A Silver Shadow Over The World - December 2023 to May 2024

[mysty]

15 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Golly  Mysty -  I had no idea until very recently you and Myster were such well travelled people.  I think you really have been everywhere.   I hope you can get any additional cover on your insurance if you need it for Tibet.  I feel pretty humble about my trips around the world after reading about yours.

 

I guess you know what the World Cruisers special events will be beforehand, and need to book in for them?

 

Lola

 

 

 

Typically you are sent an invitation to the event while you are on the ship about a week before it is to take place so that they can finalize the count.   The exception was the overland trip in Japan.  We had to complete paperwork about a month (I think) before we left home.

 

We have been very lucky bunnies with our travels.   I grew up in a tiny farming community and thrilled to National Geographic magazines from our little community library.   The issues I pored over about the Taj Mahal, about Easter Island, about Japan, and on and on,  ignited a spark that I never imagined would burst into flame.  My very first adventure outside of Canada and the US was our honeymoon in Greece.  It was such an amazing experience that after we got the kids safely out of university we started traveling in earnest.   Now our priority is to squeeze in as much travel as we can before we can't.  This upcoming adventure is still a leaky pipe dream.  If the travel gods and goddesses smile we will smile.  😁

[mysty]

After the 2016 cruise I was asked a number of questions relating to our first experience on this kind of adventure.  Maybe this question/answer would help folks planning for their own adventure.

 

Question:  What had you wished you had known before the cruise?  Lessons learned?

There are a few things I would have done differently had I known all the intricacies of a world cruise with Silversea.

1.  The laundry, pressing and dry cleaning service on the Silver Whisper was amazing!  Laundry put out by 9:00 am was delivered to the suite by 6:00 pm that same day.  I would have packed much less if I had known that they were so efficient and meticulous.

2.  Many ports easily accepted USD.  We would have done better in some cases by not getting foreign currency before the cruise.  We tipped our guides with USD and it would have been better to have more of that currency.

3.  In terms of the formal nights in The Restaurant I could have gone with a slightly "less formal" approach to attire.  The men all wore either tuxes (more than a few of them) or dark suits.  The women, however, ran the gamut between dressy pantsuits and long formal gowns. I brought 2 long formal gowns and I wore one of them only once and the other not at all.

4.  In the 18 days between March 17 and April 4 we had 7 flights.  We flew from Bangkok to Bhutan and back on March 17 and March 20.  We flew from Bangkok to Singapore on March 21.  We flew from Yangon to Bagan and back on March 26 and 27.  We flew from Mumbai to Agra and back on April 4.  All of the trips were definitely well worth the travel.  I did find that it was exhausting.  This was not something I had considered when I did the planning.

5.  I was remiss in checking with the Customs and Excise rules for the amount per person declaration allowable before we left on the cruise.  My mistake!  It worked out OK because the pricey item we purchased as our personal souvenir of the trip was antique art from Bhutan and our other purchases met the allowable limit.

 

In terms of the broader "lessons learned" aspect, I have a new appreciation for the size of the earth!  Sailing for 5 straight days between Lima and Easter Island with no land in sight definitely got my attention.  We had traveled to distant places such as China, Australia and South America by air which involved many hours in flight.  However, to spend multiple days on the ocean between ports (or potential ports in the case of Easter Island and Pitcairn Island) is truly awe-inspiring.  Our planet is enormous! And spectacular!

[mysty]

Mark Twain wrote: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

 

William Hazlitt said “You Know More Of A Road By Having Traveled It Than By All The Conjectures And Descriptions In The World.”

 

Paula Bendfeldt said “Travel Opens Your Heart, Broadens Your Mind And Fills Your Life With Stories To Tell.” 

 

Which leads to another question I was asked after our first adventure.....

 

Question:  Has this experience changed your perspective in any way?  How?

 

The short answer is YES!  This experience has definitely changed my perspective in a number of ways.

 

I have never been very good with geography.  I can usually determine north from south and east from west so I can read a map and follow directions.  What I was not particularly good at was figuring out where in the world certain countries and cities were located.  My perspective on the world and its size was sharpened on this trip.  I followed our route on a map of the world we had attached to our suite wall using a small red magnet.  We could follow along with the ship's course by checking the latitude and longitude of the ship's position each day.  Crossing the Pacific Ocean from Lima to Fakarava, French Polynesia took about 10 days.  Each day our red magnet place keeper seemed to move only a few millimeters across the blue on the map.  The size of the Pacific Ocean was mind-blowing!  The added bonus was that this trip really helped with crossword clues!

 

Because our world map did not illustrate all the places we were visiting, I often had to search the internet to determine where they were located with respect to places that were illustrated.  I learned a lot of geography on this trip!  I also learned a lot about the culture of the places we visited.  Each Destination Lecture included the population size, a breakdown of the population by religion, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the country, average age of the population and average income.  It helped to put things in perspective.  And this leads to another change in my perspective.

 

I had always known that poverty existed in our world.  My concept of poverty was altered on this trip.  Many times our excursions involved driving past what seemed to be uninhabitable "homes".  Barely standing hovels served as shelter for many families.  Garbage and litter were everywhere.  Here we were with a comfortable home of our own, traveling in buses with people who owned multiple homes, some in multiple countries.  The contrast was disconcerting!

 

I also realized how very lucky I am to live in Canada!  My appreciation for our wonderful country grew immensely.  We do not currently have to deal with many of the dangerous aspects of life such as the multiple checkpoints on Egyptian roads, military at every turn in Israel, restrictions on women's rights and freedoms as in some of the Muslim countries or the threat of attack by Muslim extremists.  

 

In fact, I realized how lucky I was to be able to take this trip!  I will be forever grateful to have had the opportunity to see our great big amazing world, warts and all!
 

[mysty]

I found another fascinating resource for interesting things to see around the world.  The website is called Atlas Obscura. 

From the website:  

"Atlas Obscura catalogues the most unusual, surprising, and amazing places around the world, thanks to the discoveries shared by our intrepid community of travelers and explorers. There are now more than 15,200 incredible hidden wonders listed in the Atlas, and we’ve plotted each and every one of them on this interactive map.

The possibilities are vast, from the Icelandic witchcraft museum to the tree goats of Morocco, to Galileo’s middle finger, to the Skeleton Lake of India and thousands of other architectural oddities, natural wonders, catacombs and crypts, and unique collections across the world’s continents and oceans.

Start exploring, and see what rabbit holes you may stumble down. "

 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/

 

For example here is the link for Kowloon, Hong Kong:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/kowloon-hong-kong

 

And here is the link to something interesting in Kowloon:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/un-chau-estate-flower-tunnel

 

Here is the link for interesting ideas in Newcastle, Australia.  We have no excursions booked there yet and these options look enticing.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/newcastle-australia

 

Here is a link to the Cairns Library Bats.  We saw them in 2016.  They were fascinating.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cairns-library-bats

[Mr Luxury]

3 hours ago, mysty said:

I found another fascinating resource for interesting things to see around the world.  The website is called Atlas Obscura. 

From the website:  

"Atlas Obscura catalogues the most unusual, surprising, and amazing places around the world, thanks to the discoveries shared by our intrepid community of travelers and explorers. There are now more than 15,200 incredible hidden wonders listed in the Atlas, and we’ve plotted each and every one of them on this interactive map.

The possibilities are vast, from the Icelandic witchcraft museum to the tree goats of Morocco, to Galileo’s middle finger, to the Skeleton Lake of India and thousands of other architectural oddities, natural wonders, catacombs and crypts, and unique collections across the world’s continents and oceans.

Start exploring, and see what rabbit holes you may stumble down. "

 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/

 

For example here is the link for Kowloon, Hong Kong:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/kowloon-hong-kong

 

And here is the link to something interesting in Kowloon:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/un-chau-estate-flower-tunnel

 

Here is the link for interesting ideas in Newcastle, Australia.  We have no excursions booked there yet and these options look enticing.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/newcastle-australia

 

Here is a link to the Cairns Library Bats.  We saw them in 2016.  They were fascinating.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cairns-library-bats

Very Interesting although I'm not sure I want to see Galileo's middle finger.

[mysty]

19 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Very Interesting although I'm not sure I want to see Galileo's middle finger.

 

I'm with you there Mr!  In fact,  I'm not keen to see anyone's middle finger! 😁

[mysty]

For our last 4 Silversea cruises we have used CheckMyTrip to keep track of our air reservations.  We have used Silversea Air up to this point.

 

https://www.checkmytrip.com/cmtweb/#/home

 

CheckMyTrip is your complete travel itinerary tool, bringing you flight information and alerts, travel services and extras to get you smoothly from door to door.

There are downloadable versions for Apple and Android.

 

This app will alert you when your flights are altered.  It accesses the Amadeus bookings.  Prior to our Grand Northern Europe Voyage in May of 2022 our flights were cancelled and Silversea was not aware of the issue until our Travel  Agent contacted them on our behalf.  Silversea was able to recover our reservations.  This particular issue resulted in us being upgraded from a Classic Veranda to a Superior Veranda (more midship) for our upcoming cruises because our Travel Agent pressed.  

