Silver Cloud #1918, Circumnavigation of Iceland - Live!

[Silver Spectre]

Thanks to JP and RachelG for taking us along.

[RachelG]

3 hours ago, Sodashire said:

Hi JP, Rachel etc. We are boarding next month, really excited. We would love to see any pictures of the MDR menu both lunch and dinner if possible please. Also there seems to be some confusion re officers and staff on board. Are you able to verify who is Captain, HD, CD,  Maitre’d and cruise consultant. Hopefully there will be no staff changes between now and next month. One other question albeit not rally applicable to your current cruise, but Rachel G may know from her past voyage. Where you dock/Zodiac to a town do they also put on a local shuttle bus for those not wishing to do a tour that day, or is it just for the classic fleet? Really enjoying following along

I will try to get the list of officers onboard.  

 

As as far as shuttles, we have not had any that I can remember on any of the expedition voyages we have been on other than in Kirkwall Scotland.  But most of the places we have visited have been really remote, and a lot of time there isn’t even a town for a shuttle to take you to.

[RachelG]

Captain is Mino, CD is Moss.  moss was on in May so he may be leaving soon, but we had a different captain in May.  The expedition leader is Dominic from the Philippines.  I really like him so far.  Not prone to droning on and on, just gets to the point.

[caradara]

I love Iceland (did 2 land trips there) and I always look forward to JP and Rachel's travelogues and pictures.  They both are super entertaining and informative.  So thank you both.

If anyone loves porter beer, Iceland makes the best!  It's delicious.

[RachelG]

Heimaey volcano 

[RachelG]

Stave church with volcanic flow behind

[RachelG]

Bird cliffs— we were SO close on the ship

[jpalbny]

Wednesday, August 7th. Djúpivogur, Iceland

 

A tiny place in the southeast, one of the few places in Iceland that we haven't visited yet.

 

Dinner last night with another couple from Atlanta, and the expedition coordinator (Hilman from Indonesia) and his assistant (Lizelle from South Africa). Much fun, but today was an earlier day. Luckily dinner wasn't too late.

 

We were up with the sun at 4:30 so we closed the curtains and dozed another 2 hours. The 5:45 announcement for the earliest tours was a bummer, because we weren't leaving until 7:20. Nice view from our window as we got ready.

 

 

We departed on time via zodiacs, to a dry landing at a pier in town. Then we loaded up into monster trucks for our 4x4 tour.

 

We started along the ring road, zig-zagging along inlets, following the irregular coastline. The inlets were surrounded by mountains. 

 

 

We passed a lighthouse. Pretty utilitarian. Yes, it's that yellow box on the left side of the picture. 

 

 

Some of the inlets were prettier. Our destination was around those distant mountains. 

 

 

After about an hour we stopped at a farm/hotel/B&B for a restroom break. The views were nice.

 

 

Those mountains are closer now. Our destination is drawing near.

 

 

We left the ring road and started down a gravel road, the went offroad through a mostly dry river bed.

 

 

We went up the canyon and stopped for views.

 

 

Then a short drive to a scenic viewpoint. 

 

 

 

Another short drive now, to a small waterfall.

 

 

 

We could get very close. But the views down into the valley were great too.

 

 

Beautiful rock formations all around.

 

 

On to our last stop, the waterfall called Skútafoss. We had a 5-10 minute hike to the falls. Our guide introduced us to crow berries along the way, which we sampled. A little tannic but the taste grew on us.

 

 

 

You can walk up behind the waterfall too. Of course, I did that. But Chris has those pictures.

 

There was a smaller cascade a bit downstream. 

 

 

Back to the B&B now for another rest stop. The horses were still around. And still picturesque, with this landscape as a backdrop. 

 

 

What an amazing landscape! Since we were doing well with time, we made a photo stop on the way back to town.

 

 

This is the "apostle" as in the Twelve Apostles along the Great Ocean Road in Australia. Only one lonely survivor here.

