Moon across the pond, Lisbon to Ft Lauderdale

[Silver Spectre]

Day 2 of 9 sea days and the weather changed overnight. We have had quite a bit of rain, a deeper swell, 6', and the wind is from the north at about 20 knots, force 5, so we have a slight list.

We are now 500 miles from the nearest land and have 2800 miles to go.

 

Today’s highlights are a pub lunch, with a singalong and an afternoon fashion show.

 

Life is good on the wonderful Silver Moon.

Edited November 24, 2021 by Silver Spectre

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

Bye bye EBB promo, maybe?

 

According to the email from SS and Ms. Muckermann, yes, the EBB is going away.  I figure we’ll hear more during the Nov 29 CruiseCritic program.

 

2 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

We have had quite a bit of rain, a deeper swell, 6', and the wind is from the north at about 20 knots, force 5, so we have a slight list.

The good news is there are still no organized tropical systems across the Atlantic basin.  And, no development is expected for at least another five days.

[zqtchas]

2 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

According to the email from SS and Ms. Muckermann, yes, the EBB is going away.  I figure we’ll hear more during the Nov 29 CruiseCritic program.

 

The good news is there are still no organized tropical systems across the Atlantic basin.  And, no development is expected for at least another five days.

you're a regular wikipedia😁

[Silver Spectre]

All set for the mid-voyage nose tickle

 

[Silver Spectre]

And we have passed muster, a friendly 10 second twirl, no brain excavation, and carried out by a nice lady from Plymouth.

[Silver Spectre]

Thanksgiving lunch with a extra large pigeon

 

[Catlover54]

On 11/20/2021 at 3:45 AM, applefan75 said:

I believe some of the embarkation crowding was caused by the port of Lisbon staff rather than Silversea themselves. Onboard has been very pleasant with most guests minding mask and distancing guidelines. 
 

I will say it’s been quite the change from Crystal Debussy Rhine river cruise that I just came from. Only staff were required to wear masks, guests were free to mask less anywhere onboard and were only required while on the coach buses during tours. 

How many pax on the Debussy contracted Covid?

[Silver Spectre]

25 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

How many pax on the Debussy contracted Covid?

According to Chris who is posting live they just had a family of 4, positive and disembarked, luckily they didn’t infect any of the other current guests, but they could easily infected the whole ship!

[Catlover54]

14 minutes ago, Silver Spectre said:

According to Chris who is posting live they just had a family of 4, positive and disembarked, luckily they didn’t infect any of the other current guests, but they could easily infected the whole ship!

If that just happened, then it would seem the entire river ship, given how small it is, should be considered "contacts" and quarantined for at least a few days until retesting, to rule out a false negative window.    I have avoided the river ships in Germany because contact is so close and Germany Covid rates are surging again.

Viking in Iceland made people who had been on the same bus excursion (masked) as a positive passenger (who'd also been masked) disembark even though they tested negative.  

 

I was on the Endeavor, maskless except for staff, and no one (vaxxed and tested pre-boarding) tested positive at the end of the trip (a couple was kept off pre-cruise when they tested positive pre-boarding with no symptoms) .  I just got off a Celebrity ship with 800 people, where pax were not masked except on boarding and buses, only staff, and people even sat closely together at bars (all pax were  vaxxed and pre-tested, other than a few kids, who were just tested and only kids had to wear masks) -- no one got sick, and this has been the case all season for that ship.

 

Getting infected on a cruise when one is fully vaxxed (I am tripled) is fortunately a  very rare, but non-zero risk, and is a bit of a crap shoot.

 

DH and I will  be on the Moon soon to check out the beautiful new ship and the SALT program, am looking forward to it.  I like the extra testing on SS, (especially the kind that does not, unnecessarily, go deep and cause discomfort), but not the idea of masks in the gym or when walking outside trying to smell sea air.  DH may need to do situps and pushups on our suite balcony instead :). 

 

After that -- Ponant, then Seabourn Venture.  This virus, with its current features, is not going to keep me away from cruising despite my high risk profile, but during Covid, for any particular area of the world,  I will settle on the line that balances risk and benefit of anti-Covid maneuvers in the most reasonable manner, all factors considered.

