jollyjones

Another little point of interest to some - the walking / jogging track. It definitely exists on Deck 10 and has a specific marking on the floor; it goes round the funnel, past the Marquee, through the Dusk Bar, and back to its beginning. It is 8 laps to a mile and is pretty dull. However, I have found that it is perfectly easy to do a full circuit of Deck 10 which is more interesting (I'm a bit of a people watcher), and two to three times as long. You do need to traverse the Observation Lounge for the full circuit but with the automatic doors this is barely an impediment. There's no need to worry about disturbing other pax in the Observation Lounge, the bridge players do that without any assistance from walkers. However, like so much else on Deck 10, I fear my enjoyment of this walk may be reduced now that we have passed the mouth of the Gulf of California and are well into the cold California Current. Outside air temperature has plummeted and is much closer to 60 than the 70s and 80s to which we have become accustomed around Central America. So, I assume, there won't be many sunbathers but who knows? Maybe there will be plenty of people wrapped in blankets reading or snoozing. I ate in the Marquee last night (as I do every night when I'm not in La Terrazza) in the said cold temperature. The place has surprisingly efficient space heaters but they can only work properly if there is some sort of wind break on the port side (the starboard side already has clear panels) and some form of ceiling cover. I don't see how they can easily enclose the ceiling as even if there was a retractable (or fixed) roof cover, the space is two storeys high and is open all around on the Deck 11 level. IMO this is the biggest design flaw in this ship which is a great shame as the Marquee is by far the most charming place to eat. Proofing it against cold and wet weather would probably remove much of its charm, but otherwise it's wasted space for anything but warm weather itineraries.

No minimum, you can play on your own if you want but you'll be at a disadvantage. Usual max is eight pax, and once formed it is usual for the team to stay the same for the whole cruise. Don't get too bound up by what Chris says - yes it's competitive but the main idea is to have fun. The 'points' you win if coming in first, second or third are almost completely worthless, it's just about bragging rights and no-one is listening to those! It's just for fun, and it usually is fun.

Oh, so true.

The Nova is the most accessible ship of the SS fleet - all doors in public areas are automatic, either they automatically open as you approach them or they have a sensor that you wave at to open them. The sensor is green when at rest and turns red when you activate it and it opens the door - this amused me as a landlubber because it seemed back to front - in most land based applications green means 'go' and red means 'stop' whereas these doors are green when it's 'stop, I'm shut' and red when it's 'OK, I'm open, now you can go". However, I was at dinner last night at a table including the Staff Engineer who explained that in nautical convention green means 'all doors shut' and red means 'something is open' so is a warning that the ship may not be fully seaworthy. So now I know!

I hope that happens as I'm already booked on it. They've only changed the schedule once, so far.

Maybe she wasn't so wrong to be surprised? https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c97zx45vp28o

Teams of usually up to eight, maybe six on smaller ships. You just turn up a bit early on the first day and eyeball the room - then you wander around and ask any group you like the look of if they need someone else on their team. If nothing works out well for you doing that, the Cruise Director and assistants are pretty good at getting you on a team, just ask them. It's very pot luck, sometimes you get a good team, not always. Be warned - trivia on Silversea is a blood sport, not to be undertaken lightly. (By which I mean it's very competitive but enormous fun!)

Yes, they do. They also put all the other activities in there that in the Muse class ships would be in the Dolce Vita which, until the bar opens at 6pm, is an absolutely desolate desert. I have made a note to myself to try and check out Panorama as a lounge in the evening when there is nothing particular happening - I mostly gravitate to the Dusk bar (if it's not raining) or the Shelter for my pre-dinner drink. And today - a sea day - they have given the prime 10am lecture slot to a future cruise talk about the Galapagos (in which I have no interest) and the actually interesting lecture by Prof. David Drewry about Volcanoes and Earthquakes is at 6.30pm!! So a slight rearranging of usual drink plans will be required - could be a good day to test the Panorama. If I remember. A twenty three day cruise with lots of sea days is making my brain go and lie down somewhere, I'm not quite sure where I left it.

One really excellent feature of the Nova is that the gangway can be rigged from Deck 2, 3 or 4 so the tremulous tiptoe down or breathless struggle up a gangway pitched at a steep and alarming angle is no more.

There is one thing that keeps niggling at me - I assume it's just on the Nova, it certainly wasn't on the Dawn in February. And that is the new uniforms for the suite attendants. The men wear navy blue trousers - docker style - with mid-blue checked not-exactly-gingham but very similar short sleeved shirts. Very much 'civilian' clothes - I have seen pax wearing almost the same outfits. The women wear long sleeved navy blue tunics and trousers of a style one might expect in the spa. The tunic could be considered to be a descendant of hospital scrubs but is more fitted and fastens down the front. The outfit is plain navy blue but with mid blue trim around the neckline and down the front. This seems a rather discordant design choice - I think that all members of the same team should have uniforms that don't need to be identical but should fall within the same design theme. It's almost as if the designer thought men and women should not look at all alike. It's just a small niggle to my costumier's eyes, and the crew say they are very happy with them, they are very comfortable, so this is really just an idle observation that I post as I await the 11am departure for my little bus tour here in little Golfito, Costa Rica. PS the butlers are unchanged - black tailcoats and white gloves - although they ditch the coats in the morning in favour of gold coloured waistcoats.

And for some neither is an issue. I find the still water and the pour-of-the-day wines to be plenty good enough quality for me.

Thanks for the reply - I knew about Port Everglades and I had a slight - obviously vain - hope that it might be available at more ports.

Just FYI - Dunking is what Americans do with donuts. Ducking is what Brits do with wenches. Hope you enjoy it! PS If it's the same wench as last year, her name is also Laura.

Does it make any difference in Brooklyn if you have Global Entry? Is there a separate queue or do all the hordes just go through the same channels?

For Dr Ron - walking two lengths - ie stern to bow to stern - of each of the four passenger decks plus the stairs in between comes to about two and a half thousand steps. That's according to my phone, not sure I entirely trust it, I'll probably pace out one length and count it manually. Decks 8 and 9 are slightly shorter but only by a few paces. And for rojann - while I seldom eat meat, on my first dinner in La T I indulged in lamb chops - the plate held three plump juicy tender and delicious chops - you would have loved them! Even the spinach underneath them was cooked al dente rather than the usual slightly slimy overcook. La T being down on Deck 4 is slightly less bright and cheerful than it is on other ships up on Deck 7, but otherwise I have found it to be excellent. I eat lunch there often and have had dinner twice so far and am looking forward to more - so far everything I have chosen has been well cooked (or well presented for the raw stuff), and has been of good quality and delicious. I'm guessing flyers, whose experience differs, chooses different dishes - I am not vegetarian but choose mostly fish or vegetarian options because that is what I prefer. I don't eat beef, so much of the general angst that I read about the quality of steaks or burgers completely passes me by. I haven't made it down to Atlantide for dinner yet so can't comment on the relative merits vis a vis La T. Now I must bring my attention back to today - we are just approaching the entrance to the Canal, passing Colon to port, I'm looking forward to an interesting, albeit very warm and humid, day!