Silver Shadow Panama Canal December 8-23

SYNOPSIS

We went on the Panama Canal voyage from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale on December 8 to 23 aboard the Silver Shadow. On the whole, it was a very nice journey, and we tried just about everything Silversea had to offer. The service was excellent, the mainly Philippino staff were jolly, even the officers were friendly. Within a couple of days, staff started to remember our names.

We could order food outside the menu with overnight notice. Caviar and foie gras were freely available at any time. We had one dinner at La Champagne, three at La Terrazza and one “course by course room service”. We had a galley brunch towards the end of the cruise, plus a special poolside dinner with a whole barbequed suckling pig, a large fish and entertainment by a local dance group in Columbia.

We attended the Venetian Society meeting and the captain’s farewell cocktail. We had a bridge tour and even a laundry room tour, both of which were interesting. Of course, the Panama Canal, the focal point of this voyage was spectacular, though the other ports of call were mediocre. With half of the days being sea days, the ship was in itself a prime destination.

With a few exceptions, this cruise had been excellent, in fact better than the one we remembered on this same ship three years ago. In the next several days, we will describe and discuss the various aspects one by one. Those who are interested in a full, detailed description of a regular cabin, please read the link below:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=112477&highlight=mexican+riviera

INTRODUCTION

We had only one Silversea voyage before, a seven day Mexican Riviera in December, 2004. Since then, we had been patiently waiting for another suitable opportunity. As we had crossed the Chunnel on the train from Paris to London in 2000, and we were not brave enough to try the Suez, we thought the Panama Canal, one of the three aforementioned man made wonders of transportation would be a great experience.

We had been looking for an affordable price. This particular, “pre-Christmas“ voyage was advertised at only 20% discount. However, for Venetian members, it could be booked at 40% discount if you asked several months before sailing, and down to a maximum of 55% off for last minute “Venetian value club rate”, which would be exceptional value.

The night before the voyage, the male cat had a “vitreous detachment” in one of his eyes (which he had once before several years earlier in the other eye). Normally, one would see a family doctor and take it from there. However, with fifteen days at sea and out of specialist help right ahead, for peace of mind, we went to the hospital emergency room (doctors’ offices were closed on Friday nights) and got home at 3 a.m. in the morning. Fortunately, just like the last time, there was no damage to the retina and it was safe for him to travel. So with hardly any sleep, we got up the next morning, took our short flight to San Diego, and boarded the Shadow within the prescribed 2 to 4 p.m.

The pier was no more than a docking strip, with several temporary tents set up for processing the passengers. As our taxi arrived, a couple of Silversea personnel came to greet us and helped with our luggage from the taxi door. We were given a cursory security check in the tent, where there was no line up, indeed no other passenger in sight. The Silversea staff took our check-in luggage, and helped with our carry-on luggage up the thirty some step gangplank directly to the reception counter at deck 5 of the ship. We got our digital pictures taken, handed in our passports, received a credit-card like identity card each (after registering our American Express cards, of course), and were accompanied to our cabin.

Our cabin attendant and her assistant soon appeared to introduce themselves and showed us three sets of toiletries, Bulgari, Aqua di Parma and Neutrogena, of which we chose a mixture. There was a bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte champagne, another bottle of Dom Perignon (presumably courtesy of American Express), was delivered a couple of days later. At fifteen days, this could be considered a medium length voyage, with staff and passengers getting well acquainted with one another. We will go to that subject later. By the second day, not just the cabin staff, but also the head waiters (and subsequently nearly all wait staff of the restaurants and even some “three-barred” officers) called us “Mr & Mrs Meow!” As only ordinary cats, we were a little flattered by such VIP treatment, though we decided that we might as well enjoy it while it lasted!

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Meow, I am looking forward to the rest of the story.

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THE SEA/WEATHER

Given the geographic location and the time of year, the weather and the sea could be considered average. It was cooler than usual in San Diego, at 60*F, right after a storm. As we headed south, it was in the 70s*F along the Pacific Mexican coast. It got to 80+*F at Guatemala, and at noon on the Costa Rican coast, it hit 100*F but dropped back to 80*F later in the afternoon. It was 80+*F in Columbia, while the temperature was nice in Fort Lauderdale, in the 70s*F.

The ship’s cabin television sets were still the old ones (to be replaced next month with new LCD sets). Channel 1 showed the view ahead of the bow, while channel 2 showed the local weather, wind speed and geographic location. The captain reported the nautical situation of the ship at noon every sea day. The wind force (as reported by the captain) varied from 2 (near calm) to 6 (moderately strong), while the wind speed (as shown on the cabin TV) varied from 6 km/h (4 knots) to gusts of 75 km/h (45 knots, 60 knots would be typhoon strength). The sea swell was mostly 5 to 7 feet.

