Downunder55

I have muchly enjoyed the funnies, time for me to contribute ... but there is still Pinot and Chianti as well 🙂

15 hours ago, drron29 said:

Yes it was an amazing experience and to top it of we saw a Leuclistic Adelie Penguin. Often called Isabelline. Said to be only 1 in 120000. Even rarer if nearly all white and the one we saw was close to being all white.

Curious little critters them .....

Just loved that everything was just left ....

@drron29 ... I see in your signature  - ORION - December 2010 Antarctica- Mawsons Hut .....we did it on the Orion in Jan 2009 it was a sensational trip, and to get inside the hut was amazing to see everything still there...... memories ...

15 hours ago, chrism23 said:

I am intensely following this thread and others related to the Whisper.  I am booked on it for a BtoB for most of the month of August.  I am in suite 823 and see no reason to get on them to change suites.  The move of the Casino and the Connoiseur Corner had me worried but they have been put in the aft section of the ship and are no problem.  Could have been because I absolutely loathe cigar smoke and I was worried the very late night casino action would create audible noise.  So I am good on both counts.

 

I am absolutely dumb struck by the number of complaints registered here about food, caviar and so much more.  I regard myself as a SS veteran, upcoming will be my 10th cruise with nearly 200 days.  My last cruise was January 2023 the South American Grand Tour on the Moon.  The Moon was the most gorgeous ship I have been on.  The restaurants, especially Alantide which was always called the MDR were superb, the best food I have had on SS.   Having a 'chop' house menu every night was an inspired idea.  

 

I share a couple of complaints.  I do not eat at La Dame anymore, I usually did so on Formal Nights, I like to dress up, but no more.  The same dishes in La Dame seem to appear on the MDR menu within a day or two.  The difference is that the portions in La Dame are larger, a good example is if you order rack of lamb in La Dame you get 3 chops, in the MDR you get 2.  

 

I do not understand why so many cruisers are quick to downgrade SS from luxury to premium.  These are the same ships, so far with the same level of service, maybe I am in for a rude awakening, but with SS, and the reason I keep returning is "if it ain't broke don't fix it". They have been nearly perfect and seamless every cruise.  

 

Also I have voiced my concern over the increased capacity of the new ships,  The Moon with 500ish pax felt just about right, the new ships that are 700+ seem too big, although I have yet to sail one.  With them I envision problems with excursions, lines at restaurants, and a whole host of other issues which may put me off SS which would be a shame.   Maybe I will be surprised but right now it seems to be a major tactical mistake.  Selfishly I feel at home with SS and do not want to migrate to one of the few "luxury" cruise lines remaining, namely Seabourn and Regent. 

Well I hope you don't snore loudly, as we are only a couple of cabins away for the first couple of weeks 🙂

15 minutes ago, Easterncommand said:

Just off the Whisper and can confirm that there is a small ‘Arts cafe’

The cafe is sited on deck 5 between the boutique area, future cruises and customer service’s desk.

Thankyou for the update ..... now that a good way to start the day :-)

On 5/19/2024 at 3:40 AM, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

Good afternoon Emts.

 

To talk coffee first.  My route has been filled with pain and disappointments but now I think I'm there!

 

To cut to the chase of gone though so much Gaggia I cold fill a warehouse.  I am a painfully slow learner but this is what I have learned.  And it is a series of very small things that all conspire together that makes the elusive perfect coffee that has always bugged  me and now achieve.

 

The fundamental of it all is the production of an extraordinary simple double or single espresso from which all other coffee drinks emerge. 

 

The nub of where I am now is I have a  Sage Oracle Touch Fully Automatic Bean-to-Cup Coffee Machine which I have one both here at Jeff HQ and at Seaside for coffee on the balcony. They are completely programmable  and adjustable to replicate what you like for future shots. So once you work it out they will always be the same.  It's a dual boiler machine so steam and milk are available instantly at the same time. 

 

But I'd say that without a good machine you'd obviously not get good coffee.  But even if you spent $1m on a machine it's impossible if you do what I think most do and that is not understand that the machine is simply the vehicle but it's water and bean that makes all of the difference.  We have found using Zero Water is perfect and a well worthwhile palaver. Now The Bean!

 

I am fortunate enough to have had a local roaster (Gerald! - since left us but now his family) who is obsessed with the bean. He use to travel the world with his son visiting and supporting small growers, roasts daily and delivers to our door personally. I cannot believe how lucky we are.  So my first thing is find a really great local roaster and describe the taste and let him blend and roast for you.

 

You will never ever get great coffee from supermarket or shop blends.  But you won’t know this until you get freshly roasted coffee from an artisan and use it quickly whilst storing it for a week or two at most in vacuum jar. 

