canderson

5 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

 

For Chili flake lovers,  check out Flatiron Pepper Co.  

 

@jollyjones Thanks for allowing the hijack . 😃

 

Loving all your posts.

Yup.  They're based right down in Arvada, and the local Proto pizza joints sell it retail.

2 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

FWIW I found the Amatriciana excellent on our last voyage. Of course it's all Chef dependent. 😄

Especially with regard to the amount of red chili flakes used!

22 hours ago, RetiredOnVacation said:

Just checked - and it's not Formal Optional across the Monaco stay - no jackets or ties required, gents! 😊

Beware.  When we boarded our SS cruise in November, we found 2 of the 3 nights changed from what was posted online.

6 hours ago, commodoredave said:

True. Plus, try finding a butler on disembarkation day when your naked body is covered by a hand towel and the only way to find him is by searching the hallways!

Sounds like a Mr. Bean episode!

1 hour ago, drron29 said:

So I added a 3 page letter with the current mid voyage paper based survey. I will be using the web based version again tomorrow. If it crashes head office will get an email with all the details.

Why risk the wasted time?  Write your comments in your favorite word processor and save them.  Then, when you get around to the survey, copy and paste.  It's what we all did back in the day when we were ultra concerned about shipboard satellite minutes.  Why waste time composing online?

Our first and only SS cruise, perfect one way air itinerary - the exact one I would have chosen had I booked it myself:

DEN direct to LHR via United 787 (Polaris), Tap Air A320? to LIS.(Business).

Others haven't been so lucky, but as I say, I couldn't have done better.

23 minutes ago, Silver Spectre said:

Well RCL only parachuted someone with bean cutting experience into SS some 3 or 4 weeks ago.

Who dat?  Is Vanderlaat not still the CFO?  Or are you talking about RC moving Weir in from Celebrity as Hotel VP?

21 minutes ago, tinaincc said:

What is MCRIDE?

 

Suspect AKA Magic Carpet.

8 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

I could never understand how dress code is related to luxury experience.

The explanation has been provided several times, but evidently forgotten.

1 hour ago, Port Power said:

The Grill will still be open.

We took the SS bus from the Tivoli and we boarded in time for buffet lunch, Nov '23.

Yes.  On Dawn, we had Bulgari products.

On 3/27/2024 at 9:55 AM, spinnaker2 said:

Earl:

The gentleman who is our butler has never been aboard Celebrity. Not the same Anu, sorry.

Alas -

Attempt greatly appreciated. We'll keep looking for him.

I think I may have mentioned this a long time ago, but Kaiseki seems a very ill chosen name for these restaurants.  Kaiseki implies a very special style of Japanese cuisine, and these restaurants don't even begin to measure up to that.  If were to take one of these restaurants off a SS ship and drop it anywhere in Japan with the Kaiseki name, I'm not sure whether you'd be met with more anger or more laughing.

2 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

I will ask however I do not think your Anu is the same person.

 

Thanks for trying, whichever way it comes out.

4 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

I must mention our butler and suite attendant, who are splendid and caring. Anu and Mark are special. Kudos.

Please, oh please, can you ask Anu if he was also a butler on Celebrity, most particularly on Constellation for the restart cruise out of Tampa?  We have been trying to get contact information for him to ask about him and his family.  Like idiots, we neglected to ask him before we disembarked.  If we're talking about the same Anu, he was unquestionably the best butler we have ever had the pleasure of working with on any cruise ship, kind and intuitive.

He may remember my wife. Hard to see Anu, since staff was masking during this cruise.

On 3/20/2024 at 7:54 AM, Gourmet Gal said:

Is that typical that the crossings are fully booked?

You'll find a core group of cruisers that really enjoy the shipboard experience who cross annually.  About 1/3 of our ocean cruises are repo cruises, and we would see a lot of familiar faces each time.  These were once (many years ago) offered at a steep discount vs. other cruises, but over time, their popularity has brought prices way up.

