Live from the Shadow - Papeete to Valpo

Onboard at midday, welcomed by Jimmy K. Slightly weird to receive the Ebola questionnaire from a gloved steward with the pencils going in a bin after filling in the questionnaire.

Approx 290 guests onboard of whom it is claimed that 188 are Brits.

Thankfully the sun is shining today (after 2 days of gray clouds and some rain).

Looking forward to eating on deck tonight as we sail to Bora Bora.

We do seem to have been invaded by 'Wang's' since I was last on board.

Looking forward to your live review Mr Silver...looks like a really interesting itinerary. I'm sure u will love Easter Island.

Hope u and Mrs Silver have a fantastic cruise.:)

Cheers

Jennifer

Thanks Jennifer.

Rain intervened just before the sail away, so it was relocated to the Panorama, and was packed.

We get two 'ghosts' this trip, bridge lecturers, a performing musical duo (male and female) and a couple of lecturers (details later).

Captain is Destafano, Exec Chef Riccardo Dotti, HD a greek who I have never met before. Selvaggia is our cruise consultant.

And of course, the fabulous Artists (not Voices) of Silversea, with amongst other Duke and the lovely Krystal.

Its warm outside, so dinner on the pool grill tonight, and off to Bora Bora we sail.

A general question to all techies out there (JP or DrRon maybe). Will post photos if I can find a way to get CC to see them on my Android phone. If it cannot, any other suggestions as I do not have a laptop with me.

Thank for posting Mr. and Mrs. Silver. Hope y'all have a terrific sailing, look forward to reading more.

Thank for posting Mr. and Mrs. Silver. Hope y'all have a terrific sailing, look forward to reading more.

Thanks Wes, beautiful sunny day here in paradise.

Love the new free electronic newspaper delivery system. UK choice is limited though, The Mail and the Grauniad. Whomever at corporate HQ thought that one up has not got a clue about the UK guest demographic. Thankfully the ship can still print The Times.

And at 2:20 the rains came.

Welcome aboard, SilverSpectre. I will be in search of you soon! Beautiful day in BoraBora, again, again. Had a great lunch at the MaiTai Resort on the beach. Got back before the rains came. Very full lecture schedule, starting this afternoon. 290 aboard, yes, 188 are Brits, 118 Venetians. Later.

Still looking.

Rather damp day in Moorea today, the rain did eventually stop and the sun came out for a while.

Captains Welcome and formal evening tonight and the Artists Fabaliscious show.

Another unwelcome change, there are no longer individual invitations to the cocktail parties - more paper/money saving.

Jimmy K having trouble getting his head round guest requests for Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes) and fireworks for this evening.

Trivia is going strong, up from 5 teams yesterday to 6 today. Some really difficult questions.

Quite a few Brits onboard who are Seabourn cruisers and doing a first on SS because of the itinerary.

Great half day in Fakarava today. We sailed right into the middle of the huge atol, covering some 429 square miles. It was wet early on and then improved with some sun. Hot and humid onshore. Not much happening, the main store closed at 12 until 3pm. Diving was available at 8am (before we arrived) or at 1pm which was too late. The locals obviously were not that worried about dealing the guests off the ship today.

Got back to the ship needing a cold beer to be greeted by the news that the last bottle of Hoegaarden had been drunk last night. Not Silversea's finest hour.

Chester found something German that was almost drinkable and life was improved by finally meeting Duct Tape.

We are now sailing to the east and on our way to the Pitcairns and Easter Island. Just hope the weather is kind and we get to land.

Hi Ho Silver! Yes, Fakarava was a pleasant surprise. Some nice architecture, large school, busy medical clinic, musicians playing near the ladies selling jewelry. Went into a proper jewelry store and the pearls were very reasonably priced. Friends of mine who sailed around the world in their own boat, spent a bit of time here and highly recommended it. Dedrick Bonner did his cabaret last night and the audience appeared to enjoy it as much as I did. He sure can croon Old Man River! As Silver said, we are now on the high seas, done with the glories of French Polynesia and on our way to Pitcairn...Easter...Robinson Crusoe...MAYBE. Stay tuned.

Still in the middle of nowhere, eta Pitcairns @ 07:30 tomorrow, and praying that swell is low enough to get ashore. Raining there today, but cloudy with some sun out on the ocean. Judy Carmichael, jazz pianist, gave her show last night, and put in a very accomplished performance. Not my style of music though.

Trivia still going strong, awful yesterday, good score today but only 3rd with 39/47 possible. Jimmy actually skipped a skip-jack tuna!

