Dublin to London aboard the Cloud—live—May 23, 2019 to June 4, 2019

[RachelG]

JUne 21, 2019–enroute

 

And we are off, on the way to Dublin to begin another adventure.  This will be our first  cruise aboard Silver Cloud.  We better like it because we have 2 future cruises booked on his ship after the current one.  

 

As usual pre-cruise, we had to have a bit of drama.  This time it was tornadoes.  Tornado sirens started sounding as I was taking my shower this morning.  They had been going off intermittently since yesterday afternoon.  I yelled at George to see where the tornado was, so I could decide if I had enough time to get the shampoo out of my hair and throw on some clothes or if I needed to just grab my robe and shoes and take cover.  Fortunately for our house, the tornado was north of us—headed directly for the airport!

 

The airport is unscathed, but lots of delayed and cancelled flights.  The 8:30 flight to Chicago was just leaving at noon when we arrived at the gate.  Our flight was delayed 30 minutes, so not too bad.  

 

Then more drama.  They changed the gate, and George received a text saying the flight was delayed another hour.   The sign at the gate said the same thing, so George said we should go meet our friends, who are also on this cruise but on another flight and were also at the airport, for lunch.  I said “I think that is a bad idea.”  Not that my opinion is worth anything.  

 

So we go meet them for lunch.  We are visiting and eating, thinking we have plenty of time, when George gets another text that the flight is leaving.  We run to the gate, but the flight is gone.  The gate agent is actually someone we have known for years.  I am in tears and made as a hornet at George.  She gets us rebooked on the same flight as our friends to Chicago, but in coach.

 

We know we will have to run to catch our onward flight.  Unfortunately we ran, but the train system at ORD was down, so our flight left while we were waiting for the shuttle to terminal 5.  We are now rebooked on a later flight, but i am totally stressed out.  And we have no idea where our luggage is.  No one can tell us.  If I have to go shopping in Dublin, it will not be cheap.

 

At any rate, I am looking forward to a new ship and a great cruise.  If anyone has any questions or wants info about the ship or cruise, let me know.  I will post daily if the Ship WiFi cooperates. 

Edited May 21, 2019 by RachelG

[mysty]

Really hope this all works out for you!  Nasty start to a new adventure!  Best wishes for a wonderful cruise!

[JohnGinPBG]

Wow,  Rachel. Rough way to start a trip!  Can't imagine living in such a tornado-prone area. At least here in Florida, we get a lot of warning when hurricanes are imminent.

 

As previously expressed, I'm extremely interested in hearing about your cruise. In about a year, we sail on the Cloud and visit the same first 9 stops that you have before heading to Iceland.

 

Hope your trip to Dublin works out well and eagerly anticipating your observations about the Cloud and the Scottish islands

 

 

[WesW]

Wow, Rachel yet another heroic cruise drama (remember our 2017 Voyager, Singapore to HK with your serious injury--yet u Soldiered on!).  Hope you have the Fairest of Seas and wonderful Following Seas.  Look forward to George & your impressions of the Cloud Expedition!

Edited May 22, 2019 by WesW

[RachelG]

17 minutes ago, WesW said:

Wow, Rachel yet another heroic cruise drama (remember our 2017 Voyager, Singapore to HK with your serious injury--yet u Soldiered on!).  Hope you have the Fairest of Seas and wonderful Following Seas.  Look forward to George & your impressions of the Cloud Expedition!

Yes, Wes, I well remember our cruise with my freshly broken shoulder.  And there was the cruise with the poisoned cat. etc etc, it is par for the course with us apparently.

[RachelG]

 https://www.facebook.com/1033702528/posts/10217037010170789?s=631403367&sfns=mo. You can see the airport tornado here.

[daddyo]

Rachel

Long time member, very rare poster;  we did this same voyage last year.  Great itinerary!  We especially liked St. Kilda.

Hope you have a great time!  

 

daddyo

[Unibok]

Wishing you a wonderful cruise, Rachel! It surely must get better.

[englishusa]

Enjoy Ireland. Knowing George, he has already kissed the Blarney Stone!

Is Moss still on board as CD and Zodiak driver?

