dougburns

As Dieter said, it was another great day in Gibraltar, albeit short. We departed at 1400 for Funchal. Last night we had dinner with the spinnaker2s(Candy&Larry) in the MDR. Food was excellent! Afterward we adjourned to the Panorama, but Alfredo wasn't playing very good dance music. However, when disco started things changed. Candy is going to give Ida a run for her money on the dance floor. We're @ half way to Funchal this morning with clear skies and mild temps. The sea is a bit rocky, but not bad. Sleeping last night was like being rocked in a cradle up near the bow. Marcelo took all of the pics at the party and we may have more to post if we can get his flash card once Wes boards. Miss Lynn is perfectly polished now and on her way for breakfast, so I'll sign off. Have a great day all!

Another fine day and we're docked at the Rock. Sure has changed since the last time I was here in 1958. Yesterday in Malaga was just about as perfect as you could get; clear and pleasantly warm. They have a new pier arrangement since the last time we were there; very nice. Miss Lynn and I took a horse and buggy ride around the city, then had a coffee, then strolled the streets. Found a Swavorski store and Miss Lynn got a bauble. Then we returned to the ship for lunch. The ship did a wonderful job with the suite party and most attendees spent their time out on the front balcony to a beautiful sunset. Marcelo took lots of pictures with his camera and other folks cameras as well; group photos. Wellseasoned will probably post one or two. After the party 12 of us had dinner at Hot Rocks. It was a nice gathering, but it got a bit cool by the end of the dinner. We left port at 2300 and had a very smooth cruise to Gibraltar, arriving here at 0700. We're only here until 1400 when we leave for the trip to Funchal. Hope the seas are reasonable and not like the 2010 cruise from Lisbon when we got caught in that big storm along the way and had to divert to Las Palmas. 84 folks are departing in Funchal and 12 are getting on, so we should have @470 aboard for the crossing. Miss Lynn and I will go ashore today for a bit of a walk about as soon as she gets perfectly polished. It's basically clear here today with light winds and high humidity(80%). Temps should be @ 72deg F. Have a great day all! More later.

We miss Mr&Mrs Sparky; wish you were still aboard! Glad you arrived home safely. Hope the kids are well. You can follow our progress on the Fall crossing thread.

You got it right, Wes; that's him. He's the F&B Manager now and will probably be a Hotel Director soon. Very personable. Had another smooth ride last night from Cartagena during formal night. The MDR was extremely crowded and service was understandably slow, but the food was wonderful. Miss Lynn and I had some dancing before dinner, but took some private time together after dinner rather than going dancing. Anne-Marie has left and we have a new chef; sorry 'bout that. Haven't really noticed any difference in food quality, so I guess all is well. We're in Malaga this morning to another clear and glorious day. Tonight is our suite party followed by Hot Rocks for 12. Hope the weather holds and it looks like it will. Had to chastise a retired Navy captain last night for wearing his uniform. Apparently, he didn't read his retirement orders, but maybe things have changed since I retired; everything else has. Have to make allowances though; he's a submariner. As usual, we'll just do a walk about today and then relax aboard. Have a great day all! More later.

After a wonderful day in Valencia we had a very successful Meet and Mingle in the O Lounge last evening. The ship did a great job and most folks attended. They even made name tags, which was nice. After the meet we had a wonderful dinner with Marcelo( F&B Manager and he's not the Marcello that used to be maitre'd in the MDR; he's the Brazilian who was once a maitre'd on other SS ships). He's quite personable and will probably be a Hotel Director before long. Between Emmy and Marcelo the table was in stitches throughout the dinner. Dieter and Debbie(wellseasoned) said they had enough laughing for the next three days. After dinner Miss Lynn and I headed to the Panorama Lounge for dancing until @ midnight. It was a lively crowd, but we still miss Ida! It was a calm cruise between Valencia and Cartagena. We're arriving there as I type and it looks like another beautiful day. Tonight is formal night; the first of 3 on the crossing. The next will be the second night out of Funchal and the last will be the night out of Bermuda. Tomorrow in Malaga we have the in-suite party and dinner for 12 in Hot Rocks afterwards. Ship and crew have been great so far. More later.

Wes; They did, but it was a very long day. I am now using a cane, so it was a bit difficult with all of the steps, but I made it. Can still dance, but not walk without the cane without that darned limp. Dieter and I are awaiting your arrival; not long now! No snide comments about the cane!

Mary Ann; We'll try to leave the ship in reasonable shape for you and not drink all of the good wines. Will miss cruising with you, but I'm sure you'll have a good time. You can follow us from Barcelona on the crossing thread.

