Live from Kobe to Vancouver May/June 2019

[SLSD]

  At 3:45, I attended the lecture by Sir Tony Brenton on Russian history, titled "Communist Russia and the Siberian Gulag".  It was well done with lots of slides, pithy comments and I gained some new knowledge. He will continue with Russian history at 9:45am tomorrow. 

 

 At 6:30pm I'll be attending the performance by the assistant cruise director Dave Resultan---who will play the piano and sing some of his favorite songs.  

 

The weather is rainy and cold.  If anyone has been out on the deck, I would be surprised.  

[SLSD]

The performance by Dave Resultan was well done.  He both played the piano and sang  What I appreciated most was his shout out for his fellow crew members from the Philippines.  It has always bothered me a bit that they are described as being "in the back of the house."  I would imagine that this bothers Assistant Cruise Director Dave as well.  He told us a bit about his life story--moving to NYC with his parents as a teenager, going through nursing school, but finally pursuing his dream to sing and dance.  He is a charming  and talented young man. 

 

Last night's dinner was fun as we were joined by our shipboard next-door neighbor.  We would not have met her but for the infamous Block Party.  On our last cruise (Baltic last summer) we also met people who became our ship friends.  So--we have to say that we applaud SB's Block Parties as we have met some special people there.  

Edited May 23, 2019 by SLSD

[SLSD]

Day Eight:  I'm sitting in the Observation Lounge this afternoon a few minutes ahead of what is called French Tea Time for today.  This is our third day at sea and the weather has been the same all three days:  drizzly, rainy, cold.  After reading last year's reports on this itinerary, it is exactly what I expected. 

 

The captain told us this morning that we would be sailing about 20 miles off of the coast of Russia because of requirements by that country for ships like ours.  At the moment, the crew on the bridge is sounding the fog horn.  A Danish passenger just told me that they are signaling different things with the horn.  The seas are still somewhat rough so there is movement on the decks. 

 

Our captain told us that a Russian pilot would be joining the ship at 3:30am tomorrow morning.  

 

Today has been a very good day for lectures.  I started off the morning with a lecture by Sir Tony Brenton titled "How do we handle Vladimir Putin?" Sir Brenton is a former ambassador with particular knowledge of Russia--which made his lecture interesting.  He has met Putin and told us that Putin is not a "hail fellow well met", but rather a man who is thoughtful and careful about what he says.  Through this lecture I gained more of an understanding of the ambivalence Russia has toward the West. 

 

The second lecture of the morning was by Dr. Alan Collins, another British man with foreign service credentials.  His lecture was titled, " Her Majesty The Queen, Long May She Reign."  By the title alone, you can guess his thesis---that the Queen is a big net plus for the UK.  The lectures included many interesting photos as well as some insights into the Queen, her personality and devotion to duty.  Sir Collins sees her as a charming woman who wields "soft power" which helps Great Britain.  

 

Once again, we had lunch in the MDR.  I had an excellent Caesar Salad (with darker green leafier Romaine that we get in Dallas) and Steak Diane. It was workmanlike (like yesterday's chicken breast) .  I make a better Steak Diane, but this one was tasty and I especially enjoyed the vegetables, roasted potatoes, little green peas and almost crunchy carrots.  I enjoyed it all.  My husband chose to have his second hot dog of the cruise and once again was disappointed by the mustard (!)  He tried to communicate that he doesn't like mustard with horseradish, but it came that way anyway.  He is always unwilling to try for a redo.  

 

The mid afternoon lecture was the second part of a very fun two part series titled, "Family Sailing Adventure, Part 2" with Peter Torkelson, one of the Ventures team.  In a nutshell, he took his family of five on a five year adventure living on a sailing boat.  The lectures were very well done and quite poignant.  I am a bit of a crier and found myself tearing up at several points. 

 

Suffice to say, I have been impressed with the lectures on this voyage.  And, they are especially welcomed when you must stay indoors on a ship during bad weather.  

 

We are looking forward to docking in Russia on the Kamchatka Peninsula tomorrow as well as to the rest of this day.  I'll report more later.  I do apologize for a lack of photos in my posts.  But, with three days at sea in bad weather, there is not much other than food to photograph!  

