diff --git a/internal/log/log.go b/internal/log/log.go
index 4b72036..2843d25 100644
--- a/internal/log/log.go
+++ b/internal/log/log.go
@@ -46,8 +46,12 @@ func Initialize(cfg Config) {
 	var level slog.Level
 
 	if cfg.Cron || cfg.Quiet {
-		// In quiet/cron mode, only show errors
-		level = slog.LevelError
+		// In cron/quiet mode keep warnings and errors visible — the
+		// whole point of --cron is to stay silent only on total
+		// success, so that anything cron emails to root is genuinely
+		// "something went wrong, look at it." A backup with stuck
+		// permission errors or skipped files should NOT be silent.
+		level = slog.LevelWarn
 	} else if cfg.Debug || strings.Contains(os.Getenv("GODEBUG"), "vaultik") {
 		level = slog.LevelDebug
 	} else if cfg.Verbose {
diff --git a/internal/snapshot/scanner.go b/internal/snapshot/scanner.go
index fc93531..c6b2442 100644
--- a/internal/snapshot/scanner.go
+++ b/internal/snapshot/scanner.go
@@ -1177,16 +1177,17 @@ func (s *Scanner) uploadBlobIfNeeded(ctx context.Context, blobPath string, blobW
 	finishedBlob := blobWithReader.FinishedBlob
 
 	// Check if blob already exists (deduplication after restart)
+	destination := s.storage.Info().Location
 	if _, err := s.storage.Stat(ctx, blobPath); err == nil {
 		log.Info("Blob already exists in storage, skipping upload",
 			"hash", finishedBlob.Hash, "size", humanize.Bytes(uint64(finishedBlob.Compressed)))
-		s.ui.Info("Blob %s (%s) already exists in backup destination store. Skipping upload.",
-			s.ui.Hex(finishedBlob.Hash), s.ui.Size(finishedBlob.Compressed))
+		s.ui.Info("Blob %s (%s) already exists at %s. Skipping upload.",
+			s.ui.Hex(finishedBlob.Hash), s.ui.Size(finishedBlob.Compressed), s.ui.Path(destination))
 		return true, nil
 	}
 
-	s.ui.Begin("Uploading blob %s (%s) to backup destination store.",
-		s.ui.Hex(finishedBlob.Hash), s.ui.Size(finishedBlob.Compressed))
+	s.ui.Begin("Uploading blob %s (%s) to %s.",
+		s.ui.Hex(finishedBlob.Hash), s.ui.Size(finishedBlob.Compressed), s.ui.Path(destination))
 
 	progressCallback := s.makeUploadProgressCallback(ctx, finishedBlob, startTime)
 
diff --git a/internal/vaultik/snapshot.go b/internal/vaultik/snapshot.go
index 1607049..ca3fcb7 100644
--- a/internal/vaultik/snapshot.go
+++ b/internal/vaultik/snapshot.go
@@ -92,8 +92,13 @@ func (v *Vaultik) CreateSnapshot(opts *SnapshotCreateOptions) error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Terminus must obey the --cron invariant: silent on total
+	// success only. UI.Complete is dropped in cron/quiet mode (that's
+	// the success path), but if any warnings fired during the run we
+	// emit the summary via UI.Warning so cron actually delivers
+	// something for the user to look at.
 	if v.UI.WarningCount() > 0 {
-		v.UI.Complete("Finished (with %d warnings).", v.UI.WarningCount())
+		v.UI.Warning("Finished with %d warning(s) — review the output above.", v.UI.WarningCount())
 	} else {
 		v.UI.Complete("Finished successfully.")
 	}