Emtbsam

There was sunscreen in our Royal suite and I assume it was in all the suites.  I forget the brand, but it was fine.

On 5/5/2024 at 1:14 PM, cool cruiser 14107 said:

does anyone know if the gift shop on the silver origin has just a few high end things (and tiny) or can you get clothes and sundries? thanks

You can get some clothes at fairly high prices and a few pieces of jewelry at fairly reasonable prices.

We loved our time on the Silver Origin and had the best suite and butler of any cruise in over 700 days!.. If you go and have the good fortune to have Joāo as your Butler, you are in for a treat.  I so wish the ship were in the Mediterranean - I would take it in a heartbeat!

We generally try to avoid the musical entertainment since it is frequently too loud and drowns out the possibility of a quiet conversation.  We like the Observation bar on the Spirit. If possible, we will sit outside Panorama or the Arts Cafe to avoid the noise.

15 hours ago, drron29 said:

And some more hotel views in Sydney. This time from the Club Intercontinental. First at night then in the morning. It was a very wet weekend in Sydney.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed the location of the hotel and the Concierge Lounge on the roof.  Sydney is a favorite place to visit, and we hope to return soon.  It is a bit of a hike from the east coast of the US!

54 minutes ago, tgh said:

My 5c value  contribution is a belief that SS are ensuring that the new front line ships enjoy fully experienced staff and that the older ships are used to train. A recent whisper cruise saw many inexperienced crew resulting in indifferent service levels -v- a current cruise on Nova where the crew have been quite exceptional.

Management on each ship also plays a part in staff attitude but they have to train them somewhere….

Our cruise on the Nova last fall had many, many inexperienced staff.  Few had a cruise ship background either with Silversea or anyone else.  Poor service was probably my biggest complaint on the Nova.  I am glad to hear it has improved.

Lirio - what hotel is that?

27 minutes ago, Lvshack said:

Hi emtbsam .. thank you for your message.. when do you board in Southampton..we live close by.. we board in Venice and finish in Athens.. could it be the same one ??. Venice 25th Oct ??... 

It does seem like we will be on when you board since we get off in Athens on November 5.

we will spend a few days in London before going to Southampton.  I haven’t been to London since 1975 although I did spend time in Southampton in 1979 when my father was recovering at Royal South Hants Hospital.  Haven’t been to Bath since 1956!  It will be interesting to see the changes.

On 4/1/2024 at 4:19 AM, spinnaker2 said:

23 minutes ago, Lvshack said:

Hi emtbsam .. thank you for your message.. when do you board in Southampton..we live close by.. we board in Venice and finish in Athens.. could it be the same one ??. Venice 25th Oct ??... 

 

 

On 4/9/2024 at 9:49 AM, highplanesdrifters said:

The white out areas may correspond to the exhaust system for the engines or they may be crew prep areas.  In any event, the sound proofing is quite good on the ship and I wouldn’t worry.

LVSHACK - we will be on board the Spirit.  Getting on in Southampton and off in Athens.    We are Bob and Victoria.  I will be at the ping pong table on deck 10, and he will be in the gym.  I hope our paths do cross.  Just got my tests results today and was pleased with the number.  I hope you continue to regain your strength.

On 3/6/2024 at 7:39 PM, Angels3 said:

How was your trip? Any issues with noise/vibrations or views? We have booked 9088 on the Nova. 

Sorry for the late reply.  Yes, we could hear joggers above us but no noise in the evening.  Granted it was on the TA, and the weather was cold so there wasn't a lot going on at the Dusk Bar.

I do not recommend 9086 Master Suite for several reasons - it is smaller than similar suites on lower decks.  The closet is half the size of the other Master suites because they had to move the dressing table into the closet since the bedroom didn't have room for it.  The only positive about that Master suite is that there is a huge window in the bathroom which is not in some of the other Master suites.  

We had friends in a Master on deck 6 who said they could smell cigar smoke.

From my casual observation, but not actually verified, I believe deck 7 is actually a bit wider than the other decks judging from the depth of the verandas.

I am glad to hear that things have smoothed out since our voyage last October - December.  It will be a while before we are tempted to go on the Nova again since we favor the smaller ships.  Have a wonderful time!  The Nova is a beautiful ship especially in warm weather.

