chrism23

Thank you all so much for your in-depth responses. I am sorry if in any way my use of the term "bozo" is in any way condescending. I just shudder when is see hotel guests with 4 hours experience diving to 40+ feet. I guess I am being short sighted and selfish. It's just that spending hours at the bottom of my local YMCA pool, and freezing my ass off in murky water off of Port Judith Rhode Island are experiences I don't want to repeat-but it looks like I will have to because my card is really outdated. As for the deep dive, it was just off of Curacao, our dive master caught holy living hell. Only afterward did i realize what a stupid dangerous move this was. I was much too much of a beginner to be hanging off of lines with tanks, for what seemed forever, ascending, so I didn't get bent. I am too old, 71, to start over again. So I guess I snorkel. Not to belittle snorkeling. The best experience I ever had in the water was in the Galapagos. We went snorkeling off a beach on our second day, we found ourselves in a middle of a sea lion colony. There were over 100 of the critters. They loved us. After the initial shock of having a sea lion barreling toward you at, (how fast to the do they go, about 30 mph?) thinking that a bad collision is about to happen, only to have the sea lion jump over you is a one off. It was spectacular. These critters just wanted to play with you, going over you, under you, every which way. I was laughing so hard I inhaled too much water andI had to surface and take off my gear and catch my breath. . Oh well, anyone want to buy an old BC? I really do appreciate the time spent on the comments. Thank you for preventing my further searching for a short cut when there isn't any and in hind sight it was just stupid on my part which might not ended well at all.

I just noticed this topic when scanning through the boards, I am usually on the Silversea site. And boy, do I have something to say on the subject. The recent cruises I have been on there were 3 diving opportunities. I live in New England. I do not dive here, it is too damn cold and so murky you can't see anything. I have a PADI advanced card. I have been on wrecks near 200 feet. I have done night dives, long drift dives, in short just about everything. Yet the dive masters on the last three cruises I had wouldn't let me in the water. Among other things I missed a long swim with a whale shark, and worst of all, in the Galapagos I missed the annual convention of hammer head sharks, there were 100's of them at about 80 feet deep. Harmless. The main problem is the last time I dove was 10 years ago. The PADI authorized dive school here said I would have to get a new card and go through the 6 week introduction course. I contacted PADI directly without success. Obviously I don't want to take the damn course again. Yet I see these bozos taking resort dive courses for a couple of days then they are allowed to go into open water. Any advice on how to work around this. TIA

A couple of things. On a recent cruise on the Moon there was an arts and crafts glass. One class had the folks make really colorful paper flowers. About 25% of the people on our corridor had placed them on their doors. Magnets, especially on longer cruisers were also on a lot of doors signifying where the folks have been. All made the corridors more interesting. I liked them. (we brought back our flowers and they are in our kitchen now) Binoculars not so lucky. The SS binoculars are mediocre to poor. Absolutely bring your own. Also keep them uncapped by your veranda door. Sea critters pop up fast and they are gone, especially whales.. Fiddling with lens caps means your probably missed the attraction. Another little tidbit. When dining in the MDR ask for a table next to a window. A number of times we have been accompanied by many dolphins. We call the view out the window "Silversea TV."

It seems like I started this thread years ago. Since then I have sailed 3 times with SS and used their air department 3 times. I have discovered that having a good cruise consultant at SS makes all the difference in the world. I am lucky to have a great one. For example, 2 trips ago SS Air had us routed through Frankfurt to get to Boston from Dublin. On very annoyed call to my CC, it started off with me going "You have got to be kidding me" led to the problem being solved. Now, if I don't like the flights, or the seats or whatever, a call to my CC gets it fixed. I it really helps to do a little research before changing things up, to find the flight you want to take, the time, and the seats ready before you call your CC. In general I have found that in all things Silversea it is essential to have a good relationship with you CC. I am even taking mine out to dinner next time I go through Miami.

