Wellseasoned

Believe it or not, Silversea has actually relaxed dress codes over the 20 years we have sailed with them. We did the Silver Spirit maiden crossing in 2010, and dined for the first time at the newly invented Hot Rocks. It was a formal night and the dress code was indeed formal. And they did not have the clip-on bibs they now use. I am proud to say that I somehow managed to cook and eat my filet and prawns without soiling my tuxedo! This is a proud moment in my memory. And now it is always casual!

Our favorite suite on the Whisper for many cruises is 639. It is starboard side, quiet, but just opposite the staircase and elevator, laundry if you need it- and, most important opposite a door to what we call the unmarked "secret verandah" on the port side. So you can just dash out from starboard to port view in seconds if there is something to see. (And there is no standard docking side for the ship. It varies, sometimes starboard, sometimes port.) The adjacent starboard deck six suites, such as 637 and 641 have similar advantages.

Thank you again, Les. After those menus and photos I think we will have to increase our number of Indochine bookings on the Montreal to FLL Muse sailing! Can't wait to see your Atlantide set!

Several years ago my sister and her husband had the corresponding starboard side handicap suite on the Spirit. They had a problem with persistent bathroom smells. I don't know if this is still a problem, but I would presume that it is not. Because of the large handicap style bathroom (wheelchair accessible, no tub) there is no separate closet . Instead there is an armoire in the main room which has much less storage space than the normal veranda closets. (They can bring you a portable clothes hanging rack, but I doubt that you would want that standing in your suite.)

I did tour that suite on an earlier cruise to see if it would be suitable for my handicapped brother in law, which it was. But I would not recommend it if you do not need such a suite. The ambiance is very different. Hope this helps.

So sorry to hear this. We enjoyed our cruises and dining with Susan and Joe and looked forward to doing it again on the Muse this fall. She will be missed by so many. Our condolences to Joe and family.

Dieter and Debbie

Here is a copy of the information I just got from Silversea

 

We look forward to welcoming you aboard our beautiful vessel. To ensure your experience be the best possible and as a recommendation, we’ve prepared a few pointers to clarify our reservation and dress code policies unique to Silver Muse:

 

 

 

• After 6pm in public lounges and restaurants: no open-toe shoes, denim shorts, athletic wear/tennis shoes, t-shirts, midriff tops, or sundresses.
  
• First and last evening: all restaurants and indoor lounges are casual attire.
  
• As per their intimate settings, the following restaurants require a reservation: Kaiseki,La Dame and Silver Note
  
• Formal attire is required to dine at Atlantide and La Dame
  
• Informal attire is requested at La Terrazza, Kaiseki, Indochine and Silver Note
  
• You may dine in casual attire at Hot Rocks and Spaccanapoli
  

Respectfully,

Andre Nordseth

Vice President, Hotel Operations

We received the same e-mail message yesterday.

Excellent reports, excellent, useful information. We look forward to joining you on the muse in Montreal!

Have a great time Mr. Spectre! Glad you noted the jogging track. When our flight from Bali to Singapore took off yesterday, we flew right over the Whisper, and the most striking feature from the air was that intense blue track. Now sitting in our club level room at the Ritz Carlton staring out at the wonders of Singapore's Marina Bay, but already missing the lovely Whisper. keep us all posted.

Sorry, don't know why that posted twice.

Valentine's Day at sea was pleasant. The dinner dance in the MDR was great fun, with enthusiastic participation by many passengers and some of the dining staff. That was also the only fully booked night at Le Champagne. We ate there the next evening with the Emtbsams and were the only ones dining. The new menu was very good. The lobster thermidor has been replaced by roast lobster. There is a steak Rossini entree which was excellent. The rack of lamb remains. The second courses have been consolidated so there are now five rather than six courses. The souffle has been replaced by a chocolate souffle. We all thought that the choices were excellent. (The Dom and the Penfolds 389 "Baby Grange" went well with everything!)

Fremantle/Perth was a lovely stop after three days crossing the Bight. Fremantle is a lovely, relaxed town, easily walked from the ship. Its new Maritime Museum and Shipwreck Museum are very interesting. Perth is a big city with much new construction underway. Its botanical gardens were lovely.

Geraldton is a pleasant smaller town from which we took a tour to the Oakabella Homestead, including a nice teahouse with delicious scones and sandwiches. Then the tour stopped at the Burnt Barrel BrewBQ for a lovely beer and barbeque tasting. The countryside in this area is very much like central to northern Arizona. Unfortunately, this was the first stop at which we were assaulted by zillions of small flies, which we remembered from the Uluru area many years ago. The flies were still on the ship next day at sea, causing a degree of havoc on the pool deck.

