Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Two

I think your friends mean that they are hoping for the least worst!

Jeff

Thanks for the link, Jeff. And thanks for the positive sentiments. Our friends in Germany messaged me today and said, "It's up to you to save the world...do the necessary thing!" Hoping for the best, though I am not sure what that is.

Germans love to be dramatic about expressing interest in "saving the world" scenarios, considering their parents and grandparents almost destroyed it. It is hard to overcome generational guilt, even though almost all the people alive had nothing to do with the millions of murders that occurred.

I have friends in Germany, both in the elite and the blue collar worlds (long story how that happened). Their elites generally opposed Brexit with almost as much vigor as their elites oppose Trump and think he will destroy the world, arguing the same kind of idiots and trogolydytes supported Brexit (that would apparently include Jeff, who is very thoughtful) as who support Trump. This is while the common man was mostly for Brexit and anti-anything related to perpetuating an Obama legacy and his meddling in Europe and the UK.

People really need to understand the mindset of the people in the country,in this case, the US Republic (we are not a pure democracy), that is voting for candidates. Foreigners just touring the east and west coasts and the cruise and tourist spots do not learn the story of the tens of millions of people who feel disenfranchised, in the context of American history, and its unique Constitution.

Well, it is the day after election day, and the world is still here. A clear winner was announced, and I am just glad it is over...or is it just beginning?:rolleyes::eek::p

good news is that we won't have to worry about that grifter Hillary stealing furniture from the white house again----bad news is that our next president is going to be Donald Trump!

I am trying to overcome my catatonia.

Will dissociative fugue be next?

Well I, for one, am gobsmacked!

Well I, for one, am gobsmacked!

So is my Canadian-American dual citizen sister. My siblings and I were up until at least 1AM, chatting on our group WhatsApp chat, while watching the results come in. My brother in Denmark woke up at midnight EST (6AM there) and joined in; he was genuinely upset by the results as they unfolded. We were all pretty amazed.

The DK and Canadian contingent of the family is working on transitioning us to their countries if things go poorly. But my Canadian sister is so worried abut living next to the US now, that she's thinking of moving to Iceland!

Just to be clear, the second paragraph is mostly in jest. We did actually say most of those things, but I'm not planning on doing it! Hopefully I can get some sleep tonight...

Interesting times indeed and no surprise at all.

My primary regret is that I did not have a bet on the outcome.

Great Leaders sometime arise from unlikely beginnings.

The calm and inclusive winning speech suggests that this President elect may have a quite different game plan in mind compared to his electoral spin.

Good Morning Coolers,

To be honest I'm surprised at the degree of shock with these results. As I posted a few days ago I have felt that the polls hadn't added any subjective intelligence to the objective results they thought they were seeing and it seemed clear to me that Trump was on target to win which wasn't making me cheerful.

We are where we are, and sadly it seems to me that what America's establishment has cunningly managed to do is to cement together so many marginilised minorities into one marginilised majority cemented together with a range of disparate reasons. What is worrying is how these marginilised will almost inevitably start to feel even more marginilised and what they hoped they were buying is not what they will be receiving. The way that Trump is likely to deal with civil unrest after the honeymoon, if there is one, is going to define the next few years.

Trump may try to confound our expectations of him. He may surround himself with experienced wise people and create an environment where he welcomes people that argue and confront him and become a considered thinking listener, but then the moon might also be made of cheese.

Jeff

.... ps ....

I realise I haven't thanked our Australian cousins for making "Rake" - one of the best things ever - and donating it to Netflix.

The discovery of "Rake" and the rediscovery of a giant jug of extremely dry heavily iced Martini has kept my chin above the water over the last week or so. What seemed horrible before a Rake Martini seemed bearable afterwards!

:)

Jeff

Yes it is an amazingly good series and you never know which way it's going to go.

The language is also vital in keeping a child free zone around. Your accomodation at Xmas 😜

And, one last set of pictures from the trip are now posted. Link here: https://goo.gl/photos/3Qb4p6CRPS228QER7

This is our one week post-Madagascar excursion to Stellenbosch, and a few other places in South Africa. We tasted so much wine that I think our taste buds were worn out, but it was fun and the scenery is beautiful. Apologies in advance to MrsWaldo; there are a few Cape Town pictures in there... ;)

The blog is making slow but steady progress. Thanks to those who have dropped by to follow along!

Lovely pictures, JP, and glad you had such a great time, full of life.

I am flashing back to fond memories of South Africa last Xmas with DH, but we must go back and include Stellenbosch.

Wow JP!

What great photos. And agree that your joy is infectious, thanks for that.

