Live from Silver Whisper Quebec to Boston

[crusinbanjo]

Hi all.  Hopefully the internet service remains good and I will post as we go along.

 

on Friday October 21, Mrs Banjo and I did a one way rental car and drove from Boston through New Hampshire and Vermont and into Canada.  It was an easy and beautiful 7 hour drive.  Leaving Boston at 7:30 am we arrived in Quebec City and found our Boutique hotel right next to the Château Frontenac and with plenty of daylight left, went out to enjoy a perfect sunny day in old town Quebec.

 

Saturday morning was a repeat of perfect weather to be outside and continue our visit to one of our favorite Canadian cities.  Out we went wandering the streets and stairs of the lower and upper city.  After lunch at an outdoor cafe it was time to make our way to the Whisper, so we collected our luggage and a short Uber ride to the terminal and quai 21.

 

The reception and boarding process is, as expected, kind of a PIA, but the good news is that this is not like the mega ship that was docked in front of our vacation home for the next 9 days.  (As we looked at both ships on Friday, Mrs Banjo commented that Whisper looks like a toy next to the mega ship berth in front).  Anyway, the pre board process went along smoothly with temp checks, etc. and did not take very long.  
 

Boarding was smooth, but not like it used to be.  In the lobby we were greeted by a masked crew and told that suites were not ready, so we should wait on deck 8 or 7 in La Terraza until an announcement was made.  It was 3pm when we boarded, 4pm when suites were ready.  Still the ship was a great place to be, but the reception was not what SS was in the past.  Rather than the Lux line feel, the feeling at boarding was more like a Mass Market ship.  Any we are happy to be aboard and I will report on more as we progress. 
 

today is Saguenay and weather is fabulous 

[jpalbny]

Glad you're safely on board and looking forward to your updates!

[Lois R]

Hi, it is a beautiful day today sailing on the river. Scenery is spectacular. 

 

I have found the crew and staff friendly, courteous and engaging😀

 

To the Banjos, would love to meet you both somehow😀

 

[ClefsDor]

Shame about the reception on boarding. One of the lovely things about going on a. luxury line is being greeted by a glass of champagne on embarkation. Whether one partakes of it or not it just sets the scene and mood for what's to come and it's a shame this no longer happens on SS. With only 200-600pax on most of their ships how hard or expensive can it be to have a couple of crew with trays of champagne?

[crusinbanjo]

7 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi, it is a beautiful day today sailing on the river. Scenery is spectacular. 

 

I have found the crew and staff friendly, courteous and engaging😀

 

To the Banjos, would love to meet you both somehow😀

 

Totally agree, it has been a beautiful day, sunshine, warm weather, just spectacular!

 

I also agree the staff is, as always, very friendly and helpful.  The ship appears to be in very good condition.  Last night we ate at La Dame, it was ok, not something I would do very often, but it was a nice quiet evening meal.  I often will book a specialty restaurant for the first night of the cruise so as to avoid all the lines at the main restaurant. The food was good and the staff pleasant and helpful. La Dame had only 4 tables last night and as our meal was ending the chef came out to say hello and be sure all were satisfied with the food. The scallop potato’s were to die for, the rest was very good.

 

because we booked at the last minute, most of the excursions are full or wait listed, so Mrs Banjo and I have been wandering the ports on foot.  Today we were a bit disappointed, (not SS fault), that we could not get to the paper pulp museum.  On our last visit, the town had a shuttle bus that for a few dollars you could ride there and back.  At the visitor info station I asked about getting there, the nice lady to me the best way was by taxi, but unfortunately there are none in town.  That made me chuckle, so we did a self guided tour of the town.  We are hoping to get on something tomorrow or maybe Tuesday.  
 

in any case, we are enjoying the cruise, we home the weather continues to be good.

 

Lois, you might try to find us at tea time, that has not been a busy spot.  Look forward to meeting you as well

[Silver Spectre]

Thanks for posting and hope the weather gods continue to be kind.

[RetiredandTravel]

Enjoy your voyage, thanks for the reports.