Edited May 23, 2019 by SLSD

[rols]

2 hours ago, SLSD said:

The performance by Dave Resultan was well done.    He is a charming  and talented young man. 

 

100% agreement there, he really is a lovely guy and a great host. We thought, given a few years, he'll step wonderfully out of the 'assistant' shoes and be a great cruise director. Do you still have the other assistant cruise director on board, Yvonne, I never worked out how long she had been on and how long her stint was. 

I've been looking at the sea swell charts over the last few days, certainly looks a little bouncy out there. I'm sure you'll be more than happy to get off in Russia and take a break. 

Please keep posting and I'm looking forward to seeing pictures from Petropavlovsk, which I can't even pronounce. 

[ab21au]

SLSD, great posts. Thank you for the effort and detail, very good reading. 

[SLSD]

Continuing Day Eight:  I am not sure if Yvonne is still on the ship rols.  I will look into that on the coming days. 

 

French Tea Time today included crepes with grand marnier as well as some other special tidbits.  It was well attended as no one can get out on deck.  We enjoyed chatting with some passengers we have met who have a great joy for life.  I'm afraid we are rather dour by comparison.  (LOL)

 

At 6:30 pm, we ventured down to the Grand Salon for the  Liar's Club production.  Oh my!  I think my husband and I qualify as typical puritanical Americans.  While we are quite liberal Episcopalians, we found ourselves rather surprised by the raunchy humor.  We still had a good time.  Afterwards, we were off to dinner in the MDR  and enjoyed one of the best entrees of the cruise so far--a lovely Sole dish accompanied by a poached pear salad and the chilled shrimp I can never resist.  

 

After dinner, we went to the Observation Bar for an after dinner drink.  We sat at the bar and were privy to other conversations going on.  I was a bit taken aback listening to a couple talk about the fact that they had been quite ill with a virus which "was not contagious."  Really?  I've never heard of a non contagious virus.  They allowed as they had been quite ill for days and days---and felt like they had the flu--and had not bee able to leave their suite. Two women at the bar were complaining that they had not been able to go out on on the deck to smoke and had had to smoke in their showers.  They were saying that they felt discriminated against.  I felt the need to go back to our suite and wash hands thoroughly before the 9:45pm show on account of the virus discussion.  

 

The show this evening was quite enjoyable.  It was a Canadian woman named Karen Grainger who impersonates famous singers.  She started out with Cher, and in the course of her program included Barbara Streisand as well as Janie Joplin--and several others.  She is a very talented woman and we were glad to hear that she will be doing another program later in our cruise.  

 

For the first time this itinerary my husband and I actually made it down to the club after the 9:45 pm show.  While we didn't exactly ''dance the night away", we did dance a bit and enjoy ourselves.  The musicians were quite good and played songs that we liked.  I was particularly charmed by another couple on the dance floor.  The man had on a white dinner jacket and he and his wife were having a good time.  I felt a bit like a teenager again dancing on a floor with sparkling lights.  Even though I am a fan of Encore/Ovation, I have to say that the Club on the Sojourn is more appealing  

 

I hope I can post a few photos here.  The internet connection is beyond abysmal.  But---I took a photo of my husband at dinner---just  show his mode of dress.  Putting on a coat and tie is second nature to him and I thought he looked very handsome tonight  Looking around the MDR, I would say that 35-40% of the men had on a jacket, but very few were wearing ties.  In fact, I don't remember seeing anyone but my husband in a tie, but I am sure there were others I did not see.  Many men had on just a dress shirt and others a sweater over a dress shirt.  

 

I'm including (I hope) a photos of the great bread sticks.   It looks like all photos are failing to upload.  I'll try again later.  

Edited May 23, 2019 by SLSD

[SLSD]

Ok, I've finally been able to post my husband's mode of dress for dinner tonight.  I had to go into our bathroom to make this happen.  Hoping that the bread sticks upload as well.  I recognize that there are all kinds of typos in the post above.  Who knows if I will be able to edit.  

[frantic36]

9 hours ago, SLSD said:

Two women at the bar were complaining that they had not been able to go out on on the deck to smoke and had had to smoke in their showers.

 

Thank you for your continuing detailed posts SLSD. Your husband's bow tie looks great. My husband also enjoys wearing bow ties and has a number of interesting patterned as well as conventional ones. I blame Handre for influencing him 😊.

