Silver Wind London to Copenhagen 6/22-7/6+ Norway Questions

[jollyjones]

2 hours ago, les37b said:

 

Have fun... Enjoy winning Triv 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry Les, the video was fine, I was just tired!

 

Started out yesterday in only second place - there's one red hot team, they may be unbeatable. Our team is chrism23 (USA), clarky (4 Aussies), two others from USA, and myself (mid-Atlantic). A bit short on Europeans but there we are.

 

All might change after next Sat when Colin gets off and Allan returns so the questions will be a little different. Allan is on the Shadow unexpectedly because of Kirk's departure from SS; Colin is staying on here a week longer than scheduled, now he has to fly home to Paris from Tromso rather than London - he's not thrilled about that.

 

And Jimmy K is moving up to HD, so SS must be running a little short of CDs ...

[les37b]

57 minutes ago, jollyjones said:

All might change after next Sat when Colin gets off and Allan returns so the questions will be a little different. Allan is on the Shadow unexpectedly because of Kirk's departure from SS; Colin is staying on here a week longer than scheduled, now he has to fly home to Paris from Tromso rather than London - he's not thrilled about that.

 

And Jimmy K is moving up to HD, so SS must be running a little short of CDs ...

 

I wonder if we will find out when the dust has settled what’s going on? 

 

Give Colin my regards... i did have a chat with him at the Tower on the 9 June prior to the start of the cruise before yours. The storms he predicted did materialise for the last part of the TA like he was fearing with waves going over the ship!  TTS can testify to that! I still wished I could have stayed on regardless, though our room may have been a little crowded! lol

 

 

[torst]

As someone on land this summer I was hoping to live vicariously through this cruise on this board.  Did it two years ago and loved it. 

 

Details please, sights seen, weather food etc 12 months until we sail again.  Thanking you all in advance

[jollyjones]

Not been in the mood to post as the cruise isn't going well, for me at least.

 

Food in MDR not up to usual standard - different Exec Chef from prev sailings (Joseph??) - some dishes OK but some terrible. This is my third cruise on the Wind this year and it's a very noticeable deterioration.

Weather not helping - cold, cloudy and grey, and lots of rain,  altho' I can see a few blue bits today so maybe it'll improve.

Ports rather dull. Hoping that will improve at Tromso tomorrow.

No thought given to those of us crossing the Arctic Circle for the first time, it wasn't even mentioned from the Bridge, I had to ask to find out when we were doing it. (Midnight last night)

And, the huge elephant in the room, at Flam SS started tendering too late and WE MISSED THE TRAIN.

They have given us all sorts of explanations but it doesn't alter the facts.

I hate tendering, I hate coach rides, I just love trains, particularly scenic routes, the Flam train was to be the highlight of this cruise. AND SS MADE ME MISS IT. 

 

So, although just one thing won't completely ruin my cruise, the train fiasco coming at the first port has severely dented my enjoyment. Generally if a cruise doesn't go well I look on it as an excuse to do the cruise again some day, but I doubt I'll be back this way in a hurry.

 

[les37b]

Yikes, that’s disappointing. The Flambana no longer something I need to worry about as your cruise was meant to be the last possible for the Wind. Weather is no ones fault, but let’s hope the food situation improves!

 

 

[brimary]

Hi Jolly Jones...Sorry to hear of your disappointments on your current Wind cruise particularly the Flam excursion you missed as a result of SS failure to get you there in time.I hope you have been generously compensated for missing the Flam railway which we know from experience is special.We completed three back to back cruises on the Wind as you joined your present cruise and our MDR experience was as follows...First cruise we enjoyed superb service and the best food both quality and variety ever experienced in 21 years sailing with SS.Second and Third cruises changed to the worst food and presentation in 21 years.Uninspiring dishes served Luke warm on  cold plates but by the same excellent waiter.The Restaurant Manager and our waiter could not have been more helpful but the problem was the Head Chef on the first cruise disembarked for a four week break and the replacement was incompetent in all aspects of food preparation and presentation.Thankfully when we return to the Wind in early August the Chef from cruise one will be back so hopefully we will move back from the worst SS experience to the best once again.Sadly the position of Head Chef seems to have a much greater impact on consistency that it should on a so called Luxury Cruise Line which is one of the main downsides of cruising with SS in the last few years compared with the good old days.

Sadly the position of Cruise Director was poor quality on our three cruises producing the most limited programme of entertainment we have ever experienced but thankfully we shall have different one for our August cruise.

We still managed to enjoy our cruise meeting up with a number of long standing SS cruisers despite the shortcomings described.

[jollyjones]

I have taken to avoiding the MDR as it's become so bad, I'm glad to hear it should only be temporary.

 

The CD is disembarking today having been made to stay a week over his contract to allow Allan to fill in on the Shadow after Kirk left SS. I don't think Colin's heart was in it. Maybe things'll be different if Allan makes it onboard today - he's coming from Venice yesterday, he should make it but the weather here in Tromso is awful - cold, low cloud and torrential rain.

 

The compensation from SS for the Flam fiasco was a refund plus any other excursion of our choice (up to the value of the train one) for free, plus a sort of make-up coach trip in the afternoon after missing the train (which I wasn't interested in).

I don't do many excursions, preferring to wander around on my own, and I have more SBC than I need on this cruise so the compensation was meaningless to me - just made using my SBC more difficult. I have asked if I can transfer it to my next cruise but I'm very doubtful they'll do it.

 

The only other thing I was really hoping for from this cruise was to see the sun shining at midnight but the current weather and the forecast weather means that we are unlikely to have any clear skies. Last night it wasn't even very light all night because the clouds were so dense and so low. 