I want to echo the a couple of opinions expressed above. Nearly everything they serve at Le Dame finds its way to the main dining room menu in a day or two. Some items get a little dressed up, for example order the rack of lamb and you will get 4 ribs rather than 3. I always will eat at Le Dame once at the start of a cruise, almost always the first formal night, to see if anything is different. Then that is usually it for the rest of the cruise. I did find Le Dame on the Moon to be less inviting and intimate than its iterations on other ships. I think they have done a great job with the decor, atmosphere and menu on Atlantide on the Moon and I really didn't see any reason to do Le Dame more than once.

I too am sorry at your discomfort. With so many MD's in this group I am puzzled why none of them has said the dreaded word-Norovirus. I am hesitant even to mention it, but the symptoms as described seem to fit. When I was aboard the Moon a month or so ago, there was mention of the Norovirus aboard the ship-and their absolute compulsion about hand washing with the sanitizing devices installed everywhere seemed closer to Norovirus prevention than Covid. I do not know wether there is any test for the virus or whether I am just off the mark here.

The whales are so plentiful that Icy Strait Point offers a 100% refund if a whale is not spotted on every trip. @mysty Hi Mysty. A couple of suggestions. First SS should hire you, to write, if you want to do any work, the Gray Travel Journals they used to provide. I miss them. Your work, and the time you must spend on it is astounding. Your descriptions are spot on. Second, whales. I need to get this right but I don't quite remember where. I think it was Juneau. We went out in a small boat, about 20 people, to do what they called whale watching. They were not kidding, this was a one off experience that probably never can be repeated. We are on the water, first we see a couple of fins, then flukes of diving whales, then more, and more. I think they were humpbacks. The whales are sort of crashing into each other (find mating habits of humpback whales). So we are in the midst, and I don't want to exaggerate here, at least 20 whales having fun. Some came right up to the side of the boat and some passengers were able to reach out and touch them. Ever petted a whale before? This was truly mind blowing. Then there was a 3 hour long kayak trip in Ketchikan, with a guide that seemed to know where every bald eagle nest was on the shore. There were only 4 of us. In addition to the eagle chicks (eaglets?). A couple of orcas decided to breach a few hundred yards away. I have to admit being scared in case one of these things landed on us. This was on the Silver Shadow in August of 2016. I was so awestruck by all that I experienced I have returned to SS at least twice a year ever since. But your prose and the depth of your insight is a real asset to the group. If they would only bring back the gray journals. Cheers. then a couple of rear diving, then more fins more tail

Sorry but I just have to do this, I rarely lose. On the Silver Cloud in July I teamed with a polymath and we won 10 out of 11. On this last trip I had 2 very smart Brits on my team, especially David and we won 5 of 7 until they got off. Then it was all down hill, And BTW, Ms. Jolly Jones is the best trivia player among Silversea regulars,

This isn't a troll even though I will once again get trashed. I am an avid trivia player. On my last voyage on the Moon any rules governing trivia went out the window. This wasn't the Cruise Directors, Raphael's fault, he is the best. But rather the fault of the pax. On everyone of my now 9 cruises there were limits to the size of the trivia teams, usually 6, sometimes as many as 8. This time, teams were allowed to have as many as 16 members. Most were 10-14. This was grossly unfair. Rather than subject myself to more abuse I didn't say anything. Also, there was a lot of team switching based on teams being good or bad. I remarked to someone this was rude and I got an earful, I hate to say this, but guidelines need to be established and adhered to. Sorry, but I just had to ***** about this,

Just got back from 31 days on the Moon. (The carnival in Rio was one of SS's best excursions ever-us 70 year olds dancing to dawn). As I mentioned before I have a place holder in for the World Cruise 24. Right not I am torn whether to do it or or not. The primary reason I am considering it is that it goes west. I live in Ct. Farthest west I have gotten is California. I have nearly completely covered North and South America and nearly all of Europe. This itinerary's attraction is that it hits everything from Hawaii to New Zealand. I really, I know all of us do, but I really hate flying. This cruise would ease a lot of misery. On the other hand, and this should dissuade me, I had just started to get bored on the 2 legs of the Grand Voyage I took, I was learning bridge-never in my life had I thought I would play bridge-I just ordered Bridge for Dummies. My question is, and I know there is a lot of enthusiasm expressed above, but has anyone gone into a world cruise, initially having some doubt, and then had the doubt confirmed, and hated it. I was so ambivalent about the 31days. In the end it was really hard to get off. But committing to 4 times that has me, perhaps too, nervous.

