Wellseasoned

I wonder if the problem may be a glitch due to an old schedule. We have a printout of Silversea cruises scheduled through 2014 which we received while on a Cloud Amazon cruise in late 2012. That old schedule shows the Spirit in dry dock December 4-12, 2014. Maybe that old schedule, obviously changed since then, has caused a glitch in the restaurant reservation availability on line for your cruise. I'd suggest inquiring with Silversea directly or through your travel agent.

Mr. Spectre, happy that you are getting your in-transit party! Hope it is calm. We had one on our recent Whisper Southampton to Montreal to Boston cruise. Unfortunately it was held in the Bar, late morning, on the day of the Category 2 hurricane after leaving Greenland. Not much walking or mingling. Bartender Oliver spent most of his time holding the doors to the liquor cabinets closed and collecting broken glassware. But an unforgettable experience! And they managed to make a good bloody Mary anyway!

Dieter

Terry, I agree with Mr. Spectre. Get the unlimited. I have always taken the 1000 minute package. Our upcoming FLL to LA Spirit cruise is 16 days, so $256 for unlimited versus $250 for 1000 minutes is a no brainer.

And as Duct Tape pointed out on her recent cruise, internet speed was probably slower because many people were on line longer because of the unlimited plan. Your minutes may disappear more quickly than in the past.

Dieter

no White Chocolate Grappa (except my bottle),

Mr. Spectre, enjoying your posts as I sit here at home, commiserating as I sip my Bottega white chocolate grappa. Hope to be aboard with you again and share a bottle before too long.

Dieter

Terry, that's nice, and there is detail. But sometimes we just want to see the list of cruises for a ship, which instantly shows its dates, whether it is a Venetian, hosts, bridge, Relais cruise, special offer, etc. Then clicking the cruise you can immediately find tabs for itinerary, fares, etc. Very convenient. Can narrow things down quickly. Sometimes we don't need every detail of port, photos of suites, etc., until later. I'd like to see the previous list before I spend time on layers upon layers of detail. My clicking finger gets tired. And as a geezer and long-time SS cruiser I don't want to spend too much of my remaining years navigating complicated sites to get basic information.

Dieter (also in Ohio)

Maybe I'm too dense, but I really dislike the changes, Can anyone tell me if there is still a way to simply find a chronological list of all of each ship's cruises?

Thank you JP and Chris! You have brought back great memories of a SS pre-cruise in Cappadoca back in 2002. But please tell me- do they still have that difference between the arrival and departure areas in the Kayseri airport? In the arrival side the bathroom facilities were really "primitive", and in the departure side "western". Strange question, but seemed very important to many at the time. Just curious.

Dieter

Thanks, Victoria, for your detailed and excellent posts! We are salivating at your descriptions of the food and events and wish that we were again there with you and Bob. Ana, Clive, Saskia, Paolo, Fernando, wow! Like spending a cruise with old friends! Please keep the posts coming!

And thank you Capt.F for your explanations and showing that the concert/dinner attendance was a non-issue. Continue to have a wonderful time on a great cruise!

Dieter

I thought I posted this before, but I do not see it, so I will try again. We are thing of taking the 2016 WC on Whisper. I would love to hear about this ship. Do they have a laundry room. I know they will do laundry, but there are clothes I would like to clean.

We have taken two WC's with HAL, but we want to try another cruise line. Thanks for any help you can give us.

The Whisper has always been our favorite ship, great crew, great times. There are free launderettes on decks 4, 6, and 8. The ship does laundry and dry cleaning for a fee. If you have more than 100 days the laundry is free.

Our favorite suite is 639, midship veranda starboard side, opposite the forward stairs and elevator, and a laundrette for the things you want to clean yourself. No noise whatever. And, there is a little-known veranda opposite on the port side beyond the staircase, so you have easy access if sights develop on the port side, without having to run to a deck location.

Hope this helps.

This won't begin on the Spirit until April? What will be the entertainment until then? Will the current Artists stay on the Spirit until then?

The new internet plan was begun on the Shadow on the Tokyo to Seward cruise this past May. I did not use it because I was already on a minutes plan from the previous segment. It has been on the Shadow and Cloud as the "test" cases. Last month on the Whisper the IT officer told me that the new system would go to all the other ships, but the introduction would be gradual and he was not aware of any schedule.

Does anyone know whether a schedule for the Spirit, Whisper, and Wind internet changes has been established?

I would suggest that you contact Rome Cabs (romecabs dotcom). We and many other CC'ers have used them several times and think that they are excellent. They will respond to your e-mail quickly. Their prices have been lower than the SS transfers, with service in nice Mercedes sedans.

We have certain specific items which we wish to have in the suite bar and fridge on each cruise. To make sure that these will be on board, we simply have our TA request them from Silversea after booking. No problem. They are in the suite when we board. You can contact Silversea directly if you don't use a TA. Most other requests, such as towels, fruit, munchies, should be handled easily by the butler on embarcation day.

