Cloud Expedition, Lisbon to London

I love baaaaaaaaaaaad puns.

:D

Was the trip expensive? Did you feel fleeced?

Was the trip expensive? Did you feel fleeced?

No, I didn't let them pull the wool over my eyes.

Here are a few more photos from recent days.

Eileen Donan Castle

Road directions are so simple

St. Kilda

Yes, everything that looks white is solid gannets!

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Really enjoying this thread. Fantastic pictures.

Thanks to all for the kind comments!

After St.Kilda we visited Kirkwall in the Orkneys. While my wife visited important Neolithic sites such as Scara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar, and we both saw the magnificent St.Magnus Cathedral, I did the most important pilgrimage, the visit to the Highland Park Distillery! This included a wonderful tasting of the 12, 18, and 25 year old single malts. I preferred the 18 (which costs about $140 per bottle) to the 25 (which is about $800). It's nice that all the excursions on the Cloud are "free".

Saturday it was Lerwick in the Shetlands. We did a nice walking tour of the town. In the afternoon we sailed to nearby Noss island for zodiac bird watching. We stayed aboard since we needed a gannet-free day.

Sunday we were anchored at Fair Isle, Scotland, an absolutely beautiful place, beautiful day. The zodiac rides were pretty rough, but well worth the effort. Many puffins, and other bird species, much bird research done there. Only a few dozen people live there.

We then sailed to Aberdeen, Scotland, arriving at the midnight high tide. We took a long excursion to Balmoral Castle, all very lovely, great weather. We were supposed to sail to Eyemouth at midnight. Awoke this morning still docked in Aberdeen. Dense fog had rolled in and the harbor was closed by midnight. This morning the fog cleared and we sailed away at the noon high tide. Hull, England tomorrow.

Kirkwall, St. Magnus Cathedral

Highland Park Distillery

Lerwick, Shetlands

Fair Isle, Scotland

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Terrific photos, such an amazing journey!

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Highland Park Distillery

Sorry that you got stuck in Aberdeen by fog. I will be interested in your opinion of Hull, so called City of Culture 2017.

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I will be interested in your opinion of Hull, so called City of Culture 2017.

They so nearly spelt it correctly!

Only a few days left on your mammoth voyage.... Sounds like you mostly had a great time and thanks so much for all the photos and commentary.

At 5.15 AM on Friday, I'm afraid its a wee bit to early to video the Clouds return. I shall wave her au revoir on Sunday though from Silver Spirit in Greenwich.

They so nearly spelt it correctly!.

🤣🤣🤣

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We too were on the Cloud, Lisbon to London. Great cruise. Food was amazing. Service was good.

However, it was not an Expedition cruise. We came home disappointed.

Our expectations were based on a Culinary/Expedition cruise in South America we took on the Explorer in the fall of 2016. That cruise was FANTASTIC. So much so, we booked the Lisbon-London cruise on the Cloud. We were so looking forward to a similar type of experience. It did not happen. There were no zodiac excursions and there was an obvious disconnect between the expertise of the Expedition team and the itinerary (except perhaps for Gordon).

We came away thinking that SilverSea had missed the mark with its re-branding of the Cloud as an Expedition ship. We will be on board again in September for a Greenland/Canadian Arctic Voyage. Will they be more successful in delivering an Expedition cruise? Or perhaps, they need to completely redefine what luxury looks like on an Expedition cruise...

We too were on the Cloud, Lisbon to London. Great cruise. Food was amazing. Service was good.

 

However, it was not an Expedition cruise. We came home disappointed.

 

 

Our expectations were based on a Culinary/Expedition cruise in South America we took on the Explorer in the fall of 2016. That cruise was FANTASTIC. So much so, we booked the Lisbon-London cruise on the Cloud. We were so looking forward to a similar type of experience. It did not happen. There were no zodiac excursions and there was an obvious disconnect between the expertise of the Expedition team and the itinerary (except perhaps for Gordon).

 

We came away thinking that SilverSea had missed the mark with its re-branding of the Cloud as an Expedition ship. We will be on board again in September for a Greenland/Canadian Arctic Voyage. Will they be more successful in delivering an Expedition cruise? Or perhaps, they need to completely redefine what luxury looks like on an Expedition cruise...

Sorry to hear of your disappointment. Could it be that the different character of the cruise was much more a product of the itinerary and the places to be visited than of the ship? After all, Cloud operates (apparently very successfully) in Antarctica. I wouldn't have thought that using zodiacs was a necessary feature of an expedition cruise. In fact, I am considering a Silversea expedition cruise in Northern Europe precisely because it offers a "softer" variety of expedition, more appropriate for a person of my age, physical ability, thirst for adventure, etc.

Enjoying the report wellseasoned.Pictures are great.

As to not being an Expedition cruise we heard the same complaints on our San Diego to Vancouver cruise.But we researched the destinations,knew it wouldn't be a "true"expedition cruise but enjoyed it greatly because it went to places little visited in general as your cruise did.The ships must relocate through areas that are very much first world to get to the "true"expedition areas.

The complaint on our cruise was people who had been on Linblad.I pointed out we had been on an expedition trip on a ship that is now in the Linblad fleet-the National Geographic Orion.Our 2 cruises on her were definitely expeditions.However we moored next to her in Tallin when we were on the Whisper.She was doing Baltic cruises with no zodiac usage at all.

Greenland on the other hand should be a true expedition.It was when we visited on the Explorer.

