GrumpySushiBear

Backfill of last day at sea + disembarkation https://kan.ski/2024/10/07/last-day-at-sea-disembarkation/ For those following along for the cruise only, this is the end 🙂 We are still traveling around in Japan and I'll be updating the blog but I will no longer post links here since it is not related. Feel free to continue looking if you are interested!

Backfill: Miyako https://kan.ski/2024/10/04/day-15-miyako/

Backfilling the Hakodate day - mostly photos of Hakodate with one picture of scallops at Atlantide at the end haha. https://kan.ski/2024/10/02/day-14-hakodate/ Traveling in Japan now and the food and onsen is amazing here. Though I miss the convenience of not having to lug all my stuff around. We are actually back in Hakodate funnily enough - the port was changed to include Hakodate after I made all my plans but it's all good, there is plenty I want to eat / do here and we are avoiding the horribly hot temps in Tokyo.

It's our last day 😢 I am procrastinating from packing, so I decided to make the post for our first port of call in Japan: Kushiro. https://kan.ski/2024/09/30/day-13-kushiro-japan/ I can't believe 18 days went back this quickly!

I agree with @BBGrace273 time went by so fast and it still feels like there is more I want to try. I'm excited to be arriving in Japan since I love traveling in Japan but I'm going to miss the epic journey we had onboard. I ended up doing one big megapost of our days at sea https://kan.ski/2024/09/26/6-days-at-sea/

Day 6 - our rough sea day is up. Short post, pics from 1 meal at Atlantide https://kan.ski/2024/09/21/day-6-rough-seas/ Day 7 - Kodiak Island, lots of wildlife (sea otter, sea lions, an eagle, cormorants, and whales) and scenery pics. Not that great though because it is pretty challenging to photograph sea otters and teleconverter makes the images kinda soft. Ship related: lunch at Atlantide and dinner at SALT https://kan.ski/2024/09/21/day-7-kodiak-island/ We are now at sea for several days until we reach Kushiro Japan!

Behind on my posts - yesterday was rough seas. https://kan.ski/2024/09/19/day-5-sitka/ Sea lions, bald eagle, and some Sitka town photos. Food photos from Silver Note

I was just thinking it was too bad we didn't exchange emails! They sent me a message saying 8am meeting and to call when we get to port to fine tune the time but it's impossible to call them probably from the tender. So we were thinking of huffing it out on the 7:30 tender. Want to plan on the same time? Then at least 4 of us will be in one place at the same time. I can't remember now but there was a Steve and Mary? That responded on this page originally but I haven't heard from them since.

Day 3's post for Juneau is up - our excursion got cancelled so it's mostly just lunch pics at Atlantide and dinner pics at SALT https://kan.ski/2024/09/16/day-3-juneau/ Day 4 Skagway is up too. No food / ship photos but we saw the aurora at 12:30am! They made an announcement and I rushed outside and took one photo and went back to bed haha. Pics from the chilkoot hike and float excursion. https://kan.ski/2024/09/17/day-4-skagway/ The night before we were given a questionnaire form to fill out - I made sure to mention all the amazing experiences / staff so far and made a comment about the ping pong table placement being too squeezed in and not enough space to swing the paddle. To my positive surprise the hotel director called to thank me for the feedback and mentioned that on sea days they can definitely make this happen but are limited to what they can do on port days when people need to come in and out. The air has been so dry my throat hurt so bad I had a scare and thought I was sick but was confused I felt perfect energy wise. Our butler brought me a humidifier and I slept so well last night I awoke this morning forgetting I wasn't home 🙂 A teaser- I got some great bald eagle and sea lion pictures today in Sitka.

Breakfast and dinner. Is lunch much better? The service is fantastic, but the food is just very mediocre compared to every where else on the ship.

This is our first time on Silversea, previously sailed NCL. There were so many negative comments on the internet we were a bit scared we made a mistake but now that we are living it, I can say it’s actually a great deal. I would say 92% we are extremely happy with, minus 3 points for internet price, and 2 points for them piping the beautiful musical instructions through terrible amps, and 3 points for Kaiseki and La Terraza’s food being very mediocre (to our tastes) compared to everything else- it’s more confusing than upsetting. We have plenty of other choices and haven’t felt hungry since we boarded. Go for it!

