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

[mysty]

Thank you for your answers @JoGay , @drron29, @Tothesunset !  My preference of #2 was because we have done both Africa and South America and because I love Norway and Ireland!  @Tothesunset.... I wish I could! 😅

[mysty]

@JoGay , @profpeabody , @wristband , @HappyLadyTravels , if you don't mind the question,  what attracted you to the upcoming cruise?  For us,  it was the number of new ports (in Fiji, Samoa, Alaska) and the awesome Japan.

[Daveywavey70]

If only but route 1 for me.

[JoGay]

3 hours ago, mysty said:

@JoGay , @profpeabody , @wristband , @HappyLadyTravels , if you don't mind the question,  what attracted you to the upcoming cruise?  For us,  it was the number of new ports (in Fiji, Samoa, Alaska) and the awesome Japan.

My husband wants to see NZ and Australia but can’t fly very long distances. This was the perfect way of accomplishing his goal.  I  like to travel and am willing to go just about anywhere.

[mysty]

20 minutes ago, JoGay said:

My husband wants to see NZ and Australia but can’t fly very long distances. This was the perfect way of accomplishing his goal.  I  like to travel and am willing to go just about anywhere.

 

That's awesome @JoGay !  A wonderful way to satisfy your wanderlust and keep your husband comfortable. 😁

[profpeabody]

I, like you, would prefer option 2 and pretty much for the same reasons.  I have loved cruising in Scandanavia and would like to do more. 

We chose this 2024 cruise because we had done the 2023 on Regent and loved the long trip although we were disenchanted with Regent after a horrible overland experience involving over 11 hours in a van with no water and no food in Africa.  The itinerary on this cruise is really wonderful, the amount of time in NZ and Australia is great, the Japan ports and then over to Alaska.  Just wonderful!

[mysty]

29 minutes ago, profpeabody said:

I, like you, would prefer option 2 and pretty much for the same reasons.  I have loved cruising in Scandanavia and would like to do more. 

We chose this 2024 cruise because we had done the 2023 on Regent and loved the long trip although we were disenchanted with Regent after a horrible overland experience involving over 11 hours in a van with no water and no food in Africa.  The itinerary on this cruise is really wonderful, the amount of time in NZ and Australia is great, the Japan ports and then over to Alaska.  Just wonderful!

 

Thank you @profpeabody !  We are on the same wave length.  I really hope that Silversea does not disappoint!  It hasn't for us thus far.  Fingers crossed that trend continues! 

[kej1]

Route 1

[mysty]

Thank you @Daveywavey70 and @kej1 !  It seems route 1 is a crowd favourite!  It will be interesting to see what Silversea comes up with for 2027.

[jpalbny]

Wow some good choices. #1 has South Korea and Sri Lanka which I'd love to see in depth. And the Red Sea. I don't need the Caribbean and so much South America though.

 

#2 is nice but spends a lot of time in Europe at the end. Would like to visit Nordkap though.

 

#3 looks very interesting to me, though it does skip South Korea. I may be delusional after rehydrating with too much beer after the Oktoberfest 5K this morning. None is perfect, but I'm sure any would be wonderful!

[mysty]

10 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

Wow some good choices. #1 has South Korea and Sri Lanka which I'd love to see in depth. And the Red Sea. I don't need the Caribbean and so much South America though.

 

#2 is nice but spends a lot of time in Europe at the end. Would like to visit Nordkap though.

 

#3 looks very interesting to me, though it does skip South Korea. I may be delusional after rehydrating with too much beer after the Oktoberfest 5K this morning. None is perfect, but I'm sure any would be wonderful!

 

Thank you for chiming in JP!  We will get a taste of South Korea on the upcoming.  I'd love to visit Nordkap too!  One cruise that was canceled due to the nasty would have taken us there.   If our past experiences are any indication,  any of the 3 options would be amazing!

[tnm6217]

On 9/30/2023 at 7:21 AM, mysty said:

Route 2

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing this with us, @mysty! Since my main factor for selecting cruises right now is minimizing leave from work, and I can only do the shorter segments, I'd pick #2 for the 12 day segment from Doha to Muscat in March or the final segment from Belfast to Oslo in May. I love that SS releases the WC for booking so early, which allows me to snag pretty incredible solo rates so far in advance. I'm booked for the first and penultimate segments on the 2026 WC on Dawn and can't wait!

