profpeabody

the north shore tour was one of the worst we have been on. comprised of stops at tourist traps selling junk and t-shirts, the temple was to have provided a guided tour but nope, just told us to walk on in and be back on the bus like school kids. you were too kind - lunch was at that dump in unsanitary conditions (chicken poop abounds), so-called food was disgusting served in styrofoam boxes and sodibar sodas,a scoop of dry rice and foul chicken (pun intended) or frozen farmed shrimp with no taste. this was well below the standards of silversea and a waste of time and money. partial refund was issued today which is a nice gesture but the tour was a major disappointment for many of us excited to explore the north shore. mysty, please post a photo of you & myster so we can say hello onboard! will bring forks and spoons and a bib next time you order indian dinner!

Fun to see. Can;t wait to join you onboard. Love seeing pix of the cabin. How did you attach the motion sensor nightlight to the wall? Wishing you a lovely Christmas Day on SS Shadow!

My gosh....i cried reading his account. What a story and what a hero he was.

Got an email regarding our cruise director for the WC. Silversea’s team aboard Silver Shadow is beyond excited to welcome you for the upcoming Far East-West World Cruise 2024. In anticipation of your epic adventure, we are pleased to announce the addition of Moss Hills as Cruise Director, joining Silver Shadow’s team of seasoned and talented Senior Officers, including Captain Michele Macarone Palmieri; Flavio Gioia, Hotel Director; and Julio Miranda, Associate Hotel Director. A favourite amongst Silversea guests, Moss is a consummate entertainer, often sharing his musical talents on guitar and saxophone. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Moss moved to South Africa to pursue his musical profession before joining the cruise industry as a performer. Entertaining guests on voyages worldwide led to promotions as both Entertainment and Cruise Director for various cruise lines. He eventually settled in England with his wife Tracy, yet the call of the sea was too strong to ignore, and Moss was thrilled to return to cruising to "work with the very best" at Silversea. He quickly fell in love with the intimate, small-ship atmosphere and the fascinating guests from all over the world. Since 2014, Moss has spent time on nearly every ship in the Silversea fleet, sailing to all seven continents. “While I’ve been with Silversea for almost a decade, this will be my first World Cruise, and it will be a great honour for me to serve as Cruise Director for the entirety of such an extraordinary voyage, hosting our guests for the trip of a lifetime. There’s a special sense of camaraderie that develops on these longer cruises and I’m looking forward to reuniting with familiar faces,” said Moss. Together with Silver Shadow’s entire World Cruise 2024 team, Cruise Director Moss looks forward to welcoming you aboard for the voyage of a lifetime to some of the world’s most magical destinations. See you in the New Year! THE SILVERSEA TEAM

Than ks Mysty. That is very helpful. I was thinking if it was formal we would miss it because of the logistics but casual is easy! Thank you again.

Hi All - A quick question - is the dress code for the SF gala dinner formal? It will affect what we pack to forward on to the ship.

At the risk of being repetitive, we are so impressed with Silversea's outreach! We had a phone call today just to say they look forward to welcoming us and to see if we had any questions. Were told luggage instructions would arrive around Thanksgiving for shipment around Christmas time. They also assured us that Flavio would be on for the entire world cruise. It is always great to have continuity on such a long voyage. Calling was a lovely gesture and this lovely welcome made us feel as though Silversea is happy to have us on the cruise.

I, like you, would prefer option 2 and pretty much for the same reasons. I have loved cruising in Scandanavia and would like to do more. We chose this 2024 cruise because we had done the 2023 on Regent and loved the long trip although we were disenchanted with Regent after a horrible overland experience involving over 11 hours in a van with no water and no food in Africa. The itinerary on this cruise is really wonderful, the amount of time in NZ and Australia is great, the Japan ports and then over to Alaska. Just wonderful!

I have to say I am really impressed with SS in comparison to our WC on Regent. Silversea seems to really care that this is a WC and therefore a very big deal for those of us lucky enough to sign on for the voyage. An email just posted in my inbox that illustrates this outreach that is so encouraging . Dear Traveller, I would like to personally invite you to attend a digital event focusing on the unique highlights of our 2024 World Cruise: Far East-West. Join me on Tuesday 5 September at 2PM EDT for an insightful look into Silver Shadow’s 132-day sojourn exploring the far reaches of the Pacific Rim. I will be hosting this session joined by Norman Rafelson, Silversea’s Delegate to the Venetian Society, and other members of the world cruise leadership team. We hope you will join us for this in-depth look at the Far East-West’s exclusively curated special events, itinerary highlights and enhanced entertainment options. Thank you, http://i.email.silversea.com/wpm/1035/ContentUploads/Images/MIA/BarbaraMuckermann_Signature_FINAL.jpg Barbara Muckermann President & CEO

I bought this set from Amazon last week. So far, great. It is a nice golden light that is perfect for a bathroom. It does have a magnetic back. I used a battery operated light on our last WC but with this one, no need to carry spare batteries. I put one light just above floor level in the room so that it lights the hallway and then the second goes in the bathroom itself.

Email from SS on the WC Special Events and Overland. Lots of good info. Glad to see the SF hotel is the Fairmont. I love historic hotels! Looking East – 14 January 2024 San Francisco, CA With its iconic dome standing as a beacon against San Francisco's skyline – bidding us farewell and then welcoming us back at the end of our journey – the city’s historic Beaux Arts City Hall is the ideal setting for our bon voyage evening where new and old friends unite in eager excitement. The hall’s lavish Rotunda and ornate Grand Staircase dating to 1915 add elegance to a glorious send-off. Equally as glorious will be your pre-cruise hotel stay at the historic and stylish Fairmont Hotel prior to embarking your voyage. With its impeccable service and enviable location atop Nob Hill, this legendary property has been drawing notable visitors since 1903.

