Silversea LA to Tahiti in February? Roll Call - Merged

[dwelsh]

Aloha!

 

Just spoke to SS about lecturers on board. 1st leg there is Robert Macomber, a naval historian and author of several historical novels. Checking his web site provides a very interesting resume of accomplishments. Also aboard will be a Loe Deitsch who is described as a "destination specialist" with special knowledge of the Polynesian culture.

I was unable to find anything online about him.

Your river tours do sound great and, as I previously remarked, hope the weather is kind to you.

During WW2, as a kid, I was evacuated from my hometown of Newcastle on Tyne in NE England to Carlisle and Workington in Cumberland (now Cumbria.) living in that area gave me a lifelong love affair with the English Lake District, an area we visit every opportunity we can. One of the prettiest areas in the world IMHO.

Again, Happy holidays and looking forward to many interesting chats on deck !!

 

David.

[spook1]

Aloha,

 

You and Dee have something in common and I can see a pub lunch on the horizon. She went to Bridgewater near Taunton. We went back there years ago and saw the farm house where she stayed. But NEWCASTLE! That's where they brew Newcastle Brown Ale, and thanks to COSTCO I am helping to keep them employed. The Tyne Bridge was constructed in 1928 and was built by the same company that built Sydney Habor Bridge. You can se I read my ale labels. Been to Lake District twice and the hiking was great; Boots on the ground in Ambleside. How can I ever forget? And Black Sheep ale from Yorkshire! My roots.

Thanks for the digging on speakers; sounds good.

 

Cheers, Ron

[dwelsh]

Unfortunately Newcastle BROON ale is no longer made in the area. The company was taken over by, I believe, Heinekens, some time ago. Their radio advertising was classic and i do have it on my iPod. Newcastle has had a great makeover over the last few years and is now a very modern city with, as well as the famous Tyne Bridge, a centennial bridge of revolutionary design. It used to be a soot covered dirty city but with the renewal it's Edwardian grandeur has been revived.

David.

[spook1]

What a bummer! I ran to the fridge and pulled a bottle to read further. It reads "Brewed by Newcasle Federation Breweries, Dunston, England." Neck label IMPORTED FROM ENGLAND. At least it didn't move to Holland. While on Shadow I shall drink BASS in protest. and wave the Union Jack. Or has it ,too, sold it's British origin?

[spook1]

David and Betty,

Forgot to mention a well known fact but incase some don't realize February is a great month to view whales while at anchor off Lahaina, Maui. This was brought to mind this morning at breafast as two whales were jumping and spouting off Waikiki. Once while at anchor on Legend of the Seas I heard screaming from the fantail balcony beneath me. I thought bloody mayhem had just occurred, but it was only an excited lady expressing her pleasure as a mother and her calf playef under our stern.

[Roosteronboard]

Ron

We had the same experience when we made the holiday cruise to Hawaii a couple of years ago. When we pulled into the waters around Maui they were alive with whales. I had never seen so many in one place at one time. It made the whole trip worthwhile. I know the time is getting near for this trip, because Linda and I are having our normal pre cruise "discussion" regarding the number of formal nights and our attendence thereto. I am assuming at least 3. Hopefully I can negotiate wearing my tux down to 1 or 2 times. We are looking forward to Hawaii and seeing my grandson who is stationed there in the Army. Also I will get to meet my great granddaughter for the first time.

 

Gary

[spook1]

My concern is will Shadow cruise Kilauea, if only briefly, on her way up from Christmas Island? My guess is no as Princess doesn't on same route. Would be lovely if we did. A sight not to miss.

[Roosteronboard]

Probably not. When we were on Princesss in 2006 we sailed by Kilauea at night after we left Hilo. What a tremendous sight. We could see rivulets of hot lava as it moved down. It was absolutely breathtaking.

[dusababy]

Probably not. When we were on Princesss in 2006 we sailed by Kilauea at night after we left Hilo. What a tremendous sight. We could see rivulets of hot lava as it moved down. It was absolutely breathtaking.

 

From my trip diary -- June 1996 -- Silver Wind Rome/Athens

 

"The Captain had informed us we would be sailing by the island of Stromboli, and the volcano had erupted three days prior. It was midnight, and as we sailed by we could see a red glow. Suddenly it erupted, shooting hot lava 100 feet into the air."

