Live from The Wind Dec 16-23

a wonderful start. Available to board the ship at 12;00 and suites were promptly available at 2:00 pm. In between had a lovely light lunch on the pool deck and a wonderful hour entertained by Alex in the Panorama Lounge. Stay tuned for more.

Bon voyage!

It's been an interesting 2 days. Yesterday was formal night and rebels that we are, we dined at the Grill. Cooking my own filet and prawns is always fun. But service was mixed. There was no assigned seating even though we had reservations and we did not have a dedicated waiter. So no pacing - 3 requests for water but a never empty wine glass. Guess the staff had rhe priorities right. Breakfast at the Terraza buffet style and lunch at the Grill poolside has been good. Poolside service was very good.

Unfortunately we spent most of the day poolside yesterday because our first stop Les Anses d'Arlets is nothing as "advertised". There are no taxis waiting for the 45 minute drive to the populated centers where for example the Empress Josephine was born or the pictures on the handout the ship makes available were taken. The beach is rather dirty and any local establishments were closed. So shame on us for not planning better.

First night dinner on board we ate at the main Restaurant- stand out was the grilled octopus salad.

Love our little balcony and watching sunset last evening. Very smooth seas. Great water temp and looking forward to St Kitts today

Just a comment for anyone with food allergies. I have one deadly allergy, two less serious and a couple of sensitivities. Now that the waiters are using I pads or tablets, I have a number of warnings re hidden ingredients or reminders. This is fantastic. A much welcome use of technology in an unobtrusive manner.

Thanks for posting, enjoy your cruise and hope you continue to find the Wind in top form.

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Back from our short walkabout in Basseterre. Quite enjoyed rhe children's choir practice at St George's Anglican Church. Can't resist the batiks made right here on St. Kitt's and DH was ecstatic at finding 3 types of Blanton at duty free when it's almost impossible to acquire at home.

Sometimes the best times to be poolside on ship is when everyone is on shore and that seems to be the case today. Quite peaceful and Jeremy made sure I had my sparkling water before I could unpack my bag. With a comfortable lounger, so glad to be here.

Enjoying your live thread.

Keith

...Jeremy made sure I had my sparkling water before I could unpack my bag...

If you get the chance tell him that Sir Jeremy and Miss Kim are missing the cocktails. He'll know what you mean!

If you get the chance tell him that Sir Jeremy and Miss Kim are missing the cocktails. He'll know what you mean!

Looks like he was transferred elsewhere as Kevin is now working the deck but next time I see him I will definitely tell him

And before I forget, do the elves miraculously leave cleaning clothes for eyeglasses in your cabin without request? 2 showed up this morning - a wonderful event since I have lost a couple of old ones on this trip (and never said a word to anyone!). The small chocolates with the turndown service are great, especially the ones last night that are made right here in St Kitts but the cleaning cloths and d unscented soap and lotion made my day:)

And before I forget, do the elves miraculously leave cleaning cloths for eyeglasses in your cabin without request? 2 showed up this morning - a wonderful event since I have lost a couple of old ones on this trip (and never said a word to anyone!). The small chocolates with the turndown service are great, especially the ones last night that are made right here in St Kitts but the cleaning cloths and unscented soap and lotion made my day:)

I hate autocorrect-please forgive the typos

Guess you have to take the good with the bad...just got notice that our reservation for dinner tomorrow night has been unilaterally cancelled as the Grill is now "closed" tomorrow night.

Guess you have to take the good with the bad...just got notice that our reservation for dinner tomorrow night has been unilaterally cancelled as the Grill is now "closed" tomorrow night.

That has happened a couple times to us. Once on the Wind and once on the Spirit. Never did hear why they did it on the Wind though we’ve noticed a couple of other times it’s been closed but not on nights we had reservations. On the Spirit it was understandable as it happened to be the night we were sailing past Somalia and the captain closed all outside decks at night and turned off all deck lights.

That has happened a couple times to us. Once on the Wind and once on the Spirit. Never did hear why they did it on the Wind though ....On the Spirit it was understandable as it happened to be the night we were sailing past Somalia and the captain closed all outside decks at night and turned off all deck lights.

Well, if we are going past Somalia tomorrow night then I think we are definitely making a detour since we are supposed to be heading from Antigua to St Vincent. Just learned that there is The Venetian dinner tomorrow night at the Restaurant so maybe that's the explanation.

Dinner was room service tonight. Highly recommend. On time, everything arrived cooked to order and at right temp. No bottomless glass of wine but with an excursion in the morning, that's a good thing!

So, have received invitations to a Cocktail Reception for Venetian Society Guests and the Venetian Dinner. Since the first begins at 7 and the dinner at 7:30, any advice on whether we should attend? Since Alex is playing in the Panorama there is actually a schedule conflict! Ha, I never thought I'd say that out of the office.

There should be time for both. The Venetian Party is not (usually) a long drawn-out affair. Go enjoy it then head over to dinner. Glad you're having a good time on board!

2nd try at posting this-

Today we took our first excursion- a 3 hr snorkel and beach stop.