 

I appreciate your posts, please continue!

[Lois R]

Catlover, who said you have to wear a mask when you are outside walking on the ship? After 3 cruises with them since July, I cannot recall that policy on any of my sailings.

[Master Echo]

Good evening Mr Spectre - good to hear your perspective on the Moon.  
 

Interesting correlation on the improvement of the Internet service when the Travel agents/free loaders disembarked.  This mirrors my experience on the Moon’s Christening  cruise at the end of July.  
 

During my September cruises on the Shadow, I asked the IT Manager whether Premium WiFi offered superior speed & he just shrugged his shoulders.  This confirms previous conversations with other officers who said that  the speed was no better.  
 

On the Shadow in September whilst masks were mandatory inside the Spa, they did not have to be worn whilst exercising in the gym area, merely on entering. Whilst masks were worn inside the ship, once arriving on outside decks and in the fresh air they could be removed.  Unfortunately not so for any officers or crew who had always to be masked even outside on Pool deck.

 

Hope your CC weather forecaster is correct &  you continue to have fair weather across the Pond.  Hope Mr & Mrs Spectre that supplies of Tiki are plentiful!!! 
 

Enjoy

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo 

[Silver Spectre]

4 hours ago, Lois R said:

Catlover, who said you have to wear a mask when you are outside walking on the ship? After 3 cruises with them since July, I cannot recall that policy on any of my sailings.

Correct Lois, it’s only when walking inside, and there a number of dumb people who keep forgetting on here, or think it’s ok if there is no one around near them!

[Silver Spectre]

Thanks ME. I ran both standard and premium WiFi on the Shadow and there was about a four fold difference in download speed. I am not wasting my drinking credit on premium this time, so few if any photos.

We still have plenty of Tiki and the Pouilly Fume.

[Silver Spectre]

Dinner in the Salt Kitchen

 

[wine-wine-wine]

DW and I are in a Silver Suite, first time in a suite this size while cruising. It is excellent and adds to the feeling of safety as we spend breakfast and the morning in our suite. 

The suite is as lovely as advertised and the walk in shower unbelievable. Having two doors to the toilet is helpful for light control during the night. we have a Bose radio. Sorry to hear of your situation @Silver Spectre
 

Dining:

S.A.L.T. Kitchen is the hands down winner. Nothing else so far on the ship even approaches it. Hanna is a perfect server and Francois a terrific som. Even a filet is better than in Atlantide. Wines consistently excellent. 
 

La Terraza started us on a wrong foot with us by presenting without our ordering a massive tray of every single antipasti on the menu. Too much food and guilt producing give that each individual item was excellent and would invariably be discarded. Osso buco fatty and overwhelmed by a too strong sauce. Somehow the tomato based sauces struck me as incredibly acidic. Have never experienced this anywhere including in Italy and felt unwell during the night. 
 

La Dame also started on the wrong foot. It was casual night. The TV said on their page “Attire: N/A”. So for once I left my jacket behind - and was greeted with “We will provide you with a jacket.”  Naturally I turned that down and retrieved my own. I like to dress up - just please communicate when this is required not optional. (The TV setup has been remediated). Escargot and foie gras were excellent but the rest was certainly no better than SALT Kitchen and therefore hard to justify the $60 cover charge. Would rather use that on a special bottle of wine.
 

Atlantide was ok but the filet was not as delicately prepared as Salt Kitchen. 

Arts Cafe has lovely small bites. They have not been 100% but at least it is easy to change out. 

 

Grill is quite good. Had a fantastic Rueben yesterday. 

All bars are solid. Panorama seems to make the best dry martinis. 

 

Rolling bar trolly poolside with the Salt Bar mixologist providing creative concoctions is a nice touch.  

Included Chardonnay is good but Cab Sauv is comparable to that served in coach on a US international flight. Overheard the head som chiding one of the other soms for promoting an overly pricy bottle from the all inclusive list. Not endearing. 
 

Misc:

Our butler Rosie is attentive and helpful. Yes @Silver Spectre the size of caviar portions seems to be shrinking by the day but it is lovely to have it delivered every day. 
 

Spa is terrific. Great service from Kal, Jane, Ruth and Claire have been terrific to work with. 
 

