Flew to the Moon, Thoughts on my sailing....She is a beauty

[Lois R]

Hi folks,🙂 I know a few of you were asking for a review but I just don't do them anymore. When I first started cruising on a regular basis, back in 2003 I would come back and write long ones but it just seems over the years I have not done them.

 

I will be happy to give you some overall thoughts now that I have been a home for a week.  

 

First, I want to say I am really happy I decided to take this cruise. I didn't realize how much I had missed cruising until this week (after I got home).  Being on the water is so peaceful.  Sublime, really.   I think I am more comfortable on a cruise ship than here on land.

 

I felt very safe on board the ship.  Maybe it is just me, but many times I didn't even think about the virus. Yes, they had protocols in place and as  I mentioned in my other thread, guests could not sit at the bar, which was the one negative for me. I still had a wonderful time, don't misunderstand, but I really missed that part of my experience on board the ship. And I know the bartenders missed the interaction with the guests in that same manner. But I understand and can appreciate why it was done. But I did miss it. 

 

The Ship itself is a beauty.  Soft tones and of course easy to navigate. I had a cabin on deck 5 which I found to be a great location. My butler was Francis (male) and attendant was Henny (female).  Both were extremely nice.  Francis helped me with getting my phone hooked up to the SS Wifi.  (I seem to always be technically challenged). He was more than happy to help.

 

The staff and crew were all pretty amazing. They could never seem to do enough for you.  I was using the computer up near Guest Relations, deck 5 right near Dolce Vita.  And the waitress from there came over to me and asked if I would like something to drink. It may not seem like much but it is really not part of the lounge. Just that extra "would you like something to drink"?..........

 

I am sure most of you know I sail solo and yes, I met some other solos on board but quite a few of them were on board from the 2nd cruise and seemed to be doing their own thing together.  I did meet some very nice other folks too though. One couple from NJ and one from CT and we all had dinner together in SALT Kitchen.

 

Other staff, SS always allows staff to sit with guests at dinner. This cruise was the same but they needed to get approval first (I can't recall if that has always been that way) but anyway, I had a few lovely dinners with staff.  Had dinner with the HD and head of Guest Relations one night in SALT.  Another evening I ate with one of the International Hostesses, another night I ate with the Asst cruise director and one of the singers and I had dinner twice with one of the Cruise Consulants. 

They were all friendly and totally enjoyable. 

The folks at Guest Relations were also totally friendly and It was nice getting to know them as well.

 

I will get to the Excursions in my next segment.

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

Looking forward to reading your review of your trip on the Moon Lois R.  I followed your commentary while you were on board and it was great.  We'll be on the Moon next spring for 37 days and we can't wait!

[Lois R]

This trip was last minute for me(well for everyone really). When the itineraries were released I was like....OMG......we are really able to sail again?.....I waffled a bit but decided yes, yes, I am going🙂

 

I have visited Mykonos and Rhodes before but the other ports were new to me. As you all recall, they decided to implement a new app for the tours.......and there were issues with the app. I was told there were issues on the first 2 sailings as well. I was told they had to bring I.T. people on board for the 2nd sailing because of the all the glitches on the maiden voyage. So it seems this new app wasn't really ready to be started.  It worked for some people but not for all.  

Our first stop was Syros and I signed up for a walking tour and I think there was about 18-20 people. But I could not get the app to work, the heat was overwhelming and the wind? OMG.......I was wearing a hat and if I had not put my hand on it, it would have blown away.  I ended up going back to the ship rather than going on the tour. 

 

We were supposed to go to Paros the next day but the Capt came on the PA and said it was too rough and windy and we stayed in Syros for a 2nd day. I could have walked to town that next day on my own but decided to just relax on board the ship.  It was heavenly.

 

Patmos, I took a bus tour.........I can't remember everything but I do recall the guide and driver were really good.  Oh, they took us to a church......we actually got to see a Baptism taking place......and we had a couple of other photo stops. It is coming back to me now LOL.......the guide was excellent.

 

Rhodes I got off the ship and just decided to walk into town and stroll around. Needed to find a jeweler to fix a watch band. Which I did and he was so gracious......he didn't even charge me anything. 

 

Limassol.......oy.......took a bus tour but the guide? Could barely understand her......it was not just me. A couple of other folks had issues as well.  It was not due to the app......we didn't need it for a bus tour. I think we had about 20 folks.......yes, it is good to have a local person but her accent was so heavy, it was really hard to understand her. We stopped at a place for a drink.......we were all sitting and waiting.....so I decided to ask if we were leaving soon......I didn't say anything wrong, just asked a question.......she got a nasty attitude to my question......so...I just went back to the bus and waited and it was all of 5/7 minutes. All she had to do was say, we will be leaving in just a few minutes. Instead, she answered me rudely...."WE ARE ON A SCHEDULE AND NOT READY TO GO YET". Yikes!