[Mudhen]

Enjoying your reports! We were on the last cruise before the Fiona debacle. We too had gorgeous weather. Some fog was the worst of it. Hoping your weather holds and you have as good a time as we did!

[crusinbanjo]

On 10/23/2022 at 9:44 AM, Lois R said:

Hi, it is a beautiful day today sailing on the river. Scenery is spectacular. 

 

I have found the crew and staff friendly, courteous and engaging😀

 

To the Banjos, would love to meet you both somehow😀

 

Totally agree, it has been a beautiful day, sunshine, warm weather, just spectacular!

 

I also agree the staff is, as always, very friendly and helpful.  The ship appears to be in very good condition.  Last night we ate at La Dame, it was ok, not something I would do very often, but it was a nice quiet evening meal.  I often will book a specialty restaurant for the first night of the cruise so as to avoid all the lines at the main restaurant. The food was good and the staff pleasant and helpful. La Dame had only 4 tables last night and as our meal was ending the chef came out to say hello and be sure all were satisfied with the food. The scallop potato’s were to die for, the rest was very good.

 

because we booked at the last minute, most of the excursions are full or wait listed, so Mrs Banjo and I have been wandering the ports on foot.  Today we were a bit disappointed, (not SS fault), that we could not get to the paper pulp museum.  On our last visit, the town had a shuttle bus that for a few dollars you could ride there and back.  At the visitor info station I asked about getting there, the nice lady to me the best way was by taxi, but unfortunately there are none in town.  That made me chuckle, so we did a self guided tour of the town.  We are hoping to get on something tomorrow or maybe Tuesday.  
 

in any case, we are enjoying the cruise, we home the weather continues to be good.

 

Lois, you might try to find us at tea time, that has not been a busy spot.  Look forward to meeting you as well

[crusinbanjo]

Monday morning on SS Whisper, sitting in the observation lounge on deck 10 as we approach the Sept Isles.  Seas are calm and sun is shining, but it is pretty cool today with some wind.  Mrs Banjo and I were not able to secure a tour for today, so we were told the locals sponsor a shuttle into town and we are planning another self guided tour.  The tour desk staff was very helpful and we did arrange to get on tours for tomorrow and Wednesday.  The fact that all tours are sold out is one of my pet peeves.  When Regent went to the everything is included and couldn’t deliver on tours, we left them and have never  returned.  I hope SS is not going down the same path.

 

The only other complaint I have is that I went to the front desk asking them to break down a $100 Canadian bill and the response was, “we only haveUS dollars on board”.  Now think about that, we are in Canada for almost the entire cruise and the ship only has US dollars?  So today we will go ashore and find a bank or ATM for smaller bills. Hopefully the shuttle is free or the driver has lots of money to make change!

 

[crusinbanjo]

Overall, the cruise is still one of our favorites.  The scenery never disappoints and it’s close to home, so no airports to deal with.  Glad to be back to cruising  on a fine ship with a good crew.  It’s going to be another good day.

[jpalbny]

1 hour ago, crusinbanjo said:

I went to the front desk asking them to break down a $100 Canadian bill and the response was, “we only haveUS dollars on board”.  Now think about that, we are in Canada for almost the entire cruise and the ship only has US dollars?  So today we will go ashore and find a bank or ATM for smaller bills. Hopefully the shuttle is free or the driver has lots of money to make change!

 

If you had stopped in Albany on your way up, I had some extra Loonies and Toonies that I could have given you! 

[crusinbanjo]

30 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

If you had stopped in Albany on your way up, I had some extra Loonies and Toonies that I could have given you! 

Thanks for the offer.  Next time we might divert to Albany…..   free dollars and all.  Haha.  

 

I always hang on to any foreign currency from previous trips.  On this occasion, before we left, I went into my safe and came out with $130.50 Canadian.  I dropped all the Loonies and Toonies in a contribution box at the church in Quebec City, then spent the $20 note on museum tickets, that left me with the $100 note that cannot be changed on board.  I’ll get the job done,  somehow.