Last thoughts:
 

I am a little disappointed to have only met one person from our role call thread. Our photo is there - please do introduce yourself if you feel moved to do so. 

[wine-wine-wine]

Also…. We have only cruised on Crystal previously. The selection of restaurants is far superior on Silversea. Even if they were not all up to Salt Kitchen level at least there were more interesting options. 
 

The only thing that we miss from Crystal is higher ceilings in public spaces and in their equivalent of Panorama lounge. 

[wine-wine-wine]

And one more note. The issues in La Terraza and La Dame were reported and we received a phone call and a letter. Definitely good service working to make things right. 

[Silver Spectre]

Very interesting and informative comments @wine-wine-wine. It was our first visit to the Salt Kitchen last night and everything worked extremely well. The lamb cutlets above were delicious and DW’s turbot was perfect. Service was good and possibly helped by the restaurant being fairly empty. Our friends went to Atlantide, which was very busy, and had a pretty poor experience, both food quality and service. Quite frankly I am struggling to understand how the ship can be so hit and miss with both food and service. Something is not quite right here.

[jollyjones]

 

I agree that it's a shame that the menu in La Terrazza doesn't make it clear that everyone will be offered the antipasti tray - it's the same size for two or four people I think, and I cruise solo so imagine how much too much it is for me! But I learned and now I merely tell them I don't want it (before they put it on the table) so it can go elsewhere and not be wasted.

Edited November 26, 2021 by jollyjones

[Silver Spectre]

I’m not a big Spa user but would second @wine-wine-wineabout the staff and in particular Claire, the manager, she is not only excellent but delightful too.

[wine-wine-wine]

Just now, Silver Spectre said:

Very interesting and informative comments @wine-wine-wine. It was our first visit to the Salt Kitchen last night and everything worked extremely well. The lamb cutlets above were delicious and DW’s turbot was perfect. Service was good and possibly helped by the restaurant being fairly empty. Our friends went to Atlantide, which was very busy, and had a pretty poor experience, both food quality and service. Quite frankly I am struggling to understand how the ship can be so hit and miss with both food and service. Something is not quite right here.

Too many Americans looking for Thanksgiving dinner in Atlantide last night?

 

Trying Silver Note tonight - hearing good things, fingers crossed. 
 

Glad you had a good experience at Salt Kitchen!

[Silver Spectre]

On 11/24/2021 at 1:49 AM, Silver Spectre said:

My current SS senior shipboard management responsiveness scale, 1 = very poor, 10 = wonderful.

Wind 9.5

Cloud 6.5

Whisper 7.5

Shadow 8.5

Moon 7

 

The Moon has just had a mid-voyage updating to 8.

[Lois R]

 Wine, Wine, Wine----Interesting events for sure...........sorry your food experiences are so "hit and miss".........😟

 

I have tried Silver Note multiple times and enjoy it immensely.  It is very different and I have told folks who ask me, you need to have an open mind about how things are cooked AND presented.  Hope you enjoy it! 

 

I do agree the Salt Kitchen is the best overall (in my opinion). I loved eating there and went several times, on my own as well as with others.  I will be sailing on the Dawn in April and am so looking forward to dining there again🙂

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

[sloopjohnb]

Interesting comments, everyone, about Atlantide (our experience is similar, we've made our views known and they're at least trying to address things) and about SALT (outstanding!) The only thing I don't understand about the ship itself is that there is no outdoor, forward-facing public space. Perhaps we'll never be able to sail along La Giudecca canal but where on a ship would you want to be as you sail into Rio or Sydney or Oslo or Saigon, or anywhere, actually?

[SSCAF001]

32 minutes ago, sloopjohnb said:

The only thing I don't understand about the ship itself is that there is no outdoor, forward-facing public space. Perhaps we'll never be able to sail along La Giudecca canal but where on a ship would you want to be as you sail into Rio or Sydney or Oslo or Saigon, or anywhere, actually?

On the Muse it is possible to take a stair next to the observation lounge and to move up one floor accessing an open terrace with a complete view forward facing. I entered Sydney Harbour in 2019 and it was a memorable experience. Is the Silver Moon different?