Whispering Around The World 2019

[turtlemichael]

1 hour ago, Emtbsam said:

Mysty is correct about Sunday family night in La Terrazza.  After the antipasti, dinner is served family style with not a lot of choices.  I enjoy the meal, but I HATE the performance by the Voices of Silversea because they haven't learned to turn the volume down on their amplifiers.  It ruins what should be an enjoyable evening.  The room is small enough that if they are trained singers, they ought to know how to sing loudly enough so that their voices carry properly.  I have found the decibel level to be absolutely painful and despite saying something to Donato and Norman, the volume remains too high.  Does anyone else have the same complaint?

We'll report on how it goes tonight.

[turtlemichael]

Went well!  The first course was as described - an a very good selection of antipasti self served.  The main course was a tremendous mushroom risotto and sliced beef cooked rare. The risooto was the best I can remember. Dessert was several different tiramisu, cake etc  We weren't offered a choice but I'd guess they cater for non-meat eaters.  Happy to say that the Singers (four of them) performed for less than 15 minutes without the decibels high. They were no higher than you'd hear anywhere else so maybe Emtbsam's comments, and probably, others have been noted.  All up a very nice evening.

[mysty]

7 minutes ago, turtlemichael said:

Went well!  The first course was as described - an a very good selection of antipasti self served.  The main course was a tremendous mushroom risotto and sliced beef cooked rare. The risooto was the best I can remember. Dessert was several different tiramisu, cake etc  We weren't offered a choice but I'd guess they cater for non-meat eaters.  Happy to say that the Singers (four of them) performed for less than 15 minutes without the decibels high. They were no higher than you'd hear anywhere else so maybe Emtbsam's comments, and probably, others have been noted.  All up a very nice evening.

Thanks Turtle!  So happy to hear your evening went well!

[Emtbsam]

So glad to hear that you enjoyed the evening in La Terrazza and also that the decibel level was lower.

 

Do you know if they had any seating outside?

Edited January 27, 2019 by Emtbsam

[turtlemichael]

There was no seating outside last night. It might have been a little blustery and it certainly is getting a bit cooler as we approach Auckland.

[mysty]

Today was another sea day.  There was a Boat Building Competition Final this afternoon.  The objective was to design a boat using a select list of components which could carry as many Coke cans as possible.  The two competitors were both declared winners.

 

[mysty]

Today we are in Auckland.  Myster and I took the ferry to Waiheke Island and jumped on the Hop On Hop Off bus at the ferry terminal there.  We got off at the first stop for a wander around Oneroa.

 

The approach to Oneroa Beach.....

 

The internet is currently having a hissy!  I'll add more photos later.  Sorry about that!

 

[mysty]

Let's try this again.

 

Batch Winery has the highest location of any winery on Waiheke.  Beautiful views.

 

 

 

Myster and I had a scrumptious lunch at Mudbrick.

 

 

 

I will be posting food pictures of our meal in the Watercooler.

 

Today is a sea day.

[Stumblefoot]

Mysty,

 

Love your pics of the Mudbrick winery on Waiheke.  The Silver Princess just returned from Auckland where she had been studying statistics with Stats NZ (similar to the US Census Bureau) during the month of January.  Being 20 and not of legal drinking age, you can imagine how much she enjoyed Stonyridge Vineyard and Batch Winery since she has grown up in such a wine centric family.

Once again, thanks for taking us all along on your World Cruise!

[turtlemichael]

We had a great day in Auckland too. We visited the Fish Market with Chef David and 20 others, traveled over by ferry to the charming town of Devonport for lunch an a climb of Mt Victoria, and went out for dinner. Last night back on the ship we had a late night show by a Maori entertainment troupe. They were very good and very entertaining.  Somehow "Pokarekare Ana", the traditional Maori love song, morphed into "Solo Mio" and then "Do the Hokey Pokey". You had to be there!  It ended with a truly scary Haka that would have won them a Rugby World Cup.

 

Tonight there is a gala dinner preceded by a presentation on World Cruise(s) 2021.  I am guessing it won't be a secret as around 380 people are being told so if there are any exciting bits mysty or I or someone else will put them up here.

Edited January 30, 2019 by turtlemichael
additional info

[turtlemichael]

Hot off the press.  We were given a preview of the World Cruises in 2021 tonight by the Cruise Consultant.  It was quick and glossy without a lot of detail and I am sure more will be revealed in the coming days but here is a glimpse, as much as I recall. I apologize if I have some detail wrong.

Plural on World Cruises is correct. There will be two.  First, Silver Whisper will sail from Fort Lauderdale to New York taking 150 days. The basic itinerary is very familiar. It will be through the Panama Canal, down to La Paz, across the Pacific including Easter Island and Pitcairn, to the standard French Polynesia ports and on to Auckland and Bay of Islands, then on to Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns and Darwin in Australia and to Bali.  Next is up to Osaka and Tokyo via Manila and Taiwan, and to Shanghai. Hong Kong, Saigon, and Singapore, (I think Bangkok was included but I’m not certain), across to Sri Lanka, Cochin and Mumbai in India and on to Salalah.  Next is through the Suez with the standard stops in Egypt, Jordan and Israel and on to Athens. Next is the main ports in Croatia and to Venice and down to Valletta and the other standard western Med ports. After Lisbon it is Funchal, the Bahamas and finally to New York. There will be a larger number of overnights.

