On Board The Wind

Just a short note to say that we boarded The Wind in Barcelona and have now completed a week and are today in Calvi Corsica. the weather has been extremely hot throughout but its summer in the med !!!

The ship is in a fine state and we are being looked after really well - Helmut is the HD and Franz Maitre D, so all aspects of Service are first rate. Food has been extremely good throughout.

The new Entertainers are the most talented that we have come across for many years and are also very friendly and always helping Colin about the ship with the activities.

For you Brimary we have met your friends Joan & Peter and we are all going to be together in the Baltic next June - we have had a couple of fun Dinner sessions. You may be reassured that the negative comments made recently about the Line do not apply to what we are experiencing on board now. Hope you are both well.

I will provide an update on the next Sector Rome to venice.

Thank you Mayflower1! Good to hear that the staff and the ship are first rate! Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Mayflower,Thanks for your report on your Med cruise to date which is encouraging for our Wind cruise with you ,Joan andPeter next year.Delighted to hear such a positive report from such a reliable source.Look forward to joining in the odd fun dinner session with you all next year.Enjoy Rome to Venice ,a classic itinerary.

Just a short note to say that we boarded The Wind in Barcelona and have now completed a week and are today in Calvi Corsica. the weather has been extremely hot throughout but its summer in the med !!!

 

The ship is in a fine state and we are being looked after really well - Helmut is the HD and Franz Maitre D, so all aspects of Service are first rate. Food has been extremely good throughout.

 

The new Entertainers are the most talented that we have come across for many years and are also very friendly and always helping Colin about the ship with the activities.

 

For you Brimary we have met your friends Joan & Peter and we are all going to be together in the Baltic next June - we have had a couple of fun Dinner sessions. You may be reassured that the negative comments made recently about the Line do not apply to what we are experiencing on board now. Hope you are both well.

 

I will provide an update on the next Sector Rome to venice.

Hello Mayflower1,

I will be boarding the Wind on Thursday, so I am delighted to hear your positive report!

I wondered if you have heard anything about shuttle service from Porto Marghera into Venice on 18 and 19 July. When my TA asked on our behalf, Silversea said there would be shuttle service on 18 July, but it did not know how frequently it would run. A few days later Silversea told her there would be no shuttle service, but they would provide a bus on the 19th to take disembarking passengers and their luggage to Marittima. (Of course, the best news of all would be to hear that the Wind will dock at San Basilio or Marittima.)

I hope to meet you in person soon,

Karen

Hi Sonjawinson

The Venice issue is currently a big issue on board but only for a few of us so far as there are only 12 in transit at Civitaveccia.

I understand that there will be a bus transfer from Maghera to the Port Maratime Main terminal ( said to be 40 minutes ) and then MAYBE a further Bus transfer to San Basilio on 18th, and MAYBE a Vaporetto shuttle to St Marks.

On 19th I understand there to be an earlier than usual disembarkation again by Bus to Maritime Terminal to identify Luggage and then onward transportation to Airport/Hotels etc.

Due to uncertainty I have cancelled a private Limo transfer to the airport and have booked a Silversea Group transfer to the airport - no private transportation will be allowed to Maghera.

It looks as if we will see nothing of the Redentore Firework Display from the ship at Maghera.

I understand these arrangements to be a continuing ' Work in Progress ' and they may change - its the best info I can offer at present.

It is super hot here in Portofino today ( about 40 ) so hope the weather is good for your arrival - have a safe journey.

Hi Sonjawinson

 

The Venice issue is currently a big issue on board but only for a few of us so far as there are only 12 in transit at Civitaveccia.

 

I understand that there will be a bus transfer from Maghera to the Port Maratime Main terminal ( said to be 40 minutes ) and then MAYBE a further Bus transfer to San Basilio on 18th, and MAYBE a Vaporetto shuttle to St Marks.

 

On 19th I understand there to be an earlier than usual disembarkation again by Bus to Maritime Terminal to identify Luggage and then onward transportation to Airport/Hotels etc.

 

Due to uncertainty I have cancelled a private Limo transfer to the airport and have booked a Silversea Group transfer to the airport - no private transportation will be allowed to Maghera.

 

It looks as if we will see nothing of the Redentore Firework Display from the ship at Maghera.

 

I understand these arrangements to be a continuing ' Work in Progress ' and they may change - its the best info I can offer at present.

 

It is super hot here in Portofino today ( about 40 ) so hope the weather is good for your arrival - have a safe journey.

Hello, Mayflower1,

Thank you very much for the information. If the situation is still a Work in Progress when we board, I think we will book a hotel in Venice for the night of the 18th and disembark early. The Redentore fireworks are spectacular; I'd hate to miss them.