Somehow, the motion of the ship did not feel directly proportional to wind speed. At times, at 20 km/h wind, it moved less comfortably than at 40 km/h wind. There were several types of motion, rolling, pitching, a strange “zig-zag jerking” and occasionally “sqeaking-warping”. In all, it was not too bad and there was no general complaint of sea sickness. The female cat took meclazine hydrochloride a couple of times while the male cat made do with dimenhydrinate (Dramamine). We did not miss meals because of it. Again, as usual, we found lying flat in bed the best prevention for seasickness. If you are asleep, you won’t feel the motion, unless of course, if it gets so strong as to throw you off your bed, which has never happened to us as yet.

THE SHIP

The Shadow was still very well maintained. Compared to a HAL ship and a Carnival ship docked next to it at San Diego, it looked so small and cute. Talking with a few fellow passengers, none of them liked any bigger ships. We mentioned Oceania, for example, they asked how big, how many passengers, we said 680 and the reply was too many! Quite a few aging passengers were mobility challenged and they especially disliked any increase in ship size or passenger numbers.

While on board, we asked about the newbuild in the works and were told that no physical construction had yet been started. We asked whether Yran & Storbraaten would again be the marine architect (which had not yet been announced) and were told that they would likely use the same people. So other than conceptions and intent of a newbuild, nothing is in concrete yet. This being the case, Silversea should seriously not consider a bigger ship with more passengers, and should instead think about an enhanced version of the Shadow/Whisper, with two elevators in front instead of the current one.

Given the physical width of the ship (and therefore also its length and height and overall size), and the need of a “one-aisle” cabin deck design with all “outside” cabins on each side (which is the most efficient and practical), it will be difficult to imagine a better and yet bigger ship. Moreover, with RSSC taken over by Apollo and Seabourn owned by Carnival, Silversea remains the only private cruise company, with full autonomy. Even Seabourn’s newbuild will hold more than 400 passengers, it will be nice for Silversea to be able to continue to claim the all under 400 advantage in the future.

From what we have heard, we got the impression that the launching date of a newbuild would likely be postponed. As it usually takes at least two years to get a new ship to carry fare paying passengers, it will likely be 2010 or after before the newbuild is ready. (Silversea is now busy with the purchase and renovation of a second hand expedition ship anyway.)

THE CABIN

As mentioned in the link above, the standard cabin was indeed a compact luxury hotel room with more amenities and trappings than a standard room in an average five star hotel. The marine architect, Yran & Storbraaten deserve a prize for such an elegant and efficient design. However, the Shadow was seven years old, and some wear and tare were inevitable, but these could easily be corrected/renovated.

For example, we found an obvious stain on the shear next to the curtain (it could easily be washed/changed). The curved desk's wooden edge was heavily nicked (it could be resurfaced and possibly replaced). The ceiling boards made strange sounds especially when the ship had those “warping” motions (this should also be fixed). The electric razor socket in the bath room had “loose contact” (the same was true three years ago) for 110 volt U. S. style plugs (and it was difficult to push such a plug in anyway). The toilet paper holder was perhaps designed for the smaller sized European rolls, and those large American rolls were difficult to use when they were full-sized (the holder should be slightly enlarged).

We are not trying to find fault but rather feel that we should help the maintenance department by letting them know of these issues (which few other people will ever mention) to tally the items to be checked out at the next dry dock. To keep our cyber anonymity, we did not mention anything to anyone while on board. By the way, the Seally beds which they just changed at the beginning of this year before the last world cruise was good enough.

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Hi, Glad it was a good one--the canal is something--when we did it we started in L.A.--down the Mexican Riviera--thru the canal--then severeal stops in South America to Aruba--the stops were all good! The ship was Sea Goddess with just 40 passengers--it was a BALL! We are looking far forward to Nov and 9 days back again on the Mexican Riviera--not an exciting trip, but EASY! Don

How many passengers on this cruise? Did you have your fare adjusted to the 55% discount?

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THE CREW/SERVICE

Overall, the performance of the crew was excellent. They worked so hard, the waitress you saw in La Terrazza in the morning also worked that night in the main Restaurant. The waiter serving drinks by the poolside in the afternoon also served in the Athenian Theatre at night. The same people seemed to work all the time and everywhere on the ship. They “span” round and round, taking orders, delivering dishes, reminding us of “honey bees collecting nectar”. Meals on this voyage were not slow, actually rather efficient. Besides, despite the hard work and the rush, they kept their smiles and good humour.

