Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[mysty]

18 minutes ago, mw8811 said:

Yes SS put on a shuttle to the Harpa Concert Hall about a 10 minute ride.       There are also taxis waiting on the dockside - all very well organized.      We will be embarking on the Whisper on 18th June in Reykjavik!

Thank you mw8811!  We will be on that voyage as well!  We board the Lady Whisper on May 22 in Amsterdam to London (Greenwich) then on the Reykjavik and back to London (Greenwich).  Hope to meet you!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's "thought for the day".....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[mysty]

55 minutes ago, mysty said:

Thank you mw8811!  We will be on that voyage as well!  We board the Lady Whisper on May 22 in Amsterdam to London (Greenwich) then on the Reykjavik and back to London (Greenwich).  Hope to meet you!

Correction.....we board May 25.  OOOOPS on my part.

[mw8811]

That would be great!    I just lurk on this board and post once in a blue moon - time seems to get in my way.       We did Norway and Iceland last July and had rain and snow the whole time and not an entirely successful time ship wise (not on SS I hasten to add) so thought we'd give it another shot having had some really wonderful cruises up there on SS.      Also DH wants to do the train in Flam - we have had three attempts so far and each one was cancelled by weather so hoping it happens this time.        May 25 I'll just be scrambling to assemble all the clothes etc and get everything ready for the sitter for furbaby!

[UpstateJan]

7 hours ago, mysty said:

Correction.....we board May 25.  OOOOPS on my part.

I'm jealous of Mysty (and Myster) as well as mw8811!   I loved Iceland.   Alas, I will be attacking the Canadian Rockies while you are storming the shores of Amsterdam.  Last time we took a cruise out of Amsterdam, we flew in a day early and did Delft & Den Haagen, what a joy!  We had a walking tour guide for The Haag, and he was wonderful - walked us to the place my family lived in the 1600s.   Obviously, there was a much newer house standing there, but still.  Its so nice when they go the extra to make it a memorable experience.

[mysty]

 

43 minutes ago, UpstateJan said:

I'm jealous of Mysty (and Myster) as well as mw8811!   I loved Iceland.   Alas, I will be attacking the Canadian Rockies while you are storming the shores of Amsterdam.  Last time we took a cruise out of Amsterdam, we flew in a day early and did Delft & Den Haagen, what a joy!  We had a walking tour guide for The Haag, and he was wonderful - walked us to the place my family lived in the 1600s.   Obviously, there was a much newer house standing there, but still.  Its so nice when they go the extra to make it a memorable experience.

Thanks Jan!  New territory for us.  Really looking forward to the adventure!  And you will love the Rockies trip!  Banff is awesome!

[spinnaker2]

Cheers to new adventures and to old adventures and repeat adventures!

 

 

[QueSeraSera]

9 hours ago, mysty said:

we board May 25

 

We're on board just prior to you Mysty, leave from Dublin May 15, arrive Amsterdam 5/25, and looking forward to it!

1 hour ago, UpstateJan said:

walked us to the place my family lived in the 1600s

That's so cool!

 

[mysty]

1 hour ago, QueSeraSera said:

 

We're on board just prior to you Mysty, leave from Dublin May 15, arrive Amsterdam 5/25, and looking forward to it!

 

Have a wonderful time Que!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[Lois R]

Good morning friends....well, these are my last 2 days of radiation.  This weekend was the worst as it was longest

time into the treatments....the skin under my arm is now peeling (which I have read is normal). And the Dr had

said the end is usually when it feels the worst.....(true).  So, today and then tomorrow...I was told it would take

a few days before I actually start to heal since the radiation lasts even after the last treatment is finished.

One of the good things about all of this----I didn't have to worry about "WORK"......and at least I will be feeling

better by the time I sail in April!

[rosepark]

On ‎2‎/‎23‎/‎2020 at 3:23 PM, mw8811 said:

That would be great!    I just lurk on this board and post once in a blue moon - time seems to get in my way.       We did Norway and Iceland last July and had rain and snow the whole time and not an entirely successful time ship wise (not on SS I hasten to add) so thought we'd give it another shot having had some really wonderful cruises up there on SS.      Also DH wants to do the train in Flam - we have had three attempts so far and each one was cancelled by weather so hoping it happens this time.        May 25 I'll just be scrambling to assemble all the clothes etc and get everything ready for the sitter for furbaby!

