Spirited Across the Atlantic -- Live-ish Report

[Unibok]

Wow, it is soooooooo good to be back onboard a Silversea ship! We are here, we all survived Bridgetown embarkation, and we are (I hope, if I may speak for my fellow pax) settling in for a 7-day crossing. The ship engines are starting as I type this ... and we're off!

 

I'll have more to say (perhaps too much???), but here are some first impressions:

 

1, 2, 3, and up to infinity: after a 2-year travel hiatus, nothing feels as good as stepping foot onboard. Nothing. Walking up the gangplank elicited a sense of peace, of adventure, of grief for all who have suffered extraordinary loss during the pandemic, of joy that we can keep going, of nerves, of comfort, of relief. When the first person who greeted me said "welcome back," I nearly cried. It feels like a sort of home, a sort of family.

 

Bridgetown embarkation: it's always bad, but today seemed especially taxing behind the scenes for the crew. It was fine for me personally, but I've been here before and knew how to navigate the place. I'm also still in grateful shock that we are actually cruising again, so little kerfuffles and delays and mixed signals seem like small annoyances rather than life-threatening altercations. From my perspective, it was actually better than it was 3 years ago when I was here last. There were 4 ships in port (3 of them very large), and zero helpful signage; friendly port folks, however, were good about pointing you toward where you needed to go. Our crew was doing a quick turnover after the previous charter -- wild parties! -- and needed every second up until 2:00 to get ready for us. 

 

"Everyone is special at Silversea, except me. I'm the most special." Folks who showed up well before 2:00 expecting to waltz on to the ship, get their bubbly, and still make it to Atlantide for the end of lunch service were in for a rude awakening. I'd like to emphasize the "rude" part. Now, I love the Silversea demographic, and I'm part of it, but when 75 people show up early believing they are more special than everyone else, it's going to be uncomfortable for whomever isn't picked first. I've never experienced such a crush to be first in line, all the while ignoring instructions from the crew. Yelling, complaining to anyone who will listen, lots of abomination-this and irate-that. I cut some slack to the woman who cut me off in line -- twice! -- thinking that maybe she had a mobility or language issue. Turns out it was neither. People, we're going to be together in an enclosed space for the next 13 days, so have some dignity and regard for your fellow humans. [Here endeth the rant of Unibok.]

 

OOOF, we're sailing away. I'm going to head out to my veranda and watch. More later. I promise, it does get better 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

[Unibok]

Oh, that feeling of the rocking ship, that sound of the waves. I'm in heaven.

 

Checking in:  Today required a creative-problem-solving all-hands-on-deck process, in which we did COVID paperwork and health forms outside, then the rest of the check-in on board because some machine/system or another wasn't working. It meant that the reception procedure was twice as complicated as usual, but I felt they made us comfortable in Dolce Vita and plied us with welcome drinks. It took about 15 minutes, which is about 10 minutes longer than I've experienced in the past. Seriously: I can handle it. The pax around me were still pretty amped up, and I was hoping that the Silversea hospitality and charm would work its magic and sooth all those frazzled nerves.

 

Dining options: lunch was immediately available in La Terrazza and at The Grill. I opted for La Terrazza. As you enter the buffet area, there is a hand washing station. Yes, you read that right -- washing, not sanitizing! I'm so used to sanitizing my hands that it took me a while to figure out the 4-item cycle: soapy water, rub hands, clear water to rinse, paper towel to dry. The attendant was very patient with me, and I finally got it right on my 4th try 🙂 She oriented me to the buffet, and placed the food on my plate. Note: we are not allowed to get the food ourselves, only to point and request. That, too, will take some getting used to.

 

Sanitizing in general: yes! there are machines all over the place, especially in "strategic" locations. It is easier than ever to squirt squeaky stuff on your hands and smell like rubbing alcohol. Again, I'm happy to do it, happy just to be here.

 

Abbreviated muster: to reduce crowding, we are required to watch the full video and indicate that we did indeed watch it before getting access to anything else on our in-room media system. They split us into 2 time slots, told us not to wear or bring our life preservers, and walked us by the lifeboats rather than the usual arm-to-shoulder conga line. Of all the changes brought about by Covid, the abbreviated muster may be everyone's favorite.

