labrasett

On 7/30/2023 at 8:54 PM, highplanesdrifters said:

Yes, we've all been there. About day 15 everything is starting to look a little samey samey, especially on the smaller ships.  

  Many request special meals in advance from the chef.  Indian is our go to. 

  We will sometimes buy local condiments, especially spicy ones before we board. The restaurant kindly brings them out at dinner.

  Our last trip on the Explorer challenged our paletes after Chef Pia left. I started making my own soup at the lunch buffet.  I asked for a larger bowl of soup part way filled.  It was usually some brothy or cream based thing, added veges and protein from the buffet.  Tada!

 

Let's hear yours, I need some new ideas!

 

Pias chicken curries were beyond divine.

On 4/12/2023 at 3:35 PM, broker1217 said:

I was just on the Moon and there were many, many scooters, wheelchairs and walkers in the hallways. Electric wheelchairs and scooters were plugged into hallway outlets to recharge.

 

Same on the Dawn in March, not a problem.

On 8/2/2023 at 4:12 PM, canderson said:

We scheduled 15 nts during the 'restart' period of cruising.  Pricing was all over the map as lines tried to fill ships.  Our TA twice called me to advise that she was obtaining reduced fare on our behalf.  Absolutely no chance a line's own employee would have done that.  That kind of proactive service only comes when working with a really good TA.

I am not sure that is quite so, our last (former) SS agent fixed us up with significant discounts on one particular trip, way beyond what I had been expecting or even hoping for.  I think it depends very much on your particular agent and the relationship you have with them although mostly the reports of UK London based agents are good.

On 8/4/2023 at 7:01 AM, AusMum said:

If you need any tips/help with Perth let me know (I live there).  Rottnest really is amazing!

Thank you so much AusMum.   I am starting to look at what to do as I know we need to book quite early since we will be there in the holiday season (New Year).

Duplicate bridge available on the Dawn in March on Barbados to Lisbon cruise but not very user friendly for less experienced players.   

What I can say if it is any consolation to those wishing they were going to Quito  in March in this year our flight arrived around 3pm, we picked up our bags and caught up with a Silversea rep and got into our transport, it took nearly 3 hours to get to the hotel due to the rush hour traffic most of the time we were stationary.  You may be glad you dont have to face that.   Although on the plus side we did have a fabulous day trip out the following day.

3 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Coutts Bank anyone?

Personally I would like to bank with an organisation which declines a customer who is a misogynist, racist, bully, but there you go.

On 7/28/2023 at 5:35 PM, labrasett said:

We are flying from UK to Perth with five nights there to get out and about and to visit Rottnest Island to see the Quokkas.  Then we are doing the Indian Pacific train from Perth to Sydney (four nights) then we have three days in Sydney before picking up the Silver Wind to cruise to Tasmania and on to New Zealand with most of the NZ time being spent around South Island.   So looking forward to our trip, I planned it myself, very easy to organise apart from trying to tie up train with ship.   Our itinerary is third time lucky having been bumped off trains by certain travel company booking out the whole train on two other proposed dates. We had originally planned to cruise first then do the train in a westerly direction, ie en route towards home but by turning it on its head and rebooking our cruise we finally managed to achieve what looks like a fantastic trip, cant wait only 170 days or so to ship time.   

 

That should have read Silver WHISPER for the cruise section.

My butler gets my breakfast at the weekends but he is not quite so attentive during the week, makes the occasional coffee and pours me a glass at wine o'clock but is useless when it comes to laundry and cleaning my shoes.

Have to say I have been well looked after by Silversea consultants.   In eleven years of sailing on Silversea we have only had three different consultants, the second one looked after us for some nine years and was very good although to be fair we are very undemanding customers.   Said consultant was promoted by Silversea a couple of years back and has now left to move on to pastures new but I was both surprised and delighted to receive a message from him the other day saying he had enjoyed our chats over the years and he was sorry he hadnt been in touch to say goodbye when he was leaving Silversea.   He did NOT mention the new organisation to whom he has moved although I looked on Linkedin and am aware where he has gone.   My new consultant is very good and attentive although he has had a few holidays recently, always very annoying just when you want to make or change a booking but others in the office have picked up my requests and I have received very good service.

