nav1027

Reminds me of my high school days when we were hiding bottles in the most interesting places...

Cash only in casinos on all cruise lines that I had experience with.

Unfortunately could not choose to play Jacks or better because of troubles with the touchscreen, so cannot answer your question. 😞

Video poker machines are there, but the touchscreen was flaky.

Congratulations! Would you mind sharing the result? 🙂

Just got off the Moon. Everything was as described in this thread ($10 min, $50 max, 3:2, etc.). Casino was empty most of the time with not more than two players during the peak time, no BJ tournament, no excitement. 😉

Based on my limited understanding they have pretty good statistical models, so they waitlist only when the existing reservations are below or at the ship's total capacity. Several days (sometimes weeks for certain categories) they start offering upgrades to certain passengers (such as those having 100+ days on SS) thus freeing up space in waitlisted lower categories. Never heard of people not clearing a waitlist on SS (of course this does not mean that it never happens).

A "Guarantee" means that they promise to find a suitable accommodation for you (and more often than not they will upgrade your cabin). So you will always get a room. SilverSea also has waitlisting on some itineraries which means that you might miss the boat so to speak (if you are waitlisted, but not guaranteed).

We used Welcome Pickups twice during this trip and were quite satisfied with their punctuality and service.

We are off the ship and at the airport. I've made a mistake and booked the standard cruise transfer to the airport. It turned out that one needs to haul their luggage to the bus parking which as twice the distance to the taxi or private car meeting point. And it costs more for two of us than the private driver. And obviously it takes more time. So my advice to future Athens disembarkation travelers: book your own airport transfers unless you are on a door-to-door plan. 🙂

One more thing worth mentioning. With the basic (free) internet they not only block streaming (including YouTube, FB videos etc.) but also all Google apps such as docs and spreadsheets. And they allow only one device at a time, so, for example, you need to disconnect your laptop if you want to use WiFi on your phone.

We went to the Atlantide yesterday and it was packed! 🙂 Then had a lot of fun with Christmas Carols sing-along at the Dolce Vita with Mark Farris. Also wanted to mention that the casino on this sailing is a bit of disappointment. It is empty or almost empty most of the time; yesterday they were supposed to have a blackjack tournament, but the casino manager apparently forgot to notify the cruise director so there was no announcement or entry in the list of activities. I told Adam in the morning about this but nobody has followed up so there was no announcement at noon, etc. I think that the casino manager and Adam could have done a better job of attracting people to the casino and making it more fun...

A day in Antalya started on a colder side (with temperatures in low 40s), but warmed up later in the morning. We had a great guide Erhan on a tour of the ancient Perge and a remarkably preserved theater of Aspendos. Antalya's traffic is pretty bad, so the shuttle from the cruise terminal can take anywhere from 30 minutes to almost an hour to reach the city center (Republic Square AKA Cumhuriyet Meydani). Went there after lunch to catch great views and visit the old port. A dinner with two other couples at Silver Note was great, everyone enjoyed a lobster tail as an appetizer or a main course (some of our friends even ordered a double portion). We had such a good time there that we've ended up staying from 8 to 11:30 and missed the show and other entertainment. 🙂

Paphos weather was great as well as our tour to Temple of Apollo and Ancient Kourion. The only minor issue is that it ran late and we got back at 2:30 PM and missed the lunch at La Terrazza. Ended up at the Arts Cafe for some English Tea sandwiches because I was confused by The Grill menu and did not notice the main menu options (don't ask me why and how; I am embarrassed and angry at myself). 🙂

Our luck with the weather ran out in Rhodes. Our tours to Lindos got rained out after buses took us to the village. Some people braved out the rain and went on to the Acropolis while most of us (worried about slippery and steep steps leading to the top of the mountain) asked to be taken back to Rhodes for a short walk around the ancient city and a visit to the Palace of the Grand Master showcasing amazing ancient floor mosaics. Fortunately the rain stopped when we got back and the rest of the day was sunny and warm.

Another great day: Kusadasi's weather was perfect. Now we are cruising to Rhodes and it seems that we are going full speed because the vibration is quite palpable for the first time in 6 days of the cruise. We are on deck 7 (735 & 737), so it is somewhat surprising given the location.

Hi Angela, somehow we've missed you and Peter again. 🙂 Sona at the Venetian Lounge was a great singer tonight meanwhile. Her English being her fourth language after Armenian, Russian and German was not too bad after all. 🙂 And her voice is amazing.

Went to SALT tonight. Chicken skewers and duck were dry. So had to order fish instead of chicken after sending it away. Not what we were expecting. 😞 Still enjoying our cruise and having fun. One other observation. Dancers and singers on Crystal and Regent would come for late dancing (on Moon it would be the Observation Lounge), but on the Moon nobody shows up after the performance. And there are no gentlemen hosts for single travelers too.

Hmm, I thought that I was clear that the shuttle runs between the cruise terminal and the Grand Bazaar (Gate 1). Sorry if this was confusing to you!

Hi Terry, hope to introduce myself to you tonight. 🙂 I also loved that they allowed us to board early in Athens (in fact, even SilverSea buses were bringing people from hotels around noon). The sailing from Athens was remarkably smooth for this time of year. Dined at SALT yesterday, but I personally enjoyed our first meal at Atlantide even more. 🙂 And yes, everybody whom we've talked to have booked the cruise because of the Israel and Egypt itinerary. Oh, well... AT & KIra

On the Moon now in Istanbul. There is a shuttle every 30 minutes to the center of the city from the Galataport terminal on the other side of the Golden Horn. The pickup location is on a pedestrian street next to the Gate 1 of the Grand Bazaar.

I am just looking at the SS website and "memorizing" the previous results. For example, I see additional superior veranda suites showing up (only one was available on deck 7, then two, etc. while it shows at least 6 available on deck 8 and 6 available on deck 9, which is the maximum SS shows at once).

Apparently the ship will be half-empty. I am looking at the number of cabins that are available in all categories. There are new ones every day (due to cancellations, I presume). I was really looking forward to this sailing, now my only hope is that they would divert us to the Adriatic Sea. 😉

We'll never forget the rough seas we've encountered on the boat ride from Delos back to Mykonos about 20 years ago. We were so seasick, the ride seemed to last forever. 😞

Hi Angela, I don't mind if they completely reroute us to Ionian and Adriatic Seas. 🙂 Of course, the probability of such thing happening is close to zero. About Antalya: the ship tour of Perge and Aspendos looks appealing to us, we don't care too much about the "Russian conquest of Turkish Riviera". 🙂 Ephesus night concert was one of the highlights of our Crystal cruise 10 years ago, we don't mind visiting Ephesus again, but we are a bit concerned about the overload of Greek and Roman history in the current itinerary. AT & Kira