Greetings from the Cloud

[duct tape]

All is very well here...ship looks great, crew is greater, food excellent! The weather up here in Norway is perfect for this time of year...crystal clear skies, balmy temps, lots of sunshine and magnificant scenery. Captain Mino is making some detours to get us better views of things. Last night he even anchored off a glacier so we would have a visual treat to accompany dinner! Judie is the CD and is her usual charming self. HD O'Reilly has everything under control also. Life is good.

[Lagunachris]

Thanks for the info on the Cloud - I was concerned due to recent reviews that she looked tired. We are boarding July 26 with friends who usually cruise with Crystal - it will be our 4th cruise on the Cloud and I was hoping that she would be as fabulous as in past cruises.

[meow!]

duct tape: If you have a choice between Northern Norway and Iceland voyage versus the Greek islands, etc., which will you choose and why? Thank you.

[ScottToronto]

:) Good afternoon Duct Tape from Canada,

Glad to hear that you are enjoying your voyage on the Cloud.

A friend of mine and one of the best waiters with Silverseas is currently working in the Cloud. I would strongly recommend sitting in his section while dining in "The Restaurant". His name is Tony Parinas. A happy smiling filipino gentleman who offers amazing service and attention to detail. Once you sit in his section, you will ask for him each evening.

 

Please give Tony my best wishes from Canada.

 

Thanks for passing on my message to him. Please let me know how you enjoyed his service.

 

Kind regards and thanks,

 

Scott Lovell

Toronto, Canada.

[dancermom]

Greetings Ducktape

 

So glad all is well on the Cloud. Would you please give my son, Matt Swenson, one of the cruise staff, a hug from all of us at home? We miss him lots.

 

Regards,

Deb

[DebbieH103]

Thanks for posti. I can't wait to hear more about your trip.

[duct tape]

Hello everyone! Another beautiful day in Molde (it's not), Norway. Well...Scott, Tony is an old friend and I will pass on your greetings at dinner. lagunachris, we will still be here when you get here...look forward to meeting you. dancermon, he's doing just great and I will pass on the hug personally! Meow, it could be a long discussion re: those choices...what time of year? What is the purpose of the trip...vegetating and sunning or passive scenery cruising? More later.

[meow!]

Thank you kindly duct tape. We are the type that needs taxis at the pier, do a few hours taxi tours and take pictures, have an idea of what the place is like and then go back to the ship. We usually buy a couple of magnets or the like, write a postcard to ourselves for souvenirs and that is about it. If getting the above is easy for the Greek Islands (which we have booked with Oceania), then we will go. If not, we have received a good offer for Iceland/Norway and will try that instead if the near polar sea is not rough. We need to decide within the next day or so. You are an expert who has been around the world many times, so perhaps you can help!

[sbc83]

:) His name is Tony Parinas. A happy smiling filipino gentleman who offers amazing service and attention to detail.

 

Hey Scott! I just finished my baltic cruise July 6th, I sat on Tony´s section 3 nights, we also enjoyed Dudi Mulyiadi (who we sat with the other 8 nights). Dudi is beyond amazing, and you´re right, Tony was always smiling and endulging any wish we had, we usually sat with him at breakfast. I would also recommend Dudi or Allan (Dudi´s former assistant waiter, got promoted on our cruise). I don´t know if you keep in touch with Tony, I do keep in touch with Dudi via email, if you like I could ask Dudi for Tony´s email so you can say hello...

 

Best regards,

 

Sbc83

[Lagunachris]

Duct tape,

 

My husband and I and our good friends who are meeting us on the ship on Saturday in Stockholm would love to meet you and your husband during the cruise- this is our 3rd Silver Sea Cruise together and we are very excited- how will we know you?

 

Chris and Doug

[duct tape]

Do you play trivia?? I am the one with the goofy-saying button! See you then.

[TheFerret]

I just got off the Silver Cloud 2 weeks ago -- the Norwegian fjords are beautiful beyond belief. The ship is in fine shape and the service was wonderful.

 

But I have to say that the food was very bland.

 

I am no "foodie" and prefer my food plain and simple, but wow! What a disappointment! Except for the lasagna, which was superb, and the grilled chicken, which was very good, everything else was tasteless.

 

This is the first time I lost weight on a cruise. Sorry to be so critical, but it really was the worst food out of my 30 cruises.

 

To end on a positive note, if you are considering a cruise to Norway, you will not find a more extravagantly beautiful place in the world.

[meow!]

I read on Silversea's website that the Cloud will undergo one month of dry dock refurbishment in May next year. Will that mean changing all furniture, carpets and appliances? It is nice to hear that the Norwegian coast is really beautiful, but is the sea calm in that part of the world and next to Iceland? Thank you.

