TLCOhio

We are booked on the Silver Moon starting Feb. 11 from Mumbai. Since mid-October on the "Silver Moon: Late Dec., Jan. Sailing Challenges/Questions??" thread on this SS board, I have been posting as to these various questions. Earlier, I had suggested and speculated that in late December, Silversea should have started to adjust schedules and commence the circumnavigation of Africa in order to reach either the Dubai, etc., cruises or to make the India/SE Asia sailings work. In fairness, I originally thought that the Suez Canal would be the major, most at-risk navigation point. But, then it ends up being the southern part of the Red Sea with the Yemen rebels and needing to sail into the Gulf of Aden. Now, Silversea must figure out its "logistics" for getting down to Cape Town and then going to India or Sri Lanka. From the website sea-distances.org, the Cape Town to Mumbai journey is 4599 nautical miles, requiring 10 days 16 hours if using a sailing speed of 18 knots per hour. By contrast, at the same speed, going to the capital of Sri Lanka is 4362 nautical miles, taking 10 days 2 hours. Going to Columbo would save 16 hours, but would add huge additional costs to Silversea as roughly 600 passengers would need to spend thousands of more dollars for flights, hotels, etc., in getting from Mumbai down to Sri Lanka. For the Silver Moon, 17 knots is the normal "service speed" with 21 knots as its highest speed. I figured as using 18 knots speed for my calculations. A higher ship speed burns more fuel, but it could be worth it in order to lessen the additional costs in shifting the Mumbai sail-away time too much from Feb. 12. Look forward to learning more, but agree that it might not be till Friday that Silversea is able to finalize all of these calculations and re-supply details. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights. On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings. Now at 248,212 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

Appreciate these additional comments and follow-ups. From our TA who has close contact with SS key people, it is still "SILENCE" as to any specifics to confirm exactly when the Silver Moon will arrive in Mumbai. From www.cruisemapper.com, the Silver Moon is getting very close to arriving in Malta. Per this website, the ship is sailing at a speed of 17 kn / 31 km/ and is still due to arrive there at 6 pm today. Last night from the sea-distances.org website, I was doing some rough estimating as to ship travel distances and speeds, etc. Will share more later today. Would love to hear from those who departed the Silver Moon in Athens as to if all of the staff was staying on the ship or if a large number departed there. It could be that Malta will be the major re-supply and staff changing point. More to come?? When from Silversea?? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

This makes sense as it gives them more time to get ALL of the food and supplies pulled together for that long journey down the western coast of Africa. Also, in Malta, they can shift various staff on and off of the ship. Hopefully, we will hear more details from those passengers who were forced off in Athens as to what details the staff shared before their disembarkation. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

YES, as the below graphic shows, it was a quick turn-around in the Athens port and now per www.cruisemapper.com the Silver Moon has set sail . . . QUICKLY!!! Destination shows as Valletta, Malta, arriving Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. It shows their current speed as 17 kn / 31 km/h. Nothing yet from Silversea and/or on our Feb. 11 cruise "My Silversea" website to indicated as to when and if the Silver Moon does its sail-away from Mumbai. Given that most of the Asian Silver Moon cruises are fully booked, I doubt that they are going to scrub all of those cruises. Hopefully, Silversea will update in the next few days. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Great above analysis from our UK friend. Keep it coming with your insights. The Silver Moon has arrived in Athens' nearby port. See below. Good luck and safe travels for all involved. Look forward to hearing any and all updates and details from those who are soon departing the Silver Moon. Plus, we await official announcements from Silversea as to where and how the Silver Moon catches up for its upcoming, scheduled sailings. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio From www.cruisemapper.com

Appreciate this excellent research and follow-up from our friends in the UK. Agree that it is tight and questionable as to how this circumnavigation of Africa can be accomplished in limited time. Earlier, my very rough guess is that it would take 25 days to accomplish such a sailing. That estimate of "Total distance 13250. 13250nm in 610 hours requires an average speed of 21.7kts" could be correct. Clearly the "logistics" for re-fueling, crew arrangements, etc., require some serious planning and preparations. Our TA has been bugging Silversea folks for more information and I expect to hear and learn more by the middle of this week. Excellent point by Kauaijim as to: "A lot of fuel burned with no revenue. Airlines can swap planes can SS swap ships?" Clearly, cruise lines cannot "flip" and/or move ships as to how the airlines can do that . . . QUICKLY and easily!! THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 55,586 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta. www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

