jpalbny

Yes. You're not billed until you actually eat there (see above) Have never seen them for sale. We've accumulated a few, from taking various expedition trips where they were included. You may have more luck on EBay but then, they don't take OBC I guess. And the ones there are all used...

OBC comes in two types: refundable, and non-refundable. You could donate the former type to the crew fund, as it's real money that you could get back at the end of the cruise and take home with you. But not the latter. I've had refundable OBC on occasion, though most is non-refundable. Never an issue with us though, as we love spending OBC!

Try something from the special wine list. Splurge a little. Something you'd never buy at home, but if you're playing with house money... Do this early in the cruise, and the Somm will then keep an eye on you and probably offer you some nice stuff off the included list as well.

Good to know for our next visit! We have not really gotten to that part of Tasmania yet. Glad to hear that Ann's fall wasn't worse! Hope she's all recovered by now.

Yes, these "new" wonderful discounts are not very helpful, when the base price has skyrocketed. A few months ago, I had a look at whether the $4000 off would be of any use if applied to my currently booked cruises. In all cases the price I'm already paying is much better than the "new" discounted price. Bummer of an excursion. Hope that the offerings get better in Africa.

Yikes! I better watch out, when we ever manage to sail together. You know I can't fit too many formal clothes in that carryon... We've done seven expedition sailings on Silversea from 2009 to last year, and there has never been a "formal" night in the same sense as there is on board the classic fleet. Some passengers dress up more for the Captain's welcome and farewell (I usually bring a jacket and tie). Some don't. Take your choice, or take your chances (as per highplanesdrifter's post above) I guess? We're sailing the Kimberley in June and we're not planning to dress up in formal attire. Our goal is to avoid being thrown overboard to the salties! I have to look at my lighter jackets to see what will work in that climate.

There was a shuttle every 30 minutes for Valencia (November 2021). It is almost a 30-minute drive from the port to the old town. They dropped us at the Pont dels Serrans, on the northern edge of the Old Town, just outside the sunken park where the river used to flow. Cross the bridge and you're there. We walked around town on our own and caught a shuttle back a few hours later. Very easy and no need to reserve, as others have said. Just show up with your boarding card and you're all set.

Hope you had a fun excursion and that you've been able to sleep in this morning! Time for the next segmenters to board today?

Absolutely agree, sad to say. It was delicious the first time I had it. I anticipated having it again on my subsequent cruise but it was such a disappointment! You just can't make a real ragu with ground duck meat! So I found a recipe and I make it at home now and then. Les posts now and then, but Stumble doesn't post or read here any more. I'll tell him that you were asking for him though.

Have a great trip Silver! Looking forward to your reports.

Fantastic, Ron! Great shot. One could say it's perfect!

After years of only cruising Silver Wind and Silver Cloud, we too felt a little disoriented making the big move up to Silver Spirit. Can only imagine the quantum leap that you're experiencing! Looking forward to hearing about it in due time. Enjoy!

The abbreviations and acronyms in the medical profession drive me nuts. The kids these days make complicated descriptions out of everything, but then turn them into garbled acronyms. A simple concept like heart failure, which can be systolic or diastolic, has morphed into "Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction" or with "Reduced Ejection Fraction" which they write HF-pEF or HF-rEF. But they say "heff-peff" or "heff-reff" which sounds so silly. And since they can only speak in this weird new language, they can't explain things to patients very well. OK rant over. Just get off my lawn!

Ron, not much smoke from that hot rock! Did you ask for a cold rock so that you didn't overcook the filet?

I've almost been there. In fact from a technical point of view, maybe I have? We've stood at the corner of Argentina and Brazil, where we could see Paraguay, waving to us from the opposite shore. We've been on a boat ride along the Paraná River, and we definitely crossed the midpoint, but we didn't touch the opposite shore. So we were in Paraguayan waters. And the most objective evidence? Naturally, I picked up a cell phone signal and got the message, 'Welcome to Paraguay! Your T-mobile plan gives you..." So, have I been there? I didn't put a star on my map. But, awfully close! Great journalism. Hook the audience with a stunner in the first line, and they can't stop reading until the question is resolved!