 

This was our first voyage with Silversea. We were mighty impressed by the SILVERSEA EXPERIENCE. (We'd heard nothing was too much trouble but .......wow! ;))

 

Mary Ann

[spook1]

Gary, You are so right! My best Kilauea experince was when we were on Serenade of the Seas and we met our sister ship Radiance going in the opposite direction. We were quite close to South Point but Radiance was even closer when she slowly emerged from a teakettle steam sea caused by lave entering the ocean. Behind her lava stepladdered down the slope in furnace fury. Looking at Radiance in the foreground it was if we were seeing ouselves. At one point her wake appeared molten lava by reflection. And this was not a speed bump viewing, we hung around for close to an hour, even altering course to give equal viewing. Without a doubt the most memorable hour I've had at sea.

So it would be a bonus to get a Kilauea moment on Shadow. This moment was so moving it inspired me to write my first OBSERVATIONS FROM PROMENADE DECK. A bit of trivia I have continued to compose after each of our cruises or crossings.

[dwelsh]

Aloha Ron:

 

You will have to change your "From the Promenade deck" diary on SS - I don't think there is one on the ship!

 

We are also excited about seeing whales off Maui - We did an LA-Hawaii-LA cruise in 1990 I believe, on the "Crown Odyssey" and we were escorted by many pods of whales as we cruised around the island en route for Lahaina.

 

When do you leave for your river cruise? Soon I think - Have a wonderful time and a really nice Xmas. Can't believe that it is only 7 weeks before we board "Silver Shadow" - I hope the weather on that day is as glorious as today - that would portend a wonderful voyage.

 

Best wishes from the Welsh's to all our future shipmates for a wonderful holiday season with friends and family.

[spook1]

Cheers David,

Already did Uniworld in September and October. And yes, I am versatile; River Princess had no promenade so it became "Sun Deck". But that leaves me wondering about Shadow. This February I had lunch on her (your Dover sole) and when disembarking we used a short length of teak deck to the gangway. Maybe some past Shadow guests can pinpoint this for me as I can't find it on the deck plan.

Health in the New year,

Ron

[Emtbsam]

Spook1 -- I just pulled up my photos from embarkation at Vancouver this past September on the Shadow. Just forward of the entrance to the main lobby on Deck 5 there is a small stretch of teak deck on the port side between the forward staircase and the door to the lobby (outside the casino). I believe there is a similar stretch of teak deck on the starboard side between the Terrace cabins and the lobby door, but can't verify it with a photo.

 

Usually embarkation/debarkation takes place through the lobby doors thus avoiding the teak deck, but occasionally, they do use the more forward access.

[spook1]

Emtbsan; You are correct and you beat me to the computer to write my own findings. I see that space on deck 5 lobby door forward and if I'm not mistaken that teak deck also goes aft under the lifeboats hanging off deck 6. Port and starboard seem identical. I'd say Silver Shadow has a promenade deck in spirit if not in name. Wow! What a relief. Thanks for the effort and reasearch.

Ron

[Emtbsam]

Emtbsan; You are correct and you beat me to the computer to write my own findings. I see that space on deck 5 lobby door forward and if I'm not mistaken that teak deck also goes aft under the lifeboats hanging off deck 6. Port and starboard seem identical. I'd say Silver Shadow has a promenade deck in spirit if not in name. Wow! What a relief. Thanks for the effort and reasearch.

Ron

Your mention of the Promenade Deck brings back fond memories of days spent on the old Cunard liners on transatlantic voyages. Remember the Obs bar on the Mauretania or Queen Elizabeth?

[spook1]

My wife might remember QE as she made her way to America on her in 1957. We recently escorted QE 2 while on QM 2 as she made her final westbound. Never more than two miles apart tethered in nostalgie it was quite the experince. And a day out of NY we came within one mile and tooted ships horns. So close flashbulbs and cheers were seen and heard from our balcony. We never missed a lunch in Golden Lion Pub. Big ship but never felt elbow to elbow with others.

And to bring this Shadow promenade to a logical conclusion, that teak deck has to extend aft so the lifeboats (tenders) can be lowered to deck five level so we can all make our way ashore in tender ports. Long live the Promenade! My earliest voyage was on the SS Monterey in 1932 on her maiden from Los Angeles to Austral and back. My formal attire were clean diapers.

[Emtbsam]

We did book the tour in Nuku Hiva after reading Herman Melville's "Typee."

Also a private 1/2 day tour in Papeete and we are inquiring about the Aquascape in Bora Bora.

