jollyjones

Everywhere - schools, care homes, restaurants, hospitals etc etc - suffer from norovirus outbreaks, particularly in the winter. Cruise ships are obliged to report outbreaks when they rise above a certain percentage of pax or crew so they appear more in the news. Clickbait.

I have posted about the virus on Chris's thread but I'd prefer to start a new thread since (I hope) my cruise is not going to be defined by norovirus. This won't be a 'live from' but will be my random observations about this new class of ship. I have sailed all the classic SS fleet, including the Cloud and Wind in the before days (I don't do expeditions) and I can already tell that this ship is 'now for something completely different', to steal the line. I am definitely not expecting the Spanish Inquisition, but I'm not sure what else I'll find, yet. Watch this space. PS apologies if you're not a Monty Python fan.

There certainly has been an outbreak of something on the Nova - described by Captain Failla as 'gastrointestinal illness' - which SS is taking very seriously. They probably think it's noro because the advice given to us yesterday at embarkation has a very strong emphasis on hand washing with the suggestion that hand sanitiser is ineffective. **I do wish pax would remember that high alcohol hand sanitiser may work against corona virus but does not work against norovirus.** Boarding started at 1pm which was earlier than I expected, but much of the ship was closed and sealed off for cleaning, which they clearly were doing very thoroughly. We were not able to access the cabins till 4.45pm - this became very tedious but entirely understandable. Made more tedious by the fact that the still-like-new carpet pile is so thick it's quite difficult to haul your carry on wheelie bag around - silly but true! So I didn't do as much exploring yesterday as I'd hoped - that's now the plan for today, a sea day, and I shall be keeping an eye out to see what infection controls are in place.

Always seems to be blokes, innit. Or are there Karens lurking too?

" Fish at the Pool Grill was good (but tiny) at lunchtimes." I agree with that but it's so simple, I just ask for two portions ...

There are three Long Bays in Bermuda. Somerset, Warwick and Cooper's Island. To the OP, your best bet is Tobacco Bay, get the ferry from Dockyard to St George, then a short taxi ride over the hill. Despite the reef, most of our beaches can see rough conditions depending on the weather.

And consider that if not owned by RCI with its deep pockets, SS would probably not have survived the Covid shutdown. Especially since it is possible that Manfredi sold the first tranche to RCI because he was already a bit over-extended with the new ship orders (I don't know that for a fact but have heard suggestions that it was so). I for one am very glad that my favourite cruise line is still sailing at all, even with some modifications, and I'm very excited to be boarding the Nova in a couple of days to enjoy finding out all about her.

The other posters are quite correct, it is all domestic travel but your concern about an ESTA being denied seems extreme - if you got it once, unless you have indulged in criminal activity since, the chance of it being denied is slim to none. And if an ESTA was denied for reason, your chances of getting a visa are less than slim to none.

But why wouldn't you renew your ESTA anyway? Do it right now, it's quick, cheap, and simple, then you won't have any anxieties. You don't have to wait for it to expire to get a new one, I think it's only $20. Make sure you go to the official US Gov website so you don't get ripped off with extra fees from the 'ESTA agency' sites. https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

And even when they are in evidence on My Silversea, once you board they may be on completely different nights. I'm boarding the Nova in a week and the bow ties are currently visible on My Silversea, it'll be interesting to see what actually happens. And Hi Ron - love the bow tie but not sure I'd drink something such a fluorescent yellow.

Dawn Feb '24 it was definitely done one lunchtime in La Terrazza ... but I don't think it was advertised well, if at all, I only found out because I happened to go to La T for lunch - it was a big spread but the queues were long, it was a bit of a pain if you're not interested in crabs and suchlike.

In Lisbon it can vary a bit depending on which terminal it is - there are two. There's the main one which is the first one you come to as you go up the Avenida Inf D Henrique - a big building you go up the escalators to check in upstairs - I haven't had to wait there for more than a few minutes. There is the little one further along the road, a single story building where I have had to wait for half an hour or more before check in starts. I leave my hotel by noon and walk up there so I guess I'm usually there by 12.30pm or earlier. In Lisbon, I expect to be on the Pool deck with a champagne by 1pm.

This is nothing new. While in Skagway on a cruise many years ago, I bought a piece of polished agate in the Alaska shop, which advertised that all their goods were locally made. It had a Made in Alaska sticker on it but when I peeled the sticker off after I got home (I don't like stickers) hidden underneath was a Made in Brazil sticker. Ah well, I wrote it off to experience - it was inexpensive and at least it wasn't Made in China - no, it didn't have a concealed third sticker! I still have it, it is an attractive paper weight, but I look at it every day and it reminds me ...

It's all electronic these days Ron, maybe look on the app? Or the TV. I haven't had a paper one for several cruises now.

Looks like parsley under poor lighting ...