Exmouth is a small town on the Northwest Cape (about 2500 residents) and not really up to handling this kind of tourism. Still, it was a lovely day, though very hot and many flies. We were at anchor here, first time since Maui. We did do a nice bus tour of the area. Many passengers were disappointed because the snorkeling tour in this area with terrific snorkeling was cancelled do to tour boat problems. We sailed away at six P.M., but the ship had to turn around and return to Exmouth about 90 minutes later due to a medical emergency. We will still reach Bali on time since we have two sea days. Today is the first of these days, and it is sunny, lovely, with calm seas.

We will disembark in Bali so I will probably not post much more on this thread. Maybe some comments when it's over. Best wishes to all.

Fremantle Maritime Museum at sunset

Caviar appetizer at Le Champagne

Perth

Perth Botanical Garden entrance

Geraldton Burnt Barrel BeerBQ

Sunset 2-18-17 in Indian Ocean

Valentine's Day at sea was pleasant. The dinner dance in the MDR was great fun, with enthusiastic participation by many passengers and some of the dining staff. That was also the only fully booked night at Le Champagne. We ate there the next evening with the Emtbsams and were the only ones dining. The new menu was very good. The lobster thermidor has been replaced by roast lobster. There is a steak Rossini entree which was excellent. The rack of lamb remains. The second courses have been consolidated so there are now five rather than six courses. The souffle has been replaced by a chocolate souffle. We all thought that the choices were excellent. (The Dom and the Penfolds 389 "Baby Grange" went well with everything!)

Fremantle/Perth was a lovely stop after three days crossing the Bight. Fremantle is a lovely, relaxed town, easily walked from the ship. Its new Maritime Museum and Shipwreck Museum are very interesting. Perth is a big city with much new construction underway. Its botanical gardens were lovely.

Geraldton is a pleasant smaller town from which we took a tour to the Oakabella Homestead, including a nice teahouse with delicious scones and sandwiches. Then the tour stopped at the Burnt Barrel BrewBQ for a lovely beer and barbeque tasting. The countryside in this area is very much like central to northern Arizona. Unfortunately, this was the first stop at which we were assaulted by zillions of small flies, which we remembered from the Uluru area many years ago. The flies were still on the ship next day at sea, causing a degree of havoc on the pool deck.

Exmouth is a small town on the Northwest Cape (about 2500 residents) and not really up to handling this kind of tourism. Still, it was a lovely day, though very hot and many flies. We were at anchor here, first time since Maui. We did do a nice bus tour of the area. Many passengers were disappointed because the snorkeling tour in this area with terrific snorkeling was cancelled do to tour boat problems. We sailed away at six P.M., but the ship had to turn around and return to Exmouth about 90 minutes later due to a medical emergency. We will still reach Bali on time since we have two sea days. Today is the first of these days, and it is sunny, lovely, with calm seas.

We will disembark in Bali so I will probably not post much more on this thread. Maybe some comments when it's over. Best wishes to all.

Fremantle Maritime Museum at sunset

Caviar appetizer at Le Champagne

Perth

Perth Botanical Garden entrance

Geraldton Burnt Barrel BeerBQ

Sunset 2-18-17 in Indian Ocean

Have just been informed by SS that we will be missing the first of the two stops in Taiwan, and a delay to the arrival of the second from 8am to 1pm. Has there been an announcement onboard and/or has anyone any idea why?

 

As I understand it, the Whisper is not allowed to go directly from Taiwan to China. So the first Taiwan stop was scratched and the second is now a day earlier. This allows a quick stop at a Japanese port before the Shanghai visit. I think the details are still fuzzy. This doesn't affect us since we are leaving the ship in Bali next week. Sorry to miss you, Mr. Spectre!

The Bight is still rough today, but not as bad. Another sea day tomorrow,then Fremantle/Perth. Loved Melbourne and Adelaide! We did an extensive walking and tasting tour of Melbourne, and the laneways, street art, trams, and overall vibe were wonderful. And as Emtbsam described, at Adelaide the Penfo9ld Magill Estate "Ultimate Penfolds Experience" is a wine event never to be forgotten.