I used hooks on our WC this year and found that the worked fine for lighter items like a hat or an empty tote bag. For this cruise, I saw a recommendation for stronger hooks. Link is below. No matter what weight hook you go with, if you put hooks on the ceiling, they hold more weight. I found the 22 lb hooks I used easily slid down the wall if I put anything more than a hat or bag on them. Here is the link for the 100 lb hooks on Amazon (US): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088FC7FRL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Another useful tip is that I use is to put all undergarments and socks into wash bags. This keeps us from losing the odd sock or forgetting any small loose items in the laundry. I know we get complimentary laundry but sometimes I like to do a few things myself. In those instances, these have proven very helpful. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PE1JJJI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Should I be posting the fun facts here rather than the WC roll call? Don't want to bore anyone but also don't want to post if no one actually looks at it. My most recent entry is below. Let me know if you would rather I didn't post it here. 02/17 Sat Kaikoura, New Zealand The modern name from which today’s Kaikōura is derived is Te Ahi Kaikōura a Tama ki Te Rangi (the fire that cooked the crayfish of Tama ki Te Rangi). The original Māori name for Kaikōura was ‘Te Koha O Marokura’ (The gift of Marokura). Marokura was a God that shaped the area with a magical sword. Marokura also shaped the underwater trenches and canyons, thus carving out a home for the many Whales, Dolphins and other sea life that lives here today. According to Maori legend, the demigod Maui placed his foot to the peninsula at Kaikoura to stabilize himself while he was looking for the fish. The fish he pulled from the sea was the North Island. Māui (Maui) is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology and appears as a main character in the 2016 Disney film Moana, in which he is voiced by Dwayne Johnson. To this day the North Island is known to Maori as Te Ika a Maui or Maui’s fish. Another film, Whale Rider, is based on a legend rooted in Kaidoura. Paikea was the youngest and favorite son of the chief Uenuku from the island of Mangaia in the present day Cook Islands. This favoritism made Paikea's elder brothers extremely jealous. They conspired to kill Paikea while fishing offshore and tell Uenuku he drowned. But the night before the trip Paikea feigned sleep and overheard his brothers plotting. When far out to sea Paikea foiled their plan by deliberately sinking the canoe and drowning his brothers. Now adrift in a great ocean, Paikea clung to a canoe plank and awaited his own death. It was then that Tohorā the whale appeared and lifted Paikea onto his great back. Tohorā took Paikea south to Gisborne where Paikea began a new and prosperous life. Many years later one of Paikea's sons, Tahupotiki, traveled further south and became the founder of the great South Island tribe of Ngāi Tahu. It is from Tahupotiki and Paikea that the Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Kuri of Kaikōura claim descent. 02/18 Sun Nelson, New Zealand Nelson (Māori: Whakatū) is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the oldest city in the South Island and the second-oldest settled city in New Zealand; it was established in 1841 and became a city by royal charter in 1858. Nelson is named for Admiral Nelson and many streets and squares in the town have names associated with Nelson’s famous military career. Nelson (Māori: Whakatū) is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay. Nelson is the oldest city in the South Island and the second-oldest settled city in New Zealand – it was established in 1841 and became a city by royal charter in 1858. The first rugby game ever played in the country was between Nelson College and Nelson Rugby Club! This legendary event happened back in May of 1870. If you’re obsessed with the blockbuster trilogy Lord of the Rings, you might like to know that the legendary ring itself was crafted by a local of Nelson. Renowned ring maker, Jens Hansen, designed and created the ring from scratch, and you can pick up replicas at his store with your own custom Elvish inscriptions carved into it. Nelson is home to the two biggest fish processing companies in the country, Port Nelson is also the largest fishing port in the whole of Australasia, processing roughly 242,500 tons (485,000,000 lbs) of fish a year. 02/19 Mon New Plymouth, New Zealand The area is known for its dairy farms and its location. It is very close to both sea and mountain, with Mount Taranaki just south of the city. The volcanic cone of Mt Taranaki gives a view of the coastline. Taranaki, which is 2518 metres high, is one of the most climbed mountains in New Zealand. The name comes from the port of Plymouth, in Devon, England, as many of the first European settlers came from Devon and Cornwall. It was settled by the Plymouth Company, a subsidiary of the New Zealand Company. One in three Kiwis under 30 have a tattoo. The art form has long been popular in New Zealand and many styles and methods of tattooing hold significant cultural meaning. Each year New Plymouth hosts the New Zealand Tattoo and Art Festival with more than 300 of the world’s best tattoo artists in attendance.

Sea-jay - just off Mariner and we had cabin 832. We never had any issue with Casino noise but you do hear the crew when they are downloading or uploading the life boats which were below our balcony. Not enough to be bothersome. The casino on Mariner is very tame and the aft area is all slot machines, not gaming tables so not raucous at all in our experience. One advantage of the 832 penthouse is it has no pillar between the bed and sofa area so it feels even more spacious. From what the butler said, the starboard side penthouses all have that pillar. That being said, the room itself is very worn and tired. Many guests were unhappy with the condition of the ship. It is a lovely ship that has gone too long without dry dock and refurbishment. Looking at the upcoming schedule, it is hard to see any down time which would allow for the TLC she needs. Andrea D was asked about plans to refit and she did not have a plan for it. Many of us subsequently cancelled our WC plans on Mariner (2025 and 2026 for us).