jollyjones

5 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Thanks for sharing your perspectives Jolly!  We got so spoiled by all of the choice on the Muse that I know the lack of restaurant variety is a concern of mine as we board the Shadow in two weeks.  Thankfully, we have two mid-voyage land tours, so we'll be able to mix it up quite a bit.

Which Moon voyage have you booked?  We're looking at a Barcelona voyage on her ourselves.  Although, the way SS has priced the Moon, one can basically get the same itinerary on the Spirit at a cost that amounts to a free day.

The crossing in November - low solo supplement!

There’s usually a ‘new ship’ price up so no real surprise. Mind you, I’m doing the Med on the Spirit May/June 2020 and that’s not exactly cheap. 

1 hour ago, rosepark said:

Are you finding the size of the Wind constraining ,jollyjones? You commented on how tiny she seems. Like you, we have only been on the larger ships in recent time. Have you adjusted to her compactness?

Best wishes

Rp

 

No I'm not doing too well, I'm struggling with it, I've settled in a bit better over the past ten days but I'd still rather be on the Spirit. This wasn't helped last night when I was invited to dinner with Allan, and another couple at the table joined the Wind just 4 days after spending 14 days on the Spirit and were going on about how much they loved it.

I am enjoying getting around the ship easily (nowhere's very far), altho' my creaky knees miss the forward elevator, and still having a library is good even if there isn't much in it, but my biggest problem is the dining options - so limited! And I'm not finding the food to be very good. Whilst I am not a vegetarian, I am moving more and more to eating a mostly plant based diet and the menu choices for me seem to be so dull in both concept and taste, frequently protein deficient too. It didn't seem to be so difficult on the Muse and the Spirit. I've spoken to the Executive Chef (who is new) but nothing has improved. I suppose if you like a large slab of dead animal with a few green fronds around the edge of your plate, you'll probably do OK, although far too much is being served lukewarm to cool, rather than hot.  And I don't like sushi - that doesn't help either.

This all sounds very whiny - it's not meant to be, I am actually enjoying myself. Montserrat has been the highlight of the cruise, shame about missing Anguilla but that's simply a reason to come back some day.

I just need to bend my mind to finding ways to make the limitations of the Wind into positives - I'm back on her for 20 days in April and 14 days in June so I have incentive.

But then I'll be done with the small ships - I'm already booked on the Moon and am looking forward to the Dawn!

If you mean the rubber thing with suckers that I never use - horrible squishy feel - there is one in my cabin, I didn't have to ask for it.

An update about Anguilla which was one of the attractions for me in this itinerary:

If I say that the water is shallow a long way out so it would have been a long tender, there was a brisk wind blowing with white caps showing on the waves, you all know what that means.

To add to the disappointment, the only alternative available was a longer stay (overnight instead of 5 hours) in St Thomas - it's peak season, Philipsburg (the nearest alternative) was crowded. So St Thomas is where we've been all night (having arrived after everything closed) and, although it's barely credible, it's 8.30am and we're it! There are no other cruise ships in, at either Havensight where we are, or at Crown Bay. Extraordinary. I had checked what other ships would be in port with us and it said none for St T but I just hadn't believed it.

I'm still not getting off the ship though, been here too many times.

PS - What a difference a day makes ...

As the Colonial Daughters tottered ashore on their walkers on turnaround day yesterday and the new group embarked, the average age dropped at least thirty years, the bar staff started smiling as they had something to do, and the decibels went up ... and up ... and up ...

Gonna be a much more lively cruise!

As I look through the door of the Silver Suite next to me when it is being cleaned, it doesn't seem like anything has been done to it - not new carpet or anything. Maybe these suites are destined for a different future next year? There are only three on the ship and I don't see why they weren't spiffed up too. Obviously 738 wasn't either - the carpets, curtains and furniture in the regular cabins are now quite different. 

Dusababy - Captain Arma is only on for another couple of weeks then he is off for three months so it sounds like he won't be back till after the crossing.

I'm quite sure Stumble is correct about the pricing for the Wind 2021 and beyond but since her first few posted cruises look very 'expedition-ish' , it's impossible to tell.

17 hours ago, nowornever said:

Are there the usual highly energetic & talented kids on board performing & being nice to the passengers?

Yes there are.

And one upside of the big group on board therefore small regular pax count appears to be no actual children pax. Not even teenagers. The demographic is old for a 7 nighter.

I should also mention that there is a fairly new to SS Cruise Consultant on board who so far has been extremely efficient. She's a young thing (well, they're all starting to look young to me) from Stoke on Trent - very pleasant, I wish her well. Cara Pepper by name.

The CD is Alan, Colin’s not back till Mar 26. 

Currently the Captain is Gennaro Arma. 

No point asking me about Samana, I’ve given up getting off the ship there, it’s a dump. 

Now I have been on the Wind for six days, it’s time I reported on the recent dry dock changes. 

