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


RachelG
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9 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Thx Alithecat.  Very helpful!

 

Here’s another question for you... we’re one of those families who loves to dress up.  Seeing that casually elegant on an expedition ship equates to formal night on a classic ship, did you see any men in tuxedos or women in formal dresses?

 

I don’t want to be dressed to the nines if no one else does on board.

Stumblefoot..i was on the Cloud from Amsterdam to Dublin also...Like you, we prefer to dress up, with at a minimum a jacket.  We didn't bring ties, knowing this was more casual....But, don't be surprised when you see people in jeans.. which i could not believe that would be allowed.. .Along with people in polo shirts and t shirts.  This was in Terrazza...We didn't eat in the main dining room...Silversea needs to have a standard for minimum dress code...which obviously wasn't enforced.

 

PS - In one of our 2 nights in LaDame, they did turn someone away as they were wearing jeans, an untucked shirt and hiking boots. 

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On 5/28/2019 at 6:12 PM, RachelG said:

Don’t know what [Maeshowe] is, so apparently not.  

 

Sorry for the cryptic reference, Rachel. Maeshowe is a burial mound which you can tour. We missed getting in last time because the tours were full.

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When we were on the Cloud Expedition in Western Africa, we rarely saw men with jackets at dinner at any venue.  By the same token we rarely saw men in jeans at any venue as well.  It seems like Expedition cruises have a more relaxed dress code.  Rachel I hope I didn’t steer you wrong when I mentioned that George wouldn’t feel uncomfortable not bringing a jacket and tie.  

 

When we Go to Iceland and Greenland coming up in August on the Cloud, I don’t plan on bringing a jacket and tie.  I will have enough to pack. Never felt out of place with a nice pair of pants and a nice long sleeve shirt for dinner.  Nobody, from staff to guests gave anyone a weird look.  No “dress police” at any venue.

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6 hours ago, RachelG said:

We have been to most of these ports previously and to Iceland and the Faroe Islands.  Weather for us in Iceland has always been good.  The Faroe Islands were wet and cold.  I am going on the circumnavigation of Iceland cruise in August, so obviously I like it enough to return.  I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit the Faroe Islands again, but all the previous stops on the current cruise I really liked.  When we were here before, it was much warmer and not as many rainy days.  Weather is a crapshoot, as you point out.  But I would return.

 

Thanks for you reassuring words!

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JohnG, I can also reassure you that this Northern Atlantic itinerary is a special one. We have done London-NY twice - years ago with Princess. We have stopped at most of these places, including numerous stops in Iceland and Greenland. We went back a third time to do London-Reykjavik with Silver Cloud in 2014, before her conversion to an expedition ship. So the area has a lot of appeal to us.

 

The London northward route is historically very interesting as you can feel like you're experiencing the journey of the Vikings as they moved ever northward, through the closer islands to Iceland, Greenland, and finally Vinland. The older settlements on the Orkneys and Shetlands are really interesting too. We spent a full day on our own in Kirkwall, trying to get to all the old archaeological sites, and we did pretty well with our rental car.

 

We have done three land trips to Iceland - once in 2014 after the cruise, once in 2011 (in January, no less) and a brief stopover in January 2018. Iceland is amazing and worth multiple visits. So, we will be on the August Iceland trip this year as well, on Silver Cloud expedition, for yet another visit.  

 

Weather is usually blustery, damp, often rainy. But that comes with the territory. There is a reason that the grass is thick and green, and the waterfalls are always flowing vigorously. It's just part of the landscape. Bring a jacket and enjoy it! Such a beautiful part of the world.

 

And since you don't have to pack formal wear for an expedition cruise, you have extra room for a few warmer layers. We cruise on both the classic fleet and the expedition fleet, and we enjoy the different atmosphere on board each. We are always happy to pack a tux and nice dresses for formal nights on the classic fleet, but we are OK without that on the expedition fleet. I think it's a matter of expectations - if you go on the expedition ships expecting the same atmosphere as the classic fleet, you may be a little bit surprised. I really hope that you like it!

