Shadow Casting, live from Ft Lauderdale to Dublin, May 28 - June 12, 2023

[Tothesunset]

2 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

The world cruise ends the day we board.

Does that sentence apply if you remove the word cruise? 

[spinnaker2]

TTS good grief I hope not. 

[Stumblefoot]

3 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

The world cruise ends the day we board. The crew will be exhausted from such a major turnover day.

From your experience, does the end of the WC correspond with a major changeover in the crew itself?

[spinnaker2]

Stumbles, I dunno. Never been on a world cruise. Hopefully someone like Mysty can tell us. 

[Tothesunset]

10 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

... someone like Mysty... 

Come, come. There's nobody like Mysty. 

[mysty]

35 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

Come, come. There's nobody like Mysty. 

 

And for that the world is thankful! 😅

[mysty]

1 hour ago, Stumblefoot said:

From your experience, does the end of the WC correspond with a major changeover in the crew itself?

 

49 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

Stumbles, I dunno. Never been on a world cruise. Hopefully someone like Mysty can tell us. 

 

When we did our first Silversea cruise around the British Isles in 2012 we boarded the Whisper as the World Cruisers were disembarking.   There were definitely staff who had been on for the World Cruise.  According to a seasoned World Cruiser who is a friend, Silversea used to have many of the staff for those cruises on long contracts to avoid replacing staff during the cruise. Her latest report seems to indicate that contracts are now shorter and many staff are not there for the whole 5 months.  This may mean that some staff will be on Spins' cruise. 

[spinnaker2]

The weather is deteriorating. The last few days aboard the Shadow must be challenging weather wise.

[mysty]

16 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

The weather is deteriorating. The last few days aboard the Shadow must be challenging weather wise.

 

Based on pictures being posted elsewhere there is a lot of rain!

[Lois R]

Hi Spins, wishing you both a wonderful cruise with smooth sailing, good food, service and everything else that is good😃(weather too).

[spinnaker2]

49 hours to go. 

[spinnaker2]

24 hours to go.

[spinnaker2]

Port Everglades. Now.

[spinnaker2]

Left home( bottom photo) and now aboard! 

[geoffieg]

Enjoy.  We disembarked today after joining the WC for the last leg from Manaus to FLL.  I assume they were able to provision the ship today, as they ran out of a number of things the last few days i.e. Sav Blanc, Champagne, tortilla wraps, etc.

 

A lot of the staff was staying on board to do the crossing.  The staff was uniformly excellent.

[Dolcevita Diva]

15 hours ago, geoffieg said:

Enjoy.  We disembarked today after joining the WC for the last leg from Manaus to FLL.  I assume they were able to provision the ship today, as they ran out of a number of things the last few days i.e. Sav Blanc, Champagne, tortilla wraps, etc.

 

A lot of the staff was staying on board to do the crossing.  The staff was uniformly excellent.

Wait - what? They ran out of champagne????????

[spinnaker2]

Boarding was easy, only a slight wait. Weather cooperated too. The crew did an outstanding job on this massive changeover day.

However, apparently the world cruisers were looking to create a world record in devouring all the provisions and drinking all the booze and much of the water. We were delayed in leaving Port Everglades in order to allow for the extensive provisioning. Sort of like your worst nightmare that the previous cruisers drank the ship dry and ate everything.

DH who never complains (well hardly ever) thought that his caprese salad was pretty bad, an attempt to cover up the anemic tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and some blobs of burrata. He told me his pasta had no taste at all. He did eat some of my steak which was cooked perfectly. I ordered a mojito at the bar and was told nope, we have no mint. 

Even with the fact that there is no mint or french wine, or fresh tomato or large olives, or much else, the passengers look happy to be aboard and the atmosphere is convivial. 

Today the horizon looks a little grey but the sun is shining and the rolling sea is sparkling. The 23 year old Shadow looks great and is handling the voyage in perfect form. 

And so it is off the conquer the first sea day. 

Lots of things to do, lectures to listen to, watercolor class, trivia, bridge lessons, dance lessons, etc.

Bob Leininger is the CD, he’s from Iowa. He has quite the speaking voice. 

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by spinnaker2

[dusababy]

I very much like the report about these small details and annoyances -- which, if not corrected, may become a PIA - totally unacceptable on SS.  Keep the faith !