While we cats were poor in remembering names, staff members remembered us. “I remember you two from your last cruise three years ago!” “Good morning, Mr & Mrs Meow! How are you enjoying yourselves, is there anything we can help?” “Good evening, Mr & Mrs Meow! I remember you want a table for two.” All the way from four-barred officers to regular crewmen, even those we hadn’t come across before, said hello with a smile when they walked by us in the corridor. There was simply no “attitude” among the officers as some posters on this board had experienced in the past – perhaps we were just lucky or perhaps it was because we smiled at them too.

By now, the “changeover” of the crew was more or less complete, the majority of the crew were Philippinos, with significant fractions from South America and Eastern Europe. The atmosphere this time was different from the seven day Mexican Riviera voyage three years ago. Then, they tended to be a bit formal, while this time they were rather jolly, possibly a common character trait among Philippinos. Perhaps it was also a function of the length of the voyage. With half a month together on the ship and half of that being sea days, people might as well be jovial and friendly.

The cruise director Des King (his name was easy to remember) was multi-talented, multi-tasked and very friendly, a real asset to this voyage. The hotel director was also nice and approachable. We heard that one elderly gentleman was “hand lifted” by several crew members up the two storey high gangplank sitting in his wheelchair at embarkation. This was the kind of service that gave the physically challenged the assurance to take a cruise. When we finally disembarked at Fort Lauderdale, one Philippino crew member (we didn’t know his name, only that he was stationed at the wine storage during the galley brunch) helped with our four pieces of luggage all the way from the ship through the customs at the pier terminal, out across the street to our taxi. Sensing that his service was beyond the ship and therefore not “included” in the regular tips, we tried to give him one. He smilingly declined, saying that he was glad to help. Such was his spirit of service, he did Silversea proud!

One Oriental girl at the reception counter and one Philippino waiter usually stationed in the rear portside section of the main Restaurant were, in our opinion, somewhat “stiff” though. They were not impolite and did their jobs, but it would be preferable for front line service personnel to be more cheerful and eager. The Peruvian girl also at the reception counter and the aforementioned waiter’s “Mongolian” assistant were nice and helpful.

The captain was a middle aged man we met at the Venetian cocktail and the farewell cocktail. The navigation officer, a young Bulgarian three-barred officer gave us the bridge tour. A young two-barred lady officer took it upon herself on the special request of another passenger to bring a small group of thirteen through a laundry room tour. When we went out of our cabin to the corridor to listen to those public announcements, a one-barred cabin cleaning supervisor showed us that we could listen on Channel 1 on television in comfort inside our own cabin. They all seemed genuinely helpful to the passengers.

THE PASSENGERS / VENETIAN SOCIETY

As per the “passenger manifest”, we counted 302 passengers (a few passengers embarked and disembarked at different ports, perhaps on so called “personalized voyages” that this number might vary slightly from day to day). Among these 240 were from various parts of the United States, 26 from the United Kingdom, 6 each from Germany and Australia, 5 from Canada, 4 from South Africa, 3 each from Mexico and Italy, 2 each from France, Austria and Norway, and just 1 from Ireland. You could count all the children on board with the fingers of one hand. There were more octogenarians than those under thirty years of age. The majority appeared to be in their sixties and seventies. A half dozen were on wheel chairs while a score or more used walkers or canes of one kind or another. The fact that this voyage was pre-holiday and fifteen days in length probably contributed to its more mature clientele. We did not detect any difference in treatment for passengers in different categories of accommodation.

Of the passengers, 173 were Venetian Society members (repeat cruisers on Silversea). Thirty seven (including two cats) got their sterling silver Venetian pins together with their certificates in their cabins the night before the Venetian cocktail (being their second time on Silversea). Forty members had more than a hundred days, and those who completed their 100th day on this voyage were presented the Tiffany sapphire pin in the ceremony. Half a dozen couples had more than 350 days, with one couple completing their 350th day on this voyage presented the Tiffany ruby pin and a one-week free cruise voucher. On board were two American couples with more than 600 days and two British couples with more than 400 days.

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Really love your posts!

Another feline

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THE FOOD

Caviar and foie gras were served freely and liberally on demand. We had caviar perhaps eight times and foie gras perhaps four times in the fifteen days. We could and did special order items not on the menu twice, but we had to give overnight prior notice each time for them to defreeze and prepare the food. If you did not special order, you would be offered lobster tails twice on the regular menu in the ten evenings we ate in the main Restaurant, and king crab legs were served only at the galley brunch and the special poolside dinner. The food at this main Restaurant was good enough (and that was true also of all the meals on board), though after a while, you might feel a longing for home cooked food (eating at any kind of restaurants every meal for half a month could “take its toll”.)

