Silver Cloud #1001 - Ushuaia RT via South Georgia - January 4, 2020

Gourmet Gal · January 6, 2020

Sounds like a fun trip. Thanks for all the detailed reports. I’ll be on The Cloud in May for a culinary cruise, totally different vibe, I’m sure. I started a thread a few months ago after reading some very negative reviews of the ship, especially regarding a sewage smell...can anyone comment on that? Still an issue or not? We’ll be on deck 5.

Lois R · January 7, 2020

JP....as always, fantastic photos!!!

jpalbny · January 7, 2020

No sewage smell whatsoever. Have been all around decks 4 and 5 the past few days. Nothing to report.

Edited January 7, 2020 by jpalbny

Stumblefoot · January 7, 2020

1 hour ago, Gourmet Gal said:

I started a thread a few months ago after reading some very negative reviews of the ship, especially regarding a sewage smell...can anyone comment on that?

No sewage smell that I’ve noticed. Although, when we returned to our suite at 11:00p tonight from dinner there was an odor of cigarette smoke. It’s not strong, but very noticeable on entrance.

RachelG · January 7, 2020

January 6, 2020-still at sea enroute to South Georgia Island

Another sea day. The seas continued fairly calm and wind not too strong. Weather was holding stable, a little hazy with sun peaking through and temps in the 40s F. The route from Ushuaia to South Georgia basically straight East, so there are a few hours of dark at night, but it gets light very early.

After my morning tea and work catch up, I went to Pilates. There were a whole series of lectures scheduled through the day, plus we had to take our boots down to the mud room. I walked for an hour out on the deck. There were still some seabirds about, but far fewer than yesterday. This is really a remote area.

We had a nice lunch with Alice and Kim, then a lazy afternoon with a good nap. Lectures followed, then a win at trivia. Then a briefing on all the required things for South Georgia. It is very intense. I am worried I will miss something or mess something up. You can’t have any organic material on your clothing and shoes at all. You can’t touch anything. Very anxiety provoking.

Fortunately George and i had a romantic date night in La Dame. It did not disappoint. The food was just amazing. And service was perfect.

Now we lose an hour as we are proceeding East. Why do this? No one cares elsewhere. Just leave us in the same time zone.

RachelG · January 7, 2020

No sewage smells noted, and my husband has the nose of a blood hound

Gourmet Gal · January 7, 2020

Thanks for the olfactory updates!

jpalbny · January 7, 2020

Today was a lucky day for us!

When we booked this cruise two years ago, we booked the cheapest category of cabin, due to the price. So we had a window cabin, all the way in the front of deck 4. Not bad, but not a great way to spend 15 days.

We are traveling with our group of six. One of the couples upgraded yesterday to a vacant Silver Suite. So that meant that there was suddenly a vacant balcony suite on deck 5... We asked about whether we could jump up into their now-vacant suite.

So the SS HQ came back with a nice price and we completed the upgrade today. We moved just before dinner. Loving the new digs!

Nice dinner with our friends in the MDR tonight. And we spent some time in Dolce Vita with the guitarist Aiden, who we had previously met on our 2018 cruise on the Wind. Good dance music, and we may have burned enough calories to cover 10% of dinner. But it was fun anyway.

We lose an hour tonight, so it's almost 1AM. Not excited about that, though GMT-2 is a new time zone for us. More briefings tomorrow, in preparation for South Georgia on Wednesday. Agree with Rachel. I'm a little scared! Looks very strict.

Gourmet Gal · January 7, 2020

Surprised they would even charge you for the switch after all the time you’ve spent on SS ships and all the nice reviews.

nowornever · January 7, 2020

And it was empty....

Stumblefoot · January 7, 2020

Now we know why JP & Chris travel so light... makes for an easier upgrade experience. 😆

I’d hate to think about repacking all our stuff to move to a different suite.

Stumblefoot · January 7, 2020

Wanted to give everyone some perspective on how easy the seas have been so far (1 - 1.5 meters).

Deck 9

Deck 4

Fletcher · January 7, 2020

On your port side will be Hanseatic Inspiration . . . both of you roughly on the same course.

rich48100 · January 7, 2020

Rachel and George, JP and Chris, and all onboard, enjoy your time on South Georgia even with all the restrictions. great to have relatively calm seas so far!!! Going in the footsteps of Shackleton is a good thing. Looking forward to pictures. Congrats to JP and Chris for their upgrade. Sometimes it is just good to get lucky.

By the way, any familiar faces from the waitstaff or housekeeping or crew from our trip to Iceland?

We board the Shadow later today.

Fletcher · January 7, 2020

There is a tradition about visiting Shackleton's grave in Grytviken which most Americans will be unaware of. You need to drink a toast to him, in Scotch whisky. We bought a miniature bottle at Heathrow Airport specifically for this purpose. I know of cases when Expedition Leaders on British trips who take a bottle of Scotch and serve it to everyone by the grave. Last Sunday was the 98th anniversary of the great man's death . . .

