Silver Cloud-Capetown to Lisbon-March 28-May 1

[rich48100]

Well, today is the March 25th and we will be catching our flight to Capetown via Dallas and London.  Total time to get to Capetown is about 30 hours, and we should get there about 8 am on the 27th.  We will have a nights stay at the Table Bay hotel before boarding the Cloud on the 28th.  I imagine the transfer to the ship will be sometime early afternoon.

 

This is our first cruise with Silversea, and looking forward to the expedition ship and seeing all new territory for us.  Been to Capetown before and also Lisbon, but none of the countries in between.  I think about 10 countries in all will be visited.

 

i will try to keep anyone that is interested updated daily as to activities and sights.  We will see how that works out, and how the internet is onboard.  Don’t need any Viking Sky action, thank you very much.  What we need is safe flights and all of our luggage to get there with us.

 

Posting again when we get to Capetown.

[Silver Spectre]

Have a good flight and a safe cruise. Hope you make it into Luanda, we missed it 3 years ago because of the Ebola outbreak thousands of miles away!

Edited March 25, 2019 by Silver Spectre

[Fletcher]

36 minutes ago, rich48100 said:

 

i will try to keep anyone that is interested updated daily as to activities and sights.  We will see how that works out, and how the internet is onboard.  

 

Yes, please!  I did half of this trip on the Cloud before its conversion into an expedition ship.  We sailed from Accra to Cape Town and if you do a search you'll find my almost daily blog somewhere on the Silversea forum. 

 

This is a challenging cruise, no two ways about it - you will see some remarkable sights and massive schisms between great wealth and crushing poverty, especially in Luanda.  There is poverty everywhere and mountains of garbage but there is also extraordinary beauty and some gorgeous people.  

[Unibok]

Can't wait to hear all about your voyage! What an exciting itinerary! 

 

In the meantime, wishing you smooth and easy travel to Cape Town.

 

[Stumblefoot]

Have a wonderful trip and we look forward to following along.

[jpalbny]

Rich, safe travels and enjoy the Cloud! But I wondered about your statement about a transfer to the ship. You might be able to see your ship from the Table Bay. When we were there in 2011, we were docked right in the V&A Waterfront, literally at the back steps of the hotel. The hotel valet put our bags on a luggage cart and we walked about 30 seconds out the back door of the hotel to the ship. Reverse process for disembarkation 10 days later. 

 

There are other docks in the harbor which might be a little further from The Table Bay, so maybe you're going to dock at one of them. But the embarkation we had in 2011 was hands down the easiest we've ever done. No transfer required!

[rich48100]

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes for our travel.  Hope springs eternal that everything will go with out a hitch, or maybe just minor ones.

 

JP, thanks for the info about Silver Cloud potential docking.  We will see.  Transfers are included for us so whether it be close or long we will be taken care of.  Our adventure will start when we leave the house, and will be glad when we get to Capetown and the ship.

[LittleRedJohn]

We are at the Table Bay Hotel now, looking forward to our cruise Thursday. The info I have is that our ship will be at Duncan Dock, a short distance from here. Haven't been told when our shuttle will pick us up. I don't believe we will be so lucky to be docked behind the hotel. Several people on the ship are already at the hotel. Weather is good, warm but not hot, sunny but windy at the waterfront. No rain expected. Hotel is top drawer, and pretty busy. They offer an occasional free shuttle into the Town center. John

[jpalbny]

Love the Table Bay Hotel! Yes, Duncan dock is a short walk from there but the route is circuitous and crowded, so it wouldn't be much fun with luggage. You should be able to explore the waterfront from the ship very easily,  though. Have a great time! 

[rich48100]

Well, as Little Red John said, a number of folks arrived at the hotel, Table Bay.  We were one of the early arrivals.  Getting there about 10 am and into our room about 1pm.  All of our luggage showed up, a wonderful thing.  

 

Turns out we were at this hotel in the year 2000 when we did  a Kenya to the Cape safari tour land tour with another company.  Lots of new construction since then, and a lot more people in Capetown these days.  Still a nice facility and the view of Table Mountain out our window is great.

 

supposed to transfer to ship about noon tomorrow to start our adventure.  More later.

 

 

 

[Stumblefoot]

13 minutes ago, rich48100 said:

Well, as Little Red John said, a number of folks arrived at the hotel, Table Bay.  We were one of the early arrivals.  Getting there about 10 am and into our room about 1pm.  All of our luggage showed up, a wonderful thing.  

 

Turns out we were at this hotel in the year 2000 when we did  a Kenya to the Cape safari tour land tour with another company.  Lots of new construction since then, and a lot more people in Capetown these days.  Still a nice facility and the view of Table Mountain out our window is great.

Glad to hear all of your luggage made it!

Would be interested in hearing how the local economy is doing, now that the construction is over.  It was an utter disaster in South Africa during Zuma's corrupt reign that began back in '09 and I just wonder Nelson Mandela's protege, Cyril Ramaphosa, has done over the course of the past year during his first year as president.