As you arrived at the Restaurant, you would be seated within a few minutes, as there were literally more seats than passengers, and the waiting time was only for those in front of you in the queue to be led to their tables in sequence. Ladies were typically escorted to their tables in the arms of gentlemen waiters. Service was reasonably fast, and we did not remember waiting too long in between courses. Many people particularly liked the “zero-zero ice cream”, presumably with no added fat or sugar, low in calories and cholesterol, the type of desert that allowed you to indulge without feeling guilty. All in all, it was a pleasant experience.

As for La Terrazza, while there was no written rule on how many dinners you could book there, generally you could book only twice in two weeks. (If you do the mathematics, seven evenings per week times fifty guests each evening comes to three hundred and fifty passengers). If you booked more than twice, they would (pretend that it was full) and put you on the “waiting list”. By that particular dinner time, if they found vacant space, they would call you (or you should call them to ask lest they forgot you). When asked why La Terrazza would accept only fifty guests per evening while many tables were simply unused, the reason was the limited capacity of the kitchen. Apparently this kitchen was only one-sixth the size that of the main Restaurant, and preparing for dinners would take a lot more space than buffet breakfasts or lunches.

The Italian theme dishes offered here were nice, especially the extra virgin olive oil and the (slightly viscous) balsamic vinegar in place of butter. (These were of a quality higher than what they would give you even if you so requested in the main Restaurant). If you were to eat a similar full course meal in a high end restaurant on land, have a few drinks, add on the taxes and tips, it could easily cost you $75 per person or more. We ate dinners there three times in all.

La Champagne could hold perhaps twenty guests and we had not seen it full when we passed by. Here you could follow one of two schemes: pay $200 per person and take their five course meal with each course paired to their specially selected wine, or pay just $30 per person only for the meal and be prepared to purchase a bottle of premium wine from them per couple. The wine list ranged from $47 to perhaps $1,200. If you didn’t finish your bottle right away, they would deliver the remainder to your cabin the next day. In any case, you would also receive a nicely scrolled “menu” of what you had eaten as a souvenir. We tried La Champagne just once and found it quite nice (and not that expensive if you followed the second option).

The buffet breakfast and lunch were good enough, with the usual items. We did however found the Japanese sushi rolls wanting in quality, as this type of food should be prepared as it was consumed and not left sitting on a plate for hours waiting for people to select it. Be it at La Terrazza or elsewhere, while you could (special) order fresh squeezed orange juice, the type they served regularly appeared to be from bulk. You would select what you wanted yourself at the buffet tables, and a waiter or assistant (sometimes even the head waiter) would quickly pick up your plate and lead you to a vacant table. We always asked for tables for two and only once did we have to share a table with others (it was a windy morning and nobody wanted to sit “outside”.)

Room service was punctual and efficient. The food offered was similar to those in the Restaurant. You could order at any time. Once we ordered a pizza and unfortunately its bottom was all charred. Mishaps could happen, though a good chef should examine his product before sending it to the customer.

At regular dinner time, you could have “course by course dinners” served in your cabin. We deliberately tried it once for the experience. We asked that appetizers should come first, followed by the main course, and finally the desert. They followed our request faithfully, at half hour intervals for the three courses.

The evening before we set sail from Cartagena, we had this poolside special barbeque dinner. It was all around the pool on deck 8, with food towards the stern, a life band towards the bow and passengers’ dining tables all along both the port and starboard sides. The food was impressive, with a whole barbequed suckling pig and a large whole fish, both being “carved” for passengers who wanted them. The atmosphere was charming, and a group of local dancers came on board to perform for us. This was a memorable event, which we had not experienced on other ships before.

The day before the last sea day, we had the galley brunch. Everyone was invited into the mostly stainless steel clad kitchen and watched how the various cooks prepared our food. It was sparkling clean and well maintained, very reassuring for what we would eat. We could pick up what we wanted both inside the kitchen and outside in the main dining room, and again the “Silversea quartet” played to add to the atmosphere.

Thank you all for your kind replies. We really appreciate them.

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THE ENTERTAINMENT

The Athenian Theatre was the main venue for enrichment lectures and entertainment on this ship. There was usually a lecture of some sort in the afternoons, often related to the port to be visited the next day. Late in the evenings, after dinner, there would be a show, from piano recitals to a four string musical instrument performance to individual male or female singers to magic shows. The singing and musical performances were accompanied by the Silversea quartet (presumably they rehearsed some time before the shows). The pieces ranged from musicals to classics to pops and a lot of jess (having in mind the presumed preference of the age group on board). The performances were quite good but a bit monotonous, with only one or two performers (other than the accompaniment) at any given show, and not making full use of the full-fledged facilities of this albeit small but well tiered and multi-storeyed theatre.

