"Shadowing" from Singapore to Sydney Nov 17 to Dec 5

Thank you Master Echo and mainsd for the comments and photos. Your input is much appreciated as we will board Silver Shadow in January for the first time.

 

mainsd I will have to be careful they don't accidentally deliver too many of those waffles or pancakes to me :D. They look delicious.

 

Julie

Indeed - they are marvellous as are the pancakes :-D

Once the Shadow was well clear of Singapore, she entered the South China Sea, which js now all claimed by China as its territory.

Continuing an easterly course and crossing the Equator, we entered the Java Sea for our calls at Jakarta and Semarang. Following Surabaya, the ship navigated round to be on the south side of the main Indonesian archipelago of Bali.

A generally easterly course in the Arafura Sea was resumed right the way across the northern part of Australia until we turned south after Cape York, having traversed the Torres Strait. This Strait separates Papua New Guinea from Australia. This northern tip of Australia is closer to Papua New Guinea, than it is to Cairns.

After leaving Cooktown we made a diversion beyond the confines of the Barrier Reef to jettison grey water, which cannot be offloaded within the Barrier Reef National Park. We then passed back through the Barrier Reef to resume our navigation towards Cairns.

In Darwin an Australian pilot embarked to assist with the navigation to Brisbane.

During our passage through Indonesian waters, the bridge had to contend with many small fishing boats attempting to cross our path.

During the hours of darkness, lightening storms over the Indonesian islands provided dramatic aerial displays and these were a nightly occurrence whilst sailing in this area.

My experiences in the Australian ports of call to follow.

Kindest regards

Master Echo

Thanks ME and Mainsd for sharing your delightful prose and beautiful & spirited snaps; well done.

Cooktown

This was the second, but my first tender port of this cruise, and something I always look forward to, as it gives one the opportunity to be that much nearer to the ocean. It is however probably dreaded by the crew for all the extra hard work which entails not only the lowering of the two tenders to be used, but also the responsibility of getting all passengers safely from the ship to the tender boat, particularly when most of the crew are much smaller and lighter than many a passenger!

Cooktown however presented quite a problem for Captain Samuele, due to the strong breeze and swell in the bay. It also was a longer tender ride than is often the case. Some Captains erring on the side of caution might have abandoned the call.

In the event, all safely got ashore and back despite an alleged breakdown of one of the engines on one of the tenders, leaving them wallowing in mid channel. It was quite a roller coaster ride, and the sea made the tender akin to a bucking bronco, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. On the return trip the sea state had improved but it was still an exhilarating tender ride,

Sir & Madame had not thought there would be that much to see in this small town which virtually owes its existence to Captain James Cook who landed here in 1770. There is a statue of him near where he landed, and a museum in the centre of town containing many artefacts from this era. Charge for entry - $8 Australian dollars a concession for senior citizens.

Cooktown is basically one long main street with streets going off at right angles to the left. To the right is the Coral Sea. There is an old Post Office circa 1853, with a very modern extension housing an ATM. One of the shops which appeared to house Aboriginal art and crafts, very definitely had a large closed sign.

Returning back towards the tender, Sir and Madame saw a small jetty and a gentleman who appeared to be fishing. On closer inspection, he wore a tee shirt bearing the legend of a local lure fishing shop. He explained that he was fishing for shrimp to act as bait to catch larger fish. He also said that crocodiles were seen in the mangrove swamp, but they didn’t reach the shoreline. He was hoping that later in the afternoon, when the shrimps swam down from the lake to where he was standing, they would be bigger and he would be able to cook them for dinner, having already told us that he was also a Chef.

Returning to the tender station, where one of the crew had been on duty all afternoon, he showed me a picture on his phone of a large crocodile who was patrolling where our tender boats were arriving, proving if one lives in this area, one has to be vigilant of imminent danger.

There is more to follow, cutting it short now due to low battery power!

Kindest regards

Master Echo

Thank you so much for the lovely descriptions of your trip. We will soon be taking the Whisper from Sydney to Singapore so the information is very much welcomed.

Hope you and Sir continue to enjoy the trip.

I am loving this thorough report. No one is better with details than you, ME. I am leaving home on the 16th to sail from Auckland to Sydney (12/19) on the Shadow’s Holiday Cruise. I have always had a special feeling for the Shadow. You have really added to my excitement! Sail on, dear Madame. Love to Sir. Stay away from the crocodiles! I am counting on sailing with you both again!

