dawntrdr

Thanks for your updates, Tucson Guy.  If you happen to hear about it, let us know if the suites on Deck 6 are getting any noise from the Atrium or the public spaces on 5.  Particularly, I see that the piano and combo area in Dolce Vita is directly below several Deluxe Veranda suites.  The amplifiers (there are several) are attached to the ceiling.  It's hard to believe this wouldn't be heard/felt in the floor on Deck 6.

Wow, I hadn't really thought about suite size (other than I knew that Cloud, Wind and the Expedition ships should be reasonably smaller).  Comparing Deluxe Verandas, there is a noticeable range:

Cloud:  295 sq. ft.

Shadow:  345 sq. ft.

Spirit: 376 sq. ft.

Dawn:  387 sq. ft.

Nova:  357 sq. ft.

3 hours ago, steamboats said:

Here's my detailed view into our Deluxe Veranda suite

Thanks for the view.  It looks more narrow to me than a Deluxe Veranda on the Dawn - am I mistaken?

58 minutes ago, CruisinPashmina said:

PS. If anyone has fresh info on the condition of The Shadow, I would like their impressions. Is there anything comparable to the brilliant Arts Cafe?

The Shadow was updated in 2019 and it does show an Arts Cafe on Deck 5.  The kind of moved all of the retail shop merchandise to the periphery and put tables in the middle.  It is more of an "on the avenue" experience rather than the separate room they have on the Moon and Dawn.

Greetings, Lois!  I hope you have a a fabulous time.  If you are looking into something to do in the walking vicinity of the Conrad St. James, the Churchill Museum and War Rooms is wonderful (but buy tickets in advance online).  Also, the Tate Britain is a lovely visit and it has a good cafe on site. 

It appeared to me from the video that the Marquee has an uncovered seating area by the starboard rail (full sun), the partially covered "gazebo" area (lovely) and a completely covered area.  Smart!  I suspect that, just like on the current ships, there will be heaters hung from the roofed areas.  I have also been on cruises where they installed glass partitions to blunt the wind across the deck.

Orvis makes a travel blazer too.  

Even if you book your evening meal at the first seating (7:00 pm), you will never conflict with a lecture.  SS knows to schedule lectures so they end no later than cocktail hour!

Silversea has posted its own 11 minute tour on its website.  At silversea.com, click on the top picture for Nova Itineraries or just go to the ship description and scroll down to the "Introducing Silver Nova" video.  There is also a one minute video on an email going out today from Barbara M.

1 hour ago, highplanesdrifters said:

The catapult is the one that cracked me up the most

I believe that "catapult" is what is known as a slingshot in the US and Canada.  Used in, for example, Dorothy Sayers' "Murder Must Advertise."  

1 hour ago, Dolcevita Diva said:

Every time I go to post here, I think better of it, edit the post and back away...😂

I did that a few times too!

I believe in dressing for comfort, but the comfort I am talking about is this:  I am never comfortable if the person waiting on me is dressed better than I am.  So, an evening of wearing control-top pantyhose is a small price to pay to really enjoy my dining experience.

1 hour ago, toseaornottosea said:

My guess is it's essentially something that Silversea provides to TA's to send to their clients that he modified

I agree this is all from a press release and not someone who was actually on the ship.  The Points Guy review of Crystal Serenity was done by someone onboard a promotional cruise, and the gushing review showed it.

Here's the confirmation from Cruise Industry News that the Silver Nova indeed has left on her inaugural voyage:

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/08/silver-nova-departs-on-its-maiden-voyage/

I haven't boarded from Dubai since pre-covid, but at the time, the terminal building was large and airy with a reasonable amount of shops and seating.  If you had to wait there for a while, it wouldn't be too bad. 

That explains a lot.  The "Champagne Bar" concept has been on mass market Royal Caribbean ships for years and, based on the price per (modest sized) glass, is a high margin revenue source.

7 minutes ago, crusinbanjo said:

Works hard for low pay, never complains, never takes a break!

Someone has actually sued a retailer who uses self-service check-outs claiming they are entitled to a discount for using a self-checkout because the retailer is making the customer its de-facto cashier/employee.  The suit was dismissed.

Here's the story:  https://couponsinthenews.com/2022/08/18/judge-tosses-albertsons-self-checkout-lawsuit/

Yes, you are much more likely to encounter an irritating unbridled convention or charter group than children, and SS isn't going to stop allowing them on board, either.  Fortunately, both problems are rare and just go with the territory.

If I were in your shoes,  I would get a room at an inexpensive hotel nearer the airport and have Blacklane pick you up from there.  You'd have to get to the hotel of course but the surcharge you save might cover the rideshare cost.  And you'd get to sleep that extra hour rather than riding around in the wee hours.

Both the pool bar and the Panorama bars have an espresso machine with full coffee service, but only during their operating hours (which starts at 9 for the pool bar).  Panorama does have the "early riser" continental spread with coffee service, times posted in the Chronicle.

46 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

The AI would immediately answer any question you have and follow up. 

There are going to have to be some enormous improvements before we get to that stage.  Currently, I can't imagine a more frustrating experience that trying to get an answer from a Chatbot conversation, or calling for information and trying to determine which "press 1 for this", "press 2 for that" choice is most likely to result in an answer my question.

Less than two weeks until Nova's inaugural cruise...where's the excitement?  I did not even see one of Barbara's personal video tours as she did with Dawn and Moon, and this is a totally different concept.  

Is there anyone scheduled for the inaugural cruise who might be interested in doing a "live from"?

The welcome desk will be open the day before sailing for the benefit of all the folks coming a day early.  Yes, you can ask to be moved to a later bus.  You could also ask about making private arrangements.  By the way, there is very little to see on the road from the GB to Piraeus other than the outsides of some very large stadia.  

You can walk to everywhere from the GB - even the Acropolis if you don't mind a lot of stair climbing.

I see Manfredi's hand moving Crystal to the SS pattern.  The present Crystal ships - Symphony and Serenity - carry about 1,000 passengers each (when full, which I understand was not always).  Now, their next ship will be about 650 - the size of the Muse, Moon and Dawn.  

We had a similar group on our expedition cruise on the Wind in May around the British Isles.  They blended in with the general cohort very well and there were none of issues that have been observed (and dreaded) about partial charters.

It is interesting that the most of the comments about La Dame and Kaiseki on these boards have been, on the whole, rather lukewarm - with a few raves and a few bad experiences.  So, instead of raising the quality so that more people are signing up, they raise the price and expect people to take their word that the quality will be worth it.  Perhaps customers will think it's better because it costs more?  They tried that by moving the spa to the Otivm concept and my experience is that it was not worth it.

The idea that I do like is the SALT chef's table dinners.  Although that is a big (big!) swallow at $180 per person, it is at least a new concept and includes a kind of show.  And somehow food always tastes better when it is cooked in front of you and arrives piping hot.  Many people consider the ship as the resort and don't necessarily go for the ports, so this is something for them.  That said, these offerings are for those who like and can appreciate fine wines and spirits, and that leaves out DH and me.