Among the shows, those by the cruise director Des King and his wife were most interesting. He was the ship’s master of ceremonies, the public information announcer as well as a show performer. He is nice and talented, always smiling and chit-chatting with passengers.

We heard that due to public demand, Silversea was signing a contract to bring back those “production shows”. These shows will likely start this coming Fall. While not everybody would be interested in such shows (as many had seen them before), it would still be a good idea, as they would demonstrate the full capability of the theatre, probably the best on a sub-400 passengers ship from what we had read.

Other than this theatre, the Silversea quartet occasionally played in the main Restaurant (such as during the galley brunch). They played in the Panorama lounge on deck 8 at night after the shows for dancing, though few people joined (probably most would have gone back to their cabins to sleep). Also occasionally it would play on the bandstand on deck 9 above and in front of the pool area.

There were functions which we did not attend, such as trivia contests, bridge classes and physical exercise sessions. By the way, while the Observation lounge in front of the ship on deck 10 still spanned the entire width of the ship, its area on the starboard side was substantially reduced, being taken in by the gymnasium. There were many more exercise machines than three years ago, and different varieties of equipment too.

MISCILLANEOUS

Dress - Partly due to the geographic location of this voyage (warm weather resort like destination), dress tended to be less formal for the majority of the passengers. For all three formal nights, only about one-third of the gentlemen were wearing true tuxedoes. The others wore suits, some with regular ties and others with bow ties. Not all suits were in dark colours. Many ladies were in ball gowns while some wore pant suits. Most wore some jewellery, but only a few were eye catching. We hadn’t heard anyone talking about dress and it did not appear to be an issue at all (contrary to the periodic debates on this subject on this board).

Smoking – While there were no rules forbidding smoking in the cabins and balconies, for several hours following embarkation, the recorded announcements on televisions in the cabins kept repeating “…. We strongly recommend against smoking in the cabins and the balconies …. lighted cigarettes blown back to the ship by the wind can cause fires ….” (or similar phraseology to that effect). In any case few people smoked, we hardly noticed them at all and we did not smell any smoke through this voyage.

Computer internet usage – If you log in to the ship’s internet, be it for surfing or for e-mail, they would charge you by the minute log-on time, not data transmission time. The rate was 75 cents per minute, or you could buy one of the following packages: $45 for 100 minutes, $85 for 250 minutes or $250 for 1,000 minutes. The transmission rate was similar to that of a regular home telephone dial-up line, and not land based ADSL speed. If you were not a heavy user and wanted it mostly for checking e-mails, a quarter of an hour per day should be enough.

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We meet Des King and his wife on the Song of Flower some years ago. It's nice to hear they are still in the cruise business. Nice folks, as I remember.

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Fuel surcharge – We did not have to pay any fuel surcharge for our voyage, but those who book from now on will have to pay $10 per diem. We were told that the ship consumed some ten tonnes of fuel per day. Assuming an average of 300+ passengers, that would be 30+ litres per diem, and a $10 per diem surcharge would be tantamount to 30+ cents per litre surcharge. That would not be unreasonable considering the increase in fuel pricing through the past year.

CARBO SAN LUCAS

As the fuel barge for refuelling our ship was somehow delayed by two hours in San Diego, we departed at 7 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. on Saturday, 8th December. While the theoretical top speed of the Shadow was 21 knots, its maximum cruising speed was 90% or roughly 18.5 knots. Despite cruising at this speed, it arrived late at Carbo San Lucas, and our shore time was reduced (the sun set early at this time of the year, and it would be safer for all tenders to return before sunset). Moreover, somehow our small ship was anchored twice as far from shore as the large HAL Oosterdam (you would think that a small ship should be able to get closer to shore than a large one). The sea was somewhat rough, and the twenty minute each way tender ride felt really lengthy.

One middle aged man on our ship suddenly needed emergency treatment ashore. The ship’s doctor and several crew members took him down the tender in a wheel chair. He was still rather alert albeit with intravenous fluid hanging on his arm. They took him from the tender up onto shore and handed him over to a local ambulance. We did not know what had happened to that unfortunate fellow – life is fragile and anything can happen at any time.

As we had been to Carbo San Lucas three years ago on our Mexican Riviera voyage, we did not venture far from the tender landing and just wandered in the adjacent small “mall”. As usual, we bought a few postcards to send away (including to ourselves as the best souvenir of having been to a place) and a couple of “magnets”. We returned to the ship after only an hour ashore.