[spinnaker2]

Have a great trip! 

[carefreecruise]

On 3/26/2019 at 4:39 PM, jpalbny said:

Love the Table Bay Hotel! Yes, Duncan dock is a short walk from there but the route is circuitous and crowded, so it wouldn't be much fun with luggage. You should be able to explore the waterfront from the ship very easily,  though. Have a great time! 

Yes they are docked at Duncan Dock. It is 17 minutes walk from Table Bay hotel where we used to dock. Why; because a cruise terminal was built and all arrivals from international are required now to dock there. We just got off and waiting to for our flight at the airport. 

Have a great trip. I saw the new furniture being brought on and it looks nice. Also four search lights were added on our cruise for your western African voyage. 

Edited March 28, 2019 by carefreecruise

[celles]

I admire you raving about cities that are less than exotic. I will be joining you in Tema if we ever get our flight ticket issued by Silversea. Think of the poor support they gave us about the Ghana visa.

 

The reason why I am posting in here is that I originally wanted to book this leg of the cruise as well. Now I found out that Silversea cancelled Togo, Benin and Cameroon on this cruise making you spend additional days in Ghana. When were you told about this and what were the reasons given? I was fed about the message that they changed Al Ouin for the poor tourist resort Agadir. Having a glance at their excursions for Agadir it just makes me wonder why people spend so much money on this cruise line. I have sailed on more than 20 cruise companies so far and I already know that this gonna be my first and last cruise with Silversea. They offer amazing itineraries and finally you end up with ports that cost 6000 Euro less with other companies. Their only reaction was that they were sorry that this change caused upset. 

[TLCOhio]

On 3/27/2019 at 3:55 PM, Stumblefoot said:

Glad to hear all of your luggage made it!   Would be interested in hearing how the local economy is doing, now that the construction is over.  It was an utter disaster in South Africa during Zuma's corrupt reign that began back in '09 and I just wonder Nelson Mandela's protege, Cyril Ramaphosa, has done over the course of the past year during his first year as president.

 

Yes!!  Glad your luggage arrived safely and we are  enjoying your wonderful pictures and details.  Keep it coming.  Agree with the above smart question from Stumblefoot as to being interested in any updates as to how their economy and situations are doing these days in South Africa.  Their previous two Presidents after Nelson Mandela were challenged for many different reason.  Let's hope things improve there, but the "issues" are tough and immense.  Good luck for your upcoming adventure.  Keep up the great sharing.

   

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 44,722 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

 

Loved our five days in Cape Town before we boarded the Silver Cloud in 2016.  One of my best memories was doing a helicopter tour around Table Mountain, over wine country, seeing the scenic coast, etc.  As this visual below shows, the "drama" of Cape Town is so totally wonderful and inspiring.  Such a great setting!!:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

[TLCOhio]

On 3/26/2019 at 10:39 AM, jpalbny said:

Duncan dock is a short walk from there but the route is circuitous and crowded, so it wouldn't be much fun with luggage. You should be able to explore the waterfront from the ship very easily,  though. Have a great time! 

 

Agree with J.P. that Duncan Dock is somewhat close to the V&A Waterfront, but the routing is twisted and challenged.   AND, with luggage, it is not that easy or possible.  Super loved exploring around the V&A Waterfront.   In 2016, this is where our Silver Cloud boarded and departed.  Lots of challenges up that western coast of Africa in certain of the countries.  Looking forward to reading and learning more as you post during the upcoming days. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Wonderful scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 234,507 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[Silver Spectre]

2 hours ago, celles said:

I admire you raving about cities that are less than exotic. I will be joining you in Tema if we ever get our flight ticket issued by Silversea. Think of the poor support they gave us about the Ghana visa.

 

The reason why I am posting in here is that I originally wanted to book this leg of the cruise as well. Now I found out that Silversea cancelled Togo, Benin and Cameroon on this cruise making you spend additional days in Ghana. When were you told about this and what were the reasons given? I was fed about the message that they changed Al Ouin for the poor tourist resort Agadir. Having a glance at their excursions for Agadir it just makes me wonder why people spend so much money on this cruise line. I have sailed on more than 20 cruise companies so far and I already know that this gonna be my first and last cruise with Silversea. They offer amazing itineraries and finally you end up with ports that cost 6000 Euro less with other companies. Their only reaction was that they were sorry that this change caused upset. 

Togo was cancelled off the Whisper WC about three weeks ago. There has been trouble there since late last year, but reporting is almost non-existant. Benin is right next door and may be affected too.

[celles]

I found the following on the net when trying to determine the current position of the SilverCloud. I would have booked it if I had got time off work. If this is really the current and modified itinerary I would be more than furious. A friend of mine also told me that she was on a similar trip on Silversea and they were too clumsy to debark on São Tomé thus they cancelled this island as well. I gather I will fly into Luanda some time and do a cruise on aidamira covering Walvisbaai, Lüderitz and East London. Cancelling Togo, Benin and Cameroon all together and making them see Takoradi 2 times makes me speechless. 

