Whisper Barcelona-Athens, 18-30 July 2019

[Tothesunset]

Should this thread peter out to nothing it's because we will be having too much fun to take time out to update. But I'll try my best. 

 

The journey begins tomorrow with a flight from LHR-BCN and a night in the Hotel Grums before boarding the Whisper on Thursday. As usual I have that nagging doubt that something essential hasn't gone in the baggage. The last trip OH forgot her evening bag - not a catastrophe but she didn't think using a Tesco carrier bag a suitable replacement. Women, eh? 

 

If anyone wants any info on crew, state of ship, ports of call etc then feel free to ask. Can't promise to answer because of the contingency in para 1.

[mysty]

Have an awesome sail TTS and Mrs TTS!  Safe travels!

[twoboys]

Great! We will be on the Whisper September 3rd (Monte Carlo to Barcelona)  I will take any and all info, advice, menus, photos etc. It will be our fist Silversea cruise.  Have a great time!

[Silver Spectre]

Have a great trip TTS.

[beaujolais]

We are off in the morning, early, to join the Shadow but from terminal 5, I believe BCN flights go from terminal 3

 

Just waiting for Airportr to pick our luggage

 

Aren't we lucky

Edited July 16, 2019 by beaujolais

[brimary]

Have a great cruise TTS.Only 28 days until we meet up with the Wind after a brief holiday at home since we left the Wind on 22 June.Cant wait.

[Daveywavey70]

Have an amazing time TTS.

[rosepark]

Have a wonderful time. The boutiques on board sell evening bags if Mrs TTS forgets hers again. They are very nice but the trouble is I decided I would have to bump Mr Rp off and claim on his life insurance to be able to afford one.

Rp

[Tothesunset]

Well, that was fun. For those unfamiliar with road travel in SE England the following won't make much sense. We started early after checking road conditions on our route - of course both the M1 and M25 had blockages. However we overdid the early and arrived at LHR 4 hours in advance of the flight. Anyway, now in lounge. 

 

LHR, along with most airports I suppose, is a real mood sapper. Busy, hot, designed by a child who's missed several of his Ritalin doses and just generally bleh. Still, I'll have a go at eating the lounge out of business. 

 

Flying BA to BCN in cattle class. BA - they used to advertise as The World's Favourite Airline. I guess the world wants no food, no drink, high prices, cripplingly small seats and a desire to lose the will to live. 

 

Ah well. This time tomorrow we should be having lunch in Terrazza and I shall be wondering if a third beer is really such a good idea. Spoilt? Moi? 

[mysty]

I do enjoy your wit TTS!  It was a struggle to decide on a "like" or a "ha ha".  🙂

[spinnaker2]

TTS, 

I know things will improve!

Have a great time.

 

[jpalbny]

Well, better early than late (within reason, of course)! I have been on the other side of things once and that was once too often! Traffic to Boston can be miserable and we almost missed the first leg of our plane to Madagascar. Not like there are multiple daily flights there!

 

5 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

Flying BA to BCN in cattle class. BA - they used to advertise as The World's Favourite Airline. I guess the world wants no food, no drink, high prices, cripplingly small seats and a desire to lose the will to live. 

Haven't flown BA in many years, but your description is priceless. Good think my office door is closed or people might think I've had a break with reality. It is definitely too bad that the flight experience can make getting there much less than half of the fun...

 

Usually avoid non-SkyTeam airlines these days; trying to keep all of our worthless miles in just one basket. Last time we went in/out of LHR we did Virgin Atlantic. Their Upper Class was quite nice and we quite enjoyed the whole Upper Class Wing experience, complete with a private transfer from our London hotel.

 

[Tothesunset]

So that was a shock. Leave UK in 26 degree bright sunshine and arrive in Barcelona to 21 and rain. Who wrote that script?

 

We noticed the Whisper alongside the Gran Marina Hotel as our taxi took us to the Hotel Grums. Which is nice, by the way, and well-positioned. Mrs TTS a bit cream crackered from the trip so I went out for a wander, got wet, got some cash from the hole-in-the-wall, treated myself to a small bottle of icy cold Diet Coke from the smallest Supermercado in Christendom and am now lying on what might well be the biggest double bed I've ever seen. 

 

So tomorrow. These are the options. No 1, walk the half mile to the ship trailing the luggage. No 2 pay a taxi driver a stupidly large number of Euros for a short trip. I'm thinking No 1, Mrs TTS thinks I'm a tight-fisted Scrooge. She's right, of course, but I still favour No 1.

