highplanesdrifters

15-20 meters...oh my....why bother unless it's a spectacular coral reef. We went down about 100 meters, so it was interesting in that respect to see what lives in darkness.

We saw a few things and went pretty deep. Our friends who went on a few more saw some fish and lots of jellyfish.

🤣🤣🤣so true.

I'd walk miles for Chocolate Cake.😃

Greag minds! Love the Grand Hyatt. Steps to AA checkin and the restaurant is pretty good. We have stayed at the Hyatt Regency when Grand was booked and it was pretty good. But as you said, not nearly as convenient.

The submarine in Greenland was an interesting experience and we are glad we did it. However there was not much to see and we canceled our other excursions. Our friends did go on a few more and said it was better.

We love ordering special dinners, specifically Indian. We find the food on Seabourn and Silversea can get a tad boring if you favor spicy and ethnic fare. We meet with the chef and pick a day when it is convenient for the Chef and their staff. We have also hooked up with some waiters and they have arranged special dishes from their native country. Food is a cultural connection. I love to hear from staff what their favorite native dish is, and they are proud to represent their country. On SS Cloud in June we were lucky to have Chef Pia. She is a culinary Goddess. Each night she presented authentic ethnic dishes on the regular MDR menu, and was still pleased to double down on the Indian night for us. The Colonnade and La Terrazza are buffet zoo's at lunch and breakfast. Lest you think we do not care about staff: We have never ordered cocktails to the room, but understand that some have reasons to do so. Besides who wants a diluted cocktail. We also tell housekeeping one cleaning a day is fine. In Antarctica we would find out which day our cleaning staff was scheduled for an excursion. They are not allowed to go unless their cleaning is finished. We banded together with others on our floor to give them the day off so they could be assured to make the excursions. During a humpback feeding frenzy or iceberg shows our group gathered up staff and got them on our balconies for the amazing shows.

Eeeek. Not good? Hope you weren't on it.😃 I hope it didn't sink like the drone did when we were on board.🤣 Saw that Joe Cochram is in bird heaven.

Finally got the confirmation today that it's the Mandarin Oriental on our trip. One week before we leave. Pleased after reading about the No Tell Motel SS put some folks up at. @cruiseejhope you don't get the tent city!🤣 I hear SS is calling it 5* glamping. @FlyerTalker I hear ya on the double check and connection time. We're flying in to DFW the night before our flight to SJO just to be safe. Plus we don't have to get up at 3am to catch a flight. 😉

Thanks again for posting. Really enjoying. So glad you scored some polar bears, pack ice, and more Auroras. Sorry about Ponants less than stellar performance.

@kimanjolooks perfect for our post cruse chill. Did you eat at any of their restaurants? Still no word from SS on the post cruise hotel. We leave in a week. 🤣

Thanks! We're on the Explorer in April. Let us know how the old girl is doing.

I believe you are looking in the right place. We're also staying at a Simply Hotel.😃

Thanks so much for the heads up. Which ship are you on? We are on the Wind. Still nothing on our docs. Will check with our TA and see if she can get any info. To add insult to injury we spent the $200 for Blacklane. Blacklane said they could not provide the service. Silversea said they would only refund $175. Jeez. TA is fighting the $25 battle. It's a jungle out there.

@SailorJack Glad you're having a great time and enjoying Venture. Tell us more about the excursions if you have time and are in the mood.

That would be too easy. They need to present the mouse with the cheapest wine at the beginning of the maze. Leaving in a few weeks and will ask for one.

Thanks. Great journeys. Agree on the social media. I've been trying to pay it back on CC, did a few lives. But it sure is getting nasty on these boards.

I hear ya! Thanks for the quick review. Just sent an instajam request.😉

Hot diggity dog @kimango!!! You're leaving it on the field. I love it. This will be out 3rd expedition trip with other domestic trips for filler this year. Now I feel like a slacker. 😃 You're my hero! Where are you headed next week? And I would love to hear more about your favorite parts of your SA trip if you choose to share. I don't think anyone would object if you posted here. Especially beach bumming Columbia. Our beloved beach shack in Sanibel was wiped away. We usually spend a month or two there, easy to invite family. Time for a plan B. I think we're headed back to Antarctica in 2024. Cloud has a nice itinerary that has 5 days in South Georgia and drops you in South Africa. But I do love being a beach bum.

Exactly! Thanks @kimanjo for putting your thinking cap on. Having given up on Silversea, we've booked a private transfer tour and first night at Hotel Casa Real - Vina Santa Rita. It is an old wine estate south of Santiago. We will then transfer to the Mandarin Oriental for some post cruise chill time and perhaps a few touristy things thrown in. Fortunately we booked MO ages ago for some decent pricing. We really like Santiago. Anyone traveling these days knows about the challenges out there. Even though we've paid for them, the less we rely on Silversea for transfers and hotels the better. I'm sure the trip will be just lovely once we are onboard!

Thoughts are with you @CruisinPashmina.

Good call and thanks for your response@kimanjo Its the tours and transfer we're trying to navigate. The TAs suspect the hotel will be near the airport. So we'll just carry on and slip Valparaiso and the airport hotel.

In 2018 there was not. On the Venture this summer the photographer Daniel Fox emailed photos he took of us. A interesting, talented and wonderful person. Just google Daniel Fox Photography. Nice book called Feel the Wild. Hopefully he will be on your trip.

Calling all CC Intelligentsia. We are booked on the Wind - Puntaranas to Valpariso, 10-26 to 11-18. Does anyone know what hotel Silversea is using Post cruise? They have been less than forthcoming with information. Multiple TA's are trying to gather this intel for our group. They can't even tell us what city. We know what hotels they have used in the past. Unfortunately that is the past and doesn't help now. We are booked at the Mandarin Oriental for 3 nights starting on 11-19 and are trying to figure out where to plan our transfer and tours from on 11- 18. Or if we even want to stay in the Silversea hotel. We will not use the Silversea transfer. Busses = Covid, ;-). Thanks much!

I was thinking the same thing.