ACAPULCO

With ample time to sail from Carbo San Lucas to Acapulco with a sea day in between, the ship’s speed lowered to perhaps 16 knots. The ship docked at 10 a.m., and passengers walked down the gangplank from deck 4. There was an air conditioned terminal mall building with several dozen shops right next to the dock (the only port with such a facility for our voyage). We wandered for perhaps an hour here, and with the help of the young lady at the tourist help desk, we hired a taxi (actually an air conditioned Ford van) at $25 per hour for three hours.

The driver spoke workable English. He first brought us to that “diving cliff” and the shops nearby where we bought a local made sterling silver bracelet for $40 as our souvenir. He then took us through the local districts, showing us more shops. We were cognizant of his desire to gain commission on his passengers’ purchases, but luckily he was not pushy and let us decide on our own. Finally he drove through that shore side boulevard, the main tourist thoroughfare before returning to the dock.

Compared to the others, Acapulco was a more modern city in Central America. Locals who dealt with tourists spoke reasonable English and there was no need for interpreters. Volkswagens, mostly the locally made old Beetles were everywhere. We didn’t see many luxury cars and local housing was expectedly not as good as buildings along the shore side tourist area.

At 80+*F, it was not too bad in the shade but unpleasantly hot under the sun. Silversea provided everyone with free bottled water at the gangplank, and passengers even had the choice of ice chilled or room temperature ones. That was a nice touch, much better than mass market lines which would charge you for the water! We were careful not to eat or drink anything ashore, other than the ship provided bottled water. For just the few hours taxi excursion, that was quite alright.

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PUERTO QUETZAL

This voyage was generally on alternate sea days and port days, and the port stays were comparatively short on average. So after Acapulco, we had a sea day and docked at Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala the day after. We debarked on deck 3 (so no real stairs) and walked over a short iron-meshed bridge to the tourist centre, which was a large open hut with a conical roof. It was not air conditioned, and at 82*F was alright in the shade. Outside this facility, there was a make-shift market, opened only when cruise ships arrived, with perhaps fifty stalls selling the usual tourist stuff. The hawkers were rather “eager” when they saw any tourist walked by. Next to the stalls was a small “museum”, the only structure we saw with air conditioners.

On the edge of this market was a taxi stand. Here we met a chubby 14 year old boy who spoke reasonable English, who pointed to us a notice board showing local tours for one hour at $35. We agreed and got into a Kia air-conditioned (we made sure of that) taxi, with a local driver who spoke no English and the boy as the guide. The boy told us he was born in Los Angeles and went to school for some years in the U. S., but his divorced mother sent him back to his father in Guatemala a few years ago.

We were driven around town, and it was a shanty town, with old, some broken buildings, and probably the poorest port we visited on this journey. The locals seemed reasonably nourished though, as we did not see children with skin on bones and swollen bellies, as in those typical pictures from poor African countries. He showed us a local cemetery where the dead were buried under small “buildings” as if they were living. There was nothing attractive in this place. As the boy was nice and helpful, we gave him a $5 tip and saw him indulging on ice cream (of course, we dared not touch any local food). They took us back to the pier.

We bought a couple of “magnets” and some local hand woven souvenirs, and mailed back a few post cards (given to the ship’s concierge to mail for us). As it was easy to walk between the ship and this make-shift market, we went back to the ship for food before returning to the market for another hour of looking around. That was it.

PUNTARENAS

Another sea day and then another port docking, this time we were in Costa Rica. Silversea provided a trolley shuttle, for the perhaps a quarter of a mile between the ship and the shore, with a guarded gate at the shore side where there was a market. There were some buildings, with (open on one side) street side restaurants, shops and a number of vendor stalls. The locals as well as the tourists shopped in this area (it was a Sunday), and it looked less poor than Guatemala. The vendors were also more “passive” than in Puerto Quetzal. There was even a bank (which opened in the afternoon on this Sunday) and a hotel right across the street.

The temperature (as shown on our ship cabin’s television) briefly reached 100*F (but it didn’t feel that hot), which soon dropped back to 80*F. Again, as usual, we bought perhaps $20 of various local souvenirs. We spent a couple of hours here, and since there was no special tourist taxi stand (we were weary of taking just any taxi on the street in less developed countries), we did not venture outside this market area. However, as we missed the last trolley service back to the ship (somehow they stopped running more than an hour before the designated return to the ship time), we were puzzled as to whether we had to endure the long walk back. The gate guard hailed a taxi for us, he didn’t know how to charge us for such a short distance back to the ship, so we gave him $2, apparently he was satisfied. Despite poverty, most people even in developing countries tend to be decent, though tourists must still be wary of meeting those who are not when you are alone and away from help!