 

Guess this just ain't my lucky cruise.

[Mayflower1]

Good Morning Brimary from a very hot UK.

We too were on the 3rd of your recent Wind Segments and agree that the MDR Food Presentation was below standard but must say that our experience was not as extreme as yours, just slightly disappointing. However we dined a good few times in La Terrazza which has a dedicated Chef and we found the whole experience there much more pleasing.

The question of Entertainment is very subjective but in our opinion this Cruise left a lot to be desired. The Silversea Singers & dancers were a new Group and in our opinion lacking in Talent and the remainder of Music about the ship was to say the least Low Key, especially the Pianist in the Panorama Lounge. We asked the CD to organise a Disco which proved very popular ( even with those of a certain age !!! ) and this transformed the Lounge at 11.00 pm from a Morgue to a busy Venue ???. You are right that the CD was somewhat Low Key also, but this individual, albeit very pleasant, has been so for years and we have had good Performers over that time - we feel it was an unfortunate combination on this occasion.

It was so good to catch up with you both again and hope that the upcoming August Cruise will prove more to your liking and that you will be persuaded to keep within the Silversea Family - we will miss you very much.

 

We are so sorry for the problems you are experiencing JollyJones and hope matters improve - the Flamm situation was most regrettable and no compensation can make up for the loss of this particular excursion which must be one of the best in Europe.

[brimary]

Mayflower....we enjoyed meeting up again and putting the latest SS offering under the microscope having both of us being SS loyalists for many years .We have fingers crossed for August particularly with the Head Chef on our first cruise recently returning to duty on our favourite Wind for our upcoming cruise.Best wishes to you both on your future cruises on SS.

j

Jolly Jones hope SS give you appropriate recompense for the Flam fiasco and you can enjoy the remainder of your cruise with an improvement in the weather.

[TLCOhio]

1 hour ago, brimary said:

Jolly Jones hope SS give you appropriate recompense for the Flam fiasco and you can enjoy the remainder of your cruise with an improvement in the weather.

 

Sorry to hear about the SS screw-up regarding the Flam rail adventure.  That is a great one and I would be very "bummed out" if we had missed it.  Let us know what, if anything, Silversea did to compensate.  Was this a tour through the ship you missed or a private set-up?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

For latest live/blog, see “Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East.  Connect at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/

[jollyjones]

It was a ship tour and I outline the pathetic compensation in my post above, #32. 

 

The weather is going from bad to worse, the Captain has just announced that it’s going to be rough, windy and wet tonight and tomorrow. Oh joy. 

[brimary]

The compensation is pathetic for the loss of the best excursion possible on a Norway cruise.Fingers X for an improvement in the weather for the remainder of your cruise so you can have some overdue enjoyment!

[jollyjones]

The weather is foul and getting fouler. 

All I can say is I might pencil a repeat in for summer 2021, but I might not, I’m so angry about it all. This is the most expensive cruise I’ve ever booked and it’s turning to sand in my hands. Weather is not anyone’s fault, it’s bad luck, but this is a seriously bad luck cruise. 

[jollyjones]

10 hours ago, jollyjones said:

 

Weather is not anyone’s fault, it’s bad luck, but this is a seriously bad luck cruise. 

 

Just reviewed yesterday's post - I feel it's overly harsh, sorry!

After all, "seriously bad luck" has some pretty worrisome implications when afloat on a ship in rough waters - it's not that bad. Although when the Captain came on the intercom this morning in Honningsvag (rather than the CD) after a very laborious (and unfinished) docking maneuver in high winds my heart sank, but he was only apologizing that it was taking a long time.

It's still very cloudy and raining ... brrrrr .....

 

PS - Interestingly, some of the local dock crew pulling in our lines are women - good to see fair shares on the jobs, stevedoring has been a very 'men only' profession in the past.

 

PPS - pretty impressed at how well the internet is performing waaaay up here on top of the world.

Edited June 30, 2019 by jollyjones

[spinnaker2]

Jolly...hoping that the journey has improved!

[jollyjones]

Hi Spins,

The weather gods are having fun teasing us with little patches of blue sky to get our hopes up, then dashing them again.

I haven't taken many photos because it's so often dark and drear that they don't come out well.

But I have enjoyed learning about life in the far north of Norway in Tromso, Honningsvag and Hammerfest - I was really quite ignorant about this area. 

We actually got nighttime sunshine cruising west past Nordkapp so I've seen the 11.24pm sun (fell asleep).

Last night I had dinner at Hot Rocks to enjoy the evening sunshine but It was raining so hard that even tho' the tables were undercover, I had to keep my feet up on the table pedestal as there was so much rainwater swilling across the deck. Managed to stay awake to see the midnight low-cloud-and-pouring-rain tho'.

Even my ever-optimistic Aussie trivia team mates are feeling the gloom - good job we're winning sufficiently often to cope.

 

However, I think I may come back in a couple of years in the hopes of seeing Norway in a better light - literally - and maybe getting to actually ride on the train at Flam.

After all, I'm doing our next cruise in Sept on the Whisper as a return visit after doing the same itinerary last year in the hopes of seeing the ports we missed because of bad weather. That's my usual response to an unsatisfying cruise!

Edited July 2, 2019 by jollyjones

[idjaffe]

oh my....never been on Silverseas - we join the Wind in Amsterdam on July 10th - but based on this review I have fingers crossed that it is a good cruise.  We once did Crystal and loved the smaller boat - so thought we would give SS a try.

 

So far I have heard - bad food, bad entertainment, uninterested CD, bad weather, missed/late ports, and the highlight of each day is trivia?

 

Hope we haven't wasted our hard earned $$.