les37b

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

@les37b I'm confused about the right terminology.  I thought 'British' referred only to England, Scotland and Wales [listed in alphabetical order so as not to offend...], and that the addition of Northern Island made it the United Kingdom.  So if I am referring only to residents of England I would say 'English.'  If to residents of England, Scotland and Wales, I would say 'British.'  But how do I correctly include Northern Irelanders?  I can't say 'Ukies' because that refers [perhaps derogatorily] to my people (Ukraine).

That would depend who you asked.

People born in Northern Ireland are generally considered British citizens by birth under the British Nationality Act 1981 if one of their parents was either a British citizen or legally settled in the UK at the time of their birth.

However half the population would not like that title and consider themselves Irish.

1 hour ago, Stumblefoot said:

I was thinking the same thing!  As a fan of “Deadliest Catch”, I’d be ticked.  I wonder how much the excuses given were to hide the fact the captain didn’t want to ride the swells into the harbor?

The port has 2 berths, both taken by freight which apparently takes priority. He said he asked permission to tender but was denied.

I’m actually more annoyed the highlight train journey from Seward to Anchorage has been cancelled after we had boarded with a couple of dishonest reasons I know to be untrue.

9 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi Les, so sorry, no offense intended. The "British" know how to do Pomp and Circumstance🙂

No offence taken… just correcting, and happy to share the accolades with the other countries that form the UK. Indeed, my reply had a glaring error… each country does have its own flag and are nations in their own right! I think I just Americanised the UK there! lol

Meanwhile our voyage has just been met with some bad news the 6 sea days is about to become 7 and not calling at Dutch Harbour. Our berth given to a cargo ship and port refusing to allow us to tender. On top, we will be battening down the hatches tonight with force 9 winds. Gonna be a bumpy ride!

Got away from the Venetian Lounge at 2.45… last man standing .. room clock is 1 hour forward! No chance of Brecky tomorrow.  
 

Lois… it’s British … UK and NI… one nation… one flag. At least how I see it and certainly the monarchy. The Scots, Welsh and NI would like to be included….. but not all… but that’s ok too.
 

Probably 70 to 75 in Venetian and no idea how many in panorama where the chronicle said it would be shown. 

Enjoyed it. As TTS said we Brits do do this stuff well and long May the UK continue to do so. Friends in the US up at 3am to watch. Not even sure I’d do that!

Th only downside I predict is the Netflix Victim ignored show. One downside I guess.

Currently 01.29 and clocks going forward 2 hours! Yikes. Breakfast missed 4 seadays in a row! lol

Hope everyone enjoyed… and if you didn’t.. don’t begrudge those who did.

Ok, not a heading to invoke anti or pro Uk monarchy… but more to acknowledge on the Muse they are serving special menus and showing the Coronation Live (in Panorama but also seemingly in the Venetian Lounge when I just walked paste.

Anything on the other ships in the fleet? I think we are -12 hours to GMT so quite a gap… But hey ho… plenty of champagne!

Sailing has 360 on board… but with 60 from the UK, 63 from Oz and 60 from Canada, it’s certainly potentially of interest… and even if not, still a big deal…. So we’ll done SS for that.

At least the rough seas provides cover if a few too many downed! My chair had slid several times with the waves! Loving being at sea!

38 minutes ago, les37b said:

Have you called in to Miyako yet?

 

Dont miss the send off.

Forget that, I just looked and see it’s not a port of call, Not much to see, but the people must be the friendliest on the planet!

Do you know it guests disembarking and embarking in Seward have a train transfer?

They have just cancelled our falsely blaming Alaskan Railroad. They didn’t or couldn’t book the train charter because AR public service doesn’t start until 15 May…. Or maybe cancelled because of low passenger count.

I flagged this anomaly last year and again on 4 April when the train wasn’t shown on the cruise ticket. I was again assured it was a train journey and all booked. Most guests are oblivious to the transfer now being coach. The official notice to my TA want until after we had boarded. When I spoke with GS at first they tried to say there was emergency engineering works on the track, but other ship sources have confirmed that’s not true. 

On 5/1/2023 at 7:15 PM, turtlemichael said:

I am currently on Shadow and will be on for the segment you are joining. That will be the final segment of the world cruise. The current practice is as stated by Jollyjones in this thread. At one point in this cruise there was a daily advisory in the Chronicles suggesting it was a good idea to wear masks in tenders, casino etc but that has now disappeared. We have been fortunate to have had so far only a handful of covid cases and, indeed, much fewer chest infections generally. If that changed for the worse the policy, no doubt, could change. We continue to wear N95 masks in situations where we think appropriate. The email you got is yet another example of the Head Office not knowing what is happening out front.