I guess the ship was going too slowly for the stabilizers at the beginning.  We have had some amazing rolls when stabilizers had to be retracted due to speed.  I must admit, I love rough seas especially pitching.  I know this is not a popular belief!

Just had chocolate hummus for the first time.  Sinfully delicious, way too sweet, and probably a waste of two perfectly good flavors, yet I will try it again!

We are considering segments of the 2026 WC from LA to Singapore.  Hope we will be able to get a suite.  First time on Crystal after 700 days on another line.

It makes me so very sad to hear that things continue to change for the worse.  While provisioning wasn’t a problem on our Med and TA last year on the Nova, it was the poor training of some of the staff that was the issue.  It was the first time I couldn’t wait to get off a ship at the end!

Things have changed on Silversea, but haven’t we all in the last 5 years!  

11 minutes ago, Port Power said:

I’m on just one cruise, Reykjavik to Longyearbyen in June.  Are you on the same expedition cruise?  I hope we manage to meet up.  There will be a lot of Australians aboard!

We are on at the end of June.  Sorry we will miss you.

48 minutes ago, Port Power said:

I went on a tour of Crystal Serenity today.  I must say that I was impressed. There are many lounges, bars and even theatre-type venues.  Also plenty of restaurants, including an al fresco area between the pool and the buffet dining area.  Lovely menus.  Our TA said the food is excellent.  Even cups and saucers were very pretty!

 

We were shown several cabin/suite levels.  Yes, the smallest cabins are only 20 sq m, but they are big enough for one passenger, and the shower is large.  Crystal designates the window view cabins as solo suites a permanent solo supplement of only 10%.  That is very enticing for a solo cruiser. There are some balcony cabins, same size, also designated solo.  The new double size suites were great.  Some cabins have been left with the older layout and more timber, as previous Crystal passengers like them.

 

I had never even considered Crystal, but today’s tour has certainly changed my mind.  All the posts about slipping food standards helped.  Of course, destination and price will still be a deciding factor.

 

Two visits to the speciality restaurants is included in an 11 day cruise, and $50 charged after that.

 

 

 

We are also taking a look at Crystal.

I believe we will see you on the second half of your cruise on the Wind!

My condolences to you both.  May their memories be a blessing.

1 hour ago, lincslady said:

Thank you, Lois.  Most Brits, even those who are not Royalists, will feel sad that someone so young and with young children should be going through this, and having to make it public knowledge in view of the nastiness of some people on social media.  I hope they feel duly ashamed of themselves, and that the cancer she has is one of the 'better' ones and still at an early stage.  I was lucky to have had one of those, and over ten years on seem to be getting away with it so far.

I don’t really know why this news hit me so hard, but I do hope she bounces back quickly.  Chemo is no fun, but I am thriving 17 years after a nasty diagnosis, so if I can do it at my age and fitness, I pray that she can as well.

Pleased to report that Weatherstem has put a camera on top of the local fire station.  After trimming a tree today, we have a view of our "Dock of the bay".  It will be nice to see just how bad the storms are when we're not here.  It updates frequently.  https://franklin.weatherstem.com/fswnalligatorpoint

1 minute ago, dawntrdr said:

Passing on an item that might be of interest to you...

 

Many of us had the pleasure of sailing with Kirk Detweiler, recently CD on several SS (and RCI) vessels.  He is now executive director of the historic Palace Theatre in his home town of Marion Ohio.  On March 20, 2024, the Palace is presenting a lecture and presentation by Julia Hansen, a survivor of the Andrea Doria sea disaster of 1956.  Here is the link:

 

https://marionpalace.org/event/andrea-doria-a-famous-sea-disaster-and-a-survivors-story/

 

By the way, it looks like Kirk is still hosting Trivia night!

His trivia was the best of any CD on Silversea!

We took a tour to Penfolds from Adelaide a few years ago and highly recommend it.  The wine tasting was superb and included a bottle of Grange among 5 others.  Then we were set free to sit at the bar and sample anything.  We discovered Grandfather Tawny which was quite a treat.  We hope to go again in 2026 on the World Cruise.

Our team leader on the Moon TA in 2022 blatantly cheated writing down several answers and crossing out the wrong ones.  It took all the fun out of it and was embarrassing.  I called her out on it and left the team.