[Sodashire]

If you can photograph any menus please from any of the venues please. I am very interested in the MDR menus for lunch and dinner. But any would be appreciated. I shall be boarding the Cloud in September

Thank you

[mysty]

Thank you for your very generous offer to respond to questions RachelG.  I know that this does cut into cruise enjoyment time.  I have a dear friend who will be boarding the Cloud on June 4.  My questions on her behalf are:

 

Is there a Cruise Director on the Cloud?

Are Silversea Prize Points awarded for activities and can they be redeemed?

 

Thanks so much for your valuable time!

[spinnaker2]

Rachel, hope you and George have a blast.

all is good if he has his chapeau!

[englishusa]

One of Silversea's best CD's is Moss Hills. He should be one of the CD's on Cloud rotation/

[RachelG]

MAY 22, 2019–Dublin Ireland

 

Thanks for all the well wishes.  And George does have his hat!

 

You will note that the post now says May which is the correct month.  I tried to correct the date on yesterday’s post, but CC wouldn’t let me edit.

 

Our flights from ORD to LHR and LHR to DUB were uneventful.  George is now paranoid about missing a flight, so we were at the gate in plenty of time for both.  I got a good amount of sleep on the TA flight even though I think BA business class is not as good as AA by a long shot.  

 

We arrived in Dublin where it was very cool and a bit windy.  I reconfirmed that bringing clothes for cold weather was smart.  Our luggage actually arrived with us on our flight, so a big relief there.  

 

We are staying at the Hilton.  Typical reliable Hilton property.  Nice area for walking around. 

 

We had dinner with some of our friends who are also on the cruise at a very fancy French restaurant called Amuse.  It was expensive but very very good.  Then had a quick stop by a pub, and now we are off to sleep.  Can’t wait to board tomorrow!

[Travelcat2]

Looking forward to following you on your journey but must say that we are surprised that you are on the Cloud.  We have sailed Silversea three times but avoided the Cloud due to its age and size.  Hopefully you will change my mind about it.

 

Also, since I am too lazy to look up your itinerary on the internet, I wonder if you will be in Southern or Northern Ireland.  We have been to both (land trips) and found Southern Ireland to be fabulous.  And, with the currency exchange, things are not as highly priced as they used to be.

[Stumblefoot]

Woah... what a start!  Glad to read George’s cowboy hat is intact.  And, for George's sake, glad to read your flights were uneventful and luggage arrived right on cue.  Otherwise, I was thinking, my little luggage fiasco this past February in Hong Kong would have been much cheaper than your lunch! 😉

 

Looking forward to following you along your voyage.  If time permits, find out all the little details we need to know for next January that will make for a super incredible Antarctic voyage.  No need to post them during your voyage as we can chat when you return home.

[RachelG]

David, George kissed the Blarney Stone a long time ago, and it hasn’t worn off.

 

travelcat, we are just in Ireland for a day—to get on the ship.  The voyage prior to ours had a lot of Irish ports, but we are sailing to Scotland tonight.  I love Ireland though and would like to have spent more time here.  

 

 

[les37b]

I expect you'll be getting to the Cloud real soon to board. I would be shocked if you didn't enjoy and honestly think you have nothing to fear on that front. We had hoped to book on for Lunch on the 4th June..... but meetings are taking place so got advised late in the day it was a no. We've something else up our sleeves, so all is not lost..... and it will be a re-union with the Wind instead.

 

Hope you have a great time and look forward to your views. Shame the sail in to London is at an ungodly hour...... But dont miss it..

 

 

Enjoy....

[rojaan19]

Glad things are heading in the right direction now Rachel !!   I  will be interested in your opinions of the Cloud as an expedition ship !  😃

[jpalbny]

Welcome to Europe and sorry to hear of your flight misadventure. Ugh! Looking forward to following along, and joining you in August!

[rich48100]

Wow Rachel, quite the adventure at the airport in Tulsa and beyond.  I was ready to go to our hidey hole in Tulsa, but we dodged a bullet and as you said, tornadoes went north.  Far too much excitement though.

 

Glad you made it to Ireland with your luggage and hope you will enjoy your cruise.  If Moss is still onboard as the cruise director he is great, and if he can also be on our Iceland cruise that would be fantastic.

 

looking forward to following your trip, and then really looking forward to being with you and George and others on the Iceland cruise.