You asked. Here goes. As of this morning, the Silver Moon is headed to Athens and due to arrive there in seventeen hours. Due there per www.cruisemapper.com at 2 am tomorrow morning. Below is the graphic for the ship's current position. Getting close to Athens and seems on schedule. In just checking the Silversea website this morning, all of the previous Silver Moon cruises have been scrubbed off of their website for Dubai, Doha, Muscat, etc. The first available cruise showing now is Mumbai to Singapore, February 11-29. Sounds good, maybe?? BUT, Silversea has not yet officially announced that they are sailing westbound without passengers from Athens in the Med, going down the west coast of Africa, circling South Africa and heading directly to Mumbai. That probable plan seems highly likely, but nothing official has been confirmed by Silversea. Our February 11-29 cruise is all solid-out and wait-listed except for one remaining Silver Suite. We have booked and paid for a February 5-11 private tour of the India Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agre and Jaipur. All flights are booked and confirmed. BUT, we have considered some options as to if and how Silversea makes timing changes for this scheduled cruise. Does this help? Look forward to hearing from those currently on the Silver Moon as to what ship officers there are saying or sharing. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Athens & Greece: Visuals, details from two visits in a city and nearby with great history, culture and architecture. Now at 61,775 views. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1101008

Good luck in your efforts to get things worked out. Legitimately, Silversea could have handled this much, much better, improved their communications, been more open and shown a higher level of responsiveness. BUT, in fairness, this is a very unique and totally difficult circumstance that no one could have accurately predicted. Just like with Covid, the cruise lines were sailing into uncharted waters with heavy winds blowing both ways. As noted earlier, I thought that the Suez Canal would be the highest danger zone for the Silver Moon. Things changed!!!! My guessing and speculations were wrong at that point for the high-risk territory . Be patience and reasonable. Be hopeful!! Silversea has lots and lots to adjust and fix for several thousand people, passengers and staff. Plus, re-routing logistics and suppliers, etc. Ideally, they will improve their offering, options and communications in the next few days. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio From late 2018, see “Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East. Now at 22,363 views. Connect at: www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/

Agree that the 20% might not be best, fair and/or appropriate, depending on each traveler's circumstances and challenges. As to places to follow-up, here are two initial options: GuestRelations@silversea.com GuestRelationsUK@silversea.com It might depends as to where in the world you are located. What's your home/nation location? You also try to reach the Silversea CEO who is based in Monaco. I think one of her email is: BarbaraM@silversea.com BMuckerman@silversea.com BMuckermann@silversea.com From www.cruisemapper.com late this afternoon, here is what they are showing as to the Silver Moon's current location (with this SS ship circled below in red): From this website, they have Piraeus-Athens as the destination with an ETA of January 16, 02:00 and a current speed of 19 kn / 35 km/h. Any other updates and/or added information? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

YES!! Super wise to avoid spending that extra $6K for such a cruise ship offering. Enjoyed lincslady's wisdom for liking a smaller, more personal ship environment versus the BIG, BIG ships. Lots to love with a 'village/small town' atmosphere. Great sharing and comments!! THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Yes, our fingers need to be crossed for all involved. It was nearly three months ago when I first started this thread and was raising serious questions as to how the Silver Moon managed to make safe transitions in late January 2024. Initially, I was more worried about the Suez Canal. Fortunately, that has not been as big of an issue or question BUT, the southern part of the Red Sea has literally "blown up"!! Sadly!! As of this morning, the Silversea website shows this cruise being open for booking: However, when you click on the golden button to book, this message pops up: Hopefully in the next few days, maybe longer given that Monday is the MLK holiday here in the US, Silversea will be updating and communicating their plans and schedules during the next few weeks. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Great question as to this surprising news. We have been looking at and considering the Silver Wind for Antarctica in early 2025 on this ship. The "rumors" for what it might be worth (or not), is that Silversea might be narrowing down its fleet and would be selling off the Silver Wind. Look forward to learning more. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