6 hours ago, Ovener said:

First world question, sorry, and given all the recent reviews about Silversea I probably know the answer 😞. But one of my favourite things about cruising is…congee for breakfast. It’s a real vacation treat for me. I got hooked when working in Hong Kong over two decades ago. A perfect savoury mix of carbs and protein to fix you up for the day ahead…without the fat of bacon and eggs. Seabourn do it reasonably well (particularly if the roasted garlic is available); Viking do it (not so well). I’m on Silver Dawn in a few weeks’ time, and will be a Silversea newbie. Are there any places that offer it at breakfast please?

My wife had it a couple of times on Dawn in La Terraza last November, though I can't recall if it was called congee or juk or ???

The protein was pork.

6 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Completely agree. I could never understand why some people are so obsessed with what other people wear..

It has been explained, but evidently forgotten.

On 3/16/2024 at 8:26 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

Isn't there anything you liked about the cruise?  For instance, the white wines on Silversea aren't 6 years old, like Oceania?  

Careful there.  I had a 2003 Riesling (Auslese) with a Thai dish aboard Dawn last November.  At 20 years, it was just beginning to do that amazing thing that age-worthy Rieslings do as they get older.  I can think of many whites I'd like better at 6 years.

Headed north out of Deseado earlier today.  No specific news of issues that would have kept it there.

Based upon heading, I'd guess headed directly for Buenos Aires.

9 hours ago, nast said:

Is it allowed to use a full face snorkel mask on a Galapagos cruise, Silver Origin?

I'm reading this is prohibited. 

 

My wife only snorkel with this kind of mask. 

 

The problem apparently is CO2 built-up, but this is mainly the case with some older and cheaper models.

The newer models have a design which keeps CO2 levels safe.

 

My full face snorkel mask is a rather different design, and consequently has no CO2 issues - not the typical 'tube out the top' style at all.  I could use a pound of Vaseline and never get a decent seal around my mustache, so it's full face or nothing.

Here's one similar to what I have. 

https://www.amazon.com/HJKB-Anti-Fog-Panoramic-Snorkeling-Anti-Leak/dp/B0BFQJW1L5

3 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

Plus FLL tends to only allow check-ins within 3 hours of flight.

When we came through in November 23, we were pleasantly surprised to find that they had extended this to 4 hours.  One less hour to schlep bags waiting to check them in for a mid-afternoon flight.

On 3/12/2024 at 8:04 AM, gojocruise said:

Hello 

A quick question to all you regular Silversea cruisers 

I have booked my first ever Silversea cruise departing Barbados to Lisbon. We have booked D2D but I did ask if it is possible to deviate the flight to fly a few days earlier. Cruise agent said this is possible. Are there fees to deviate a flight?  Are they a fixed cost?

In November 23, we flew into Lisbon 4 days pre-cruise (one day earlier than normally managed by SS), and only had to pay the $150 deviation fee.  Evidently they found seats (and the itinerary was absolutely perfect) that they could provide at their contract price.  It's the luck of the draw, but it worked well for us.

As for Blacklane, great service there as well, but the caveat about a last minute cancellation should be heeded.  No idea how often this really happens - you can't tell from message boards - but it wouldn't be the first time.

6 hours ago, caviargal said:

We had dinner in Silver Note last night.  One couple was in joggers and sneakers and another couple was a woman in flip flops and husband in jeans and Hey Dudes.  Quite a few polos and khakis as well.  Same for the lounges. 

About 20% of the guests look fabulous every evening - IMO - and about 30% fit into the jeans and sneakers category, with the rest somewhere in the middle.

Some said it would never happen.  We predicted otherwise.

4 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

... Royalize all three of their lines, maybe SS won't be a good fit for me, but I'm going to give it two tries. 

You know our history, and why we made the X to SS switch.  **At least for the moment**, we find SS a better overall experience.  I think you'll enjoy it.

As for the fiasco in question, if all of the SS pax on deck for the photo shoot would channel their inner Carnival instincts for a few minutes and flip the bird to the drone taking the video...  🤣