Mr. Foot. What' s TMI

Hi Cruiseej. Packing and probably out the door as you read this. This was just touch and go. I need to pass on a piece of advice, which is graphic is nature and I apologize in advance. When traveling with SS or any else for that matter you are probably going to be give a medical questionnaire that asks if you have had certain conditions in the recent past. There are the expected ones like fever or cough. But then there are a couple that caught me, in this case nausea and diarrhea. About three weeks ago I had a bad case of exploding hemorrhoids. It was not pretty My wife who answered the form checked yes as to both of the symptoms. No, no, no. I will not lie, you can get denied embarkation for falsehoods. But..I really didn't have either condition. The diarrhea was due to the exploding hemorrhoids and the nausea was due to the meds my MD gave me to prevent infection (Cipro). SS evidently has a individual who just deals with Covid issues. I did not get this resolved to 6:00 PM last night. Much too close. So, the moral of this story is to be very careful in filling out routine forms and other requests for information and make sure your replies are accurate and truthful. Now my only problem is to figure out what to wear to the Carnival parade in Rio. Thanks again. chris

@cruiseej Thank you and everyone else who responded. It really has been helpful. We do have a letter from our doctor saying we have recently recovered from Covid. We now have had 3 binx tests all negative and the one PCR test which was positive. Along the way I discovered something that might be helpful to people. If you test positive with a RT PCR test in all probability you are going to continue to test positive with additional PCR tests for weeks or even months. The initial PCR tests remain the gold standard but after that the rapid antigen tests yields more accurate results. That said I have one quick story. I was largely symptom free, thank god, except for a little brain fog. I remember being in our bedroom, telling my wife I am fine, no symptoms. I turned to walk out of the room, the door was closed, I went straight into it and got knocked on my ass. I looked up to see my wife with a smirk on her face, saying "No symptoms Huh? Its time to get back to sea. Safe journeys to all.

Well. its 3 days from departure, from Lima to Rio on the Moon. Aside from a couple of potential civl wars, I have started packing and am ready to go. Except for one thing, which is the source of this question and a complicated one at that. My wife and I tested posted, by PCR 12 on January 6th and January 9th respectively. We each have conducted at home BiNex tests 3 times and all have been negative including yesterday . We have been entirely symptom free from the get go. We are both within the recent CDC isolation/Quarantine guidelines (2/29/03}. And we are fully vaxed and boosted. Now for the tricky part. Do your want us on your ship. Our SS CC is suppose to get back to us today with a go or no go decision. He had to bump this up the ladder became he didn't have a quick answer. We have insurance, and having recently had Covid -19 we are sure we would be covered. So $$ is not a big deal .There have been quite a few posts from people currently on the Moon. So in addition to whether you want us on board I am concerned about what kind of reception we will get, the atmosphere on board and whether we will be required to mask or not. I would never in a million years put someone at risk and I am sure we will test negative for. the immediate future. Of course our CC may take this out of our hands. So here I wonder if anyone, on any ships, have embarked with such narrow margins with the consent of SS, that is the tricky part. Lastly, I may have not been paying full attention but Terry seems to have been absent and now is back. I hope all is well and you have provided a greatly appreciated service to SS clients. .

