Port Power

I wore my Keen's, which have a very good sole coming up over the toe. I bought them from Anaconda. Many of the expedition team wear them too. I wear them at home for everyday walking or jogging. On my first Kimberley trip I had enclosed water shoes, but they were too hot and squooshy when walking on the mud flats or bush areas.

See post #78 above. If the ship is full, those middle seats won't all be empty! Luggage was weighed in the usual manner. Mine was 23.4kg but was fine. Most passengers seemed to have kept to the limit. Carry-ons were not weighed. Indeed, a few people had a roller bag and a tote or backpack (rather than just a handbag or laptop bag). I heard from another passenger that on some occasions the carry-on luggage is weighed. This happened to him when the ship was full. Parkas were carried (I wore mine like a backpack), but the weight of parkas would have been taken into consideration outside of luggage.

And now there is the Reykjavik Edition, the first 5-star hotel in Reykjavik. Right next to the port, so extremely central. Wonderful food and bars, including a roof top bar which has great views. Boarding time is always given as 2:00pm. Sometimes extra time is needed for a thorough sanitisation if there has been illness onboard, etc. It also avoids having too many passengers arriving at the same time as most regular SS cruisers know they can check in earlier.

You cannot consider expedition days in zodiacs as sea days. You will be so busy and up early enough that you will want to go to bed straight after dinner! 😄. Like @Catlover54, I love sea days. All that is mentioned above, or just chill out, have room service and put your feet up.

Yes, there is.

I just disembarked Silver Wind in Svalbard last week. I had booked a Vista suite and would have been fine in it. The other members of our group who remained on deck 4 were perfectly happy. However, I eventually decided to upgrade to a veranda suite. Too cold to dry your washing, but I did like opening the door for some fresh air, even when pretty cool. The main benefit is to hang out on the balcony when a polar bear is sighted on your side of the ship. Or just generally standing out there with my binoculars when we were anchored or churning through an ice field. The robe and slippers came in handy some mornings! I definitely decided the extra charge was worth it for access to scenery. But as I said, travelling companions on deck 4 did not have a problem at all. They went up to the various outside decks when a polar bear was seen, or when traversing the ice floes. Sometimes there is a limit to the budget, too.

I concur. Thank you.

I was on the charter from Longyearbyen to Oslo last week. B737. Flight time 2 hr 50 min. The middle seat was empty each side except for the rear rows where crew were seated. However, there were only 128 passengers on the ship. A nice meal was served, including my special diet lunch. We were bussed from the ship is colour groups and collected our luggage at the airport to check in. Standard airport procedures, so no liquids over 100ml. When the plane landed, we saw the new passengers disembark. Presumably they were doing a bus tour before boarding the ship as it was around 10:30am.

The whole premise of a guarantee cabin is that it could be anywhere on the ship. You pay for a vista gty, but might be issued a balcony cabin. That is also why a gty suite costs less than choosing a particular one. Nowhere on Dawn is bad, even the very forward cabins or under the pool deck. Chairs moving at lunchtime hardly matter even if you are in your suite. if you want an “acceptable” suite, then don’t make a guarantee booking. You are not being forced to book this cruise, after all.

I am still amazed at the lack of action you received. On my cruise, I did receive my upgraded bottle of Laurent-Perrier champagne. I received a phone call from the Customer Service Manager who acknowledged the confusion and mixed messages in relation to this matching of status levels, and his apologies for the delay in receiving said champagne. Ali’s response is exactly what should happen. I felt even more like an appreciated guest, and was extremely happy with the ship’s response. RCG head office, read and learn!

See post #5. Once on board a ship and connected to WiFi, you can view the daily program, lectures, restaurant hours, menus, etc.

Read post #5

Catching up on sleep? (And the laundry!)

Please read the numerous threads posted over past years. In short, expedition cruises are relaxed and do not have formal night. Slacks, pullovers and sneakers prevail at dinner every night. Or wear your parka outside at the Grill. Even the Captain’s welcome dinner is casual, although some men wear a suit because they prefer to.

The two main restaurants open at 7:00pm. The Grill on the pool deck opens earlier. The extended dinner menu available for room service also is not available until 7:00pm. Perhaps you could eat a large lunch in Atlantide and have a lighter dinner in your suite?

I also did the Flåm train independently some years ago. So much better, besides being much cheaper. Our carriage was only one-third full (the first departure) but the cruise excursion carriages were packed. Good choice by us all. 😀. A pity the excursion guides didn’t use whispers. I’m glad you enjoyed your cruise overall.

In hot weather, getting drenched isn’t a problem. In cold climates, that’s what dry pants are for! It was depressingly calm during my trip. 😂

Oops! Auto correct gone mad and I didn’t re-read. Nice blouses.