 

Heraklion,  I took the shuttle bus into town and went to the Museum. I highly recommend it. 12 Euros to get in and it was really interesting. 3 levels........the top 2 are all Greek items. The bottom level is Roman........statues.  The bus ran every 30 minutes.

 

Mykonos, walked around the town for a couple of hours. 

 

The ship........I enjoyed all  my dinners......I love Terrazza but SALT gets my #1 vote this cruise. I also went to Silver Note one evening and ate at Anlantide  twice. Oh, I ate at the Grill one evening too. (they cooked my steak).

 

I participated twice in the SALT LAB.........it was fun🙂 and the Chef is easy on the eyes too LOL

 

Will finish up on the next segment.

 

 

 

 

 

[Gourmet Gal]

Thanks for posting about your cruise.  Sounds wonderful.

[Lois R]

The "other stuff".........my favorite bar, by far is The Salt Bar.🙂.....fabulous drinks and Carlos is the best bartender around.  He is from Spain and if you are on Moon anytime soon, go see him and Shrey (his side kick). Shrey is from Goa, India.  The drinks are amazing.......I was not a big Gin drinker before this cruise........I am now.  Oh......they had Carlos with a cart one of the Sea days around the pool making Gin and tonics.......this Gin is from Greece and delicious!

 

They had Trivia in Dolce Vita but I never played this cruise.  I did attend the Venetian Society event where they honored some long time SS cruisers. 1,000's of days sailing...........I doubt I will ever reach that amount but I  will have 100 days next year😃

 

Oh, embarkation.......they had a bus pick up the folks who were staying at The Intercontinental and brought us to the ship......we boarded the bus at 1:30. Yes, they took us to that tent and when you walked in, it was nice and cool.......there was a stand alone a/c unit but once you filled out paperwork and then got your test you were brought to the other side of the tent where it was not cool........no a/c.

They offered bottled water and that is where you waited to get your number called. (once it was called you knew your test was negative) and were able to go to the next step to check in and finally board the ship. The wait to get your test results varied.......seems like 20 minutes or so......maybe a bit more or a bit less.

 

I mentioned this on my other thread but the shaded area with the couches and big chairs is my favorite spot to hang out when I am on this ship (outside). LOVE IT!

 

And as you have probably guessed I don't have any photos............maybe next time but I am just not a picture taker. 

 

If you have any questions I will be happy to try and answer them. I am sure I missed some things but just wanted to give an overview.  

 

I really did have a marvelous trip👍

 

 

[mchell810]

Thanks for taking the time to do this.  Your posts and comments regarding the ship are particularly interesting to me as I am scheduled to sail on the Dawn next year.  I am really excited, especially regarding SALT -- it seems SS have gotten the recipe correct for activities, food and drinks.  😄

[Lois R]

I am sailing Dawn next year too😃

[brimary]

Lois...thank you for taking the time to share your Moon experience with us all.Most helpful and appreciated!I have two questions as  a seasoned SS traveller since late 90s on the Wind and the Cloud mainly.How does the doubling of size in passenger numbers affect the overall SS experience of dine where you want ,when you want and with whom you want without having to make reservations? Does the doubling in passengers lead to queueing? 

[Lois R]

2 hours ago, brimary said:

Lois...thank you for taking the time to share your Moon experience with us all.Most helpful and appreciated!I have two questions as  a seasoned SS traveller since late 90s on the Wind and the Cloud mainly.How does the doubling of size in passenger numbers affect the overall SS experience of dine where you want ,when you want and with whom you want without having to make reservations? Does the doubling in passengers lead to queueing? 

Good morning😃....well, we only had 200 guests on my sailing.  (less than what Wind holds). Even if sailing at double/triple that, I think the ship has plenty of space.  There were no lines in the restaurants.

I would have been able to dine at any of them without a reservation without any problems. Now, maybe with 600 you would be better off making one, but I still feel like the ship is roomy with plenty of space.

[Lois R]

And remember, in Atlantide....it is open seating, no reservations required and Salt Kitchen is also open seating.  I am thinking they prepare for a full ship and plan accordingly. Who knows how long it will be before we get to a "normal sailing" though.  I would guess it may be a while with this Delta Variant exploding all over the place.  

The wonderful thing about sailing on a smaller ship for sure and less guests.......and everyone vaccinated👍

[Gourmet Gal]

Lois, thanks again for your recollections.  Just wondering, how is the cabin compared to other SS vessels?   Any notable differences?  Is there coffee service in the observation lounge in the mornings?  That’s my favorite spot early morning when coming into harbor.

