Live, Terry/Ohio, India to Signapore, Silver Moon Rising, Pix’s!

[DavyWavey70]

8 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

 

Talked more last night before the show with Jeffrey.  Yes, he still does do that show at times in the Panorama Lounge.  I showed him the picture of him serving me that I posted here on Cruise Critic.  He loved it!!  I told him that if any Hollywood talent scouts call me, would he allow me to be his official agent and take a 10% commission.  He agreed.  No calls, yet, but ready to get him in the movies and/or on TV with his winning personality and fun style. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Kotor/Montenegro:  Various visual samples, tips, details, etc., for this scenic, historic location. Over 54,648 views.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439193

You’re welcome to 10% of anything I make from my movie he featured in Terry.

Please show him this video if you can and send him our love from David and Darren. 

 

[alithecat]

Lucky you. Jonathan was our CD on the 2022/23 Cloud holiday cruise. He's great and also very talented.

[TLCOhio]

11 hours ago, alithecat said:

Lucky you. Jonathan was our CD on the 2022/23 Cloud holiday cruise. He's great and also very talented.

 

Yes, as I have chatted with him several times, Jonathan seems very nice, approachable, open, listening, hard-working, etc.  He'll do a solo show later in the cruise featuring his excellent singing voice. 

 

Below are a couple of visuals of the Cruise Director on stage last night, plus another visual while his running a very busy and well-attended Trivia session in the Dolce Vita area.  Recognize anyone in the crowd at Trivia?  Or, any "most wanted" there from the "Witness Protection" program?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio   

 

Dubrovnik!  Visual samples, tips, details, etc., for this super scenic and historic location. Over 52,917 views.    
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439227

 

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

16 hours ago, DavyWavey70 said:

You’re welcome to 10% of anything I make from my movie he featured in Terry.

Please show him this video if you can and send him our love from David and Darren.

 

Yes, will try to share with Jeffrey.  On my laptop from our suite with it being on YouTube, it does not seem to work, but it might off of my cell phone. Apparently the ship Internet has YouTube block.  Not 100% sure.  Will double-check.  

 

DINNER LAST NIGHT?  Yes, we did just fine at La Terrazza, doing that dinner venue for the first time on this cruise.  Dine outside and enjoyed the ocean sounds and views.  Need proof and visual evidence for the food?  See below.  Plus, the view from our room as the sun was setting is shown, too. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio 

 

Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights.  On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings.  Now at 248,606 views.
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

 

Here is last night's sunset view from our balcony.:
(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!)

From La Terrazza, here is first the sampling tray brought prior to ordering.   That's almost a whole meal in itself.  My first item was some wonderfully taste Risotto, then my favorite of Ossobuco.

Can you guess this Italian dessert? Does it start with the letter of my first name and seems to be spelled like Tiramisu?:

 

[turtlemichael]

Wow! With that crowd at Trivia, it is probably a great time to get a pool deck chair!

[Grand Duchess]

23 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

Here's Jeffrey, my number one, top, most favorite server in the fifth floor Dolce Vita bar area of the Silver Moon.  My margarita came, exactly as request, frozen with salt, etc.  What's better?  And, Jeffrey excellent, super fun personality makes it all TOTALLY WONDERFUL!!  Any past Silversea cruisers remember Jeffrey?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

The man is a legend😍

[Fletcher]

Surely that isn't a banana on your osso buco, Terry?

[lincslady]

39 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

Surely that isn't a banana on your osso buco, Terry?

That is exactly what I wondered.  Do tell, Terry.

[spinnaker2]

Glad you are aboard Terry. Enjoy every minute.

Nice to see the crew!

[spinnaker2]

I think that “banana” looking thing is a crescent moon shape of polenta.

 

[CardowMD]

Does the ship have Starlink? Some on Celebrity earlier in year was told India has blocked most of SL, but they may also block some specific sites . Can you switch to a VPN to get YouTube?

[WesW]

Terry; enjoying your posts and outstanding snaps.  Hope you get to enjoy Jonathan's show too, he does a wonderful Sinatra medley, especially; "New York, New York."