YES, it is very unfortunate that you have had the originally-promised stop for Luxor scrubbed out TWICE. We feel so fortunate during our late 2018 Middle East cruise that we had two days and an overnight stay in Luxor. It is such a world-class historic site there on the amazing Nile River. Appreciate so much your follow-ups and postings. Refresh my memory as to roughly how many are sailing on the Silver Moon now and what Silversea is saying, handling future adjusted flight schedules, etc. Good luck in dealing with these challenges. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Great that you are "Alive and Well". Super enjoying all of the pictures and updates. Keep 'em comin'!! Lots of fun and excitement for us, especially with the cold and snow hitting much of the USA right now. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Appreciate, but am so sorry to hear, with these follow-ups for the cancellations of the various Doha/Dubai cruises. From www.cruisemapper.com below shows the Silver Moon just now departing the Suez Canal and assumingly now going north to Athens. Keep us posted from those on the Silver Moon and others affected as what else Silversea is saying and doing to provide options/compensation, make additional arrangements, etc. Agree and hope that Dr. Ron is correct with his summary of "Moon going from Athens and around the Cape of Good Hope to Mumbai it should reach there before February 11th to start the cruise to Singapore." THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Great funnies from Dr. Ron and other interesting updates/sharing from DavyWavey70, etc. In case some are not aware, Silversea and current/upcoming Silver Moon passengers/crew are going through certain changes and chaos right now. Late January and early February Silver Moon cruises in the Middle East are being scrubbed. The Silver Moon is reversing course to go back up the Suez Canal and return to Athens, dump all passengers and maybe some crew. Then, in my opinion and speculation, the Silver Moon will need to sail west in the Med, go down the western coast of Africa, circle South Africa and then head strait to Mumbai to let passengers (including us) be able to board this ship in India. Stay tune!!! Silversea staff on the ship, in the US and UK, etc., are dealing with many changes and adjustments during to the warfare in the Middle East, including lack of safety for in and around Yemen right now. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Helpfully from LcruiCruise1963 on another CC SS thread, this update was just posted: "Really appreciate the updates. Your posting helped tremendously. I spoke with a rep from SS this morning and she told me Jan 26th is canceled and information will go to customers with options on Monday. Thanks to all for the great posts." Keep up the great sharing in dealing with these challenging situations and conditions. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Appreciate the follow-up from Skyhigh saying: "Yes, now going directly to Athens to disembark on the 16th. Waiting for clearance to go through the Suez right now." As I recall our Texas friend is now on the Silver Moon and has been so informed by the staff on the ship about the Silver Moon heading to Athens where a wider range of airline flights will be available for the passengers and certain crew members who are disembarking. Dr. Ron above did an excellent job to calculate the distances and speeds for the Silver Moon to hear west in Med and then go south along Africa's western coast, circle South Africa and heard to either Dubai. A number of weeks back I speculated as this option. My rough calculations back then and posted on this thread figured it to take about 26 days of straight sailing to reach Mumbai in time for our Feb. 11 boarding in India as we sail for our scheduled 18-day cruise to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and finally for Singapore. In response to BuenaVista1, I think Silversea has not exactly been as clear, timely and upfront in sharing what they knew as to the uncertainties with these various schedules and serious challenges. To be totally honest and fair, however, these are highly unusual times and situations. Silversea and other cruise lines are facing extremely and highly unique difficulty in guessing and predicting what happens next. Current news reports reflect a second night of bombing by the US and UK against the Yemen rebels. This "situation" in the Middle East is far from over and done. It might be just starting and getting much worse. FAST! Hope not, but reality is happening right now Hopefully those now on the Silver Moon will continue to be sharing more background as they are updated by the Captain. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.). Now at 73,840 views: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2076101-live-amazon-river-caribbean-many-pix’s-terryohio/

From the Wall Street Journal late Friday afternoon, below are the charts for the three major cruise lines. Not a great start of 2024 for the cruise stock and many other companies? Where for the rest of this month and during the first quarter of 2024? However, for the past year, things during the past twelve months look much better as to Royal Caribbean. See this WSJ chart: THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights. On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings. Now at 248,049 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/ Here are the Wall Street Journal charts to reflect the past five days of trading for the three major cruise lines. Finally, at the bottom, is the chart for this past month showing a sliding past month's trading for Royal Caribbean and the other cruise lines. These three companies during the past week did not all move up and down in the same ways for these five days.: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) RCL for the past month. Not exactly all positive and good?:

