calm down dear

Tonight was “casual”, in Atlantide I would venture 10% of men had a jacket. In observation bar pre dinner no one. In Atlantide there were plenty of short sleeve polo type shirts. One couple were in a tux and sparkly dress. No one died.

Today arrived in Flam, one interesting nugget on the tour from a guide was cruise ships unless electric will be banned in next couple of years , she pointed out a number of vessels in harbour that had converted. We did a tour to the Voss gondola, it was poor. 40 on a bus with a guide who talked literally non-stop for an hour. ‘On your right is a church’ ‘on your left is a river with white rocks’. We decided we would not go back on the coach but got the train which was delightful changing at Myrdal to the flam railway. Last night dinner at la dame, I’m not sure it’s worth the extra, it was very good - though lamb over cooked, again included wine was an interesting selection and no real attempt to upsell.

Agreed. Also on dawn, the sushi looks like it was hacked to death the day prior. Poor presentation and multi coloured tobiko on everything as well.

Here on Dawn, it most definitely is not that, the formal night is now officially in the chronicles and on the app “formal optional”. It does not require a tie and on that night most were in jackets but not all, especially before dinner when many were casual taking advantage of the great light evenings as we sailed out on the fjords. Talking to Bruno the CD he says ‘formal optional’ is the new official name on these 7 day cruises.

Absolutely agree. We are currently on Dawn and a jacket is all that is required, even “formal” is now officially designated “formal optional” onboard and I wish people would stop stressing- if you want to wear a tux on any night you can, but if you really don’t need to and you will not look out of place. I’ve worn dark jeans, a shirt and blazer every night and looked perfectly smart.

That’s really good to know - my biggest gripe was the zoo like collanade at lunch and also breakfast. It’s interesting here on Silversea how well they manage to ensure the same number of guests (we have 586) are spread at breakfast over room service, restaurant and la terraza.

I meant to add we have upcoming itinerary’s on both Seabourn and Silversea, we enjoy itineries and both lines to us have had good service, good veranda suites and food good to very good. I think Seabourn though is often slightly better “value” and I’d not pay much of a premium for Silversea for say same itinerary.

As someone on Seabourn in October and now on Silversea, I have to say Silversea is miles better in terms of included wine, not once has there been any push to upsell - even in the La Dame. The included wines have been interesting selections rather than mass produced plonk. The food has also been better (but not majorly) and I think it is because the same number of guests are spread out over a range of venues, especially lunch where here the “restaurant” is open breakfast and lunch plus pool deck and the buffet. It makes a real difference. For us it is though the itinerary and price - we don’t like paying for “included” excursions on Silversea and being bundled on a bus with 30 others isn’t my idea of luxury. I would say sushi much better on Seabourn and Keller better than la dame. I also think the themed evenings at collanade were often good. The Italian la terraza pasta - lunch and dinner though excellent here on silver dawn.

Honestly there is so very little difference please do not worry. Tonight was “informal” and women were in blouses plus a skirt, some dresses and also some trousers. Think going to a normal restaurant in town. No one is showy and no one particularly cares either. Tonight we were in la dame, all the men in jackets and no ties. Most took off jackets.

I’m on Dawn, in advance it stated Thursday was “formal” but it was very clear in chronicles and on the app and on the tv thing on board that it now was “informal / formal optional”. On the listing for that night it says For ladies : dresses or pantsuits, For men : jackets (tie optional). It also says no shorts or flip flop type footwear after 6pm in indoor venues. The only place enforced was la dame where the listing categorically stated “jackets required” (nothing about pantsuits or ties - I’m guessing only men need to be told!). No bar area that night enforced jackets or ties and same on informal night which also is “jackets”. I would say however that around 2/3 of male passengers were wearing a blazer or sports jacket but no ties at night. Most are also wearing smart jeans or chinos. I personally think a jacket is nice if only in case seated next to draught or for a post dinner stroll on deck.

