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Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

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By CCHelp ,
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Host Jazzbeau Great Review Rare

Host Jazzbeau

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16 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Now time to get busy planning the next trip - to the Azores in March for my birthday!

I hope you have a Happy Birthday, but IMHO March is way too early for the Azores.  We went in April and that was still too early.  The flowers that give each island its unique name aren't in full bloom until May.  [Can't you celebrate your birthday when the weather is more appropriate, like Queen Elizabeth used to do?]

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Grand Duchess

Grand Duchess

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7 hours ago, drron29 said:

We have had 3 cruises post pandemic. We feel the crew experience is actually better than it was pre Covid. But that is probably due to the fact that we are taking longer voyages. This year they have been 54 and 44 days,

On both cruises after the first few days it was rare to be asked for our room number. For example in Atlantide we sometimes taken straight from the queue to a table. And usually straight to the section served by Pablo on his first contract. He is excellent. 3 nights ago we went to Kaiseki for dinner. He noticed us going in and came over just to say hello.

 

What I have noticed is it is more common for SS passengers to behave badly. I was appalled on this cruise to see 4 passengers berate a sommelier (and yes he has completed sommelier training) for his lack of knowledge. He is from Zimbabwe. when he came to our table I just gave him a hug and said it wasn't your fault. The smile was amazing and I see it every time we see him.

 

And another breathe of fresh air is the Captain who boarded in Singapore.. captain Giovanni Schiaffino who comes from a village near Portofino. This is his first cruise with Silversea. The crew already love him. One example. I was doing my laps on deck 11 just before 7am - yes before the sun lounges were available to put your book on- the Captain came out onto the pool deck and talked to the crew putting out the lounges as well as taking the job of putting the tables beside the lounges.

The best part was at the Venetian society cocktail party. It was the wittiest captain's speech we have heard. He introduced himself and said he had to ask permission to attend as this was his first cruise and he had only 8 nights cruising with Silversea.

 

I will agree that the food offerings have gone downhill but there are exceptions. the steaks I have had on this cruise are the best I have had on Silversea.

Both sommeliers Vincent and Raymond have done an excellent job, they are genuine wine lovers and made us try something new every evening. And those smiles! Unfortunately, some people are just idiots, I have seen people treat staff (hairdresser) in the most appaling way on my recent cruise, too. Just sad.

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Will Work for Tiramisu

Will Work for Tiramisu

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For the serious oenophiles, an interesting article in The Oregonian about lots of Oregon wines appearing in top 100 lists of various Wine mags.  While Pinot Noir is the current calling card here, Oregon (who shares a lot in common with France such as latitude, ocean modulated climate, variety of soils & microclimates), is host to hundreds or thousands of wineries specializing in every kind of grape.  Some folks long in the local wine biz feel that Oregon will ultimately be better known for Chardonnay's and Pinot Gris's, in addition to already stellar Pinot Noir.  Southern Washington is also well on its way to being a major producer of good wines.  Global warming probably will make it more so.  

 

Me?  I slurp it all!  My DW & I this fall sprang for an Italian-made crusher-destemmer and an English hydraulic press, and are working on our first 10 gallons of wine of several varieties from vines we planted about 5 years ago.  The yield shot up this year, and I'm going to have to build stouter arbors to hold the heavy load of ripening grapes.  This is a back yard operation, so sorry, you won't be seeing our bottles on SS anytime soon! 

 

Oregon Wines Make a Splash on Magazine Top 100 lists: 

https://www.oregonlive.com/wine/2023/11/oregon-wines-make-a-splash-on-magazine-top-100-lists.html
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mysty "Live from...." Rare

mysty

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2 minutes ago, Will Work for Tiramisu said:

For the serious oenophiles, an interesting article in The Oregonian about lots of Oregon wines appearing in top 100 lists of various Wine mags.  While Pinot Noir is the current calling card here, Oregon (who shares a lot in common with France such as latitude, ocean modulated climate, variety of soils & microclimates), is host to hundreds or thousands of wineries specializing in every kind of grape.  Some folks long in the local wine biz feel that Oregon will ultimately be better known for Chardonnay's and Pinot Gris's, in addition to already stellar Pinot Noir.  Southern Washington is also well on its way to being a major producer of good wines.  Global warming probably will make it more so.  

 

Me?  I slurp it all!  My DW & I this fall sprang for an Italian-made crusher-destemmer and an English hydraulic press, and are working on our first 10 gallons of wine of several varieties from vines we planted about 5 years ago.  The yield shot up this year, and I'm going to have to build stouter arbors to hold the heavy load of ripening grapes.  This is a back yard operation, so sorry, you won't be seeing our bottles on SS anytime soon! 

 

Oregon Wines Make a Splash on Magazine Top 100 lists: 

https://www.oregonlive.com/wine/2023/11/oregon-wines-make-a-splash-on-magazine-top-100-lists.html

 

We may not be able to access your creations and we'd still be very interested in what your thoughts are about your wine! 😁  We love wines from Oregon and Washington State.   We have limited access here.   However,  when those wines appear at our LCBO we buy!    Best wishes for a wonderful production!

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Will Work for Tiramisu

Will Work for Tiramisu

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Our dipping of the toe into making something of our grapes is a real eye opener.  This wine making business is a lot of work, and complicated.  It's almost like you have to know what you're doing.  I asked a friend who is long in the business if he could recommend someone to help us, during time of harvest and crushing. He said, "Are you kidding?  EVERYONE who knows ANYTHING about processing grapes in Oregon is working 20 hours a day, until the grapes are harvested and initial processing is done.  It is one of those businesses where long periods of limited activity are interspersed with brief periods of all-hands-on-deck.  Sounds like the military!   Hurry up and wait!  So, we keep reading, and have a new appreciation for being able to buy a drinkable bottle of wine at Costco for $9.99!  (Oregon, Acrobat, Pinot Gris; grapes primarily grown at King Estates, outside of Eugene, Oregon, in Lorane Valley).

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drron29 "Live from...." Rare

drron29

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Here is the reason I don’t need a pet. My new butcher bird friend saw me when I started gardening today. Our first day back home. He came and sat in a frangipani tree near me and serenaded me for over 2 hours. I responded several times. He accompanied his singing with movement.

Here he is.

IMG_6410.thumb.jpeg.1e0cf5577b5b927930ea23f3deaa605d.jpeg

 

IMG_6413.thumb.jpeg.ccd75be9bd91048a1bf7f703a4db1337.jpeg

 

Even better I returned from our 8 week holiday including our 44 days on the Muse with only a 4Kg/9lb weight gain. 
Just as well as we are off on our next trip in 18 days.

PS sorry about the upside down Apple photo .

Edited by drron29
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ging466

ging466

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On 11/11/2023 at 6:55 AM, jpalbny said:

We had a magnificent sighting tonight! Lions are great and all. But nothing is as beautiful (to me) as a leopard. A gorgeous specimen. 

 

20231110_173558.thumb.jpg.065a51ec85b57397629100ae255c9802.jpg

 

20231110_174443.thumb.jpg.aedac1e7fe2d6e308be547893ddd128b.jpg

 

20231110_174601.thumb.jpg.8f458caabab4407ccdaa3d1c395b588e.jpg

 

Such a thrill to be in her presence. 

 

Just getting around to seeing your gorgeous pics JP.

I was there in September and the leopard is the only one I missed seeing. Our guides had found her but she was very badly injured and we all decided that we didn't want to see her in that ***** state. I did manage to see the African Wild Dogs several days running and the best was when 6 female lions walked right by my jeep. I could have reached out and touched one of them (obviously I didn't, I'm not a touron😀) but it sure was close. Africa is now in my blood and I can't wait to get back there in February.

 

Cheers

Jennifer

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jpalbny "Live from...." Rare

jpalbny

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1 hour ago, ging466 said:

I'm not a touron

 

What a fantastic portmanteau! I need to file that away for future reference. I also avoided the urge to pet the lions.

 

We had a very sad sighting in Linyanti. Lions kill cubs frequently and we came across the body of a year-old male cub who had been killed by the males of the pride. I think the guides were even more upset than we were, as they had just seen him alive and well the day prior. 

 

One thing that has changed in recent years is that male lions are banding together in a rapidly escalating "arms race". Whereas the usual MO had been one dominant male leading the pride, maybe two if they are brothers, now it's more common to see larger groups come together to take over and lead a pride. 

 

The pride in Linyanti was now led by SIX males in coalition. A very formidable force to be reckoned with. But this leads to more cub killing because no one male knows whether the cubs are really his. So they kill cubs more frequently, and mate with the females to try and produce their own cubs. And the cycle repeats itself. 

 

Another consequence of the larger lion pride is that they can attack larger prey. The large groups of males can easily take mature giraffes, and will go after hippos, and smaller elephants. And the more successful the lions are, the harder it is for smaller cats like cheetahs to eke out an existence. 

 

It's tough in the wild. We learned a lot and it's not all pretty.

Edited by jpalbny
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lincslady

lincslady

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I hope it is OK to recommend something from another line's posts.  I think the animal lovers amongst us would enjoy looking at Seabourn's Live from the Venture thread, page 3 post 58, for an unusual one minute  video - I found it thrilling.

 

Lola

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