flydc

Anyone know who is on the Onward currently and any changes for the 22 March cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore?

4 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

On Journey now Hong Kong to Tokyo and have purchased the upgraded wifi package at $107.40 for 12 night cruise. I'm finding it much better than the standard I've used in the past. Streamed Netflix/Prime Video etc no problem and am glad I bought it. No frustrating buffering. 

 

Phil 

Sorry for what may be a dumb question - but is this what they refer to as the "Wifi Plus"? We bought a "Experience More" package that includes Unlimited Wifi Plus for two devices. Hoping that means we get the Starling instead of the "regular" internet.

We board Onward next week in Hong Kong for 15 nights to Singapore.

Any thoughts?

Got the following from Silversea today:

"We have a charter scheduled with Enter Air, this is the same airline as last year. We don’t have the configuration, but the aircraft is expected with 180 passengers. A meal is provided with drinks but the exact menu is not available. We expect the plane to be full and middle seats will not be blocked. If needed, additional seats will be provided with SAS on a scheduled flight."

So here's what I found with some further online investigating...

Enter Air is a reputable charter airline based in Poland. According to their website, they operate 737 aircraft with 189 seats. When you google 737 with 189 seats - it's the same as TUI. Which means a 28 inch pitch with non-reclining seats. 

I think it's going to be the longest 2:55 flight I've experienced in a long, long time! Luckily only in one direction and we have the Arctic waiting for us on arrival! 

Looking forward to hearing what others have to say of their experience and I will be sure to report back on how ours went!

Thanks everyone. 

The information I got on the port 80 kms from town was from a shore excursion company (not Azamara) - so hopefully they are wrong. I've sent them a note and asked them to confirm ship's location. 

I'm on the Onward later this month around Vietnam and Thailand. Not sure what port we use in Ho Chi Minh / Saigon ? ? ? Last time we sailed there was on SilverSea about 10 years ago and we docked right in town. From what I read now, we may be docking 80 km out of town? ? ?

I see Journey was there on March 2nd. Anyone have any info as to which port they used? How far from town? 

I was hoping with a small ship we'd be right in town like SilverSea!

8 minutes ago, Port Power said:

I’m doing this expedition cruise in June, with the charter flight to Oslo at the end. I’ll report back on my experience.

Thanks so much!

Thanks for the info. I understand why they use the Bae146 in Antarctica. The flights to Puerto Williams were much different than what other cruise lines offer to Ushuaia on the Argentina side.

Still interested in how they operate (and who operates) the charters in Norway? I understand it is likely a Boeing or Airbus but hopefully they block the middle seat as they do on other flights. Would hate to be jammed in. That wouldn't be the premium experience that you would expect from Silversea. That being said, they would need to operate more than one flight in order to get (up to) 274 guests from Oslo to Longyearbyen. 

awesome ... thanks both! we will plan accordingly!

12 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Following.  We're on Endeavour in June 2025.

 

When is your cruise?  I recently read that Norway will be restricting cruise ships in Svalbard starting January 1, 2025:  200-passenger limit in protected areas plus restrictions on landing sites, ship speeds in protected areas, and minimum distance from haul-sites for walruses.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/expedition-cruising/new-svalbard-restrictions-moving-norwegian-parliament-sign

 

Endeavour only holds 200 passengers, but this would affect the capacity of Wind.

Thanks I had read that too. We are going this July! So excited!

Sorry tried a search and really didn't come up with much.

Does SilverSea use the same vendor for equipment rentals on the Arctic that they use in Antarctica? We had good luck with the boots.

Am I safe to assume that we need the same "stuff" in the Arctic as we did on the other end of the world? I read about wet landings - but then I saw an article that mentioned having good hiking boots. Not sure what the right footwear will be!

Thanks in advance to all the explorers who went before me and can share their experience!

I know they just started offering these last year and I did a search on CC as well as a google search and came up with very little....

Anyone have any experience or tell us what to expect? 

I'm assuming it's a regular sized aircraft. Do they block the middle seats? We are on the Silver Wind - so 275+ guests so do they have two charters or do they squeeze us onto one? Our only experience with SilverSea (flight) charters was in Antarctica. The config was 2 // 3 .... the middle seat was blocked on the 3 side. 

It's a four hour flight - so hopefully it's a comfortable one! 

