south seas sue

Yes, I sailed this almost exact itinerary on SS 5 years ago. The difference was we stopped in Wrangel, and not in Prince Rupert Island. Otherwise, the same ports and cruise length. I didn't recognize any of the staff! of course my memory is faulty, but it seemed to me all of the main staff had changed.

I really felt the ship to be in the same beautiful shape I remembered from 5 years ago. Sure, the carpet was a bit worn in some of the high traffic areas, but that is indeed all I noticed. The brass and the glass gleamed! Some of the deck furniture has changed, and they have these canopy chaises now, and the Hot Rocks alternative for dining. As it could get a bit chilly in the evening, we did not partake of the hot rocks dining option.

Glenda

Thought I would share my impressions of this cruise, having taken this same itinerary 5 years ago with my husband. This time I traveled with my daughter.......

Our pre-cruise was spent at the Pan Pacific Hotel, on top of the Cruise Center........we had one full day, and enjoyed the Acquarium at Stanley Park, and lunch at the Tea Room. It was a beautiful day. We dined one night at the Bistro Pastis, and had a lovely French meal.

Post cruise we again toured Vancouver as our flight did not leave until 7:00 p.m. Our bags were taken by a porter back to the Pan Pacific, and stored until we were ready to cab to the airport. We spent part of the day at Granville Island, which is a wonderful place with food markets, and lots of special shops and artisan workshops. Had a glorious lunch at the Sandbar Restaurant on the Island, with a spectacular view of Vancouver Harbor.

Weather

I know its the luck of the draw here, and we had wonderful weather, especially for the sail into Tracy Arm and the Sawyer Glacier. Calm seas, and the Captain took the Inside Passage all the way back as well - so we were in protected waters all the time.

Butler

This is a new feature for us, and it is a winner! Our Butler was delightful, and always helpful - he often brought the room service, made sure our suite was immaculate, and continuously offered to do whatever extra chores we might have. I have noticed the staff ethnicity has changed over the years, and most of the butlers on this cruise were from India.

On-Board Activities

I liked the quartet. The musicians were all from the Phillipines, including the quartet and a duo (piano and singer). The quartet supported a number of occasions, including playing for the Lounge Shows, and for dancing. Did not like the duo - the piano player was okay, but the singer - well, its a matter of taste of course, but I did not like her voice/style.

The Artists of Silversea were 6 classically trained singers, and they were wonderful. As DucTape has reported, their pre-dinner opera show, and their regular Opera Show after dinner was wonderful! I only attended the Opera shows, and a show featuring songs by Bacharach and David, but people seemed to enjoy all of the showroom presentations.

There was a cooking demonstration, and a wine tasting with the head sommelier, and probably other activities I don't remember. I played Trivia every afternoon, and really enjoyed that. Loved the Cruise Director, Don Fluke - he was funny, good natured, and very friendly. In general, I thought it was a very convivial ship. People were friendly, and each night my daughter and I had interesting and well travelled dinner companions.

The Destination Expert Nikki Sepsis was absolutely marvelous! His lectures on the Gold Rush, the Wildlife, and the Pipeline were wonderfully informative and entertaining. It was a real plus to have them available many times on TV. Such an experienced and well-travelled man! We were fortunate enough to dine with him twice on the trip, and heard about his adventures as a cruise lecturer (and Gentleman Dance Host as well it turns out!)

Tours

Can't say much about these - there were so many to choose from! We did take a wildlife search boat trip, a boat to Misty Fjords, and the Railway in Skagway, and enjoyed them all.

Dress Code - There were 2 formal nights, 2 informal, and the rest were informal. I believe there are more casual nights on the Alaskan cruises then for the other itineraries.

The food and service were impeccable. We dined at Le Champagne, and enjoyed food we would not have had otherwise - like caviar and foi gras. My main course that evening was pigeon, and my daughter had venison.

Anyone have any questions, feel free.

