ging466

On 10/15/2019 at 4:25 AM, WesW said:

Booked this Silver Cloud expedition voyage Ushuaia to Capetown today.

 

Happy that I will get use of my Cloud July Arctic voyage BOG boots and wet weather gear again.

 

Will start a roll call for those interested Silversea cruise critics.   Hope Petros (now the HD on board the Cloud) will be on board for this voyage too.

Hi Wes

I'm doing this cruise too...I can't find your roll call for it...can you pls send me the link?

Cheers

Jennifer

Hi JP

I've got 3 Ponant trips booked during the next 12 months. I booked them purely for the itinerary and I'm not expecting them to be as good as SS. They are also giving me a better single supplement than SS so I'm keen to try them out. 

Cheers

Jennifer

Hi, I'm on the Ush-Cape Town voyage also and I have bought my own boots. I have very fussy feet so needed to make sure boots fitted properly and are comfortable.

Hope to meet you on this voyage!

Cheers

ging466 (aka Jennifer)

Congratulations on your retirement. I did Vancouver to Tokyo on the Silver Shadow in 2012....it was a great cruise. If you get the chance, take the volcano excursion in Petropavlovsk. It was incredible.

Cheers

Jennifer

Have a fantastic trip Joy...I can't believe that it's 7 years ago that we did the transatlantic on the Silver Spirit.

Very keen to hear your thoughts about the Silver Muse and whether you think it would be a good ship for solos.

Cheers

Jennifer

I had seen a couple of B2B cruises on the Shadow in November/December 2018 that I was very interested in. Singapore to Mahe, Mahe to Capetown to Port Louis. A month ago I went back to the website to have another look and they were waitlisted. Last week I had another look and the ship had been re-routed to stay in Asia.

Hmmm, glad I didn't book them afterall...would have been very annoyed at this change in itinerary.

Cheers

Jennifer

Hi Lois R

I remember you as the Celebrity lover on the solos board and many years ago I recommended trying Silversea...good to see you may change your mind.:):)

Basically you can't go wrong....SS and Crystal are both great. The only thing with Crystal is that you are on a table at the same time every night and if you don't gel with your table mates, you can get stuck. SS is dine when you want so if you make friends during the day you can easily have dinner together in the evening. There's always lots of solos on both lines to make friends with.

The single supplements on SS and Crystal are both excellent. The passenger mix is quite different. SS is more worldly (as in many nationalities) and Crystal is very American. I liked both.

There is so much to like about sailing luxury as a solo - small ships, no queues, incredible service, all inclusive. On SS you get a butler too who will look after you. Many don't think much of the butler, but as a solo I think they are fantastic.

I would happily sail on either lines again if I got the opportunity...I hope you give it a try.

Cheers

Jennifer aka ging466

We are looking forward to spending more time in Sydney next year pre cruise.

Sorry to have missed you this year so will look forward to catching up with you next year!

Cheers

Jennifer

Sydney locals refer to the ANZAC bridge as Madonna's Bra.

I've lived here all my life and NEVER heard of the ANZAC bridge being called Madonna's bra:confused: That's hilarious but it certainly looks like it from that pic posted.:)

The Sydney Harbour bridge is lovingly referred to as "The Coathanger".

You picked a great time to visit, the east coast has been sweltering in the heat all through January and now into February.

Cheers

Jennifer

I had inquired about a cruelty-free option for my upcoming cruise, and Silversea will be providing me with Sebamed toiletries. I'm not that familiar with the line, but it seems that the company was founded by a German dermatologist and was developed for those with hyper-sensitive skin and eczema. Because of this, I would *assume* that the products avoid unecessary fragrances and colorings, which I hope is the case as I too, prefer "clean" to "choking". I can report back when we return in mid-December if you'd like.

 

Bechi

Awesome to hear that there is now a 'cruelty free option' on board. Thumbs up Silversea.

Cheers

Jennifer

Loved reading your blog and seeing your photos, Rachel. Brought back so many memories of my trip in 2012. Makes me want to go back....it's such a special place.

Cheers

Jennifer

If you are sociable and like meeting fellow guests it can be fun. It may depend on the table host, and there is always a chance you may meet the 'ship bore'

I agree with Mr Silver.

I travel solo and like meeting new fellow guests. I've had some very pleasant hosted dinners and one very very dull dinner but that was the fault of the crew member not the guests.

I think it's a nice tradition.

Cheers

Jennifer

ging466 the year before had absolutely crappy weather and not such a great time.

I did this in 2012 and it was a great cruise and highly recommended. The crappy weather was through the Bering Straight and was to be expected. It was also a tad cold in Alaska but I'm from Australia and anything under 20C is cold to me :eek:

Petropavlovsk was the highlight for me...the volcano tour was marvellous.