[Lois R]

3 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Lois, thanks again for your recollections.  Just wondering, how is the cabin compared to other SS vessels?   Any notable differences?  Is there coffee service in the observation lounge in the mornings?  That’s my favorite spot early morning when coming into harbor.

Good morning.....you are up early on this Sunday🙂.......cabins are beautiful.  Good size bathroom too.

I think the smallest bathroom I had was on The Wind.  This was larger.  Nice walk in closet too. 

 

I never went to the Observation Lounge. Well, I went on the 2nd day to see what it looked like but my routine was way out of the normal me.  I am usually up in the 7am range here at home.  What if I told you I slept till at least 8:30---8:45 every day..........it was definitely out of the ordinary for me but I loved it.  My 3 tours were for the afternoons. I just had no desire to rush to get up and go anywhere in the mornings. Ate most of my breakfasts in La Terrazza.

 

Oh.......I forgot about the Arts Cafe......great place and they rotate the foods......they have all kinds of finger foods as well as small dishes of items.......for breakfast and lunch it is lovely.  I never checked what was there for dinner.  But they  had little jars of yogart parfaits.....(examples) different sandwiches for lunch along with small plates of cheeses and fruits.......and coffees/teas/drinks too.  And all kinds of desserts......from pastries to cake to cookies, etc. 

[Gourmet Gal]

Thanks for the quick response.  I’m on the west coast so actually I’m up a little later than my usual 6:00 AM.  The Arts Cafe sounds great but correct me if I’m wrong, I thought it converted to another restaurant in the evenings?

[Lois R]

21 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Thanks for the quick response.  I’m on the west coast so actually I’m up a little later than my usual 6:00 AM.  The Arts Cafe sounds great but correct me if I’m wrong, I thought it converted to another restaurant in the evenings?

Hi, I know...your signature says SF Bay area......I love SF😃......that is why I mentioned the time LOL

 

As for converting it? Nope........not anything I heard about or read about. There is actually no way to convert it to anything else.....there are couches/tables/chairs......inside and outside.  If it had been converted? I would be really upset that I missed it..........if Spins is reading this, maybe she can confirm it or not? I honestly never heard of anything in here being converted to something else.

I should say, I never asked about dinner in there either.....so if I am wrong about it, I apologize if I am giving incorrect information.

[Gourmet Gal]

I must be confused on that.  Thanks for the response.

 

SF is not what it used to be, sadly.  I never go into the city anymore.

[Lois R]

I am sailing on the  Muse next month and she has an Arts Cafe on her as well. I will ask about dinner while I am on board🙂

[Lois R]

Just now, Gourmet Gal said:

I must be confused on that.  Thanks for the response.

 

SF is not what it used to be, sadly.  I never go into the city anymore.

No problem.......maybe someone else will give us some input. I am on the Muse next month and she has an Arts Cafe too........will ask about it when I am on board🙂

[Lois R]

Are you possibly thinking of the Grill at the pool? There is an area that is converted to dinner tables.

You can cook your own meal or have them do it for you......Hot Rocks is the name. I had dinner one evening there...they cooked my Filet......it was delicious......🙂

[brimary]

Thanks Lois for your most helpful responses to queries raised,much appreciated!

[Lois R]

Just now, brimary said:

Thanks Lois for your most helpful responses to queries raised,much appreciated!

Glad to help🙂.....been chatting on these boards since 2003........and sometimes I have to remind myself about the truth of them.....it really is about all of us who love to cruise and if we can be helpful to one another at the same time, well, all the better👍

[worldtraveller99]

Thank you also Lois, really glad you had a great time! I am looking forward to our Muse trip next year to Alaska - really hope it runs as it is scheduled to do. Otherwise we will also go on a Greek Islands cruise in 2023. (And we will do that in a few years time even if we do go to Alaska in 2022). Sadly we have not holiday days to take an ocean cruise every year - we are booked for a Christmas Market Rhine river cruise too, we know we like those.

[Lois R]

I am not sure I posted this but just as a follow up........the crew and staff were masked up for the entire cruise.  All the time, whether they were inside or outside, all of them kept on their masks.

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

I am not sure I posted this but just as a follow up........the crew and staff were masked up for the entire cruise.  All the time, whether they were inside or outside, all of them kept on their masks.

 

Thanks for this information.  That's a negative for me.  

[Lois R]

Just now, rkacruiser said:

 

Thanks for this information.  That's a negative for me.  

That the crew had to wear them? It didn't make them any less friendly or anything like that.......

[Gourmet Gal]

I would really appreciate the crew being so disciplined with mask-wearing because it cannot be easy during their very long shifts.  They do it so passengers can have a break from wearing theirs.