Hi there Emdee. email is g.madrid@ca.rr.com

Hi Emdee. Dont forget us for your announcements of your reunion trip! Juloy 2014 sounds about right, if I am still ambulatory at that point.....when you are as "senior" as I am, you can't make too many plans for the future...............but still, sigh, it sounds like it would be wonderful. My daughter is already saving her money for the next PG adventure.

:):p

Interesting question. Tahiti is much different than Hawaii, being a French Protectorate rather than being part of the US of A. The French haven't been able to commercialize it too badly, in my opinion, despite having the responsibility for Tahiti all these years.

Not sure what a "land tour" would get you. Perhaps a few 4 wheel drive excursions on Bora Bora and Moorea. Relaxing by the pool and snorkling/diving at resorts - which are run very much on Tahitian Time.

I think the advantage of the PG is that you do see each of the islands, and are able to drive around and see beaches, Tahitians fishing, visit the markets, etc. and are still able to dine wonderfully on the ship, and have a "home base." Visitors have an opportunity to purchase locally made crafts as well as pearl and shell jewelry that supports local families.

As far as the "true culture" of Polynesia, well Mark Eddoes (sp?) could tell you all about that. Much of the "true culture" of Polynesia left with the missionaries, and the imposition of Western ways and mores on the people. Mark, an archeologist/anthropologist based in FP, gives a wonderful lecture on "what happened after Captain Cook" on the PG several times a year. He also leads an excursion to various "maraes", the sacred stones erected by the old Polynesians in the islands.

Keep in mind that while I am sure it has evolved and changed some over the years, Tahitian dancing is taken very seriously by the people, and they have major dance competitions during the year on all the islands. This culminates with a Tahiti-wide competition held in Papeete every summer. On our last PG cruise, one of the major contest winners was brought aboard the PG to give a performance. It was outstanding! So, I don't know if they were profit-making or not - I certainly hope the dancers made some money from it = but it did afford the passengers a wonderful opportunity to see Tahitian dancers and instrumentalists at their best.

Hope this provides some insight into what a sail on the PG is likely to bring.

None of you have mentioned Damien. We took his snorkle tour of Bora Bora a couple of years ago. He is a handsome Frenchman, with good command of English. He will go where you want, to do what you want - we had a drift snorkel after crossing a motu and then drifting back to the boat, and 2 other snorkel stops that were just great. His boat will seat 6 comfortably. His specialty is photography, and he will take photos for you to purchase if you are interested.

I am sorry to hear about Moreto's deteriorating attitude. I guess Patrick has become too busy to monitor these excursions as he should, and from the feedback about Moreto he should not be allowed anywhere near tourists! Here is Damien's website.

www.boraboraphotolagoon.com

- especially for ohytThtr/tour of

Quinn, we had Moreto also when we took the 3/4 day tour last June. Partrick was supposed to lead us, but he had a French film crew in and Moreto was his substitute. Moreto was cooperative, cheerful, but not too talkative - he did play his uke a lot. When we got to the lunch site Patrick and his daughter were there, and the food was ready - (the film crew got postponed). Patrick was cleaning up the area, and our lunch was great - plenty of food, but then there were only 7 of us total.

I did not notice that Moreto had any kind of "attitude", but perhaps we caught him on a good day - anyway, even with Moreto substituting, it was a terrific day - started out rainy, but Moreto motored to another site with sun.......

:p

The first time we took a private excursion in Bora Bora we used Damien, a very friendly Frenchman who also takes people out in his boat for wonderful snorkel trips. I believe his website is www.boraboraphotolagoon.com. He is a great photographer, and will give you photos to keep - that is his specialty. No roast pig picnic, but if you want great snorkeling and photography, contact Damien. He gets good reviews on Trip Advisor as well.

Rick and others familiar with NE weather, give my your opinions about the likelihood of bad weather around the end of Sept. Our cruise leaves Montreal on 9-24, and travels down through Bar Harbor, Boston, Newport, ending in NY on 10-4. Of course I will have seasick remedies with me, but would like some input about weather - choppiness, storms, temperature, rain - at that time of year.

I know this is a crystal ball question. But if you could just speak from experience, it would help me be prepared.

Thanks so much!