Never smile at a crocodile! Indeed ME a good reminder of the critters in wait in the coastal waters in Oz. Be it crocs, sharks, snakes or blue bottles and everything else, It's a dangerous place if you don't have your wits about you.

Loving the report and looking forward to cruising on the shadow soon.

BTW could you see the glow of Mt Agung from the ship?

The weather throughout the cruise has been very kind as has the sea state. Consistent temperatures in the mid 80’s during the day with mostly clear skies have suited the sun worshippers.

Sailing down the north east coast of Australia, temperatures have started to drop a degree or two with an increasing wind causing more ship’s motion.

Making his ship’s clearance announcement at 8.00 am in Townsville, CD Kirk forecast a dry day. If his office had had a window, he would have observed that it was pouring with rain, albeit for a short time!

As an adjunct to previous post concerning navigation, the Captain told me over lunch that the depth of water passing through the Torres Strait is so shallow that some merchant marine vessels can only transit during a high tide.

So sorry, more to catch up with - this will follow shortly.

Kindest regards

Master Echo

Thanks all, for your kind comments, I am so pleased that you find my scribblings of interest. Les, unfortunately I did not see any pyrotechnics in the Bali area. Cruisin Pashmina, Captain Samuele told me that his wife and daughter will be joining him in Auckland. The evening shows will be changed over to those that you saw on the Muse in September, and will be performed by a fresh cast of Voices of Silversea who embark in Sydney, and are currently rehearsing ashore. As far as I know all senior officers remain as posted previously. What a shame Sir and Madame will not be sailing with you again this time but feel sure you will have a fabulous time.

Kindest regards

Master Echo

Cairns

Having visited here before I decided I would just take a walk into town, to recap on any new developments. One tour I highly recommend is the Kuranda railway returning on the Skytrain which I did on a previous visit.

The walk into town and to one of the main streets, is literally a pleasant stroll from the ship which takes no more than about ten minutes down Lake Street to reach Woolworths, various other shopping opportunities and cafes/restaurants, and an intriguing ‘’Chinese’ emporium which I have previously encountered in many other Australian towns, offering bargain basement prices on a variety of goods from sunglasses, to clothes and touristic epherema, including items as various as coasters, fridge magnets and cuddly toys covering the whole gamut of local fauna.

Surprisingly Cairns felt the hottest due to the humidity I had encountered in any of the ports which I had been to so far, and I was pleased to return to the cool inviting Silver Shadow.

More to follow

Kindest regards

Master Echo

Townsville

Sir & Madame chose to do a SS shorex, with a visit to a place called the Billabong Sanctuary and then a tour round Townsville itself.

This was unfortunately only a short call, a bare four hours, so Sir and Madame were pleased that on disembarking the ship, it was only a short walk to the waiting coach, walking through a phalanx of smiling locals welcoming us to Townsville.

The drive out of the dock area showed a similar clean environment which we had experienced in all the previous Australian ports, and the drive to the Billabong Sanctuary took around thirty minutes.

Surprisingly Townsville is in a dry zone within Queensland’s generally tropical climate and they have had a drought for the past four years. They do get the “wets”, which tend to come all at once, causing flooding in some areas. The passing scenery was of a sparse landscape, surprisingly green, but with not much habitation. Our guide on the coach was very informative about Townsville and also told us some of the history of the Billabong Sanctuary.

Started thirty years ago, husband and wife team built the whole place from scratch, and now have over fifty different species. They have taken in injured and endangered species and the centre appears to be run extremely well.

Sharp at 9.00 am we arrived to await our guide, a young girl called Lisa who was to take us around each different section with a detailed explanation of each animal. Obviously there are photo opportunities with koalas and wombats. The latter which she took out of his cage, which is air conditioned, and we were allowed to touch his body. It was a surprise that his ‘fur’ was quite dense, no wonder they require air conditioned accommodation! We also had the opportunity to hold a “salty” crocodile - about three foot in length, but only four years old. They take a long time to grow. Lisa explained that to call them saltwater crocodiles is a misnomer, not only do they prefer freshwater to salt, but they should in fact be called Estuarine crocodiles. The python which was produced out of a sack and ceremoniously draped round anybody willing to have this experience, was considerably larger but not venomous.