THE CANAL

Another sea day passed by, and we finally reached the climax of our voyage. The Canal consisted of three “locks”, with two consecutive 27 ft raising locks and a short passage followed by a 31 ft raising lock on the Pacific side, for a total of 85 ft. We stood outside the Observation lounge on deck 10 at the front of the ship with perhaps a hundred fellow passengers to watch the process and of course took pictures. We also went back to our cabin to watch the ship raised with the rising water level in the locks (and watching from a lower deck on the side of the ship gave us more “feel” of the ship’s “altitude” than from high up at the bow). The experience was spectacular, something everybody should do at least once in a lifetime.

After crossing the Pacific locks, and another couple of hours of slow sailing, the ship anchored at Gatun Lake. A short tender ride took us to the Gatun Yacht Club, where a group of young locals were singing “welcome, welcome” to all of us. Most of us purchased the bus tour (two air conditioned Hyundai buses for Silversea passengers, with two other empty Mercedes-Benz buses for we didn’t know who) to go to the Gatun Locks (on the Atlantic side). At this point, there were a couple of buildings, including a souvenir shop and a small HSBC stall (about the size of a large shower stall) with an ATM machine and an air conditioner to keep it cool. We bought some souvenirs and found that the only paper money used in the Canal zone was U. S. dollars, and the only Panamanian money available were coins.

Half an hour later, the same buses took us on a three-quarters of an hour drive through the Canal zone. This area was ruled by the United States until the turn of the millennium, and most houses looked American. It was probably the most developed area in Central America. A native guide on the bus told us stories about the Canal and Panama on the way. The bus did not stop and just went back to the Gatun Yacht Club, where the young locals staged an elaborate performance of dancing in local costumes, interesting material for videotaping.

After getting on board the ship, it continued sailing towards the Atlantic locks, which consisted of three consecutive lowering locks, again of a total of 85 ft back to sea level. It was early in the evening when that happened, and the sun was setting, though there were lots of lighting in the area. With the ship back at sea level on the Atlantic side, it sailed into the Caribbean Sea. Our prime goal of this voyage was thereby completed, and as there were only four and a half days left, we were nearing the conclusion of this journey.

… to be continued *** Happy New Year to All ***

Happy New Year to you also, Meow. We were on the voyage with you and continuing on. The quality and affability persists...we had a terrific Christmas Day and a very fun party last night (NYE) on the deck as we watched the fireworks in 3 cities over St Lucia. Glad you enjoyed the trip!

duct tape:

Thank you so much for your kind reply. You must be lucky folks to stay on the ship and enjoy your Christmas and New Year!

Also our thanks to DebbieH103, LaPaloma, Oregon50, Travelcat2 and NCCruzQueen for their replies. We hope we will get more comments and responses to our rather lengthy thread which will continue on for another couple of days!

:) Hi Meow!

I am also a Silverseas fan and will received my 100 day pin in May on the Wind. Just wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying your postings of your recent voyage.

I actually had two good friends on the same voyage who boared in Acapulco. They also totally enjoyed their experience.

Keep posting! Totally awesome!

Have you ever sailed SS from Lisbon to London. I am hearing that the seas can be rough. Would love your opinion. You seem to be the "Cruise Guru".

Thanks,

ScottToronto.:)

ScottToronto:

Thank you so much for you kind reply. We did see a group boarding the Shadow in Acapulco, perhaps they included your friends. Silversea has this "personal voyage" program, one can embark and disembark at any docking port with five or more days in-between, as long as cabins are available.

continued from above …

CARTAGENA

After leaving the Panama Canal, the next day the ship docked in Cartagena, Columbia. Silversea provided a shuttle van which took us to the terminal plaza perhaps a quarter of a mile away. There was a duty free shop where the female cat bought a hand woven silk scarf for $95 and a few post cards. Outside this shop (at its side door) was a taxi stand where a man who spoke workable English and presumably related to the local tourist organization took us to a taxi (there was a billboard notice right next which spelled out the taxi tour prices, and so it appeared legitimate). The taxi driver didn’t speak English but this man went with us as a guide. The taxi was a Renault Simple and we made sure it was air conditioned.

We followed their regular route which was for three hours, taking us through some local as well as tourist districts. The guide told us that due to internal struggles in Columbia, cruise ships stopped coming there for six years, and this (2007) was the first year cruise ships returned. (We didn’t know that before, if we did, we might not have the courage to take that taxi tour in the first place!) Fortunately, it was peaceful enough during our stay.

He took us to a hilltop, where there was a church, and where we could look down, to have a good view of the city. There was a man with a very tame but funny looking animal which they called “the lazy sleeper”. Without asking, that man put that animal on the male cat’s shoulder and took a picture of the two of us with that animal. He wanted a few dollars, which we gave him, no problem, but we were somewhat wary of catching diseases from that animal (it did not bite nor scratch, just sat on us for a minute like a baby monkey). Do any of you readers know whether that was safe?