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, crusinbanjo said:

Mrs Banjo and I were not able to secure a tour for today…

 

The fact that all tours are sold out is one of my pet peeves.  

From my perspective, you paid for a cruise that included tours. Shouldn’t matter when you booked. Therefore, I’d explore a small refund or OBC of $75 to $100 per passenger since SS was unable to deliver what they promised.

 

1 hour ago, crusinbanjo said:

 

The only other complaint I have is that I went to the front desk asking them to break down a $100 Canadian bill and the response was, “we only haveUS dollars on board”.  Now think about that, we are in Canada for almost the entire cruise and the ship only has US dollars?

 

I think that’s always the case, regardless of where one is in the world.

[crusinbanjo]

3 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

From my perspective, you paid for a cruise that included tours. Shouldn’t matter when you booked. Therefore, I’d explore a small refund or OBC of $75 to $100 per passenger since SS was unable to deliver what they promised.

 

I think that’s always the case, regardless of where one is in the world.

We have always been able to exchange or break up larger bills in different currencies from the countries we have visited via cruise ship.  Guess I’m just living in the past.    Cash……..how quaint 

[rkacruiser]

53 minutes ago, crusinbanjo said:

We have always been able to exchange or break up larger bills in different currencies from the countries we have visited via cruise ship.  Guess I’m just living in the past.    Cash……..how quaint 

 

As I have been able to do.  Cash--not quaint when the credit card reader doesn't work or the ATM eats one's ATM card.  

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, crusinbanjo said:

We have always been able to exchange or break up larger bills in different currencies from the countries we have visited via cruise ship.

Interesting.  To be sure I understand, you’re saying you’ve always been able to do what you describe in foreign currency on SS?  

Edited October 24, 2022 by Stumblefoot

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

As I have been able to do.

On Silversea?

[mysty]

14 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

On Silversea?

This has not been our experience!  Not sure where those ships were sailing.   On our past itineraries on Silversea that was not the case!

[Stumblefoot]

5 minutes ago, mysty said:

This has not been our experience!  Not sure where those ships were sailing.   On our past itineraries on Silversea that was not the case!

Same with us, Mysty.  It was always pointed out in the Chronicles that Reception would not have the capability to exchange large foreign currency. So, I’m really interested to hear back from Banjo and RKA as their replies make it sound like SS has always done this, at least to me anyway.

[Silver Spectre]

8 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Same with us, Mysty.  It was always pointed out in the Chronicles that Reception would not have the capability to exchange large foreign currency. So, I’m really interested to hear back from Banjo and RKA as their replies make it sound like SS has always done this, at least to me anyway.

This has not been the case on SS for at least 10 years. Even when sailing an entire season in Europe SS doesn’t carry Euros. Mind you, why would you wish to carry the equivalent of Monopoly money 😎

[Lois R]

I have also been told on my European sailings that Guest Relations never has Euros on hand. They always carry US $, no matter where they are sailing.

[rkacruiser]

22 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

So, I’m really interested to hear back from Banjo and RKA as their replies make it sound like SS has always done this, at least to me anyway.

 

My comment was not Silverseas specific. 

[crusinbanjo]

So I could be wrong on the cash thing, generally we try to bring local currencies, and have traveled on a lot of different cruise lines. So, I’ll beg forgiveness, because we normally don’t need help from the desk and my memories could be flawed on which line we were on when we needed to make change.

 

[crusinbanjo]

Monday turned into another fabulous day in Canada.  Although we did not get on any tours, we did a self guided city tour and just enjoyed the sunshine and pleasant temperatures.  Sept Isle, has some beautiful homes along the waterfront.  Additionally, we were impressed with the 3 banks, 11 bars and 1 Ford dealership we saw on our walk about. 😄😄

 

On arriving back at the ship we learned a new trick.  If all the tours are wait listed and you can’t get tickets, just hang around the tour meeting point before the tour departs. Somebody will, for sure, not show up and you can take their place!  We are going to test this out sometime soon, and will report back.