Thoughts, impressions, and observations for the World Cruise.

[lovesthebeach2]

5 hours ago, orville99 said:

Here you go:

BTW, DW and I are looking at doing an 81 night RT (NYC/NYC) that does most of Europe, Scandinavia, Iceland and the Canadian Maritimes in summer 2025

 

So this the ship that’s doing the 81 days NYC to NYC?

[orville99]

1 minute ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

Ok…..so after I told him how much we’re 💰 no for a GS on Wonder next week, and broke it out per day, and did the same with Silverseas…..he said he would like to try that line.  
so can you give me dates and which ship you were looking at? I can’t believe he agreed 😳😁

6/11/25-9/2/25 NYC to NYC

Silver Shadow.

[orville99]

4 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

So this the ship that’s doing the 81 days NYC to NYC?

No, the cruise we are looking at is on the Silver Shadow

 

Edited January 24 by orville99

[lovesthebeach2]

32 minutes ago, orville99 said:

6/11/25-9/2/25 NYC to NYC

Silver Shadow.

I was looking at that one, but it would be a hard sell for him to agree to that length.   I need to research the ship to see what would keep him occupied….hope they have a gym for him.  
do you know if Gratuties are included in the fare? It looks like everything including excursions are and when I told him that, it looked sweeter to him…. But not sure he would/could do that long

[island lady]

55 minutes ago, doghog said:

Great pictures. Lately our kind of excursions. Wander around aimlessly at our own pace. Sometimes Kathy gets nervous when I venture to far off the beaten trail. But the Kodak moments are well worth it.  A lot more relaxing and enjoyable. We always find a nice/unique spot to have a drink before heading back to the ship. 

 

Totally agree.  Our most fond memories of various ports have always been the "follow your nose" approach to touring.  And if you can have fun, find a nice lunch/beverage station, maybe buy some magnets..etc., all while enjoying a lot of exploring and walking (which we love)....it is perfect for us.  😊

 

That great King Crab restaurant we went to for lunch in Ushuaia was one of those..."look what we stumbled on!"...things.  

[island lady]

46 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Are you taking them home with you😇

 

LOL....it's actually been a running joke for weeks now with telling Melissa we are adopting her.   She even ushers me to the table sometime telling everyone that I am her Mom.  😄 😄  

[island lady]

43 minutes ago, orville99 said:

No, the cruise we are looking at is on the Silver Shadow

 

 

Looks quite a bit smaller than the Nova?    We like small.  🙂    We seem to be getting tired of the larger ships more and more.  

[doghog]

15 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

LOL....it's actually been a running joke for weeks now with telling Melissa we are adopting her.   She even ushers me to the table sometime telling everyone that I am her Mom.  😄 😄  

Is Melissa 10. 😉

[orville99]

45 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

I was looking at that one, but it would be a hard sell for him to agree to that length.   I need to research the ship to see what would keep him occupied….hope they have a gym for him.  
do you know if Gratuties are included in the fare? It looks like everything including excursions are and when I told him that, it looked sweeter to him…. But not sure he would/could do that long

Gratuities are included.

[orville99]

34 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Looks quite a bit smaller than the Nova?    We like small.  🙂    We seem to be getting tired of the larger ships more and more.  

It is a bit smaller. I believe about 400 passengers.

Edited January 24 by orville99

[Sea Dog]

2 hours ago, island lady said:

Very popular tourist attraction are the "pirate boats" that are launched at waterfront market.  These two were having a "sea battle" complete with saber fight.  Too funny!  

Of course they loved cruising up along Serenade for their loud mock battles and advertising.  😉 

 

 

Boy those pirate boats look very crowded. Safety hazard???

[orville99]

11 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Boy those pirate boats look very crowded. Safety hazard???

Tour operators like that rarely ever put the words safety and hazard in the same sentence - at least everyone had a life jacket (that hopefully still floats) on.😇

[pstone1]

12 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Boy those pirate boats look very crowded. Safety hazard???