Another reduction, there is now no longer an MTN computer tech on-board. You only get 1 hour a day from the IT officer, so once again a poor service.

Internet still working but slow and patchy today.

Life still good though.

It has been my past experience that passengers aren't allowed ashore in Pitcairn. Locals may come on board. The island doesn't have the infrastructure to handle "guests" and it is critical to limit any exposure to illness as they only have a nurse living on the island. The ship Doctor may make a courtesy call ashore.

Would love to hear if you are given the opportunity or not.

Quite a few Brits onboard who are Seabourn cruisers and doing a first on SS because of the itinerary.

duct tape: Beautiful day in BoraBora' date=' again, again. Had a great lunch at the MaiTai Resort on the beach. Got back before the rains came. Very full lecture schedule, starting this afternoon. 290 aboard, yes, [b']188 are Brits[/b], 118 Venetians.

Appreciate these reports. Have these areas on our future "to-do" list. Interesting that you have such a high percentage of passengers from the UK. Am I correct in assuming that this is an above average number from England? Or, is Silversea seeing lots of passenger growth from that region?

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, 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 pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 85,097 views for this posting.

People can go ashore, if possible. My hub did in '07. It is just too rough and windy today, 25 k winds and 10 ft seas. Even the long boat from the island made a few tries before being able to board. There is a doc in the clinic on Pitcairn. They have a 1 yr contract. The residents could just as well take something back as easily as we could deliver an illness to them if we landed. There are enough colds and viruses on this ship to infect someone. The items for sale appeared to be an improvement from the last time we were here. Less Made in China labels. The lecturer says there is a resurgence in traditional crafts. Interestingly, a woman came aboard with a side show prepared by the Pitcairn Board of Tourism (really!) and we saw buildings, flora & fauna, special community activities as well as everyday life events. Very informative. Also much easier to watch than climbing the Road of Discomfort up to Adamstown! The Silver Explorer spent an overnight here 2 days ago and they never landed either. One of the RIBs broke and was towed back on a longboat. Hope to see the Explorer again in a few days on Easter Island...assuming we can get ashore there! I know there are lots of disappointed people, but if they had read up they may have known that chances of landing are slim. Next time!

Easter Island is fabulous! Hope you don't have issues there. It's large enough for options.

My visit to Pitcairn was on a 1000 passenger ship. The small luxury lines obviously are the better way to visit.

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Keep your fingers and toes crossed for our arrival at Easter Island!

Really hope that u make it ashore to Easter Island. I spent 4 fabulous days there several years ago...it is such a fascinating little island.

Wishing for calm seas...hate to think how disappointed people will be if they can't go ashore.

Cheers

Jennifer

Really hope that u make it ashore to Easter Island. I spent 4 fabulous days there several years ago...it is such a fascinating little island.

 

Wishing for calm seas...hate to think how disappointed people will be if they can't go ashore.

 

Cheers

Jennifer

Thanks for the kind thoughts Jennifer. Have met others on this cruise who have failed to get ashore more than once due to weather conditions, so we really have all fingers and toes crossed.

Great Liars Club last night, Krystal's Lil Miss Daisy routine was a real hoot, Jimmy his usual fun self.

His latest wheeze on this voyage is to make the mid-day announcement from various parts of the ship. Deck 2 forward stabiliser room today.

I enjoyed Liar's Club too!

Almost there, almost there...Easter Island!

Wishing you luck this time. Wish we were there, but that might jinx you. Enjoy...

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Made it, thank you to the weather gods. Not only did we get to land but the sun shone and it was warm.

Took the opportunity to visit the Explorer this afternoon, strange to be on a ship when all the guests are ashore. A little choppy in the Rib, got a wet bum, but well worth the time and effort. All the guests get off tomorrow on Easter Isalnd and then she re-positions for 7 days to Punta Arenas, empty, for the Antarctica season.

Deck BBQ cancelled tonight as its a little chilly (or it was this am), sunny and warm now, so bbq buffet in the MDR and the deck show in the show lounge at 9:30 pm.

Should be fun.

DT, in case you have forgotten, my Pitcairn Warbler badge came from the Pitcairns.

To get ashore in Pitcairn you need to be on a much smaller ship, something like Silver Discoverer which was the ship we were on in its previous identity, Clipper Odyssey. You need to have zodiac landing craft because tenders are useless here. Also, with the expedition ships, you also get to go ashore at the other islands in the Pitcairn group.