Today is Trondheim with beautiful weather. Tried the breakfast in the “main” dining room of Atlantide. It seems we were not alone in trying this out today as there were very few servers and one moaned to a number of guests (who were grumbling at the time being taken) but it seemed to us reinforcements arrived at 9am to help with the influx - I’d guess it was at least half full. Our feeling was that the breakfast was simply assembled from the buffet upstairs except the egg but it was very nicely assembled. However from start to finish was an hour and if I am to spend an hour on breakfast I’d rather have a nice view, however I applaud Silversea for doing it as it was clear many guests liked the sit down almost hotel type breakfast. Next took a shuttle bus into town and enjoyed a long walk. Another observation - the laundry rooms are tiny (only 1 machine) and congested for space, today queues had formed on decks 5-7 before 8am , no idea why they are closed before. Trying to iron in the space without being banged by the door or someone trying to use the machine is difficult- the Seabourn set up much better and more sociable.

We were there first ! My point was as people came in they put all the pax into 2 areas, obviously we are not to know whether restaurant fully booked but on reflection it seemed to us the seating was for the benefit of the servers rather than diners. To me filling up tables closely together when there are plenty of others shouldn’t be done but I’d never tell fellow diners to go away !

Tonight a great sailaway along Geiranger Fjord including a 360 turn at some waterfalls. We rented a car at Geiranger - well worth it to avoid the tour buses and explore at our own pace - cheaper too ! Drinks aft at the panorama lounge then dinner at Salt. This is worth a special mention, delicious innovative regional dishes accompanied by some interesting wine, a German Pinot Gris for example that was fresh and paired well. The restaurant at 730pm was I’d say 20-25% full yet they seated everyone right next to each other which detracted from the meal. Next is Trondheim, Norways 2nd city.

Ok firstly I would not worry at all about dress code. Last night at 7pm in salt bar was a mix of every thing. At salt dinner I would say nearly all men had a jacket (mainly on the back of a chair) with long sleeved shirts but didn’t see any ties. First night was casual and I would say a good 1:3 still wore a jacket. Weather is around 19 Celsius or 68 F, ship warm but not seen much sleeveless dresses. On tours they are staggered through day and some do 2 but I’d say most either have lunch and then go back out to explore on their own. I did not do the rib cruise at Geiranger but very easy to do it yourself , very helpful port tourism office with all the tours etc. On our walk tour there were 12 on a minibus that seated 16, on the coach tours I’d say they go out 2/3 full.

Tonight was “formal optional” which was the first time we had seen it written like that. I’d say the formal bit was roundly ignored by most albeit a handful in black tie but most were informal ie had a jacket and many before dinner in the salt bar and observation bar were very casual. A word on the salt bar, intimate and 5 star hotel like, interesting cocktails with a Nordic twist and delicious cashews and bar snacks - again Seabourn take note with the ordinary peanuts. Dinner at the Grill or what was called hot rocks. They have enclosed the venue so no wind and we had perfect view along the fjord in evening sun. Cooking ourself was fun and food good. Wine was great too. We went to Arts Cafe for dessert but they don’t serve - only a mousse or chocalates from 9pm so in search of dessert we went to Salt - a revelation ! A most interesting menu of Scandinavian dishes that we can’t wait to try, again a real effort to be innovative and local. We had 2 local desserts with tea and these were top notch. Here are some pics from the day.

Can confirm on dawn now it is definitely not cut fresh and is 3 small pieces per order and is identical to the “platters” on the buffet. A major downgrade from what I had on Seabourn.

Yes and yes but was told there is a change in next few weeks.