 

Top tip. If you are travelling BA in Europe and decide to give them £2.50 for a cup of coffee be ready to gag gently when you taste it. It's horrid. 2 cups I bought. That's a fiver I'll never see again. Although I'd happily pay NOT to have to drink it again. 

Edited July 17, 2019 by Tothesunset

[rosepark]

Mrs TTS. Bump him off ,claim the insurance ,take a cab and buy the evening bag. You know it makes sense. 

Rp

[Silver Spectre]

14 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

So that was a shock. Leave UK in 26 degree bright sunshine and arrive in Barcelona to 21 and rain. Who wrote that script?

Looks like you escaped just in time, 19c and raining in London, and the Open is wet, wet, wet.

 

And if you want live sport on BBC there is netball!

Edited July 18, 2019 by Silver Spectre

[jpalbny]

14 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

So tomorrow. These are the options. No 1, walk the half mile to the ship trailing the luggage. No 2 pay a taxi driver a stupidly large number of Euros for a short trip. I'm thinking No 1, Mrs TTS thinks I'm a tight-fisted Scrooge. She's right, of course, but I still favour No 1.

 

Looking forward to the follow-up. I hope you chose correctly!

 

I can relate, for sure! I would definitely be the one promoting the nice easy walk, and Chris would be calling me a cheapskate. But in my defence, we usually travel with just one rollaboard each, so it's really not a big imposition... And it's environmentally more friendly to walk, isn't it?

[Tothesunset]

Damn. The environment excuse. Why didn't I think of that? So a Barcelona taxi driver is €15 better off for the 0.8 mile journey. Pah! 

 

Although we had the honour of being first aboard then first to the grill. 

 

 

There you go - burger, champagne and diet coke. Dining at its finest. 

 

Kickingour heels slightly waiting for the suite to be ready so we just have to sit deck 8 aft and have a beer. Being retired is so tough. 

[spinnaker2]

YOU ARE ONBOARD!!!!!

enjoy.

Our granddaughter will be getting on in Pireaus at the end of your cruise.

She's 16 and its her first cruise. A friend invited her to go with their family!

 

 

[Tothesunset]

4 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

... the Open is wet, wet, wet.

 

 

In Portrush there are 3 distinct weather patterns:

 

1. Rain. 

2. Just stopped raining. 

3. Just about to rain. 

[rosepark]

9 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

In Portrush there are 3 distinct weather patterns:

 

1. Rain. 

2. Just stopped raining. 

3. Just about to rain. 

You forgot

4. Its bucketing ,so it is

Rp

 

[Tothesunset]

1 hour ago, rosepark said:

You forgot

4. Its bucketing ,so it is

Rp

 

Aye, yer right there yerself, so you are. 

Edited July 18, 2019 by Tothesunset
Typo!

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

A friend invited her to go with their family!

Wow!  That's quite a deal.

[rosepark]

1 hour ago, Tothesunset said:

Aye, yer right there yerself, so you are. 

Och, sure you couldn’t beat it with a big stick. 

Query- why does that look so wrong written down? 

Enough of this blether. Have a super first night on board. 

Rp

[Tothesunset]

Now we are on ship's WiFi so I'm guessing that any attempt to upload the photos of our rather splendid Flavour of Spain dinner won't be successful. Enough to say that I've just had the best paella. The gazpacho was knock-out too but by the time I got it it was cold. 

 

The average age on this 12 day med cruise seems to be at least 10 years below the SS standard. There's maybe a dozen or so children or young people but all well behaved and comfortable in this environment. Not many frequent floaters I think and some people in shorts and jeans after 6pm. Now I don't want to start WW3 but the code is clear so what's so difficult about respecting it?

 

We have a sweetie of a butler called Sharlene from Zimbabwe and have come across a few crew whom we know from previous voyages. I would, however, have been happier at dinner if an obnoxious woman on an adjacent table hadn't taken the trouble of explaining to the waiter how the meal she had was below the standard of her own food and then went on to tell him how it should have been made. What is it with people like that? 

 

But it's a happy ship and most passengers are clearly in the holiday spirit. Good stuff. 

[Observer]

16 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

The gazpacho was knock-out too but by the time I got it it was cold. 

 

 

 

I am pleased you are enjoying your cruise and look forward to further reports.

 

Were you joking in this comment?  I suppose that gazpacho can be served warm, and perhaps SS promised a warm soup.  

 

But in my experience it has always been served chilled, as suggested in the following statement from Wikipedia:

 

Gazpacho or Andalusian gazpacho is a cold soup made of raw, blended vegetables. A classic of Spanish cuisine, it originated in the southern region of Andalusia. Gazpacho is widely eaten in Spain and Portugal, particularly during hot summers, as it is refreshing and cool.