TA on NOVA......Lisbon to NYC.........

[skleeb]

2 hours ago, jollyjones said:

 

Generally crossings are reasonably priced and carry only a 25% solo supplement so there's always a lot of solos - 90 is rather more than most but may reflect interest in a novel ship.

I am boarding the Dawn (my favourite ship) next week for the crossing - I chose it for the more southerly route (Lisbon-Canaries-Puerto Rico-Lauderdale) as it'll be warmer and maybe calmer - but I too am very interested in the Nova and am very much looking forward to my sail on her through the Panama Canal next April.

 

That makes sense-new ship and good deals! Hey, I will be on the Dawn crossing with you, jollyjones. perhaps we will meet at the solos group? I also like pingpong and the trivia, so hope to see you on board!

[Mahogany]

2 hours ago, skleeb said:

That makes sense-new ship and good deals! Hey, I will be on the Dawn crossing with you, jollyjones. perhaps we will meet at the solos group? I also like pingpong and the trivia, so hope to see you on board!

I'm solo this time on the Dawn crossing. I was on her in September and looking forward to the SALT restaurant, bar, and lab, best part of my previous voyage.

Fiona

[Lois R]

Well, we are almost to the end......we dock in NY tomorrow and I fly home on Saturday.

Before ai forget I will post a of the menu from the Chef's Table. They sent a card with all the items listed.

[Lois R]

[Lois R]

Good morning, this is the day CBP sort of takes over......for about 4 hours or so. Every guest and every crew member has to through all the processes of Customs and Boarder Patrol. For the guests you get your passport and go through the terminal and NOBODY is allowed back on board until we are all cleared. They did it deck by deck with those going on an excursion in the earlier groups.

I am on deck 9 and was in the last group called so my wait In The terminal was pretty short. Maybe 20-30 minutes. I am now back on board and will be going into the city later with a crew member I have become friendly with so that should be fun. 

The crew is now having another drill..... and the Coast Guard is on board too.

 

Will check in again later.

[frankhi]

I departed Nova on Friday instead of Saturday, and walked of the ship with my luggage about 7:30am. Breezed through CBP, got and Uber to JFK for 11am flight. 

[Lois R]

Well, my first crossing is complete. Yes, I would book another one and to be honest, I already have......I had put a deposit down on Ray for her crossing in Dec 2024. 

I want to say  I met some of the nicest people I have ever sailed with on this cruise. Some chat on here and some don't but they all made this experience a better one🙂

I will post some other thoughts after I get home. I know my reviews are not as detailed as many but I try to give my own thoughts and feelings.

 

 

 

[travelnap]

47 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Well, my first crossing is complete. Yes, I would book another one and to be honest, I already have......I had put a deposit down on Ray for her crossing in Dec 2024. 

I want to say  I met some of the nicest people I have ever sailed with on this cruise. Some chat on here and some don't but they all made this experience a better one🙂

I will post some other thoughts after I get home. I know my reviews are not as detailed as many but I try to give my own thoughts and feelings.

 

 

 

Lois, Glad to hear you enjoyed your TA.  I have done a couple of them and I really enjoyed the sea days as they are so relaxing.  Have a safe flight back to Florida.  Welcome Home.  Neil

[Lonedaddy]

On 11/9/2023 at 5:58 AM, Lois R said:

And my bathroom

Is that the shower in the tub/shower room?

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, Lonedaddy said:

Is that the shower in the tub/shower room?

Hi, I didn't have a tub. It was just a full shower. And that is good to me......I don't care about a tub.

[Lois R]

21 hours ago, travelnap said:

Lois, Glad to hear you enjoyed your TA.  I have done a couple of them and I really enjoyed the sea days as they are so relaxing.  Have a safe flight back to Florida.  Welcome Home.  Neil

Hi Neil😀got home yesterday afternoon....I would much rather be on a ship!

[Lois R]

Not sure where to begin my wrap up. I forgot a few things for sure. I told someone on here I would ask the bartender about a recipe and totally forgot to do that......so sorry. 

 

Terry, you asked about the Lectures. They had them every day but I only went to 1 out of al of them. 

They had a retired BBC Newsman named Michael ....can't remember his last name. 

And they had 2 other guys, one who spoke about Broadway and Movies and I thought I would attend them but somehow never got myself up and to the theater. The other spoke about ocean liners over the years.  I was told they were good. 

I know there were 2 specific lectures, one about Marilyn Monroe and the other about

Lucille Ball. 

 

Bob, I know you and Linda went to the lectures.....if you recall the guy's names, and you want to post them, that would be ok with me.

 

As for the demographic on this sailing, I would say it was quite varied.......from 30s and 40s into the 80s and 90s. And the people (most of them anyway) are what made this such a unique cruise for me. I guess when you sail so many sea days you can get to know certain people quite well.....if you are so inclined. Several couples and a few other solo guests and I got to be very friendly. Made for a really good experience for me.