[mysty]

26 minutes ago, tnm6217 said:

 

Thank you for sharing this with us, @mysty! Since my main factor for selecting cruises right now is minimizing leave from work, and I can only do the shorter segments, I'd pick #2 for the 12 day segment from Doha to Muscat in March or the final segment from Belfast to Oslo in May. I love that SS releases the WC for booking so early, which allows me to snag pretty incredible solo rates so far in advance. I'm booked for the first and penultimate segments on the 2026 WC on Dawn and can't wait!

 

Thank you for chiming in @tnm6217 !  I hope you get to book an awesome cruise for 2027.  😁

[mysty]

I spent a little time yesterday looking for interesting reads for the upcoming cruise.  I thought these sounded good.

 

Hungry by Jeff Gordinier (Best for foodies)

 

When René Redzepi, Head Chef at the globally renowned Michelin star restaurant Noma, got in touch with Jeff Gordimer, writer for the New York Times, he realized that they were both in a personal and professional slump. In Hungry, follow their shared hunger for risk and reinvention as they embark on a four-year culinary journey - from gathering figs in parks around Sydney to hunting for sea urchins in the Arctic Circle.

 

A Brief History of Indonesia: Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation by Tim Hannigan

This fascinating history book tells the story of Indonesia as a narrative of kings, traders, missionaries, soldiers and revolutionaries, featuring rough sea crossings, fiery volcanoes, and the occasional tiger. It recounts the colorful visits of foreign travelers who have passed through these shores for many centuries--from Chinese Buddhist pilgrims and Dutch adventurers to English sea captains and American movie stars. For readers who want an entertaining introduction to Asia's most fascinating country, this is delightful reading.

 

Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia Christina Thompson

 

For more than a millennium, Polynesians have occupied the remotest islands in the Pacific Ocean, a vast triangle stretching from Hawaii to New Zealand to Easter Island. Until the arrival of European explorers they were the only people to have ever lived there. Both the most closely related and the most widely dispersed people in the world before the era of mass migration, Polynesians can trace their roots to a group of epic voyagers who ventured out into the unknown in one of the greatest adventures in human history.

How did the earliest Polynesians find and colonize these far-flung islands? How did a people without writing or metal tools conquer the largest ocean in the world? This conundrum, which came to be known as the Problem of Polynesian Origins, emerged in the eighteenth century as one of the great geographical mysteries of mankind.

For Christina Thompson, this mystery is personal: her Maori husband and their sons descend directly from these ancient navigators. In Sea People, Thompson explores the fascinating story of these ancestors, as well as those of the many sailors, linguists, archaeologists, folklorists, biologists, and geographers who have puzzled over this history for three hundred years. A masterful mix of history, geography, anthropology, and the science of navigation, Sea People combines the thrill of exploration with the drama of discovery in a vivid tour of one of the most captivating regions in the world.

 

"Tricky Business" [2003] by Dave Barry

 

It has been described as "the funniest book ever read". It explores a cruise aboard ‘Extravaganza of the Seas,’ a ship where the stereotypes of cruising manifest. This book will be able to make you laugh with its wit or make you seasick with its incredible arguments on cruisers.

"Journey Through My Heart, Mind and Soul" [2004] by Sandra Grace Monge

A truly passionate novel of insightful and light-hearted memories of 13 trips accomplished by Suzy and Ewald Wiberg and sons. The good and the bad of each trip, including cruises are described. A novel which entertains, but also gives advice on amazing destinations and knowledge on how to plan your cruise.

 

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain

The author of this travel collection spent time in some of the world’s most fascinating places, from New York to Tanzania and plenty of stops in between. Bring this book with you to read about his experiences around the world, including essays written by his family and friends that add additional layers to his stories.

