Port Power

“Petition” is a well known, top restaurant. I think we last went there for my son’s 30th birthday. Did you read all the information in the paving outside? Think courts and petitions.

Saturday, June 22nd. Julibukta, Svalbard. Another glorious, sunny day. Birds are flying past or resting on the water. Lots of Brunnich’s Guillemots. Our group starts with a zodiac cruise including past the bird nesting cliffs, then a walk ashore. The zodiacs are out investigating shortly before 8:00am.

If you enjoyed that during a neap tide, imagine what it could be like during a full moon! Lovely video.

The morning’s zodiac cruising saw plenty of birds and some distant Svalbard reindeer. The afternoon’s landing was at a well known walrus haul out, but the walrus declined our invitation. It became simply a walk around the beach looking at driftwood and old whale bones. There was reindeer scat, but the animals themselves were so far away that even binoculars only showed dots. Never mind, that is the nature of expedition cruising. Better luck tomorrow. Oh….we did see a Skua attacking a kitty wake. It was quite an aerial dog fight! I had dinner in The Restaurant with friends and chose the whole “Swedish menu”. Delicious!

The original notification definitely stated for bookings made after a certain date, which I seem to remember as being June 5th. Nevertheless, I had 250 nights listed in My Silversea and the current ship I’m on had that listed also. (I have actually sailed less than 200 days.) You should have been given a VS number after your first SS cruise. That is something for Silversea to fix first. My take is that any qualified RCI or X passengers who had booked their first future SS cruise before June will not qualify for laundry. Another minefield! Only time will tell.

You are definitely the customer Silversea is aiming for, but you are also looking for a luxury experience, not just a small version of Celebrity. Seven days is perfect for you now, but once retired you might want longer cruises. Also not just a repetitive circle. That’s where back-to-back cruises come in, and longer itineraries, which then suit several age brackets. We can only hope that RCG keep the balance without losing customers.

So this is a sort of a review of a cruise just completed? I agree with @DavyWavey70, some more details of the negative comments would be helpful.

First views if Svalbard at 6:30 this morning. A gorgeous day, but cold. Now I know why the bath robes are so thick and heavy! The land is closer than the photos suggest. Those are fulmars flying about. Departing from around 8:10am, this morning will be zodiac cruising for 90 minutes. This afternoon we will be landing to walk around to a known walrus haul out.

As the drinks have been prepaid, there is no actual sale when ordering a drink, so no sales tax to pay.

Dinner at La T was excellent, but I was not able to take photos. The breaded veal hop was as big as the plate, and everyone said it was very tender. Antipasto is no longer on the menu, but you can still ask for a charcuterie board or cheese board instead of the mixed one that is delivered to the table. One lady wanted nothing for dessert. 🤣 This is why Silversea is such a please use to travel with. Fabulous staff with a sense of humour! Bakck in my suite with camomile tea. Usually I just bring from Panorama myself, but I thought I’d play safe tonight and ordered room service. A few glasses slid off tables during dinner. The wine waiter hugged the fridge during swells and very carefully opened it afterwards to settle bottles back in their correct places. We expect seas to be much calmer after midnight. The sky has cleared and the sun is pouring in now at 10:00 pm.

I guess being part of a group of 31 does help with photo sharing. 😀

There is usually a certain number of shorex kept aside to book once on board the ship. Not everyone does everything online. Booking a world cruise also includes a decent on board credit to use for anything, as well as an OBC specifically for shore excursions. Use some of that to book some select excursions in advance.

You are there in the middle of the dry season, so pretty typical. Quite another experience in March/April!

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.