Ooo, yeah! Webcams on the ships!
I have only been on one RSSC cruise (ok, two technically since it was a B2B). I have been on 5 charters on other lines --- Stella Solaris in '91 (I think), Greece & Turkey; Royal Clipper '01, Caribbean; Marco Polo '02 (we were supposed to go on Renaissance but they went bankrupt), Baltic; Veendam '03, Alaska. Our cruise on the PG was the best we have ever experienced, of course. We did a pre-cruise cruise the week before our charter! We loved it and are so glad we chose RSSC for our first non-chartered cruise.
The inclusive (mostly) thing was extremely nice. We drink our share of wine/spirits, but it's the signing for sodas and bottled water that kills us on other lines. We only had wine with lunch once (it's French Buffet --- you have to drink wine!) Our first evening in La Paleete, one of the bar wait staff tipped us off about ordering after dinner drinks to take to the Grand Salon. But, still, we had a $2500 bill at the end of 2 weeks. OK, 6 excursions (3x2=6), 18 dives (10+8), 2 or 3 massages, a few drinks from the pool bar, a few things from La Boutique, gobs of Stuart's photos, $200 cash advance!, etc.
We're going with Colonel Wes on Silver Shadow next year on the "Diver's Delight" itinerary. It was he who hooked up with Brown and Keene, via the CC board last year when I was investigating booking a pre-cruise cruise! I was looking for another cruise for 2007 that would provide the diving opportunities like the PG has, but a bit closer to home than French Polynesia. The Royal Clipper has a marina platform, but cruises the eastern islands. We wanted to dive in Grand Cayman, Coz, Belize, etc, in the west. The Seaborne ship that has the platform seems to have problems with it functioning properly. So, when I saw one of Wes' postings indicating he was booked on the Nov. 2006 "Divers Delight" itinerary on Silversea, well, that's close enough to 2007 and the Silversea experience should be great!
What I think would be great for RSSC, well for me anyway, is a Paul Gauguin-like diving opportunity but in the Caribbean, closer to home for us east coasters. I realize that's going to require a small size ship with a marina platform and perhaps the Caribbean islands don't have the lagoons that would provide the smooth seas required to lower the platform. But, that would be a great draw, I think.
We're excited about trying Silversea, but hope to have the opportunity to go on more cruises with RSSC. This is a wonderful board and I thank all of you for so much fun and info!
