Silver Cloud #1918, Circumnavigation of Iceland - Live!

[Emtbsam]

I think you make a good point about the Cloud being "Expedition lite", which I guess shouldn't surprise anyone especially those who have done the true expedition cruises.  We booked it for the itinerary and didn't really think about the LCD's (we call them LOL's = little old ladies).  If we choose to do another expedition cruise, we will choose the ship more carefully.  I do hope that the Silver Origin will not be expedition lite!

 

When we look back on this cruise,  we will remember the weather and missed ports, but we will also remember the good times we had with friends doing interesting things, trying to win at trivia and generally enjoying someone else doing the cooking and certainly the cleaning.  Iceland is a fascinating place and maybe some day we will visit in better weather.

[drron29]

Just an observation that the SSSS on your BP doesn't necessarily mean a problem.Flying BA london to Boston.They called for all passengers with SSSS on their BPS.Took them downstairs then they boarded with the preboarders and before the premium lanes.

[carefreecruise]

When all landing need to be done by Zodiac the wind speed is the determining factor. I think it is 15 knots. They are restricted from putting passengers in the water at that speed. A good expedition leader will request the ship be moved to the other side of an island or spy a cove where the wind speed is lower than 15 knots. I was onboard when the expedition leader for eight years passed the job to Dom. He is a great zodiac driver and we known him for a long time. It's really a difficult job to make the passengers, ship Captain and hotel director happy. It's a job for a real negotiators nightmare. We have seen some big fights when the expedition leader wants the captain the move the ship many hours away so passengers can make a landing somewhere not on the itinerary. It is not decided to put zodiac in the water if some of the passengers are wabbly... 

[jpalbny]

For those who have been asking. Here are the dinner menus. No idea about lunch menus, sorry;  never ate in the MDR for lunch. Who has time for that? 😉

 

The attached PDF has 18 pages. There are 9 nights' worth of menus. Each menu has a few different sections. There is a section of appetizers and mains, which stays the same for a few nights and then changes here and there. There is also a 4-course "recommendation" which focuses on a specific area or region's cuisine, which changes every night. There are nightly specials in addition to this. The cheese part - I didn't pay attention to whether or not it changes. The desserts seem to change every night.

 

And this is only in the MDR. There are also Hot Rocks, La Terrazza, and La Dame to choose from. We ended up eating in the MDR only 4 nights out of 9, as we did LD once, LT twice, and Hot Rocks twice. There is way more food to choose from than I remember from past voyages - even compared to Cloud when it was a classic ship. Really enjoyed this, and definitely working that food off now...

Dinner Menus Cloud 1918.pdf

[silkismom]

Oh dear, I would definitely have trouble choosing most nights. Hope the Shadow crossing in Mar is as good. Now I'm getting excited. Just booked New Zealand on the Explorer for our 55th anniversary Dec 2020!! Hope we can still travel by then. 

[jpalbny]

And the menus at La Dame. I think this is similar fleetwide, but posting for those who may have missed it elsewhere. Yummy, even though they overcooked my lamb. 😥

 

 

 

[QueSeraSera]

2 hours ago, jpalbny said:

And this is only in the MDR.

 

Thank you for posting this mouth watering pdf!  The food looks fantastic.  We can't wait for our cruise on the Muse in a week or so, and the Shadow in December, and hope it is reasonable to extrapolate the menus on those ships from those on the Cloud (not word for word of course , but the quality and variety).  

[Sodashire]

Hi JP

many, many thanks for taking the time and trouble to post the menus. My mouth is already watering. We have a couple of sea days so weather depending we may try lunch in the MDR at least once. But yes, no time if ‘port’ days fo lunch. 

Once again thank you so much

[silkismom]

How much is La Dame, really looks interesting.

[jpalbny]

It's $60 per person. With all of the other good choices, we may skip it next time. We shall see. It's usually really good, but more than we really need...

[Rally]

Reading this thread brought back many wonderful memories.  First, but not this itinerary, Bob and Victoria, with whom we enjoyed a wonderful cruise on Shadow too many years ago.  Glad yo hear they are well and cruising!  But then the itinerary.  We sailed this as part of a longer cruise on Cloud (Tower Bridge/London up the east coast of Britannia to the Faroes and a couple of other fun spots, then westward around the north of Island to Reykjavik, then back around Island counterclockwise to Reykjavik again then to the Faroes, then around Eire, down the west coast of Britannia and up the Thames to Tower Bridge once again.  It was interesting to see some of the ports you visited in different weather conditions.  Once in fog and rain with thundering waterfalls, then a few days later bathed in sunshine.  Another highlight, oddly, was an Excursion Manager named Clive. . . . Not only excellent, of course, but absolutely hysterical on this his first ever visit to Island.  Thanks for the memories.

[CruisinPashmina]

Thank you posters for a terrific thread. I so enjoyed all the commentary and photos. I’ll be on the Whisper, Reykjavik to Greenwich, next July, and I’ll reread this before I go. I sure hope I have better weather! 

[Emtbsam]

Rally - Great to see you posting.  We remember well our time traveling with you and also the wonderful birthday dinner where Gilbert and Chef Dotti went at it over the prep of the dessert.  Gilbert was maitre d’ on this cruise as well.   We still remember the code word for Pinch.   Hope our paths cross again!

 

CrusinPashmina -  Hope you have better weather than we did.  None the less, Iceland is a fabulous adventure which I am sure you will enjoy.

[Stumblefoot]

On 8/26/2019 at 9:02 AM, jpalbny said:

With all of the other good choices, we may skip it next time.

 

No, no, no!  You’re a connoisseur of both food and wine and will be on board for a 15-day voyage.  You two are going!  Even if it means I have to drag you kicking and screaming. 😊

[jpalbny]

Stumbles, it could happen. Let us know when you're planning to go and we might be convinced to join you. 

[Rally]

3 hours ago, Emtbsam said:

Rally - Great to see you posting.  We remember well our time traveling with you and also the wonderful birthday dinner where Gilbert and Chef Dotti went at it over the prep of the dessert.  Gilbert was maitre d’ on this cruise as well.   We still remember the code word for Pinch.   Hope our paths cross again!

 

CrusinPashmina -  Hope you have better weather than we did.  None the less, Iceland is a fabulous adventure which I am sure you will enjoy.

OMG, don’t tell me they still have a bottle of Pinch stashed away for those who know the secret! 🤣

[Stumblefoot]

4 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Let us know when you're planning to go and we might be convinced to join you. 

We're scheduled for the nights of Jan 8 and 15.  We went with the 7:00p time slot to be safe in case we have an early morning zodiac call the day after.