Welcome "home" Wellseasoned and co..... And silver cloud.

First photo is the view from my desk.... The second is from the other side of the building which really is just so close!

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Nice photos, Les. I slept through today's Tower Bridge arrival. When I looked out at 5:30 A.M. we were already alongside the Belfast.

All passengers must disembark tomorrow. I'm told that there is a two or three day cruise to Dublin for the Silversea leadership to celebrate ten years of expedition cruising, followed by a Chinese charter to Edinburgh before the normal cruise schedule resumes. We just had a nice lunch with Silver Spectre, who came aboard to have a look around the ship.

Wednesday we docked at Hull, England and took a very nice tour to York. The York minster cathedral is a beautiful place, and wandering through the city of York was a delight. Thursday we docked at Dover on a very foggy morning, with white cliffs barely visible. We did an excursion to Canterbury and toured the cathedral, with all its amazing history and grandeur. Walking through the old town was very pleasant.

I realize that this cruise was "hybrid", but it was very good for us because we are not hardened expeditioners And the passenger mix seemed pretty similar to what we've always had on numerous Silversea cruises. I think drron29 and Observer have explained things well.

Nice photos, Les. I slept through today's Tower Bridge arrival. When I looked out at 5:30 A.M. we were already alongside the Belfast.

 

 

 

All passengers must disembark tomorrow. I'm told that there is a two or three day cruise to Dublin for the Silversea leadership to celebrate ten years of expedition cruising, followed by a Chinese charter to Edinburgh before the normal cruise schedule resumes. We just had a nice lunch with Silver Spectre, who came aboard to have a look around the ship.

 

 

 

Wednesday we docked at Hull, England and took a very nice tour to York. The York minster cathedral is a beautiful place, and wandering through the city of York was a delight. Thursday we docked at Dover on a very foggy morning, with white cliffs barely visible. We did an excursion to Canterbury and toured the cathedral, with all its amazing history and grandeur. Walking through the old town was very pleasant.

 

 

 

I realize that this cruise was "hybrid", but it was very good for us because we are not hardened expeditioners And the passenger mix seemed pretty similar to what we've always had on numerous Silversea cruises. I think drron29 and Observer have explained things well.

Thanks for your company at both lunch and tea, and especially for the personalised ship’s tour. Will post some photos on a separate thread. Safe travels home tomorrow and we look forward to seeing you next in Cape Town.

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I think the Cloud is perfect for those who wish to try expedition cruising but are unsure if they will really like it.The repositionig cruises between the poles also offer a less challenging "expedition"environment.

That said I doubt that we will ever be on the Cloud as we would be doing the "warmer cruises" so would normally go for a medallion suite-the old silver suites on the Cloud.Unfortunately in the refit they took out the tubs-a deal breaker for us.

Really enjoyed your report and thanks for the pics.Would love to do this itinerary.

Unfortunately in the refit they took out the tubs-a deal breaker for us.

Not all the tubs were taken out but there are only a handful of suites that still have them. I’ve booked suite 415 for the Oct 26 sailing.

I concur with comments about not all itineraries of the Expedition class could be interpreted as "expeditions" in the truest sense. My recent cruise on Silver Discoverer falls into the same category, most of the ports saw the ship dock, but the places visited were not normal Japanese calls by most ships at the moment.

A pity you missed Eyemouth, a pretty traditional fishing village. I believe most of the shellfish landed here are transported straight to Edinburgh airport for export to France and Spain, where diners are willing to pay for the best quality.

Thank you very much Wellseasoneds for your fascinating coverage and pictures of your voyage, and hope our paths cross again in the near future.

Best wishes to you both, and hope you have a safe journey home, if you are not staying in London for a few days.

Kindest regards

Master Echo

As silver Cloud sails away from London, Silver Spirit sound their horns at Greenwich. (As mentioned a few months ago would be happening)

Photo courtesy of SS Facebook.

Had I not been tied up today, I would have been there to witness. (Shame it wasn’t tomorrow so I could have seen from the Spirit)

I agree that the itinerary has an influence on the “Expedition” experience. However, so much more could have been done to integrate an Expedition experience with the itinerary and the culinary/culture theme of the cruise. It may not have been a wildlife expedition, but I did expect it to be a culinary expedition.

What about a lecture on oyster culture and the importance of tides? Why is the milk from the cows in Normandy different? What about the role of architecture urban renewal (Bilbao)? A lecture on Mount st Michel prior to our visit would have been great. Or how about the Camino and the pilgramage to the relics of St. James?

If Expedition cruising is distinguished from Classic cruising as being about experience, knowledge and adventure, then this was not an Expedition cruise. It was a port intensive luxury cruise with great food and wine. Too bad, it could have been so much more. Let’s hope they figure it out.

On 5/3/2018 at 12:00 PM, RachelG said:

We are doing Dublin to London on Cloud next year, so can't wait to hear all about this cruise. A culinary cruise--now that is my kind of thing!

I am doing Amsterdam To Dublin 2019.

On ‎11‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 9:48 PM, Lirio said:

I am doing Amsterdam To Dublin 2019.

So we will embark the day you get off.  I have a bunch of friends on your cruise that are doing B to B. We couldn't as we have 2 BIG graduations to attend the week of your cruise--my oldest son from law school and my adopted daughter from accounting school. And will be celebrating freedom from tuition as well.

2 hours ago, RachelG said:

And will be celebrating freedom from tuition as well.

Time to retire!