Wednesday, 26 June, 2024. Disembarkation. I know people often ask about the procedure. It was easy and relaxed. Cases were put outside last night by 11:00pm. Some people partied on in Dolce Vita, but most returned to their suites. As the charter flight used the airport proper (not a separate private hangar), the usual liquids rules applied. Suites needed to be vacated by 8:00am, so carry-ons were lining the corridor outside restaurants. La Terrazza was very busy, but The Restaurant was nice and relaxed. Then just wait in any of the lounges until your luggage tag was called. My purple tag was called at 9:30am, as was stated in the letter in my suite last night. We walked out to the bus and were driven to the airport, about 10 minutes. On alighting there were ”guides” standing further along, but they didn’t say or do anything, not even motion to us to come closer. This was the only let down in the whole process. Eventually we did walk closer and then saw our luggage around the corner. Purpled tagged luggage only, so the “guides” only unpack each colour group as appropriate. We rolled our cases inside, parkas carried on worn as back packs, and joined the check in queue. Then through security into the seating areas. All that didn’t take very long at all. There was a bit of last minute shopping for fluffy toys! We saw the plane arrive about 10:40 and the new guests disembark. We assumed they would be going on a coach tour of Svalbard before joining the ship for lunch. The charter aircraft was a Boeing 737-800, with the middle seat left empty all along except for the crew members in the rear seats. There are always crew changeovers whenever the ship starts a new cruise. A very nice meal was served during the 2hr 50min flight. After collecting luggage from the carousel on arrival and exiting the baggage area, there were a couple of agents holding Silversea signs. So there is nothing to worry about at all. If you are doing your own thing, signs to the train platform were clear, or taxis. I am about to head to the airport for my ongoing flight, this now bring Thursday morning. Thank you all for following along and for your “likes” and comments. I do appreciate them. 😀

If the water is too choppy, the zodiacs don’t go out. Next to the loading platform there can be an exaggerated swell. As explained already, with the two sailors and two expedition team, there has never been a problem. Even a few folk who used walking sticks managed to board zodiacs. No one stumbled or fell exiting zodiacs as at least two people had hold of their arms. Only poor procedures would allow such things to happen, and Silversea has very good procedures. You can thoroughly enjoy the scenery without going ashore. Polar bear sightings were all from the ship. Most definitely bring good binoculars though. One lady did zodiac cruises but never went ashore. One man rarely left the ship. I missed some morning excursions but did the afternoon ones. All of us were happy with our choices. At some ports the ship docked at the pier, so we just walked ashore for our excursions or free time. Many people enjoyed the whole itinerary without setting foot in a zodiac. I enjoyed wandering deck 9 with my binoculars and was not sorry to have remained on the ship. As @alithecat mentioned, there are four zodiac groups. The first departure group rotates daily. If you really have a problem going with your nominated group number, you can always join a later group. No one checks up on you. If you decide to have a sleep in, no one will be ringing your cabin asking why you didn’t turn up. You either choose to go out, or you don’t. No need for standby. Fit people went on hikes. You don’t need to be fit to sit in a zodiac. The hotel staff have their own zodiac departures depending on their time off and the number of passengers. The expedition team always go out first to check the area. If there is to be a landing, they take tents and emergency provisions ashore in case of an emergency. That is standard safety procedure. I don’t think the weather turns bad so quickly in the Arctic, but nothing in life is 100% risk free. Prior to this cruise I did a Scottish and Faroe Islands expedition with another company. I loved it! Fewer zodiac landings and more docking at the pier. No need for thermals or even parkas. I loved the experience and the locations.

Men tended to wear long sleeved shirts and jumpers/pullovers over jeans or sturdy slacks. Women wore long sleeved jumpers, plain or patterned. Nice noises came out for the Welcome and Farewell nights. No jeans and t-shirts. No formal. Thick pants and parkas at The Grill! Overall, nice casual.

For those of you who might have wondered whatever happened to Silver Explorer after she was sold…. Longbearyean, Svalbard, 24 June 2024.

For those of you who might have wondered whatever happened to Silver Explorer after she was sold. Longyearbyen, Svalbard, 24 June 2024.

Everything has really, truly been wonderful on this trip. My butler not bringing salt and pepper with the breakfast eggs is probably the worst that has occurred! 😆. In my cabin I have noticed some areas that need attention, but nothing major and nothing to spoil my experience. My late husband maintained our house to within an inch of its life, so I do tend to notice even the most minor items needing attention. However, this morning a crew member was sanding the balcony railing next door, so ongoing maintenance is obviously programmed. I find the bit of creaking in the cabin quite normal movement for a ship at sea. I had absolutely no plumbing or air conditioning issues and did not hear anyone else mention any issues. I spoke many times with pole-to-pole guests who never mentioned any issues either. I have loved the experience with such a low number of passengers. However, I think service would have been excellent even if full. The staff all seem happy and want to engage with guests. The hotel director is regularly doing the rounds of the bars and restaurants, which I find generally means hospitality staff stay alert. He chats with them though, so we can see there is a good working relationship. I have quite a lot of expedition cruises under my belt, and don’t intend to book another cold weather one. I am definitely going to book a UK/Ireland expedition though, probably for 2026. After my recent Scottish and Faroe Islands expedition (with another company), it really appeals for the destination and better way of visiting these countries.

Regarding dinner in the Restaurant, three of us chose the “Taste of Norway” menu. The thinly sliced venison with sesame sends was divine. I was going to order it again for dessert! This was followed by fish soup and Norwegian lobster in a lime sauce. I will miss the wonderful food on this ship. 😋