The old guest information form did have a box for special requests, which was much more convenient. I don't know why this was eliminated on the new "My Silversea" site.

On our recent Whisper cruise the temporary boutique during the long reconstruction was in the conference room.

Observer, I didnt see your earlier post until now. I read your recent thread, and in your case, especially with regard to the work going on during your cruise, I do understand why you're not best pleased with SS.

Nigella, I think you are referring to my thread from the Southampton to Montreal cruise segment during which I posted about the boutique reconstruction which was done right below us. Bad as it was, to bring things up to date, Silversea leadership did apologize, acknowledged that they had seriously underestimated the problem, and provided appropriate compensation. And I hope that they have adjusted their plans for these changes on the other ships.

I just wanted to say how much we enjoyed this group of very talented artists. How can we ever forget Jovani McCleary singing "This nearly was mine" or Kashena's smile. We thank them for the memories and wish them well in their careers.

They were terrific! Jovani singing "This Nearly Was Mine" and many more for our small group in Panorama on the Cloud is a time never to be forgotten! And I kept telling Kashena that I wanted her to marry my son. Oh, well....

Maracamama, how will they get you back to the ship in Luanda, Angola now that the Whisper itinerary has been changed? The last stop in Africa is now Walvis Bay, Namibia on April 9. I presume that they will fly you there?

We are safely home from the Whisper cruise, much praise except for the previously discussed Boutique work. But Silversea has today contacted us and given apology and compensation which is fair and appropriate for what occurred. We will be happy to stay!

Blingbling, thank you so much for the Whisper world cruise update yesterday! We are booked on that last leg from Capetown to FLL. We are trying to decide whether to change. The extra Caribbean /western Atlantic ports are familiar to us, so don't know if we should do something else. Probably wouldn't have checked this for some time without your heads up. Thanks again.

Thanks to all for the kind comments.

Observer, the boutique is now a large, high-end jewelry store, with a few high-end handbags. This is of no interest to me. There is a small rack with a few SS logo items. The previous men's and women's clothing, sundries, and everyday items no longer exist. If you want an over the counter pill, toothpaste or such, you are to ask reception, and they may or may not be able to supply it. This is a work in progress. To me, this is a large waste of space. On my infrequent walks by, I have noticed no one breaking down the doors to purchase.

In terms of compensation, there have been no offers of anything so far. We'll see, but patience has its limits.

The cruise is winding down. Wednesday in Gaspe was lovely. Beautiful day. We took a great tour to Perce, which included a boat trip around Bonaventure Island, which houses a zillion gannets and many seals. Great views of the famous Perce Rock. Thursday we were to anchor at Iles-De-La-Madeleine, but the sea was too rough to allow tendering, so we had to abandon the port. The Crystal Serenity then sailed past us going to the same place but also had to abandon the port. Their economy took a pretty big hit that day.

We sailed on to Sydney, Nova Scotia and had an overnight rather than arriving the next morning. Passengers and crew enjoyed being able to go ashore and enjoy that evening in Sydney. There was a terrific show in the bar that night, with CD Moss Hills and the singers performing with a great deal of enthusiastic audience participation. Lots of dancers! Friday morning the Oceania Regatta was anchored in Sydney. (Maybe our early arrival took their dock spot!) Sydney was lovely, took a leisurely walking tour, found the pleasant boardwalk, etc. Sailed away in the afternoon with the Regatta right behind us. They sailed faster despite quite a bit of pitching in a fairly rough sea.

This morning we docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with the Regatta docked right in front of us. New cruise terminal, more big buildings since our last visit nine years ago. Unfortunately, the day is drizzly, with fog and low clouds, though not cold. The Seaport Farmers Market right next to the cruise terminal is great. There is a very nice boardwalk along the shore. We sailed away at 4 P.M. with the Regatta leaving just before us.

Tomorrow is our last day and night aboard, docking in Portland, Maine. Great day for us since our son, his wife, and our granddaughter (!) are coming aboard for a visit. We disembark the following day in Boston.

One new thing: A couple of days ago the screen which appears for internet login changed. It is now a screen that gives you a choice of logging into the internet as usual or watching a pretty large selections of movies, TV series, or news sites on your computer or tablet for free, without going online. However, this is not connected to the television.

Perce Rock, Quebec

Seals at Bonaventure Island, Quebec

Farmers Market, Halifax Nova Scotia

After my last post we sailed to Havre St. Pierre, Quebec, where it was very cold, but we had a nice tour of a national park on a small island. Then we sailed to Quebec City, where we docked behind the large Holland America Eurodam in the evening. Lovely weather and a nice overnight.

The next day, 9/25, was beautiful. The boutique reconstruction ended and there was an evening cocktail viewing of the result. It is now a large, expensive jewelry store. The previous clothing, T-shirts, sundries are no longer on display, but I think they can be requested on some sort of menu. I don't know the details at this point.