Nice day in Barcelona again and we had almost a complete turnover. Only @ 40 remained aboard from the Rome-Barcelona leg. Now the ship is full to Funchal. About 60 getting off there and a few, including Wes&Ida boarding. Had a great dinner in La Terrazza last evening. Dinato set up 2 tables of 6 for us. Most had Duck Pappardelle in honor of Wes. One table was Miss Lynn, me, Eugene&Lucille, David and Emmy. The table next to us was Dieter&Debbie, the Kents, and Bob and Victoria(emtbsam). We were a bit rowdy, but the other table was very sedate. Met some of the folks and did some dancing after dinner, but tonight is the Meet and Mingle in the O Lounge at 1800 and we'll all get mingled. Today we're in Valencia with cloudy skies and temps supposed to be in the mid 60s. Miss Lynn and I are just going to go into town for a walk about. Being Sunday, most of the shops will probably be closed, so my wallet is safe. Have a great day all! More later.

Just starting a new thread for the crossing. Everybody will start arriving aboard in a couple of hours. Cloudy right now in Barcelona. but it's supposed to get clearer this PM. Nice temps though. We have our Meet and Mingle tomorrow evening at 1800 in the Observation Lounge(@40 plus the ship's officers). Looking forward to a great crossing.

Sorry for the break, but the internet would not connect to the boards early yesterday. To digress, we had a wonderful and warm day in Palma and a smooth cruise to Barcelona. Arrived Barcelona @ 0730 yesterday and were off to Montserrat at 0830 with Barcelona Day Tours. The service was excellent. We collected the Blosers and then the Pfoutzs at their hotels and then were off. Met the Kents and the emtbsams(Bob&Victoria) at Montserrat. It was a beautiful day; warm and clear. When we arrived back in Barcelona we did the Sagrada Familia and the tower and had a light lunch. Overall a very nice, but very long day. Last night after dinner we just spent time in the Panorama Lounge saying adieu to those who were departing this morning. A great group and we will miss them. The new folks will be coming aboard in a couple of hours. I will close out here and start a new thread for the crossing. Have a great weekend all!

The internet is very slow today here in Palma, what with 7 cruise ships in port. Had a fantastic weather day in Porto Mahon yesterday. It's a beautiful port with lots of history; very protected harbor and we did dock, much to my surprise. Had a wonderful in-suite party and the crew did their usual great job. Since the weather was so nice, most folks spent the majority of the time out on the front balcony. The Pool barbecue was also fantastic. First time it hadn't rained on the barbecue. The captain delayed the departure to 2300, giving us an extra hour in port. This morning we are in Palma with 6 other cruise ships. A cloudless day with temps expected to be in the mid 70s, so Miss Lynn and I will definitely go for a walk in town. Haven't been here since 1960. Boy, what a change! Don't think I'll be able to even find my old haunts from Navy days, but that's probably a good thing with Miss Lynn along. We depart here at 1800 for Barcelona. See all of you Saturday. We have the crew ready for you all!

What a night!! Had dinner at Hot Rocks in the wind and rain; 12 of us all bundled up. Then the wind really started! It was rockin' and rollin' until @ 0300, because of the wind and the fact that we were doing 21 knots. Right now it's calm and partly cloudy as we approach Porto Mahon, which I can see out the computer room window( it's @ 70 deg F ). We get in at noon and depart at 2200. The in-suite party is this evening from 1700-1900( @ 30-35 coming, including Mark Antoine the guitarist and his group ) with the pool barbeque following. As you might expect, there was no dancing last night. Miss Lynn is a bit grumpy this morning, because she didn't get to sleep until @ 0400. I made the mistake of waking her for coffee at 0730; not a great idea! Only a couple of days now until the hard core group comes aboard in Barcelona. A lot of the pax currently aboard get off there, but we're full to Funchal. Have a great day all! More later.

Thanks, ductape, that's him!

It's noon and the sun has disappeared; now cloudy and chilly, so Miss Lynn and I will probably just remain on board. Met the corporate executive chef, who is aboard for some meetings; very nice guy; believe his name is Columbo. Off to lunch!

Anne-Marie is aboard and will be for the crossing. We arrived in Nice last evening @ 1730 and spent the night. We will remain here in Nice for the day and depart for Porto Mahon at 1830 this evening. No Marsielle, unfortunately, so no trip to Aix and Cassis. Formal night last night and had a nice dinner with the doc. As it turns out, he is from West Palm Beach, FL and is aboard for 3 months. He will also be aboard Whisper next summer in the Baltic for 4 months; free vacation! Tonight is Hot Rocks with our group of 13 and tomorrow evening is our party in the suite before the Pool barbeque. Should be @ 25 there. Weather today is clear, but cool this morning; 52 deg F. Hope we have a smooth cruise to Porto Mahon tonight. Miss Lynn and I are going to go strolling around old town Nice for a while today. More later.

It's 1600 and the weather has improved, although it is much cooler. If we can't operate the tenders in Monaco we are going to Nice for the evening. Captain Pontillo has his wife and children aboard this segment, but we haven't disturbed them. Wes, Ismail is aboard in La Terrazza. Ary is also there. Tonight is formal night and we are having dinner with the ship's doctor, Phillip Butteravoli. Hope there isn't a hidden meaning that they placed us with him. Crew has been great so far; lots of old friends and a lot of new faces. They are shifting the crews around a lot these days, according to the old hands. Should be an interesting evening for those coming aboard; maybe even a hazardous ride; we'll see. More later!