We are flying from UK to Perth with five nights there to get out and about and to visit Rottnest Island to see the Quokkas.  Then we are doing the Indian Pacific train from Perth to Sydney (four nights) then we have three days in Sydney before picking up the Silver Wind to cruise to Tasmania and on to New Zealand with most of the NZ time being spent around South Island.   So looking forward to our trip, I planned it myself, very easy to organise apart from trying to tie up train with ship.   Our itinerary is third time lucky having been bumped off trains by certain travel company booking out the whole train on two other proposed dates. We had originally planned to cruise first then do the train in a westerly direction, ie en route towards home but by turning it on its head and rebooking our cruise we finally managed to achieve what looks like a fantastic trip, cant wait only 170 days or so to ship time.   

2 hours ago, drron29 said:

Gosh we could never get in. Packed every night and certainly didn't sound quiet from the door.

Sorry that happened to you, on the Dawn in March it usually had no more than six or eight other people after dinner.    Cant say about before dinner as we usually have a glass (or two) of wine in our suite before we go for dinner rather than go for pre dinner drinks "out".

Salt Bar next to Salt kitchen is a small dark and quiet bar at night.  We loved it.

On 7/4/2023 at 2:25 AM, cruiseej said:

First, let's stipulate that different people are comfortable with widely different temperature ranges — someone can feel cold at 50ºF and someone else can feel 32ºF requires just a light jacket. And some of that depends on the weather conditions beyond the temperature: sunny with not wind at 32º can feel very different than cloudy, windy, rainy 32º.

 

So now, I'll say that you want a variety of weights of clothing to insure you can make yourself comfortable. Yes, I'd take a fleece. Even if you decide you don't want/need it under your parka, but you might find it comfortable to wear on the ship if you're popping outside on your veranda or on deck to view what you're sailing by. I did peel off my fleece on a hike on one of the Falkland islands because we had a beautiful day and I was too hot, but I did enjoy having it on a 90-minute zodiac cruise when I was stationary. 

 

I'd also say that the ship's slippers (a) don't fit if you have large/wide feet, and (b) can easily get wet in the mud room. (The latter isn't a big problem if you've returned from a landing and you're headed to your room, but the last thing you want as you go to suit up for a landing is to get your socks wet! So I think taking some form of waterproof sandal/water shoe is desirable. I purchased a pair of these inexpensive ones on Amazon at the recommendation of a fellow SS passenger; just consider ordering a size up so you can wear them with the thick socks you'll be wearing.

I second the wisdom of taking a fleece.   Mix and match is possible with fleece, parka outer and parker inner this threesome makes for a very versatile wardrobe for all weathers from really chilly to quite mild and wet.

21 hours ago, canderson said:

The article only directly identified Fincantieri as one example but if, as suggested above, Meyer Werft was also using these panels, that opens up a HUGE potential list, including Silver Nova for Silversea.

Barbara Muckerman has advised elsewhere that the Nova fire resistant panels were sourced elsewhere and are therefore fine.

The weight limit is the weight limit, a little over will likely not be checked but the aircraft is comparatively small so lots of extra or overweight bags would be unwelcome.   You can take a moderate sized piece of handbaggage as well.  The limit is fine for what you will need.  

12 hours ago, david63 said:

Are you sure that is correct?

Twenty one nights = twenty two dresses (must have a spare - just in case)

I dont even own 21 (or 22) dresses and only two of those are posh (evening) dresses.

Check Silversea shiptoshore traveller website to see what clothes you need ie do you need to order parka and to buy or rent knee length waterproof boots!

On 7/7/2023 at 11:18 PM, dusababy said:

Why is it so hard to question and comply with a long established, reasonable dress code that elevates ladies and gentlemen for an evening or two of an adult dining experience ??

Because a lot of people give up their formal attire when they retire.   Suits for elderly gentlemen are usually only worn for funerals, if at all!   Ladies can look lovely in smart tops and smart (maybe floaty) trousers and men can wear a decent pair of trousers and a jacket and tie and be perfectly acceptably well dressed.   Many people these days are choosing to travel without hold baggage but they can still be smart even without a tux.  The secret is to look as if you have made an effort to dress up even if not as far "up" as the full evening wear.

