Silversea Water Cooler: Part 3, Welcome!

Hi Coolers,

Been having trouble with my iPad so have had to virtually start over with it all including emails so decided to completely re register everything.....:(

It's been a very busy time arranging the Celebration Of Life we plan for my Father but l finally finished it all today so can relax a bit for now.

Spins....hope your son continues to recover and DH is enjoying retirement.....not long now until your crossing.

Mysty...do hope you are coping with the snow.....busy time for you also with your crossing looming!

Jeffers...thanks for posting on my behalf....yummy food pics as usual...I've been using my slow cooker recently for casseroles...so easy to just throw everything in and let it do its job!

Terry....your dogs are gorgeous.....l have a black x lab whom l adore....his Dad was a pedigree lab but Mum was a border collie and the mix is just perfect...although he does look like a pure lab....even the vet thought so and also my friend who judges at Crufts....but it really doesn't matter as they are all our furry babies and it's so hard to leave them when we are all on the high seas!

Our latest storm 'Doris' hit our area with great gusto today but has thankfully now moved Eastwards so it really is the calm after the storm right now...

Happy Evening All

S :)

Greetings Coolers!

We actually had rain today. Regular rain not the freezing kind. It feels like spring but I know this is just a tease from Mother Nature. Way too early for spring here.

S......So glad you are back in business on CC. Your new name is perfect! Glad that arrangements for the Celebration of Life are in place and you can chill for a bit. Stay dry!

Have a great evening all!

Good afternoon and welcome back, MissSophia! Hope the celebration of your father's life is comforting to all.

Yes, we are expecting a (near) record high today in Albany. My phone says 67° or almost 20°C which is just crazy for February. Hard to believe.

On the jetlag news front, I managed to stay awake until after 9PM last night, and I slept until almost 5:30. Progress! Should be close to normal (from a sleep perspective that is) soon.

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Hello all.

Miss Sophia, Special thoughts to you as you create the celebration!

I attach a photo of Eloise, our border collie. I don't think I ever posted her photo here.

She's a sweet girl and smart.

She looks like a sweetie. Thanks for posting!

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Hello cooler people. I've been away for a little bit and I'm writing this in Sri Lanka where we've been touring around for a few weeks. I just wanted to say that at one of our hotels we met a nice Canadian couple who had just disembarked the Silver Discoverer. The Sri Lankan hotel we met was a place called Ceylon Tea Trails - it's right in the middle of tea plantation country, is in fact owned and managed by a tea company, and they have five colonial bungalows scattered around Castlereagh reservoir. Each bungalow has 4-5 rooms. I have to say this might be the best hotel experience I have ever had, and I've had a few. If you get the chance, do go there. Here's a picture of the pool at our bungalow, Summerville.

Sri Lanka by UltraPanavision, on Flickr

Welcome back Soapy!

Lovely intelligent looking lady their Spins!

Fletch, I think that's amongst the best pictures posted so far .... really lovely.

Jeff

Fletcher, wow! I saw your post on my phone and the picture didn't show up very well. Glad I checked it again on my laptop. Looks like a gorgeous place! I know nothing about Sri Lanka other than I've seen it on maps since I was a little kid and I always wondered what it would be like. Might need to take a trip there... :D

 

I attach a photo of Eloise, our border collie. I don't think I ever posted her photo here. She's a sweet girl and smart.

Fletcher

Today 03:50 AM

 

Hello cooler people. I've been away for a little bit and I'm writing this in Sri Lanka where we've been touring around for a few weeks. Here's a picture of the pool at our bungalow' date=' Summerville.

Sri Lanka by UltraPanavision

Appreciate the super wonderful picture from Fletcher. Agree with Jeff for this being one of the best pictures posted here on the Cooler. Sri Lanka looks great!! Very cute picture of Eloise. Great sharing by all. Keep up the great postings.

Nice to hear from MissSophia about "Terry....your dogs are gorgeous". Will share with Roxie and Rudy as to how they are getting high marks on the Internet. Have both breakfast and lunch meetings today, plus two different TV show tapings today and a play to attend this evening. Busy, plus needing to complete packing and getting fully ready for our Monday morning flight to Fort Lauderdale. Lots to do to be ready to be gone for three weeks.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 48,287 views for these postings.

From the Island Princess BridgeCam yesterday morning, here is one image as "our" ship approached and went through the first series of locks of the Panama Canal on the Gulf of Mexico side. This ship is now headed back to Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7 am so we can board later that afternoon. Then we start our "adventure" to stops in Aruba, Colombia, going through the Panama Canal, doing Costa Rica, etc., before arriving in San Francisco on March 15.:

Greetings from Aboard the Silver Wind, currently docked in San Juan. So far we are loving the Silversea experience, but are a little concerned. We lost power for a few minutes, and now have no water in our Suite!! I am hoping that whatever is wrong will be quickly resolved.

We spent a lovely 3 days in Old San Juan, enjoying the city. My feet hurt from all the walking. My Fitbit says over 7 miles walked yesterday. Not bad considering the 4 hour nap before dinner.

Hubby is 3 beers and 2 glasses of scotch in, and he couldn't be happier. He is even talking about "when we do this next year".

Hi Shots! Hope the electric and plumbing issues go away. Especially if the beer consumption continues at the current pace... ;)

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JP, that is so funny! Shots, glad you enjoyed Old San Juan and hope that all mechanical issues get resolved quickly, and that you have a great cruising experience.

Shots, I hope all gets back to normal soon .... and that the whole ship isn't deprived of flushing ......

Jeff

We seem to have water, for now, and we took very quick showers, just in case! Have to be ready for Muster!!!

Happy to report the water outage was very short lived. No issues since yesterday afternoon.