At the end of these demonstrations we were free to wander around the rest of the sanctuary, where kangaroos, a variety of birds and ducks were roaming freely. Two of the “roos” had Joeys in their pouch.

Leaving here we drove back to town, and saw some of the attractive old colonial buildings, before driving up the winding road to the summit of Castle Hill from where you can see the whole of the town and the suburbs in a panoramic vista. Silver Shadow was a little dot in the distance. There are extensive paths here and the locals walk up and down the hill for their daily cardiovascular exercise!

Unfortunately all too soon, Sir and Madame were back at the terminal, having had an insightful day into the flora and fauna of this town.

MainsD has uploaded photos of this tour and these can be accessed from the link in the previous posts.

Brisbane

My last port of call before disembarking in Sydney, is one I have visited several times in the past, although this was the first time docking at the commercial grain port, rather than Portside, occupied this time by a Princess ship. The line’s ships are in and out of these waters on a regular basis, so it was not surprising Silver Shadow got the short straw. However SS did put on a shuttle into the CBD area of Brisbane.

Sir and Madame have friends who live here who came to pick them up. They spent a lovely day at Mount Tambourine, some seventy five minutes drive south along the Pacific Highway. The summit of which is about 1600 feet above sea level. The whole area has the feel of English countryside with large swathes of forested land, interspersed with houses and small shops. Gallery View is one such street. This is one long straight street with a variety of different goods on sale, as diverse as one selling wooden cuckoo clocks, handmade glass ornaments and jewellery to several cafes selling both just coffees and hot meals. They stopped here just for a coffee before moving on to a wine tasting and early lunch in a beautiful restaurant set in extensive grounds, with a view over the blue-hazed hills in the distance, so reminiscent of the Blue Mountains north of Sydney.

Next stop after our good lunch was to an hotel called the St Bernard, so named for the two huge St Bernard dogs which live here. This is like an English pub, but also with an extensive terrace and spectacular views, and the shoreline of the Gold Coast and the breaking waves, in the far distance.

Last stop was to the Cheese Factory. This is more like a semi outdoor restaurant, and being Sunday was quite busy with a live guitar player. Apart from the cheeses on sale, there was also delicatessen type goods ranging from jams and chutneys to flavoured oils.

MainsD took a SS shorex to this destination, and his photos can be seen on the link previously mentioned.

Thanks for keeping us up to date with your adventures ME. Have a safe journey home from Sydney.

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Many thanks for the updates ME.... What a shame the volcanic fireworks weren't visible. Thanks also for the crew detail reminder... I missed that when you posted so grateful for the reminder. Is the MD the older, shorter Sergio or the younger taller one? Everything on board to Sir and Madames expectations? Quite looking forward to a new ship for us.

Excellent thread! Thank you Master Echo. Safe travels upon disembarkation in Sydney.

Echo the kudos from Les and Stumble above and kudos to Mainsd from sharing the wonderful snaps.

Sadly my adventure has come to a close and the past eighteen days have gone in a flash.

There was a sea day after the call at Brisbane, but unfortunately this was exceedingly cloudy with little sun, and a stiff breeze blowing, which gradually increased during the evening and overnight; to such an extent that many passengers got little sleep with the crashing and banging. Sir and Madame’s electric toothbrushes both ended up crashing into their respective basins, thankfully with no damage.

Arrival in Sydney around 8.00 am saw us at the White Bay terminal and for the first time in the whole cruise, it was warmer inside the ship than outside, with grey overcast skies threatening rain. Sadly too many large ships that are unable to pass under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and those of other lines that are in and out of Circular Quay, meant that our berth in the new cruise terminal is a long way out of Sydney’s centre.

Now perhaps, some summary comments about the cruise.

Overall food and service standards was as good as one gets on Silversea, including the Muse. Grant the Executive Chef, an Australian, showed some initiative, an example being, spare ribs for the last sea day lunch. Unfortunately not able to serve it at the pool grill, due to the colder temperatures, but in the Terrazza. These were marinated in Bourbon, and served with “a secret sauce” - absolutely delicious.

For an eighteen nights cruise the evening entertainment was inadequate. Too many shows featuring the Voices of Silversea were staged pre-dinner. Although it is thought that many passengers complained that starting at 10.00 pm, meant an unacceptably late night - oh well, you can please some of the people……….