 

P.S. In your ports of call, did Silversea provide shuttle buses/vans to take you from the pier/landing to the centre of those Norwegian towns/villages? I heard taxis were hard to come by in those outports.

[duct tape]

In Norway and the Baltic, we have had excellent, bright, sweater weather. The seas were very calm but lately the PA II and the Wind had some rougher water north of the Arctic Circle. We are now in St Petersburg where it is chilly, almost cold, and damp. It poured rain here last week but this week is dry so far. The weather should improve when we leave and a BBQ is scheduled in a few days. SS usually provides shuttle buses in ports. There was one port on this trip that I thought we should have had a shutle bus and we didn't. All is well.

[meow!]

Thank you, duct tape, for your informative reply.

[NJBelle]

Hi, I am sorry to hear the food was bland on the Silver Cloud. We were on during the Christmas/New Year holidays and it was fabulous. Who was the chef when you were on?

 

Agree that going up the coast of Norway is a fabulous cruise!

 

NJBelle

[duct tape]

Wow! I haven't had anything bland over the past month. Wonder what happened. All is well here.

[marinius]

Hey Scott! I just finished my baltic cruise July 6th, I sat on Tony´s section 3 nights, we also enjoyed Dudi Mulyiadi (who we sat with the other 8 nights). Dudi is beyond amazing, and you´re right, Tony was always smiling and endulging any wish we had, we usually sat with him at breakfast. I would also recommend Dudi or Allan (Dudi´s former assistant waiter, got promoted on our cruise). I don´t know if you keep in touch with Tony, I do keep in touch with Dudi via email, if you like I could ask Dudi for Tony´s email so you can say hello...

 

Best regards,

 

Sbc83

 

After 6 voyages on the Cloud together with both Tony and Dudi I could not agree more! These gentlemens personalities and always welcoming attitude really highlights the high service level and great ambiance always found on the Cloud. The staff is all superb and some even tops that! The Silversea HR-department should be proud!

[LOGHL]

In Norway and the Baltic, we have had excellent, bright, sweater weather. The seas were very calm but lately the PA II and the Wind had some rougher water north of the Arctic Circle. We are now in St Petersburg where it is chilly, almost cold, and damp. It poured rain here last week but this week is dry so far. The weather should improve when we leave and a BBQ is scheduled in a few days. SS usually provides shuttle buses in ports. There was one port on this trip that I thought we should have had a shutle bus and we didn't. All is well.

 

Which port is the one where there was no shuttle bus????

Regards, Judy

[duct tape]

Hi, Chelonia. We miss you. Glad to hear the good news about the love of your life. We should have had shuttle buses in Helsinki and Copenhagen. There were lots of in-transits. In Helsinki we were far out past the ferry terminal on the left side of town. The Wind was on the right side of towndocks and they had a shuttle! Took it back after having lunch with Ralph. It wasn't Copenhagen, it was somewhere else...just went blank. We are in Arhus, Denmark, today. Again, no shuttle bus, pouring rain and the center is not "within walking distance." We also had an infant on a tour yesterday...lunch and all!! Good trip actually...only small snags. Be well and be in touch. Heidi and Alba are here. Hugs

[TheFerret]

Hi, I am sorry to hear the food was bland on the Silver Cloud. We were on during the Christmas/New Year holidays and it was fabulous. Who was the chef when you were on?

 

Agree that going up the coast of Norway is a fabulous cruise!

 

NJBelle

 

The chef was English, but I can't remember his name. Maybe they should switch things around and have English officers and an Italian chef! (Just kidding -- nothing against the officers -- everyone was very nice.)

[meow!]

You folks who have cruised the shores of Norway up to the Arctic Circle, could you see those "northern lights" from the ship? What are they like? Can you take pictures of them? Thank you.

[newlondon]

Meow, Basically the wrong time of year! Lights are in the late fall, winter, and early spring. The reason for a cruise in the summer is the Midnight Sun. Unfortunately, you can be shut out by clouds. We did this cruise last year and were incredibly lucky, we saw the sun 24 hrs for two straight days. In addition, the temp was in the mid 70'sf when we got to the North Cape. We have read posts, however, of travellers who saw nothing except fog and clouds with cold rain. Hope this helps!

[meow!]

Thank you kindly for your informative reply .. meow!

[TheFerret]

Meow, We had glorious weather on the July 6 cruise, especially above the Arctic Circle!

 

It is an amazing thing to have dinner, drinks or a cigar and then go out on deck at midnight and it is still light out. It does interfere with your sleep patterns though -- you never feel like going to bed!

 

I hope you get to do the Norwegian fjords trip some time as it is stunningly beautiful.