Live - Whisper Ft Lauderdale to New York & Southampton

Do you think the swells got higher than 18-20'? Just wondering "at what level" the barf bags come out! We've been at 15-18', but haven't seen them at that level.

Probably no more than 20'. Only the third time I have seen the bags out.

Scenes of joy this morning at trivia as land was spotted at last. We sailed into the harbour at Cobh (for Cork) at 3pm on a sunny but cool afternoon.

Lots of guests extremely stir crazy. The lady with the broken hip was picked up and has gone to a local hospital.

Nice walk along the quay side this evening, slightly spoiled by the amount of dog s***.

We will overnight here (crew happy again) and continue on our way tomorrow afternoon.

Excellent Liars Club last night, shame about the winning team being disqualified for having a Voice on the team.

Excellent Liars Club last night, shame about the winning team being disqualified for having a Voice on the team.

What is a voice?

One of the new group of singers. We had the Singers of SS, now we have the Voices of SS.

Well that was nice, just had a power cut that knocked out all the computers half way through my post.

Had a really nice day in Cobh yesterday, the cathedral is lovely and there were about 200 people there for a fancy wedding. Lots of gals in thin summer dresses trying not to look cold.

Tried to find some reasonable fish and chips and failed, prices were stiff even in comparrison with those in the UK.

Talking of fish and chips, we had a pub lunch and the mushy peas were creamed and sweet and like nothing even seen in a UK chippy. Not an SS highlight. There were no Wenches uniforms and no sing alongs, somewhat of a damp sqib.

Last night was Formal and the Captains farewell, always fun.

However, in the MDR only Jimmy K seemed to be hosting a table. The officers and management were conspicious in their absence.

Toady we are in Fowey, it has been sunny and fairly warm for a mid May day.

Captain Rutliagno with the assistance of two pilots, one on the bridge and one on the back, backed the Whisper right into the bay, so tendering takes 2 minutes!

And all good things come to an end. Off the ship at 9:15 and then home. We were docked in the QEII cruise terminal and sitting in front of us was the Britannia, the newest P&O monster, and boy is it large.

Generally this was an excellent cruise, the staff were wonderful, the guests a pretty cosmopolitan crowd and the Harvard Alumini (Gohagan group) were not that cliquey.

The food was pretty good with a reasonable level of variation and the wine service was downright excellent. Oliver ran the main bar like a virtuoso ably backed by Joseph, and thankfully his voice is now much better.

Apart from the rough weather (well handled by Capt Rutliagno) and the 2 missed ports it was mostly plain sailing.

The Voices, well they tried, but without the level of professionalism that the Artists brought and their lack of initial adequate rehersals really hurt them. They are better than JAR was, but they just didn't mix enough, were slightly socially naive and their lack of enthusiasm at some events was really disappointing.

Silver Spectra, I have to agree with you on most points. The Voices....... individually, they were much better performers but as a group they bombed.

And the dance moves......ugh! I personally want SS to pay more and get higher quality entertainment. We were blessed to have Ian Cooper performing and he was gracious enough to stick with us after Halifax, knowing he would be on for the long haul.

The GoHagen group consisted of many universities and they didn't all mix amongst themselves which was refreshing. We spent time with some lovely people, fellow Southerners. It was as if there was not a group on board at all.

Bar Staff. Wow! I couldn't ask for more attention. Between Oliver and Peter, along with Mark, Archie and Joseph, I felt like a Princess. Susan and Enrico delivered vocals every night.

The menu.....I had wished for more Indian fare but, it wasn't to be and I didn't ask. No complaints. Some tepid food which was quickly corrected. The seafood options each evening were amazing. The variety of fish was outstanding.

The Captain did an incredible job keeping us and the crew safe, making the sea impact more tolerable. The Hotel Director (Fabien) was on top of everything day in and day out, always visible to converse with. The Cruise Director, Jimmy, when he wasn't in the meat locker was very visible too. Love Jimmy :) Bravo to the MD, Antonio and ALL the headwaiters. They were most accommodating. The waiters were all super but Henry was special. Our Butler. Oh my, why do we seem to always get the cream of the crop. He was spectacular, Sunil and his partner in service, Paul.

Would I return to SS? Of course. In fact., although we are ready to board the Explorer in 2 days, and have another Explorer and Spirit booked, we are examining our calendar to see where we can get on board again!!!

How nice to read these two laudatory and upbea reports.

Enjoy the rest of your travels.

Yes!

The Captain did an incredible job keeping us and the crew safe, making the sea impact more tolerable. The Hotel Director (Fabien) was on top of everything day in and day out, always visible to converse with.

Have to agree about Fabien, a total breath of fresh air after a terribly jaded Norman. However the real star for me was Begonia, the GRM, who was absolutely wonderful.

Enjoy yourself on the Explorer!

They are both Model Crew.

Thank you for all the updates. I felt that I was there with you. I'm happy to hear that you had a great voyage.

Yes! Thank you for taking us along. Love all the details and especially love your enthusiasm. Lucky, lucky ducks are we!