 

Oh, I never did get to the Dusk Bar......I know it is outside and it is far away LOL...I either forgot to go or just preferred to stay inside.  I only went to the Salt Bar a couple of times actually. 

 

I ended up playing trivia on this sailing...every day.....4:45 in the Panorama.

First time I had done that in quite a few sailings. We came in 2nd or 3rd place a few times......I did have fun playing though.

 

The NEW SHIP......yes, she is a beautiful vessel for sure. But as mentioned much earlier in this thread, (and other folks on the ship too)......a BIG thumbs down go to the new design of The Arts Cafe and the Reception areas..........(including Shore Excursions). I don't know if they will change any of it on the Ray or not but in my opinion, they need to.....as much as I ended up staying there during the day, the design flaw is there......and I do know many of those complaints and have been sent to the "Powers above". 

 

Oh, I did end up going to many of the evening shows (which over the years I have skipped many times because of the redundancy). but I have to say, I loved the shows. They had a wonderful vibe and I thought were really good. They also had Eric Lockwood, from ELO......he is awesome.

And Christina Andreas who did a couple of "Cabaret Style" sets.......sang, talked to the audience,

etc......She sang Broadway tunes and is really fabulous!  She is a Tony nominated singer.....excellent.

They also had a Comedian from New York and I could relate to her "shtick".......there were times I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt LOL Her first name is Cari but for the life of me I can't recall her last........she had 2 shows.......I saw both. 

Personally, I think the entertainment is probably the best I have seen on SS in quite a while. I am not an expert though......I like what I like and I did enjoy the "Voices of Silversea" but I think this group is a step up and loved it. They had a Motown show 2 nights before we disembarked (no show on the last evening). Motown is my jam.......I LOVE IT and always have.......it was awesome😃

 

I am probably missing some other items and if you have more questions, please ask. I will see if I can help. 

 

Now I have to figure out another cruise for the spring........first time in A LONG TIME I have nothing booked except the Ray and that is for Dec 2024!.........the crossing.   Yikes......that is a long time away!

 

 

 

[dawntrdr]

DH and I attended most of the lectures, which were generally excellent. The lecturers were:

 

bill Miller:  history of the great ocean liners, life aboard them and how the stars traveled (hint, ladies have it much easier now).  A delight to talk to.

 

steve Rivellino:  Broadway producer and former manager of Radio City Music Hall.  He spoke on the Weimar cabarets, Bob Fosse, Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller, Chopin and Radio City.  Really connected with the audience.

 

Jim Brochu:  actor and film historian on RKO studios and his friend Lucille Ball.  Very accessible for questions.

 

Michael Buerk:  BBC reporter and long time anchor on the history of the British Empire,, language and social commentary.

 

Everyone had very good film and pictures to illustrate their talks, especially Steve Rivellino, who produces informational films for business as well. Talks were 45 minutes. They were a definitely a few steps above lectures on our prior cruises.

 

We would give them all a solid 5 out of 5 except for Buerk, who made some statements that were intentionally politically or socially  provocative (as he had warned).  He was not reading the room.  @Catlover's review addressed this point cogently. His speech on the history and development of the English language was quite good though.

 

All of the lectures were available for viewing on the TV.

 

 

[Lois R]

Hi Dawn sorry we never made it for drinks. But happy we did get to meet🙂 and hope you are doing well!

[dawntrdr]

Does it count if we are both in the same bar when we are drinking (ha ha)?  I truly enjoyed meeting you to and I agree with your evaluation of the great features of the Nova, as well as the things we would like to see improved 

[TLCOhio]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

I think the entertainment is probably the best I have seen on SS in quite a while. I am not an expert though......I like what I like and I did enjoy the "Voices of Silversea" but I think this group is a step up and loved it. They had a Motown show 2 nights before we disembarked (no show on the last evening). Motown is my jam.......I LOVE IT and always have.......it was awesome

 

Appreciate these great details and follow-up by Lois with this helpful and interesting background.

 

Most important, knowing that you love Motown says much so very, very wonderful!!  What better than those artists and their fun, exciting music?  

 

Good luck in finding that next cruise, making the air logistic work, etc.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 249,449 views.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/

[TLCOhio]

30 minutes ago, dawntrdr said:

DH and I attended most of the lectures, which were generally excellent. Everyone had very good film and pictures to illustrate their talks, especially Steve Rivellino, who produces informational films for business as well. Talks were 45 minutes. They were a definitely a few steps above lectures on our prior cruises.   We would give them all a solid 5 out of 5.  All of the lectures were available for viewing on the TV.

 

Excellent background for those various speakers and that they also had these presentation being available for later viewing on the cabin TV's.  

 

For us, if and when we would do a trans-Atlantic sailing, knowing that Silversea did well with the various speakers (and entertainment in general) would be very important to us as more itinerary-focused travelers.   

 

Nice from this T-A to have such a depth of background information and super sharing!!

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio