Stickman1990

May 11 Chronicles Day 12 - 11 May Day at sea_print.pdf Once again apologies for no detailed posts recently - please don’t take that as a) a sign of dissatisfaction b) poor internet service c) anything else negative Nothing could be further from the truth as we grind our way across the North Pacific en route to Dutch Harbor. The seas have quite a swell but I wouldn’t describe them as particularly rough although many are feeling the impact - we’re very lucky not to feel the impacts of the seas motion except needing to be careful when moving about the ship. I do think it’s fair to say the Muse does creak and groan a little more than other ships we’ve experienced but again it doesn’t bother me as I sleep like a log We’re enjoying the sea day activities and dining options and the entertainment where we have welcomed a new female lead vocalists, Sona Varpetyan, who is very very good and has bought life to the two shows we’ve seen with her over the last couple of days Roy Perez as cruise director is a lot of fun and his energy and enthusiasm are infectious The crew are great - good service and a lot of fun to interact with No complaints here and looking forward to the next couple of weeks onboard

Interesting approach Of course the crew will accept cash gratuities in US$ should you choose to make them But you’ll still be asked to settle your on board account in Euros

Fooled you - there’s actually 2 X 10 May as we’re crossing the deadline so here’s the 2nd of our 10 May Chronicles Day 11 - 10 May Day at sea - gain a day.pdf

Day 9 - Sea Day Chronicles Day 9 - 9 May Day at sea.pdf Day 10 - Sea Day Chronicles Day 10 - 10 May Day at sea.pdf

Day 8 Chronicles - Kushiro, Hokkaido Day 8 - 8 May Kushiro.pdf The Shore Excursions on offer for our two cruises Tokyo - Seward DM_735489_TourProgramme_SM240501016.pdf Seward - Vancouver DM_954258_TourProgramme_SM240516011.pdf

I’m not so sure Silversea fund the port send offs - it seems to be something that Japanese ports do - and some eg Miyako really go all out I haven’t checked out your itinerary specifics but we’ve been very happy with the ports we’ve visited in northern Japan (we’ve done Tokyo down to Okinawan ports on previous cruises)

Let’s start with some copies of the Chronicles Day 5 Chronicles - Aomori, Honshu Day 5 - 5 May Aomori.pdf Day 6 Chronicles - Hakodate, Hokkaido Day 6 - 6 May Hakodate.pdf Day 7 Chronicles - Muroran, Hokkaido Day 7 - 7 May Muroran.pdf I’m pleased to say the ship seems to be finding it’s rhythm in terms of guests flows when dining and table availability for a group which didn’t work well for us This state of the cruise is very port intensive so posting is a challenge but I’ll try to jot a few thoughts down this afternoon and do an update

I think it took a few days to settle down and a rhythm to develop in terms of dining times and surges of guests In the last few days we seem to have enjoyed a more managed environment for group dining

With hindsight it seems the first few days are very unsettled and little disorganised - we’re now on day 6 and things seems to have settled down and tables for 8 are able to be provided - in my view a lot of the hassle could have been avoided with better communications

Thanks everyone for your advice Pleased to say we dined last night in Atlantide at an oval table of 8 - after a discussion with the Restaurant Manager at lunch time we were expected at a certain time that evening. We enjoyed a lovely meal and chat Fingers crossed we have this resolved now - we are lucky enough to have another 22 days onboard

Currently on the Silver Muse and there is a lot of enjoy but I’m curious as to others experience on Silversea when traveling with groups? - our group is 4 couples so 8 cruising friends and we’ve found their ability to cope with our group at dining venues a challenge We’re yet to find a slot at Atlantide where they can accommodate 8 (in fact on formal night they couldn’t even accomodate 2 guests) - as they won’t take reservations it seems almost impossible to secure a table if 8 unless we camp out and are first in line at 7pm opening, the table they offered at La Terrazza for our booking for 8 was an over crowded table of 6 (we gave up on that as it would never have accommodated even the anti pasta trays) - we ended up sitting at two tables of four. Indochine can accomodate you at the long raised table. The Grill can accomodate a group at the tables near the entrance It’s just so different to what we’ve experienced on Crystal and Regent where a group table of 8 at almost every venue is no problem I’ve raised if with the restaurant manager who doesn’t seem to see it as an issue so I can’t see a resolution to accomodating a group of 8 so wondered if others had more luck and can share the approach they used? Surely in these days of groups traveling together or multi generational family groups Silversea has proven better at providing group seating?

Day 4 Chronicles - Miyako Day 4 - 4 May Miyako Iwate.pdf

They’re on tonight and certainly looking forward to them Last night it was the Motown show by the ensemble - we weren’t impressed with it but another couple we spoke to loved it so I guess it comes down to taste and what you’re comparing it with

So far so good - plenty of Champagne (Monopole & Pommeroy), Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and a couple of Sauvignon Blancs (France & Tiki) - not a red drinker so can’t comment on those Haven't had any beer yet - had way too much of that in Tokyo over the last week

Yes we did the Vista guarantee as well and got a nice upgrade - as did 4-5 others we know on this leg