Maybe!  They were loaded multiple times, and had multiple battles right off our balcony!  Looked like a real moneymaker!  The bilge pump was working constantly on one of them!  😳

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

Totally agree.  Our most fond memories of various ports have always been the "follow your nose" approach to touring.  And if you can have fun, find a nice lunch/beverage station, maybe buy some magnets..etc., all while enjoying a lot of exploring and walking (which we love)....it is perfect for us.  😊

 

That great King Crab restaurant we went to for lunch in Ushuaia was one of those..."look what we stumbled on!"...things.  

That is why I like returning to various ports. On the first visit I always have a plan and it is to get as much in as possible as you never know if you will have a second chance. On subsequent visits I am so much more relaxed and open to just playing it by ear.

[orville99]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

Looks quite a bit smaller than the Nova?    We like small.  🙂    We seem to be getting tired of the larger ships more and more.  

What is interesting is that once you back out the intrinsic value of everything that is included on a Silver Sea cruise that you would have to pay extra for a GS on an RCL Wonder cruise, the difference comes out to less than $200/day. If you compare it to a GS on Icon, Silver Sea is actually less per day.

[pstone1]

We booked a last minute tour that went to La Serena today.  It was just meh!  We visited a lighthouse (decorative only), a market, and the quaint City Center.

 

There were dozens of stray dogs running around that are taken care of by the community.  Several years ago, a few were growly, and some people wanted to catch and euthanize them.  The Community as a whole decided that they would protect the dogs and take care of them.  The males are neutered so they don’t mass produce, the City workers and citizens pick up after them (I saw no doggie-do), and everyone feeds them.  They are very healthy looking and don’t bother anyone that we saw!  The dogs even know to use the crosswalks, and on busier roads, cross on the green light.  The lights click when green, so that’s probably how they learned!  Very cool!

[pstone1]

9 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

That is why I like returning to various ports. On the first visit I always have a plan and it is to get as much in as possible as you never know if you will have a second chance. On subsequent visits I am so much more relaxed and open to just playing it by ear.

That is usually what we do too!

 

[pstone1]

This was the most useful thing I saw at the market today!  😉

Edited January 24 by pstone1

[orville99]

26 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

That is why I like returning to various ports. On the first visit I always have a plan and it is to get as much in as possible as you never know if you will have a second chance. On subsequent visits I am so much more relaxed and open to just playing it by ear.

We do the same - first time in a port we take an "island" tour so we can get a sense of what is there, and on subsequent trips we play it by ear and check out the places that looked interesting.

[Luckynana]

48 minutes ago, orville99 said:

 at least everyone had a life jacket (that hopefully still floats) on.😇

Are you suggesting that an old life jacket may possibly not keep you afloat?😁🤔

[orville99]

5 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

Are you suggesting that an old life jacket may possibly not keep you afloat?😁🤔

Yep. They lose their buoyancy over time. Next time you get on a ship, check the expiration date printed on the life jackets. Cruise lines discard any that are beyond the date printed on the jacket, tour operators - not so much.

[island lady]

2 hours ago, doghog said:

Is Melissa 10. 😉

 

LOL!  She looks it!  But not...alas...she is King's girl friend.  They work sooo well together and are disembarking together in LA as their contract is up.  I have been dogging King to be sure to get down on one knee soon, and admonishing him to "don't let her get away".  😉  

[island lady]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

It is a bit smaller. I believe about 400 passengers.

 

Nova is 728...but still pretty similar.  

[island lady]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

Boy those pirate boats look very crowded. Safety hazard???

 

LOL...not a lot of safety regulations down here...but they all were wearing those big life jackets.  Actually...having to don those for the whole tour...may have made me nervous.  😉 

[island lady]

Kim Crawford SB is back in the Concierge Lounge.  😄    And Oberon Cab is back in the dining room, going well with Boston Cream pie.  (Though I don't think the Oberon was ever actually out of stock) , happy we were able to switch wait teams back to our favorite.  🤗  King is royalty in our minds.