[rich48100]

We went on our tour today in Lüderitz.  The Shenzhen 5rail.  Very desolate area, sand dunes, 1.2 billion year old rocks.  Discussion of diamond mining and the German ramparts during WWI, and the fight against South African troops during the war.  Lots of discussion about European colonialism in Africa.  Saw some wild horses, very little greenery and even a group of ostriches.

 

Heading over to Walvis Bay for a couple of days and more excursions.  Weather has been reasonable, and even a bit cool.

 

here are a few pictures of our excursions.

[Fletcher]

I adored Luderitz - one of the best stops on our West Africa cruise.  It should be a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its German-colonial era architecture. 

[celles]

Could the cruiser posting all those pics please reply to my question either in here or by private message when SS communicated all those severe changed to this very itinerary and what kind of reasons were given. The weird thing was that SS cancelled Al Aouin on last year’s cruise as well but repromoted this very port on the 2019 itinerary. “Out of the blue” they learnt that tender or zodiac operations would be far too complicated thus they replaced this exotic destination by a low cost carrier destination called Agadir. Anyway I could talk to you in person since I will join this cruise in Tema and I just hope they gonna stick to the itinerary that was sold to us... 

 

Yes, Lüderitz is nice but there will be tons of reasonly priced cruise companies that will visit this port from December 2019 onwards. I have been to your next stop Swakopmund (Walvisbaai) and it was interesting as well. Personally, I am only looking forward to seeing pics of those ports in Angola and if you are lucky this time from São Tomé. I can fly into Luanda on Lufthansa and into São Tomé on TAP. This is the only way that visits of those destinations are really guaranteed..

Edited March 30, 2019 by celles

[RachelG]

Just now catching up with this thread.   Rich, how are you and Barbara liking the Cloud?  We are doing Dublin to London in May.  We have almost 100 night on Silversea, but only on Explorer (most) and Spirit.  

 

Very interested on your our take on these rather unusual ports as well.  Our son worked for an NGO in Ghana for awhile and wants to take me there some day.

[rich48100]

Celles, security concerns is the reason given for cancelling the ports.  Not the first time that reason was given by a cruise line to cancel a port.

 

Rachel, so far so good on the Cloud.  All folks friendly and helpful.  Food is good.  Different ambiance than Regent, and certainly smaller.  Expedition team is wonderful so far, and met a couple of them that will be on the Iceland trip.

will report periodically on the other ports as we arrive.  First time with a butler, and she has bent over backwards to be helpful, but definitely not used to having a butler.

 

here in Walvis Bay they have included a “dinner in the desert” for tonight with entertainment.  Unexpected delight, so will see how that goes.

 

[Fletcher]

Two tips for two ports of call - 

 

Luanda, Angola: We ignored the tours and all the advice and went on a walking tour on our own. Four hours in sweltering humidity but full of surprises and discoveries.  The bay was supposed to be massively polluted.  It wasn't.  Egrets were fishing.  It was supposed to be dangerous. It wasn't. Students were on bikes, people were walking, chatting, saying hello - it could have been in any capital city.  Armed police everywhere!   In golf carts.  They were also very friendly.  Climb to the castle and walk the ramparts - on one side the amazing Dubai-like high-rises showing the nation's wealthy and recovery after civil war, on the other side one of the biggest, soul-destroying shanty towns in Africa.  

 

Takoradi, Ghana: Take the tour which visits Elmina Castle, one of the most amazing places I've ever seen.  A slave castle surrounded by an incredible fishing community.  

 

Edited March 31, 2019 by Fletcher

[celles]

Security reasons...mh..then they should cancel all African ports. WHEN did they approx. tell you:

a) weeks ahead

b) days before departing

c) after embarkation

 

As for the countries being dangerous

our ministery for foreign affairs says

Togo: risk level 2 out of 5

Cameroon: risk level 2 out of 5

Benin: risk level 2 out of 5

 

no potential risks has been reported recently, no outbreaks of dangerous diseases. Honestly, this makes me think that booking with Silversea might have been the biggets mistake I have ever made. Nevertheless, I just hope (for them) that they gonna stick to the current itinerary from Tema to some "everybody-has-already-seen" Lisbon. It wasn't even possible to get a flight on the very same day way back home and now we are stuck with some IC hotel in Lisbon and wait another day to get way back home on a 3 hour flight...

 

You might not know that you are entitled to get a REAL recompensation for all this and not just some 10% off your next cruise. It might take some words of a lawyer but we've had this before on a far better priced cruise liner. They cancelles all Madagascar ports 9 !!! days ahead of our departure and they ended up with a payback of 1020 Euro in cash. They also wanted to fob us off with some ridiculous coupons for the next cruise...