JoAnn, we don't mind paying to get the discount with XAPB knowing that our monies are refundable
up to 120 days prior to sailing. We make sure we get travel insurance that covers financial default of the cruiseline as well...r/wes

Well Wes that is a very good point, no question and I guess its worth thinking about, but probably it would more or less come down to two things 1) would we lose more interest on taking that money out so far in advance, and 2) the cash flow situation for us in taking money out of our managed account sooner than we need to.

Now, I don't pretend to even understand all that, leave that up to Frank, he is the math guy in this family. I have other talents, but it doesn't include figuring out all that money stuff!!! :D <img src="http://smileys.sm...3Fi%253D3%252F3_2_4v/image.gif">

We are looking at doing a B2B on Spirit May/June 20010. We'll be celebrating our 25th.

SS is offering free economy airfare.

If anyone has used SS for their air travel, I would love to hear of your experience.


Judy

Judy, Congrats on your Silver anniversary!
Your Spirit sailing sounds super..r/wes

JoAnn, Frank will have to run the metrics /regards your personal finances..but for the sake of discussion, let's say you make a final pay of $20K 12 months early...what will that cost or benefit you? If your
money market account pays 3-4%, that means 600 to 800 dollars lost for the 12 months it is with SS...What do u gain tho? If you use XAPB 12months out you get a discount of at least $2,000..(e.g. on the 20 day LA to NY Spirt crusie, u have to pay $8747 12 months out, if not your cruise fare goes up $2600) so your net
gain may be $1200 to $1400 on this example..of course the numbers differ depending on what your asset mgt account earns....good luck! r/wes

Thanks Wes,to tell you the truth, I forgot it was our "silver" anniversary.

Judy, great point about your Silver on Silversea!

If u need a recommendation for travel insurance,
suggest u check www.squaremouth.com or www.insuremytrip.com which will compare most policies for you.

We found Travelex Select(one of most financially sound insurance companies as rated by AM Best, stronger than Travel Guard or CSA e.g.) best for our needs (includes waiver of pre existing conditions, financial default, large medical coverage pp and huge med evac coverage if u need it--for only 4% of cruise fare.....lastly a technique to lower your premium but still get 100% medical coverage, financial default coverage, etc..is to take coverage for less than your cruise cost (e.g., if cruise is 10k, take out travel ins for 7.5K..still get all the medical coverage for less premium)

r/wes

Wes, Thanks so much for the links and the sound advice. It's greatly appreciated. :nw:

Judy

Good Morning All !!

For 2010 plans - - the SS Sprit has some great 2 for 1 cruises.

Anyone interested in the Southern Caribbean in 22 November for ten nights ?? Rod & Cynthia

Wes, thank you for your helpful and informative information - - great web sites too !! I do not know what happened to my message to you - - seems the system had a hic up, since I do not see it posted here - - in any event hope you receive this one ! Rod

Rod, concur...some of the Spirit's 2010 per diems (e.g.,both TA's, 23 Apr sailing and most
shoulder season caribbean) are very attractive
(e.g. $280 pp up to $380 pp) if u use SS
XAPB payment plan...r/wes

Just booked Spirit Transatlantic cruise 5001 from Lisbon-FLL Jan 2010. Lynn and I will be in 760.

Doug, Great news...the Spirit TA is a super deal...r/wes

My wife & I also just booked the Silver Spirit for her maiden TA 1/3/10. Been wanting to try Silversea and the pricing is unbeleivable, esp. on a brand new ship! Have been on Crystal & Regent a few times each, so looking to do a comparison.
Took a mid-ship verandah as the wife is a bit sensitive to "motion of the ocean" and the front of the ship does bounce around somewhat more. We're in 752, just down the hall from "dougburns".

Hope both of you will write reviews and send lots of pictures of this wonderful new ship!

Wes; Lynn and I moved up to a Silver suite 1007 and are taking the SilverSky program as well. Couldn't beat the price for a refundable fare on any airline.

Doug, what a great cabin treat!...we used ff miles for our flights from ATL to LIS..glad you're air worked out...know u were working it hard...did u get your Spirit brochure yet, they
have a full page picture (p32) of a Silver suite..doug if u partake, will bring cigars for the Humidor...hooah wes

Got the brochure and the pics are also on the Silversea website. I'm not a cigar smoker, but I'll join you in the humidor while you have your cigar and I smoke cigs. We can swap war stories and sip a bit of cognac. The only trouble with this particular cruise is that we'll have to bring both warm and cold weather stuff. But it's worth it to be able to sample the new ship.

Lynn and I are booked into Lapa Palace, arriving Lisbon New Years Eve for 3 nights prior to boarding Spirit. We also took early boarding.

The whole marketing approach to full payment by 31 Mar was an extra 15% off. It will be interesting to see whether the fare for the Spirit TA now goes to 35% off, since 31 Mar is passed.

The Silversea thread doesn't seem to get much action, but I'll just give an update anyway. As of 1 April they extended the 50% off offer to 31 May. That infuriated all of us who had paid by 31 Mar. Fortunately, B&K(Julie) went to bat for us with SS and got us a fair shipboard credit. It's at least equal to and possibly more than it would have earned had the money stayed in our account. So, we're happy campers again! I guess bookings are tough with all of the lines. I thought Spirit would be totally booked for the maiden T/A by this time. We're really looking forward to the new ship.

Doug, I'm certainly not surprised that B&K +Julie went to bat for you and got you satisfied. It's a gamble to "bet" a year in advance on a 15% extra discount being a good one. I was tempted myself for another cruise that would not have worked out anyway.

Yes, I too am surprised that the Spirit is not totally booked, even in these times. It is, after all a maiden voyage, and as I remember, the prices are excellent! Perhaps it is the time of year, who knows, most people may not think of January as a time to make a crossing. That was my concern. I still look forward to hearing what you have to say about the ship! I'm sure it is going to be "fit" for SS's high standards!

Col. Wes, did your TA also offer the same thing today?

Missed this current thread- so happy amazing Julie made it whole for all of you - again, B&K A PLUS!!!!

Our TA (who's associated w/ Virtuoso) also called Silversea about the extended discount period and was able to get us a VERY nice shipboard credit. Still, with taxes due imminently, I would rather have paid in late May than late March!

They would not be doing this if not worried about the global recession and keeping bookings because the cruise consultants just can't even imagine that Silversea is doing this for people since they certainly have the right to extend a deal if they want to. Suppliers in general try to create a sense of urgency, and sometimes it really is urgent and sometimes not. Just my two cents. You could just as easily have lost money by investing in a stock that went down 40%, so the argument over interest is totally irrelevant. They are doing this only for good faith, and certainly if they will do it, that is great. They are doing it on a case by case basis for those that ask.