We leave for the airport shortly for our flight to Rome. I will prepare myself for super hot weather!

Stay cool,

Karen

On June 4th we boarded the Wind which was docked at the San Basilio terminal. From there you could walk most places in 15 to 30 min. There was also a vaparoretto stop a couple of minutes walk outside the terminal. Very convient. We spent 17 amazing days on the ship from Venice to Monte Carlo. Crew, food, and entertainment were all excellent. We also used Dream Tours as recommneded by several posters for our transfer from Monte Carlo to Nice, they could not have been better.

Just a quick update on the 2nd Segment.

The Wind continues to provide the high level of Service we experienced on the 1st Sector inspite of another full Ship. The Food issues mentioned on another Board do not seem to have reached here yet - everything is as normal Brimary !!!!

There are a substantial number of young children on board for this Sector but to date there have been no issues apart from domination at the Pool - gratefully this is a Port intensive Cruise and they are out and about most of the time. The weather continues to be extremely hot and humid but the Staff continue to work with their usual smiles.

The situation in Venice is beginning to become clearer and I suspect that there will be a lot of disappointed guests when they realise that the normal Sail in to venice is not to take place - there are many new SS Travellers so its a ' watch this space ' situation. The disembarkation will also be a challenge and we understand that it is to take place rather earlier than usual!!!!

I will report again if anything changes, and a wrap up view when I return to UK

Greetings Mayflower1 and other 1/2! Don't know how I missed this thread. Glad to find it. So happy to hear that all is well on the Wind. How are the drapes in the DR? As Brimary stated, you are a reliable source of information. Please give my very best hug to Colin. Miss him. Enjoy the rest of your voyage and hope to sail with you soon again!

Great to hear you have enjoyed a wonderful cruise on the Wind but sorry to hear of the Venice sail in problems which is right up there in World sail in places with Sydney,Rio and being patriotic Tower Bridge London.

What about Stockholm?

What about NYC?

Hi Duct tape and J - so glad you had a great time on The Cloud - the Drapes are fine here at present !!!!!! - Will certainly give Colin a big hug from you - he was only saying at Dinner that he wondered when he would see you again.

We are back on The Wind in 6 weeks and again in June 2016 ( with Brimary ) and back on The Cloud in Sept 2016 following her visit to the Olympics - hope to see you both again before too long.

Weather still scorching here in Lipari and Capt Arma says it will continue until Venice !!

Mayflower -

So glad to hear you are experiencing the very high standard of service we expect from our favourite cruise ship!! Please say hello to our good friend Gennaro Arma, and also Helmut and Colin, with whom we will be sailing on the Wind next May/June. We were with Colin on the Wind in March this year sailing to Myanmar, prior to his leave, and we understood that on returning he would be joining the Shadow. Is this not now the case?

I note that you mention that you are doing a Baltic cruise next June on the Wind. If it is the one which sails from Tower Bridge on the 12th, then perhaps if you are not aware, we understand that the vast majority of cabins on this cruise have been taken by Readers Offers Limited.

Whilst not exactly a party booking as such, Readers Offers may organise special events on board with those booking with them, which could mean, that venues such as Panorama and La Terrazza, are out of bounds on certain evenings.

Hope to sail with you again in the future.

Kindest regards

Master Echo

We are on the Wind cruise with Mayflower as a fellow guest commencing 27 June and we were very careful to avoid the two Charter voyages before and after our Tower Bridge round trip cruise.We had a cruise ruined by a charter group many years ago when all the dining rooms were closed,all bars and lounges closed,even the show in the theatre was charter only on two occasions.The closures were only known on receipt of the daily Chronicle.This experience involved a charter group of 70 whereas the two charters on the Wind next year referred to involve 50% or approx 145.This level of Charter really does affect the experience of normal clients and whilst recognising the financial benefits to SS are important why don't they use the small ships,Wind &Cloud,for full charters only rather than 50% of two identical cruises which are only 24 days apart?

We are on the July 21st London to London next year. I see it's already sold out. Is this one of the chartered voyages? If so any advice on how to keep our voyage more like a normal cruise? We just got off the Silver Explorer and a group of 30 or so made it kinda nice. They had a charted bus at every stop and we never saw them....

The cruise London/London on the Wind departs on 27 June as far as I am aware with no charters.You must be on another ship if you leave on 21 June.