The catamaran was located right next to where we docked in St John, Antigua and we had a very reasonable start time of 9 am The cat will accommodate 120 people and we were about 40 (my estimate) so with a captain & 3 crew members we were very comfortable. Sodas and non-alcoholic beverages were made available from the start.

We motored out to the reef just past the Sandal's resort where we were informed this was a "guided" snorkel tour. We are experienced snorkelers and while I've been on excursions where due to strong current the boat drops you at one place and then trails you and picks you up at the end, I've never been told we all have to follow the guide. I can't count the number of times I was kicked by fins or swam into by others today.

We all dutifully swam out against the current and I lagged back while drifting in. I thought maybe today's "guided exception" was due to the swells and current since a crew member told me directly that it's usually a very calm reef. However the Silverseas rep on board said it's always a "guided snorkel." It is not labeled as such in the book we received and we would have done a different excursion had we known.

The lead crew member attracted a number of fish with bread crumbs-I'm not a fan of that either while the lagging crew member herded the rest of us.

The bar opened while we sailed to Deep Bay which has a very calm beach and a shallow ship wreck from the 18th century. That could have been fun to explore. after half an hour on the pretty beach we returned dockside.

If you are a serious snorkeler- and this is in fact always aherded, oops, I mean guided snorkel, I do not recommend the 3 hr tour (even though we turned out better than Gillian)

Part 2 of Antigua

We decided to try the buffet for lunch - and loved the mixed grill. The lamb chops were grilled to perfection. Was not expecting that.

Then since we are docked, was easy-peasy to head back into St John - but while there are advantages to being the only ship in town, the disadvantage is that every two steps there is someone wanting to sell you a tour, braid your hair, or the old "step into my shop, I have a deal just for you."

Seriously- the beaches are gorgeous and the forts are still very visible. Sitting in the Panorama lounge, listening to Alex play, drinking a Silver Caipirinha, I can almost ignore the cannons aimed at the ship from both sides of the harbor.

Has anyone worked their way through the Classic Cocktails with a SilverSea Twist or the Silver-tinis? Trying to decide between a Vesper, Mad Men Martini or the Bermuda Sidecar.

Has anyone worked their way through the Classic Cocktails with a SilverSea Twist or the Silver-tinis? Trying to decide between a Vesper, Mad Men Martini or the Bermuda Sidecar.

We did, on our Transatlantic, on the Whisper, with our favourite bartender Oliver. My favourite turned out to be the French Martini. YMMV

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Looks like we are sailing into some rain this morning as we approach Bequia this morning. Supposed to arrive around noon.

Last night we hadn't planned on room service but with only 3 tables occupied at 7:30 pm, the Italian restaurant could not accommodate us even though they had several no shows for 7 and 7:15 reservations. Unique system they have here on SilverSea .....and I really wanted the Risotto which wasn't being offered in the Restaurant. I don't like large ships but in a suite on several other lines room service is available from any restaurant, not just the open dining. Guess we have to get smarter about reservations

Wandered through the on board shop as they had a TAG watch event. But this cruiser comes for the sea and the stars, not the shopping. Seems the shop is much more upscale than our Alaska cruise on the Shadow several years ago.

Beautiful skies last night. Polaris, Orion's Belt and the Big Dipper appeared fairly early (or at least this amateur stargazer thought so) and it amazes me how easy (and early) I fall to sleep.

We did, on our Transatlantic, on the Whisper, with our favourite bartender Oliver. My favourite turned out to be the French Martini. YMMV

 

 

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Last night I started with dessert before dinner, an expresso martini which was very good but so sweet, one was enough. And I'm turning into a lightweight because while the Mad Men Martini was my idea of an absolutely perfect Martini, it was also the largest Martini I've ever been served. First time I can remember not finishing a cocktail!

And Paulino has quickly become a favorite. My husband called him a ninja because he always popping up asking if we need anything. His Silver caprihlana yesterday pm was very good (I order without sugar- most bartenders think I'm crazy, but then I add just a bit of stevia since cachacha already has plenty of sugar).

We did, on our Transatlantic, on the Whisper, with our favourite bartender Oliver. My favourite turned out to be the French Martini. YMMV

 

 

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Going to be next one- currently enjoying my first Pom-Martini, easy on the pomegranate juice to lessen the sweetness.

There's something very relaxing about not getting to a port until noon. Plenty of time to be lazy enjoy going past St Vincent to arrive at Bequia. Highly recommend the 3 hr catamaran snorkel/beach tour we took today. Brand new cat, great crew, interesting trip to secluded protected reef with lots of fish and ending with a stop at Princess Margaret Beach.

If I got the story right, there is a line of houses built of stone with no windows & doors -basically a failed off the grid eco resort. One was built right into the cliff and was inhabited until a boulder crashed through the bedroom. It was eerie but beautiful. It's called Moon Hole.

We are sharing the harbor with the MS Hamburg- a ship I'd never seen before and none of the crew on the tender could identify the line. Speaking of tenders, I love the tenders on the Wind- I can always get a seat near the fresh air and there is never a long wait.

Listening to Alex again before heading to dinner-looking forward to the risotto.