As well, there is going to be a 167 day (yes, 167!) World Cruise on Silver Cloud from South America to Norway.  I apologize that I am light on for detail here as I was somewhat mesmerized by the itinerary.  It includes Antarctica, many of the smaller locations across the Pacific to northern Australia and Papua New Guinea and on to the Kimberleys In Western Australia.  The rest is a bit of a haze but it is through India and the Suez and Med and on to the Arctic and ending in Tromso.

 

We were not given anything in writing and we weren’t told the starting dates nor the costs of course. As well, the benefits were skimmed over very quickly but I had the impression they’d be similar to the current World Cruise and would include Business Class airfares.  My recollection is that bookings open tomorrow for current world cruisers, in about a month for previous cruisers and for the public in late March.

There are to be presentations next week so the detail will become available soon. Regard this as a preview.

[jpalbny]

Thanks for the preview! Now I just need to figure out how we can retire before then! 😕

[Stumblefoot]

6 hours ago, turtlemichael said:

Hot off the press.  We were given a preview of the World Cruises in 2021 tonight by the Cruise Consultant.

This explains why many of Silver Cloud's 2021 voyages were waitlisted several weeks ago.

[mysty]

Thanks Turtle!  Interesting options!

[Daveywavey70]

Glad your having a great time M and Mr M and Turtles 1&2. Please keep posting, wish I was there xxxx

[mysty]

 

45 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Glad your having a great time M and Mr M and Turtles 1&2. Please keep posting, wish I was there xxxx

Thanks DW!  We will continue to post!  Internet is being a little flaky so our attempts are sometimes stymied.  We soldier on!  🙂

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by mysty

[mysty]

And Emt....word on the street is that they have changed the location of the speakers in La Terrazza so it is now easier to enjoy conversation.  

[turtlemichael]

A little more information on the two 2021 World Cruises.

 

The Whisper cruise leaves Fort Lauderdale on January 7 and terminates in NYC on June 6. The last leg is a crossing from Lisbon to NYC via Funchal and Hamilton.

 

The Cloud cruise leaves Ushaia on January 30 and terminates in Tronso on July 17. I didn't mention that the last two sectors take in some of the remote Scottish isles, Iceland for the best part of a week,  and Svalbard, Bear Island and the North Cape for another week.   It looks like it starts with an overnight in Santiago followed by a charter flight to Ushaia. The cruise gets to about Latitude 64S and 81N.

 

I was right that benefits are basically the same as the current cruise for both cruises in 2021 - business class airfares, a pre-cruise night and dinner, laundry, visas, medical package and an onboard credit of $4000 per couple.

[DCCruiser57]

For everyone's information, attached are the itineraries for the 2021 Whisper 150 day WC and the Cloud 167 day WC.  Final pricing to be announced by end of February.  Bookings are limited to current and future world cruisers with first priority to 2020 world cruisers and then 2019 world cruisers.  After that I believe it's Venetian  society members and then it will be open to the general public.  Approximate prices start at $65K for a Vista suite.  Approximate starting prices for the Cloud WC are $99K, however, all shore excursions are included with 60 zodiac trips.  Enjoy!!  Great cruise so far - food is better than last year, especially the fresh fish - the service has been excellent.  Complimentary wines have been very good.  Chef David departs in Sydney.

2021 Whisper WC.pdf

2021 Cloud WC-1.pdf

2021 Cloud WC-2.pdf

[mysty]

Thanks for the additional information Turtle and DCC57!

[Stumblefoot]

For those of us who can only fantasize about a World Cruise, thank you to TurtleMichael and DCCruiser57.  Both look super fun!  And, very interesting to see that the Whisper will be crossing the Atlantic heading west during the late spring.  Very unusual for SS indeed!

[Emtbsam]

13 hours ago, mysty said:

And Emt....word on the street is that they have changed the location of the speakers in La Terrazza so it is now easier to enjoy conversation.  

Great news!

[mysty]

Today is another sea day.  Beautiful sky this morning.....

 

[jpalbny]

Ha, we had a beautiful sky this morning too! It was about 2 below zero F, (-19C for others here), and the sky was crystal clear. Not a cloud in the sky, and the crescent moon put on a beautiful show with Venus to the left and Jupiter to the right.

 

I watched for a few seconds until my eyeballs froze solid then I groped my way back into the house to thaw out. Your view is very nice. 

[turtlemichael]

We've traveled across the Tasman Sea for two and a half days now and it has been like a millpond.  We are 200 or so nautical miles from Sydney and, for the first time we are getting some "sea".  Winds have increased and there is some decent ship movement. It's really not much though compared with what the Tasman Sea can do and indeed the whole Pacific from San Francisco has been flat.

 

When we sail into Sydney Harbour in the morning we are going to be accompanied by Silver Muse and a drone taking pictures.  We'll all wave!