 

We have been to area before so the attraction for this trip was the "door to door" itinerary for us and the opportunity to sample SS after many cruises on RSSC and Oceania. I am sure that we will not be disappointing.

I'm finally beginning to focus on tours for this trip.

Did you book your private tour in Papeete through Silversea?

What is the Aquascape tour in Bora Bora? Is it through Silversea?

We are hoping to do a lot of snorkeling and are considering the surfing lesson in Maui! It's a good thing we have trip insurance!

[dwelsh]

We booked a private tour in Papeete.

The Aquascape is an underwater viewing of the sea creatures there. I haven't yet heard from them about this.

If you are snorkelers you will have a wonderful experience in many of the islands. Not so good in the Marquesas.

We are using Frommer's "South Pacific" as our mailn guide.

 

Happy Holidays

[harcin]

With all the snow we just got over the weekend, it is refreshing to be planning a warm climate get-away! Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season.

 

We are thinking of booking the Blue Lagoon and Motu picnic excursion in Bora Bora. I have some inquiries posted on TripAdvisor regarding pricing to compare with doing this type of trip privately. Anyone interested in this day of snorkeling, swimming and picnicing? Let me know!

 

Cindy

[Emtbsam]

With all the snow we just got over the weekend, it is refreshing to be planning a warm climate get-away! Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season.

 

We are thinking of booking the Blue Lagoon and Motu picnic excursion in Bora Bora. I have some inquiries posted on TripAdvisor regarding pricing to compare with doing this type of trip privately. Anyone interested in this day of snorkeling, swimming and picnicing? Let me know!

 

Cindy[/

Hi Cindy - We have booked that tour in Bora Bora. Our primary reason for booking tours through Silversea is that if the tour is delayed (as ours was in Ketchikan), the ship will wait. It is uncertain if they will wait more than a minimum amount of time if you are on a private tour. Given the price that we're paying for the whole trip, I am not overly concerned about paying a bit more to book a tour through Silversea. Having said that, I would not hesitate to book a private tour if SS did not offer a tour that I wanted to take.

 

We had 18 inches of snow over the weekend - wasn't it fun!

Regards

V

[harcin]

Agreed! The responses I got on TripAdvisor were very good about the ship's excursion in Bora Bora and I have booked it. Usually we don't do ship excursions, hate being in a "cattle call," and we have never had an issue with getting back to the ship in time, but convenience is key here so it is done!

 

I had to work in that snowstorm! Unfortunately ER's don't close because of weather and needless to say we were not busy. Harry drove me and picked me up so I felt fine with him at the wheel. I had a bad accident on the Beltway many years ago that still plagues my brain in bad winter weather. It was quite a storm and I still can't figure out why there were so many people on the road at 6am that day...where could they have been going?

 

Hopefully we are done with that mess for awhile!

Cindy

[harcin]

A question for Spook1: Is there a whale watching company that you would recommend in Maui? Is it a worthwhile excursion to do? I would love to do that and snorkle for awhile.

 

GO RAVENS and EAGLES!

[spook1]

Aloha, Harcin

You post a good question. My suggestion on whales....if on arriving Lahaina at noon you haven't your whale fill I would just walk along the pier in Lahaina and check out the numerous whale tour boats. I would not book this tour on Silver Shadow if offered. I have not one to recommend over another.

Snorkeling: No question here. Book a tour to Molokini and swim and snorkel in the fish bowl of the Pacific. Molokini is a barren half circle rim of an extinct volcano off southern Maui. I'm sure you can Google it. I think boats leave from same Lahaina pier. With travel time this should be half-day trip. So doing both trips would tight in February with the short days. No decent snorkeling in Lahaina that I know.

[Rally]

Aloha, Harcin

You post a good question. My suggestion on whales....if on arriving Lahaina at noon you haven't your whale fill I would just walk along the pier in Lahaina and check out the numerous whale tour boats. I would not book this tour on Silver Shadow if offered. I have not one to recommend over another.

 

Hi Snook, well, we lived in San Diego and n ever managed a whale watdhing expedition during the sseason, and on our recent Alaska voyage we were disappointed (Nature can do that, I know =) Will we really see whales from the ship in late February? I hope so . . . . . =)

[dwelsh]

Hi! M&M:

 

When we were on an LA-Hawaii-LA cruise in the 90's at about the same time of year we saw many pods of whales in the Molakai Channel. We look forward to seeing them again this time. The only fish sightings we are likely to see en route will be flying fish and dolphins.(Apart from those on the menu!!)