Wellseasoned

Thank you, Victoria, for that lovely post! We visited Christchurch in 2000 and punted on the Avon! So many lovely memories of that city! Your post gives great hope for the future.

Dieter

Enjoying your posts, Terry, bringing back memories of the Amazon and the ABC's. It's colder here in northern Ohio, but take heart! The temperatures look a lot better if you use Fahrenheit rather than those awful Celsius temps you posted. And right now there is bright sunshine! Keep enjoying and have a safe trip home.

This quote from Mr. Anderson later in the interview sends another chill down the spine:

"I could not be more pleased with what we’ve done here with the complimentary shore excursions and the inclusive Wi-Fi; it’s just the next evolution. I love to tease, but the truth is there is more to come and we just want to continue to build success upon success."

We finished a Spirit cruise a few days ago.

1. Plenty of the usual snacks available. If you want something specific, just ask.

2. The coasters now are disposable, a paper that feels like cloth. This was also the case on the Whisper and Shadow cruises we did last year. There are still cloth coasters at the in-suite bars.

4. There are no DVD players on the Spirit. Several hundred movies are available free on the TVs in your suite.

6. They prefer to place the ice buckets near their serving stations since there is not much room for them at the tables, where they might interfere with service or be knocked over. And they like to do the pouring. (And they are always careful with our bottle of AMEX Dom.) But they will probably do as you wish if you feel strongly about this.

I think you will enjoy the Spirit. It is in excellent shape, and the crew and service were terrific on the cruise just ended.

Some of the comments I read on here really puzzle me. On our Silver Spirit cruise just last month we had a beautiful, large fresh orchid in our veranda suite. Also, Neutrogena was one of the three choices presented by our butler upon our arrival.

I agree. We just disembarked the Spirit today in L.A. Crew and service were excellent. Upon boarding in FLL, there was a bottle of Heidseick Monopole blue top champagne in the suite fridge. We were offered Neutrogena. There was a large fresh orchid in the suite. Fresh fruit was placed in the suite each day, without asking. Canapes would be delivered to the suite by the butler each late afternoon if we wished. We were struck by how happy the crew and passengers seemed to be throughout the cruise.

Today we are at sea, cruising from Acapulco to Cabo San Lucas. Cloudy now, but still warm, no rain. Two days ago, at sea between Puerto Quetzal and Acapulco, there was a high wind, 60 knots. But the captain decided to sail close to the coast rather than straight across the bay, and the ship was as stable as could be. No problem.

The ship itself seems to be in good shape. Very clean and polished, hand sanitizers being used, upholstery, carpets, and woodwork look a lot better than they did on recent cruises on the older Whisper and Shadow. We've had no problem making bookings at La Terrazza, STARS, Hot Rocks, and Le Champagne at short notice. Winning a lot at trivia. And anchovies are back!! But, sadly, they ran out of white chocolate grappa last night! I blame myself for having addicted too many others to this delight in recent days.

Acapulco was beautiful yesterday. There was a special morning performance of the cliff divers just for people on SS tours. Much building of high-rise condos, hotels, etc. But the guides said that cruise ship visits have declined by 90 percent over the last three years, much of this due to the drug and crime problems.

Spinnaker 2, I spoke to some who had done the Puerto Quetzal tour to Tikal two days ago. They felt it was worthwhile and that they spent enough time at the sites, had a good meal, etc. The plane was small and not the greatest, but the flight was okay, about one hour each way.

We did a nice bus tour to the colonial capital La Antigua, which was about 90 minutes each way, but comfortable, with nice volcanoes along the way, fine town, a very interesting jade museum, and a very good lunch. I doubt that tours such as these will be among the freebie "special" tours if the new itinerary policy spreads to all the SS cruises.

Seawolf29, I don't smoke cigarettes, but I did glance into the humidor cabinet for you, and all I could really see were various Marlboros. Don't know if they have anything else. You can check with Gareth, the Head Bartender, when you board in L.A.

