how to proceed.

Friday, February 22, 2019: Additional Guests

Over the past week, a lot has happened. First, Linko decided she could not join Laura on the Rome to Dublin segment. I also got a quotation from Maxine. For the first person to join me on a segment, there is no additional cruise ship cost. For the second person to join a segment, the cost would be $266/day for segments 4001 through 4006 and $253/day for segments 4007 through 4009.

I contacted Steve and Sarah and got them committed. Sarah will join me on the Valparaiso, Chile to Papeete, French Polynesia segment and both Stephen and Sarah will join me on the Dublin to Amsterdam segment. On Monday of this week, I sent a note to Maxine asking her to have Stephen and Sarah added along with Laura and Stephen Trout to the Rome to Dublin segment.

On Tuesday, Stephen Trout determined he could not make it. I sent a note out to everyone with the cost information and the fact that, at this time, Laura was the only person joining me on the Rome to Dublin segment and, if someone wished, they could join us.

Thus far, no one else has stepped up to claim any segments. This evening, Maxine called to say Stephen, Sarah and Laura have all been successfully added. They would go ahead and show a third person on the Rome to Dublin segment and add the proper name when we get it.

Maxine said she was interested in joining me on the Singapore to Mumbai segment. I told her to go ahead and book it.

Thursday, February 14, 2019: First Call

Yesterday, I got a call from Maxine. Among other things, she mentioned that if there were anyone who wanted to join me on the world cruise, we need to get the ball rolling to sign them up. She mentioned that others are finding that some of the segments are booked full. While my cabin will accommodate three guests, there is a maximum (382) guest count for the ship overall.

I put together an email to the kids and my brothers asking if anyone was interested. I attached a map of the route and a itinerary of the nine segments.  In the note, I suggested those who were interested would be responsible for air fare, optional insurance and other assorted fees. I also noted that, while I am not sure, I believe the first person to join me would be essentially without cost while a second person would be at a reduced cost compared to the regular rate.

The Silversea receipt is not as transparent as the other cruise lines with respect to the amount of supplement that a single travel is charged with. Seabourn, on the other hand, charges a 100% supplement for a single traveler. Therefore, someone could join me at no additional cost. A second guest to join me on a Seabourn cruise would be charged 50% of the normal dual occupancy rate. On the Seabourn Baltic cruise where both Laura and Megan are joining me, the cost of the cruise increased by only 25% over what I was going to pay traveling alone.

Yesterday evening, I got a reply from David. He said, while it was really too early to make a commitment, they might be interested in one of three segments: French Polynesia to Sydney, Rome to Dublin, Dublin to Amsterdam. I thanked him for the prompt response and mentioned that I have had verbal interest expressed on both the Rome to Dublin segment (Laura) and the Dublin to Amsterdam segment (Sarah). I told him I would give them a couple of days to put their requests into writing.

This morning, I got a reply from Stanley asking for details on the itinerary and also clarification on the costs. I forwarded to all the day-by-day itinerary. I also tried to explain the cost options to Stanley. Bottom line was that I would get Maxine to get a quote for any segments they were interested in attending.

Friday update:

Laura and Linko have committed to join me for the Rome to Dublin segment. I asked Maxine to get a quote and I also told her I have had "nibbles" on the Fort Lauderdale to Buenos Aires segment, the Papeete to Sydney segment and the Dublin to Amsterdam segment. Maxine responded that they were going to have to prorate the costs and would have it on Monday.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018: Be Careful What You Ask For

I got a call from Maxine this morning. She was so excited. Why? Because she had just received a call from Silversea concerning my world cruise in 2020. Apparently, a Silver Suite (#725) on the Silversea Whisper has become available.

One may recall that last week, I had an anxiety attack regarding the size of the #709 Veranda 2 suite (345 sq ft which includes a 60 sq ft veranda). In fact, Maxine and I explored and discussed canceling the Silversea cruise and going to a similar cruise on either Regent or Seabourn. However, the itinerary of the Silversea cruise convinced me to stick with that cruise. While I was on the waiting list for either a Medallion or Silver suite on the Silversea Whisper, I got comfortable with the idea of spending five months in a small cabin.

So, it no wonder that Maxine was excited this morning when she got a call from Silversea that suite #725 had become available. Yes, it will be significantly more expensive and I expressed some hesitancy to Maxine.

Suite 725 is the smallest Silver Suite with 653 sq ft (543 sq ft plus 110 sq ft veranda). The others are 701 sq ft. This compares with suite #709 with 345 sq ft plus a 60 sq ft veranda. That cabin layout is shown below.

Thursday, November 22, 2018: Re-examination of Plans

Thanksgiving day, 2018.

The week before Thanksgiving, I was having serious doubts about my upcoming 2020 World Cruise on Silver Sea. I was happy with the itinerary, but not happy with the cabin (709), being only 350 sq ft including the veranda. I was also of the impression it could only accommodate two guests. I worked with Maxine to see what alternatives might be out there. I am already on the upgrade waiting list for the Silver Sea cruise. We also considered world cruises, in larger cabins, on both Seabourn and Regent. The Regent itinerary was similar to the Silver Sea but without some of the unique features of the Silver Sea cruise, which has visits to Antarctica, Ireland and Scotland. The Seabourn itinerary was the most exotic, going down the west coast of Africa for over 40 days.

It took a week of discussions with Maxine to convince me the Silver Sea cruise was still my best option. Any of the alternatives considered would cost an additional $200,000. The Seabourn itinerary was too heavy on the west coast of Africa. I finally decided to rule out the Seabourn itinerary. I will do an introduction to North Africa with Seabourn on a 16-Day Caribbean Sunsets & Atlantic Isles cruise as a prelude to my Portugal river cruise in April 2019. See the blog.

Maxine suggested I also might consider a safari adventure some time. I also found an interesting 54-Day Indian Ocean & Asia Exploration Seabourn cruise that starts Cape Town and ends in Shanghai. There seems to be little overlap between this cruise and my world cruise on Silver Sea.

As of now, Seabourn is only showing one cruise starting on March 5, 2019. If it is a Spring offering only, then my first opportunity would be in 2021.