A bunch of firsts for us on SS! First, we didn't leave Livorno last evening due to wind and swell. Don't understand that since the Crystal Serenity left OK, as did the car carriers. So, we're on our way to Monaco this morning and expect to arrive early evening. Didn't understand that either, but I do now. The owner and a bunch of the corporate folks are coming aboard in Monaco. The Captain(Pontillo) just said we may not be able to get into Marseille tomorrow due to high winds. That would scrub our private tour to Aix and Cassis. What a mess! We lost our pier slot for Monaco and will have to anchor. I have my doubts as to tender ops there. Anyway, it is what it is. Wes, our singing waiter(Marcelo) is not aboard, but Donato is in La Terrazza. Ate at le Champagne last night and we rather like the new system where you have 4 cold appetizer, 4 hot appetizer, 4 soup, 4 entree choices and the menus don't change. Gustavo is handling le Champagne and it was good to see him. Meal was great and the restaurant was full. Most folks went to the show after dinner( a very good jazz guitarist ), but Miss Lynn and I headed for Panorama and dancing. The piano player/singer there is excellent and plays great dance music. At 2300 the disco started and my lovely bride went crazy. by 0100 she had everyone in the place, which was packed, on the dance floor. Ida would have been proud of Miss Lynn. Guess I'll have to get my zoo keeper hat on again this cruise. Right now the ride is a bit rough and it's overcast, but nothing the Spirit can't handle. More later! Have a great day all!

Another glorious Silver Spirit cruise! After 2 nights at the Rome Cavelieri, which was very nice, but very expensive, we headed to Civitavecchia via Romecabs( @ 1 hour ). Got right aboard( just before noon ) and our suite was ready 15 minutes later, since the suite was unoccupied the segment before. Our butler, Karthik, is not aboard, because he got promoted again from head butler to butler manager and they moved him to the Wind. I already posted the main ship's officers, but a few more are Gustavo( le Champagne maitre'd), Norbert(Bar Manager), Royden(butler manager), Suzanne( head housekeeper), Donato(La Terrazza maitre'd), Fabrizio( Staff Captain). Paolo arranged everything beautifully for our get together for cocktails in the Panorama Lounge and dinner for all of us together(12) in La Terrazza. It was great and everyone had a wonderful time! We all had the duck ragu in honor of Col Wes and David Kennedy had his usual private bottle of wine, which he finished. After that wonderful dinner the Kents and the Tisaranni's headed to bed, because they were either jet lagged or had an early tour today in Livorno. The rest of us headed for Panorama for drinks and dancing, and yes, I can still dance, just not as long. Finally quit around midnight. It was supposed to be raining here in Livorno today, but so far it's only partly cloudy and very pleasant. Miss Lynn says the weather gods would never rain on a Burns cruise. Some things aboard have changed a bit, but nothing of any consequence. They don't have any caffeine free diet coke, but they are going to get some. I am still checking on the Monte Cristo #2 Habanas for you, Dieter. More later! Have a great day all!

Here I sit at 0330 waiting for Miss Lynn to get polished and for the limo. We're having dinner at La Pergola tomorrow evening, but I'm not much for wine; just the food. See you all in Rome or Barcelona. What a great cruise this is going to be. Miss Lynn will get quite a surprise when she arrives at the stateroom. She still doesn't know that we're in a Grand suite again.

Just starting the thread now to save time once aboard. We leave for Rome and the Rome Cavelieri( Waldorf Astoria ) at 0 dark thirty in the morning. I don't use laptops or I-pads, so will be out of touch until we board on the 2nd. It's finally here! Didn't cruise last year due to another hip replacement, so I'm ready, as is Miss Lynn.

AMEN, emtbsam! If folks don't like the dress code then cruise with another line.

Have done several B2Bs and we just do our normal thing after saying goodbye to friends we've met. No problem!

We had over 250 nights with Radisson/Regent prior to switching to Silversea. We have not regretted it. The lines are similar regarding food, etc., but the pax mix( more international) on SS is far superior and the crew is as well. You'll have a wonderful time. Haven't been on the Wind or Cloud, but both have just been refurbed and I understand both provide a very warm and friendly environment. Staterooms are a bit smaller than the larger ships, but they are well appointed and more than adequate. To long time SS cruisers the Wind and Cloud are their favorites.

Sounds as if Captain Corsaro is still running a great ship. Of course you know that you had the cream of the crop for crew. Captain Corsaro took many of his favorites from Silver Spirit for the WC, which is only fitting. Many of them left when we got off Spirit in mid Nov. Glad you had a good cruise.

I know it's a ways down stream, but we're booking Quest from Venice-FLL in Oct 2011 and are first timers on Seabourn. Looking for a referral sponsor.