 

We went to Norway last year and did the Flam railway trip by ourselves. The SS excursion did not go to the end of the line but stopped at the penultimate station where guests had coffee and cakes and waited around for about an hour before catching the train back down to the port. We decided that the last thing we needed was more food so we did our own thing at a much better price and the SS trippers got on our returning train. Those with whom we spoke said they would have preferred to go on to the end of the line than have the stop for refreshments as they felt they were just hanging around, rather aimlessly. We did pre-book our tickets quite a bit in advance to be sure of getting them.

Just  thought if you are prepared to be a little adventurous.

Rp

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[frantic36]

On 2/20/2020 at 1:31 PM, TLCOhio said:

Fortunately our tender took us directly to Paihia and then we caught a ferry over to historic Russell that had been New Zealand's first capital.  Then we got "more daring" with a motorcycle ride around the area to see the top highlights and sights. This included from high vantage points, including for one location where Queen Elizabeth had visited during her first NZ visit.  It's called "Queen's Point".  Sounds good!!   See a few, quick visual evidence items below.  Yes, the motorcyle was "air conditioned".   Excellent fun!!  Perfect weather, temperatures and super sunny to start our cruise!!  

 

Terry, your recommendations turns out very lucky. Our upcoming Seabourn cruise has been changed to Auckland for embarkation with a stop in Russell. So I will wait awhile to make sure nothing changes but if it is correct we will contact the HOG 🙂.

 

Julie

[Lois R]

Hi friends......Last day of treatment!!!!!!

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[TLCOhio]

On 2/26/2020 at 12:18 AM, frantic36 said:

Terry, your recommendations turns out very lucky. Our upcoming Seabourn cruise has been changed to Auckland for embarkation with a stop in Russell. So I will wait awhile to make sure nothing changes but if it is correct we will contact the HOG 🙂..  Julie

 

Great news for Julie that your upcoming cruise will be stopping at Russell and the scenic Bay of Islands.  Let me know if I can provide any added background info, tips, etc. 

 

On our current 18-day South Pacific cruise, he biggest mystery and "NEWS!" relates to . . . where in the world are we headed now???  Since our stops in BOTH American Samoa and Western Samoa had to be skipped due to local fears and concerns (legitimate) about the protection of local populations from virus potentials and dangers, it was unclear where we would go and what we would do to fill those gaps in our schedule as we headed to Tahiti.

 

Now we know!!  It will not be Tonga, Niue or the Cook Islands.  We will be heading to Huahine!!  Where??  It is an island located in French Polynesia, just east of Bora Bora and Raiatea/Taha'a.  See the map below.   Per Wikipedia, the 2017 census shared that Huahine had a population of 6,075.  So our ship with around 650 passengers, plus crew, will arrive and boost their population by about 18%.  Captain James Cook arrived in Fare Harbour on July 16, 1769, with Tupaia navigating HMS Endeavour. Tey met with the leading chief and Cook returned on  September 3, 1773.  We are awaiting to see what tour options the ship will offer and the best independent tour options we can find on such short notice.  Anyone having had an experience and/or tips for Huahine?

 

SEA-DAYS??!!:  We will now have four days at sea in a row.  More than we expected!!  Another challenge for the ship will be in keeping the passengers happy and occupied during a trip when we expected only a maximum of two sea-days in a row at any one time.  The challenge?  For us, it is seeking potential excursions that might be different and unique compared to what we will be doing on the following three days for Bora Bora and Raiatea.  We already have some very good private tour options set on these two highly-rated stops where we had months to research, plan and reserve.  It is all part of the "ADVENTURE" to see what works out and to be exploring a location that is not as often visited.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

South Pacific/New Zealand live/blog with many visuals at:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2735732-live-terryohio-“new”-regatta-south-pacificnz-pix’s/
 

Below are a couple of "preview" visuals for which I will be posting much more during the next couple of days on my live/blog on the Oceania CC Board.  Any guesses as to what is connected with both to these pictures?:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

 

 

With the red dot/pointer on the right, it shows the location of Huahine in French Polynesia.  It is just east of Bora Bora (left) and Raiatea/Taha'a in the middle of this map from Google.  It is a distance of about twenty miles from Huahine to Raiatea.  All fairly close and handy.:

[frantic36]

2 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

Since our stops in BOTH American Samoa and Western Samoa had to be skipped due to local fears and concerns (legitimate) about the protection of local populations from virus

 

Terry, I have been following your blog and enjoying reading it. On our now Auckland to San Francisco cruise in May we are due to visit both American and Western Samoa so it will be interesting to see if we can go there or if not where we will end up. 🤔

 

Travel is an adventure that is for sure. 

 

We have friends who are on Silver Muse who are following you. I have gotten some photos from them and it looks like the weather has been glorious.