 

The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere by Pico Iyer

 

Why might a lifelong traveler like Pico Iyer, who has journeyed from Easter Island to Ethiopia, Cuba to Kathmandu, think that sitting quietly in a room might be the ultimate adventure? Because in our madly accelerating world, our lives are crowded, chaotic and noisy. There’s never been a greater need to slow down, tune out and give ourselves permission to be still.

In The Art of Stillness—a TED Books release—Iyer investigate the lives of people who have made a life seeking stillness: from Matthieu Ricard, a Frenchman with a PhD in molecular biology who left a promising scientific career to become a Tibetan monk, to revered singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who traded the pleasures of the senses for several years of living the near-silent life of meditation as a Zen monk. Iyer also draws on his own experiences as a travel writer to explore why advances in technology are making us more likely to retreat. He reflects that this is perhaps the reason why many people—even those with no religious commitment—seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or seeking silent retreats. These aren't New Age fads so much as ways to rediscover the wisdom of an earlier age. Growing trends like observing an “Internet Sabbath”—turning off online connections from Friday night to Monday morning—highlight how increasingly desperate many of us are to unplug and bring stillness into our lives.

 

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

 

Deliciously funny, fact-filled and adventurous, In a Sunburned Country takes us on a grand tour of Australia. It's a place where interesting things happen all the time, from a Prime Minister lost — yes, lost — while swimming at sea, to Japanese cult members who may (entirely unnoticed) have set off an atomic bomb on their 500,000 acre property in the great western desert.

Australia is the only island that is also a continent, and the only continent that is also a country. Its aboriginal people, a remote and mysterious race with a tragic history, have made it their home for millennia. And despite the fact that it is the most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all inhabited continents, it teems with life. In fact, Australia has more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else: sharks, crocodiles, the planet's ten most deadly poisonous snakes, fluffy yet toxic caterpillars, sea shells that actually attack you, and the unbelievable box jellyfish (don't ask). The dangerous riptides of the sea and the sun-baked wastes of the outback both lie in wait for the unwary.

I read this book and loved it.

 

Beneath the Wake (2017) by Ross Pennie

 

Epidemic investigator Dr. Zol Szabo hopes an extended cruise on the Indian Ocean with his girlfriend and his son will salve the wounds of the rough times they've been weathering at home. As they set sail coddled in unaccustomed luxury on the Coral Dynasty, things below deck are a little less sunny for the ship's physician. Dr. Noah Ferguson reckons that bandaging the wounds of the crew's seedy missteps is just part of a job that comes with a fair share of loneliness, but he's increasingly frustrated that the most rewarding aspect of his practice must remain unspoken. When a mysterious microbe cuts a lethal swath through the crew's quarters, Noah enlists a reluctant Zol, who must put his vacation on hold to investigate the illness before it consumes everyone on board. As the body count climbs, it becomes apparent that everybody carries a secret in international waters. Miles from land, the captain makes the rules, and anything inconvenient gets tossed overboard to disappear beneath the wake.

 

Ross Pennie was on the 2016 World Cruise with us.  He was writing it as we sailed.  I have read it and found it entertaining.

[highplanesdrifters]

Fabulous list. Can't wait to read a few. A Sunburned Country - great fun.

[wristband]

A few more suggestions to Mysty's excellent list:

Robert Hughes (Time's former art critic) "The Fatal Shore" on Australia is a classic.  

 

James Mincher on Hawaii is another classic, dated but fun.  Somerset Maugham's short stories in the South Pacific are short reads about his travels in a world long ago (Singapore, Vietnam).

 

Paul Theroux's travel books in Polynesia ("Happy Isles of Oceania") and China ("Riding The Red Rooster").  His short novels "Hotel Honolulu" and "Kowloon Tong" (Mafia HK) is set in HK before the British hand-over.

 

Thor Heyerdahl's "Fatu Hiva" (he went native & lived in the bush during WWII) and "Aku-Aku."  I realize we are not visiting those islands but both are short reads you may want to download

 

Caution about Bourdain - he was a fantastist, unreliable due to his drug addiction. Read it as fiction.

 

For a good sense of China today, Martin Jacques "When China Rules The World."

