Moon across the pond, Lisbon to Ft Lauderdale

[Silver Spectre]

4 hours ago, WesW said:

Thanks for taking us along on Mrs. Silver and your Moon cruise across the pond.

 

Yesterday the Cloud could not begin disembarkation until 3:30pm due to everyone being tested (and get a negative result before Chile would let them off the ship) for Covid.  The passengers missed 1.5 days of their Antarctica landings in order to get a Covid positive passenger to an evacuation spot at a research station.  

Thanks for the update Wes, and that sucks. Just said au revoir to David.

[Silver Spectre]

Little Miss Whisper is here

 

[spinnaker2]

Thanks for posting that photo Mr. Silver, the Whisper is so lovely, berthed at 25.

Soon we will be aboard, but not soon enough!!!

[fdnycruiser]

It certainly was a great cruise, beautiful ship, great crew and I believe that a good time was had by all. Favorite bar and restaurant was SALT. I’ll miss having my drinks there tonight. Home,unpacked,and trying to figure out what to eat. 

[Catlover54]

On 12/1/2021 at 11:06 AM, WesW said:

Thanks for taking us along on Mrs. Silver and your Moon cruise across the pond.

 

Yesterday the Cloud could not begin disembarkation until 3:30pm due to everyone being tested (and get a negative result before Chile would let them off the ship) for Covid.  The passengers missed 1.5 days of their Antarctica landings in order to get a Covid positive passenger to an evacuation spot at a research station.  

 

SS dropped a Covid passenger at a research station in Antarctica, rather than keeping him, quarantined,  on board the ship, with medical facilities and a doctor, until the next real port???  Could you provide more details (or where you got the info you got?).  

I guess it's not clear if they dropped the passenger at the research station because he was so sick they needed to have the station arrange emergency transport to a real hospital for care, or because SS just wanted to get him off the ship before heading back to Chile.  They have quarantine rooms, so unless he was so sick he needed immediate transport, why could he not stay in one of those rooms until the next port, and was that determined by SS, or local authorities?

 

[boccenana]

2 hours ago, fdnycruiser said:

It certainly was a great cruise, beautiful ship, great crew and I believe that a good time was had by all. Favorite bar and restaurant was SALT. I’ll miss having my drinks there tonight. Home,unpacked,and trying to figure out what to eat. 

Back to reality huh? Life's a ***** without a butler🤭.

Thank you so very much for your uplifting reports from the Moon. We can't wait to board her in Ecuador on the 18h. Praying, praying 🙏🙏🙏 no more changes.

Elaine 😎

[WesW]

Catlover54; this information is directly from guests who were exceptionally inconvenienced by this Billionaire family who flew in a private jet bypassing the Santiago airport Covid protocols in Puerto William that Silversea had in place but Silversea tolerated to the ultimate detriment of 150 guests.  This led to a shortened Antarctica cruise and a debacle disembarkation.  Silversea Passengers Facebook page has much more excruciating detail.   

[frantic36]

9 hours ago, WesW said:

Catlover54; this information is directly from guests who were exceptionally inconvenienced by this Billionaire family who flew in a private jet bypassing the Santiago airport Covid protocols in Puerto William that Silversea had in place but Silversea tolerated to the ultimate detriment of 150 guests.  This led to a shortened Antarctica cruise and a debacle disembarkation.  Silversea Passengers Facebook page has much more excruciating detail.   

 

Totally unbelievable sense of entitlement by that family. They should just buy their own yacht if they care so little for others.

[Silver Spectre]

Finally home after an overnight flight to London. Disembarkation from the Moon was a real mixed bag yesterday, starting with a slow line for immigration, complicated by the crew having to do the same, and their line looked like it was about an hour long.

 

We then got dropped at the wrong end of Miami Airport, not a huge problem for us, but disastrous for the elderly gentleman who uses a walker and had been assured by Guest Relations on the ship that he would have wheelchair assistance as soon as he got off the bus. Of course it was no where to be seen and wasn’t available until the BA desk opened some 4 hours later.

