Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[Lvshack]

11 minutes ago, Emtbsam said:

Davey - We were treated very well in Honfleur.  I speak tolerable French (French major in college and junior year in Paris) so I use it whenever possible.  We were surprised that French tourists far outnumbered English speaking tourists despite the Silver Spirit and an MSC ship having shuttle buses there.  I had a lovely conversation with a French shop keeper about Panama hats.  DH had purchased one in Montecristi and another in Quito, so we enjoyed looking at the very fine ones she had.  
 

Mont St Michel was a lot of steps indeed plus we walked about 4 miles from the bus to get there and back.  Today was a walking tour in Guernsey and I had to laugh when we did stairs in the castle.

 

Fingers crossed that the storm in the Gulf of Mexico misses our house at Alligator Point.  That would not be a fun birthday present!

Just a quick question..how is the ship looking & service so far ?.. I know it's not the cooler I should be asking the question.. 🫢

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, Lvshack said:

Just a quick question..how is the ship looking & service so far ?.. I know it's not the cooler I should be asking the question.. 🫢

Officially, "nothing is Off Topic in a water cooler thread."  So I guess that on-topic posts are also allowed!  😀

[Emtbsam]

2 hours ago, Lvshack said:

Just a quick question..how is the ship looking & service so far ?.. I know it's not the cooler I should be asking the question.. 🫢

Ship looks great.  We have an excellent butler and cabin attendant.  Sommelier in Atlantide is quite good as is the bartender in the Obs Bar.  Some service has been a bit amateurish, some has been surly, most has been well-intentioned.  It is hard to say whether it is we who are becoming bored with it or whether there has been a general decline.  It is probably a bit of both.  In any event, I do not have to cook for the next 40 days, so I am happy.

[Lvshack]

41 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Officially, "nothing is Off Topic in a water cooler thread."  So I guess that on-topic posts are also allowed!  😀

👍

[Lvshack]

5 minutes ago, Emtbsam said:

Ship looks great.  We have an excellent butler and cabin attendant.  Sommelier in Atlantide is quite good as is the bartender in the Obs Bar.  Some service has been a bit amateurish, some has been surly, most has been well-intentioned.  It is hard to say whether it is we who are becoming bored with it or whether there has been a general decline.  It is probably a bit of both.  In any event, I do not have to cook for the next 40 days, so I am happy.

Sounds great..still one of my favourite ships in the fleet... Looking forward to boarding on 25th Oct.. enjoy your 40 days .. 😊

[Dolcevita Diva]

4 hours ago, Emtbsam said:

Fingers crossed that the storm in the Gulf of Mexico misses our house at Alligator Point.  That would not be a fun birthday present!

Fingers crossed for you! The latest forecasts are not looking good for this one. 

[QueSeraSera]

Monday night at the cooler.  It seems no one has any political or commercial agendas.  Just nice and/or informative comments.  We are traveling and seeing the world, or maybe just a spot down the road, or a park nearby and enjoying good food and wine where we find it.  Nice place to be.

[mauimary]

9 hours ago, Lirio said:

 

In Portland, the conference and working, but we had the opportunity to visit the Japanese Gardens and Rose Gardens. While I was busy, husband took a boat for a day trip in the Columbian River which he loved.

 

Saturday, we took the car again and travel to the cost, Cannon Beach, Indian Beach (we did the trail between the 2 beaches, great!), Seaside and Astoria, just to cross that huge bridge. In front of it, Celebrity Edge was on port.

 

All in all, we liked everything. Next year’s conference will be in Porto Rico, not as exciting as US, but it is what it is.

Glad you had a successful working/vacation trip. Not very often do I see Portland Oregon mentioned.  It’s where we live. .Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast is our favorite coastal town. It is beautiful and one of the more quintessential beach towns. Very nice that you were able to partake in the Seattle Experience as well. 
 

We will be jumping on the Celebrity Edge that you saw over in Honolulu next week for 45 days of cruising.  

[drron29]

Well here's another good food story. I really like pickled onions and the best I have found come from Tasmania. they do get some relabelled as Blue Banner pickled onions and finally the supermarkets are stocking them on our Sunshine Coast so I can enjoy them again particular the ones with chilli.

 

However a visit to their factory just outside Ulverstone is a grat stop if going past.

https://www.tasmanianpickled.com.au/

 

Their restaurant is excellent. They serve wines from grapes grown on the property. But if you are going past there  from late December to early February there is a better place for desserts especially if you like cherries. You can see the place on the hill behind the factory.

Perfecta cherries. They are part of the same produce company which was taken over during Covid but by a local Tasmanian farm family. At Ulverstone the cherry shop makes a lovely cherry ice cream. Since the takeover they no longer have a separate website for the cherries.