Today is Nordfjordeid, we anchored and the tendering was very efficient. We were the only ship in town. We had a “hike” to a waterfall with a pleasant minibus ride along the fjord side for about 20mins each way and the walk was about an hour plus a “rest”. There were 12 in the group so not crammed in and this walk seemed to have 4 departures. For an “included” tour this was good. Late lunch in Kaiseki - it was completely full, the food here not as good as the Seabourn version at Seishin and portions very small, a maki roll was 3 small pieces. The small windowless space felt like a small windowless place especially with about 30 people in it. The town had a great Viking museum and a longboat plus an interesting church. Our fellow passengers seem a very diverse international bunch and compared to our Seabourn October med cruise where we (early 50’s) were very clearly some of the youngest , this has more families and many in 20s and 30s. Not seen one zimmer frame yet, whereas on Seabourn there were many in their 80s (and good for them too, to be clear). The ship is a year old according to the hotel director who introduced herself on deck, it looks immaculate. One little detail, on Seabourn when we tendered there were many steps and lots of movement, here whilst there are some steps down the tender entrance is completely level, almost like getting into a lift. Had tea at Arts Cafe, good selection and service. Visited spa area, it’s amazing like a hotel with plenty of loungers but what is truly odd is there are no signs on the male and female sauna doors, rather next to them are large Grecian type murals, one Neptune like and one Venus like but it’s not at all obvious and so far in 30 mins , 8 people have gone into wrong one.

First impressions continued. Ship is almost full, told 576 passengers, nearly all are on 7 days as the cruises repeat ports eg todays port of nordfjordeid was visited by the ship only 2 days ago. The ship though does not feel at all crowded. Last night went to observation bar, about 20 people pre dinner. Dinner was at Terraza, good food and service. Wine was a passable Italian Pinot noir regularly topped up, when I asked to try another wine they happily agreed and said to avoid any server confusion they leave the new bottle on the table - great ! San pelligrino water freely available - though occasionally passing server would forget. This morning we went back to terraza for breakfast - noticeably not that busy and quite relaxed, because - and Seabourn take note - many were in the restaurant and on the pool deck.

Thanks Terry, yes we had 3 days in Bergen and will have 3 days in Copenhagen and whilst have been to both previously (we live in London) it was about 10 years ago. Bergen was great for walking, we had an Airbnb in the old town, all wooden houses and cobbled streets up on the hill behind the old Bryggen warehouses.

Yes it was a strange mixture - I’d say it was 10 mins in your suite which you then had to press a button on the remote to confirm. Then at 6pm everyone had to go to muster station, name was ticked off and everyone milled around and then we had various announcements and how to put on a life jacket, then file out in groups to look at a life boat and then file out. We were there about 30mins I suppose. I would not describe embarkation as poor, rather people were told to come between 2 and 4, which I think compressed matters. In hindsight we should have carried on our luggage which we normally do and this would have skipped the line, the line was slow as everyone had to fill in a luggage tag whether you had one on it already.

We have travelled on about a dozen cruises split between Seabourn, Crystal and Silversea. Our last cruise was Seabourn post pandemic on Encore last Autumn in Greece/Turkey and this is our first Silversea since Silver Muse in Asia in 2018. First impressions : we arrived quayside at 230pm , there was quite a line to drop bags but it moved reasonably quickly (although annoyingly our bags took over 2 hours to get to suite), we then had to do a form for health check, then a security check and then onboard, directed to Venetian lounge to handover passports and got suite card and told suite ready. One noticeable difference - no welcome onboard champagne or drink, however there was a bottle in the suite. The ship still seemed very new and clean, the spa area looked great and the crew very welcoming. The suite well appointed and huge orchid in it, very nice. We had to watch briefing on tv but also go to lounge where we got much the same briefing again and a walk to a lifeboat - different to Seabourn. The tv is very fiddly and seems to have multiple menus that don’t quite work - maybe the battery I guess. Will update later but feel free to ask any questions!

Yes, many thanks, I have done that and it has been resolved.

Well I tried again today and still could not book online and was told on phone “not available” again. Online you get as far as cabin type but can’t select an actual suite. Something is up.

Looking at an itinery next March or April in S Pacific. The website shows the cruises as available but when you click through to book nothing happens, just the whirling wheel of nothingness. Called Seabourn here in UK who said all are now "unavailable" and they couldn't (or wouldn't) elaborate. I was told to look again may be next week. I'm surprised as surely for next March/April there must be existing bookings. Anyway flagging now in case of interest !