 

With regards to the comment I quoted I am pretty sure the shower they are talking about is the ones on deck 5 near the pool not "their" showers. One evening friends of ours used them as a place to get out of inclement weather a few years ago when sailing around New Zealand. Our friends accidentally leant back against the taps and turned them on and got soaked, they then had the ignominy of needing to get back to their suite wrapped in towels. Luckily they were in a Deck 5 suite.😁

Edited May 23, 2019 by frantic36

[saminina]

Exactly.....outside shower behind the The Club.   Listening in can be a dangerous sport.

[SLSD]

OK good.  I had visions of them smoking in their own showers.  I'm glad that is not the case!  

 

We had an amazing day today in Russia.  The wifi connection to my iPhone is not working at all.  I'll go to Seabourn Square in the morning and try to get it sorted out.  I have some great photos I want to share.  With five sea days coming up, I should be able to do justice to what a wonderful day today was.  

[jenidallas]

15 hours ago, frantic36 said:

Your husband's bow tie looks great. My husband also enjoys wearing bow ties and has a number of interesting patterned as well as conventional ones. I blame Handre for influencing him 😊.

 

I agree that Mr. SLSD looks quite dapper. I do love the CC upgrade that allows for easier photo sharing and particularly like getting to put faces with names around here!

 

Add my husband to the Handre fashion club... after our autumn sailing on Ovation, he has embraced him as his new fashion icon.  (I applaud this... has made shopping with/for him much more fun!)

[DCCruiser57]

On 5/23/2019 at 5:57 AM, SLSD said:

Continuing Day Eight:  I am not sure if Yvonne is still on the ship rols.  I will look into that on the coming days. 

 

French Tea Time today included crepes with grand marnier as well as some other special tidbits.  It was well attended as no one can get out on deck.  We enjoyed chatting with some passengers we have met who have a great joy for life.  I'm afraid we are rather dour by comparison.  (LOL)

 

At 6:30 pm, we ventured down to the Grand Salon for the  Liar's Club production.  Oh my!  I think my husband and I qualify as typical puritanical Americans.  While we are quite liberal Episcopalians, we found ourselves rather surprised by the raunchy humor.  We still had a good time.  Afterwards, we were off to dinner in the MDR  and enjoyed one of the best entrees of the cruise so far--a lovely Sole dish accompanied by a poached pear salad and the chilled shrimp I can never resist.  

 

After dinner, we went to the Observation Bar for an after dinner drink.  We sat at the bar and were privy to other conversations going on.  I was a bit taken aback listening to a couple talk about the fact that they had been quite ill with a virus which "was not contagious."  Really?  I've never heard of a non contagious virus.  They allowed as they had been quite ill for days and days---and felt like they had the flu--and had not bee able to leave their suite. Two women at the bar were complaining that they had not been able to go out on on the deck to smoke and had had to smoke in their showers.  They were saying that they felt discriminated against.  I felt the need to go back to our suite and wash hands thoroughly before the 9:45pm show on account of the virus discussion.  

 

The show this evening was quite enjoyable.  It was a Canadian woman named Karen Grainger who impersonates famous singers.  She started out with Cher, and in the course of her program included Barbara Streisand as well as Janie Joplin--and several others.  She is a very talented woman and we were glad to hear that she will be doing another program later in our cruise.  

 

For the first time this itinerary my husband and I actually made it down to the club after the 9:45 pm show.  While we didn't exactly ''dance the night away", we did dance a bit and enjoy ourselves.  The musicians were quite good and played songs that we liked.  I was particularly charmed by another couple on the dance floor.  The man had on a white dinner jacket and he and his wife were having a good time.  I felt a bit like a teenager again dancing on a floor with sparkling lights.  Even though I am a fan of Encore/Ovation, I have to say that the Club on the Sojourn is more appealing  

 

I hope I can post a few photos here.  The internet connection is beyond abysmal.  But---I took a photo of my husband at dinner---just  show his mode of dress.  Putting on a coat and tie is second nature to him and I thought he looked very handsome tonight  Looking around the MDR, I would say that 35-40% of the men had on a jacket, but very few were wearing ties.  In fact, I don't remember seeing anyone but my husband in a tie, but I am sure there were others I did not see.  Many men had on just a dress shirt and others a sweater over a dress shirt.  