The first cruise ended in Montreal the next day. Beautiful, sunny, warm day. Only 28 remained aboard for the next segment. We were allowed to skip the lifeboat drill because we had done it on the previous leg. This is apparently at the Captain's discretion. Nice dinner at Hot Rocks after sailaway on a lovely, calm evening. Next day, Saturday, 9/27, in Quebec City again, behind the Holland America Veendam. It was sunny and very warm, great day for strolling. What a difference from the previous Saturday's hurricane!

Sunday morning we cruised the Saguenay River fiord, then docked at Saguenay, Quebec with a huge dockside welcome from townspeople, many in pioneer and Indian garb. Sunny, 81 F temperature. Lovely region.

Yesterday, in Baie-Comeau, Quebec it was much colder, upper 40's and windy. Nice town for walking. While visiting a church with wonderful frescoes, the Governor General of Canada and his wife and police entourage appeared for a visit. Today, in Sept-Iles, Quebec, we walked around for a couple of hours in the morning and returned to the terminal to buy some carvings from a local artisan. Along came the Governor General of Canada and entourage, on his way to greet the Captain and officers. He stopped to chat with us and the carver. Very strange. I wonder if we'll see him tomorrow in Gaspe.

The food and crew remain excellent. To Wes and the others who also love the pappardelle with duck ragout, it has continued to be plentiful and very, very good. It has also appeared on the main restaurant menu twice, once as a chef special, and once as a pasta course selection, in addition to its daily availability for dinner in La Terrazza.

Carved watermelon at La Terrazza buffet

Whisper is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in Corner Brook, Newfoundland

Monolith near Havre St Pierre, Quebec

Lighthouse along St Lawrence River

Montmorency Falls, near Quebec City

Beautiful day and tourist, Quebec City

Duct tape, please tell David Bilsland that we miss him already. He just left us on the Whisper in Corner Brook, Newfoundland a couple of days ago. He was great taking charge of a lot of kitchen things during our surprise hurricane after leaving Greenland a few days ago. Very sorry about Judie, we knew her well and loved her. Now beautiful weather in Montreal, back to Quebec tomorrow. Have a great time on the Shadow!

Dieter and Debbie

As mentioned last time, we skipped L'anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland after the hurricane in the Labrador Current because we probably wouldn't have been able to anchor. Today we are at Corner Brook, Newfoundland, pouring rain and windy for the tours, but getting brighter in the afternoon. And it is now warm, about 72 F. The crew did a terrific job during the big storm, and the overall cruise remains great fun.

Regarding the reconstruction of the boutique: It continues to be noisy intermittently, from mild to severe. The hallway from reception area forward is usually closed off during the day, causing detours, particularly for those living on deck 5. This should end by arrival in Montreal Friday. Today it has been two weeks.

Keep this in mind if you are planning a cruise in the next few months. The Whisper is the first, but the other ships will undergo the same major reconstruction of the boutique, one after the other. The areas of greatest disruption and noise will vary, depending on the deck plan of the ship. I don't know the order, but the young lady running the project for the company doing the construction is leaving the Whisper in Montreal (if finished) and going to the next ship. They will all have this done during cruises. I don't know if this involves the expedition ships.

Two days ago we spent the afternoon cruising the Prince Christian Sound at the southern tip of Greenland, a large and scenic fiord with some impressive glaciers and icebergs. Yesterday morning we anchored at Qaqortoq, a small pretty town which is actually the fourth largest "city" in Greenland. We did a pleasant walking tour, and the ship siled at about noon, since the Captain wanted to get beyond the iceberg danger zone during daylight .

Then the fun began. The sea became rough, with high winds, about 50 knots. It settled down in the later evening. Then in the wee hours this morning the real storm began. Wind at 75-80 knots, waves up to 25 and 30 feet coming abeam from the starboard side, with lots of rolling. I managed to keep the falling and moving items in the suite from breaking and got things padded before daylight. Needless to say, no one had expected such a severe storm.

Lots of broken dishes etc. in La Terrazza this morning, and quite a few people fell. Terrazza was closed for the rest of the day, as was the Panorama lounge. The lecturers managed to talk while seated in a chair on the floor of the show lounge. The cooking contest was cancelled. The ship doctor has been very busy.

We got past the actual storm around noon, and the sun is shining, but the seas are still high with less constant but still impressive rolling. Lunch was only in the restaurant, and dishware was still breaking. At 4 P.M. we still have winds gusting up to 78 knots. I guess this is payback for all the great weather we've had until now.

The Captain announced that we were cancelling tomorrow's port, L'Anse Aux Meadows, at the northern tip of Newfoundland. This was the port we most wanted to visit on this cruise, because of the Viking discoveries and research. Oh, well. The crew and overall cruise are still great. And there is no noise from the boutique reconstruction today, since they can't work in these conditions! Yay!

Glacier in Prince Christian Sound

Village in Prince Christian Sound

Iceberg

Another Iceberg

Qaqortoq, Greenland