Live: Silver Spirit Grand Pacific Voyage

[Silver Spectre]

The weather is better today and a little warmer, maybe 18c. Yesterday afternoon we ran into rain and it got even chillier.

 

Dinner in the MDR produced some excellent foix gras and both the lobster and the ribeye were very good.

 

The red wine front is a wee bit limited, the only syrah/shiraz in evidence is the Billi Billi, Dennis has gone looking to see if there is any Washington Hills syrah left, if there is I will requistion the lot!

 

Watched the first of the Artistes show's last night, very professional but somehow not quite the sparkle of the groups we have seen on the Cloud and Shadow. Anyway its early days.

 

There is a rumour that we have 120 Brits onboard.

[Herman The Cat]

It was certainly well attended, approx 80-90 people playing. The 26 alpabetical based questions worked ok, but there were some toughies in there as well. Agreed the mix of questions was good. We were about average.

 

At first I thought the alphabetical trivia would be easier, but that wasn't necessarily the case...:eek:

 

His bonus questions (ship/cruise themed) are a nice touch and weren't very easy...they were a bit tricky.

[Silver Spectre]

Gorgeous sunset tonight. Isn't life wonderful on the seas!

 

Oh, and shame about the brat onboard.

[WesW]

Thanks all for your Spirit Pacific Cross updates. Wellseasoned, Congrats for your trivia's teams win, still waiting for some pix tho.

[Emtbsam]

Wellseasoned - Belated Happy Birthday to Debbie. How was Le Champagne? Hope it was a good as on the Cloud in the Amazon.

 

I don't know if Brazilian Marcelo would remember us, but we thought he did a fabulous job in La Terrazza on the Shadow.

 

It is overcast here with a chance of snow (again). At least the Ravens won.

 

Hope your weather continues to improve so you have a great time in your first port. We loved the black sand beach in Nuku Hiva and saw some wonderful coral washed up on shore there.

[Wellseasoned]

This is the fourth sea day, beautiful weather today, much warmer. It's very relaxing aboard. The lecturers have been good. We particularly enjoy The musical theater talks by Herb Keyser. Had a great "lunch and learn" program by Chef David Bilsland today in Stars. The crew has been superb, pleasant and professional. Passengers seem happy. There is a small child aboard, we think maybe an officer's child. Hasn't bothered us personally (yet).

Emtbsam, Le Champagne was great. I had the lobster thermidor, Debbie had the lamb.

We've been walking our miles each morning to help counter the calories. Our team has been fortunate enough to win team trivia each day so far, but these things can reverse in a hurry. It all probably sounds dull, but it sure is fun when you are aboard.

For single malt fans, the Macallan which I requested months ago on the guest information form was in our suite upon boarding! As I've posted in the past, this has worked sometimes, sometimes not.

As Silver Spectre said, last night's sunset was spectacular. Here are a couple of photos.

 

Dieter

 

 

 

[WesW]

Bravo Dieter, very well done with posts and spectacular pix, love debbie in the background. Thank you...more please.

[Stumblefoot]

Stunning, stunning, stunning sunset pics Wellseasoned. Thanks for sharing!

[Herman The Cat]

Dieter, thank you for posting the amazing photos.

Looking forward to seeing more.

Have you had any special activities, parties, etc.? Are they doing anything for Valentine's Day?

[snookymom]

What fabulous pictures. Thank you do much for sharing.

[Silver Spectre]

Weather still getting warmer day by day. Had the crossing the equator ceremony this morning (although we actually cross about 4pm), which was a real hoot, and thanks to the guests who allowed themselves to be humiliated.

 

Captain made two jokes in his noon time announcement today, a new record.

 

Had dinner in Stars the night before last, food was ok, but not quite up to the standard from last year. The duo is pleasant, but thats all.

 

The afternoon bridge session are great, with up to 8 tables, and holding them in the observation lounge is a great idea. bathroom breaks are tough though, the nearest is on deck 9.

 

Venetian party tonight at 7pm.

[Wellseasoned]

Sixth sea day. Big event today was crossing the equator. Here are a few photos of the usual "ceremony". First time I've seen it without the slimed people going into the pool.

I'm told that of the 390 or so aboard, , all but about 80 Venetians. only 10 are disembarking in Papeete. And about 80 new passengers are boarding for the 19 day segment to L.A. So, we should be up to about 460. Last night the CD, Kirk Detwiler, did his show, which was quite good. He sings well and had a good sense of comedy. Tonight is the second and last formal night of this segment, Venetian Reception. Silver Spectre, which trivia group are you in? We'd like to meet you. Same with the other CCers aboard.