thanks every one for the advice

This is getting ridiculous. First Peru goes boom, shutting down most of the countries air ports including those the gets you to Macchu Picchu. Then Brazil goes boom, in a perfect reenactment of of our January 6th debacle. I only post this in case things get worse. The Moon is only in Rio for 2 days. Including the Carnival parade, which I have always wanted to see, but SS's allotment of tickets are sold out (If any body is skittish about this and wants to get rid of their tickets I am in suite #742 just drop them in my mailbox. I will be forever grateful. Thanks chris

Thank you too. The requirements are somewhat difficult to understand. My wife is on her way now to get a PCR test, which, as I understand it, must confirm that she is positive. The test needs to be done at a minimum of 11 days before our departure date (16 days) So I think she will be alright. I just tested negative with a rapid antigen test, Which, if I get this right, should be good news, but as Dr. Ron pointed out, if I am going to catch it from my wife, ideally I need to do it, and get a positive PCR test in the next 5 days. There is something wrong with this scenario, but the rules are the rules. I will refrain from going to kiss her a few times to try to get infected. That just doesn't seem like fair play. I will go with the mask and isolation route and just hope I remain negative.

I posted on this topic a couple of weeks ago. At that time the US State Department had just issued a a level 3 warning on traveling to Peru. You might want to check if that is still in effect. The protests had occupied several airports including Cusco and other jumping of points to Machu Picchu so there there wasn't a choice, you didn't go. Evidently the situation has improved and getting there and back is possible. Someone said in my original thread that the US Consulate is usually a good source of information. Also, I find it hard to fathom that SS would lead you into a "hot war zone". That would be an extraordinary bad business decision. I personally would go. The same type of situation is confronting travelers more and more these days. And there is going to be a small amount of risk wherever you go (e.g. would you go to Jerusalem right now?). Good luck.

Hi, I need some help please. ( I am posting this in two places, a new thread here and Terry’s long running thread. We are due to depart Lima in 16 days January 20th. My wife tested positive for COVID last night ( a rapid antibody test). I tested negative for the time being. She does not yet have any symptoms outside a minor sore throat. She will try and find a PCR testing site today. We have trip insurance through SS. The problem here for me is two fold although there are probably more which is why I am posting this, hoping that someone else has found themselves in the same situation. Simply, what the hell should I do? My wife, should be, after 16 days, showing negative on a rapid test the day of embarkation.. I don’t know what the hell my status will be. If I test positive today, after 10 days I should be testing negative too if I have it now. But assume I am also testing negative. We are departing from Lima. I would rather deal with medical issues here rather than there. If all goes right and we are both testing negative at embarkation will they let us board ( I don’t know what SS’s policy will be on boarding in Lima). We were in the Cloud in July and SS did rapid tests basically ship side on embarkation day. I figure I must tell the truth about my wife’s positive tests 17 days ago. (And mine if I can’t avoid my wife’s infection). So big issues. Should I pull the trigger on the insurance early next week. Or should I hope we are both testing negative on January 20th and SS lets us board. As most of you know this is a hard choice. We have been planning this trip for months. My thanks to anyone who can help me out here. chris

Mysty. you maybe the only person in the world that enjoys the packing process. I pack, then I have to leave the house for hours when my wife starts packing, (easy during golf season, not so now) because she fills every nook and cranny of every suitcase and carry on. It is astounding at what she can fit. I have said to her several times, 'look it, anything you don't use on this trip we leave out next time" No such luck. We have schlepped stuff all over the world we (she) has never used. I have just started packing, we leave on the 20th. And I already hate it. 😎

This could be fun, a year ahead and misty is already posting the weather. I too am booked on the 1/24 world cruise. At the moment I am regarding this as a place holder. What attracts me to it is that it goes west out of the US instead of east. I was loathe to go to the West because of air time and other logistics. This takes the sting out of 24 hour flights. I am about to leave for 2 legs of the South American Grand Voyage, Lima to Rio 31 days. The 31 days will be the longest I have been at sea. We are using it as a dry run for the world cruise to see how we deal with longer voyages although the world cruise is 4x this. Today I am looking at the weather on the cruise to try to figure out what to pack. Packing for a mere 31 days already has my head spinning and I haven't started yet. The thought of packing for 130+ days seems impossible right now. So anyhow. I will post what I conclude after the cruise. I am puzzled about one thing. Our upcoming cruise is on the Moon. Why the Shadow-one of its older ships (2000) and not one of the newer models. I am assuming that they intend on sailing into locations that the larger ships can't navigate. If I am wrong here let me know. Otherwise I hope to be following this thread for the next year.