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May 30, 2019–Aberdeen Scotland 

 

We had a sea morning as the ship was not scheduled to arrive in Aberdeen till after 10 am.  George slept late while I attended the briefing for tomorrow.  At a little before 10, two tug boats met the ship to haul us up the very narrow harbor and into a busy, but again very narrow, industrial port.  The guys operating those tugs are experts.  I was really amazed at how they got us safely into such a tight spot.

 

It was very overcast and chilly, with the high projected to be 50F but felt cooler.  It had rained earlier, and felt very damp.  The city in front of us was grey.  Indeed, Aberdeen is called the Granite City because the buildings, at least the older ones, are made from the local grey granite.

 

Our plan for the day was to visit Crathes Castle then go to a farm where highland cattle are gown for beef.  We had a quick lunch in La Terraza prior to departure.  

 

Our bus took the group of 30 through Aberdeen, which appeared to be a quite prosperous town into the countryside.  The grass was green and lush, with lots of trees and beautiful plants.  We arrived at Crathes Castle which is a tower castle built in the 1500’s but which was inhabited until the 1960s.  It is really well preserved and surrounded by beautiful gardens with all sorts of flowers that would never make it in Oklahoma.  We had a tour of the interior first, which features some very unusual painted ceilings, then were able to visit the gardens.  Of course, it was raining, but not so hard that we couldn’t enjoy them.

 

We then went to a cattle farm.  Grace Noble raises highland cattle.  It is a good looking operation.  The cattle are very shaggy, with long horns, mostly a copper color, but some are black or red.  George was in his element.  He hand fed the steers that were getting ready to go become steaks.  We were able to sample some of her beef, which is grass fed like ours, and it was very good.  Very lean and tender, what we expect in beef.

 

Back to the ship, we had dinner reservations in town.  George wants to try more local beef.  Of course, there was a problem as this is an industrial port, and there were absolutely no taxis to be seen. No Uber in Aberdeen either.  I went to the front desk, and they were able to order up a taxi.

 

The taxi turned up, and we went of Vovum.  They specialize in beef.  We had great steaks, as well as salads, etc.  So delicious.   Then back to the ship to catch the Scottish music show brought on board which was excellent.

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6 hours ago, RachelG said:

May 30, 2019–Aberdeen Scotland 

Our bus took the group of 30 through Aberdeen, which appeared to be a quite prosperous town into the countryside. 

 

Aberdeen is the centre of the UK oil industry and has an economy that reflects that.  It's almost London prices there. Glad you got to Crathes Castle, one of the UK's finest gardens.  I'm also really enjoying your reports and regret the current lapses into the tedious dress code issue.  Almost every thread does this.  Anyway, carry on and I think you are about to enter better weather and much warmer temps.

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May 31, 2019–Eyemouth, Scotland

 

What with staying up after the Scottish show then having to get up early as our excursion was to be first off, we had a short night.  We awoke anchored off of Eyemouth, at the very southern end of Scotland.  This was a place famous for smuggling of spirits back in the day.  I could see the small town from the ship, and it looked inviting.  Fortunately the weather was warmer, about 60F and hazy.

 

We boarded zodiacs for the ride into the small harbor.  The tide was out, and we could see that it is a very large tide indeed based on the height of the moss and barnacles growing up on the sides of the concrete.  We boarded a bus for the short ride to St Abb’s Head where we were to hike.  21 of us in all, plus two park rangers.

Of course, it started raining.

 

St Abb’s Head is a nature reserve on the coast with very high cliffs and lots of birds.  We hiked on a pretty good path with fertile looking fields of winter wheat and canola on either side.  The path then started rising and going to the cliffs.  There were great views on all sides.  The only problem was the very large amount of sheep manure literally everywhere.  I am pretty good about staying clean in this sort of situation, as is George, but lots of others weren’t, and by the end of the hike, they had some really nasty shoes.

 

The cliffs were covered with birds, mainly guillemots, gannets, and kittiwakes, but others too.  The kittiwakes were very noisy as usual. We hiked onward past a lighthouse, then down into a valley beside a lock which is home to a couple of beautiful white swans who are incubating their eggs.  The ranger said the eggs should hatch any day.