Today was the "Pub Lunch" in Panorama Lounge, and tonight the dinner theme is Indian. This evening the Colts-Patriots football playoff game will be shown on the Show Lounge screen. It's been a very enjoyable cruise, have met lots of happy people.

Costa Rica rainforest aerial tram

Iguana on spikey branch-Ouch

Guatemala Volcano

Same Volcano moments later with small brown eruption in clouds

Mayan Wall Painting

Who are You lookin' at!? -Mayan sculpture

We are aboard the Spirit and have back to back med cruises in October, booked months ago. The onboard cruise consultant did a comparison of our current bookings and the new system and found that our current booking, with its discounts, is significantly cheaper than if we changed to the new prices. And she said that passengers will get the free two hour PER DAY PER GUEST internet, regardless of when they booked. (Same for the free unlimited internet in bigger suites).

Hi, duct tape. I hope that Silversea has learned something from this boutique business. Believe me, if your suite had been directly above the boutique, with loud hammering, drilling, and sawing from 7 AM until 6 PM or later for 17 straight days, as we were on the Whisper, you would also have been a "complainer." I hope that they have learned to do it faster. And I hope that satisfactory compensation is made to those affected, without the extensive communications with top brass and weeks post cruise required in the Whisper case. And I feel really sorry for the HD and the Guest Relations officer, for they have to handle all the complaints and can do very little about them. I presume that the nice Lampadina Bar is also closed for the duration?

Hope you had as nice a Panama Canal transfer as we did on the Spirit a day earlier. Thanks for keeping us posted.

Spinnaker2, we are not doing the Tikal trip in Guatemala. The tour people say the site is very interesting, and the excursion did sell out. They spend about three hours at the site. The other five hours of the eight hour excursion is largely getting there and back. There is a bus ride to the small airport, then a flight on a small 10 or 15 person plane, then more ground transportation, same going back. I used to pilot such planes, but my wife does not like them and did not enjoy similar flying to the Nazca lines a few years ago. We'd like to see the Mayan sites from the Atlantic side. So, I can't help you much.

Our Panama Canal transit was very nice, beautiful weather. Yesterday in Puntarenas, Costa Rica was lovely, with a long excursion to a rainforest. The guide was excellent, and the highlight was an hour-long exploration by aerial tram. We had a fine dinner in STARS. This tapas-like dining is something you either like or don't, and we do. They change the menu every three days. We are now at sea, headed for Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, where we will do an excursion to La Antigua, the original colonial capital. Weather is again clear and warm. Still no anchovies.

Pianist friend Hyperion Knight left yesterday. But those of you on the upcoming Cloud Amazon cruise will have the pleasure of getting to know him and his talents!

Old City, Cartagena, Colombia

Gatun Locks, Panama Canal

Museum designed by Frank Gehry at Panama City

First sunset in Pacific

Mr. Spectre, Hyperion is indeed helpful at trivia, but we won yesterday with no music questions at all. He is performing tonight and tomorrow afternoon, then leaves us Tuesday in Costa Rica to return to New York. He is just a great performer and person!

Duct tape, hope you have a great Shadow voyage, and hope you have as lovely a day for the Panama Canal as we are having today. Also glad that the boutique reconstruction noise is not bothering you. But I really feel sorry for those just above the boutique, especially the starboard 630's, particularly 639 based on our experience on the Whisper in September. Good luck to all!

The food in Le Champagne two nights ago was excellent as always. We had booked it at mid afternoon, only a few hours notice, no problem. The lobster salad, gold leaf risotto, lobster thermidor, and grand marnier souffle were again superb. We enjoyed this with a Far Niente chard from the premium list, a wine which we have always liked. Only problem was two people with very loud, strident voices which were disturbing to the rest of he room. They finished first, and as soon as they left, a group near us broke out in applause! Not nice, but very funny.