 

Taste of Things to Come: Well, I'm eating my hat! Not only did the Voices not sing "Dancing in the Street," they emphasized the SS brand by starting with something operatic and then segueing into "Volare." It was actually adorable. Fun fact: our VoS has 3 men and only 2 women. I'll be interested to see if a 3rd female comes out of quarantine or joins in somewhere along the way.

 

So, what IS to come? We have 3 lecturers (1 geologist and 2 journalists with very different backgrounds), a bridge instructor, a flamenco player, 2 gentlemen hosts who will also offer dance lessons, language lessons from the International Hosts and Assistant Cruise Director, Bingo, handmade Italian shoes, the usual deck games, etc. I'll try to capture some pictures of the Chronicle, or maybe some of my fellow passengers will do that.

 

Other deets: Aimee Lake is our CD, and she seems lovely so far. Nice sense of humor, good sense of timing, upbeat, smart, and congenial. I look forward to getting to know her throughout this voyage.

 

Okay, that's all for tonight. I'm going to let the boat rock me to sleep now. 

 

Swoon.

 

 

[oakridger]

Enjoy every minute!  I'm enjoying just reading about your travels so far.

 

Thank you,

~Nancy

[ronrick1943]

Super that your on a ship, but truly looking forward to your report.  Rude is Rude - those people that think they are so special you don’t need to know.  In one word of advice “ENJOY”😄

[Silver Spectre]

Good to hear that you are back onboard, here’s hoping for fair weather and following winds.

[saminina]

4 hours ago, Unibok said:

 I cut some slack to the woman who cut me off in line -- twice! -- thinking that maybe she had a mobility or language issue. Turns out it was neither. People, we're going to be together in an enclosed space for the next 13 days, so have some dignity and regard for your fellow humans. [Here endeth the rant of Unibok.]

 

That woman is currently on  Moon.  And she only gets worse as the days pass.  But how can she be doing two crossings at the same time?

 

 

 

 

[jollyjones]

 

Unibok is being kind when she talks about the Barbados embarkation - I know it's always a shambles but this time it was truly awful - there was no indication on where to go, the breeze was strong and whipped away the words of the person saying what was happening so I had no idea where to stand (the seating was already full and crowded so I had to stand) or which queue to join. There were lots of unexplained queues. I just joined the nearest queue and hoped for the best but it wasn't the best -  I had an unpleasant time standing firm that my pre-boarding test was valid - I had gone to some inconvenience to ensure I complied with the new rules but the crew member checking us in didn't seem to understand them.

But after walking up the gangway, I met Jimmy K, now HD!!, and it became a little clearer. The whole computer system had gone down and if they'd waited for a full reboot we'd have been outside for another hour or two so they were more or less doing embarkation by hand with bits of paper.

So no wonder it was a mess but a bit more organisation shoreside would have helped.

 

But once up on the pool deck with a champagne in the sunshine, cruising normality was restored. Thank goodness.

 

Seas a little lumpy this morning, nothing too much, I eagerly await today's activities. Such things as a talk about Caribbean volcanoes, a cooking demo, and of course trivia this afternoon.

Captain is Gennaro Arma, it's formal for his cocktail reception this evening.

 

[Unibok]

jollyjones, thank you for the additional information on embarkation! That explains quite a bit. What a mess for the crew 😞

 

But today is a new day, and the sun is trying to appear over these choppy waters. The thermal suite is calling my name.

 

Aside from Jimmy and Captain Arma, much of the crew is new to me. One delightful surprise: Jeffrey (I think of him as Geoffrey, but his nametag had a J) is holding court in the Arts Cafe. I do love sailing with him.

 

More later, as long as our bandwidth allows ....

[MBP&O2/O]

Out of interest were people actually told when arrive? When we Spirited-ed in September, many people were only given an embarkation time of 2:00pm ... so guesstimated their port arrival time to allow due process. Others were given different times ... somewhat of a fiasco 😉

[Mudhen]

So enjoying your reports! Have fun and keep posting, if convenient!!!

[jollyjones]

Not given any specific time to arrive. 
Were told embarkation would be 2pm, but all check in would be shoreside before embarkation. 
 