Then we followed the shore line, and saw a wooden ship which the guide said belonged to the Columbian navy, they used it to train sailors and that ship would sail to Spain and back every year. Finally, as you have guessed it, they took us to an emerald factory shop. We were sure that they would like us to buy something but they did not pressure sell. Thinking that we should get something with emeralds to remember our trip to Columbia (we were not sure we would have another chance in future years), we bought a small emerald ring for $180 as a souvenir and used our American Express card for the purchase.

After that we returned safely to the dock, we took a careful look at the billboard, it said $70 for three hours and $60 for three hours with shopping which was what we paid. (Presumably, the taxi got a “cut” from your purchases to give you the $10 discount). Just after Christmas, a week after our excursion, we read several tourists were kidnapped by guerrillas again.

SANTA MARTA

The next morning, we docked at Santa Marta, another Columbian port. While the temperature was only 80+*F, possibly due to the high humidity and lack of shades shore side, it was stifling. Silversea again provided a van to take us the quarter mile or so to the terminal area. There were several shops there, but only the duty free shop was open. As the ship stayed at this port for only several hours, and we had been to Cartagena the day before, there was not much incentive to venture out.

Right next to the terminal strip was a dozen tent stalls selling souvenirs, and would you believe that there were no post cards! We bought a small stone carving. A man (and without a stall, just walking) wanted to sell us half a dozen uncut emeralds for $100, but we were not trusting enough to buy them from him. So we took the Silversea provided van back to the ship.

Another three days of sailing (including two full sea days), and we arrived in Fort Lauderdale. The sea was relatively calm except the very last night. The morning of Sunday, 23rd of December, we disembarked. Despite some delays (and we were not in a hurry anyway), the disembarkation process was smooth. So our voyage ended. We had a great time, and after several days at Ford Lauderdale’s Hyatt Regency Pier 66, we flew home.

INTERESTING DATA

The following are data copied from literature provided by Silversea:

From San Diego to Cabo San Lucas 747 knots

From Cabo San Lucas to Acapulco 678 knots

From Acapulco to Puerto Quetzal 574 knots

From Puerto Quetzal to Puntarenas 470 knots

From Puntarenas to Panama Canal 474 knots

From Panama Canal to Cartagena 267 knots

From Cartagena to Santa Marta 120 knots

From Santa Marta to Fort Lauderdale 1081 knots

Total distance sailed 4411 knots

Comments: For the total distance sailed, it was worth an Atlantic crossing. With so many sea days, it was like an ocean crossing in sections. In order to accommodate the varying distances between ports with quantum numbers of sea days, the speed of the ship varied from 12 knots to 18.5 knots.

Prices for items for sale in the shipboard duty free shop were typically 10% cheaper than in regular shops in Fort Lauderdale. In suite items could be purchased at a reasonable price, ask your cabin attendants. Dry cleaning costs on board were similar to on land.

… to be continued

Meow. Just so you can be nautically correct, distance is measured in nautical miles and speed is measured in knots. Thanks for your greats reviews.

Al

Thank you for your helpful comment!

P.S. "The World Book" dictionary, 1988 edition, page 1162, centre column, definition 7b for 'knot" says "a nautical mile; 6,076.11549 feet". Perhaps that word could be used interchangeably with nautical miles for "short", though I agree it would be more appropriate to use "nautical miles" for distances. I was just skimping on typing the long terminology more than half a dozen times in a row!

Loved your report..it was wonderful and reading it made me feel like I was there with you!! Thank you...

Jan

*****

Thank you so much Jan, for your kind comments. Happy New Year!

Thanks for the nice review, Meow! One small correction to what your guide in Cartagena told you. Cruise ships have been there more recently than six years ago. We visited Cartagena on the Whisper in 2004. We had a fine ship's tour as well as some independent taxi touring, no problems. Prior to docking, the Whisper held an educational talk on evaluating and buying emeralds, since Cartagena is "the place" for emeralds. It was a fascinating city!

We were in Cartegena on the Sea Goddess in the mid ninties, and had a marvelous time. When we were given the talk about the emeralds...3 tall beautiful cafe-au-lait toned women in black cat suits mingled and modeled the jewelry. Not only the men were mesmerized, but the women as well. They were so awesome, that we have talked about it for years. The CD on our ship was in his element as they put their arms around him for a picture. Lola

Thank you Wellseasoned and LaPaloma for your informative replies, you are probably right. We had no local knowledge of Cartagena, except what that guide told us!