Have you called in to Miyako yet?

Dont miss the send off.

The crew all did a celebration jig when we left Japanese waters on Silver Muse a few days ago, when mask wearing no longer compulsory.

It means I didn’t double check the auto correct that took place on my phone and should probably wear glasses when using my phone.

Here is the stair case…. This doesn’t exist on the moon or Dawn. Second photo is from deck 8 showing the other end of the stair case.

Not really anything of note between the dawn and moon, but the Muse certainly has many differences.

Though I prefer Indochine to SALT, there are many other big difference, with the biggest being Dolce Vita. On my first sailing, the cavernous bar has been improved and near divided, the bar itself is horrible in comparison to Dawn and Moon. No USB in rooms either. Other changes are locations of La Dame, arts cafe and silver note… and something I noticed last night… a start case into panorama nigh in the dance floor.

Theyve certainly learned from their mistakes.

40 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

No,actually on the top of the head and knots tied on all four corners.

It was done to protect the head from sunburn.

 

Suitably wetted and singing a song about mad dogs and Englishmen.

12 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

and best not mention the apparently diabolical state of the tonic water selection since RCI took over. 

I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it.

At the top of the booking page in my.silversea - click tour program and you can download a booklet of all the excursions and all their descriptions.

15 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Are you asking for a friend les?

They probably won’t be friends if they found out who put it on their door!  😇

8 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Costco 

Damn, I was in my local one today. Never saw them.

Would have bought a dozen to share around.

40 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

I tell you what: he wouldn't stand for people reserving a lounger with a book and sunglasses. 

We had a few of those…. Over 2 1/2 hours all these were unused. The whole row and all with different couples. Had I have known, I’d have put an upside down pineapple on them all.

On 4/17/2023 at 5:12 PM, Daveywavey70 said:

I Believe the said pineapple needs to be displayed upside down. So I've heard anyway 🙂 

Any idea where these upside down pineapples can be bought? 🤣

7 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

I’ve never seen door decorations on a cruise ship before.  What would be the purpose?

The only decorations on doors that I can recall were little dots to denote occupants are quarantined!  
 

What sort of thing did you mean OP? I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem as long as tasteful and no damage.

SS used to have binoculars in every room, but not been the case for some time now. I believe if you ask at GS, you should be able to get a short time loaner. I’ve seen that mentioned, but never done it.

Without knowing the cruise, it’s not possible to answer which terminal. Cruise mapper and what’s in port will give you those answers, though obviously things can change. Your cruise ticket will verify, but generally it’s a safe bet the what’s in port info for Southampton will be accurate.

https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/
 

Thanks for your review and taking the time to do so. 
 

We were on the sailing onwards from your disembarkation port of Barbados.

Agree with you on the Ship. Dawn is splendid.

Entertainment, it’s very rare we go to any shows, but did see one this time. I expect some might enjoy the “Queen” tribute. It was ok at times, but not for me. 
 

Food, as Drron said, is subjective usually, but not always. On my second night in Salt, I sent back both starter and main course. The starter was stone cold (literally room temperature and did recheck it was meant to be hot!) I got that changed. The main was Luke warm, but under cooked. I chose not to replace. Service was slow and wasn’t going to stave so left it. This is the first time on any SS cruise I’ve sent food back, so really not good to have 2 in a row.

It did pick up after that and that meal the only meal of notable dissatisfaction.

Drinks, I’d usually agree. But was surprised at no Peroni (on an Italian ship at the pizzeria.) They had none on the ship available anywhere. It happens I know, but some things you’d expect not to. Our fridge was sparse… and not restocked. I did manage to get 2 bottles of Asahi beer, but never replaced. No big deal, but not good either. Beyond that, Al as expected.

Staff as always were excellent, but there were far more than usual getting up to speed.

Highlight food related was the death by chocolate which was stunning.

Will you be booking another?

.

34 minutes ago, A Tucson Guy said:

Anybody can "jump ship" anytime they want. If you don't like a cruise line, try another one.

Absolutely. Just surprising that SS are hell bent on encouraging it. The things mentioned are marketing ploys which are unpalatable, but beyond that, it’s not very good reading the number of recent posts from guests dissatisfied with their experiences. I’ve seen grumbles and complaints before, but not on these levels. 

8 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

Never sailed with him, but he seemed to be beloved by all that had.

 

So, what did your email message say?  I have yet to read from anyone who has been impressed with Crystal’s new prices relative to the proposed product & services.

I hadn’t looked, but just did. Can’t see those prices being popular.

On the Dawn last month in the Caribbean, surprisingly, Brits outnumbered Americans 3 to 1. Most unusual…. But that was because it became a semi charter.
 