Here in lovely sunny Florida it's 63 F and not humid. Yesterday it was 90 F. Dramatic temperature change! Perfect weather for watching football, barbecuing and PACKING. Two days left until BCN flights.

I have already exceeded the JP rule of packing light. Rummaged thru my closets to try and find purple clothing, but the only thing I could find was a purple velvet blazer with wide lapels. Good grief, looks like clothing for the mad hatter. I may just wear it out of solidarity.

Enjoy the day or what's left of it!

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Here in lovely sunny Florida it's 63 F and not humid. Yesterday it was 90 F. Dramatic temperature change! Perfect weather for watching football, barbecuing and PACKING. Two days left until BCN flights. I have already exceeded the JP rule of packing light. Rummaged thru my closets to try and find purple clothing, but the only thing I could find was a purple velvet blazer with wide lapels. Good grief, looks like clothing for the mad hatter. I may just wear it out of solidarity.

That's a big, BIG temperature drop in South Florida. Very sunny and super nice in Central Ohio right now. High of 47F today. Sunday, also very sunny, with a high of 57F. Perfect weather now in Ohio.

Did not have a chance till this morning to look at your upcoming trans-Atlantic cruise. Nice!! Glad that you have a number of good stops, including starting in Barcelona that we love so much. Not sure that we would like that many sea days, but this cruise does offers some very good options for port visits as you move west bound. Glad you'll stopping in San Juan. Assume you have been there before, right? Agree on skipping that "purple velvet blazer with wide lapels"!!

Look forward to checking out more of J.P. pictures later today while watching college football. Our son and his wife have tickets today in Charlottesville for the game with the University of Miami visiting Virginia. Only two weeks till the super big game of Michigan visiting Ohio State.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 218,861 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Here's the upcoming Silver Wind cruise departing Nov. 15. Looks good and very interesting.:

Here he is in a a hauntingly beautiful 1984 video of his song "Dance Me to the End of Love", appropriate to aging (and non-aging) cruisers and non-cruisers

Maybe the cruise ship Spanish tango group Estancia I saw perform on HL ships in the last year could pick up the song and do a number with it.

http://vevo.ly/9Acq6X

Lovely pictures, JP, and glad you had such a great time, full of life.

 

I am flashing back to fond memories of South Africa last Xmas with DH, but we must go back and include Stellenbosch.

It was a crazy busy three weeks, yet we wish (as always) that we could have done more. Always more to do than time allows! In Madagascar especially, it is an inefficient process to get anywhere because the roads are terrible and Air Mad is unreliable.

For some of the journeys, we had a charter plane for the group. That was just wonderful! The charters always left exactly on time, and they never lost our luggage! Best yet, they went exactly where we wanted them to go.

We visited SA in 2011, and had a great time. Part was a SS cruise from CPT round trip, but we went on safari before and spent 3 days in CPT afterwards. On the last day, we decided to spend part of our time in Stellenbosch. What a mistake! We were blown away by how beautiful it was, and we spent the whole time bemoaning the fact that we had to leave for home that night. We vowed to come back, and this time I think we did it justice.

Thanks for your comments, and I hope you get back to see it in person!

PS loved the Leonard Cohen video. Very moving. It would be an interesting Argentine Tango, if only Chris and I could remember how to do that!

Wow JP!

What great photos. And agree that your joy is infectious, thanks for that.

 

 

Here in lovely sunny Florida it's 63 F and not humid. Yesterday it was 90 F. Dramatic temperature change! Perfect weather for watching football, barbecuing and PACKING. Two days left until BCN flights.

 

I have already exceeded the JP rule of packing light. Rummaged thru my closets to try and find purple clothing, but the only thing I could find was a purple velvet blazer with wide lapels. Good grief, looks like clothing for the mad hatter. I may just wear it out of solidarity.

 

Enjoy the day or what's left of it!

 

Thanks spinnaker2. No worries about the packing light...you may recall that I broke my own rule with three bags for the Madagascar/SA trip. And coming home, we checked FIVE bags between the two of us! In our defense, two of them were just for the wine... :D

Safe travels and enjoy the TA!

**

Working this long weekend, and next weekend too. This is payback time for being away so long. It was worth it, though I may be pretty exhausted by this time next week. Have a great rest of the weekend all!

Working this long weekend, and next weekend too. This is payback time for being away so long. It was worth it, though I may be pretty exhausted by this time next week. Have a great rest of the weekend all!

