Dolcevita Diva

I'm far more likely to use a bathtub while on vacation because as others have noted, it's a great way to relax those tired muscles after active days in port... But as I experience more of the effects of getting older 🫤, sometimes I'll just use the tub to soak my feet with the Elemis muscle soak. 

My cabin on the Nova next month is shower only, so will be looking for other options to refresh the aching feet.  

Looks terrific!   Alas, this means that one will now need to board early to sign up before all the slots are taken. 
 

@Tucson Guy This may be an odd question, but are the stools in there really comfortable enough for a 3+ hour dinner?  

17 hours ago, Older Party said:

While I agree with you Silversea has never made entertainment a priority, when I created the all vocal program, the requirement was for professional performers, average age 32.  Cliff Perry removed all the extra duties in order to attract the best talent possible to Silversea.  I hired Vicki Van Tassel, who was quite reluctant to take the contract.  Our Music Director, Michael Brennan, had worked with Vicki when he conducted Mamma Mia, which is how she came to us.  Many of our Artists were AEA members, most AEA eligible.  I cannot speak for the company that replaced us, but when Choozi was hiring the entertainers, they were all professionals.

You deserve special thanks for bringing Vicki Van Tassel to Silversea. 

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Good morning, thank you for the information🙂but I am going to the hotel through a Silversea transfer so no showering or changing or breakfast at the airport for me. I will be going through Immigration, getting my checked bag and then finding the SS rep. But I appreciate your post🙂

Ah, too bad.  It’s also worth trying to build in a little time to visit Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouse at LHR on your way home if you’re able to with the Silversea transfer times and flying Delta. Much better than the Delta SkyClub. 

Oops - never mind, just realized that you return from Copenhagen. 🙂
 

Look forward to reading about your cruise - have fun! 

Just have to say…the Cooler is the only place on the internet that consistently brings a smile to my face and a good laugh to start the morning. 

On 8/20/2023 at 10:09 PM, Lois R said:

Hi Missy, the last time I landed at Heathrow was last summer and it was to make a connection to Barcelona. It had to be one of the worst experiences ever for me. I hope this time goes more smoothly since this is my final destination.

Hi Lois,

Since you’re flying Delta business class, you are eligible to stop in the Virgin Atlantic Arrivals Lounge at LHR.  You can take a shower, change or have clothes pressed and have a cooked to order breakfast (they used to offer facials as well, but sadly that service has stopped). 

It’s a great opportunity to freshen up before heading into the city, particularly since your hotel room may not be available until afternoon. 

5 hours ago, steamboats said:

@Catlover54 I wasn´t sure whether those single wines mentioned in the menu are the ones from the Connoisseur´s List and the Champagne Pairing. But it sounds like you can also just "upgrade" for a single wine.

 

@DCPIV there are no water bottles onboard Silver Nova which you have to pay for. The regular Vero water is available at each bar or at the refill stations. There´s also a bottle of still and sparkling water in your minibar (which is refilled several times throughout the day). There´s a nice bottle (per person) in the suite which you can use for carrying around (either on the ship or on shore - and take back home as a souvenir). The crew will be happy to refill this bottle.

 

steamboats

I wondered whether the water bottles shown were “take homes”, thanks for that additional detail!  The color happens to go well with my home decor…😎

4 minutes ago, canderson said:

Trying to wrap my mind around this:

 

NINE wines?  Does the extra $160pp include the tip for my waiter carrying me back to my cabin on a luggage cart, or @Tucson Guy, are these small pours???

Key takeaway - do NOT book an early morning excursion for the following day. 

37 minutes ago, PAllinson said:

Disembarking was another cluster f that contained the confusion. Luggage out before Mn, out of suites bey 0800, then waited to 5 pm till we actually left the ship, some day rooms were made available, unplanned lunch in the grill was served to all passengers, the seas and winds were as bad or worse than those stops that were too extreme for the szodiacs to launch, when we got on the bus to the airport had to wait inn the bus as there was no room in the building, plane caught on fire during the landing , hotel fire alarm went off during breakfast, it was due to the WiFi. 

After reading the latter part of this, I had to check. Yep, Mercury retrograde begins tomorrow. 
 

So sorry for your experience and hope that somewhere down the road, these tribulations can turn into a tale that you can laugh about. 

Just now, A Tucson Guy said:

I was told NO last night.

Ah, but would they let you smuggle the leftovers from the bottles they served you back to your cabin?

Never mind…”leftover wine” doesn’t exist. 

54 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Yes,but what's the dress code,who's the Hotel Manager and can you get a Venician past guest discount.