 

I'm including (I hope) a photos of the great bread sticks.   It looks like all photos are failing to upload.  I'll try again later.  

 

Smoking is not permitted on either your balcony or in your stateroom, with the exception of electronic devices.  Smoking is only permitted in certain outside venues.  It used to be allowed after 8 PM on the starboard side of the Ovservation Bar.  But I think this has been changed. Anyone smoking in their shower should be reported.

[SLSD]

Yesterday, we had a magical experience in Kamchatka.  However, I"m having iPhone connectivity issues, so I am going to hold off posting about it until I can get some technical help and include photos!  We have FIVE days at sea in succession now--so I should have plenty of time for posting.  

[frantic36]

4 hours ago, DCCruiser57 said:

 

Smoking is not permitted on either your balcony or in your stateroom, with the exception of electronic devices.  Smoking is only permitted in certain outside venues.  It used to be allowed after 8 PM on the starboard side of the Ovservation Bar.  But I think this has been changed. Anyone smoking in their shower should be reported.

 

It's okay DC, having spoken with friends onboard they have seen a lady using the shower on Deck 5 by the pool to get out of the cold, wet weather to have a cigarette. My friends are non-smokers so they thought it funny.

 

SLSD good luck with the wifi as I am looking forward to hearing about Kamchatka and seeing your photos.

Edited May 24, 2019 by frantic36

[SLSD]

Day Ten (I'll go back to wonderful Day Nine later) began with breakfast in the MDR.  With moving the clocks forward another hour, my husband slept in and I dined alone on fruit, the western omelette and iced tea.  Afterwards, I attended the lecture by Jennifer Fought, who is part of the Ventures team.  She spoke about the thawing of the permafrost worldwide and the consequences, some of which include releasing even more methane and mercury into the atmosphere. 

 

Next lecture starting now, so I'm signing off until later.  

[SLSD]

Day Nine (finally): Yesterday we docked at Petropavlosk/Kamchaka Peninsula at about five in the morning. From our balcony, I could only see some cranes and small fishing boats.  From out on the Observation Deck, I could see a bit more---some homes on a steep hillside as well as some government buildings.  We got off the ship at around 11am, went through passport control without any difficulty and board a bus for a Seabourn excursion called Kamchatka Exotic Picnic.  Our guide Elena was excellent.  She described the city, it's isolation on a peninsula that has no roads to the mainland, surrounded by active volcanoes, and subject to earthquakes.  She described the amount of snow the city gets in details.  (Sometimes residents have to leave their apartments through third floor balconies due to the depth of the snow)

 

Our bus took us about 25-30 miles out of town on a good paved road before we reached a dirt road where it was slow going.  We had passed forests of birch trees with snow capped mountains in the distance.  Once we reached our destination, we were speechless.  While the area had a lovely lake with mountains as a backdrop, there were also shacks, piles of reuse, a rusting truck and other views that were not that attractive.  I mentioned to our SB minder (one of the musicians) that this was one of the more bizarre excursions I had ever been a part of.  His response was:  "That is an understatement."  

 

We met a 70 year old man named Alexandre who came on our bus, speaking no English, but translated by our guide. Alexandra is a well known herbalist who has lived in the woods since 1976.  He has become as expert on local edible vegetation and showed us various plants in the forest that are suitable for food.  

 

Imagine our surprise when we were directed to a yert (teepee style) with a small fire for warmth and tables all set with glass plates for lunch.  Alexandre proceeded to serve us a delicious lunch which included a local kind of rice, homemade bread  and dishes made from thistle, seaweed and other local plants.  Our host serenaded us with Russian folksongs accompanied by this guitar.  There were many toasts with vodka mixed with what he called a "herbal bomb".  Then, he played the piano and sang more fold songs.  Next, we went outdoors again to watch him smoke Coho Salmon over an open fire in a homemade tin covered pot.  After that, there was tea made from a fungus (delicious) and Russian cookies.  What a day! It was truly an unexpected treat.  I'm sure we will always remember the experience.  

 

 

[SLSD]

A few more photos from the scene of our exotic picnic on the Kamchatka Peninsula.  