 

Eventually, the path reached pavement.  There was a farmer driving a huge herd of sheep with the help of his expert dog.  The dog was really on top of things, keeping all the sheep, probably over 100, grouped tightly together and going in the right direction.

 

We ended up where we had started the hike, a distance of just over 5 miles.   The last zodiacs were scheduled for 12:30, and it was 12:15 by the time we got back to the port.  So George and I decided we didn’t have enough time to look around town.  We rode back to the ship and got lunch at the grill. I had really good artic char and salad,  but I stole some of George’s French fries and onion rings too.

 

When we finished eating, it was 1:30, and there were still zodiacs with passengers returning to the ship.  We wished we had known, as we would have liked to spend more time in town.

 

We had a lazy sea afternoon, getting some work done which took forever as Internet is so slow.  Dinner in the main dining room was excellent.  I had asparagus risotto and lemon sole.  Delicious!

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A shame about the pathetic internet speeds! I usually downsize my pics significantly before trying to upload and that often helps. Or I just upload when ashore, using my cell phone's international data plan. I don't remember it being this pathetic while on board the Wind last year. Oh well, maybe between all of us we'll get a picture or two uploaded in August!

 

Enjoying your posts even without pictures. 

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On 5/30/2019 at 10:24 AM, jpalbny said:

JohnG, I can also reassure you that this Northern Atlantic itinerary is a special one

 

Thanks for this, JP. We're only doing one major trip each year and I guess I was getting  cold (and wet) feet after reading Rachel's report. This particular Ireland to Iceland itinerary, with extra time pre- and post-cruise, will let us cross multiple destinations off our list. And yes, the cruise itself looks fascinating! We'll just pack accordingly.

 

This year's major trip is epic. We have 4 weeks in Northern Italy (Dolomites, Lake Como, Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Florence and Venice) and the Swiss alps followed by a Spirit cruise from Venice to Athens in October. Counting the days!

 

Hoe you're enjoying the early summer weather in the Capital District.

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Rachel:

 

thanks for all the great posts, and pictures when they can be uploaded.  Looks like a great trip for scenery, birds , and other creatures.  Glad the rain doesn’t hold you all back.

 

i was curious if you may have asked any of the expedition staff that may be going to Iceland, how many actual wet landings are anticipated?  If you have a chance and think about it maybe we can have some solid info before  arriving.

 

Thanks

 

by the way we have finally had some dry days in Tulsa so the River is going down.  Unfortunately more rain forecast for about every day next week.  Hope the weatherman is wrong, or at least no torrential rains.  Not so lucky some of the Arkansas towns that are having record flooding and levee breaches.  Awful!!!!!

 

enjoy the rest of your cruise.

 

Rich

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Rich: Wanted to make sure you knew. We didn't have any wet landings on the Amsterdam to Dublin leg but we definitely needed waterproof pants and jackets on the zodiacs. Even when the seas were relatively calm there was often water spraying up when the zodiacs were zooming along at high speed to get to the ship/shore. We brought thin waterproof jackets & pants that fit over our regular clothes. It was a bit of a nuisance to take them off and on at the docks and carry them in our backpacks, but worth it.

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2 hours ago, JohnGinPBG said:

This year's major trip is epic. We have 4 weeks in Northern Italy (Dolomites, Lake Como, Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Florence and Venice)...

 

‘If you don’t have all of your days mapped out yet in Northern Italy, I would encourage you to spend some time at Lake Garda.  I think you’ll find it much more serene and peaceful compared to Como.  One of the best hotels in the world is a perfect base too; Villa Feltrinelli

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Rich, I asked the expedition staff and they said possibly a couple of wet landings.  I am not planning on bringing waterproof boots.  But definitely will have waterproof jacket, pants and hiking shoes.  We have been to Iceland on Explorer and did not have any wet landings at all.

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Rachel and alithecat:

 

Thanks for your  quick replies to my question.  We will definitely have waterproof pants, jackets, etc.  Of coarse, we will be getting the parka when we arrive to the ship, but since we will be going to Iceland a few days before the cruise, we want to have proper clothes before we get to the ship.