Let’s not forget:  what special treatment will you receive because you booked a top suite, why don’t they carry a wider selection of bourbon and how much to tip! 😁

5 hours ago, pmcer said:

I’d be interested to know whether the La Dame-included wines are available at the other restaurants.  

Silversea’s blog post about the new dining enhancements on Silver Nova said that there would be wines in La Dame that were not available anywhere else on the ship. 

8 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

The suspense is killing us!

 

Are you (a) still at dinner 4+h later? Or (b) did they make you sign a gag order? Or (c) Did they ply you with so much wine that you can't see straight to post on CC?

 

Just kidding (sort of); I hope your dinner was great and we will patiently await your further comments.

Hopefully #3 !

59 minutes ago, Rothko1 said:

 

But then how do you make more money?  😆

Ah, the challenges of a publicly owned company...

29 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Get the Sommelier to go hard on the upsell 😀

Two thoughts:

1) Egads! Don't let the bean-counters start adding larger markups to the Connoisseur's List wines.

2) Let's hope that they don't start taking the approach used by the mass market lines of reducing the quality levels of the included food and wines to encourage more "upsells" to specialty restaurants and the Connoisseur's List.

30 minutes ago, Rothko1 said:

 

I wasn't referring to any particular person.

 

Are you saying that you tried to wear turtlenecks and sport coats on formal nights?  I don't know if you did or didn't.  But I suppose, if you did, then yeah, I guess I'm judging you.

Actually, I don't think that Host Jazzbeau has sailed on Silversea yet.   So not sure how anything you said could possibly be interpreted as judging him.

1 hour ago, A Tucson Guy said:

Two of us can easily use the bathroom at the same time- impressive!!

Even the shower? 😉

3 minutes ago, HPfoodie said:

Thank you. This confirms what I had already heard from someone who was on the inaugural pre cruise - who said there was a super efficient extraction system in the outdoor area of the Connoisseur's lounge. But thankfully not in the general Panorama outdoor area. 

That's great. Certainly makes sense for them to incorporate more efficient extraction systems into a new build. 

13 hours ago, tinaincc said:

Don’t plan on Cunard, thanks. I am booked on Ray (sister ship to the Nova) and more than happy with the dress code as it stands today. It allows you to wear your tie and enjoy yourself while my Husband can be in a sport coat and be happy as well.

 

We will be enjoying every minute of the trip and not concerned one iota with your tie selection. If you are so concerned with others you may want to stick with Cunard or one of the other more formal SS ships. 

Based on the list of voyages in your signature, am I correct in understanding that you've never even sailed with Silversea (or Seabourn or Cunard or Regent) yet?

1 hour ago, steamboats said:

 

I will double check with the daily program. But that´s what we were told onboard during the ship tour. I can´t see it on my photos.

 

 

Nope, The Marquee is smoke free as it´s a restaurant all day through (breakfast, lunch and dinner). And no smoking on the pool deck because of the asymetric construction.

 

steamboats

That is wonderful news, thanks!   I had been wondering how they were going to handle with the new layout and 2-story pool deck and the incorporation of The Grill into the Marquee. 

7 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

Smoking is permitted on the port side of The Dusk Bar and the port side of the outside area of the Panorama Lounge. And of course in the Connoisseur´s Corner.

 

steamboats

Thank you.  And no smoking in the Marquee or on the pool deck? 

16 minutes ago, Lois R said:

They also ask for the suite number so they can see your name.

 

And any notes about dietary preferences. 

Hi Steamboats,

I read on another site that the Dusk Bar is one of the designated areas where smoking is permitted  - can you confirm if that is the case, as well as where other designated areas are? 

I'm highly allergic to secondhand smoke and avoid those areas; was surprised to read that the new Dusk Bar is a smoking area because it looks like a smaller space.

3 hours ago, steamboats said:

My DH and I had the pleasure to be on the preinaugural on Aug 10th til 13th. I´m writing an extense photo review but that´ll take some time. So here´s my DH´s video as a teaser 😉 - don´t worry although it´s starting with some talking in German the rest is just video (except for the end)

 

 

steamboats

Thanks for sharing this - your husband's videography is excellent! Look forward to the full review. 

To take this off into another tangent 😄 - did you know that one of Dior's skincare lines (L'Or de Vie) includes sap from the Yquem vines, as well as various Yquem extracts?

At $800 for a 1 oz. bottle of the serum, I do believe it would be more cost-effective simply to splash that lovely wine on my face. 

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

Sincerely hope that the new dress code announcement for Silver Nova has alleviated the concerns expressed by those who felt the existing dress code would "relegate them to the kid's table" or "force them to eat in their cabin" and everyone will have a marvelous time onboard.