[RachelG]

May 23, 2019–embarkation in Dublin Ireland

 

We had a great night’s sleep since we were fairly exhausted after the stressful events of the previous two days.  The Hilton was quite, and the bed very comfortable.  I awoke at 7 am, but let George sleep till 9.  Buffet breakfast in the hotel was very good, with lots of healthy options.

 

We then took off exploring.  The day was perfect for walking with the temperature about 60 and no wind or rain, slightly overcast.  The Hilton is right across the street from the modern art museum which is in a refurbished old hospital (beautiful 18th century building) and very extensive grounds and gardens.  Also walking distance to Phoenix Park, which is larger than Central Park in NYC.  We walked for 2 hours and barely scratched the surface.  And a reporter for the newspaper interviewed us for a travel article.  She even took our picture—I think she was attracted by George’s hat.

 

We fetched our luggage and hailed a cab to the port.  Our driver was a nice Irish man who has lived in Dublin his whole life, so he was like a tour guide, pointing out all the sights along the way.  Dublin seems to be in the midst of a huge construction project with cranes and new buildings everywhere.  

 

At the port, checkin was quick and easy.  Soon enough we had met up with some friends from previous cruises and were in La Terraza for lunch, a big buffet with nice self serve salad bar, a good selection of hot dishes, carving station, pre made sushi station, and a dessert and cheese bar.  You could also order pizza, which we will probably do a couple of times during the trip.  They had really good iced tea, something that has been a fail on some previous cruises.

 

Soon enough, an announcement was made that suites were ready.  We are in one of the standard suites which seems about the same as what we have had on Regent and Silver spirit.  Here is a big couch and 2 comfortable chairs, Big desk with mini fridge and some storage below but none above. TV is mounted on the desk.  Bed seems to be slightly larger than queen size.  The walk-in closet has lots of storage in drawers and for hanging, but hardly any room for shoes.  George’s 4 pairs took up all the floor space, so mine are up on the very top shelf.  I was particularly good, and only brought 9 pairs, which I think showed great restraint.

 

Bathroom is pretty small.  Larger than on Silversea Explorer for sure, but a one person space.  The shower is pretty large though, in the space where a tub once was, and has a nice bench inside.  Hardly any storage in the bathroom though. I am still figuring out how to arrange everything in there.  The balcony is a standard size with two chairs and a table.  No loungers.

 

Captain for this voyage is Adam Boczek, who we have sailed with many times before, and is one of our favorites.  Expedition leader is Schalk Botha, social director is Moss Hills, and hotel director is Petra’s Zarpanely.  These folks are all new to us.

 

Muster drill was at 4:30 in the panorama lounge.  We were packed in like sardines, as the number of guests exceeds the seating capacity of the lounge by quite a lot.  A lot of us had to stand.  I imagine they have it in that location for ease in loading the lifeboats, but George is pretty sure the number of people in there would have exceeded fire codes in the US.  Fortunately the drill was short and to the point.

 

Mandatory zodiac briefing was at 5:30, fortunately in the explorer lounge which has enough seats for everyone.  Then mandatory briefing for anyone doing kayaking.

 

Dinner in La Terraza with friends was outstanding.  Delicious food,good wine, wonderful company.  They bring out an antipasti platter with all sorts of small bites to share, along with a basket of different really good breads.   The rest is ordered from the menu. The pansotti with walnuts was particularly delicious.

 

Then we went to our room to catch up on all the flooding and tornadoes back home.  The tornadoes are bad, but the floods are worse.

[RachelG]

Pics from Dublin

 

 

[RachelG]

2 hours ago, rich48100 said:

Wow Rachel, quite the adventure at the airport in Tulsa and beyond.  I was ready to go to our hidey hole in Tulsa, but we dodged a bullet and as you said, tornadoes went north.  Far too much excitement though.

 

Glad you made it to Ireland with your luggage and hope you will enjoy your cruise.  If Moss is still onboard as the cruise director he is great, and if he can also be on our Iceland cruise that would be fantastic.

 

looking forward to following your trip, and then really looking forward to being with you and George and others on the Iceland cruise.

Stay safe.  I saw all the flood pics today.

[RachelG]

The La Terraza menu for tonight.  It does change.