 

At one point on our 2016 adventure the aircraft had been changed.  When I looked at the seating plan for the new aircraft one of the seats we had been assigned did not even exist.  Once again our TA was able to address the issue.  I check the app on a regular basis to verify that all is well.  

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

Mysty, we are looking at the 2025 Grand Asia voyage which visits several of the same ports as your upcoming World Cruise.  This will be new territory for us with the exception of Singapore.  We are hoping things settle down by then so we can visit Beijing, but who knows at this point as it's two years down the road.  Since you have visited many of these ports before, what do you think of Silversea's Grand Asia voyage in 2025?

[mysty]

25 minutes ago, CruzinFeraBruzin said:

Mysty, we are looking at the 2025 Grand Asia voyage which visits several of the same ports as your upcoming World Cruise.  This will be new territory for us with the exception of Singapore.  We are hoping things settle down by then so we can visit Beijing, but who knows at this point as it's two years down the road.  Since you have visited many of these ports before, what do you think of Silversea's Grand Asia voyage in 2025?

 

That adventure looks spectacular Cruisin!  Great selection of ports in Japan.  We will visit many of these if we get to sail our dream.

 

We've been to 13 of the ports you will visit.  We missed Koh Samui because of the overland to Bhutan that we took in 2016 that departed from Bangkok and returned to the ship in Singapore.

 

We visited:

Singapore
Kuala Lumpur
Penang
Phuket
Bangkok
Ho Chi Minh City
Ha Long Bay
Hong Kong
Shanghai
Tokyo
Osaka
Taipei
Manila

 

We loved Singapore, Penang, Bangkok, Ha Long Bay, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka and Taipei.

If you are interested I could provide blog links for 2016 and 2019 for the 13 ports we visited.

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

18 minutes ago, mysty said:

If you are interested I could provide blog links for 2016 and 2019 for the 13 ports we visited.

Thank you so much for your feedback.  Yes, I would love to view your blogs!

[mysty]

18 minutes ago, CruzinFeraBruzin said:

Thank you so much for your feedback.  Yes, I would love to view your blogs!

 

Okay.  I'll copy the links and provide them for you. 😁

[mysty]

1 hour ago, CruzinFeraBruzin said:

Thank you so much for your feedback.  Yes, I would love to view your blogs!

 

These links are from either 2016 and/or 2019.

Singapore

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/03/day-71singapore-singapore.html

 

Kuala Lumpur

https://mpworldcruise.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-77-kuala-lumpur.html

 

Penang

https://mpworldcruise.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-78-penang-malaysia.html

 

Phuket

https://mpworldcruise.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-79-phuket-thailand.html

 

Bangkok

https://mpworldcruise.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-71-bangkok-thailand.html

 

Ho Chi Minh City

https://mpworldcruise.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-68-ho-chi-minh-city-vietnam.html

 

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/03/day-68ho-chi-minh-city-saigon-vietnam.html

 

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/03/day-68ho-chi-minh-city-saigon-contd.html

 

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/03/day-69ho-chi-minh-city-saigon-vietnam.html

 

Ha Long Bay

https://mpworldcruise.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-65-halong-bay-vietnam.html

 

https://mpworldcruise.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-66-halong-bay-vietnam.html

 

Hong Kong

https://mpworldcruise.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-61-hong-kong.html

 

https://mpworldcruise.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-62-hong-kong.html

 

https://mpworldcruise.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-63-hong-kong.html

 

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/03/day-64hong-kong.html

 

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/03/day-65hong-kong.html

 

Shanghai

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/03/day-60shanghai-china.html

 

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/03/day-61shanghai-china.html

 

Tokyo

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/03/day-56tokyo-japan.html

 

Osaka

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/02/day-52osaka-japan.html

 

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/02/day-48saohsiung-taiwan.html

 

Keelung, Taiwan

https://mpworldexploration2019.blogspot.com/2019/02/day-49-keelung-taiwan.html

 

Manila

https://mpworldcruise.blogspot.com/2016/03/day-59-manila-philippines.html

 

You'll notice that we didn't visit Taipei itself.  Excursions were not included on either the 2016 or the 2019 World Cruises.  It was a matter of establishing priorities for the OBC funds available.    We also did not really tour Phuket.  Most of the activities were beach and water related and that didn't appeal.