 

Back to the pier about 1:00, and a wet, splashy zodiac ride back. The wind and chop had picled.up. We both had to change our pants before lunch.

 

We enjoyed LT again, with lots of Portuguese Alvarinho. We ordered a pizza and it was delicious. 

 

Now, time to relax before the briefing at 5:00. So far, so good!

 

Edited August 7, 2019 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

Sodashire,

 

I have menu previews from each night at the MDR. I will scan them in when I get home. Seems to be a fixed portion and a variable, themed/local portion, each with about 4 choices. There's also a 4- close suggestion. The latter two have changed every night. 

 

Can't help you with the lunch menu as we really never go to lunch there.

 

In addition to what Rachel already said. The maitre d' is Gilbert. The HD is Csaba Désvári. The future cruise consultant escapes me now - Joey maybe?

 

And I've just realized that the bar on deck 5 is now called La Dolce Vita. A little slow...

 

But all is well here. How could it not be? I feel like we are on...

 

Edited August 7, 2019 by jpalbny
Add picture

[spinnaker2]

53 minutes ago, RachelG said:

Captain is Mino, CD is Moss.  moss was on in May so he may be leaving soon, but we had a different captain in May.  The expedition leader is Dominic from the Philippines.  I really like him so far.  Not prone to droning on and on, just gets to the point.

Rachel,

Is this Dom?

If so this was in 2014, his first expedition cruise.

[silkismom]

Are the jackets the same as on the Cloud in Antarctica? With the separate liner.

[jpalbny]

Spins, looks like him.

 

Silkismom, yes they have the separate liner. They are quite nice! 

[jpalbny]

Really glad to see Rachel's pictures, as we have done different excursions these past two days. Will have to let her know my secret for posting multiples. 😉

 

[spinnaker2]

23 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

Spins, looks like him.

 

Silkismom, yes they have the separate liner. They are quite nice! 

 

JP

This photo was from his very first cruise as a zodiac driver and it was on the Discoverer. Would you share it with him!

We know him from the time before he moved on to the expedition cruises. He's a marvelous guy.

[RachelG]

1 hour ago, spinnaker2 said:

 

JP

This photo was from his very first cruise as a zodiac driver and it was on the Discoverer. Would you share it with him!

We know him from the time before he moved on to the expedition cruises. He's a marvelous guy.

I will try to if I see him when I get WiFi connection.  Seems like a great guy.

 

silkiesmom, the jackets are an updated version of the ones we had last year.  Last year they were 2 totally separate pieces, the puffy under jacket and the waterproof parka over that.  They are now still 2 pieces, but you can zip them together to make one thickly lined jacket or zip apart.  They have additional waterproofing at the cuffs of the sleeves and the hood fits my head better and stays up better.

the back packs are of thicker material and seem more water resistant as nothing in ours got wet, and we were pretty much soaked on the zodiac ride back.  The water bottles are also new since June with thicker insulation.

[Sodashire]

Hi JP and Rachel

Thank you both so much for your quick responses and to JP when at home for scanning the preview dinner menus. In recent times I have not seen the preview menus that are delivered the evening before as the interactive tv would show menus for that day. We so enjoyed sitting in bed previous night debating what we would potentially eat the next day. This also meant we were able to alter venue bookings. Also good to know that they have decided to change (at least some) of the menu. Alas gone are the days it would change each day (with the exception of the 24 hour menu). I do hope their tomato soup is still available, always good.

like so many really enjoying your daily insights into nature and mans ability to aid or hinder. Travel broadens the ,ind in so many ways. Enjoy your evening all

PS. The bar will always be the bar, whichever ship we are on regardless of their new names

 

[Stumblefoot]

Sodashire, agree completely.  JP and Rachel are amazing!  What a voyage they are having.