So do your duty Cloudsters!

Edited January 7, 2020 by Fletcher

mrlevin · January 7, 2020

7 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

There is a tradition about visiting Shackleton's grave in Grytviken which most Americans will be unaware of. You need to drink a toast to him, in Scotch whisky. We bought a miniature bottle at Heathrow Airport specifically for this purpose. I know of cases when Expedition Leaders on British trips who take a bottle of Scotch and serve it to everyone by the grave. Last Sunday was the 98th anniversary of the great man's death . . .

So do your duty Cloudsters!

When we were on Silver Explorer in 2012, they brought champagne (scotch would have been better) and glasses ashore for us all to toast Sir Ernest at his grave; one of the many memorable occasions on that trip.

Marc

les37b · January 7, 2020

6 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Now we know why JP & Chris travel so light... makes for an easier upgrade experience. 😆

I’d hate to think about repacking all our stuff to move to a different suite.

On a Med cruise a few years ago on the Wind, we unfortunately missed Amalfi because of the swell and expected stormy weather approaching, so set sail for Sicily. It was rough seas, not a problem, but had a really awful nights sleep because of a loud thumping outside. I asked our butler what the noise was... Wasn't a moan, just curious. (I think it was the stabilisers.... But we never found out the cause.)

Anyway, when we returned after a tour, we were offered a veranda midship on deck 6. (We had a vista).... We were allowed to migrate between 2 rooms which was good. No more noise, but even rougher seas with objects falling over. I certainly wouldn't have made the move if we had to transfer.... Not with 2 large hold each and 2 carry ons each! lol

I wonder what that noise was!

Edited January 7, 2020 by les37b

jpalbny · January 7, 2020

3 hours ago, rich48100 said:

By the way, any familiar faces from the waitstaff or housekeeping or crew from our trip to Iceland?

Definitely! Captain Pontillo is back for this trip.

Gustavo is still maitre d' at LT. I recognize Heloisa in the MDR and Francesco in LT and at the grill. And Cindy is still keeping our wine glasses full.

carefreecruise · January 7, 2020

2 hours ago, mrlevin said:

When we were on Silver Explorer in 2012, they brought champagne (scotch would have been better) and glasses ashore for us all to toast Sir Ernest at his grave; one of the many memorable occasions on that trip.

Marc

We Were on the Cloud last year and they brought plenty of Scotch and whiskey to the grave site. Don't worry....

Stumblefoot · January 7, 2020

2 hours ago, Fletcher said:

There is a tradition about visiting Shackleton's grave in Grytviken which most Americans will be unaware of. You need to drink a toast to him, in Scotch whisky.

I don’t know Fletcher... they instilled the fear of God into everyone today about trying to bring food ashore. Any chance we can classify this Scotch whiskey as medicine? As you know, I have one heck of a cough to feed.

17 minutes ago, carefreecruise said:

We Were on the Cloud last year and they brought plenty of Scotch and whiskey to the grave site. Don't worry....

Good to know. I hope they do the same for us!

jpalbny · January 7, 2020

1 minute ago, Stumblefoot said:

Any chance we can classify this Scotch whiskey as medicine? As you know, I have one heck of a cough to feed.

For a small consulting fee, I can write you a prescription...

Stumblefoot · January 7, 2020

24 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

For a small consulting fee, I can write you a prescription...

😆😆😆 Brilliant!

Stumblefoot · January 7, 2020

I do love watching these li’l fellars fly.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Stumblefoot

RachelG · January 7, 2020

On 1/5/2020 at 11:24 PM, mrlevin said:

Rachel, glad to hear that Brad is your expedition leader; he is fantastic! Is Peter onboard as Historian? I am sure the Shackelton lectures have begun and Peter is the best at them.

Have fun!

Marc

No Peter. We have sailed with him previously.

jpalbny · January 7, 2020

Hi from the Scotia Sea!

We are about 200 miles from South Georgia, making great time. Due to arrive 6:30 tomorrow morning.

It's been a series of relaxing sea days but we are ready to do something! We've found a rhythm of sleeping late, having coffee in Panorama Lounge around 9:00, then walking on deck for an hour or so, then relaxing before lunch in LT, then more walking and wildlife watching, lectures, briefings, napping, pre-dinner drinks, dinner, dancing, sleep, repeat.

The weather has been high 40s with wind from 20-30 knots. Mixed sunshine with some clouds. No rain. Seas 1-2m swells. Really quite pleasant!

A few whale tails from this afternoon. Challenging to hold the camera steady with the big zoom lens extended, with the wind gusting and the ship pitching. But the whales were playful. Great show!