Whispering Around The World 2019

[mysty]

News today about Typhoon Jebi hitting Osaka and Kyoto. Jebi was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Japan since 1993, according to Japan's Kyodo News service.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/typhoon-japan-1.4809273

 

 

Thoughts are with the residents and others impacted.

[mysty]

We're at day 121 and counting to sail away here in North America. Shore excursion options and prices have begun to appear on the Activities tab on My Silversea. No indication of Formal Nights yet. We can book starting tomorrow (if all goes well with SS website programming). :) Excitement is building!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Loving your excitement M! :)

[mysty]

Thanks J! I'll be pinching myself for the next few months to make sure I am not dreaming. :)

[jpalbny]

Enjoy it M! Excited for you.

 

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[mysty]

Thanks JP! :) And enjoy your current adventure!

 

Like the eager bumpkin that I am....excursions have been mostly booked. Some ports are not yet available (eg. Sao Tome, Bordeaux).

[turtlemichael]

Thanks JP! :) And enjoy your current adventure!

 

Like the eager bumpkin that I am....excursions have been mostly booked. Some ports are not yet available (eg. Sao Tome, Bordeaux).

 

I've been happily booking tours too today, Mysty. They came on line for us at a respectable hour of 2.00pm this afternoon. The onboard credit has taken a beating! I wish they'd publish the dates for formal nights though.

Starting to get excited.

[mysty]

We're getting excited too turtlemichael! Our onboard credit has been slashed and burned! And I enjoyed every minute of it! :) I wish the Formal Nights were identified as well. Myster is not a fan and he usually grants me only one per segment. I'm good with that. Just want to take care of booking alternatives.

[turtlemichael]

We're getting excited too turtlemichael! Our onboard credit has been slashed and burned! And I enjoyed every minute of it! :) I wish the Formal Nights were identified as well. Myster is not a fan and he usually grants me only one per segment. I'm good with that. Just want to take care of booking alternatives.

 

Maybe my memory is failing but I thought SS named formal nights etc at the 120 day mark when they opened restaurant reservations?

[mysty]

Your memory is fine turtlemichael! That is the way I remember it as well. :) Sometimes it will be 120 days before each segment though. Perhaps they have switched it to 90 days prior. I will keep checking.

[mysty]

Bordeaux excursions are now available along with some of the other European ports that were not listed on Saturday.

[threeforthree]

Turtle and Mysty: Have either of you found any can't miss excursions?

[mysty]

threeforthree....excursions are highly subjective. Hard to make recommendations when you don't know the person's interests. Myster and I have chosen some food adventures for ports we have visited previously:

 

Hong Kong, China - Central Foodie Adventure HKG-M

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Saigon Street Food Experience SGN-B

Shanghai, China - Dumpling Revolution SHA-O

 

Myster watched a Netflix series called Shaka Zulu. There is an excursion in Richards Bay, South Africa that was used in the filming:

 

Shakaland Zulu Village RCB-E

 

Pink Lake is one of the things we read about in Senegal so we chose an excursion there that includes a Village Feast:

 

Pink Lake Retba & Village Feast DKR-B

 

Musical Rocks situated in the 'Moon Landscape' in the rocky section of the Namib Desert is supposed to be very interesting so we booked:

 

Treasures of Namib WVB-B

 

Our splurge will be dinner at the Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte from the port of Bordeaux:

 

DINNER AT THE CHÂTEAU SMITH LAFITTE BOD-Q

 

Obviously these choices reflect our interests. Not necessarily things not to be missed. Just things we don't want to miss. There are many ports with Hop On Hop Off bus tours and we will use that option for some ports.

 

Not sure if this helps you.

[Daveywavey70]

Omg M

Smith Haut Lafitte should be amazing!

I used to buy a lot of their wine when I ran the cellars at the Savoy. I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time.

[mysty]

Thanks DW! That is what we are hoping! :) We decided to cut down on excursion costs in less interesting ports and instead focus on things that we will probably not get to experience otherwise!