 

Dieter

 

 

 

[WesW]

Hi Silver, Wellseasoned (Dieter & Debbie) thanks for the on board reports and very nice pix of the pollywogs & King Neptune. And yes Silver do wish SS would put in bathrooms in the Observation Lounge at next Spirit refurb--awkward to trudge down two decks, unless you have a Silver Suite in the vicinity.

[Herman The Cat]

Wellseasoned, thanks for the wonderful photos. I was wondering if they did the equator-crossing ceremony!

Any pictures from the show? Yes, the CD is a very talented performer. We really enjoyed his shows (and Mr. Herman the Cat is not a fan of shows).

[Lottie A]

I think Kirk is a fantastic entertainer and hope he has a relaxing vacation. Will be booking a SS cruise just as soon as I know what ship he is on in the summer.

[Silver Spectre]

Kirk is loosing his voice, and admitted during trivia today (where the clue was MV Sliver Spirit Rocks My World) that he was on some steroid based medication, and was on a short fuse. Our Trivia team is average, however have come first in the duplicate bridge sessions two days on the trot!

 

Today's surprise was the tall guy on the 10th deck sunbathing lying on his front, and he had pulled his speedo's down so he could toast his buns.

[Stumblefoot]

Today's surprise... pulled his speedo's down so he could toast his buns.

Is that considered formal, informal, or casual?

[Ravenscroft]

 

Today's surprise was the tall guy on the 10th deck sunbathing lying on his front, and he had pulled his speedo's down so he could toast his buns.

 

Sounds as if SS is now attracting the type of guests that were apparently travelling on SB ships last spring ! :eek:

[palamoh]

Deiter your pics always amazed me, where were you on our last Capetown to Capetown Cruise a few weeks ago on the Wind? I do belive you could be the SS rep for pics for all their cruises.

[Silver Spectre]

Internet has been vile for the last two days. Better now thankfully.

 

120 guests at the hot rocks last night, must be a record.

 

Bum burner guy has been deemed way weird by a number of guests, and he is reading 50 Shades!.

 

Went to Nuku Hiva yesterday, lovely island, very friendly people. Surprisingly dry on one side, especially considering the amount of rain Papeete has had in the last 6 weeks. Beautiful local fruit and veg, including incredible 'grenade fruit'.

 

Kirk is having a mid life crisis and has now moved the evening shows to 9:45. First few days it was 10:15, then the 'wrinklies' complained and he made it 10. More complaints and even earlier still. Have not managed to see a show for 4 days now. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

[Wellseasoned]

Two days ago we anchored at Nuku Hiva after seven sea days. Beautiful island, very little infrastructure, limited tours and guides. The ship Paul Gauguin was also there. Then another sea day, today anchored at Rangiroa, a lovely atoll. Learned about black pearl farming which is very big around here. Great weather, hot and sunny. Our trivia team won the championship for the cruise segment ending in Tahiti Wednesday, and each person was given 100 prize points! Should be worth a very nice key chain (or maybe a leg lamp?) Tomorrow Moorea and tomorrow evening Papeete.

The crew has been outstanding and the voyage very relaxing. The average age of passengers seems about the oldest we recall, but most seem young at heart and there are younger age groups as well. The performers are good, but the standard shows are beginning to wear thin, as the old Jean Ann Ryan shows did after seeing them multiple times. Need some new shows. There are good individual entertainers coming and going for segments of the cruise all the way to L.A., and the singers are also doing individual shows, which adds variety. Chef Bilsland and his cooking demos and tutorials are a real treat, but I'm amazed at how many thumbs I apparently have in the hands on sessions.

Here are a couple of recent photos.

Dieter

 

Spirit and Paul Gauguin at Nuku Hiva

 

Spirit at Nuku Hiva

 

Sunset with ship Paul Gauguin

 

Spirit at Rangiroa

 

Extracting a (not very) black pearl

[WesW]

another wonderful post with magnificent sunset pix and Spirit in French Polynesia pix too..thanks so much Dieter.

[RachelG]

Enjoying your reports and pics very much!

[Herman The Cat]

Wow, what vibrant colors and wonderful photos. It seems you have been very lucky with the weather.

 

Yes, he is very generous with the prize points! You should be able to get a t-shirt or hat. We couldn't " spend" all our points so we saved them for our next voyage.

 

We anxiously await your next posts and photos!

[beepee1967]

Wonderful pics..!!!