I am confused as usual and have 2 questions both of which I have received different answers from SS. We are on the moon for 2 legs of the current grand voyage, this from Lima to Rio. We will hit the 100 day mark during the cruise. Do we get free laundry from the beginning or do we have to wait to we actually hit the 100 day mark. Second is trickier. On this cruise they indicate, on the cruise activity form, 2 formal nights on the first leg of the trip but none on the second leg-Buenos Aires to Rio. I am debating whether to pack my tux and all the other stuff that goes with it-shoes, shirt, cuff links, bow tie etc. For 2 formal nights I might just wear a suit, for more than 2 I might pack my fancy gear (women have it so easy, they can just pack an elegant black dress). In advance I know this is a dumb question. Thanks

The US State Department issued a Level 3 Travel Advisory for all of Peru (go to the State Department Smart Traveler Program for more info) on December 22 for all of Peru. A level 3 warning advises one to "reconsider" travel. It expands its Do Not Travel Notice to a number of other destinations including Cusco. For the moment, and these situations are always fluid, this does mean, among other things, that if you signed up for a pre or post tour Macchu Pichu excursion, you are not going if your are sane. I don't think the State Department can prevent you from going there. If you choose to go, I think this does mean your are on your own. Mazel Tov. Most Silversea passengers on this trip are using the Westin Miraflores hotel as their pre-embarkation (Silver) hotel. For those who haven't been to Lima before, the Miraflores neighborhood is a very upscale, posh, district and as safe as your are going to get in Lima. I am not worried about that. Although I had scheduled a one day private tour of Lima which I might soon cancel. Now what Silversea does with this I have not a clue and maybe someone here can enlighten us all. If it is nothing more than protesters setting up barricades and burning trash cans no big deal. If they start shooting, BigDeal. The Moon's departure date from Lima is January 22 and evidently there are quite a few SS Pax embarking in Lima. Bypassing Peru and boarding at the next-non Peruvian port which is Arica Chile, in my mind, cannot be an option because of the logistics of air travel and many other things. So, for the moment, there is not much we can do. For those so inclined please do not get snarky with this, like whoever asked if I had been to Sevastapol lately in a previous thread. This can be serious stuff and warrants serious attention.

I was on the cruise you are thinking of in July. Don't be deterred by having to use Zodiacs at all. The Silver sea crews are absolutely phenomenal in getting people in and out of the Zodiacs without problems. Just do what they tell you to do. You use a forearm to forearm grip, not hand to hand, the later is much more secure. You only need 2 steps, one from the ship to the zodiac and another from the wide, rubberized zodiac to its surface. Then you sit down, and scoot your butt down to where they want you. In the 30 more more transfers I have made from ship to zodiac and vice versa, I have only seen one mishap, it was a macho gentleman who who waved off assistance from the crew and of course landed flat on his ass. He was lucky. So the odds- I have watched well over 300 people getting in and out of zodiacs with only one mishap, which was 100% the fault of the passenger. By comparison, getting in and out of a vaporetto in Venice is much, much more difficult. But I have seen, no offense here, little old, very old, ladies jumping in and out of those things with bags of groceries in their arms, when one of those giant cruise ships are going by leaving 4 foot wakes. Also on the Iceland/Scotland cruise all of the landings are on solid piers or docks. There are no wet landings or trickier ones on wet rocks. So don't give it thought. A favor though. Bust the Cruise Director if they haven't included a Scotch tasting yet. I complained vociferously that I took a tour of Scotland and didn't get a chance to taste even a wee dram.