[Daveywavey70]

We only did one ships excursion. Not just about the cost but they just didn’t do what we wanted. Googling port excursions brings up so many better options than offered by the ship. A bit of digging can find you a private tour in a limo for less than the cost of a coach tour from SS.

 

My one big regret from my time at the Savoy cellars was that I was always too busy to take up the many offers of a free weekend at various Chateaux that we bought from. Especially the Champagne houses!

[mysty]

OH DW! Sorry you didn't get to explore those offers! I did a lot of research and some of the ports are difficult to manage with other options. Hopefully I've made reasonable choices. Myster just lets me do my thing and goes along for the ride. Probably why we've been together for over 40 years. :) He did get a veto on my suggestions though.

[Daveywavey70]

Your gonna have the most zing time and I’m looking forward to hearing all about it.

[mysty]

Thanks DW! I'm hoping the internet cooperates! :)

[turtlemichael]

Turtle and Mysty: Have either of you found any can't miss excursions?

 

I have picked totally different ones from Mysty - not one the same! I am tempted to change the Namibian one to what she picked - we'll talk about it. In general I have picked quite a lot of snorkeling ones, a few nature ones and others to places we haven't been. I have never been to Cordoba from the Seville stop and Rabat from Casablanca nor Dinan from St Malo.

 

I'm disappointed that the Goree Island tour in Dakar is not there. I went last time and the OH was sick so missed it. It was one of the highlights of that Tema to Barcelona cruise. However, I feel reluctant to do a private one there because you can't just hail a taxi to get you back to the ship if some delay occurs.

 

Corregidor in Manila looks fascinating as does Nosy Komba in Madagascar and Stone Town in Zanzibar.

 

It is great fun choosing!

[mysty]

Turtlemichael, your choices sound wonderful! One goal for Myster and me was to explore the world through our taste buds. Ha Ha! We'll see how that works out.

[mysty]

If anyone is interested in potential excursions for Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Jon Fleming (the destination lecturer on WC) mentioned two interesting options:

 

RUINS OF POLONNARUWA Excursion Code: TRC-E (approximately three-hour drive to Polonnaruwa)

 

or

 

SIGIRIYA ROCK FORTRESS Excursion Code: TRC-G (approximately 2.5-hour drive to Dambulla) and it involves a guided walking tour and ascent of over 1,000 steps.

 

A little too long on a bus for us unfortunately.

[turtlemichael]

If anyone is interested in potential excursions for Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Jon Fleming (the destination lecturer on WC) mentioned two interesting options:

 

RUINS OF POLONNARUWA Excursion Code: TRC-E (approximately three-hour drive to Polonnaruwa)

 

or

 

SIGIRIYA ROCK FORTRESS Excursion Code: TRC-G (approximately 2.5-hour drive to Dambulla) and it involves a guided walking tour and ascent of over 1,000 steps.

 

A little too long on a bus for us unfortunately.

 

We had a close look at the Anuradhapura tour but ruled it out for the same reason. 5 out of 8.25 hours are on the bus. Most interesting things seem well away from the port. We'll settle for the Virtuoso tour in Colombo.

 

[Unibok]

We had a close look at the Anuradhapura tour but ruled it out for the same reason. 5 out of 8.25 hours are on the bus. Most interesting things seem well away from the port. We'll settle for the Virtuoso tour in Colombo.

 

 

 

 

Pollonawura and Sigiriya are both wonderfully rich in history and intrigue, but I wouldn’t go there from Trinco for the reasons you’ve already discussed.

 

Is Trinco your only stop in Sri Lanka? If so, its beaches are amazing and the town itself is worth exploring for its historical, political, and religious significance on the island.

 

 

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[turtlemichael]

Pollonawura and Sigiriya are both wonderfully rich in history and intrigue, but I wouldn’t go there from Trinco for the reasons you’ve already discussed.

 

Is Trinco your only stop in Sri Lanka? If so, its beaches are amazing and the town itself is worth exploring for its historical, political, and religious significance on the island.

 

 

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Thanks Unibok. We'll explore the town at Trincomalee. We also stop in Colombo and we are doing a Vrtuoso tour there. That tour is an overview type one.