[SLSD]

Continuation of Day Ten:  This was a day at sea with plenty of rock and roll movement on the deck.  Some passengers were suffering from a bit of sea sickness--but my husband and I felt just fine.  The second lecture was about stars photographed by the Hubble telescope.  The photos were great, but I found the lecture a bit lacking.  It was not that inspirational (am I asking for too much?) and the delivery was somewhat monotone.  Just not up to the level of other lectures on this voyage. 

 

We had lunch with a friend in the MDR, tea at 4pm, dinner in the TK Grill with our shipboard next-door neighbor and then a piano concert.  A good day.  

 

Tomorrow, we cross the International Dateline. Here's something interesting.  We received ANOTHER reservation for the TK Grill---exactly as tonight's  Since our reservation was for Saturday May 25th and tomorrow will be ANOTHER May 25th, we had another reservation.  We decided to give this one up (our third) and let another passenger have it.  We are going to the TK Grill with friends the day after tomorrow.  

 

The food in the TK Grill has been very good.  I had the sole again tonight.  This time I opted (for the first time) for the Caesar salad.  Hmmm...it seemed to have mustard in the dressing--so not a classic.  Everything else was great.  

[rols]

15 hours ago, SLSD said:

This was a day at sea with plenty of rock and roll movement on the deck.  Some passengers were suffering from a bit of sea sickness--but my husband and I felt just fine.  

 

My favourite ocean map shows you've just passed through some bigger seas but it looks a bit better for the next few days to AK, I hope the map is correct for everyone's sake. 

 

15 hours ago, SLSD said:

Tomorrow, we cross the International Dateline. Here's something interesting.  We received ANOTHER reservation for the TK Grill---exactly as tonight's  Since our reservation was for Saturday May 25th and tomorrow will be ANOTHER May 25th, we had another reservation.  

 

That's hilarious, and of course that's something the Seabourn booking website probably doesn't cater for very well. 

 

I saw your report of the Russian excursion, that certainly must have been one of the more unusual Seabourn trips ever. I'm most looking forward to your reports on the rest of the trip as the scenery should be quite stunning from Kodiak onwards. 

[SLSD]

Here's a part of Day Nine I haven't reported yet.  This was the day we on the Kamchatka Peninsula.  After our Kamchatka Exotic Picnic (which we loved and I reported above), we returned to the city and went through the immigration center so that we could return to the ship.  My husband wanted to photograph me in front of the Sojourn.  As I was positioning myself for the photo (facing back to the Passport control building), I saw one of our fellow cruisers (and someone who had been with us for the exotic picnic) fall head over heels down the tall steps of the immigration building.  My husband and I , along with several other SB passengers, went running to where he lay at the bottom of the steps.  At first, he was unconscious and ashen in color.  His wife was beside him along with several more of us.  The Russian immigration officers stood at a distance.  Soon, a member of the Sojourn crew came running over and medical personnel from the ship were summoned.  It took a few minutes, but the first of them to arrive was a nurse.  She knew what to do, asked all the important questions as the injured passenger regained consciousness.  We left the scene after the nurse arrived, to wanting to add to a tense scene. 

 

We are happy to report today that we saw the man who fell (and his wife) on the ship. He is doing well. AND, he told us that he was VERY pleased with the care he received on the ship.  I think this is very good news for all of us.  He was x-rayed on the ship, has no broken bones, and his head wood was sealed up with medical glue.  

[galeforce9]

SLSD loving your trip reports.  Please keep them up.  It looks a most interesting itinerary. 

[MrToblerone]

We were own your Baltic cruise last year although we never met.Thank you for your trip report ,it’s very interesting.This year we’re cruising with Uniworld in France .

 

 

[SLSD]

Thank you galeforce.  My husband told me today that someone on the ship came up to him and said, "is your wife the one doing the live blog of this cruise?"  It's hard to know if that was a positive comment or not..  But, the reason I'm doing it is because I always enjoy the live reports so much when I am home thinking about our next trip. 

 

And Mr. Toblerone---we were so disappointed to not meet you last year in the Baltic.  And, we even stayed in the same hotel in Amsterdam. 

 

Day Eleven:  This was a fairly laid back day at sea.  It was our second day at sea in a series of four---five if you count an upcoming day of scenic cruising.  To tell you the truth, I'm beginning to wonder if a long cruise with a lot of sea days is for me.  I got a bit antsy today--while there were activities on the schedule, most did not interest me--and there was not an afternoon lecture.  We'll see how tomorrow goes...