But when you have to check out of your hotel earlier, even given the Barbados traffic, of course you’re going to arrive at the port early, what else can you do?

 I knew I’d be hanging around at the port but did expect some sort of guidance on where to wait and what would happen but none was forthcoming. 

[HPfoodie]

I hope the 'rude' contingent are disembarking in Lisbon. 🤞

[Stumblefoot]

12 hours ago, Unibok said:

Here endeth the rant of Unibok.

I do enjoy the occasional rant of Unibok, because it’s a rare occurrence and I know it is sincere and kind.

 

4 hours ago, jollyjones said:

I met Jimmy K, now HD!!

Glad to see JollyJones is on board too!  Mr. Kovel was our favorite Cruise Director, so I am glad he is still with SS after his well earned promotion before Covid shut everything down.

[zqtchas]

Bridgetown has always been the pits, into or out of ever since SS started using it.

We always try to avoid it.

Covid  or no Covid.

Edited March 19, 2022 by zqtchas

[jpalbny]

Haven't been to Barbados in about 20 years. 

 

Glad to hear you're back on a SS Vessel, @Unibok! We loved Spirit last November - looking forward to your impressions of a slower and more relaxed itinerary. Have a fantastic time!

[les37b]

Oh lord.. my next SS is a Barbados to Barbados on the dawn next March plus a Fort Lauderdale to Barbados in Jan 24. Have I made a poor choice?

[Stumblefoot]

3 hours ago, les37b said:

Oh lord.. my next SS is a Barbados to Barbados on the dawn next March plus a Fort Lauderdale to Barbados in Jan 24. Have I made a poor choice?

As long as you stay over at the Sandy Lane, no, you haven’t made a poor choice. Plus, heck, you can fly directly home on BA.

[les37b]

32 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

As long as you stay over at the Sandy Lane, no, you haven’t made a poor choice. Plus, heck, you can fly directly home on BA.

 

No idea what the Hotel will be just yet, but fingers crossed on that bit.

 

I appreciate the flights will/should be direct  - it's one of the reasons I've considered Barbados as a plus. San Juan on the other hand is a terrible choice from the UK.

 

My comment was in regard to the negative boarding comments plus the one from zqtchas which I think I misread as the port being something to avoid, rather than reference to difficulties with flights. My only Barbados visit was on Silver Wind. I don't remember anything negative from the excursion we took, then later when leaving on foot to take a stroll to the nearby beach. 

 

[HPfoodie]

Surely the delays are something to do with the Covid protocols and we can only hope that will be over and done with by next year! 

[lincslady]

I would guess a mixture of Covid protocols and the fact that Barbados airport (not the island) is a shambles.  I don't know how it is done;  someone will chime in, but there is way of getting fast tracked when you arrive which makes a big difference.  It is years since I was there, but the business class lounge used to be pretty awful too.

[jollyjones]

Whilst BGI airport is often a mess this time it wasn't too bad. This despite the fact that the online ED form (Imm + Cust) wasn't online - 'technical difficulties' - so I couldn't complete Verifly or Bimsafe, and there was a long queue when I deplaned, it actually went quite fast. The arrival hall looked like a crowded zoo but there were lots of 'official ladies' who passed me along one to another and using the electronic kiosk, they made some sort of order out of the mess - probably took less than 15 minutes altho' I wasn't timing it.

 

However, the Barbados cruise port is ALWAYS a mess - this time it was just so much worse than usual that even though I had steeled myself for it (I thought), it defeated me. 

 

But, depending on how long your recovery time is - and you, Les, always seem to bounce right back - apart from the airport and the cruise port, there is a lot of advantage to sail out of Barbados - there's nothing wrong with visiting the island, and the itineraries are so much better when starting that far south. So I'd say it's worth it - once on the ship - POW, life is good again.

 

And of the pair, even knowing what I do, I'd avoid San Juan too.

 

Edited March 20, 2022 by jollyjones

[zqtchas]

7 hours ago, les37b said:

 

No idea what the Hotel will be just yet, but fingers crossed on that bit.

 

I appreciate the flights will/should be direct  - it's one of the reasons I've considered Barbados as a plus. San Juan on the other hand is a terrible choice from the UK.

