Jump to content

Silver Cloud Maiden Voyage Canceled Due to Mechanical Problems


Erica@cruisecritic
 Share

Recommended Posts

Brian, Dates mentioned for a Cloud (Antarctica and So GA islands itinerary w/o Falklands are 4-19 Jan, 2020). Took per diem rate for late November 2019 on Cloud and a 16 day voyage has $810 pd for vista, just over $1K for veranda. However, expect the price will go up as now SS is offering on all Antarctica sailings, an Antarctica inclusive offer with fares (r/t economy, charter flights, transfers/luggage handling, 1 hotel nite pre cruise). Bottom line, is this fare when published will be pricey (also, guess it will sell out quickly)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi everybody

 

As you know our beloved Silver Cloud recently underwent a major refurbishment , and the inaugural voyage did not go as planned. A very unusual storm hampered our progress, and on top of it we had a mechanical failure. I was on board when the pump failed, and myself and the team have been working tirelessly to first and foremost look after our guests that were affected by this very disappointing turn of events. This meant flying 200 people all over the world, arranging refunds, rebooking people, etc. Of course our technical department was working nonstop to ensure that the problem was addressed and that our beautiful ship could start her new adventure on 1 December 2017.

 

During this time we have not posted here, and I am aware that many comments have been made about that. Please understand we did not want to ignore and try to hide anything, we simply wanted to focus on the task at hand.

 

The ship underwent a major refit and on the way to Montevideo we certainly completed some work as planned, but the ship was doing very good speed and at one stage was even scheduled to arrive full day ahead of time into Montevideo.

 

Unfortunately, very bad weather did in fact delay the ship, and the bad weather has continued to affect the programs of many companies operating in the South Atlantic.

 

On 1 December 2017 we embarked 200 guests in Ushuaia and the ship was ready to depart, but together with Capt. Adam Boczhek, we decided to delay the departure due to bad weather in the Drake Passage ( 8 meters swell on the bow ).

 

We arranged for guests to explore the surrounds before departing from Ushuaia the evening of 02 December 2017. Unfortunately I could not remain onboard for the historic moment, but I am following the progress of the ship on our own live vessel tracker and although she departed 24 hours late, the ship made incredibly good speed across the Drake Passage and arrived on time in Antarctica ( Aitcho Island ) today for her first ever landing. They are now on the way to Yankee harbor for a second landing of the day.

 

Silver Cloud is a beautiful ship and the most luxurious, true expedition ship, ever to travel to the polar regions, and we certainly look forward to welcoming many ( all ) of our loyal supporters onboard in the future. This transformation of our first ship is a dream come true not only for myself and Mr. Lefebvre, but the entire Silversea team, and we know the team onboard will make many dreams come true for our guests.

 

Thank you also for all the good wishes and support we have received. It is because if you that we are able to do what we do, and I cannot wait to share some Silver Cloud Antarctica images with you.

Very best Regards

 

Conrad Combrink

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have had NO contact from Silversea since they canceled the maiden voyage almost two weeks ago. No answer to an e mail I sent either. Very poor followup although they handled the initial cancellation logistics very well.

 

Please contact me on the email I provided onboard and I will do my utmost to assist.

Very best

Conrad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for taking time (at a very busy time) to keep Silversea cruise critics informed Conrad, and hope the Cloud gets Fairer Winds and accompanied

with following seas for future voyages.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mr. Combrink,

 

Thank you very, very much for participating in this forum and commenting on the recent events re: Silver Cloud. It is fantastic to learn that the repairs were successful and that the 2nd voyage has arrived on-time at Aitcho Island. And, hopefully, you'll be able to assist lbjkk with their issues from the inaugural voyage that was cancelled.

 

Clearly, the captain made a great navigational decision as I for one, could not imagine what sailing 26-feet seas would be like. To this land locked voyager, swells of that size would scare me greatly.

 

Best wishes to you and the SS Expedition team as you continue to execute the company's vision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

During this time we have not posted here, and I am aware that many comments have been made about that. Please understand we did not want to ignore and try to hide anything, we simply wanted to focus on the task at hand.

 

Many thanks for the update...... Looking forward to the photos.

 

I appreciate its a third party site...... but have you any idea why Silver Cloud wasn't showing up in Marine Traffic? It's visible now (so progress can be seen and watched with interest), but most odd she went "dark" and wasn't showing up for a few days as someone has intimated above. Probably a glitch, but just curious if there was a plausible explanation for it happening.

 

Hoping for better weather for all Explorer guests and crew.......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thanks for the update...... Looking forward to the photos.

 

I appreciate its a third party site...... but have you any idea why Silver Cloud wasn't showing up in Marine Traffic? It's visible now (so progress can be seen and watched with interest), but most odd she went "dark" and wasn't showing up for a few days as someone has intimated above. Probably a glitch, but just curious if there was a plausible explanation for it happening.

 

Hoping for better weather for all Explorer guests and crew.......

 

We are watching a new TV channel onboard the Muse, that can follow all of the Silversea Fleet. I see over the last few days the Cloud is visiting the farthest islands in Antarctica and following the stops as listed on its itinerary. So nothing strange from our end at this time.

 

Looking forward to the Muse and Whisper in Barbados tomorrow. Will try to look around to see whats changed in the Whisper if its docked close by...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brian, Dates mentioned for a Cloud (Antarctica and So GA islands itinerary w/o Falklands are 4-19 Jan, 2020). Took per diem rate for late November 2019 on Cloud and a 16 day voyage has $810 pd for vista, just over $1K for veranda. However, expect the price will go up as now SS is offering on all Antarctica sailings, an Antarctica inclusive offer with fares (r/t economy, charter flights, transfers/luggage handling, 1 hotel nite pre cruise). Bottom line, is this fare when published will be pricey (also, guess it will sell out quickly)

 

Also add medical evacuation insurance which was mandatory when we went a few years back !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thanks for the update...... Looking forward to the photos.

 

I appreciate its a third party site...... but have you any idea why Silver Cloud wasn't showing up in Marine Traffic? It's visible now (so progress can be seen and watched with interest), but most odd she went "dark" and wasn't showing up for a few days as someone has intimated above. Probably a glitch, but just curious if there was a plausible explanation for it happening.

 

Hoping for better weather for all Explorer guests and crew.......

 

I haven't been following the itinerary closely, but if the ship is in Antarctica, then it is no surprise that it is not showing on consumer tracking sites like marinetraffic at times. The AIS information used by these sites rely on land based AIS receiving stations, since the AIS system is a VHF, line of site radio system. When a ship is outside of the coverage of a land based station, it will appear as a "ghost" ship outline on marinetraffic, with the annotation "(type of ship) position received by satellite", with no name or data. If you "upgrade" to their paid for satellite AIS, these will show the ships outside of land based stations.

 

However, satellite AIS relies on satellites picking up very low power radio signals from thousands of ships within the footprint of the satellite, and too many data requests from terrestrial sites like marinetraffic can overload the satellite, causing data failure or corruption. Therefore, consumer AIS tracking sites are limited to two update requests per day, so you will still have lapses in coverage even when you pay for the service.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for taking these great photos - I was able to enlarge the photos using my IPad .

 

View them on a tablet or phone, then you can zoom in.

 

Images in question are nigh thumbnails and are only 240 x 180 pixels. Digitally zooming in might enlarge, but it becomes very pixelated.

 

I agree with everyone's thoughts on those tasters though.... Looks superb ..... More please.... but a bit bigger!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...