Well, it appears we're going to add the Venetian Society to the organizations which we belong. A couple of things have come up at work and as a result we've had to cancel our Navigator Bangkok to Sydney. :( Couldn't go two whole years with no cruising though so did some quick looks at this summer and came up with the SS Cloud for a 15 day Norwegian Fjord trip (1-16 July CPH-CPH). Price was one of 60% off fares with "free" air wound up being $8398 each for first two. So our per diem rate came out to $559 for a Veranda Suite with air and taxes included. We've done cheaper but Norwegian Fjord cruises seem to run a bit more pricey. Oceania (18 days London to CPH via North Cape)for a PH3 (we thought that was roughly equivilent to what we're used to on Regent) was $9300 or so and Voyager was about $11,500 for similar itineraries. Per diem on Oceania would have been about $538 but the PH3 was wait listed, it got back after Gretchen's work (school system) would have re-started, and while I don't drink a lot, I think I'll get to $20/day easy...all those Diet Cokes you know ;) . We've always have had Nowegian Coast on our bucket list and this just seemed to be the perfect storm of price, itinerary and timing...as many of you have said before.

I understand Cloud has the size and "feel" of PG (Ngaire actually said Diamond but we've never been on Diamond). Not as elegant perhaps as Voyager or Mariner but I think we'll survive ;) .

I know I'm rambling a bit; but, if anyone has recent experience on Cloud (understand she had a soft good refit in May) I'd love to hear from you. Any particular sight seeing/excursions recommendations(yeah, I know we'll have to pay for them :rolleyes: ) would be appreciated also.


Greg

Wow! I was able to get Gretchen and I to and from Copenhagen via LAX in Business/First using miles.
Greg

Greg, kudos for snagging a super Silversea deal..there are a few LTCr's who seamlessly cruise both Silversea and Regent (we love both cruiselines)...for more information on the cloud, found these threads on CC, fyi:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1041308

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=406480&highlight=cloud+norway

Thanks Wes,
I guess I would be interested in observations of folks who've "seamlessly" cruised both SS and RSSC. Not looking for better than or worse than sorts of comments just "one difference is..." sorts of things. I've heard SS and their customer base is a bit more formal and European than RSSC. I also understand that even on formal nights you can wear Jacket/no Tie in La Terrazza(took it to be sort of SS equililent of La Veranda). Other thought I had was because SS allows smoking in rooms that we might have a bit of a residual smoke smell in our suite on embarking. Anybody had any experience with that??
I know we will have a wonderful time (we'll be spending a week either in Skane or Zealand after the cruise, too
Greg

Greg, we never had a problem with residual smoke in our suite on SS. However, I am sure that you have seen the posts on CC where people have been complaining about it as of late. It's probably few and far between, and I am willing to bet that SS will correct it immediately.

Greg, I'm one of those who've "seamlessly" gone over to SS and find it every bit as nice a line as Regent, but I've only been on two cruises with them, compared to many, many more on Regent. My first cruise was on the Shadow (Asia), and the other was on the Whisper (Middle-East), so I have not cruised on the Cloud, which is smaller. I had way too critical an eye for my first cruise with them, being a Regent fan, but by the end, honestly, I couldn't tell the differences between the lines. I think Ngaire is spot on with comparing cabin size (well, the ship for that matter) to Diamond vis a vis the Cloud. On the larger ships, cabins are virtually identical in size to the bigger Regent ships, as I have looked into this in the past.

As for itinerary, first Norway cruise on the Navigator is up there in my top three, if not the best, for intinerary. We had pretty much perfect weather except in Svaalbard or whatever that "grey" port is way far from Norway. If you love scenery, and have good weather, this cruise will be unmatched. My second cruise there, not so lucky with the weather, but I still loved it, because of the BK group aboard. But cold and sometimes rainy can squelch the spirit compared to a warm and sunny day in any port!

"One (or two of them) difference is...." (not sure if so on the Cloud), there are two alternate restaurants, and one has a surcharge (Champagne, charge is mostly for fancy wines). Terraza is wonderful on Shadow and Whisper, and no charge.

On my two SS cruises, I have hauled home a complimentary bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, which is wasted on me, but too nice a treat to leave behind.

I liked the more international make-up of the guest list, especially on my first cruise (the second was a BK group cruise). It was in Asia, and we had only 38% of Americans, and a lively mix of many other nationalities.

Dress, as I remember follows about the same codes as Regent currently does, three of them. I like to dress abit for dinner (informal my favorite), but could do without formal. On formal nights, I would say same ratio of suits to tuxes. I don't have a clue why people say SS is more formal (or in particular "stuffy"), as I didn't find that at all. With all the Aussies we had aboard, quite the contrary!

The entertainment seemed different to me, especially my first cruise when we attended a lot of the shows. No productions shows, but some of the best entertainers of various types that I have enjoyed on any cruise. I remember our CD (a lovely lady) was opera trained, but switched over to more modern singing in same show.

One "negative difference" that you will just have to suck up is no free internet or any of the perks we have that I love on Regent. That is just not a reason to avoid a line entirely, to me.
Even free excursions if all the other things are perfect with itnerary, price, and time.

I just know you will enjoy it, if you like Regent!

we did the Norwegian Fjords on Silver Cloud in 2006. It was great trip on a lovely ship. The cruise director was a hoot. She was (and maybe still is?) a "woman of a certain age" who had been on ships most of her life. Invited us to dinner with her one night and we were joined by a British Lady (in the titled sense) and her male companion. We loved the main dining room and La Veranda. Did not ever get to the Champagne restuarant so can't comment.I would agree with the notion that SS is a bit more formal than Regent but its still a very pleasant way to eliminate an entry on your bucket list.
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Helen

Greg,

Have sailed both Regent and SS, and you will like Silver Seas just as much as Regent.

I wish SS would expand their Venetian Society benefits to at least include free internet.

We just disembarked the Regent Navigator and for the first time we didn't on-board book another cruise with Regent. Even with the 2 for 1, free air, and free excursions, Regent's prices on a lot of their cruises were running higher than SS.

you will LOVE SS......we cruised with them prior to Regent being all inclusive. While we didn't have the friends on board that we have grown to love, the cruise line is second to none. They are wonderful. We will cruise them again...., but agree with some that it is hard to give up our Regent benefits that we have gained.