 

Julie

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[Lois R]

Hi friends, Terry, love the photos

 

Hi JP.....missing your food photos too.

The Dr prescribed me some more cream for the area of my skin that is peeling, silverderm (short name).  It is

thicker than the moisturizer and it is supposed to help prevention of infection on the burned area (I am sure you

already knew that).  So the healing will still take some time but looks like this is normal.

 

[jpalbny]

Thanks, Lois. That silver-based (Silvadene) cream has been around forever. It is the best for raw skin like burns, as you said. I have a tube of it around somewhere for just such emergencies.

 

I have been lazy about posting. We were in New York last weekend; decided last-minute and booked a hotel on Wednesday, for Friday and Saturday nights. We drove down Friday after work, made good time, and checked in.

 

I'd bought the cheapest room at the Conrad, downtown in the Financial District. They upgraded us to a room with a nice river view. We walked about 10 minutes to Eataly and were early for our dinner reservation, which we enjoyed very much!

 

Saturday AM, breakfast was included (thanks AMEX, for the upgrade to Hilton Gold status, so that perk is thrown in). No crummy "continental" breakfast here. It was a real meal, and quite tasty.

 

Later in the morning, we walked the whole southern tip of Manhattan, then went to the half-price tickets booth (they have a branch downtown at the South Street Seaport which is way less crowded than Times Square). Decided to see something off-Broadway at 5PM - a show about the history of drinking, with drinks included!

 

From there we took the subway up to 8th street, for lunch at a Ukrainian restaurant that Chris used to go to as a kid. Great stuff, but "stuff" being the theme if you want to eat there. My "mixed Ukrainian grill" plate was huge, and I was so full that we walked from 8th all the way to 36th, to see the Morgan Library. From there we wandered to Bryant Park and sat in the last few rays of sunshine, before going to our play.

 

It was cute, and the drinks were actually pretty good. Then we went back to our hotel to have dinner next door, at the French marketplace (Le District). The service was kind of slow and the pace of ordering and serving was odd, but the food was delicious. Still, it was hard to eat everything because we were full from lunch.

 

Sunday morning we went shopping at Eataly, bright and early, then had breakfast at our hotel again. We grabbed a few items from the French market, which opens later than Eataly, before driving home. A very enjoyable weekend, and The Conrad is definitely on our list for a return visit.

[Lois R]

Hi JP, sounds like you had a really fun weekend.....oh Silvadene LOL.....ok...spelled it wrong.

Not sure it is even doing anything.....I don't massage it in like a moisturizer but it seems to go into the skin.

And I surely hope I am healing properly. I have multiple areas that are pretty raw...…..the nurses said it is

normal and time is really the only thing that will do the most help.  I didn't know how much radiation truly

burns the skin.....well, this kind of radiation anyway.    I know the sun burns you too but this is

really deep

[TLCOhio]

2 hours ago, frantic36 said:

Terry, I have been following your blog and enjoying reading it. On our now Auckland to San Francisco cruise in May we are due to visit both American and Western Samoa so it will be interesting to see if we can go there or if not where we will end up. Travel is an adventure that is for sure.   We have friends who are on Silver Muse who are following you. I have gotten some photos from them and it looks like the weather has been glorious.   Julie

 

Appreciate the nice comments above from frantic36 and Lois.  We are now in the second of four sea-days in a row.  Personally, sea-day are not my top favourite, but we will survive.  Then we will have five straight days in four different French Polynesia ports.  It will be a busy, fast-paced closing for this 18-day cruise.  Yes, it has been fun to see the Silver Muse in three different ports here in the South Pacific. 

 

Just talked with our ship's General Manager.  Per his info, everything is "101%" OK on this ship.  No fever and/or health problems reported or happening now.  Good news!!  As to potential port closings, his view is that for French Polynesia, those chance of any closings now is very slim and unlikely to happen. Tourism is big, BIG for this part of the South Pacific, especially in and around Tahiti.  Of course, conditions could change, but for now, things look good and solid for us making all of our next four ports and being able to fly home on the evening of March 5 from Papeete.  Later in the Spring and Summer?  Clearly, this worldwide situation is challengingly plunging into unknown territories.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

South Pacific/New Zealand live/blog with many visuals at:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2735732-live-terryohio-“new”-regatta-south-pacificnz-pix’s/
 

Below are a few, quick sample visuals from our fun in Fiji, including a Firewalker program, plus a tribal performance.  Love the message on this board at a bar at the Pacific Harbour location near Suva, Fiji.  Great to be checking WHISKYPedia!!:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

 

 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[Lois R]

Good morning friends, Mysty, LOVE that one