Master Echo, Brimary

We are scheduled to be on the June 12, London to London next year. We were not aware of the issue with so many cabins booked by one party. I did find it odd that this cruise was almost fully booked from the time it was announced. We will have to reconsider since this will most likely change the entire complexion of the experience. We were on a SS cruise some time back that only had a party of 25-30. So, I can see that 145 or so could really change the dynamics. I appreciate the headsup, as this is the reason I watch CC daily.

Have just returned home from The Wind and am pleased to report that the 2nd Segment was as good as the first in spite of the greater number of children who posed a few problems for the Guests and Staff, including a very small child being allowed by its parents to get on stage during a Performance !!!

The ship remains in good order and the Service is excellent - apparently New Menus are to commence throughout the ship next week, no details unfortunately, but they may reflect what was posted elsewhere.

The disembarkation went smoothly enough from the Venice Industrial Port but was tedious and involved 2 Coach shuttles to get us to the Airport via the main Cruise Terminal - all in very hot conditions ( over 80 degrees at 7.30am ).

The Venice experience for most was rather a let down, due again to the difficulties associated with the Redentore Festival. No spectacular Sail In, and the ability to stroll around Venice on Saturday was again made difficult by the need for Bus & Vaporetto Shuttles, along with hundreds of thousands of people and the excessive heat - not a fault of Silversea however - they did the best they could and worked hard to make it as easy as possible.

All in all a great Cruise.

I'm wondering what this 'industrial port' in Venice is -presumably obviously not on the Guidecca at San Basilio, but not even the main cruise port area which all the larger ships use? And if different, why would a Silversea ship not be at the main cruise terminal?

When you say no spectacular sail-in - surely the only way in is on the Guidecca canal, passing St.Mark's Square etc. Which is a lovely sail-in or out, of course. Unless I have got my geography completely wrong.

Now wondering if Stockholm to London on the Wind July 9,2016 will have a charter group.

Good afternoon Lincslady - unfortunately your geography is as sparse as mine as far as Venice is concerned !!! - Due to the Redentore Festival no Cruise ship could access the Guidecca Canal and the approach to Venice was via a channel behind the Venice Lido - thus no spectacular Sail pass St Marks. Port Maghera is a vast industrial Port on the other side of the long Bridge linking Venice to the mainland - some 35 minutes drive from the main Cruise Terminal where the large ships berth. The lovely small San Basilio as you know is even closer to the city and as such totally impossible to access.

I trust this explains the logistics better - hopefully there will only be a few occasions when Silversea will be unable to access San Basilio - we are to join the Wind again in September and San Basilio is said to be the Dock of Embarkation at the moment - fingers crossed !!!!

In my opinion, I would definetly think twice about taking a cruise that had a charter on board. This past June we were on the Wind for 2 segments. The second segment had 2 charters on board which made up about a third of the new passangers for that segment. One of the groups was made up of your "typical" Silversea cruisers, however the other group was a different story. They decided to try to turn the Wind into a party boat. At times it was very uncomfortable to be at the pool because of the amount of noise they were making and their disregard for the smoking polices. A few of them had a total disregard for the smoking polices in general on the ship. We meet with Helmut regarding these isssues, and were told we were not the only ones to have complained. The next cruise I take with Silversea, I will make sure my TA does proper research as to if there is a charter on board, and if there is, what group is doing the charter.

Hi Sonjawinson

 

The Venice issue is currently a big issue on board but only for a few of us so far as there are only 12 in transit at Civitaveccia.

 

I understand that there will be a bus transfer from Maghera to the Port Maratime Main terminal ( said to be 40 minutes ) and then MAYBE a further Bus transfer to San Basilio on 18th, and MAYBE a Vaporetto shuttle to St Marks.

 

On 19th I understand there to be an earlier than usual disembarkation again by Bus to Maritime Terminal to identify Luggage and then onward transportation to Airport/Hotels etc.

 

Due to uncertainty I have cancelled a private Limo transfer to the airport and have booked a Silversea Group transfer to the airport - no private transportation will be allowed to Maghera.

 

It looks as if we will see nothing of the Redentore Firework Display from the ship at Maghera.

 

I understand these arrangements to be a continuing ' Work in Progress ' and they may change - its the best info I can offer at present.

 

It is super hot here in Portofino today ( about 40 ) so hope the weather is good for your arrival - have a safe journey.

This was not just a disappointment but a material omission IMHO. Porto was disgusting and surrounded by fetid smelly water.

Here is the view from my cabin:

Good morning mciucci - I am intrigued by your Post - what has the information given about Venice on a previous Cruise to do with your visit to Porto ? ( or do you mean Portofino ? ) albeit that your Picture seems to depict the view overlooking the Magera Industrial Port in Venice from what I can remember - all rather confusing.

Please be good enough to provide some more details.