 

The best book I have read on the Japanese character, its history and customs, is Ruth Benedict's "The Crysanthemum and the Sword."  US intelligence tasked her (an anthropologist) to write a book to aid the American Occupation of Japan after the War.

 

Lee Kuan Yew's "From 3rd World To First" is very long but wonderfully weaves his personal history and adept political leadership that made Singapore into the marvel it is today.  If is too long, check out Kissinger's recent book "Leadership" where he focuses on 6 extraordinary world leaders.  The chapter on Yew - he is one of the six (called "Strategy of Excellence") - is an excellent read to better understand how Singapore came to be.

 

 

[wristband]

Mysty regarding the Doors 1, 2 or 3.  I would take Doors 1 &2 but avoid 3.

 

#3: Western Africa is dystopian, hell hole countries except for Namibia.  Obvious why thousands are fleeing the Sahel on makeshift rafts to land on European soil. Those West African countries, including Mahe which just elected a pro-China President, offer no hope and no future.  These are corrupt countries that offer unbelievable scenes of grinding poverty, enormous debt, the onset of jihadists and violent jihadism (Mali & Burkina Faso are next door fighting a losing battle), China gobbling up natural resources and their future patrimony - lithium, bauxite and tin mines sold off (Rio Tinto is controlled by the PRC), strategic ports and airports and construction companies are poof gone. Stay far away!

[mysty]

8 minutes ago, wristband said:

A few more suggestions to Mysty's excellent list:

Robert Hughes (Time's former art critic) "The Fatal Shore" on Australia is a classic.  

 

James Mincher on Hawaii is another classic, dated but fun.  Somerset Maugham's short stories in the South Pacific are short reads about his travels in a world long ago (Singapore, Vietnam).

 

Paul Theroux's travel books in Polynesia ("Happy Isles of Oceania") and China ("Riding The Red Rooster").  His short novels "Hotel Honolulu" and "Kowloon Tong" (Mafia HK) is set in HK before the British hand-over.

 

Thor Heyerdahl's "Fatu Hiva" (he went native & lived in the bush during WWII) and "Aku-Aku."  I realize we are not visiting those islands but both are short reads you may want to download

 

Caution about Bourdain - he was a fantastist, unreliable due to his drug addiction. Read it as fiction.

 

For a good sense of China today, Martin Jacques "When China Rules The World."

 

The best book I have read on the Japanese character, its history and customs, is Ruth Benedict's "The Crysanthemum and the Sword."  US intelligence tasked her (an anthropologist) to write a book to aid the American Occupation of Japan after the War.

 

Lee Kuan Yew's "From 3rd World To First" is very long but wonderfully weaves his personal history and adept political leadership that made Singapore into the marvel it is today.  If is too long, check out Kissinger's recent book "Leadership" where he focuses on 6 extraordinary world leaders.  The chapter on Yew - he is one of the six (called "Strategy of Excellence") - is an excellent read to better understand how Singapore came to be.

 

 

 

Awesome!  Thank you @wristband for adding "flavour" to our upcoming adventure! 

[mysty]

2 minutes ago, wristband said:

Mysty regarding the Doors 1, 2 or 3.  I would take Doors 1 &2 but avoid 3.

 

#3: Western Africa is dystopian, hell hole countries except for Namibia.  Obvious why thousands are fleeing the Sahel on makeshift rafts to land on European soil. Those West African countries, including Mahe which just elected a pro-China President, offer no hope and no future.  These are corrupt countries that offer unbelievable scenes of grinding poverty, enormous debt, the onset of jihadists and violent jihadism (Mali & Burkina Faso are next door fighting a losing battle), China gobbling up natural resources and their future patrimony - lithium, bauxite and tin mines sold off (Rio Tinto is controlled by the PRC), strategic ports and airports and construction companies are poof gone. Stay far away!

 

That was our experience with Africa in 2019.  We loved Namibia and Capetown.   

[mchell810]

On 9/30/2023 at 4:21 AM, mysty said:

Silversea is starting to plan the 2027 World Cruise.  Myster and I received an email survey from them asking for input.  A number of questions were asked and then 3 potential routes were presented.  We were asked various questions on each of the routes and then asked to pick the most appealing one.  For your information, here are the 3 routes:

 

Route 1

 

Route 2

 

 

Route 3

 

 

Myster preferred Route 1 and I preferred Route 2.

