highplanesdrifters

No advantage booking directly. A good TA is worth their weight in gold. @Hlitnerhas it right

From our recent Cloud sailing. Bartenders were happy to create and comply with special requests. Lovie was especially fond of the Dark Chocolate Martini.😁

You are too kind!

My Sad attempts at Food Porn German day at the Pool Grill. Chef Pia is German.😉 Asian salad with spicy peanut sauce Canapés Cesar salad. I told you it was a patheric attempt!

FOOD Chef Pia I thought Chef Pia and her team deserved a separate post for the fantastic job they did. Everyone on board we encountered agreed with this assessment. One rarely noticed that staff was short handed. All were working tirelessly. The trip started out a little bland but then someone flipped a switch. We found our groove in the MDR and mostly ate there. The daily MDR "taste of" offerings were always interesting and well seasoned. The main menu also had regular changes with interesting offerings. We prefer things spicy and ethnic with a little comfort food thrown in. I often went for the vegetarian offerings which were superb. But when I dipped into steak and burger land they too were bang on. Daily soup offerings were another highlight. Lovie would often pop down to the 11a.m. soup station by the pool. We had no trouble swilling back the included wines which were varied and delicious. Who knew that the best pecan pie I have ever eaten would be on a ship in the middle of a Norwegian fjord. It was a special order by one our our dinner mates. Chef and team also bent over backwards with special orders and tweaks to meals. Sorry about the lack of food porn photos, perhaps next time. This may have been the best cruise food we have ever had.

IMHO currently it is not a difference between Seabourn and Silversea but difference between specific ships and itineraries. It is a luck of the draw depending on which ship has been supplied with enough staff, decent wine and food provisions. When will things equalize and return to what we used to know and love? Who knows. In the meantime, we're burning daylight. I'm going, warts and all.

@John117thank you for taking the time to report in detail. We have just returned from a Silversea Cloud trip. The ship, food, and staff were fantastic but the corporate overlords treated us so poorly that Silversea are on the never again list until all our FCCs are used up. Many onboard expressed the same sentiment with torches and pitchforks. With a few Seabourn trips coming up, I wonder if they too will be on the never again list. Then it will be off to Ponant or perhaps trying some of the other new luxury lines, eventually crawling back to Seabourn and Silverseas 🤣.

Stunning! Great pics. Weren't those waffles great!

Thanks M, wishing you calm seas (you deserve it) and plenty of sunshine for the rest of your voyage.

Tromso, Norway Gateway to the Arctic. Should you find yourself here make sure to check out The Polar Museum. Silversea provided us with a bus transfer to the airport and mini tour. The highlight was the northern most Botanical Gardens. Driving around the hospital, not so much. Flight was uneventful and we are now at the Raddison Blu Oslo Airport. Silversea on the ground here have been fantastic. Someone to help every step of the way. Check in a breeze. Hard to belive this color is real. Pop Up Passport control. Thanks for the great ride SS Cloud.

Thanks for taking us with you!

Sundsvollsundet, Norway Kittiwakes for days. Sound On! 20220613_150633.mp4 20220613_144500.mp4

Harstad, Norway One of the larger cities in Northern Norway. Grey with low clouds. We did a quick tour of a museum and historical church. An OK bus tour. The walls were 5 feet thick. We were told this is a spectacular view.🤣

Ahhh... Suffering through in the Observation bar, 😉 one of my favorite places! Glad you are enjoying.

Egads M meant to leave you Sun in Alesund not an avalanche! Wish our paths were closer!

The Lofoten Wall This massive wall rises steeply from the waters of Vestfjorden. It is the spine of Lofoten. 20220611_223029.mp4

Narvik, Norway Well.......the town is a tad tired. We did our best to enjoy. We booked too late to get a spot on the famous Ofto train to the Swedish border Famous for its iron ore, and the reason for the towns existence Strategic during WWll. Those that went loved it.

It truly is special. Sounds like you hit it with perfect timing. Last time on Seabourn we did it in zodiacs. They popped Champagne as we reached the end and the Quest joined us. Magical.

Trollfjorden The famous mini fjord. The cruise ship sails through so close you can almost touch the steep granite cliffs. We overslept and woke up halfway in.🤣 It was a bit cloudy and not all of her beauty was revealed, but sill amazing. Fortunately we had done a Zodiac cruise through on a precious visit so we didn't feel too bad . 20220612_080710.mp4

Reine to Leknes, Lofoton Islands, Norway Lofoton steals my heart every time.

As always @cruiseejgets it right. And at least you won't have to worry about snakes! We've done some of the lower east side of Greenland and are headed to Scoresby sound in August. We are planning on doing the west side at some point. Anyone have any comparisons?

Harstad, Norway After a few too many glasses of wine last night, woke up to this. 🤣Not the prettiest sight. Some hiking excursions canceled. Can we hit the rewind button please. Don't worry, I'll backtrack and fill in the good bits.

Vaeroy, Lofoton. Norway Sleepy Fishing village at the southern tip of Lofoton. We went on the History Walk and quickly peeled off for a free roam when we realized it was an amble with very little history. Clocked in about 5 miles about the town. It was cloudy, drizzling but still lovely . I enjoy getting a peek into lives very different than mine. Before we peeled off from our young guide (18?) we learned that many of the children 12-18 make money by cutting out Cod tongues. Who knew? She told us it was a town more suited to older people and couldn't wait to start traveling. Cod racks. They dry for 3-6 months depending on who you ask. Directions House of the Fishing fleet owner Cod, Cod, and more cod. Fishing museum. A little too early. A very Hip and Groovy town. Only 750 people and Fever Tree in the recycle bin.

Flight issue. In theory it has been resolved and we are booked on flights. I'll let you know when we land in Oslo. 😉 More importantly, after 6 days of blaming us and our TA we met with the CD. He apologized and fully admitted it was 100% Silverseas fault. Jeeeez, why was that so hard.

We've met Peter and Wendy. You are so right, absolutely gun and delightful. It's a cruise full of great people. We've only encountered one "name dropper type". Thanks for the rez tips. Staff and butler Rodney have offered many times to help. TBH, we usually prefer not to be locked into a reservation, although I know we can cancel I feel it is not fair to others. It's nice not to be on a schedule so we can linger over cocktails in Panorama with piano and scenery as our entertainment or crash with room service after a long day.