Port Power

I can put one item to rest. Flowers are plentiful on Silver Wind in the suites, bars and dining rooms. The remarks on crew nationalities I cannot condone!

Husavik, June 17th. The skeleton of a blue whale washed up on the beach in 2020. The skeleton has been left lying on its back. The guide with walking tour group was in the church choir. He not only took them up the tower for a fabulous view, he sang to them. The following are from those who went on the whale watching tour. The early risers who did the long day out up to the lake were very happy with their choice of shore excursion.

Vigur Island, June 16th. Extra views thanks to Jodie and Kim. A nesting Eider duck. Good camouflage. A King Eider drake, noticeable for the yellow area and its red beak. This was the only one that anyone saw. More passengers fending off tern attacks. Sticks are held only, not moved about or used for swatting birds. Our defence mechanism. This is now most of the island looks. Excellent grass coverage due to the bird droppings, which was why it was prime grazing land until recently. This is where the Arctic Terns nest on the ground, as well as some of the Eider ducks. I am still amazed that these small birds fly all the way to Antarctica!

Photos taken by those who did the Arctic Fox tour in Bolungarvik.

Other views of Stykkisholmur on Saturday 15th.

Flatey Island last Saturday. As I was kayaking, a fellow cruiser has supplied the photos.

Today is a sea day on our way to Svalbard. Here is today’s Chronicles as an example of what goes on about the ship. Victoria’s talk on how animals have adapted was really interesting. Note ping pong at 3:30pm. The sea has been somewhat bouncy, so ping pong should be a hoot! As the day is cool and damp (5C and misty), the Mexican buffet made its way down to deck 4 instead of the Grill. The Restaurant menu was still available. Tonight’s menu. Our whole group is having dinner in La Terrazza, so I will try to take a photo of the menu there as an example. There aremore than enough choices. Finally, to those reading who are not on a ship, flowers are thriving on this one. There is a large orchid display in the Panorama lounge as well as orchids on the tables. White chrysanthemums are the flower of choice on every table in The Restaurant and Dolce Vita.

I suggest you either take a boxed colour as a once-off, even if you have the hairdresser apply it. That is what my colourist suggested for next year’s world cruise. Or your hairdresser might have a tube of the correct highlight colour you can take with you.

I spoke to the future cruise manager today, who has been eight years in the job. He has not read this interview or heard the comments that were expressed. He is still very loyal to the Silversea brand and said the future program is well into 2026 and going strong. I hope he looks up the interview.

“Not happy, Jan!” I love transoceanic cruises. I prefer longer voyages 14+ nights. I like back to back sailings to extend time on board and see new destinations or revisit favourite places. I have never heard of Silversea ships sailing empty to relocate apart from the recent problems. He is using that most unusual circumstance as if it is a regular occurrence. I’m in my late 60s, so thought I had a good decade left for luxury cruising. Well, I do, but it seems that Crystal and Regent will benefit from my future patronage. Oh, dear, indeed!

Tonight is the Venetian Society cocktail party. I have been invited to join Cristiano, the safety officer, in La Terrazza. However, here is the Restaurant’s menu for today. I should actually remember to take a few photos of meals for those who are interested. Lunch: Dinner:

Well, we made land and had a very enjoyable experience. The Norwegian station chief, Frank, was our guide, along with Sacha, the historian from the expedition team, and David, the geologist. Silver Wind is only the third ship to land here this year. We are privileged to have been able to set foot on this part of Norway. We could not see the active volcano, Mt Beerenberg, from where we were, even if he sky was clear. Frank and another man and the nurse had driven to this beach from their station on the south side of Jan Mayen. They are here for six months on the weather station and other assorted activities. The sand is basalt, as are the rocks. There is driftwood all over the place. This was brought in by the ice floes. However, there is no longer any ice in this area, not for years. Therefore there are no bears or foxes either. Just the usual sea birds: fulmars and skuas. There are also whale bones, probably whales that were washed up on shore in the past. This was a whaling port back in the day. There is a cross for seven Dutch seamen who died when they tried to winter on the island back in 1633-34. We didn’t do the zodiac cruise to see the birds nesting on the cliffs as visibility wasn’t good enough to actually see them. It is still wonderful to see the moss and ground plants that bloom once summer arrives. The aqua bags on the left are tents, just in case we are stranded here. This is not hard rock. It’s sand, littered with rocks smoothed by the sea and sand over time. The hut and outhouse (toilet) are from the 1960s. We now have another sea day before reaching Svalbard.