Yesterday we docked in Cartagena, Colombia in early afternoon, after a somewhat rough night at sea, though not terrible. Still sunny and warm. We did an afternoon tour emphasizing history and walking through the old downtown and driving to the more modern Boca Grande section. Very interesting, and lots of growth and change since we were last there 11 years ago. The last stop was, of course, to an upscale shopping center with fine emeralds, coffees, etc. ( Last time we spent too much time in the emerald store, and the tour bus left without us, but a nice young cabbie gave us his own tour back to the ship. This time we stuck to coffee.) Another interesting tour sight was the Palace of the Inquisition, which displays all sorts of awful torture devices used by the Inquisitors.

Lovely dinner with new friends at Hot Rocks last night. That reservation was made with about 45 minutes notice after the tour, but no problem, they had space. Fine filet and prawns. But there were no anchovies for the caesar salad, and there have been no anchovies in the buffet since we boarded! I offered to go out and buy a can, but they said that they should have some soon. Nice, peaceful, calm overnight in Cartagena.

This morning we did another ship's tour including a very nice carriage ride through the old town, some repeats from yesterday, and some new sights. Excellent guide again. Warm and sunny. After a nice sailaway, we had a pool deck lunch , and here I am. The sea is calmer. Everybody still seems happy. La Terrazza has the papardelle with duck ragout back on the menu, and we will be there tonight.

Tomorrow morning we enter the Panama Canal, first locks at about 6:30 to 7:00 A.M. It should take about 11 to 12 hours. We have been through it twice, but this will be our first in the north to south direction. Should be fun!

The requested greetings to crew are being given.

Rrgaudet, regarding your question about typical age: It is only my impression, but most seem to be in the 55 to 75 range. But there are also those in the 40's and 80's and a few in the 30's and maybe 90's. Since the holiday period is over for most, there are no children, and younger people with families would be unlikely. Sorry I can't be precise, but it just seems "typical" after a lot of Silversea cruises. And ages really don't matter in terms of passenger interaction. Everybody seems to get along just fine.

I'll try to answer specific questions as best I can.

:)

 

If anyone is able to take and post a piccy of him when on a future cruise wifey and I would really appreciate it.

 

Thanks

 

Jeff

This photo is four years old, but Oliver still looks much the same.

Not sure . I was on the last segment of the WC on 2013 and that's where I met him. He's quite a singer too.When they let him he'd sing a few. I guess a few of the long time cruisers could help answer your question.

Oliver was running the bar and singing up a storm as usual on our recent Whisper cruise this past Sept-Oct.

We are happily aboard the Spirit after escaping the midwest just before a big snow. The boarding process in Fort Lauderdale was the slowest we've ever had, despite arriving before noon, because this was handled by the port rather than by Silversea, so it was clumsy rather than efficient. But then all was well. The checking in process was a breeze and our suite was ready. Happily, all of our requests for the suite, including the Macallan and white chocolate grappa and the Amex perks were present. And there was cold Heidsieck Monopole champagne and a fruit bowl. Great start!

We had a pleasant sailaway and a nice first night dinner in La Terrazza (though the pappardelle with duck ragout was not on the menu).

Calm seas, warm and sunny on the first sea day. Many people baking on the pool deck. (As a melanoma survivor, I don't do that, and it makes me cringe.) Afternoon trivia was fun with a nice team including an old friend, Hyperion Knight, who is back aboard to again entertain with his great piano virtuosity. We tied for first. Our butler, Evelyn, is very good and experienced. She brought nice canapes which surprisingly included some farmed caviar on mini blinis which actually tasted pretty good. Alas, I still miss that free real oscetra of years ago. It was the first of three formal nights, and the food in the MDR was excellent. Typical formal fare of lobster, angus beef Wellington, etc., but very well prepared. The exec chef is Edgar van der Aar, who is always very good.

The Captain is Zanello, who is young and is half Italian and half Australian, which has given his speech a very interesting accent. Paolo Percivale is the HD, Antonio Mendes is the restaurant head, Don Fluke is CD, and Donato runs Terrazza. Many of the crew are also very familiar to us. The crew in general seem happy and friendly and are interacting quite well with each other. I am told that there are about 400 passengers aboard, about 200 Venetian. We've seen only a few we've met on previous cruises. Age group seems pretty typical. There are three lecturers, all new to us. One lectures on great comedians, the other two on history and politics of the area and destinations. There is also a man who talks and advises on shopping, especially jewelry, and is focusing on emeralds as we approach Cartagena.