 

just a couple of months now before we hop on a plane for our trip.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

If you don’t have all of your days mapped out yet in Northern Italy, I would encourage you to spend some time at Lake Garda.

 

Thanks for the tip. Looked at Garda, but Como worked out much better for us geographically. We go from Murren in Switzerland to Lucerne for a night, then train to Lugano and bus to Menaggio for a night then over to Varenna for two nights. Then down to Cinque Terre via Milan. Actually made all the reservations last July!

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 June 1, 2019–Hull England

 

I tried to post last night, but Internet was so slow that I couldn’t even post text.  And now my note, which I had composed off line, copied and pasted, has completely disappeared.  Very frustrating.

 

we had to go through a lock to get to the port in Hull.  It is a huge port, with lots of industrial business and enormous ferries which go to the Netherlands.  Ours was the only cruise ship.  The lock just is to get into part of the port.  Our ship just barely fit, with maybe a little over a foot on each side.  

 

Hull is a pretty large working town, though the downtown looked pretty nice.  Our excursion was hiking in the Yorkshire Wolds, with wold just meaning hill.  It was 7 miles but way easier than the previous day.  No cliffs or slick areas, and a well established trail.  Plus it was a nice day, partly cloudy with temperatures in the 60s and minimal wind.

 

We drove to a small town then hiked first through fields and fields of winter wheat, into a forest, then fields of sheep.  George and the guide rescued a ram who had gotten his head caught in a mesh wire fence.  His horns had him really stuck, and he was pretty upset, but they were able to free him.

 

we hiked through cute little villages, saw some red deer, lots of cattle, sheep and horses, got barked at by dogs, and eventually returned to our starting point.  It was very pretty and pleasant, but not difficult at all other than distance.

 

back to the ship, we had lunch at the grill.  The taboulleh salad up there is delicious, even though it has no taboulleh in it.  It is couscous.  But it is still good.

 

Trivia has been a bust this trip, with our team always coming in in 4th place—and yes, there are more than 4 teams.  Afterward, I went out and watched the expert transit through the lock, with a tug boat in front and behind, and the crew and captain communicating constantly.

 

it was the captain’s farewell, and the menu in the dining room was outstanding.  Hard to choose between lobster, scallops, beef Wellington, Oslo bucco, lamb chops, escargot, lobster bisque, mushroom soup, mushroom risotto, and that doesn’t even include the vegetarian options which also looks great.

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@rich48100

 

We were on the Amsterdam to Dublin cruise and are also on the Iceland trip - I'm pretty sure we aren't getting parkas like on other expedition cruises - just backpacks.

 

We didn't get parkas on the segment we did, and there's no size order form in the passenger info forms for Iceland, so I would plan to bring your own.

 

Sorry to see your cruise ending, Rachel. We would have loved all of that hiking! See you in August.

 

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lkbside, which cruises are you referring to? Are you coming to Iceland in August with us, or another cruise?

 

We were definitely able to order parkas for the 5 August 2019 Iceland cruise. I was surprised that they are included since Iceland really isn't an Arctic destination IMO, but they certainly seem to be.

 

Go here: https://silversea.shiptoshoretraveler.com/parkaorder2 and in the top box of the order form, it includes our 5 August voyage.

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12 hours ago, RachelG said:

 It was the captain’s farewell, and the menu in the dining room was outstanding.  Hard to choose between lobster, scallops, beef Wellington, Oslo bucco, lamb chops, escargot, lobster bisque, mushroom soup, mushroom risotto, and that doesn’t even include the vegetarian options which also looks great.

 

Incredible menu!  I’ll take one of each.  And, I like what autocorrect did to your post.  I want try “Oslo” Bucco someday. 😉

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13 hours ago, RachelG said:

 June 1, 2019–Hull England

 

I tried to post last night, but Internet was so slow that I couldn’t even post text.  

 

I was watching a youtube video earlier today, which auto-rolled onto numerous others, eventually catching my attention when they were looking at the RCI big ships and saying they had the best internet on the seas and even able to stream video without problem. It was using a low level satellite system and not the usual clark belt satellites. (It did explain it and give the name, but cant remember..... I did try yo look it up, but not shown in this link. I remember it was 3 and two letters though!

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