Wellington City is closed and all non essential people have been told to stay home. Some schools are closed. Trains and ferries are not running. The strait ferries are anchored in the harbour until berthes are checked. There is a lot of glass downtown and liquefaction near the port. @ people have apparently died but cause of death is unknown yet. Defence has been mobilised to provide assistance at this stage mainly airforce and use of the large helicopters. The more significant damage apparently is on the north west coast of the South Island where a number of smaller towns are still cut off. A Tsunami alert was triggered during the night and many evacuations were implemented. Now safe to return home. The fact that it occurred at midnight means we may have dodged a big bullet. Facebook has been a godsend as a method of contacting friends and family and advising that we are all safe.

Too bad for J.P. needing to work this weekend and next weekend. That's not fun! You'll need a "vacation" soon to recover from both your trip and ALL of those intense work schedules.

For those planning trips to New Zealand, the news about the earthquake on their South Island is very tragic. I am sharing here these above excellent details and background from experienced CC board poster Beanb41 in Wellington. Very helpful for those of us in following this tragedy and who have loved these great areas from visiting there. Given the intensity, it is surprising that only two deaths have been reported so far.

As I recall from visiting wonderful and charming Wellington in early 2014, many of their buildings were constructed with wood and/or in a smart way to better withstand the potential damages from earthquakes.

This story is getting major coverage here in the U.S. From the Washington Post this afternoon, they have this headline: "Two reported dead after huge earthquake strikes New Zealand" with these highlights: "A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in the south island of New Zealand early Monday morning, triggering a tsunami alert for the entire east coast of the country as six-foot-high waves began to come in. Later, the alert was downgraded. Emergency authorities advised people to stay off the beaches and away from the coast along the length of both islands, and evacuation advisories were issued for the South Island area of Kaikoura and for Wellington, the capital city."

Full story at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/13/tsunami-warning-issued-after-huge-earthquake-strikes-new-zealand/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 160,553 views for this posting.

Good Morning Cruisers! I was very excited yesterday when my Vacation Countdown calculator stated I had less than 100 days to go!! The weather here certainly does not feel like Fall, but as long as the SNOW stays away, I will be happy.

I am trying to figure out how the hubby and I can get by on 2 checked bags and 2 carry on bags for our upcoming cruise. I think a lot will depend on the formal nights offered. As much as I love to participate and see hubby in his finest, sometimes the packing is not worth it. I always pack too much, and I have vowed NOT to do that this cruise. Any tips would be welcomed.

Thoughts go out to those in NZ, hopefully the lack of new reports is a good thing.

Hi ShotsnCruises, I like the countdown process too. Yesterday I was thinking that it's only 6 weeks until our Christmas getaway to Geneva...and then I looked at the calendar and realized that it's only 5 weeks! That made my day. I like that kind of miscounting!

Re: your packing question, we have managed a SS cruise, including formal wear and a pre-cruise extension, in 2 bags. One full-sized, and one 22" rollaboard. It takes a little pre-planning but it's worth it when you don't have to lug all of those bags!

Key tricks: (1) one color scheme so you need fewer different shoes, (2) our fancy shoes were dance shoes which are very light and take up minimal space in the suitcase, (3) bring layers that you can adjust for different weather conditions rather than trying to cover every possibility with different clothes. For example, a sweater plus a light raincoat can be worn separately or together and you don't need a heavier jacket. (4) realize that most of the time, you can buy anything that you forgot.

Good Morning all ....

Enjoy the anticipation Shots.

Yes JP, Christmas is accelerating towards us. Only three weeks and we'll be lurching from punch stall to nut stall.

The two webcams in Rathausplatz are up and running. Very sad but you can zoom in and see what people are eating on cam1!

http://webcam.anw.at/

Jeff

A quick hello to all from the Spirit.....Internet is very up and down due to a new system......all is well, calm seas and hot days being enjoyed.

Food is consistently good and service as wonderful as ever.

Happy Days....[emoji4]

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A nice relaxing cruise with warm weather and sunshine sounds great right about now. Thanks for checking in!

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Since we seem to have lots of "foodies" on this board, and since I will be experiencing Silversea for the first time in a few months, I was wondering what your favorite Silversea food experiences were/are?

What is not to miss, and what is worth skipping?

Greetings Coolers! Unseasonably warm temperatures here and I am loving it! Just back from an awesome weekend in New Orleans. It was magical!

Sophia.....Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

JP....Your blog is awesome! I would have been a puddle of exhaustion after about day 2. I love the pictures and the detail!

J.....Hope you and Mrs. J have a wonderful time lurching from punch stall to nut stall!

Shots....Jeff had some great suggestions for us for our cruise earlier this year. I'll see if I can find them and post the link here for you.

Have a great day all!