1 hour ago, machotspur said:

 

Whilst the attempt at humour v serious comment has passed me by in some recent posts I would - as requested in the original post - be most interested in hearing of your experiences on Silversea expedition ships and indeed the footwear that meets your needs between Cabin & Mud Room.

Thank you so much !  

Dress code casual at all times (a little smarter in the evening) and crocs are just perfect for suite to mud room.

23 hours ago, alithecat said:

Re: Bogs. For Antarctica they used the men's boots for both men and women. They said the women's Bogs didn't a thick enough tread. Did women get the women's version for the Arctic?

If you are buying your own boots I recommend Muck Boots for purchases in UK and ensure that you buy the ones with the better tread.   I had on the lower tread neoprene wellies when I slipped and broke my leg in 2011, I always ensure rubber boots have a decent tread since then.     

2 hours ago, AusMum said:

there should be a Croc ban 🙂

Nonsense they may be ugly and look cheap (they are not) but they are so comfortable and useful.   Many many medical staff (particularly operating theatre) and dentists wear them because they are so comfortable for standing all day.   I love them for when I am doing the ironing.   

8 hours ago, alithecat said:

Re: Crocs. The mud room floor is often quite wet, and it's a good idea to have slip on waterproof shoes. But the Crocs might be too heavy and bulky. You need to keep everything as light as possible for the charter flight. We purchased Birkenstock Arizona Essentials, they are "ultra lightweight". Don't take flip flops because you won't be able to wear thick socks with them.

Crocs are not heavy but they are a bit bulky although they do offer a very good suite to mud room choice.   I am a bit floored by the frequent references to weight restrictions, my husband and I find the weight limits perfectly doable for all of our trips and we only go to "cold" places.  Multi purpose clothes are the way forward.  My husband travels in his tweed jacket because he is wedded to it so he always has a jacket for any time it might be needed and he packs a fleece zip up and a sweater, apart from that it is just the usual of several shirts, undies (including thermal leggings), socks, two pairs of trousers, swimming trunks (hot tub),  a couple of pairs of shoes plus the "warm" additions of hat, gloves, scarf and of course waterproof overtrousers plus rubber boots and he usually weighs in under 20 kgs so I get a few extra spaces in his bag as I am not quite as well disciplined as him when it comes to packing.   All easily possible on an expedition cruise.    Have a wonderful time, we shall not be travelling on Endeavour until 2025 but we are already looking forward to it.

1 hour ago, machotspur said:

Mrs Machotspur & I are getting serious about our preparations for our long awaited Falklands/S.Georgia/Antarctica expedition cruise in October 23.

 

We have a quite basic question that I’d really value some insight from previous Antarctica/Arctic explorers please.

We note that the Parka that is now provided by Silversea includes an inner Puffa jacket.

 

Does this mean that we don’t need to worry about bringing an insulation layer (e.g. fleece or puffa) and only need to combine the Silversea provided Parka/Puffa with a thin base layer ?  The lowest temperature is likely to be around minus 6.

 

As some will know the baggage weight limit on the Santiago – Puerto Williams charter flight is only 23kg so we need to be careful with what we pack !

Thank you so much for any info you can give me.  

I still wear a base layer and a thinnish fleece under the parka and lining.   Better to be a bit too warm than too cold.   The 23kg limit is more than enough to pack adequately for your trip.   The parka and liner are wonderful worn together or even separately depending upon the weather conditions.  Leave in October from UK and arriving back in November means you will probably want to wear either a thin puffa or fleece cardi anyway for travel to airport etc. and you will probably want to have a lightweight jacket available for Santiago where it will be spring and could be warm or cool.  Yes the lowest temperature could be minus 6 but add to that wind chill and damp plus potentially a blizzard and you will realise why the extra layers I suggest are a good idea.  Dont forget woolly hat and neck gaiter as well as sunglasses etc. etc.   Have you organised your rubber boots, either rent from Shiptoshore or buy Muck Boots (from the internet) before you go.   You can easily get the boots into your bags stuffed with other items like gloves, socks etc. and still be within the 23 kgs.   You will have a wonderful time.  

Just do it, we are on the Whisper early in 2025 from Sydney to Auckland, cant wait.  Just read up on what to expect restaurant and bar wise so you are not disappointed.