Edited Tuesday at 12:05 AM by drron29

[mysty]

We're currently on our way home.  Stopped in Peterborough for the night.   Lovely,  clean, quiet hotel.  Again, I am impressed with the thoughts, stories, suggestions and support from the Cooler Denizens.  You strive to make this Cooler a fun and welcoming place to visit!  Kudos all!  🥰

[DavyWavey70]

2 hours ago, mysty said:

We're currently on our way home.  Stopped in Peterborough for the night.   Lovely,  clean, quiet hotel.  Again, I am impressed with the thoughts, stories, suggestions and support from the Cooler Denizens.  You strive to make this Cooler a fun and welcoming place to visit!  Kudos all!  🥰

May the road rise up to meet you M. Have a great trip back. 

[drron29]

 

 

 

[zqtchas]

[jpalbny]

Mmm! I'm making orecchiette with sausage and broccoli for dinner tonight.

[QueSeraSera]

Had something nice happen to me today, unbidden, just found this to try to explain the feeling I was left with.  Wishing you all a similar experience in the days ahead.

 

[mysty]

5 minutes ago, QueSeraSera said:

Had something nice happen to me today, unbidden, just found this to try to explain the feeling I was left with.  Wishing you all a similar experience in the days ahead.

 

 

Beautiful @QueSeraSera!  Thank you! 🥰

[Lirio]

On 9/23/2024 at 8:45 PM, mauimary said:

Glad you had a successful working/vacation trip. Not very often do I see Portland Oregon mentioned.  It’s where we live. .Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast is our favorite coastal town. It is beautiful and one of the more quintessential beach towns. Very nice that you were able to partake in the Seattle Experience as well. 
 

We will be jumping on the Celebrity Edge that you saw over in Honolulu next week for 45 days of cruising.  

We enjoyed Portland and the food. We went 3x to Jake's Famous Crawfish and 3x to Higgins! Walking distance from hotel.

[DavyWavey70]

2 hours ago, QueSeraSera said:

Had something nice happen to me today, unbidden, just found this to try to explain the feeling I was left with.  Wishing you all a similar experience in the days ahead.

 

Smiles travel miles QSS. I’m a firm believer in smiling at strangers in the Hope they’ll pass them on. Unless they’re from down south of course where they’re just think you’re a weirdo. 

[rojaan19]

 

When  you leave your plane in a rough neighbourhood  !   🤣

[drron29]

1 hour ago, DavyWavey70 said:

Smiles travel miles QSS. I’m a firm believer in smiling at strangers in the Hope they’ll pass them on. Unless they’re from down south of course where they’re just think you’re a weirdo. 

That's no problem for me as I know I am a weirdo. But I do feel good when someone smiles back.

[Hlitner]

On 9/23/2024 at 7:45 PM, mauimary said:

Glad you had a successful working/vacation trip. Not very often do I see Portland Oregon mentioned.  It’s where we live. .Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast is our favorite coastal town. It is beautiful and one of the more quintessential beach towns. Very nice that you were able to partake in the Seattle Experience as well. 
 

We will be jumping on the Celebrity Edge that you saw over in Honolulu next week for 45 days of cruising.  

Drove through that area, once, and it certainly is beautiful.  But our fondest memory of the area happened a bit further south at the Tillamook factory where we had the best grilled cheese sandwich...ever :).  

[rojaan19]

[drron29]

It's Official. Silversea no longer considers past guests Esteemed.

 

2 emails received tonight AEST announcing the first 2 of 5 cancellations.

 

+Dear Guest,

 

We trust this email finds you well. Today, we are sharing important news regarding your January 06, 2026, Silver Muse voyage.

Silver Muse’s deployment shouldering her 2025/2026 Africa & Indian Ocean season is being updated due to geopolitical conflicts in neighboring regions. As a result, we can no longer offer this season and must regrettably inform you of the cancellation of your January 06, 2026, voyage. 

We are very sorry for any inconvenience and disappointment this news may bring. The time and effort you took to plan your travel is important to us, so we've put together some alternative options that we hope will work for you and those in your party. First, we will issue you a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) for the total amount paid to date on your booking and invite you to apply this FCC to one of the following scenarios:"

 

So our 15 and 17 day Indian ocean cruises can be swapped for 1 of 3 Muse Med cruises in January 2026.

Option 1: Move to one of the below 10-day Western Mediterranean voyages on Silver Muse in 2026:

Departing on January 4, 2026, from Lisbon to Civitavecchia (Rome):

• Exploring Casablanca, Tangier, Malaga, Barcelona, Marseille (Provence), Genoa and Livorno (Tuscany). 

Departing on January 14, 2026, from Civitavecchia (Rome) to Barcelona:

• Sail to Naples, Palermo, an overnight in Valletta, La Goulette, Cagliari and Valencia.  

Departing on January 24, 2026, from Barcelona to Civitavecchia (Rome):  

• Visiting the ports of Valencia, Cagliari, an overnight in Valletta, La Goulette, Palermo and Naples.  

       What you’ll receive:

•  A 15% saving, limited to one new booking per cancelled booking made on or before October 31, 2024.
• This offer will be applied after any other promotion or discount and is not offered to Net Deals (fare code NT and NX).
• The promotions, discounts, or concessions made available on the original booking may not be available on the new booking and will be forfeited in case of future cancellations or voyage changes.

 

But you can also switch to the early 2025 Spirit Indian Ocean cruises.

Option 2: Re-book on any Silver Spirit voyage sailing to Africa and the Indian Ocean in 2025:

 What you’ll receive:

• A 15% saving, limited to one new booking per cancelled booking made on or before October 31, 2024.
• This offer will be applied after any other promotion or discount and is not offered to Net Deals (fare code NT and NX).
• The promotions, discounts, or concessions made available on the original booking may not be available on the new booking and will be forfeited in case of future cancellations or voyage changes.

Not really practical as we had a May Muse cruise that has disappeared from the website and not even waitlisted. But we still haven't heard officially from Silversea that it has been cancelled. So we have a short trip in February and a longer trip late March until May so those timings don't work for us.

 

So maybe option 3 or just go with option 4. cancel and money back.

 

Option 3: Re-book on any other 2024/2025/2026 Silversea voyage:

What you’ll receive:

• A 10% saving, limited to one new booking per cancelled booking made on or before October 31, 2024 (Full World Cruise/Grand Voyage excluded).
• This offer will be applied after any other promotion or discount and is not offered to Net Deals (fare code NT and NX).
• The promotions, discounts, or concessions made available on the original booking may not be available on the new booking and will be forfeited in case of future cancellations or voyage changes.

 

Looking at 5 straight cancelled cruises the offers will have to be substantially better if they want to retain our custom.

[mysty]

26 minutes ago, drron29 said:

It's Official. Silversea no longer considers past guests Esteemed.

 

2 emails received tonight AEST announcing the first 2 of 5 cancellations.

 

+Dear Guest,

 

We trust this email finds you well. Today, we are sharing important news regarding your January 06, 2026, Silver Muse voyage.

Silver Muse’s deployment shouldering her 2025/2026 Africa & Indian Ocean season is being updated due to geopolitical conflicts in neighboring regions. As a result, we can no longer offer this season and must regrettably inform you of the cancellation of your January 06, 2026, voyage. 

We are very sorry for any inconvenience and disappointment this news may bring. The time and effort you took to plan your travel is important to us, so we've put together some alternative options that we hope will work for you and those in your party. First, we will issue you a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) for the total amount paid to date on your booking and invite you to apply this FCC to one of the following scenarios:"

 

So our 15 and 17 day Indian ocean cruises can be swapped for 1 of 3 Muse Med cruises in January 2026.

Option 1: Move to one of the below 10-day Western Mediterranean voyages on Silver Muse in 2026:

Departing on January 4, 2026, from Lisbon to Civitavecchia (Rome):

• Exploring Casablanca, Tangier, Malaga, Barcelona, Marseille (Provence), Genoa and Livorno (Tuscany). 

Departing on January 14, 2026, from Civitavecchia (Rome) to Barcelona:

• Sail to Naples, Palermo, an overnight in Valletta, La Goulette, Cagliari and Valencia.  

Departing on January 24, 2026, from Barcelona to Civitavecchia (Rome):  

• Visiting the ports of Valencia, Cagliari, an overnight in Valletta, La Goulette, Palermo and Naples.  

       What you’ll receive:

•  A 15% saving, limited to one new booking per cancelled booking made on or before October 31, 2024.
• This offer will be applied after any other promotion or discount and is not offered to Net Deals (fare code NT and NX).
• The promotions, discounts, or concessions made available on the original booking may not be available on the new booking and will be forfeited in case of future cancellations or voyage changes.

 

But you can also switch to the early 2025 Spirit Indian Ocean cruises.

Option 2: Re-book on any Silver Spirit voyage sailing to Africa and the Indian Ocean in 2025:

 What you’ll receive:

• A 15% saving, limited to one new booking per cancelled booking made on or before October 31, 2024.
• This offer will be applied after any other promotion or discount and is not offered to Net Deals (fare code NT and NX).
• The promotions, discounts, or concessions made available on the original booking may not be available on the new booking and will be forfeited in case of future cancellations or voyage changes.

Not really practical as we had a May Muse cruise that has disappeared from the website and not even waitlisted. But we still haven't heard officially from Silversea that it has been cancelled. So we have a short trip in February and a longer trip late March until May so those timings don't work for us.

 

So maybe option 3 or just go with option 4. cancel and money back.

 

Option 3: Re-book on any other 2024/2025/2026 Silversea voyage:

What you’ll receive:

• A 10% saving, limited to one new booking per cancelled booking made on or before October 31, 2024 (Full World Cruise/Grand Voyage excluded).
• This offer will be applied after any other promotion or discount and is not offered to Net Deals (fare code NT and NX).
• The promotions, discounts, or concessions made available on the original booking may not be available on the new booking and will be forfeited in case of future cancellations or voyage changes.

 

Looking at 5 straight cancelled cruises the offers will have to be substantially better if they want to retain our custom.

 

WOW!  The offers are underwhelming!  I hope they come up with something more rewarding!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....