 

We then spent ages negotiating with the Sprint assistance desk until they took pity on him and a kind guy drove him around the terminal to where we should have been in the first place. I then managed to persuade American Airlines to help him with a wheelchair to their holding area, and finally another guest from the Moon used his AA status to get him assistance to the BA desks and all the way through to the Lounge.

 

Quite how Silversea thinks that guests who have bought a full travel package from them, and who need wheelchair assistance, should negotiate this sort of situation, leaves me lost for words.

Edited December 3, 2021 by Silver Spectre

[fdnycruiser]

The immigration debacle was ridiculous. Only a handful of agents, and the global entry ( which we pay for was closed) . Not a good welcome to the US.

[Mayflower1]

Good Afternoon Silver Spectre - so pleased that you finally managed to get back home after your adventure.

We have much enjoyed your comments from the ship and find it woeful that the Disembarkation experience was so poor - whilst no doubt Covid Procedures contributed it does appear that some of the aspects do not compare well with Barbara Muckerman continually stressing a ' Seamless Luxury Travel Experience ' ???

[daddyo]

1 hour ago, fdnycruiser said:

The immigration debacle was ridiculous. Only a handful of agents, and the global entry ( which we pay for was closed) . Not a good welcome to the US.

MIA is a third world airport.  And has been for years.  

[Silver Spectre]

1 hour ago, Mayflower1 said:

Good Afternoon Silver Spectre - so pleased that you finally managed to get back home after your adventure.

We have much enjoyed your comments from the ship and find it woeful that the Disembarkation experience was so poor - whilst no doubt Covid Procedures contributed it does appear that some of the aspects do not compare well with Barbara Muckerman continually stressing a ' Seamless Luxury Travel Experience ' ???

Seamless it certainly was not. The failure to provide a day room at a local hotel, as per multiple previous cruise endings, was a major factor. As was the provision of two exit tours that were completely unsuitable for guests with mobility issues.

[Silver Spectre]

31 minutes ago, daddyo said:

MIA is a third world airport.  And has been for years.  

It is much improved from many previous visits, however a lack of joined up thinking between British Airways and American doesn’t help.

[boccenana]

2 hours ago, fdnycruiser said:

The immigration debacle was ridiculous. Only a handful of agents, and the global entry ( which we pay for was closed) . Not a good welcome to the US.

Thanks for information.  Is this FLL airport you're referring to?

Very disheartening 😔. 

Is there no end to this political insanity? 😖

The blame game will continue. Doesn't cure the problems, only people with cajones will.

This post will probably get deleted.  If not, maybe there is a semblance of hope.🤔

[mofrances]

4 minutes ago, boccenana said:

Thanks for information.  Is this FLL airport you're referring to?

Very disheartening 😔. 

Is there no end to this political insanity? 😖

The blame game will continue. Doesn't cure the problems, only people with cajones will.

This post will probably get deleted.  If not, maybe there is a semblance of hope.🤔

I'm guessing it is referring to the Port Everglades entry point (where we disembark). Which does impact us as that is also where we will disembark on Jan 3. I've been trying to look up whether Global Entry will be open at the port but no luck getting any info so far. If we have a long wait then so be it...as long as everyone makes their flights home that afternoon we will just grin and bear it if we have a wait for Immigration🙂

 

 

[boccenana]

 Mo, your positive attitude is amazing considering the logistics of your family cruise.

All we want at this point is to finally be on board and free to enjoy all the Silvermoon has to offer. Fun...food...friends and libations.

See you all on 7.

Elaine 😎

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, boccenana said:

Is this FLL airport you're referring to?

No, Mr. Silver said Miami airport which is MIA.

[Silver Spectre]

1 hour ago, mofrances said:

I'm guessing it is referring to the Port Everglades entry point (where we disembark). Which does impact us as that is also where we will disembark on Jan 3. I've been trying to look up whether Global Entry will be open at the port but no luck getting any info so far. If we have a long wait then so be it...as long as everyone makes their flights home that afternoon we will just grin and bear it if we have a wait for Immigration🙂

 

 

Correct.