[fdnycruiser]

9 hours ago, turtlemichael said:

Wow! With that crowd at Trivia, it is probably a great time to get a pool deck chair!

Or at the very least, a good book or two.

[drron29]

Say Hi to jonathon from the trivia Aussie mafia Ron and Ann who joined the Muse in Yokohama in October last year.

[TLCOhio]

22 hours ago, WesW said:

Terry; enjoying your posts and outstanding snaps.  Hope you get to enjoy Jonathan's show too, he does a wonderful Sinatra medley, especially; "New York, New York."

 

Great tip from Wes to catch Jonathan's show.  I especially love Sinatra medley, including NY, NY.  Plus, of course, "My Way"!!  Will share Dr. Ron's greeting to the CD. Will check more later as to the good Star Link question.  Keep 'em coming with the comments, questions, greetings, etc. 

 

We have now departed India and will arrive later this afternoon in Sri Lanka.  Below is the current ship position.  We are traveling at 17.8 knots.  Seas are rated "moderate",  Not totally smooth, nor rough.

 

As to the banana question from savvy Fletcher for my dinner at La Terrazza, I don't think that was such a fruit.  It was either a curved carving of a potato or maybe Spin's guess of polenta.  There was so much food, even with our limited ordering that night, that I focused on the meat and sauce, not that little extra "dressing" on the top. 

 

Below are some night top deck view of the Silver Moon, plus an exterior visual of the front while docked in Cochin.  Plus, a surprise "entertainment" show as the pilot boat came next to the ship right below our sixth floor cabin in order to pick up that port sailing guide as the Silver Moon was completing its sail-away.  My iPhone camera worked fairly well capturing that night "action".  Right?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio 

 

Barcelona/Med: June 2011, with stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Great visuals with key highlights, tips, etc. Live/blog now at 257,791 views.
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1362155-solstice-livefirst-timer-reportspix’s-italycroatian-june-7-19/

 

Here is how the pool area looked at night yesterday from the 11th level with people doing The Grill being below.  Second is the nicely-lighted ship logo.:
(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!)

Here is the angled front of the Silver Moon while docked yesterday in Cochin's busy port.  Second is the Celebrity ship that docked next to us in this port as it was departing late afternoon.:

 

Right below our balcony suite last night, we had a front-row seat to watch the pilot be picked up after the sail-away process was completed.  Fascinating process that requires skill and close coordination.  Notice the busy container ship operations around this Cochin port?:

 

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

Earlier, I promised to post updated and detailed counts for the passenger and staff nationalities.  Got it yesterday from the CD.  Here are the specifics:

 

Total passenger count of 418 from 45 different nationalities. Leading the way, maybe a slight surprise, is the UK with 241 on-board.  Second is the USA at 148.  Victory by a wide margin to the UK!!  Germany is third with 29, Australia at 27, Belgium 15, Switzerland and Netherlands each at nine, Canada eight, Austria and Spain five, France four, Ireland three, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Mexico and Russia all at two, plus one each from India, Luxembourg, Ukraine and South Africa at one each.  Interesting passenger mix??

 

The crew totals 400 from 45 nationalities.  As expected, Philippines leads with 155, India is second with 88.  Next are Indonesia at 33, Italy 14, South Africa 12, Ukraine nine, Zimbabwe eight, Brazil and Bulgaria both at five, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Mauritius, Mexico, Peru, Tunisia and the UK all at four.  At three each are Argentina,  Morocco and Nepal; at two each are Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Thailand, Uganda and USA.  At one each are seventeen different countries, including that single crew member from Belgium, Canada, China, France, Serbia and Sri Lanka.  Lots of folks with varied and interesting backgrounds/history.  We enjoy chatting with the staff and passengers. 