 

Which would you folks choose?

 

I find routes 1 and 3 the most compelling; either would let me hit many new places.

Thanks for posting these drafts.  It is interesting to learn how SS goes about setting World cruise itineraries.

 

[JoGay]

For books, I would also add Shogun by James Clavell and any book by Lisa See.  Her latest, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a fictionalized true story about a female doctor in 15th century China, where there were no female doctors 

[mysty]

21 minutes ago, JoGay said:

For books, I would also add Shogun by James Clavell and any book by Lisa See.  Her latest, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a fictionalized true story about a female doctor in 15th century China, where there were no female doctors 

 

Awesome @JoGay !  Thank you!  It is a real treat to travel with fellow voyageurs who love to read!  It opens our gorgeous world!

[drron29]

Yesterday we flew Singapore Airlines from Bangkok to Singapore. Last month was. 100 years since Lee Kwan Yew was born so they had several videos of his life.

 I watched Time nor Tide Remembering Lee Kwan Yew. A 3 part series that was absolutely fantastic. You can watch it on You Tube.

[mysty]

8 minutes ago, drron29 said:

Yesterday we flew Singapore Airlines from Bangkok to Singapore. Last month was. 100 years since Lee Kwan Yew was born so they had several videos of his life.

 I watched Time nor Tide Remembering Lee Kwan Yew. A 3 part series that was absolutely fantastic. You can watch it on You Tube.

 

Thank you @drron29 !  You always add colour and flavour with your posts!  Much appreciated!  Enjoy your cruise!

[Grand Duchess]

18 hours ago, mysty said:

I spent a little time yesterday looking for interesting reads for the upcoming cruise.  I thought these sounded good.

 

Hungry by Jeff Gordinier (Best for foodies)

 

When René Redzepi, Head Chef at the globally renowned Michelin star restaurant Noma, got in touch with Jeff Gordimer, writer for the New York Times, he realized that they were both in a personal and professional slump. In Hungry, follow their shared hunger for risk and reinvention as they embark on a four-year culinary journey - from gathering figs in parks around Sydney to hunting for sea urchins in the Arctic Circle.

 

A Brief History of Indonesia: Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation by Tim Hannigan

This fascinating history book tells the story of Indonesia as a narrative of kings, traders, missionaries, soldiers and revolutionaries, featuring rough sea crossings, fiery volcanoes, and the occasional tiger. It recounts the colorful visits of foreign travelers who have passed through these shores for many centuries--from Chinese Buddhist pilgrims and Dutch adventurers to English sea captains and American movie stars. For readers who want an entertaining introduction to Asia's most fascinating country, this is delightful reading.

 

Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia Christina Thompson

 

For more than a millennium, Polynesians have occupied the remotest islands in the Pacific Ocean, a vast triangle stretching from Hawaii to New Zealand to Easter Island. Until the arrival of European explorers they were the only people to have ever lived there. Both the most closely related and the most widely dispersed people in the world before the era of mass migration, Polynesians can trace their roots to a group of epic voyagers who ventured out into the unknown in one of the greatest adventures in human history.

How did the earliest Polynesians find and colonize these far-flung islands? How did a people without writing or metal tools conquer the largest ocean in the world? This conundrum, which came to be known as the Problem of Polynesian Origins, emerged in the eighteenth century as one of the great geographical mysteries of mankind.

For Christina Thompson, this mystery is personal: her Maori husband and their sons descend directly from these ancient navigators. In Sea People, Thompson explores the fascinating story of these ancestors, as well as those of the many sailors, linguists, archaeologists, folklorists, biologists, and geographers who have puzzled over this history for three hundred years. A masterful mix of history, geography, anthropology, and the science of navigation, Sea People combines the thrill of exploration with the drama of discovery in a vivid tour of one of the most captivating regions in the world.