 

I hope you enjoy the research.  😁

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by mysty

[jpalbny]

M, you are a prolific blogger! I can't keep up. Haven't finished my blog from April of last year and never bothered starting one from the Finland trip. Can I hire you to finish them for me?

 

I use Tripit to keep track of our crazy itineraries. But I don't use SS air so I have to use a different website called "check your own d*** flights" to keep track. Just kidding; I have them organized in the FlyDelta app (or KLM/AF if I use those lines).

Edited February 14, 2023 by jpalbny

[mysty]

9 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

M, you are a prolific blogger! I can't keep up. Haven't finished my blog from April of last year and never bothered starting one from the Finland trip. Can I hire you to finish them for me?

 

I use Tripit to keep track of our crazy itineraries. But I don't use SS air so I have to use a different website called "check your own d*** flights" to keep track. Just kidding; I have them organized in the FlyDelta app (or KLM/AF if I use those lines).

 

JP, with the way my memory is trending I need to make notes in the moment or all is lost.  I do those blog entries as we go.  When we return home I add a few notes, additional photos and answer questions.

 

I can absolutely take over finishing your blogs as long as you are comfortable with what my imagination does to your intended posts.  🤣  You could have an amazing adventure just reading the stuff I make up!

 

 

[mysty]

Another special event we have enjoyed on the World Cruises has been the Lunch and Learn.  This was served in La Dame and featured a menu prepared by Chef David Bilsland.  He explained the various dishes and walked us through the preparation.  Small subsets of the world cruisers took it in turn over the time that Chef David was aboard.

 

In 2016 we were invited to a "Lunch and Learn" where we learned how to prepare Seared Scallops on Wilted Spinach, Duck Two Ways and Warm White Wine Poached Peach Melba.  We got to enjoy the dishes with wine pairings. 

 

In  2019 Myster and I attended a "Lunch and Learn" in which Chef David Bilsland demonstrated the preparation of Thai Pumpkin Soup, Pan Roasted Chicken Breast and David's Ultimate Chocolate Tart.  We were served these dishes along with paired wines for each course.  

 

This event is full of delicious food, cooking instruction, laughter and fun.  Apparently it is happening on the 2023 World Cruise.  I hoping Silversea continues with this event for 2024.

[mysty]

One of my favourite travel pieces is a Royal Traveller Neck Money Holder.  I don't carry a purse.  I like to have my hands free on excursions and this piece is perfect for that.   It easily holds my suite key, tissues and money.  It is hidden under my top.

 

 

For excursions we use a light weight drawstring nylon backpack from Silversea (I think we got it with prize points on one of our cruises).  It looks something like this.....

 

 

It folds very small for packing and it holds quite a bit.

[Daveywavey70]

Snap!

 

[mysty]

42 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Snap!

 

 

Much more stylish DW!  😁

[gnome12]

I would prefer one with some RFID protection, but I have used a neck wallet for many years.

[mysty]

11 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I would prefer one with some RFID protection, but I have used a neck wallet for many years.

 

I would definitely go for some RFID protection for my next version.  For now this one works for me.  I really like the hands free aspect.  This one is very light weight.  No strain on neck muscles.  And it's washable.

[Mr Luxury]

2 hours ago, mysty said:

 

Much more stylish DW!  😁

He's got the shoes to match. 

[mysty]

7 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

He's got the shoes to match. 

 

DW has excellent taste!  His shoe collection is awesome!

[Daveywavey70]

4 hours ago, gnome12 said:

I would prefer one with some RFID protection, but I have used a neck wallet for many years.

Just keep your card in an RFID sleeve. I Think it would be too bulky if it was all insulated.

6 hours ago, mysty said:

 

Much more stylish DW!  😁

I'm Not sure about that M. It is silk though.

 

3 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

He's got the shoes to match. 

Funny you should say that........

I Do have a pair in that colour but they are a jacquard weave so certainly couldn't be classed as a match! 🙂  

[mysty]

13 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

I'm Not sure about that M. It is silk though.

 

Funny you should say that........

I Do have a pair in that colour but they are a jacquard weave so certainly couldn't be classed as a match! 🙂  

 

It is a much nicer presentation than the one I use DW.  Mine is very plain cotton.  And it's washable.  We have been in extremely hot spots and the cotton does get a tad damp under my shirt.  

 

Regarding the matchiness DW, I would say that the different textures are actually better.  Textures add more interest.  😁

[Daveywavey70]

It is nice in silk as you barely know it's there. There's a perfect passport sized pocket in the back which is great for going through airports as you don't need to faff and then when through it all it goes into one of the zipped pockets on the front.