 

Yesterday morning I chat with the sub-Captain, number two in charge for the whole ship.  Both he and the Captain are from Bulgaria.  Interesting to have both from the same country.  He explained that the ship, after the fuel fill-up in Malta sailed on just that one tank full to Cape Town.  As someone who followed the daily Africa circumnavigation closely, I asked about the stop along the western coast in Dakar.  He said that was not for fuel, but for medical reasons to let off an ill staff member.  That staffer departing there was OK, flew to Cape Town and rejoined the Silver Moon at that South Africa location.  The bottom line is this ship can sail at least sixteen days on one complete re-fueling.  Therefore, no fuel challenges for the Silver Moon going non-stop from Cape Town to Mumbai. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio 

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 250,332 views.
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/

 

Below are some visuals from our Cochin boat tour around their busy harbor, including for seeing their famed fishing nets that go long back in their history of this region.:

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

[billc23]

14 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

I think that “banana” looking thing is a crescent moon shape of polenta.

 

Yes it is. I had the same dish.

[billc23]

14 hours ago, CardowMD said:

Does the ship have Starlink? Some on Celebrity earlier in year was told India has blocked most of SL, but they may also block some specific sites . Can you switch to a VPN to get YouTube?

YouTube is working fine with premium internet and my VPN on this sailing.

[TLCOhio]

On 2/17/2024 at 6:45 AM, turtlemichael said:

Wow! With that crowd at Trivia, it is probably a great time to get a pool deck chair!

 

Love this above fun, great (and true) comment about the pool deck chairs.  On the first sea-day, the competition for prime seating around and near the pool could be challenging. 

 

Glad the "Great Banana Debate" has been settled thanks to Billc23 from New Hampshire. Now, I will not have to worry any more for that issue. But on technology, I assume those on the non-premium ship Internet will have to learn to live without YouTube for this cruise.  Right?  I think I can survive!!  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights.  On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings.  Now at 248,606 views.
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

 

After our Cochin boat tour around their busy harbor, the ship excursion finished with a Kathakali "dance" performance.  To be "kind" it was "different".  They switched from the originally-promised Taj Malabar hotel location to another secondary location in a small, crowded, narrow, long room that did not allow good viewing for the first half when the performer just sat there on a chair doing various hand and face expressions.  The second part warmed up a little, but there was not much "dance".  Interesting, colorful costumes and make-up as my visuals illustrate.  The Taj hotel is undergoing some major renovations and looks interesting from the outside.:

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

 

 

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

As we approach our afternoon arrival in Sri Lanka's Capital City of Colombo, I am now going back with more depth, detail and "color" for our arrival in India.  It started with American Airlines flights from Ohio to New York City. 

 

Then arrival in Delphi to start our private tour of the famed "Golden Triangle".  See more below.  Feel free to ask any questions and/or add in about your experiences in these three cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.   More photos and details will be added later today and after doing our two and a half days in Sri Lanka.  After the former Ceylon, we will have two and a half sea-day.  More time to catch up and share more.  Like the plan? 

 

Sorry, have hundreds and hundreds of visuals to check, fine-tune and only focus on sharing the "Best of the Best" for pictures in this amazing and fascinating country that is now the world's largest at 1.4 billion people.   

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!  Is one of your future desires or past favorites? See these many visual samples for its great history and architecture.  This posting is now at 111,257 views.  
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

 

Our February 2024 "Around the World" adventure started in New York City, flying over Manhattan and Brooklyn enroute to JFK air where an American Airlines' 777 like shown below would take us to Delhi with about 14.5 hours of flight time.:

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

 

 

The Taj Mahal New Delhi on Mansingh would be our first stop in India and we were fortunately staying on the top floor with access to the Taj Club for breakfast and afternoon tea, etc., during our three days in this huge and super busy city.  First shown below were the two ladies welcoming us at check-in that first evening, then more visual samples from this amazingly high-quality hotel.  Excellent, friendly, helpful staff with first-class design details, etc., as the below pictures can verify and prove.: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After sleeping in slightly to recover from the long flight to India, we met our wonderful and super skilled guide, Parveen Paul, in the lobby of the colorful Taj hotel lobby.  Parveen and our skilled driver were with us for six amazing days.  Our Golden Triangle tour was arranged through Ganeve Rajkotia in Delhi with Nexxtop India.  I will explain more later as to how I hooked up with Ganeve.  That was a great connection that made all of the difference in having the same experienced team traveling with us for all of these six days.  And not having to drive here, keep us alive and safe in areas where traffic is both "creative" and chaotic.  Is that an understatement for traffic in the major cities of India?:

 

[TLCOhio]

Our first stops that morning on February 6 in Delhi were driving past some of the older forts/palaces and then arriving in the area of the Red Fort and India's largest Mosque that can hold up to 100,000 people in its large courtyard.  See some of my visual sampling below that have not previously been posted here.    