Yes, from www.cruisemapper.com this is strange. Here is what I just saw and captured in a screen shot. Is the Silver Moon going to sail up the Suez Canal? Hopefully, we can learn more from those currently on the Silver Moon. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For wyocruiser, let's hope Silversea improves its decision and communications timings. From that UK Telegraph article posted previously, I neglected to including this key quote from the SS official: "Shanks said guests on Silver Moon’s cancelled cruise can opt for a full refund or move to another 2024 cruise. 'We are always very reasonable and believe in compensating guests when things don’t go as they hoped,' he said." THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From the London/UK Telegraph and MSN News this afternoon, they had this headline: “What the Red Sea attacks could mean for cruise holidays” with these highlights: “As the conflict with Iran-backed Houthi rebels escalates in Yemen and the Red Sea, cruise passengers face possible changes to their holiday itineraries in the coming months. Silversea’s Silver Moon is on the last few days of a 10-night cruise that should have been from Aqaba in Jordan to Muscat in Oman. Instead, it has been changed to a round-trip Aqaba cruise, still 10 nights and still ending on January 16, while the following sailing, from Muscat to Dubai, has been cancelled. Peter Shanks, Silversea’s managing director UK and Ireland, said the company is rearranging flights for guests on the altered cruise. They are also each receiving US$500 cruise credit and 50 per cent off a future cruise. 'Our guests have been very understanding,' he added.” Also of interest, this reporting noted: "Now the spotlight falls on cruise lines like P&O Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line and Azamara, which each have ships on world cruises that are due to transit Suez in March or April as the vessels return to the Mediterranean." Full story at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/what-the-red-sea-attacks-could-mean-for-cruise-holidays/ar-AA1mSBec THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Venice: Loving It & Why??!! Is one of your future desires or past favorites? See these many visual samples for its great history and architecture. This posting is now at 110,382 views. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

This graphic from the NY Times this afternoon below gives a better picture for how much of Yemen that these Houthis rebels control and where the US/UK military strikes were aimed. This is not a small effort by a handful of tag-tag rebels in small boats firing guns and throwing rocks. It's serious and becoming more of a troubled situation at the most-risky level. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/01/11/world/israel-hamas-houthi-yemen-news

Totally agree with the smart and savvy Spins as to that part of the world being an area to avoid. PLUS, how would the insurance cover the risk for Silversea in trying to navigate down that route? Excellent that gypsyjennifer1 chatted with the Captain yesterday. As shown above, even he does not know because Silversea is still trying to untangle this very complicate and total mess. The conditions in and around Yemen, plus uncertainty about sailing close to Iran on the way to Dubai are hyper-challenged. From the Wall Street Journal minutes ago early this afternoon, here was their headline: "U.S.-Led Yemen Strikes Heighten Risk of Broader Middle East Conflict" with this sub-headline: "Iran-backed Houthi rebels warn they will retaliate, pledge to continue attacks on shipping." Full story at: https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-led-yemen-strikes-heighten-risk-of-broader-middle-east-conflict-aedb0006?mod=hp_lead_pos4 THANKS! Terry in Ohio Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights. On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings. Now at 248,049 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

Yes, Spins, the Silver Moon is now in this small seashore port near Cairo and the lower end of the Suez Canal. That dramatic schedule change was announced a few days ago and this ship is next supposed to be close to the port near Luxor before unloading all of the passengers in the southern part of Jordan. Appreciate your great question and follow-up. What's next is the key, mega-million-dollar question?? My guess and speculation are that nobody at Silversea and Royal Caribbean really knows for certain. Right or wrong? Go down the Red Sea and sailing around rebel-infested portions of Yemen without passengers and most of the crew removed? Or, cancel more scheduled Silver Moon cruises and take the 20+ day routing down and around the southern part of Africa in order to arrive in India by February 11? Why? Maybe "all hell has broken loose" in this southern part of the Red Sea?? From the New York Times this morning, they had this headline: “Houthis Vow to Respond After U.S. Leads Strikes in Yemen" with this sub-headline: "The Iranian-backed militia and its allies condemned air and naval attacks led by the United States, an expansion of the conflict in the Middle East. President Biden said he “will not hesitate” to act further if the Houthis continue targeting Red Sea shipping.” Here are some of their reporting highlights: “Iranian-backed Houthi forces and their allies on Friday condemned American-led military strikes in Yemen and vowed to respond, as the Middle East went on alert for retaliatory attacks that could expand the conflict in the region. After the United States and others launched air and naval strikes against more than a dozen targets linked to the Houthi militia, even some American allies in the Arab world worried that the attacks would not deter the Houthis, but could further inflame a region seething over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Oman, a U.S. ally that has mediated talks with the Houthis, criticized the strikes and expressed its 'deep concern.' ” Having raised these question since mid-October, this has been frustrating to watch and wonder. Anyone have the answers? Or, better guesses? Full story at: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/01/11/world/israel-hamas-houthi-yemen-news THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio From late 2018, see “Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East. Now at 22,363 views. Connect at: www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/