Aboard the Whisper, people are happy and the food very good indeed. Le Champagne has just changed its menu. It is now five courses rather than six, and it looks very good. We will dine there again and report. Reservations have been no problem. La Terrazza does its Sunday dinner in more of a family style, with a set menu and with the waiters dressed very casually. I don't know if this will be permanent or if it is just for this world cruise, but it is popular.

Just now they are changing some cables etc. on the new suite televisions and hope that the new interactive features, movies, etc. will be up and running by the time we reach Perth.

Melbourne street art

Melbourne didgeridoo

Melbourne sail away

Penfolds Magill Estate tasting

Some of the Penfolds wines tasted

Adelaide mall "sculptures"

Is the Wi-Fi free for those needing to use the ships computers as well? Also, is this fleet wide or just on the Whisper?

Enjoying your review and pictures immensely!

tnt10

The computer use is also free on the ship's computers. But you must log in and out with each use. Using our own computer and I-pad we logged in once at the beginning of the cruise and have not had to log in again.

The unlimited free use for all is not fleet-wide at this point. The recently much improved internet system on the Whisper allows this, and it is a perk because this is the world cruise, even for those of us not doing the whole world cruise. Still, the HD believes that free unlimited internet will become standard on the fleet in the future.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words about posts and pictures! We are looking forward to Melbourne tomorrow.

Koala peekaboo

Just a few more pictures.

ANZAC bridge from fish market

Sydney Fish Market

Sydney sail away

tnt10, we will dine with the HD this evening, so I will ask him about those wifi specifics.

We had a nice visit to Newcastle, Australia and went on a tour of the Hunter Valley, home to some 200 or more wineries. We visited two, sampling about six wines at each. The next early morning we had a spectacular sunny sail in to Sydney, passing under the Harbor Bridge and docking in the White Bay area, with a nice view of the ANZAC bridge and downtown Sydney.

The first day in Sydney we visited the Featherdale Wildlife Park and saw a wide variety of Australian animals and birds. Now I can say that I have stroked a wombat. The second day we did a gourmet icons tour which was quite tasty and pleasant. A visit to the Sydney Fish Market was amazing! I would have enjoyed spending a couple of weeks eating my way through it. Temperatures in Sydney were in the upper 90's F both days

Last night we had a lovely dinner at Hot Rocks with the Emtbsam's. The 10 PM sail away from Sydney was beautiful. Today we are in rough seas with rain and clouds, much cooler, headed for Burnie, Tasmania. My highlight so far today was lunch in Terrazza, having tasty raw oysters and crocodile curry. In two days we will be in Melbourne, end of segment day, with high temperatures predicted.

Captain DeStefano docking at Newcastle

Wine tasting in Hunter Valley

Sydney sail in

Sydney sail in

Wombat

Today we finally have good and reliable internet again. The problem had to do with New Zealand's restrictions on usage of C band antennas and problems with the alternatives. But now as we cross the Tasman Sea we are back to normal. Today the Tasman is relatively calm and temperatures are rising. it was cool in New Zealand but is to be quite toasty when we arrive in Newcastle, Australia tomorrow.

We enjoyed the stops in Auckland, Tauranga, Gisbourne, Wellington, and Nelson. New Plymouth was a short stop and not really too attuned to cruise ship visits. Highlights for us were touring the Hobbiton movie site near Tauranga and wine tours in the last three ports. A nine hour winery tour in Nelson visited five wineries and tasted 24 wines. It's amazing how jolly the group becomes after the first couple of wineries!

The new lecturers on board since Auckland are George McNeely, who talks about architecture and art, and Capt. Richard Hayman, who talks about the oceans, seafaring, and voyages such as those of Cook and Shackleton.

Our group continues to do quite well at trivia thanks to a good blend of Brits and Americans. We had a special group dinner with a Chinese food theme last night, and it was incredibly good!

Auckland harbor, with the great old ferry building

Mt Maunganui at Tauranga

Bag Ends at Hobbiton

Wellington Bank of NZ, now a Burger King

One of the Wineries

And another winery (hic!)

After crossing the dateline Friday night we awoke to Sunday morning at Apia, Samoa. Samoa has many churches of many denominations, and Sunday services are very important. People dress up and most businesses are closed. The Emtbsams had arranged a tour for the four of us which covered much of the island and its wonderful vegetation, beaches, waterfalls, mountains, and villages.

After a sea day, we had a short half day visit to Nuku'alofa, Tonga on another sunny, hot day. We took a ship's tour, the highlight being a visit to "Ancient Tonga", a site where we learned much about Tongan culture, history, crafts, dancing, etc. (We also enjoyed the Tongan dance and dress attempts of some of our fellow passengers- much fun!)