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados on the Silver Cloud for 26 days. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.).  Now at 74,284 views:
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2076101-live-amazon-river-caribbean-many-pix’s-terryohio/

 

Here are some images of the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi.  This mosque was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan between 1644 and 1656 as a symbol for Muslim/Islam power in that period and well into the later colonial period.   The mosque and Red Fort are next door to the Chandni Chowk, the oldest and busiest market area where we next explored.:

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

[9stilton]

10 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

Earlier, I promised to post updated and detailed counts for the passenger and staff nationalities.  Got it yesterday from the CD.  Here are the specifics:

 

Total passenger count of 418 from 45 different nationalities. Leading the way, maybe a slight surprise, is the UK with 241 on-board.  Second is the USA at 148.  Victory by a wide margin to the UK!!  Germany is third with 29, Australia at 27, Belgium 15, Switzerland and Netherlands each at nine, Canada eight, Austria and Spain five, France four, Ireland three, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Mexico and Russia all at two, plus one each from India, Luxembourg, Ukraine and South Africa at one each.  Interesting passenger mix??

 

The crew totals 400 from 45 nationalities.  As expected, Philippines leads with 155, India is second with 88.  Next are Indonesia at 33, Italy 14, South Africa 12, Ukraine nine, Zimbabwe eight, Brazil and Bulgaria both at five, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Mauritius, Mexico, Peru, Tunisia and the UK all at four.  At three each are Argentina,  Morocco and Nepal; at two each are Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Thailand, Uganda and USA.  At one each are seventeen different countries, including that single crew member from Belgium, Canada, China, France, Serbia and Sri Lanka.  Lots of folks with varied and interesting backgrounds/history.  We enjoy chatting with the staff and passengers. 

 

Yesterday morning I chat with the sub-Captain, number two in charge for the whole ship.  Both he and the Captain are from Bulgaria.  Interesting to have both from the same country.  He explained that the ship, after the fuel fill-up in Malta sailed on just that one tank full to Cape Town.  As someone who followed the daily Africa circumnavigation closely, I asked about the stop along the western coast in Dakar.  He said that was not for fuel, but for medical reasons to let off an ill staff member.  That staffer departing there was OK, flew to Cape Town and rejoined the Silver Moon at that South Africa location.  The bottom line is this ship can sail at least sixteen days on one complete re-fueling.  Therefore, no fuel challenges for the Silver Moon going non-stop from Cape Town to Mumbai. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio 

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 250,332 views.
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/

 

Below are some visuals from our Cochin boat tour around their busy harbor, including for seeing their famed fishing nets that go long back in their history of this region.:

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Terry 

I don't like to pick flies but I'm sure you'll agree that detail is important!!!  The total passenger count is 518 - not 418 as you stated.   Must be too much champagne!   If you add your nationality breakdown up then it "squares the circle".

Regards

[lincslady]

Nearly 80 short of a full ship sounds about right; not too full, but by no means a 'ghost' ship, as was happening some of the time on all lines post the big interruption of 2020 plus.

[labrasett]

Wonderful narratives from TLCOhio, thank you.  So wonderful to see how you embraced India and the issues prior to boarding.   Have a wonderful trip and please keep posting.

[TLCOhio]

20 hours ago, 9stilton said:

Hi Terry 

I don't like to pick flies but I'm sure you'll agree that detail is important!!!  The total passenger count is 518 - not 418 as you stated.   Must be too much champagne!   If you add your nationality breakdown up then it "squares the circle".

Regards

 

YES!!  My fat-finger, bad eyesight goof.  518 is the correct number.  Will be somewhat off-line for the next two days given two, back-to-back, ten-hour tours in Sri Lanka.  Lots to catch up and share during the upcoming two sea day. 

 

Thanks.  Enjoy.  Terrry