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This post isn’t for a flame opportunity, but a more serious discussion of the current state of Silversea. On recent sailings it seems there are more complaints, about most everything. While we do not have 500 days aboard, we are getting closer to that mark. Using the retrospectroscope to compare, our first experiences were much better than those of late. We have made excuses, Covid, supply chain, etc, etc. Is Silversea resting on it’s laurels? Counting on the loyal Venetians? Seeking new cruisers who have no history to make “comparisons” with the promise of all inclusive luxury? Why do we keep coming back and spending oodles of money? For us, its the crew. They are stellar. We have two cruises coming up in the very near future. Ever the loyal optimists, we are hopeful that perhaps a bit of polishing has happened, some of the tarnish removed and the shine restored.

MSC has offered reciprocal status for a long time. Not sure how many Venetians will enjoy the size of the ship other than trying out the yacht club which is an enclave offering butlers, private bar, pool and pool bar and restaurant for about 250 pax. The suites are comparable to those on MSC.

A friend who is aboard reported that her suite door would not stay closed during the night due to the intense winds. Heavy weather indeed! Hope that it has improved!

Fernando is one of a kind.

Love the photo Mr. Silver!

Bon voyage!!!

Glad to hear weather is good! Some friends boarding soon, they are looking forward to the Azores and Canaries and of course sea days! Stay well.

Too funny!

Surely this is tongue in cheek? Do you also enrobe yourself in these towels when you go out and about? Instead I suggest a hazmat suit. And a respirator. Covid and many other nasty germs and viruses are ubiquitous even on a cruise ship, and quite frankly, perhaps more so. All of those people touching the rails in the passageways, the elevators, the utensils in the buffet line at the one pool, I could go on and on.

Yes we got dark chocolate boats two weeks ago along with our covid.

Thinking of u pash!

Here is the bedside light that was dangling by its electric cable, surely not too safe if you have wet hands or for kids to deal with. As mentioned, we reported it, they sent two guys to fix it to no avail. We were told it had been broken for almost a year!

Forgot to mention, there is a grab bar on the far wall of the shower. There is a small bench seat in the shower. One must make a small step into the shower enclosure. And as is the case on most cruise ships, the bathroom is a step up. There are a variety of electric outlets and there are also USB ports.

The below excerpt is from an infectious disease specialist. Posted today. Its not just the Moon that is having pax with covid.

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Just stayed in this Suite for two weeks. The balcony is what makes this special. It is large enough for two chaises and two chairs and two ottomans with room to spare. The sun is usually on it most of the day which is both a blessing and a curse. The cabin gets intensely hot and it is hard to cool it down. My suggestion is if you go out on excursions, close the drapes to keep that sun out! The walk in closet has a set of double shelves on the left, a hanging rod more shelves and drawers on the right. Its very large, in fact when DH was snoring one night i took my pillows and stretched out on the floor. There is also a wardrobe with drawers and the safe, and a lighted curtain rod. There is plenty of space for clothes and anything else. With the very relaxed dress code, one hardly needs all that space, but its there. Plenty of room under the bed for suitcases. Lots of counter space and lighting( one light was irreparably broken and just dangled by its cord. The maintenance guys tried to fix it to no avail. I was told it has been like that for close to a year) It is a very long walk to the elevator, and DH complained his glutes were hurting, but by the end of the cruise he was in much better shape! The room stewards store their laundry cart outside the door in the corridor of the room. I haven’t seen laundry carts stored in the open on ships before, but they were also in other areas in plain sight. We did have some rough seas, rain and wind. The suite did bob about a bit. When the wind is intense, the halyard on the mast just above the suite clangs rhythmically, and had to be secured on several occasions otherwise you find yourself dancing to the beat. Directly above is the one pool sun deck bow. Sometimes one could hear the deck chairs being moved, but nothing disturbing. I am glad we stayed in the suite, it is very private and the view is amazing. During the stormy days the sound of the wind roaring is intense! I am glad we had the experience

Dave, you are the lucky one and poster child! Hope you continue to stay safe!

Best cat, the YC was almost at capacity I am told. Even with the storm! The weather was pleasant enough to enjoy eating outside. It was very frightening just how fast the virus took hold and took over my husband. The cough and congestion, debilitating. Even with the Paxlovid. I was monitoring his O2 stats, as we have a monitor. If they dropped I would have brought him to the hospital. Clearly there are pax who had the virus and either didn’t suspect, or didn’t want to quarantine, or who knows. We have gotten off topic.

Yes best cat. We were very far forward, 19002. We really stayed in our cabin most of the time as we had the balcony area. Ate our meals at the one pool area other than dinner. Tried to maintain distances, did not go to the bar. I know we all want this dreaded disease to be gone, but it isn’t, even with prudent measures. Good luck.

Not exactly on topic, but… Just off the MSC Seashore. We were boosted with Pfizer bivalent on September 7. Also had monitored test a day before we boarded and were negative. Not a lot of mask wearing other than the crew, which often became chinstraps. We avoided the excursions, only getting off at the island. Stayed in our little cabin area or by the one pool. Very conscientious about hand sanitizing. Friday night husband had a dry itchy cough, like allergies. After disembarking, and once home( we live close by the port) I thought I should test him, as he started to feel worse. Husband tested positive 2x on Saturday afternoon. On Paxlovid and now feeling better, but it has been a rough several days. Just know that the virus is still around and easily caught. Be careful and cautious.

From my recent (last 2 weeks) experience onboard, I can tell you we filled out the questionnaire only to get on board and have our butler tell us that it doesn’t work. We told him our choices. You get a bottle of liquor pp., its the 750 ml size. My husband chose gin, I chose a bottle of wine. It took two days to get the gin. One toblerone, one jar of nuts and one tiny can of pringles per week. After that you will be charged for the minibar snack items. (not the juices or sodas) i can tell you as well that our butler was virtually and physically absent most of the time. The junior butler/room steward did all the work. He was a gem. We could often hear our butler in the hallways loudly yelling for our room steward!

I suggest bringing a hair dryer, the one in the room attached to the drawer is very ineffective and requires you to hold in the button to use it. Most of the time i went out with wet hair pulled back or i sat outside n the balcony in the sun to air dry my hair. I did bring a flat iron and it was not confiscated. I wish i had brought a hair dryer! One of the small but powerful ones for travel.

Just, literally just, returned home from two weeks on the YC/Seashore. I will write my thoughts in the upcoming days, but for certain, shorts are permitted in the YC dining room, as are baseball caps, sandals, flip flops, wrinkled T-shirt’s with writing on them or not, at night. There seems to be no enforcement of the “suggested” dress code. The concierge told me that MSC does not want to offend anyone, so elegant gowns and tux are welcomed as are shorts. And our butler did tell us that no shorts were allowed on gala night, however, he was incorrect.

Tomorrow schedule is a seaday Then Puerto Plata Who knows Last night wind over 30 knots coming thru Bahamas channel

It's Nassau We are on the Seashore We arrived early this morning