[rich48100]

We did a different tour than Rachel and JP, the Glacier Lagoon.  Called to board zodiacs at 5:50 am, got up at 4am, far too early.  Long bus ride in both directions, but for this geologist the scenery was spectacular.  Guide giving talk on bus had many interesting tidbits about Iceland, farming, sheeping and more.  Got a taste of glaciers as we approached the lagoon and could see the glaciers coming down from the mountains.  They are receding badly, but this is an interglacial period so one would expect that. The weather all day for us was just spectacular.

 

got to the lagoon and rode in some duck boats for 30 to 45 minutes amongst the icebergs and just enjoying the scenery. Saw some seals and massive amount of migrating swans.  After the lagoon tour went to a black sand beach where some smaller pieces of ice were washing ashore.  Then on to a good lunch at a local hotel. Then a long ride home.  Our 7 hour tour turned into about a 9 hour tour with those long bus rides. Glad we had a chance to see all the stuff though.

 

here are some pictures.

[drron29]

Dominic is probably our favourite crew member.Known him since 2010 when we had our first SS cruise on the PA 11.

He is one of the best zodiac drivers and in 2013 the Explorer picked up a fellow from the South African weather station on Gough Island as a gale was hitting.Dominic was the zodiac driver picked to do the rescue.

Great to now see him as Expedition Leader.Well Deserved.

[Gourmet Gal]

JP, thanks for this great voyage chronicle.  Iceland is an intriguing country with a surprising amount of things to see and do.  As I will be on the Cloud next  May, just wondering about the reports of poor plumbing and “smells” aboard the Cloud.  Have you encountered anything like that on this cruise?  Hoping it’s been addressed.  

 

[Stumblefoot]

 

12 hours ago, RachelG said:

August 6, 2019–Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland

George had a hamburger which he declared the worst burger on any ship, not sure if it was even beef, and a big disappointment after the excellent burgers he had had onboard in June.  

 

Wait a minute... I thought George's hamburger on the ship while you were in Scotland in late May / early June came out rare, not safe to eat?  The reason I remember is because I love hamburgers and if there is one thing that Silversea is bad at, and I mean really, really sucks at, is making a proper hamburger.  They are are the WORST I've ever had in my life.  EVER!  So, this is why I thought to myself, "yup, I'm not surprised one bit" when I read your post from Scotland.

Tell George to stick with steak and forget about the hamburgers. 😀

[gogo65]

46 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

JP, thanks for this great voyage chronicle.  Iceland is an intriguing country with a surprising amount of things to see and do.  As I will be on the Cloud next  May, just wondering about the reports of poor plumbing and “smells” aboard the Cloud.  Have you encountered anything like that on this cruise?  Hoping it’s been addressed.  

 

We just got off cloud and we did not have any issues with smell at all.

interestingly our backpacks are different!

careful with the water bottles, apparently they are new and plenty of people had issues with them leaking. 

We had Dom as well and he was great. 

[Stumblefoot]

48 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Hoping it’s been addressed.  

 

Yes, hoping it has been addressed, as well.  I remember Rachel reporting on the smells just a couple of months ago.

[TLCOhio]

5 hours ago, RachelG said:

Captain is Mino, CD is Moss.  moss was on in May so he may be leaving soon, but we had a different captain in May.

 

Great leadership team for the ship.  Great pix's and sharing from both J.P. and Rachel.  Always nice to see blue skies, sunshine, smiling faces, etc., mixed in with ice and dramatic outdoor setting.  Keep up the excellent sharing.  Seems like everyone is having FUN!!

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Just completed Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc.  Lots of visuals and details!!  That live/blog is at: 

www.boards.cruisecdritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s/

[RachelG]

No smell in the hall so far.  George thought he smelled something in our room Iraq day, but it has not recurred.

 

yes, George was served the rawest burger ever in May, but the redo, after I instructed them in food safety, was outstanding.  He said the best burger on a ship ever.  Not as good as ours at home, but really good.  He had a steak tonight that was great.  I had a tiny bite and concur.