 

 

[spinnaker2]

Enjoying the digs. Internet fast too.

[spinnaker2]

Another sea day today. First was en suite breakfast, brought in stealthily (at our request) by the butler and set up while we slept in the next room. Bliss. 

 

Yesterdays lunch was the poke bowl from the grill. I had the grilled chicken, DH had the sushi tuna. Lots of fresh raw vegetables and protein. A healthy alternative from all of the fried foods at the grill. The best  chicken I have ever had aboard Silversea, perfectly done and tender. 

 

Dinner at LaT. Hmm. Let’s forget the soup, the silversea ribollita is not even close to soup. More like colored water with boiled vegetables, no flavor at all.  I knew this from trying it before so my bad, but I thought I would give it a chance. I went with the steak for a main dish and it was fine. 

 

Dress code alert. Not really being enforced in LaT.  Women wearing blue jeans. Men sans jackets. It was informal night, not casual. 

 

Our butler, Neo, is outstanding, as is the suite attendant Johnathon. 

 

Formal night tonight. 

 

Clouding up, as we approach the area of the storm. 

 

The Shadow continues her northerly course to NYC, where we arrive tomorrow. The sail in is not to be missed. 

[spinnaker2]

[DCCruiser57]

On 5/29/2023 at 9:40 AM, spinnaker2 said:

Boarding was easy, only a slight wait. Weather cooperated too. The crew did an outstanding job on this massive changeover day.

However, apparently the world cruisers were looking to create a world record in devouring all the provisions and drinking all the booze and much of the water. We were delayed in leaving Port Everglades in order to allow for the extensive provisioning. Sort of like your worst nightmare that the previous cruisers drank the ship dry and ate everything.

DH who never complains (well hardly ever) thought that his caprese salad was pretty bad, an attempt to cover up the anemic tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and some blobs of burrata. He told me his pasta had no taste at all. He did eat some of my steak which was cooked perfectly. I ordered a mojito at the bar and was told nope, we have no mint. 

Even with the fact that there is no mint or french wine, or fresh tomato or large olives, or much else, the passengers look happy to be aboard and the atmosphere is convivial. 

Today the horizon looks a little grey but the sun is shining and the rolling sea is sparkling. The 23 year old Shadow looks great and is handling the voyage in perfect form. 

And so it is off the conquer the first sea day. 

Lots of things to do, lectures to listen to, watercolor class, trivia, bridge lessons, dance lessons, etc.

Bob Leininger is the CD, he’s from Iowa. He has quite the speaking voice. 

 

They activated Starlink about 60 days into the WC.  It consistently had a dowload speed of 10 MBS.  We consistently ran out of its - Tiki, Makers Mark, various food items.  Apparently, it was a challenge to get provisioning given the WC itinerary.

[spinnaker2]

Awake at 4:30 am and out the door at 5 something to catch the sail-in from the Obs. Did not disappoint. Very chilly outside as we made our way into the harbor.  

Today is GLORIOUS!

Manhattan! I ❤️ NYC.

 

Our glass doors are open to the fresh air. We look at the amazing city.

 

We also look out over some of the weapons/tools of war or what some may refer to as peacekeepers. A battleship which is now a museum.   The Intrepid’s deck holds many vintage planes, jets, and a submarine is along side. The Concorde Alpha Delta G-BOAD is also on the pier. What a plane!

 

Last night was formal night but we did not leave the suite. Too rough. Instead we ordered from the main dining room and enjoyed the rolling seas without any missteps or mishaps.  

 

 

[spinnaker2]

Addendum

 

today 150 new pax will board. University of Michigan alums.

Go Blue.

[lincslady]

That is one large group - but hopefully a very civilised one.  They aren't always, as you probably know.  Should be nicer to have around than those parties of car salesmen who have won the trip for selling lots of autos and have never had access to so much free drink before!

 

That is  a lovely photo of the skyline.  The only time I have been to New York was for the start of a cruise, having one day in town first for a whirlwind trip round all the most famous places, with a wonderful guide who made it all fascinating; Little Italy, Chinatown,  Wall Street, the 9/11 site and a stroll round Central Park amongst others.  Just right for me, a country girl.