Posted photos from day 1, which is just the food pictures from SALT https://kan.ski/2024/09/15/day-1-inside-passage/ Ketchikan photos are from the kayaking excursion + scenery so those looking for food or ship info only can skip this post haha https://kan.ski/2024/09/15/day-2-ketchikan/

Well I guess I just got unlucky 🙂 I mean I wish you all saying it can't be true actually makes it not true but it hasn't worked yet haha!

We can bridge using an Android device but it’s only about 4mbps, not enough for both of us to be on a video call 🙂

Yup, upgrade is only for one connected device at a time, that is unless you’re willing to pay for more. I paid for one voyage upgrade and I can have one device connected at a time and that device is premium internet. DH is on the slow internet, one device- he is holding out for the long stretch of sea days when he has to work too. If we knew it was this much money we would have just left our laptops at home and take the unpaid days from work. Oh well!

I even asked the front desk if this was accurate, so they probably increased the prices. It is pretty clearly listed when you sign in and choose upgrade, the upgrade is per device now.

Hi all! Got to meet @BBGrace273, @agape01, and @FauxNom yesterday! Everything has been amazing onboard and there’s so much to do I am glad I didn’t attempt to do my own live thread, thanks @BBGrace273 for letting us chime in on yours 🙂 I posted pictures of embarkation day with food from Silver Note on my own blog: no ads or anything I just like having full control of my photos. https://kan.ski/2024/09/13/embarkation-day/ Not mentioned on the post but I find amazing that may be relevant to the cruise crowd: Fruits and veggies are all super fresh Cooking class was super easy but we got to chat with the chef/instructor after and I asked for some specific tips on other things and I am excited to try when I get home. He was also super funny during class Activities galore: we were so busy. I loved the watercolor class, DH loved ping pong 🙂 There were paper printed chronicles, my butler has been amazing making sure to keep a thermos full of hot water for me in my suite. i have watched a million videos before and it’s even more luxurious in person. Only negative is the premium wifi prices feel predatory. It’s 29 per day to upgrade ONE device, not one device each in the room. I paid for it since I need to work onboard. To their credit I was able to give a presentation on video without a hitch and have video meetings. (It’s discounted to 21 per day if you buy the voyage plan).

I don’t think that it’s really need either, everything is on their computers and there’s no new info on there - there no special code.

This is what we got a month before the embarkation date, we printed it out but there's nothing in there you wouldn't already have. Just make sure to have booking # handy I guess? There were 3 pages of generic information. I've attached that as well. ACFrOgAlPRjoytPBuWMbCfH8--ZdnjW-zHz5KwZWrE0mkh2kGInBCB9smLUI3RzjudeXqRYVK477Nxs0YD_yIq7YeSghglACRSPCePHfZH9FPobMqQ6k7s678ukW89L-A-4fFbTpdmBWoTB0Eh5O.pdf

That's a good tip! I bought some plastic sleeves thing and was going to make my own.

I've used this taxi company the last 3 times going from Tokyo hotel to Narita (used as recently as last November) and they are great. You can book online and probably ask them to quote a Tokyo tour + dropping you off at the airport. Taxi tours are a real common thing in Japan. https://en.tokyomk.com/taxi Some of the nicest taxis I've ever ridden - better than some limos in the US. I was also shocked by their service even by Japanese standards. When we arrive at the airport the driver *ran* to get a cart to put my giant bags in. I wasn't not even a rush.

I booked via the phone and they misspelled my SO's name but a call to have it fixed was all it took. I've had an issue at one airport when the airline decided to move part of my first name into my middle name as an initial - so its best to be airtight. If it's been more than a few days then try calling again.

You have free laundry at the 100 day tier ... so I guess you can walk by the laundry area and look down on peasants like me doing my own laundry? 🙂 https://www.silversea.com/other-resources/venetian-society.html

Haha oops! Maybe see if they are willing to make a spare key for you and keep that in your room for such occasions?

Thoughts on a phone/wallet case that you can wear around your neck or crossbody? I know I'll always have my phone with me unless I'm going to the whirlpool or the pool. But in those cases I'll bring a small bag anyway for sunscreen, sunglasses, etc. Other ideas: * Peak design phone case w/ wallet attachment, you still have to carry the phone. Though bonus is that you can stick the phone on any wall in the ship because it's magnetic * Small and lightweight packable sling / waist pack