Live...Whisper Civitavecchia to Ft. Lauderdale

We boarded the Whisper in Civitavecchia on September 30. As usual, it was an easy operation and we were on board a few minutes after noon. We had booked a Terrace suite and were pleased to see that the addition of the veranda separator panels had already taken place so in essence, we paid for a Terrace suite and got a Veranda 2. Sometimes things do work out. During life boat drills, the crew will open the panels and remove our deck furniture so that area can still be an emergency passageway. The only difference now between our suite and a veranda suite is that we have a door that opens in rather than a sliding door, and our side window area is narrower.

Breakfast and lunch service in La Terrazza is much improved and less chaotic. I am not sure why, but the servers have ipads that are different from previous ones which might account for some of the change.

We have been pleased with the food so far.

We know several of the officers from previous trips which makes the trip even more enjoyable. We had to decline an invitation to dine with the Captain this evening since we are traveling with friends who are new to Silversea.

The first part of this voyage is a 9 day Med. cruise so the average age of the passengers is younger. There is one baby on board, but the parents are attentive which is a relief.

Overall, it is great to be “home”.

I am happy to answer questions and hope that the other cc.com passengers on board will add to this thread.

Have a wonderful sail Emtbsam! Hope your friends enjoy their introduction to SS!

Enjoy the cruise! Looking forward to hearing all about it, as we've never sailed on one of these "big" SS vessels before.

Glad to hear you are onboard Emtbsan, are you staying on for the TA? We have friends onboard who are, but they do not use CC. Looking forward to your updates.

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Have a wonderful time Embsam! I know you will.

How was the hiking?

If you know Sandy, he was aboard our crossing in the North Atlantic and will be aboard with you.

I think Herman might be aboard as well!

I will look forward to your posts.

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Enjoy the cruise! Looking forward to hearing all about it, as we've never sailed on one of these "big" SS vessels before.

Appreciate these great postings and follow-ups from J.P., Spins and others. YES, keep up the great sharing and details for life onboard as you sail to FLL. Look forward to reading more. Best for smooth sailing across the Atlantic.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 231,272 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

16 days from now we will be joining you for the crossing. Your posts will help to whet the anticipation.

So very happy to see your post LIVE -- looking forward to seeing you IN PERSON.

You mentioned the officers. Who Captain, HD, CD?

Counting.........:D

Mary Ann aka Dusababy

Very cool Emtbsam! Looking forward to following along as we also have friends on this voyage, as well as the next two. Have a great trip!

We are on until Ft. Lauderdale and know that a number of cc.com people will be joining the trip either in Monte Carlo or Lisbon.

The Captain is Cataldo Destefano, the HD is Ken Fella and the CD is Adam.

We were supposed to be in Sorrento until 1pm today but sailed early due to weather. There is only slight motion now so I assume we will miss any effects of the Medicane.

Looking forward to seeing many of you in Lisbon.

Congratulations on your "virtual" veranda suite. And have a great cruise. I will enjoy following along.

Have a great trip, Emtbsam(s)! Hope the hiking went well. Glad the Terrace to Veranda conversion worked! Is the Grappa Bar still functioning?

We are really looking forward to seeing you again on the Whisper in March!

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The Captain is Cataldo Destefano, the HD is Ken Fella and the CD is Adam.

Assume the Adam is Adam Wright. How are you finding Ken Fella?

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Hi Emtbsan

I hope your slight silence is more to do with enjoying your cruise too much and not related to the frisky weather in the Med?

I have a friend on the two legs to Lisbon, and while she does have two legs of her own, one is not so good and she is currently walking with a cane, I hope she isn't struggling with the motion of the ocean. Solo lady of a certain age, blondish curly hair, no doubt in the bar of an evening pre-dinner - tends to be noticed.

We have had absolutely no issue with the slight motion of the ship, nor has our friend who is prone to motion sickness.

We have had enjoyable contact with Ken Fella who acknowledged our contribution to the Crew Welfare fund in person and also congratulated us on our milestone days.

The food continues to be superb. We have yet to go to a bar which is unusual for us. Yes, the Grappa bar is open when the ship is at sea, but this is a port intensive itinerary and will be until we leave Lisbon.

For anyone considering the truffle hunting shore excursion from Livorno, we cannot recommend it highly enough. We had a simply delightful day at the Savini Tartufi establishment with our guide Luca and his dog Giotto, Jr. Giotto actually did find two truffles which added to the fun. I also enjoyed seeing the locals who showed up to sell truffles to the Savinis but in a very surreptitious manner. One man arrived with truffles of a significant size probably worth several hundred euros each! We were also treated to a lovely luncheon which highlighted truffles and was accompanied by a very nice Tuscany red.