 

On many days, we have been moving an hour forward at bedtime.  This is beginning to take a bit of a toll on me.  I'm usually an early riser and a real morning person--bright eyed and happy in the morning.  This morning I could not get up and dressed in time for my usual breakfast in the MDR.  I ordered room service breakfast instead.  

 

At 11am we went to Sir Alan Collins' lecture titled "The Greatest Englishman of them All?"  It was a lecture about Winston Churchill with great slides and informative information.  I've enjoyed all of Sir Collins' lectures and look forward to his next one which will be about the London Olympics which he had a part in planning.  

 

We had our usual lunch in the MDR, but I was disappointed that there was not an afternoon lecture.  Instead, there was a movie (Groundhog Day) which did not interest me.  

 

I didn't feel like going to 4pm tea (which I usually enjoy), so my husband humored me by ordering caviar for two.  We had our unopened bottle of champagne from the first day of the cruise and enjoyed most of the bottle between the two of us.  

 

The pre-dinner show was a good one---a multi-intrumentaliist named Mark Donoghue--who plays the violin, guitar, piano, and harmonica--and sings.  It was a good program. 

 

Following dinner in the MDR, we  had a drink at the Observation Bar, chatted with some fellow passengers, and then attended the evening program--a magician named Jamie Allan.  

 

We nipped down to the club for a very short time before returning to our suite.  Just not our best day at sea.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I think one factor is the constantly changing time zones.  

 

I'm attaching couple of photos.  First another from Kamchatka of our host Alexandre throwing vodka on an open fire--which he did each time he proposed a toast.  The second photo is of our caviar for two in our suite this afternoon.   

[SLSD]

Day Twelve:  I was awakened early this morning by more motion of the ship that we have felt.  It is REALLY rocking and rolling (side to side) this morning.  I am sure that quite a few passengers are feeling a bit queasy--and that includes us.  We've taken some precautions and we will going to lunch soon. 

 

At 10:45am this morning, we attended a cook-off in the Grand Salon.  The participants were our cruise director Ross Roberts and our executive chef Lindsay assisted by the new (and soon to take over for Lindsay)executive chef Ross, who is Scottish.  He comes from Royal Caribbean and is looking forward he says to returning to quality.  He will be taking over in about two days.  We'll report on food after his takeover.  So far, in the first eleven days of this cruise, the food as been quite good.  I would say it has been a notch or two above what it was on Encore and Ovation.    While there have been a couple of things I have not cared, for ---the other 99.9% of the food has been very very good.  

 

Everyone has different tastes in food.  While I did not like the Caesar Salad in the TK Grill, I just talked to a passenger who LOVED it.  She also loves the roasted chicken there, which I don't like because I find it way too salty.  This is just an illustration of how the chefs have to meet so many different tastes aboard the ship. 

 

Back to the Cook Off from the morning.  As many of you know, Ross Roberts is a real comedian.  While I find his humor to be British humor and quite silly, I always laugh.  We enjoy him.  He used a British term this morning that we did not know the meaning of--so we googled it---and were shocked at how blue it was.  Too blue to write about here!  

 

The Cook-Off was silly but fun---just the thing to be a diversion on a rocky day at sea.  

 

Ross will be leaving the ship in Kodiak and we will have a new cruise director for the rest of our voyage.  I can't remember who it is going to be at the moment--so I will report on that later.  

 

This afternoon, we plan to go to lunch in the MDR (no lunches yet in the Colonnade for us--except for the first day), a Destinations lecture, and a lecture later in the afternoon.  

 

Here's a photo from this morning's cook off.  That our Cruise Director Ross Roberts on the right with Lindsay in profile on the left.  

 

By the way, several of Ross's jokes during the Cook Off were at Chef Thomas Keller's expense.  They were funny.  One was criticizing Keller's appetizer of carrot sticks and celery on ice with a dip.  

 

We continue to struggle a bit due to lost hours.  

 

 

[Covepointcruiser]

The lost hours are Way we always prefer an east to west crossing.    I much prefer an extra hour, 25 hr days instead of 23 hr days.   Are you turning the clocks ahead at 2 PM?    We did it that way on this crossing last year.