Today we are at sea on the way to Auckland, where the first segment of the world cruise ends. This is the third formal night of the cruise, the Captain's farewell event.

Terry asked about speakers. Dr. Mark Elovitz gave eight or nine lectures of his World Affairs Hot Spot series, all of which were excellent and drew large audiences. We have sailed with him several times, and he is always outstanding and a great fellow passenger.

Guest lecturer Pat Kramer has given very fine talks on a variety of subjects, ranging from humpback whales to black pearls to "Seeking Dorothy Lamour.

Yep, we are enjoying this!

Samoa Sunday morning

Grave of Samoan town chief

Straining coconut cream, Samoa

Tongan dancers

Tree stump carving, Tonga

Another lovely sunny day, upper 80's F. , seas pretty calm. Yesterday we crossed the equator with the usual pool deck "ceremony." Several crew and passenger pollywogs were "slimed." Tomorrow we are still at sea, Saturday does not occur because we cross the dateline, and Sunday we arrive in Samoa. Trivia has gone well with three wins in the last four. The new LG televisions are much larger and function well. The lecturers remain excellent. Very friendly group of passengers.

A lovely mermaid appeared for the equator crossing

CD Fernando as King Neptune

Sliming a polywog

Kissing the Fish

Mr. Spectre, I am told that the ship's computers for passenger use require major software changes needed for the new computer system. The changes are progressing slowly, and two computers are now available for use. The others are still being stored aboard until the changes can be made, perhaps in Auckland. Those of us who have our own computers have no problem because we do not have the limitations built in to the old software of the ship's units. The speedy, free, unlimited wi-fi for all is great!

The crew remains excellent, and everyone seems pretty happy. The filet at Hot Rocks the other night was really outstanding, the best we've had in many times eating there on the Silversea ships! (Either that or I'm finally learning how to cook them properly.)

It's almost time for trivia. Must try to keep a two day winning streak alive.

Honolulu street scene

Whisper pool deck

Another sunset

Begonia is aboard, Mr. Spectre.

One change about what I said about internet: I have not had to sign in again at all. My sign in on the laptop and my wife's on the I-PAD have remained in force for the whole cruise so far. Speeds remain fine. The ship currently has no computers for passenger use. The computer room has none. I have heard that new ones will appear shortly, maybe in Honolulu. But so far, you'd better have your own.

Beautiful day today in Hilo, not the drenching we had on our last visit. I was thrilled by the views of the volcanoes sailing in and during the day. Great view of the astro observatories atop Mauna Kea!

The crew and food remain excellent. I spoke to Norm and he managed to increase the show lounge temperature to tolerable levels, so no real complaints from us.

Mauna Kea during sail-in

Mauna Kea observatories later morning

Whisper docked and Mauna Kea

It has been a lovely day, sunny and warm. The sunburns are blossoming on skin all over the pool deck. The crew is wonderful as always, and everyone seems to be in good spirits. Fortunately, we have not experienced the toilet odors Emtbsam noted. We are looking forward to Hot Rocks tonight.

Not much to photograph so far, but I'm sending a couple. The first is the Whisper sailing in past Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco at 6:30 A.M.

Departing under the Golden Gate Bridge at 7 P.M.

Sunset 1-9

Sunset 1-10

Almost forgot. The wi fi is indeed now free and unlimited for all passengers. Each 24 hours you must sign in again, but this is very simple. If you sign in on a second device the first is automatically disconnected. But this is per person, so a couple can remain signed in on separate devices continuously. I has also been pretty fast. A big improvement!

Yes, the weather is pretty awful, but nothing has flown off the shelves so far. It was great to see Donato back in charge of La Terrazza and Antonio Mendes back as Restaurant Manager. And the pappardelle with duck ragout was as great as always! The astronaut Tom Jones gave a very interesting talk this morning. First bout of trivia coming up today and hope we and the Emtbsams can continue our previous winning ways. Seems like a friendly passenger group with many familiar faces.

We also will board in a couple of hours. Had a nice dinner with the Emtbsams yesterday. Watched the Whisper proudly sailing in past Fisherman's Wharf with its lights ablaze in the dark today at 6:30 A.M. I'll probably post a blurry photo later. Sunny and pleasant now, but a big storm is forecast for this part of California for the next few days, so the first sea days may be fun.