JSR

Thank you, that sounds correct. Let’s go with Oropendola.

Yes you will be fine with your LBG. You’d be fine with dress slacks and fancy tops. You see everything on formal night. That’s the beauty of the Silver Nova dress code you can be as fancy as you like or just a little dressed up. My husband does not bring a tux. By the last formal night which was around day 40 for us the men at our table (3 of them) wore jackets but no tie. They started out the beginning of the cruise with dinner jackets, black suits and ties etc. I didn’t wear my lbd but instead a nice floral. I realize I could have brought one back dress and several jackets instead of several formals. We also skipped some formal nights and went to Marquee or dined in the room. 71 days for us requires some nights in. I have done Alaska 3 times on other lines and have found it to be the most casual as everyone is already hauling boots, layers, rain gear etc. Being organized about having layers and rain gear so that you can embrace ‘no bad weather, just bad clothes’ is far more important than what you wear to dinner as you are far more likely to miss out if you’re too cold, wet or hot when you experiencing Alaska or Japan. Better to pay for expensive wet cleaning then haul another suitcase of clothes IMHO.

Day 2 also went across the bridge. This is the only bridge across the Amazon. I forgot the name of the bird that has the hanging nest. The males build the nest and if the female doesn’t like it she cuts it down instead of using it.

Opera house performance

Last photo is meeting of the waters which we saw in several different locations

@flyers I will look into which restaurants are open on port days and get back to you. @fletcher here you go: Manaus, Brazil Day 1- What an incredible day. We started with the abbreviated (by us) city tour stopping at the market and driving by the important buildings. We did a private tour with Sardes from Tours by Locals. We did everything that 5 separate ship tours did and more. He arranged for extra help so I could be lifted on and off the wonderful metal boat. The highlight of Manaus is a launching point for exploring the Amazon by small boat. We swam with the dolphins, had lunch at a floating restaurant, hiked up to see the only large lilies in bloom this time of year and saw a monkey as a bonus, Explored January Ecological Park and saw huge congregations of egrets, and so many other species of birds that Sardes pointed out. floating community with a school boat, floating market, school, and visited a private home for coffee. Then proceeded to fish for pirarucu. Then went to the meeting of the rivers. We made it home in time to shower and headed to the Manaus Opera House for a private Silversea concert. This day was an incredible day giving us an insight into life in the Amazon as well as experiencing the tourist highlights. Silversea hosted a Grand Voyage event at the Manaus Opera House, other Nova guests were able to purchase tickets to the concert as a tour. We arrived to musicians playing, cocktails, and a few appetizers. The Opera House is dark this time of year so arranging for the Chamber Orchestra and Soprano was a treat. Amazing to experience the beautiful concert hall come to life. Day 2 – The 3 of us split up and each did a separate tour. Nick did the survival jungle hike which he said was interesting and not strenuous, I did the city ship tour by accessible van, and Katie did the Muse Bio Park and music tour. Katie said the guide was not as informative or knowledgeable as the area called for however, the musicians and music was special. My tour guide was the same one she had as our tours were split between morning and afternoon. My city tour consisted of going to the zoo refuge on a military base to visit animals that were rescued. The animals are mainly confiscated from poachers. If possible the animals are rehabbed and returned to the wild. We went to various neighborhoods and saw different housing situations and vistas. We also drove by the outside of many buildings. It was about my speed after the day before. Day 3 was a half day and we opted to stay onboard as it was scorching hot.

@Fletcher lots to say. Either this afternoon or tomorrow. Need a sea day to catch up. @BBGrace273 will get photos today or tomorrow. off to Parintins this am

Just got back from Marquee and it was super hot! It needs tweaking to be usable in different locales. Needs fans for hotter climates.

@BBGrace273 I now know someone that is in a cabin with a bath tub if you still need photos. My husband says he thinks there is Stella on tap but js not positive. No Guiness on tap on this cruise.

@poinsettiaplate always a silver lining

@poinsettiaplate I think you will be disappointed as there is no poker. They do have a 21 tournament with a $50 buy in at 3 pm on sea days and 21 seems to attact a few players at night. Sometimes more sometimes less. There is also roulette and slots.