Wednesday, 19 June 2024. This morning we are anchored at Jan Mayen. The sea is extremely calm, and it is cold. I looked outside this morning and really didn’t expect the call to land. However, it is all systems go! Even the kayaks are out: look for the yellow next to the zodiac.

Yes, there are GF buns at The Grill. There is also two or three varieties of GF pasta.

The current chef is temporary as she moves regularly from ship to ship. Expedition crew also change depending on location. Most were new in London. I don’t know how long Neal will stay as leader, but will ask him. I did mention earlier that Chloe is the Entertainment Hostess. Expedition ships do not have an entertainment department requiring a Director. She boarded in London and will be on for 3-4 months.

I have coeliac disease and am currently on Silver Wind. I have been on Dawn and Muse as well, and the system is the same. There is a gluten free menu in each restaurant for lunch and dinner that has been ticked or crossed where applicable. You can ask to see the next night’s menu, too, so that you can order your preference to be made gluten free. I occasionally pre-order a soufflé. The majority of soups and sauces are gluten free. There is at least one GF dessert every night, not always shown on the menu. At lunch in La Terrazza, the chef will happily make a GF version of the daily stir fry out in the kitchen. Others are jealous of my freshly made meal! Generally I don’t like buffets, but the chef will come out and tell me what is or isn’t suitable. If going to La Dame, I see the maître d’ the night before to ensure I can really enjoy the night there. GF bread is bought in. I always ask for bread to be “well toasted” when I order poached eggs with toast on the side. There are few GF baked items. No pastries in Arts Cafe. There is a biscuit or macaroon each day. For me, Arts Cafe is no good for breakfast or lunch. I am also lactose intolerant, so don’t eat yoghurt. My main complaint is that are no Gaf crackers to eat with cheese. “Rice crackers” are actually thick rice cakes! Next time I will bring my own Sakata! I don’t know why a thin GF dry cracker is not stocked? On boarding day, there is a note to meet the chef in Atlantide at a certain time to discuss your diet. When you arrive at the dining venue, you are asked your suite number. That shows up in the waiter’s iPad that you have coeliac disease or whatever dietary restriction. I still request that GF be added to the notes of my order as a double check. Please ask if I can help you further. Carol

Genuinely, if these silly things are the only issues, then I can honestly say that this ship is keeping the Silversea standards very high. Perhaps it is just this ship. Who knows? I have cruised often with SS over the last 18 months, but I am not one-eyed about them. However, the Pole-to-Pole cruiser did say that Pia had been the chef until Reykjavik. Now we have the executive training chef: the chef who trained Pia! That might be the reason the meals are so good. The menu might be reduced in size, but there are still plenty of choices. The P2P folks have never noticed repetition.

Dinner tonight was in the Restaurant at a share table along with Chloe, the Entertainment Hostess. All my dishes were very good. Scallops to start, tomato soup and Grouper. We had plenty of chit chat around the table. After dinner we went to Liars Club, which was a hoot, as usual. I only have two complaints. In the shower, turn the tap clockwise for hot water, but st the basin, the tap is turned anticlockwise. I am easily confused. The faucet over the basin needs more width towards the middle. Washing hands causes a lot of splash. Oh, a third complaint. Sometimes we have to get up too early! 😂 Tomorrow we reach Jan Mayen. 3 degrees C now that we have crossed the Arctic circle. The ship will have to anchor on the north side due to works around the Norwegian naval base. There are two walks/hikes planned, a beach walk, and scenic zodiac cruising. 🤞

Dinner last night was at the grill in bright sunlight. It was fully booked. The meat was top notch, as was the service. My filet steak was sooooo tender. Others had steak, prawns and gigantic veal chops. Not a complaint at all. The appetiser salads were all enjoyable, too. We partied on in Dolce Vita, with one guest joining the guitarist by playing piano and singing. The bar waitress, Carmen, also sang one song. Today is a sea day. On Saturday night I ate at La Terrazza at a table with the Customer Service Manager. Several of us had the osso bucco, and we all enjoyed it. Very tender and flavourful. Lunch today was in the Restaurant at a share table. One of the ladies is from the “Pole to Pole” group. She has really enjoyed the whole trip and has never been bored. She knows all the waiters, of course, and they all know what wine she prefers. As it was cold and misty on deck, the whole roasted suckling pig was set up in the Restaurant along with a salad buffet. Those who had it said the meat was succulent. I ordered from the menu and had stir fried whole baby squid. Very good. As part of a group, there are plenty of people to survey about food. There are no grumbles and all meals have been to the expected standard. With such a small number of passengers, we are fighting off waiters who try to carry our soup bowls. There is no Pommery any longer, only Monopole Blue Top as the included champagne. The wait staff and bar tenders seem not to know anything about the new Duval Leroy relationship. Certainly there is none on board. I did eventually receive a bottle of Laurent-Perrier cuvée rosé due to my number of nights.