Thanks in advance for any info. 

On 1/7/2024 at 4:05 AM, WesW said:

Schalk Botha will be our Silver Cloud Expedition Leader from Walvis Bay Namibia to the Seychelles in March.  If I learn who else will be on the Expedition team in next month+ will post here.

We had him in Nov 2022 on the Cloud. He was a last minute substitution and he was AMAZING. He led a great team that worked so well together to ensure we had a great experience. We made 11 out of 12 opportunities - with only one last minute cancel due to quick moving fog. He deserves a lot of credit for making the trip so great. We had friends on other ships the same week who missed 1/3 of their opportunities!

Doing the reverse cruise (Rome to Barcelona) on 4 Feb. 

Thanks for all the great information. 

Hoping it is a quiet time of year in each of the ports - and maybe not a full ship!

Thanks very much! We didn’t get this info! 

Does anyone know what time the charter leaves PW for SCL on the last day of the cruise? We arrive back into PW on 7 Dec and are trying to decide if we want the SS hotel at the Mandarin or would just get our own day room at the airport hotel.

We are on the Silver Cloud - so not quite sure how everyone fits on the one charter Bae146 aircraft. Perhaps they have more than one? 

Thanks everyone. 

ToTheSunset - if you can invent the carb free potato you will be a very rich person!

Sorry I did a search for drinks menu but could't find anything ... 

Looking for what non-alcoholic beer and/or spirits would be offered on Silversea. 

We are on Silver Cloud in late November for an Antartic cruise if that makes any difference.

Many thanks for your help. 

We have an excursion booked but need to take a cab to get there. How easy is it to get a taxi at the port? Or should we pay the high price to reserve a car service? Appreciate any help!

3 hours ago, blag said:

I presume that this is a reference to my response. 

I was trying to help by suggesting that Azamara might clarify the situation, rather than leave their clients/customers/passengers in the dark. I thought that would be 'nice', but it seems not.

I don't think anyone but Azamara know the definitive answer! All other responses are likely to be guesswork, which may, or may not, be helpful. 

My apologies if i misread your message. Appreciate the information and clarification. 

Thanks all for your help. I tried the search but I guess I’m not very good at it. 
 

Looks like my cruise in June will arrive in San Basilio. 

Appreciate those who helped. And for those who criticize, please just move on. If you can’t say something nice, then you shouldn’t be in these boards - which were established for people to help each other and connect in a positive way! 

Heard some issues with Oceania ships getting into Venice. Maybe it's just their larger ships?

Not sure if Azamara will have the same issues or if they are smaller and able to make port in Venice?

I think Oceania is moving the Venice stop to Trieste? That's not close to Venice!

Any info would be appreciated. 

On 12/20/2021 at 8:10 AM, kimanjo said:

We were on the Cloud Nov 14th sailing, and from start to finish, we totaled 7 tests... Both PCR and Rapids.  Don't regret a single minute of it!  Trip of a lifetime. 

How often did they test you on the ship? Was it at random or any time there was a suspected case? appreciate the info! we are scheduled in a couple of weeks on the Explorer

This is fantastic. 
we are scheduled on the Silver Explorer in mid January

did they tell you what happens if someone tests positive on a rapid test? I’m concerned that we will get locked down in a small cabin for the entire cruise since there isn’t a way to evacuate you from Antarctica! 
 

Appreciate any info! I read about regular policy but clearly that can’t apply to Antarctica. This Omicron stuff and quick spread is a bit scary! 
 

mahalo for your help!

We are on the Azamara Pursuit. Was to dock yesterday in San Antonio. Swapped us to Valparaiso. Instead of sailing last night, we were delayed due to restocking the ship. Further delay for fueling. Then a medical issue. Eventually sailed about noon today (5 Feb). Skipping Puerto Montt tomorrow and arriving next day in Chacubuco about midday. Rough seas right now. 
Captain and crew here are fabulous. They’ve done a great job under the circumstances. 
Hope it smooths out on the “other side” so we can make our port call in Stanley, Falkland Islands! 
The Costa ship apparently didn’t get into port until wee hours of the morning. 
Heard Princess was having similar issues! 
 

I understand the port for Glasgow is Greenock which is quite a ways from Glasgow. Anyone have any idea if they provide a shuttle service or should we book something?

Thanks!