Shadow across the top of the world

[Silver Spectre]

Suffering from Japanese Internet prohibition so only have a small window to post before going home.

 

God, Jimmy K has been really devious at Trivia on this trip, but excellent nevertheless.

[Travelcat2]

Thank you so much for all of your posts!:)

[WesW]

Duct Tape, don't care if you're one of the wrinklees, your posts on this SS board are invaluable, thank you.

[Silver Spectre]

ging466 and SilverSpectre, thanx so much for your posts. I have been on the Cloud and waited until home to catch up on CC. Sounds like a great trip. Geez, I guess I am one of the wrinklees!...and pleased to be!..it sure beats the alternatives. Fair winds and calm seas as we say on the water.

 

Apologies dt, technically I am also a wrinklee.

[Silver Spectre]

Whoops, didn't mean to upset anyone.

 

Arrived in Tokyo this morning and apparently it has been raining since yesterday evening and it is not forecast to stop until tomorrow afternoon. They have had a dry summer here and really need the rain.

 

Disembarkation was extremely smooth, if a little delayed. Sad to say goodbye to both old and new friends, both guests and staff.

 

We had 145 guests and 263 crew, so this was a pretty quiet trip. Trivia was outstanding, as was the bridge.

 

Captain also gets off today and flies home to Genoa, and is replaced by the Panama Box captain.

[ging466]

Hey, I was one of those wrinklies and I'm not a wrinkly (I don't think) :D

 

I'm at Narita now waiting for my flight home to Sydney. It was a great cruise, even though the weather wasn't that great.

 

Raining cats and dogs in Tokyo and during our city tour this morning, a lot of us didn't want to get out of the bus and get drenched....me included:)

 

Can't wait to pick up my kitty, Phoebe, tomorrow.

 

It was a real pleasure meeting Mr & Mrs Silver Spectre. We had a super Trivia Team.

 

Cheers

Jennifer

 

P.S. I'll write a review and put it in the Review Section when I get a chance.

[WesW]

Thanks Jennifer/ging466 and Silver Spectre for taking us along you Shadow/Asia voyage. Please, have a safe journey home.

[philipb]

Hi Jennifer. Have only just latched on to this thread and seen your posts. Sounds like you had a good time apart from the weather. I will ring you next weekend after you have had time to re-acclimatise to Sydney. Philip.

[RachelG]

If you get a chance, would you tell us a bit about the stops in Japan. Thanks!

[Silver Spectre]

If you get a chance, would you tell us a bit about the stops in Japan. Thanks!

 

Stopped in Hakodate, a large port city on the southern tip of the northern Island, and finished the trip by getting off in Tokyo.

 

Currently at Narita on my home and will post more later in the week.

[Travelcat2]

Did anyone attend any of the culinary classes/lunches/shopping visits? Do you recall which ports they were held?

 

Thanks much.

 

Jackie

[Nigella]

Hi Jennifer, glad that you had a great cruise. It does seem that your butler Allan is the same lovely and very helpful chap who was our butler on the Spirit. We gave him a special mention in our comments form.

[Silver Spectre]

Did anyone attend any of the culinary classes/lunches/shopping visits? Do you recall which ports they were held?

 

Thanks much.

 

Jackie

 

Hi TC2, the only market visit was in Hakodate, which was absolutely fascinating, and included David fishing out a live cuttlefish and then eating a raw, wrigling tentacle immediately after it was killed. He did three lunches (all the same) in Le Champagne, again excellent. Didn't go to any of the clashes, one of which was cancelled because of bad weather. He also participated in all of the cooking shows, again excellent.

[CruisinPashmina]

Can anyone please tell us who are the Maitre D's in the MDR and in La Terrassa? Who is the CD? We'll be boarding the Shadow on October 13 for a B2B...Tokyo to Bangkok. Thanks!

[ging466]

U can read my review here:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=109544

 

Sorry about the crazy typing in the La Terrazza paragraph. Phoebe must have trodden on the keyboard and I didn't realise. :D:D

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[duct tape]

ging466, really enjoyed the review and appreciate the time it took to organize it and then do it. Glad you had a good trip. We will probably never do that one since everyone I have met who has done it, complains about the seas and the weather. You're a trooper! (That is a good thing here in the States).

[RachelG]

Thanks for the review, Jennifer. The explanation we received for the carafes of water rather than bottled water was that they were trying to "go green". Don't know if that is really true or just an excuse for money saving, but that's what we were told.

[duct tape]

I think it's true. SS has purchased and installed, on each ship, a sophisticated desalinization and filter process for water. It obviously gets rid of plastic bottles, decreases their refuse and tastes good too!

[Silver Spectre]

Can anyone please tell us who are the Maitre D's in the MDR and in La Terrassa? Who is the CD? We'll be boarding the Shadow on October 13 for a B2B...Tokyo to Bangkok. Thanks!

 

Gilbert is the MD in the MDR, cannot remember the name of the guy in La Terrazza, but he is brand new to SS.

 

Jimmy K is the CD, and his trivia has gotten pretty mean. He should have gotten off in Tokyo this time, and may be getting off when you get on.

[Silver Spectre]

I think it's true. SS has purchased and installed, on each ship, a sophisticated desalinization and filter process for water. It obviously gets rid of plastic bottles, decreases their refuse and tastes good too!

 

Except there is still bottled water available for the gym and the jogging track.

[Silver Spectre]

U can read my review here:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=109544

 

Sorry about the crazy typing in the La Terrazza paragraph. Phoebe must have trodden on the keyboard and I didn't realise. :D:D

 

Cheers

Jennifer

 

Excellent and well balanced review Jennifer, and thanks for the plug.

[ging466]

thanks for the plug.

 

:)

 

Can u resend the friend request on FB as I didn't get it? I can't find your email address...My post to u got deleted overnight.

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[WesW]

Echo Silver Spectre's excellent review comments Jennifer, delight to read, balanced, esp enjoyed that personal touch--mentioning by name in your review of the crew and pax that went above & beyond & mildy below (e.g. Prof Herb singing of somewhere over the rainbow).

[zigtraveller]

Many thanks to ging466 and SS for the informative posts about this cruise, and for the cruise review. I am thinking of doing this cruise in 2013, so read this thread with interest.

 

ging466 in relation to the Tokyo tour and transfer to NRT, can you recall what time you arrived at NRT? Trying to estimate how much waiting time at the airport I will have before checkin for QF22 would open.

[ging466]

Many thanks to ging466 and SS for the informative posts about this cruise, and for the cruise review. I am thinking of doing this cruise in 2013, so read this thread with interest.

 

ging466 in relation to the Tokyo tour and transfer to NRT, can you recall what time you arrived at NRT? Trying to estimate how much waiting time at the airport I will have before checkin for QF22 would open.

 

Hi zigtraveller

 

We were dropped at Narita at 1500 and the Qantas check-in opened at 1700.

 

Narita has free wifi so the 2 hours passed very quickly for me. :)

 

Cheers

Jennifer