Monday, June 17th, is a national holiday in Iceland. We docked at Husavik. There was a very long excursion, 7.5 hours, up to a lake. Two people I spoke with said they had a fantastic day. There was a whale watching tour, and they did see two whales. I chose to do one of the town walking tours with a local guide. it was a gorgeous sunny day. There were plenty of visitors around the town, and whale watching boats and jet boats going in and out. Our guide explained how life changed with the introduction of fishing limits. Most fishing is now done by a big company as the individual fishermen sold their boats and quota licences. The oak boats then found new life in the whale watching business, many having masts and sails installed. And the captains found new jobs awaited them. We walked behind the town to the river and park area. This river was used for hydroelectricity in the mid 1900s. As the town grew, some local women petitioned for some farmland alongside the river be given over as a botanic garden. The ladies planted trees and shrubs, and it has become a beautiful and peaceful area. We went through the old church in time to hear the organist rehearsing. The walking tour finished at the Whale Museum. It is really interesting. There is the full skeleton of a blue whale washed up on the beach in 2020. Also a Minke whale calf skeleton. There is a section about whaling, but I didn’t go there. View from the church. The ever present stunning backdrop to Husavik. The sun is still above the horizon at midnight.

Eiderdown farming is labour intensive. Eider ducks shed their down after laying eggs so that the eggs will touch skin and be kept warm by the duck’s body. The family go out with baskets to collect down just before or as the eggs hatch. That collection then has to be shaken and spun to get rid of twigs, shell fragments, grass and feathers. Finally it is still hand picked through to removed and stubborn bits. 500kg of initial gathered material might only end up as 50kg of rider down! The down is then bagged and sent to the inspectors for checking and certification, and the bags closed and sealed. That is why proper eiderdown is so expensive.

Sunday afternoon found Silver Wind anchored by Vigur Island. This is a privately owned island. The family consist of a couple in their 30s and their 7 year old son. Felicity is English and met her Icelandic mate on an Antarctic expedition. They bought the island in 2019. There is no longer any livestock, and they hope eventually the State might buy it to keep as a nature reserve. The family are eider down farmers. This has been the highlight of the trip so far! Some people didn’t go because of the early morning and because of warnings of extensive walking. I dpfeel so sad for them. Felicity and her husband conducted the walking tours in four small groups. There was a prescribed grassy path as the rest of the island is for the birds. There were Eider nests all over the place, even by the step into the house! The ducks are used to people, so just kept an eye on us. They will even leave their nests briefly for a drink of water. Along the grassy path he terns were nesting. We carried sticks so they didn’t dive on our heads. Terns are ground nesting birds, and there were some nests (just divots in the grass) right next to the path and holding two eggs. When sheep used to be kept by the previous family (five generations), they would be ferried to the island across the water to graze when birds were nesting. There is a windmill on the farm that is the oldest in Iceland. They weren’t a success, as the strong winds meant the moving parts overheated and caught fire. There are LOTS of Puffins. This is their land based photo opportunity rock. Scientists come regularly to check their numbers. The birds are not fed or handled. Even those cute little chicks swimming with their mothers. Yes, they are called chicks, not ducklings. I don’t know why.

Sunday morning’s anchorage was at Bolungarvik. Another early departure at 7:20am for a bus ride to the other side of the island to see two captive arctic foxes. Otherwise there were walking and hiking tours. The clouds came down for several hours, but sunshine returned before the ship left.

During lunch, the ship moved to Flatey Island. I went out on the first kayaking foray on this trip, so do not have any pictures to post. If I knew how to store photos posted by a friend, I would show theirs. I’ll have a consult with an IT nerd later and see if it can be worked out.

First stop (Saturday) was Stykksholmur, in the morning. The first excursion left at 7:10am. As it was a catamaran ride around the area to view birds, I decided to give it a miss. I had just completed a Scottish and Faroe Islands expedition 10 days ago, and had experienced many zodiac and boat trips to view Puffins in their burrows and on the water, guillemots, cormorants and nesting Fulmars, so decided I wouldn’t miss out. I rode the zodiac shuttle over later and walked around the town, visiting the museum, the handicrafts shop and the church.