Emtbsam

20 minutes ago, kitcrazy said:

Thank you Emtbsam, I have just made a reservation at the Silver Note.  It was only available for Sunday evening, and even then I am waitlisted, but I hope it will work out.  When you say "special order", are you referring to menu items, or something else?

You can special order food items or even request a certain cuisine for dinner.  We have requested Thai, Filipino and Indian meals.  This is better done with a group, but if there is a special dish you would like, by all means speak to the Maitre d’.  
 

if your reservation for Silver Note does not come through, you can still go there and sit at the bar.  I do not know if they would serve food at the bar, but you could go after having dinner somewhere else.

You should go to the singles event at the beginning of the cruise and also join a trivia team.  Teams are always looking for Canadians who can broaden out the knowledge base. 

Thank you for the suggestions.

10 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

Hi,

 

Any particular yearnings/tastes or cuisines  etc?

 

Jeff

I like Indian cuisine and don't have the opportunity here in the boondocks to get any.  In the 1950's, I went to Veeraswamy with my family but don't remember much except the name.  In those days, we stayed at the Park Lane Hotel or the Hyde Park Hotel.  In 1972, I also had great Chinese in the West End in a tiny restaurant(with Pearl Bailey who was also alone).  I am really open to anything. 

I wish I had known that I could book a future cruise with a 5% discount while on board.  I also didn't know that I could special order just about anything with 24 hours notice.

The Moon is a great ship.  I suggest that you try Silver Note.  It might be hard to get a reservation, but give it a try.

We will be in London for several nights pre-cruise this fall, and I was hoping someone would have a restaurant recommendation for us.  We would like something that isn't too expensive.  I haven't been in London since 1975 so things have changed a lot as have we!  I believe we'll be at the Royal Lancaster unless that gets changed, and we don't mind a good walk to the restaurant.  TIA.

Jeff - Thanks for the information on the espresso maker.  I have a wonderful grinder which I love, so I do not need an all in one machine.  Since I also have two houses, I need two of everything.  One of my Gaggias is still working which helps.  I hate to admit, but my palate is not particularly refined due to life long allergies which have dulled my senses.  For many years, I did get custom roasted beans from Schapira coffee in NYC, but they have been out of business for a while.  There is a local shop that roasts coffee, but I am not sure what I would ask for.  I currently do half decaf which probably instills disgust in you, but it is necessary if I ever want to sleep.  I get an organic decaf Milano roast and mix it 50/50 with either a French roast or an espresso roast.  I will check out the website you posted.

15 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

Afternoon Orange and Almond with a double espresso.

 

Have a great afternoon all.  🙂

 

Jeff

 

What espresso maker do you use?  My Gaggia Factory lever machine similar to the La Pavoni Professional needs to be replaced, so I am looking for something that will please me.

On the subject of music, my family was in the music publishing business for 75 years, so I was raised with a lot of music.  I grew up knowing which songs they published and which they didn't.  Although they did publish some Rodgers and Hart, they also published a lot of Ernesto Lecuona and George M. Cohan.  

We love Indochine and SALT Kitchen and have no problem going to them if Atlantide is backed up.

There was sunscreen in our Royal suite and I assume it was in all the suites.  I forget the brand, but it was fine.

On 5/5/2024 at 1:14 PM, cool cruiser 14107 said:

does anyone know if the gift shop on the silver origin has just a few high end things (and tiny) or can you get clothes and sundries? thanks

You can get some clothes at fairly high prices and a few pieces of jewelry at fairly reasonable prices.

We loved our time on the Silver Origin and had the best suite and butler of any cruise in over 700 days!.. If you go and have the good fortune to have Joāo as your Butler, you are in for a treat.  I so wish the ship were in the Mediterranean - I would take it in a heartbeat!

We generally try to avoid the musical entertainment since it is frequently too loud and drowns out the possibility of a quiet conversation.  We like the Observation bar on the Spirit. If possible, we will sit outside Panorama or the Arts Cafe to avoid the noise.