[applefan75]

6 hours ago, fdnycruiser said:

The immigration debacle was ridiculous. Only a handful of agents, and the global entry ( which we pay for was closed) . Not a good welcome to the US.

I’ve learned to expect the worst when dealing with our immigration.  It’s pitiful and never seems to improve.  As a solo male traveler I usually get treated to additional scrutiny even with my Global Entry status.

[fdnycruiser]

7 hours ago, daddyo said:

MIA is a third world airport.  And has been for years.  

I was referring to immigration procedures at the Port Everglades cruise port. They do have a sign and area for global entry, but it was closed. The back up was not due to COVID procedures, but minimum personnel working at CBP checkpoints. There were only 3 when my wife and I went through.

[frantic36]

7 hours ago, daddyo said:

MIA is a third world airport.  And has been for years.  

 

Totally agree and I am not looking forward to revisit in 2023. LAX and MIA are two of my least favourite airports and it makes no difference who is in charge politically.

[Catlover54]

9 hours ago, boccenana said:

Thanks for information.  Is this FLL airport you're referring to?

Very disheartening 😔. 

Is there no end to this political insanity? 😖

The blame game will continue. Doesn't cure the problems, only people with cajones will.

This post will probably get deleted.  If not, maybe there is a semblance of hope.🤔

The FLL *airport*, distinctive from Miami, is actually not too bad, as far as airports go. 

And when I disembarked off my Celebrity cruise which ended in Fort Lauderdale from the Caribbean a couple weeks ago, it was amazingly quick.

 

Miami airport is a problem, (the facilities, the rude personnel, and many of the passengers). It was like this pre-Covid, and has not gotten better. If I ever have a true choice, I try and fly into FLL instead of MIA.

[Fortunate2]

For future reference, AA has several options of their "5 Star" Services programs at MIA that provide fee-based escort services from arrival, departure, lounge and other assistance as needed.   We have a close friend who travels through MIA on a semi-regular basis and has found their Departure services almost a must.  No more lines.  Here's a link:

 

https://www.aa.com/i18n/plan-travel/extras/five-star-service.jsp

Edited December 4, 2021 by Fortunate2
update with link

[les37b]

16 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

The FLL *airport*, distinctive from Miami, is actually not too bad, as far as airports go. 

And when I disembarked off my Celebrity cruise which ended in Fort Lauderdale from the Caribbean a couple weeks ago, it was amazingly quick.

 

Miami airport is a problem, (the facilities, the rude personnel, and many of the passengers). It was like this pre-Covid, and has not gotten better. If I ever have a true choice, I try and fly into FLL instead of MIA.

 

My last 2 flights from FLL were awful. Getting through security was most definitely the worst and most unpleasant I've experienced. Horrendous queues, but the worst part was my carry on had been picked on because the x-ray picked up lots of wires inside and get me to decant into several trays. (The bag contained several thousand £ worth of camera gear), which I then had to wait in line and wasn't reconnected with until 10 mins later, so gear which was left unattended and out of sight whilst I had to queue to pass through the machine, searched and eventually frantically reunited, but unaware if all my belongings would all still be there. I would have been fine for them to empty the contents and check themselves at a bench. "Sir, I don't care if your bag contains lots of valuables, just empty your bags for the x-ray machine". I thought it best not to remonstrate for fear of rubber gloves and a search I really wouldn't like!

 

10 hours later we left the airport because our flight was cancelled and the BA airport staff handling the stranded passengers were clueless and just wanted people off their hands and into coaches outside.

 

We then had to endure a near identical scenario 2 days later with my rescheduled return flight. I did question myself at the time if this unpleasant experience was worth it.

 

My next flight in one month is to MIA. Luckily it's inbound only.

 

Security is important, got no issue with being kept safe, but that disregard to personal property which was out of site for a long period of time, was not what I wanted or expected.

 

My request for my 2 legged return flight, was to ensure it was not routed via the US knowing the 2 time security clearance for a transit flight would be unwelcome. I couldn't odds this in May next year with return flights from Anchorage and plane change in Chicago. I have my fingers crossed.

 

I love visiting the US, but my personal airport experiences leave me cold.