I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Cheers

Jennifer

CBURGER, or others who have been to Galapagos: if one does not or cannot snorkle, is there still enough to see and do to make the long journey to get there worthwhile? I expect photography opportunities are good, either of wildlife or scenery?

Catlover, there is more walking around than snorkelling in my opinion. I snorkel and there could have been more for me but it was still excellent.

Can you swim? If not a confident swimmer, put on a life jacket and swim with the seals...it would be a pity to miss that.

And the Galapagos is one non-stop photo opportunity.

Cheers

Jennifer

Last year, I was staying at Miami Airport so for a lark, decided to take Tri-Rail up to Fort Lauderdale, then from the station took a taxi to the pier.

It didn't take me very long and it was incredibly cheap (about $4 for the train and $17 for the taxi). I didn't have much luggage so the process wasn't hard.

It ended up being an adventure on the train. I would do it again if I ever went back there.

Cheers

Jennifer

Terry - I noticed you posted something about Palau on another CC thread. I went there many years ago and stayed for a week at the Palau Pacific Resort. An incredible place with the best snorkelling ever. We did a couple of boat trips to the Rock Islands and also drove around the main island and the capital, Koror. I wouldn't do this place on any kind of big ship - it has to be an expedition ship. Of course, one of WWII's bloodiest battles, Pelilau, took place here.

I echo what Fletcher has said here. My favourite place in the world is Palau.

I used the Palau Pacific Resort as my base and did boat trips to the Rock Islands and Peleliu (incredible WWII history here).

Also chartered a plane and flew all over the islands...the island chain is an incredible sight from the air and highly recommended.

I would love to go back there!

Cheers

Jennifer

Count me in!

I have enjoyed all my SS cruises very much even though this year's was a big fizzer because I was so sick.

I've met wonderful people, visited some incredible places and had fabulous service.

With all the negativity on this board lately, I was starting to wonder whether anyone actually liked SS.

Well done to rosepark for starting this thread.

Cheers

Jennifer

Bon voyage! Hope u and Mrs Silver have a wonderful crossing. It is a fabulous itinerary.

Cheers

Jennifer

I fell over twice when I was cruising the Galapagos...fortunately for me, all I needed were bandaids BUT it could have been a lot worse.

Based on some of the posts here, our insurance is way cheaper than the US. For example, on my recent trip to the USA, 4 weeks away cost me roughly A$200 and that covered me for everything (medical, baggage, cancellations and other ancillary items). If I was travelling more frequently (I work), I would take out an annual cover which would cost A$400 (like Dr Ron mentioned earlier).

Where insurance is concerned, I "don't leave home without it".:)

Cheers

Jennifer

I had a Terrace suite on my recent Shadow cruise. These generally sell quickly especially to solos who don't want to pay the huge extra for a balcony. I like being able to quickly go outside if there's something to see and take photos.

As mentioned in an earlier post, they are very convenient to reception, elevators, bar and gangway when it's on 5.

With respect to privacy, not a big deal. I think I saw 2 crew members in 13 days and they were doing a spot of painting.

I really like the Terrace suites.

Cheers

Jennifer

Yes one of the engines was a problem and delayed our departure from Charleston however it was the fault of the US Coast Guard because they wouldn't/couldn't make the decision for us to leave so we overnighted in Charleston but were not allowed off the ship.

We departed at 0700 the next morning due to another ship needing our berth and proceeded directly to Norfolk.

Yes we missed Morehead City and I was disappointed because i wanted to set foot in North Carolina but with cruising that's just the way things happen. It is what it is.

We had a medical emergency after leaving Bermuda so we sped through the Bermuda Triangle :eek: and arrived in Nassau 12 hours ahead of schedule, thus overnighting in Nassau and allowing the sick passenger to go to hospital and the rest of us to have much longer in Nassau than originally planned:)

I think it worked out well. A good cruise with interesting ports.

Cheers

Jennifer

Really great pics Catlover54...especially of White Island. My helicopter trip was cancelled due to high winds so I wasn't able to get there (very disappointed) so u were lucky to see it!

Cheers

Jennifer

Ging - We're looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for lunch with Wes and Ida. Now we have to get ready to climb the bridge!

Victoria, u will love it...the bridge climb is going to be spectacular...can't wait to see u and Bob, Wes and Ida tomorrow:D

Cheers

Jennifer

Despite your wet arrival this morning, glad to see that Sydney has put on some lovely sunny weather for u today.:)

Cheers

Jennifer

You're on the Silver Shadow and you want to skimp with transport? Don't be foolish. Take a shuttle and don't even think about a train.

Yes I am however I happen to like trains. When I'm in a foreign country I like to travel in trains...it's a good way to meet the locals and it's always fun.

Thankx for your advice.

Cheers

ging466