 

My comment was in regard to the negative boarding comments plus the one from zqtchas which I think I misread as the port being something to avoid, rather than reference to difficulties with flights. My only Barbados visit was on Silver Wind. I don't remember anything negative from the excursion we took, then later when leaving on foot to take a stroll to the nearby beach. 

 

It mostly had to do with the airport ( American Airlines ) and last minute gate changes.

Plus getting off the ship and waiting to go through passport control’s sometime single line. Last time getting off we stayed an extra day to avoid the rush.

The island itself is nice . We have ridden the local bus and ate the flying fish and been to the festivals in Holetown and drank the “famous Bank’s beer”. (which is very good).

They just have trouble handling masses.

[les37b]

OK, thanks for the clarification. I guess my experience was completely different as we cleared customs via the ship and getting back on was a different criteria.

 

I guess the clearance at airports can always be a mixed bag. I've seen people complain about Miami, yet on my last trip In January it was probably one of the quickest airport clearances I've done. I know people who arrived shortly after us were waiting over an hour. We were through in less than 5 minutes. Luck of he draw. Actually my worst experience was with Delta flights in Atlanta. I had a 4h15m connection and missed the flight. We even landed about 10 mins early (so even more time!) Alas after queuing at Passport control for over 3 hours, to be asked one question "Do you have a blood sausage", which, had it been outside of airport security would have gained a different answer to "no".  Not only missed the booked connection, the next flight was full and was told "come back tomorrow". Luckily I had an ace up my sleave and did in the end get on the late night flight from Atlanta to Tampa. Watching a fly on the wall US airport documentary paid dividends. Stay calm and polite was crucial, but mentioning the medication my son had in the luggage which was now in Tampa was the key. (Luckily we recorded my sons medical condition so they could see it was factual. Well the condition was, but not the medication part in the suitcase. I always thought cases had to be taken off flights when passengers didn't travel. 

 

 

[Observer]

6 hours ago, lincslady said:

 I don't know how it is done;  someone will chime in, but there is way of getting fast tracked when you arrive which makes a big difference.  

 

Chiming in:

 

I always use Five Star Fast Track service at BGI.  They have never let me down.  With their assistance, one sails through immigration (where there are often horrendous lines, esp. if several widebodies have arrived at the same time.)   Unfortunately, they cannot control off-loading of luggage from the planes.  🙂

 

[jollyjones]

Amazing what a cruise hiatus does for one's memory - how could I forget the joy of 23 hour days on the Spring crossings? We've just had our second, and there's three more to go before Lisbon.

I would so much prefer the Autumn crossings with the 25 hour days if they didn't have to wait for Hurricane Season to finish which puts them a bit late in the year - November Atlantic weather can be chilly.

However, can't complain about our weather so far - warm, mid-70s (23 ish) and mostly sunny. Some brisk showers bring the amusement of everyone scrambling under cover briefly - lots of pax on the upper decks sunbathing. Of course, we must make the most of it now as it will get cooler every day as we head approx. ENE.

I've been told there are 340 pax and the ship feels quite crowded - at least in comparison to the Muse cruise I did last year with only 199 pax, hardly a surprise.

I well remember all the unfavourable comments about La Dolce Vita lounge compared to The Bar on the smaller ships (I hated The Bar - dark and crowded and difficult for a solo) - well, the wide open space has definitely come into it's own now as the tables are reasonably far apart and pax can use the full lounge with good spacing. The evening pianist - Annetta - gets the tone just right.

I often used to go to Panorama for a pre-dinner cocktail but on this cruise I have found the Trio performing there can be a bit loud - more lunch music than cocktail - but I see this evening Annetta will be there, with the guitarist Luis in La Dolce Vita so I might have to try both!

This morning our Geologist Lecturer - Jim Jacobs -  is talking about the Lisbon earthquake - his volcanoes lecture was a little simplistic but quite well done so I'll probably go to today's talk.

John Pennycate, a television journalist, is talking today about World War II, think I might not do that one.

There was an early show yesterday, 6.30pm, with one of the Voices, Reece MacInroy, in a very well-fitting kilt, singing a variety of Scottish/Les Mis/Elvis/Chuck Berry/ songs - great voice, fun personality. I was amused that he speaks with a broad Scottish accent and sings with a very English RP accent - very impressive.