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Whispering Around The World 2019

mysty

By mysty,
in Silversea

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DCCruiser57

DCCruiser57

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WC 2019 was our 4th WC (one with Seabourn in 2014 and 2016 & 2018 with SS).  It was by far the best of the 4.  As I reflect back on the 132 days, the best part of the trip was all of the wonderful people we met throughout the journey.  The crew was outstanding and the food was excellent.  The SS complimentary wine list is very extensive and includes some very good wines.  In addition, SS's purchases of local wines (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, etc.) is great. There was good entertainment, and some great speakers. I think at the end, mostly everyone was probably tired of lobster, caviar, and seafood lunches.  In addition, there the following amazing WC events:

 

1.  Gala Dinner at Four Seasons San Francisco

2.  3 day/2 night overland to Nara/Kyoto including a bullet train ride from Kyoto to Tokyo (never been to Nara or Kyoto)

3.  Sydney Opera to see La Boheme 

4.  Champagne and Caviar Breakfast in the MDR

5.   Greeting the Tahitian Gods - Papeete

6.  Cocktails and show at the Kingsbury - Sri Lanka

7.  Refurbished train ride in Capetown with lunch at KWV Cathedral

8.  Tour of Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent about 18 years in prison

9.  Goree Island in Senegal with cocktails, dinner & a show

10.  Feria de Abril Festival in Sevilla, and lastly

11.  Farewell event - cocktails, dinner, and a show at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

 

In addition, we did three overland journeys to places we had never been to before

 

1.  Chengdu, China to see the pandas & Dujiangyan, China
2.  Amboselli & Kilamanjaro National Park

3.  Kruger National Park, South Africa

 

Lastly, we visited another 17 places that we had never visited before

 

Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
Maldives & Praslin
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Nosy Be, Madagascar
Maputo, Mozambique
Cape Town, South Africa
Richards Bay, South Africa
Walvis Bay, Namibia
Takoradi, Ghana
Tema, Ghana
Banjul, The Gambia
Dakar, Senegal
Sevilla, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Bilbao, Spain
Bordeaux, France
St. Malo, France

 

We are looking forward to Whispering Around the World 2020, but it probably won't be the same.  Will keep you posted.

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DCCruiser57

DCCruiser57

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We also had some interesting events.

 

1,  Leaving the dock in SFO because of high winds so the barge could refuel the ship at anchor in the SFO Bay

2.  Turning around and returning to SFO for a medical emergency so the Coast Guard to pick up an ill guest

3.  Participating in a search and rescue operation when a Sao Tome ferry capsized

4.  Having to relocate in Dakar to refuel which prevented guests from returning to the ship until refueling was complete.  Apparently, fuel is less expensive there and they accept payment in USD

5.  We began with about 224 WC guests and ended with less than 210 as some had to disembark early for a variety of reasons

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DCCruiser57

DCCruiser57

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Some other highlights from the trip:

 

1.  Watching the Superbowl at 10:30 AM

2.  Watching the NCAA Basketball championship at 4:30 AM

3.  Watching the Masters tournament

4.  All of the local shows

5.  Deck BBQs to include those moved inside due to weather

6,  Black & White Night

7.  Chinese night

8.  Farewell to Asia

9.  Out of Africa

10.  Crew County Fair

11.  Boat building competition

12.  ANZAC Ceremony

13.  Hat making

14.  Donation for Sao Tome (given to another place since we missed this port)

15.  WC photo exhibit put together by Tracy Fleming

16.  White Elephant Auction with proceeds to the crew fund

17.  The blazingly fast internet

18.  The extremely efficient Japanese immigration process

 

I'm sure I missed a few others.

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Lifesgreat

Lifesgreat

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8 hours ago, DCCruiser57 said:

WC 2019 was our 4th WC (one with Seabourn in 2014 and 2016 & 2018 with SS).  It was by far the best of the 4.  As I reflect back on the 132 days, the best part of the trip was all of the wonderful people we met throughout the journey.  The crew was outstanding and the food was excellent.  The SS complimentary wine list is very extensive and includes some very good wines.  In addition, SS's purchases of local wines (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, etc.) is great. There was good entertainment, and some great speakers. I think at the end, mostly everyone was probably tired of lobster, caviar, and seafood lunches.  In addition, there the following amazing WC events:

 

1.  Gala Dinner at Four Seasons San Francisco

2.  3 day/2 night overland to Nara/Kyoto including a bullet train ride from Kyoto to Tokyo (never been to Nara or Kyoto)

3.  Sydney Opera to see La Boheme 

4.  Champagne and Caviar Breakfast in the MDR

5.   Greeting the Tahitian Gods - Papeete

6.  Cocktails and show at the Kingsbury - Sri Lanka

7.  Refurbished train ride in Capetown with lunch at KWV Cathedral

8.  Tour of Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent about 18 years in prison

9.  Goree Island in Senegal with cocktails, dinner & a show

10.  Feria de Abril Festival in Sevilla, and lastly

11.  Farewell event - cocktails, dinner, and a show at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

 

In addition, we did three overland journeys to places we had never been to before

 

1.  Chengdu, China to see the pandas & Dujiangyan, China
2.  Amboselli & Kilamanjaro National Park

3.  Kruger National Park, South Africa

 

Lastly, we visited another 17 places that we had never visited before

 

Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
Maldives & Praslin
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Nosy Be, Madagascar
Maputo, Mozambique
Cape Town, South Africa
Richards Bay, South Africa
Walvis Bay, Namibia
Takoradi, Ghana
Tema, Ghana
Banjul, The Gambia
Dakar, Senegal
Sevilla, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Bilbao, Spain
Bordeaux, France
St. Malo, France

 

We are looking forward to Whispering Around the World 2020, but it probably won't be the same.  Will keep you posted.

Well put DCC. A fantastic trip made even better by the wonderful people we met like you.

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SWFLAOK

SWFLAOK

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Mysty,

Thank you so much for your detailed trip report, and these photos that you've added. We were on the Silver Whisper last November,  roundtrip from Barbados to Manaus, and loved the ship. We were in a Silver Suite, with my brother in a Veranda Suite, and we all loved our time on board. The crew was wonderful. Our butler was the best we've ever had on any cruise.

We would love to do a World Cruise at some point,  but as we get older, it's hard to deal with siblings and their kids and their grandkids, as well as close friends, that expect us to be available for in person support and funeral attendance, even if we are half a world away.  I'm sure others have encountered this problem. Our parents are already gone, and we were close enough to be able to be there for their funerals. We always buy insurance, but that only covers some things, and not others.  We hope to never have to use our insurance.

Going forward, we may not be able to afford a World Cruise if we feel pressured to attend a family or friend's funeral that aren't covered by  trip insurance. We have a daughter and a young grand daughter that we would need to respond to,  but it's the wider range of family and friends that we would wonder what to do.

Sorry that this isn't a pleasant topic, but how do others on the World Cruise's deal with this?

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mysty "Live from...." Rare

mysty

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Thanks SWFLAOK for your very thoughtful post.  Speaking for myself and Myster only, we decided that this was a trip we wanted to do while we were relatively healthy and able to enjoy the adventure.  You never know what is waiting around the corner.  We have kids, grandkids, siblings and dear friends and we understood that unfortunate events could happen while we were away.  We've done 2 World Cruises and have been very fortunate with both.  In my humble opinion, you really can't put your life on hold because of some event that may or may not happen.  And you really can't let other's expectations determine what kind of enjoyment you are "permitted" to consider.  We must each decide what we are comfortable with.  I hope that you consider the wonder that awaits!

Edited by mysty
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mysty "Live from...." Rare

mysty

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Ys drron and TTS...I love, love, love Japan!  It was my first time there and Myster's second (business trip prior).  The beauty, the culture and the people are amazing!

 

Photos from Tokyo on our last day there.  Unfortunately it was pouring rain.  We visited Rikugien Japanese Garden and Senso-ji Temple.

 

From Rikugien.....

 

DSC06440.JPG.ce32d105c20c51d2b2a3859652237a6b.JPG

 

DSC06445.JPG.d185b248d5140de737a9a7f36ab6b265.JPG

 

DSC06452.JPG.ba6108706d0f1717837c7029f31a5362.JPG

 

From Senso-ji Temple.....

 

DSC06463.JPG.a0f43caf60998dc90a7ef3e4b9b77811.JPG

 

DSC06468.JPG.0bb75312f8736406de37a8a2cd13d31d.JPG

 

DSC06473.JPG.c1fc37e8f9f6972121c451ad369df080.JPG

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SWFLAOK

SWFLAOK

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On 6/17/2019 at 8:52 PM, mysty said:

Thanks SWFLAOK for your very thoughtful post.  Speaking for myself and Myster only, we decided that this was a trip we wanted to do while we were relatively healthy and able to enjoy the adventure.  You never know what is waiting around the corner.  We have kids, grandkids, siblings and dear friends and we understood that unfortunate events could happen while we were away.  We've done 2 World Cruises and have been very fortunate with both.  In my humble opinion, you really can't put your life on hold because of some event that may or may not happen.  And you really can't let other's expectations determine what kind of enjoyment you are "permitted" to consider.  We must each decide what we are comfortable with.  I hope that you consider the wonder that awaits!

Thank you so much for the reply Mysty. I really want to see everything we can while we still can take full advantage of excursions off the ship. I plan to do as much as possible in the next few years. I just need to convince my other half that we're permitted to do it.

Edited by SWFLAOK
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mysty "Live from...." Rare

mysty

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8 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

Thank you so much for the reply Mysty. I really want to see everything we can while we still can take full advantage of excursions off the ship. I plan to do as much as possible in the next few years. I just need to convince my other half that we're permitted to do it.

Good luck SWFLAOK!  I hope a sense of "obligation" doesn't prevent the exploration of the wonder in our great big beautiful world!

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