 

"Tricky Business" [2003] by Dave Barry

 

It has been described as "the funniest book ever read". It explores a cruise aboard ‘Extravaganza of the Seas,’ a ship where the stereotypes of cruising manifest. This book will be able to make you laugh with its wit or make you seasick with its incredible arguments on cruisers.

"Journey Through My Heart, Mind and Soul" [2004] by Sandra Grace Monge

A truly passionate novel of insightful and light-hearted memories of 13 trips accomplished by Suzy and Ewald Wiberg and sons. The good and the bad of each trip, including cruises are described. A novel which entertains, but also gives advice on amazing destinations and knowledge on how to plan your cruise.

 

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain

The author of this travel collection spent time in some of the world’s most fascinating places, from New York to Tanzania and plenty of stops in between. Bring this book with you to read about his experiences around the world, including essays written by his family and friends that add additional layers to his stories.

 

The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere by Pico Iyer

 

Why might a lifelong traveler like Pico Iyer, who has journeyed from Easter Island to Ethiopia, Cuba to Kathmandu, think that sitting quietly in a room might be the ultimate adventure? Because in our madly accelerating world, our lives are crowded, chaotic and noisy. There’s never been a greater need to slow down, tune out and give ourselves permission to be still.

In The Art of Stillness—a TED Books release—Iyer investigate the lives of people who have made a life seeking stillness: from Matthieu Ricard, a Frenchman with a PhD in molecular biology who left a promising scientific career to become a Tibetan monk, to revered singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who traded the pleasures of the senses for several years of living the near-silent life of meditation as a Zen monk. Iyer also draws on his own experiences as a travel writer to explore why advances in technology are making us more likely to retreat. He reflects that this is perhaps the reason why many people—even those with no religious commitment—seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or seeking silent retreats. These aren't New Age fads so much as ways to rediscover the wisdom of an earlier age. Growing trends like observing an “Internet Sabbath”—turning off online connections from Friday night to Monday morning—highlight how increasingly desperate many of us are to unplug and bring stillness into our lives.

 

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

 

Deliciously funny, fact-filled and adventurous, In a Sunburned Country takes us on a grand tour of Australia. It's a place where interesting things happen all the time, from a Prime Minister lost — yes, lost — while swimming at sea, to Japanese cult members who may (entirely unnoticed) have set off an atomic bomb on their 500,000 acre property in the great western desert.

Australia is the only island that is also a continent, and the only continent that is also a country. Its aboriginal people, a remote and mysterious race with a tragic history, have made it their home for millennia. And despite the fact that it is the most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all inhabited continents, it teems with life. In fact, Australia has more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else: sharks, crocodiles, the planet's ten most deadly poisonous snakes, fluffy yet toxic caterpillars, sea shells that actually attack you, and the unbelievable box jellyfish (don't ask). The dangerous riptides of the sea and the sun-baked wastes of the outback both lie in wait for the unwary.

I read this book and loved it.

 

Beneath the Wake (2017) by Ross Pennie

 

Epidemic investigator Dr. Zol Szabo hopes an extended cruise on the Indian Ocean with his girlfriend and his son will salve the wounds of the rough times they've been weathering at home. As they set sail coddled in unaccustomed luxury on the Coral Dynasty, things below deck are a little less sunny for the ship's physician. Dr. Noah Ferguson reckons that bandaging the wounds of the crew's seedy missteps is just part of a job that comes with a fair share of loneliness, but he's increasingly frustrated that the most rewarding aspect of his practice must remain unspoken. When a mysterious microbe cuts a lethal swath through the crew's quarters, Noah enlists a reluctant Zol, who must put his vacation on hold to investigate the illness before it consumes everyone on board. As the body count climbs, it becomes apparent that everybody carries a secret in international waters. Miles from land, the captain makes the rules, and anything inconvenient gets tossed overboard to disappear beneath the wake.

 

Ross Pennie was on the 2016 World Cruise with us.  He was writing it as we sailed.  I have read it and found it entertaining.

Thank you Mysty! Love Bill Bryson, read and reread everything by him. First was "Notes from a small island", one would find me giggling over it in the train on my way to work back in the nineties. The man somehow can write about anything at all and make it interesting and very funny.