The Amazon 2/24/24 Santarem, Brazil. We started the day by seeing the meeting of the rivers from the ship. The brown color is the Amazon River and the blue is the Tapajos River. We had hot temps but a lovely morning with a breeze. We had a wonderful tour guide, Pierre, from Tours by Locals. He was well prepared, informed and fun. His mom was our driver in a comfortable clean Toyota with great Air Conditioning. Went to Henry Ford’s town of Bellaterra which was built as a company town during the rubber boom. Nick very much wanted to see an example of Terra preta soil. He found it and he had fun digging in the dirt. We then preceded to the National Forest of Tapajos. We arrived there and were assigned a Forest Ranger for a guide who lives in a community in the Forest. You cannot enter the forest without a Ranger. We drove 10 Kilometers into the park, had a picnic, then our guide, the Ranger, and Nick went on a 45 minute hike. Then I joined them for a short hike to this young (150 year old) gigantic tree. We learned too much to share here. We ended the day with best Acia we have ever had. It was very comfortable in the Forest but extremely hot when we arrived back at the pier. We did tender as the port can only hold one ship and there was a cargo ship in port. Everyone we talked to enjoyed their various tours. We also learned that we probably could have done the boat tour even with the wheelchair. This is unofficial but what we learned from another guest.

2/23/24 2/24/24

The Amazon 2/23/24 Amazon River. Well, I had some trepidation as to what the Amazon would be like after some of our other Brazilian experiences especially in terms of weather. It has turned out to be amazing so far. We have had lovely sunsets and wonderful balcony time. It has been scenic and comfortable in the mornings. The afternoons are quiet hot and the further up river we get the hotter it gets.

This the information I know fir making arrangements. @flyers You must obtain a Visitor Request Form from Silversea. the names, nationalities, driver's license, and passport information of the guests. You should contact specialservices@silversea.com as soon as possible or call Silversea. Some special service reps are better than others so best to try again if you don’t get the help you need.

@flyers sorry for the delay. Trying to gather the information you asked for. The cruise director is JP. The Captain is changing in a couple days. Have you made arrangements to board. I am told that you need to contact Silversea and fill out a form so that the authorities can clear you to board. I will update the Captian’s name as soon as I can find out.

As many of you may know we had a medical emergency with a crew member in critical condition. The Captain has been amazing at keeping us abreast of the situation and we are all praying for the crewman’s recovery. We diverted to get close enough to land for Brazilian Coast Guard to deploy a helicopter. Due to the size of the ship a helicopter can not land. 2 coast guard were lowered onto the pool deck followed by another coast guard with a tabagoon style stretcher. Then they reversed the process. Took about 45 minutes. They are now headed to the coast guard station and from there to the hospital. Please keep the crew member in your thoughts and prayers.

Fortaleza 2/20/2024. We took a wheelchair accessible van ship tour. It was only Nick, I, the driver and the guide. The supervisor for the tour company made sure we were all set. He tried so hard. Our guide was good at pointing things out but not insightful. The van was small and could navigate many streets that the bigger buses could not. The ship offered two city tour itineraries and one tour to the beach as well as a shuttle bus to and from a mall. On our tour we saw blocks of burnt-out buildings with squatters and a very impoverished city. We then drove through the local shopping area of small shops carrying household goods, appliances, etc. we then arrived at the tourist area where everything is walking distance from each other though I suggest you remain with the tour. We opted to tour the theatre and the Fort. The fort is not offered on the big bus tour as the public areas are small. We saw the church’s glass windows radiating light through them from the van. We opted out of going to the cultural center and the multi story tourist mall. We drove back along the ocean which had more middle-class apartments and hotels. Others said the cultural center was not much and some people bought leather sandals at the central market. One your allegedly went to the botanical gardens. Some people went to the beach about an hour outside of town and reported it was nice though full of vendors. A couple people had photos taken by a very creative photographer who used perspective to create interesting images. I would do that if I went to the beach.

I just wrote a long post about Fortaleza which disappeared. I will try again in a bit.

Success.

Setting a goal to catch up today starting with Salvador de Bahia. 2/17/2024 Salvador De Bahia, Brazil. An amazing day filled with exploration of this Afro-Brazilian city. It is a vibrant city full of colors and energy. Had a wonderful day and guide, Sayuri from Tours by Locals! We wanted an Afro-Brazilian perspective, music, and no tourist shopping. She planned an amazing day. Even balanced as best she could keeping us out of the heat., Started at a photography exhibit, then Acaraje (typical street food) and Visited the shrine to Yamenja, the old town area, street drummers, night life and more! Many people who Took the ship Tours had a totally different experience. They found the city poor, scary, and uninteresting. Our experience was quite the opposite except for learning that it is a poor area economically we found it vibrant

@mysty enjoyed catching up on your journey! Looks amazing. Wishing you good health and calm seas as your journey continues.

@Fletcher just arrived in Fortaleza. Will update later today. Amazon in 3 days. So far hot and humid is the theme with rain coming later today. We are taking a generic sightseeing tour today. Will report back. also I owe someone some beer information. The bartenders believe their will be local beers onboard in Alaska but suggested you request them ahead of time to help assure this will happen.