The ship appears to be in beautiful condition. Since this is my 1st Silversea cruise, I can't compare. Internet is FREE as I have been on wifi off and on for the past 2 days. No concerns.

Last night was pretty rough seas. I am ashamed to admit that I had to excuse myself from dinner early, as I was just too sick to finish. Feeling much better today. The crew said it was one of the worst crossings out of San Juan they had experienced.

Well done CC ..... for providing a decent laugh ...

http://www.escape.com.au/holiday-ideas/cruises/weirdest-and-funniest-complaints-from-cruise-passengers/news-story/9fb86ca21cec6e76f4d2ddb3386fc5ff

Jeff

Greetings Coolers!

J...thanks for posting that link. I really needed the laugh! :) It reminded me of something I overheard on our cruise last year. We had been at sea a number of days since leaving Lima and there were to be many more sea days before we got to Fakarava. I was at the fruit section of La Terrazza at breakfast and a gentleman was complaining about the fruit. He asked the staff member behind the counter if there would be fresh fruit available the next day. Where he thought the fresh fruit would come from in the middle of the Pacific with no port access until about 10 days later was a head scratcher. The poor staff member was very polite, did not collapse in gales of laughter and calmly said that he did not think any fresher fruit would be available. :)

Have a great day/evening all!

Glad you liked it M!

The best one for me wasn't just a comment but just some funny behaviour.

The Captain has seen something in the sea (it turned out in the end to be a floating refrigerator that had been dumped .....) and he decided that he had to take a closer look. Se he did that thing that they have to do and spiraled in to it in every tighter circles. The effect on the sun bathers around the pool was so funny. Every time they were in the shade they got up and made their way to the other side ..... for around ten minutes or so .... then back again ..... and then change again. One shouted out "why does that damn sun keep moving ......" All the bar staff were in hoots. It took them some time to realise we were circling.

Apart from some BA Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle on our recent trip I've been virtually alcohol free now for two months. Simply wanted to lose a little wheight. For some reason I haven't missed it at all so apart from the odd late night voddy I've been completely free of the effluence of incohol for all that time. Really haven't lost as much wheight as I've liked but that's a lack of exercise.

This has meant the beer fridge had been under utlised with some space so a six or so days ago I started a biga and a couple of days ago made a dozen pizza balls for a very slow fridge sour-dough type ferment. Change of direction for this batch this year. 10% rye and a 67% hydration with 4% olive oil. I also wanted to see what pizza was like without cheese which is wifey's preference. Hate to say it whilst I miss the texture of the mozarrella I really enjoyed it without. The cheese masks too much of the other lovely flavours and I may bewithout cheese for a while.

Simple rustic pizza tonight then ......

Jeff

J....Awesome story! You have to wonder how these people manage to stay survive. :) Your pizza looks delicious! Myster loves his cheese so cheese-less would not be a popular suggestion here. I can well understand how the flavours would shine without the coating of cheese though.

I find that fresh mozzarella has a very light flavor (flavour for those of you who speak proper English), so it doesn't overwhelm the other ingredients. Also I don't use tons of it. Maybe 4oz for one pizza.

Yesterday. Before I added the cheese. Arugula and tomatoes. No leftovers. [emoji1]

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That looks delicious JP!

That looks delicious JP!

Great to see photos of healthy food!

Good afternoon Coolers ...

Did anyone else watch The Oscars last night? How entertaining! I thought it was all contrived first as a bit of comedy. :)

JP, do you bake it with the leaves on and the cheese on top of the leaves and tomatos?

Jeff

No Oscars for us. I don't think I've ever seen them.

I put the cheese on top, then a few fresh basil leaves, and some grated Grana Padano before baking. Sometimes I put the fresh basil and grated cheese on after baking. Depends on how complicated I want to make it.

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Did anyone else watch The Oscars last night? How entertaining! I thought it was all contrived first as a bit of comedy. Jeff

YES!!! It was a wild, wild finish to the Oscar TV broadcast. When Hollywood screws up, they do it "big-time". Really BAD!!! It's being still talked about on the morning national news this morning. And, the ratings for this somewhat boring and too long telecast sunk to fairly low, near-record levels. There were jokes, like in the recent Presidential election, for some wanting a "re-count" on the results. We saw "La La Land". Thought it was very good, but not as outstanding as "Hidden Figures". That was a super excellent film!! Did not, yet, the film that ultimately won the top Academy Award prize. Hear that one was very good. Its win got big play down here in South Florida as part of its story is about actual events here in the Miami area.

Arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 1:15 pm yesterday, slightly ahead of schedule. Have a few pictures below as "proof". Was supposed to get together last night for an Italian dinner with Spins and her DH. BUT, he had a dental emergency with a painful broken tooth and lost gold crown. Hope that "fix" and recovery comes along well. Had a great afternoon and evening in this coastal town before we do our ship boarding around 1:30 pm this afternoon to head to San Francisco through the historic Panama Canal. More later!!

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 222,153 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

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

For our arrival in Fort Lauderdale, here is our Southwest Air 737 jet arriving as it comes in over the major expressway next to their busy airport.:

Here is the mid afternoon views from our GalleryOne DoubleTree hotel suite looking towards the Atlantic Ocean, coastal high-rises, natural areas and the Intercoastal Waterway. Then, here is a view from our room of the Water Taxi that docked right here that we used to see lots in around Fort Lauderdale, going down to Hollywood Beach, etc.:

On the boat trip down to Hollywood Beach, south of Fort Lauderdale, here are some views of sunset in the major Port Everglades shipping zone, seeing the beach area long their Boardwalk, plus some of the fancy, millionaire homes, and legal yachts, etc. Is one of these owned by Spins??: