Countdown......Fly Me to the Moon...........

[M&PGermany]

47 minutes ago, Emtbsam said:

I am assuming you are from the US.  Did you need to do a covid test in order to transit through Germany?  We will be stopping in Frankfurt on our way to Venice in September, and I want to make sure I do everything necessary.

 

As I just had 2 dear friends from Dallas as guests in my beautiful city of Frankfurt (yes, there is much more to it than the airport), if you are staying LESS THAN 24 HOURS in Germany there is NO REQUIREMENT to take a test or to register online. 

[FLRI]

12 hours ago, Emtbsam said:

I am assuming you are from the US.  Did you need to do a covid test in order to transit through Germany?  We will be stopping in Frankfurt on our way to Venice in September, and I want to make sure I do everything necessary.

Yes, I am from the US. I flew Lufthansa. If you are vaccinated and transiting/connecting/not leaving the airport no Covid test is presently required. They asked to see my vaccination card when I went thru EU immigration. The officials are aware of the different rules for different countries so they will ask for whatever documentation is necessary for the country you are visiting.  The Lufthansa and airline websites also have the information on their airline rules plus countries they visit.

[Stumblefoot]

Did Lois fall overboard?  Not a peep since arriving at the hotel!

[Gourmet Gal]

Perhaps just Moonstruck…

[Stumblefoot]

21 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Perhaps just Moonstruck…

I have a feeling you’re right.

[Lois R]

Hi folks, no, not overboard.....LOL..........I am still here. It is now Saturday and we stayed in Syros for an extra day....not going to Paros.  Capt said the weather/wind was too bad there and he felt it was safer for everyone to stay here a 2nd day.

 

Ok...in my 2 days.......there have been MANY people, including me, who had issues with the wi-fi/ap for the touring thing......I spoke with Guest Relations AND Shore excursions and I was not the only one. It is like we are guinea pigs and the system was really not ready to be launched. I know there were folks on here who like it better than the Vox Box but those boxes worked much better. And even some of the staff agrees, there are continuous glitches and it can be a PITA.......not sure I am even taking my phone on my next tours......just not worth the frustration (for me in my experience). I didn't even finish my tour yesterday.....I started to walk and the next thing I know....the group is 100 yards ahead of me.....the tour guide didn't even ask if everyone had been connected.......and the worst thing was the wind.....had to hold my hand on my head and try to connect my phone with 1 hand........that is impossible. So I decided to stop being upset and just walk back to the ship.  I am not going to worry about even using my phone again......after all this time of not cruising......I will just sit in the lovely shade at the pool and read.😀

 

Food and service on board.....excellent.....I ate in the SALT KITCHEN last night.......one of the best meals I have eaten....land or sea..........FABULOUS😀....the first night I ate in Atlantide....VERY impressed with the menu....quite large.....many, many options..........and really delicious too.

 

Tonight I am going to Terrazza......

 

The ship is lovely.......oh, one of the things that is in place and I miss personally very much is .......you are not allowed to sit at the bar in any of the venues....☹️,

It is one of the things I love very, very much about cruising......grab a seat and chat with others and the bartenders.......no can do now. They don't know when it will start back up again.......it is quite strange (for me) to have to sit at a table. Oh well.......the bartenders miss having the guests at their bars too.

They miss that interaction as well.

 

And I know someone wanted to pass a hello along to the the singer/piano player in Silver Note.....

Who was that?

 

Just wanted to check in..........hope everyone is doing well.

 

 

 

[worldtraveller99]

Thank you Lois for your ongoing reports, much appreciated. Do they let you go off by yourself at all? Do the guides also shout for the people who don't bother to have a phone on? Have you met any other nice single people?

[spinnaker2]

Hi lois

Hope you stopped at reception to get the envelope I left for you.

🤣

[Lois R]

Hi Spins, yes.....I forgot to say THANK YOU....that was so sweet😃......I got it....albeit some confusion with actually finding it.

 

Yes, you can go off independently. We have only been in one port.....for 2 days. 

 

Oh we only have 200 guests on this sailing.

 

And I didn't mean to sound like a big complainer in my earlier post......I am LOVING being on the ship but did not want to hide the issues. 

 

I did a SALT cooking class today....it was a lot of fun. Made lamb chops.......YUM😀

[Lois R]

Oh, yes, there are other solos on board.....met a few...some are quite nice, others keep to themselves......I am not "hanging out" with anyone really....that is ok.....the staff/crew are all extremely nice😀

[nfcu]

Not being able to sit at the bar is a deal breaker for us.  Does this apply to the pool bar as well?  I guess we will just wait awhile longer to book our next cruise after this is settled.

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, worldtraveller99 said:

Thank you Lois for your ongoing reports, much appreciated. Do they let you go off by yourself at all? Do the guides also shout for the people who don't bother to have a phone on? Have you met any other nice single people?

I don't know what the guides are doing to be honest..........I only have 1 detail...2 folks I have met said their tourguide was LOUD and nobody needed their phone for him LOL

[Ross4356]

Wow! You can’t sit at the Bar! With a ship only carrying 200 Passengers and everyone on board vaccinated and tested! 🤔

[TLCOhio]

57 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Yes, you can go off independently. We have only been in one port.....for 2 days.   Oh we only have 200 guests on this sailing.

I did a SALT cooking class today....it was a lot of fun. Made lamb chops.......YUM😀

 

Appreciate the great comments and updates from Lois.  Very helpful and interesting.  Keep it coming!! 

 

WOW!!  With only 200 guests on the ship, that makes things super wonderful.  Not crowded and/or congested.  Easy to get staff help with that type of ratio.  Wonder if operating at one-third capacity will be the "NEW NORMAL" for the upcoming months during this post-Covid re-opening period??  Any guesses as to the "passenger mix" between those from the U.S. versus from the UK, Europe, etc.  Any on-ship entertainment?

 

Nice to hear that SALT worked well.

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 242,231 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[bobolz]

Thanks Lois for  sharing your experience with all of us anxious cruisers. I’m glad you are enjoying your cruise, albeit some issues with the touring phone app and the bar seating restrictions. That is a shame especially for solo travelers. That’s how we met one of those solo travelers on our last cruise. We chatted at the bar and then saw him  

later seated by himself at dinner and asked him to join us. It was a very enjoyable evening. 

 

Interesting that there are only 200 guests on board still. I checked with the Silversea agent and he said our cruise in less than 2 months will be at 75% capacity. If the UK lifts travel restrictions by then. Crossing my fingers.

 

assume no reported positive tests? How about formal nights. When did you find out about those? Also when did they ticket your flights for this cruise? Still nothing on either one of these fronts for our upcoming cruise. Maybe they are waiting for official lifting of restrictions b4 updating mySilversea .

 

if you could share the Atlantide and Indochine menus that would be great too.

 

once again thanks so much for taking time out of your cruise to answer our questions! 

 

Enjoy! 

 

Edited July 10, 2021 by bobolz

[spinnaker2]

Lois glad they found it for you.

 

I knew only 200 pax on this sailing, I had hoped it would be 202, but no go. 

 

As far as that audio thing to wear around your neck, I have always found it really cumbersome, so I try and find myself a spot near the tour guide. I usually have no issue hearing.  I know they want to socially distance the pax and the audio thing is supposed to help.

If I can not hear I meander about on my own while keeping an eye on the group.

 

Hope all continue to enjoy.

 

The sitting at the bar was not an issue for us, but I can see how it would impact socializing for some pax.

 

 

 

[Gourmet Gal]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

 

I did a SALT cooking class today....it was a lot of fun. Made lamb chops.......YUM😀

Hi Lois, thanks for all the detail.  Just wondering, do you know in advance what the cooking class topic will be?  I don’t eat red meat or many sweets and would want to avoid those classes.

[daddyo]

2 hours ago, nfcu said:

Not being able to sit at the bar is a deal breaker for us.  Does this apply to the pool bar as well?  I guess we will just wait awhile longer to book our next cruise after this is settled.

We always sit at the bar. And since everyone is vaccinated, it makes little sense to prevent people from sitting there. However, that does not deter us from going on our Shadow voyage  in September. Years ago, someone complained about the lack of cashews in the mixed nuts.  Now that’s an issue😃

[Stumblefoot]

Glad to hear you’re doing well, Lois, and enjoying the Silver Moon.  Keep having fun!

[Stumblefoot]

3 hours ago, bobolz said:

If you could share the Atlantide and Indochine menus that would be great too.

Just a quick FYI and then I’ll step out of the way for Lois’s response, but there is no Indochine venue on Silver Moon.

[cruiseej]

2 hours ago, daddyo said:

Years ago, someone complained about the lack of cashews in the mixed nuts.  Now that’s an issue😃

 

Yes, completely nuts! 😉 

[bobolz]

9 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Just a quick FYI and then I’ll step out of the way for Lois’s response, but there is no Indochine venue on Silver Moon.

Thanks Stumblefoot, I did not realize indochine was not also on the moon. Unfortunately the silver Spirit will not set sail until our cruise, so will just have to wait until we board ..🙏

[Lois R]

On 7/10/2021 at 3:33 PM, nfcu said:

Not being able to sit at the bar is a deal breaker for us.  Does this apply to the pool bar as well?  I guess we will just wait awhile longer to book our next cruise after this is settled.

Hi yes it applies to every bar on the ship and the bar staff doesn't like it either. They definitely miss the interaction with pax

 

[Lois R]

22 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Hi Lois, thanks for all the detail.  Just wondering, do you know in advance what the cooking class topic will be?  I don’t eat red meat or many sweets and would want to avoid those classes.

Hi, there is a list printed out and it shows what is being cooked each day. The lab has multiple stations and you have to sign up.

[Lois R]

On 7/10/2021 at 3:37 PM, Ross4356 said:

Wow! You can’t sit at the Bar! With a ship only carrying 200 Passengers and everyone on board vaccinated and tested! 🤔

I know. It has been a topic of conversation for sure