This meant that post dinner entertainment comprised the SS staples, Name that Tune, and the Liars Club. One evening the only post dinner activity was CD Kirk, playing record requests in the Panorama. Only two speciality acts were brought in, each performing two shows across four evenings.

Whilst Kirk works extremely hard giving line dancing lessons and hosts the shuffleboard tournament on Deck 10, to say nothing of his famous Trivia, he can only deploy the resources he has available.

Feedback from passengers new to SS, but who have sailed on other lines, generally concluded that whilst the food and service was very good, the ship was tired and dated and they doubted they would sail on SS again, which is so sad, but reflects not on any of the ship’s staff from the Captain downwards, but the fact that Management have spent precious little money on this lovely ship’s upkeep. You cannot continue to “bodge” repairs ad infinitum.

If Sir and Madame had stayed in a five star hotel which was equivalent to a Veranda Suite on Silver Shadow, they would opt for a different hotel next time.

For those of you who use the ship’s hairdryer - a word of caution! Madame always brings hers as it is fitted with a particularly good diffuser. However to decrease the weight in the carry ons, it was packed in the checked baggage, thereby necessitating the use of SS’s on the last morning. The plug would not fit into any of the sockets available in our cabin. Urgent call to our suite attendant who said that it needed an adapter, not initially supplied with said hairdryer. Bless him, be came scurrying back with the prescribed item, and hey presto, it worked - for only a few seconds, as the connection was not good. Eventually the butler stuffed the “always available” menu under the plug to improve the connectivity! What a Heath Robinson affair!, for a five star ship. Master Echo commented to Madame that she resembled the spines of an echidna, with hair standing up on end, and that it would have been better if she hadn’t bothered!

One final comment, the icing on the cake, was to surprise MainsD and pm8718 and spend the eighteen days in their company. We had a great time together and hope they did too.

Surprise surprise, those of you who remember the awkward shape handled knives, which would turn upside down at a drop of a hat, and actually scratched MainsD on the arm one breakfast, are no more! They have long since been replaced on both the Spirit and the Muse this year, and appeared now to have finally bitten the dust on the Shadow. This morning at breakfast on the last morning, we were given normal knives, albeit really too small for a dinner plate, more akin to a tea knife, as they dropped full length onto the middle of the plate! Oh well, maybe work in progress!

Another nice touch, Captain Samuele was waiting at the debark point on Deck 5 to say goodbye to all those departing passengers, despite having to be up at the crack of dawn for the pilot to guide us the last miles to our berth.

It was so sad to say goodbye to all “the family” but a nice thought to know we shall see them again soon.

Hope this has been of interest, anything left out, you can always ask, and if we can we will answer any queries.

Kindest regards

Until the next time

Master Echo

More pics as our adventure continues....

 

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Final pics of Sydney now posted

Thanks to master echo for making the trip so enjoyable- now roll on the Med in 2019 :D

Master Echo thank you so much for taking the time to report on your journey. I appreciate your honest comments about the Shadow. It is good to know before we board that she is still showing some wear and tear. Then I can keep my expectations real. Hopefully management will take note of yours and other comments and take the time to refurbish her properly. I am not to keen on the lack of entertainment later in the evening. We enjoy have a leisurely dinner from about 8pm then going to the entertainment afterwards. We are early risers but somehow on cruises it feels like part of the holiday to enjoy dinner then a show. Hopefully they will reinstate the later shows to the itinerary.

We still loved sailing on Seabourn Pride and Legend even though they were "well loved" towards the end of the sailing time with Seabourn. So hopefully with our expectations real and with good service and good food we will have an enjoyable cruise with SIlversea.

Mainsd thank you for the link to your photos. They were excellent and I'm impressed with the hike you did in Cook Town. With hikes like those no wonder you can enjoy two desserts.:D

Julie

And in a flash, it's over. So soon! Thanks for your great reporting. I always enjoy reading your posts.

Thanks for the report.Always interesting to read honest reports such as yours especially about places we know well.

It was one of Master Echo’s previous trip reports that got me coming to this forum, and once again I have enjoyed traveling vicariously through this most recent voyage. Thanks for taking the time to do these for us armchair travelers.

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