15 hours ago, drron29 said:

And some more hotel views in Sydney. This time from the Club Intercontinental. First at night then in the morning. It was a very wet weekend in Sydney.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed the location of the hotel and the Concierge Lounge on the roof.  Sydney is a favorite place to visit, and we hope to return soon.  It is a bit of a hike from the east coast of the US!

54 minutes ago, tgh said:

My 5c value  contribution is a belief that SS are ensuring that the new front line ships enjoy fully experienced staff and that the older ships are used to train. A recent whisper cruise saw many inexperienced crew resulting in indifferent service levels -v- a current cruise on Nova where the crew have been quite exceptional.

Management on each ship also plays a part in staff attitude but they have to train them somewhere….

Our cruise on the Nova last fall had many, many inexperienced staff.  Few had a cruise ship background either with Silversea or anyone else.  Poor service was probably my biggest complaint on the Nova.  I am glad to hear it has improved.

Lirio - what hotel is that?

27 minutes ago, Lvshack said:

Hi emtbsam .. thank you for your message.. when do you board in Southampton..we live close by.. we board in Venice and finish in Athens.. could it be the same one ??. Venice 25th Oct ??... 

It does seem like we will be on when you board since we get off in Athens on November 5.

we will spend a few days in London before going to Southampton.  I haven’t been to London since 1975 although I did spend time in Southampton in 1979 when my father was recovering at Royal South Hants Hospital.  Haven’t been to Bath since 1956!  It will be interesting to see the changes.

On 4/1/2024 at 4:19 AM, spinnaker2 said:

23 minutes ago, Lvshack said:

Hi emtbsam .. thank you for your message.. when do you board in Southampton..we live close by.. we board in Venice and finish in Athens.. could it be the same one ??. Venice 25th Oct ??... 

 

 

On 4/9/2024 at 9:49 AM, highplanesdrifters said:

The white out areas may correspond to the exhaust system for the engines or they may be crew prep areas.  In any event, the sound proofing is quite good on the ship and I wouldn’t worry.

LVSHACK - we will be on board the Spirit.  Getting on in Southampton and off in Athens.    We are Bob and Victoria.  I will be at the ping pong table on deck 10, and he will be in the gym.  I hope our paths do cross.  Just got my tests results today and was pleased with the number.  I hope you continue to regain your strength.

On 3/6/2024 at 7:39 PM, Angels3 said:

How was your trip? Any issues with noise/vibrations or views? We have booked 9088 on the Nova. 

Sorry for the late reply.  Yes, we could hear joggers above us but no noise in the evening.  Granted it was on the TA, and the weather was cold so there wasn't a lot going on at the Dusk Bar.

I do not recommend 9086 Master Suite for several reasons - it is smaller than similar suites on lower decks.  The closet is half the size of the other Master suites because they had to move the dressing table into the closet since the bedroom didn't have room for it.  The only positive about that Master suite is that there is a huge window in the bathroom which is not in some of the other Master suites.  

We had friends in a Master on deck 6 who said they could smell cigar smoke.

From my casual observation, but not actually verified, I believe deck 7 is actually a bit wider than the other decks judging from the depth of the verandas.

I am glad to hear that things have smoothed out since our voyage last October - December.  It will be a while before we are tempted to go on the Nova again since we favor the smaller ships.  Have a wonderful time!  The Nova is a beautiful ship especially in warm weather.

I guess the ship was going too slowly for the stabilizers at the beginning.  We have had some amazing rolls when stabilizers had to be retracted due to speed.  I must admit, I love rough seas especially pitching.  I know this is not a popular belief!

Just had chocolate hummus for the first time.  Sinfully delicious, way too sweet, and probably a waste of two perfectly good flavors, yet I will try it again!

We are considering segments of the 2026 WC from LA to Singapore.  Hope we will be able to get a suite.  First time on Crystal after 700 days on another line.

It makes me so very sad to hear that things continue to change for the worse.  While provisioning wasn’t a problem on our Med and TA last year on the Nova, it was the poor training of some of the staff that was the issue.  It was the first time I couldn’t wait to get off a ship at the end!

Things have changed on Silversea, but haven’t we all in the last 5 years!