No Peroni was available anywhere on the ship. That’s a bit like no Sushi in Kaiseke. 
 

Don’t like D2D at all. Don’t like EBB disappearing. Don’t like the deposit and refund changes. No VS of P2P. Don’t like bigger ships.

I still enjoyed the cruise and hope to have a great time on the Muse next week, but I think the CL I’m fond of is disappearing fast.

Must be a Star Trek transporter D2D fare!

Loved the Shanghai Las in Singapore. Maybe you might suggest a quick viewing of that one as you pass by. Shouldn’t take too long! 😀
 

Beam me up Scotty.

17 hours ago, austromyrtus said:

les37b, out of interest, which ship are you sailing on?

Silver Muse from Osaka to Seward.

17 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Just to make it clear, there are essentially no COVID restrictions in Japan (other than the requirement to either be vaccinated with 3 jabs OR have a negative COVID test).  For practical purposes, nearly all the restrictions melted away in early March.  We have been in Japan since March 16 (in Kochi at the moment) and have seen zero restrictions.  That being said, a large majority of Japanese do continue to wear masks (they are not mandated) and some very rare private facilities still have their own mask mandates (we have seen this in one store in the past month).  

 

There are still some requirements for cruise ships and whether the May 8 changes impact cruises remains to be seen.  Most (if not all) cruise ships try to have some kind of onboard mask mandate which we think is more out of fear of the Japanese 10% dictate (ships might be prevented from docking if more than 10% of souls onboard have COVID).  On our ship (HAL's Westerdam) there is a requirement to wear masks onboard, when indoors (unless eating or drinking).  Nearly all the passengers on our ship do follow the "rule" although we have seen no attempt to enforce the rules on those who are lax.

 

Hank

Agree, nothing has been mentioned for cruising specifically from Japan after May 8th, but logically if Covid has been downgraded to be the same as a cold, then I can’t think they’d upgrade it on the sea and a  cruise will get cancelled for more than 10% having a cold. 
 

I’m told that currently on the ship I join in just over a weeks time, on top of the boarding test, daly temperature checks are required and also no self serve food. Mask wearing is also recommended on inside locations. These “rules” are the same as on a sailing we did in Jan 2022 in South America - but without the needed PCR on each new country. Unfortunately my wife caught Covid on that voyage and was in the “red zone quarantine for 10 days. To have got off as scheduled in Guayaquil, she’d only done 6 days, was already fine with an antigen, but failed the PCR. (She literally had absolutely zero symptoms). Ecuador insisted she’d have to spend a further 14 days locked up. (So 20 days for not even a runny nose, temperature or cough!) I’m glad those days are behind us! That said, there are worse places to be confined to your suite that a luxury cruise ship! Ironically, after I was excluded for 48 hours, I had the run of the ship, but kept a very low profile for fear of a further extension. Our 16 night cruise was extended to 25 and we did have the option to stay on until Montevideo (so 42 nights) but since Chile had Al but shut down and Argentina and Brazil were completely blocked, that many sea days wasn’t so appealing! 
 

8 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

Japan does not require a COVID test for cruise passengers prior to boarding a ship. But many cruise lines sailing in Japan have decided to require it to protect themselves. If a cruise ship sailing in Japanese Waters has more than 10% of pax and crew with COVID, the ship will be forced to leave Japan. Currently, most big mass market ships are exceeding 10% infection rates. If a big ship is forced out of Japan, the logistics of re-booking air tickets for all passengers would be a financial and logistical nightmare. The cruise lines are trying to avoid this by screening potential health risk passengers before sailing.

Indeed, I jumped to this same conclusion and suggested the same a week or so ago on CC.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2928097-muse-cruise-japan-questions-anyone-on-board-now-or-about-to-sail/?do=findComment&comment=65148639

I guess I don’t blame them, but would be devastated if this stopped us boarding in just over a weeks time.

On 4/11/2023 at 3:05 PM, worldtraveller99 said:

When will the COVID card stop being valid? Our NHS pass has a QR code which expires at the end of April. I probably will see if I can print a new one out this summer, with a later date on it, but I am not sure if we in the UK (under 70) will ever be offered another COVID jab?

It'll always be valid. The certificate has an expiry date - you just need to use the app and get another and the expiry date will be another 3 months (or whatever it is.) It just verifies the dates of your vaccines.... and they get further and further back in time. Not quite sure what the need to expire is.

9 hours ago, kittycrews said:

Can't help with those ports of call as we were mostly in Kyushu: Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Yeosu (South Korea), Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Beppu. We were thrilled to have caught cherry blossoms all over.

OK no worries. I with we catch the cherry blossoms in Hokkaido.