Our tour of the Prunelli Gorges in Corsica yesterday was nice but the guide was simply awful!

We took a 4 x 4 tour in Cagliari which involved a short hike. Many of the passengers on the tour felt that the hike was very difficult and some were unprepared to walk on anything but a sidewalk. Compared to our hikes in Cinque Terre, we felt that the hike was a walk in the park. Unfortunately it poured after the tour which scuttled our plans to walk around Cagliari.

Tomorrow, we will be in Portofino. Our plan is to go up to Brown's castle and then walk to Santa Margherita either through the hills or along the water. The weather will dictate our path. We hope to take the ferry back to Portofino if it is running late enough. Otherwise we will walk back.

The Venetian Society event was last evening. Only 187 of the 380 passengers are Venetian members. Two couples got certificates for 100 days and two for 500 days. There was one couple with 700+ days, another with 900+ days and one couple with 100 cruises (no idea how many days). The passengers are at least 60% American with the next largest component being English. There is a couple from Peru and one from France on board.

The ship does not seem at all full. I do not know if everyone is in the bar, eating late or eating in their suites, but reservations in LT have been no issue and the MDR is not full.

By the way, Nicolas Longin is the F & B manager. He is always a delight!

Thank you all for your good wishes.

Thanks so much for the update -- I've been waiting to hear some details which you have supplied - all good news.

See you soon !!!

I’m jealous...and I miss you and your handsome sidekick. Keep posting! Your reports are always balanced and wonderfully detailed. Hope you have put together a super Trivia Team. I remember “our” team on the Muse...not so hot in the beginning but brilliant in the end! Could it get much better than you, Master Echo and Wellseasoned? Nooo way!

We have had absolutely no issue with the slight motion of the ship, nor has our friend who is prone to motion sickness.

 

We have had enjoyable contact with Ken Fella who acknowledged our contribution to the Crew Welfare fund in person and also congratulated us on our milestone days.

 

The food continues to be superb. We have yet to go to a bar which is unusual for us. Yes, the Grappa bar is open when the ship is at sea, but this is a port intensive itinerary and will be until we leave Lisbon.

 

For anyone considering the truffle hunting shore excursion from Livorno, we cannot recommend it highly enough. We had a simply delightful day at the Savini Tartufi establishment with our guide Luca and his dog Giotto, Jr. Giotto actually did find two truffles which added to the fun. I also enjoyed seeing the locals who showed up to sell truffles to the Savinis but in a very surreptitious manner. One man arrived with truffles of a significant size probably worth several hundred euros each! We were also treated to a lovely luncheon which highlighted truffles and was accompanied by a very nice Tuscany red.

 

Our tour of the Prunelli Gorges in Corsica yesterday was nice but the guide was simply awful!

 

We took a 4 x 4 tour in Cagliari which involved a short hike. Many of the passengers on the tour felt that the hike was very difficult and some were unprepared to walk on anything but a sidewalk. Compared to our hikes in Cinque Terre, we felt that the hike was a walk in the park. Unfortunately it poured after the tour which scuttled our plans to walk around Cagliari.

 

Tomorrow, we will be in Portofino. Our plan is to go up to Brown's castle and then walk to Santa Margherita either through the hills or along the water. The weather will dictate our path. We hope to take the ferry back to Portofino if it is running late enough. Otherwise we will walk back.

 

The Venetian Society event was last evening. Only 187 of the 380 passengers are Venetian members. Two couples got certificates for 100 days and two for 500 days. There was one couple with 700+ days, another with 900+ days and one couple with 100 cruises (no idea how many days). The passengers are at least 60% American with the next largest component being English. There is a couple from Peru and one from France on board.

 

The ship does not seem at all full. I do not know if everyone is in the bar, eating late or eating in their suites, but reservations in LT have been no issue and the MDR is not full.

 

By the way, Nicolas Longin is the F & B manager. He is always a delight!

 

Thank you all for your good wishes.

We are on this cruise. The Prunelli tour itself was nice, but the guide really bad. We now know a lot about her family history, but less about Corsica. The best of her statements was „Corsica was not Christian B.C.“. LOL.

Just was able to get back on this site.  I will close this thread and join TTS live October 18 thread.

1 hour ago, Emtbsam said:

Just was able to get back on this site.  I will close this thread and join TTS live October 18 thread.

Come on over. The more the merrier.