Today is the second sea day, still nice, seas a little more active, but nothing bad. Enough rambling for now. Must go to a lecture. Dinner in Le Champagne tonight!

Today we flew to FLL, boarding the Spirit tomorrow. For the first time in all of our flights, there were three non-human mammals, all in different rows of the four rows in first class. There was a froofy dog across the aisle which wore a cutsie wrap labeled "support dog". It spent the entire flight on the lap and tray table. (I wonder if the next occupant will know that the table was the dog's bed?) The dog in the next row had no label but still was in the lap the entire flight. There was also a cat, but it was in a proper cage on the floor. I pray that this is not an omen of what we will find on the Spirit!

DEET and long sleeves/trousers when ashore especially in the daytime as well as at night. You know it makes sense.

Glad you emphasized this. On our Cloud Amazon cruise in November 2012, one of the gentlemen hosts went out walking in Manaus in shorts at mid day. He felt nothing during his walk, but by evening his legs were covered with bites.

Duct tape and dusababy, I bet things will settle down when you begin the post-holiday Cloud cruise next Monday. We will arrive in FLL that day to board the Spirit Tuesday. Wish we could see you for a toast before you sail, but the time is tight and they probably wouldn't allow us aboard to visit anyway. So have a great cruise, and we'll try to report from the Spirit!

Happy New Year to all! Enjoying the reports and looking forward to boarding the Spirit again next Tuesday. Please leave us some good wine and white chocolate grappa!

Duct tape, you stir great memories! On our Cloud Norway cruise in 2013, Samuele Failla was Staff Captain under Captain San Giacomo. We were invited to a lovely formal night dinner with Failla and his in-laws who were on the cruise, and the Emtbsams (Victoria and Bob). Delightful! A few days later, leaving Archangelsk, the Emtbsams arranged a wonderful special Thai dinner for 11, which included the same group. Samuele Failla was again as pleasant and congenial as could be. I am so happy that he is now a Captain and really hope to sail with him again! Keep those reports coming!

Dieter

We received an e-mail from Silversea, saying that our new 2016 voyage and expedition brochures are in the mail. This is only a few weeks after receiving the 2015 brochures. The accompanying photos clearly show 2016 on the covers. Hard to believe that they are so early with 2016 after being so late with 2015. They were probably all produced at the same time.

Venture13, we've always enjoyed this bar on the Shadow and Whisper, great for pre-dinner relaxation. However, on our recent Whisper cruise it was closed for the first 17 days due to the boutique reconstruction across the hallway. Then it was again opened, but only after 9 P.M. The HD didn't feel that it was worth opening at cocktail hour. Sad.

As a related issue, I would suggest that you try to find out when the Shadow's boutique reconstruction will occur. I know that it is supposed to happen early next year, again during a cruise. It will be a major disruption and inconvenience, and really horrible if your suite is above the boutique on deck 6 or near it on deck 5, due to construction noise, blocked hallways, etc.

Yep, still no M&M available for our Jan 6 Spirit cruise. Also no response on our roll call thread. Guess there are no other cruise critic people aboard.

Lunch & Learn, while costing $40 per head (due to the premium wine, they said), was wonderful!

We've done the Lunch and Learn with David Bilsland several times, most recently on the Whisper in September, but there has never been a charge for the wine. Is this a new permanent change?

MuseCruiser, WOW! I've never seen a pizza with that much prosciutto. Was that standard, or did you ask for extra?

Just a comment which may or may not be relevant. I just saw on the news yesterday that Venice has decided to ban dragging luggage on rollers through the streets because of noise and damage to the streets. The fine is 500 euros. So, whatever you do, carry, don't roll, your luggage.