 

Our Blend Content  

1/3 Nicaragua 3rd Honduras depending on procurement

1/3 India Plantation 'B'

1/3 Brazil Eldorado

 

https://peaberrycoffee.co.uk/collections/signature-blends/products/peace-and-hope-blend

 

https://peaberrycoffee.co.uk/

 

The machine is:

 

 

More importantly, I'd love to hear about the family publishing memories if you'd like to. The more the better.  Indulge me.  🙂

 

Bestest

 

Jeff

 

 

 

Now this is a coffee machine ..... Decent Espresso .... compact, software driven that will support many recipes and techniques...... and just damn fine coffee 🙂

If they don't at least have a decent espresso machine I will not be happy !

Well the Whisper seems to be on schedule to start her first cruise post works out of Venice tomorrow.....

Hope they have fixed the air-conditioning, ....we are onboard in August. 

13 hours ago, RetiredOnVacation said:

Is there food and drink within each grandstand area, or do you need to go to further afield within the track? 

As I recall there were drinks available below the stands, can't recall food as we went to a restaurant for lunch.

At the end of the day activities there were bars open on the track and you could walk around.

The vendors have to charge similar prices as they would outside race day, we had Pizza and Grand Cru very reasonably post race at a little pizzeria waiting for the crowds to clear.

Grandstand K are good seats.

The food a drink prices on the track are pretty reasonable considering.

It is with a little reluctance I write this …… had dinner at Kaiseki this evening …. It was really great ….. need to get some more booking before the rush.

The presentation was beautiful, food very tasty and more than ample, tuna was so good I had it for desert as well 🙂

highly recommended, even with the extra $40 pp.

2 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

 

Here are a few visuals from the Silver Moon, exploring this ship that is "new" for us.  As noted below, we did the Silver Muse in the summer of 2019, but not this more recent class of ship/design with new features and styles.

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Summer 2019 Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska on Silver Muse, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc.  Many visuals, Our firsts in these scenic areas!  Now at 20,657 views. Live/blog:
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s/

 

This morning when doing breakfast, my wife discovered the La Terrazza area doing the juice mixes.  Serving her, as I recall, is Pranab.:
(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!)

Below at lunch are some pool visual samples, including for a bar where they are ready and well-stocked.  Today on this sea-day, they had a special buffet at lunch in addition the regular burgers, chicken, etc.:

 

Here are some visual samples for the art and "looks" in and around the stair areas on the Silver Moon.:

 

Tonight on the first of three planned "formal" nights for the Silver Moon, we are scheduled to dine at La Terrazza. This area definitely looks larger on the Moon compared to the Muse and the earlier, older ships. For lunch today, these visuals offer some examples of the friendly staff and the set-up/sweet offerings.  Shown in the middle picture is Jack Buttle who is campaigning to be ranked as the best dining room manager in the world.  We'll see how he does this evening!  Right?:

 

 

 

Well that is the better half and I in the shallow end of the pool 😀

and very pretty at night …..

It would seem from the website that after arriving in Singapore on March 3rd the next cruise is 10 May Venice to Rome …. So likely to be heading round Africa with no passengers …… that is going to hurt 

Well just heard from some friends that their Whisper early March Singapore to Mumbai cruse has just been cancelled 

15 hours ago, Fletcher said:

The Taj is often shrouded in pollution these days, though it looks to be currently free of scaffolding.

 

Pretty clear around this Taj (hotel) ......

Not sure what Nyepi Day in Bali has to do with the Whisper transiting Red Sea in March when Bali is some 8,950kls away ?

Maybe a separate post as good info for those not in the know.

Based on the recent/current travels of the Silver Moon from Athens to Mumbai through the Med and around Africa.... that redeployment is scheduled to take 29 days.

With dry-dock scheduled for around April 7 to May 9th...... .. something has to change

Well you can still buy a ticket ..... only for the brave ...

Looking like an arrival on the 1st Feb around 9pm is possible, pending and port delays in docking

Looks like the Silver Moon is likely ahead of the 6am 2nd Feb arrival schedule for Cape Town .... if my calcs are correct

Based on current position 

at 18 kts with 1,202 nm to go needs approx. 2 days 19 hours, this should see the Moon in Cape Town around 6pm on the 1st Feb .... even reducing the speed to 17kts would only add 3 hours to this

Latest port schedule for Mumbai is unchanged for arrival on 14th at 6am

She is motoring along now ....

14 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

 

In looking at the MySilversea website this morning certain of our scheduled tours have been wiped out.  The starting date for our sail-away has not been updated.  Much is fluid and in-flux.  

 

Yes, status still the same .... had a few I really wanted to do .... espec in Sri Lanka

Considering the circumstances I think SS have done a sensational job in adjusting the schedule where we only miss out on Trincomalee.