My last four cruises have been on the Muse and Spirit so my first thought was how tiny the Wind is - I had completely forgotten! I haven’t been on the Cloud post change so I don’t know if the Wind has been Museified or Cloudified, but she has changed a bit - not a lot, but definitely a bit.

The dry dock was mostly for behind the scenes stuff - eg air-conditioning ducts being replaced - but they did do some changes to cabins and public rooms. (The air-conditioning seems to be working nicely, thank goodness).

The cabins (I’m in an ordinary verandah so I don’t know about suites):
No change to bathroom - still dark and pokey with an uncomfortable scramble into the tub for a shower.
TV - flat screen with interactive programming like the Muse and Spirit.
No change to the electrical outlets so no USB charging port.
Carpet, chairs, table and upholstery changed to navy blue and taupe color palette - similar to Muse but a bit darker. The desk, vanity, bedside lockers, shelves and wood panelling are unchanged and their golden brown colour sits uncomfortably with the new colour scheme - it doesn’t complement it altho’ it doesn’t quite clash. Well, actually the new curtains do clash. They are of a curiously coarse twill, in a beige and cream stripe presumably to match the wall panels, but they don’t, they clash. And they’ll show the dirt badly. They’re a heavyweight fabric - maybe for a feeling of warmth in the Antarctic?
The bed is comfortable - may be new, I can’t tell, the beds are always comfortable to me.

The corridors in the cabin areas and the cabin doors have been re-panelled in a beige-ish wood effect which makes the space feel bigger and brighter but the panels are so obviously fake plastic wood that it feels a bit cheap and tacky. Fortunately the corridor carpets are a pleasant navy, turquoise and taupe design.

The pool deck, La Terrazza and the Deck 5 and 6 lobbies and the main stairs are unchanged. 

The Bar, Panorama, Library, and Observation Lounge have all been changed over to the new colours but they don’t feel much different. The Venetian Room  has the new colors and new tables and seating as in the Muse - an improvement I think but I have heard comments about the seats having too small a seat for some pax seats. 

So nothing dramatic, just blue where red used to be.  I would assume that these changes are the first installment of whatever they are going to do when she’s ice-hulled next summer - must be a lot more coming since the pax count is scheduled to drop from 298 to 254.

I have a couple more cruises on the Wind this year and having made the comment that then I’d be done with her since I don’t do expedition cruises, someone said “Oh no, that’s not it, she’ll still be doing classic cruising, just able to go to the Antarctic and Arctic”. This I need to pursue next week for a better explanation!

Also next week I hope the demographics improve - I had forgotten how dangerous 7 night cruises may be. We have 258 pax this week, 130 of whom are a group (National Society Daughters of the American Colonists) who tend to stay together so the ‘feel’ of the ship is off. The bars are empty (ish) and the trivia group is tiny!!!

9 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

  I have no idea what 0.6 mbps translates to! 

It's slow.

Reminiscent of dial up speeds - maybe you're not old enough to remember that? - a page with a lot of content, like some newspapers, will take maybe up to a minute to load. More annoyingly, the page may not load properly at all since they're all designed for much faster internet. Email is OK so long as you're not sending big attachments - photos etc.

Came through MIA on Saturday, 8.30am, no line at all.

I don't do any of the stuff you're talking about so I don't really know what speed/bandwidth you need, but I can tell you that the unlimited (standard) free internet is about 0.6 mbps and heavy usage sites such as youtube, google maps are blocked.

You can (and I do because it's marginally less frustrating) buy the better internet at about $20 per day whole voyage or about $29 per 24 hrs. That's maybe 2 mbps if you're lucky, and I don't think anything's blocked.

Dunno if a VPN would work. The server for the satellite appears to be in Virginia, US - that's where websites seem to think you are when onboard.

We will be back in the USA on Thurs 24th in St Thomas, maybe your own phone plan will work there.

Box sent at 100 days (if guest info complete).

Ticket online at 50 days.

Thanks Stumble. 

14 hours ago, Bill B said:

 

Eight weeks until sailing, and the same here - only GIF and TJ showing under 'Documents' on My Silversea... except, it doesn't say anything about emailing tickets. Should I be worried?

If your ticket doesn't appear on your 'Documents'  50 days pre-cruise, or soon after,  (and you have filled in absolutely everything and you have a green dot on 'Guest Info'), contact your TA or SS, whichever you booked the cruise through.

At 8 weeks, i.e. 56 days, the ticket won't be there.

The ticket  should be available from 50 days out if you have filled in all the information early (and it hasn't changed).

The only time you are likely to need the ticket is to get into the port but some of those port security (not SS employees) can be very officious so it's a really good idea to have your ticket. It is an important line of defense against non-pax somehow weaseling their way aboard - you wouldn't expect to get past security in an airport without a boarding card, would you?

As for email and printing yourself - why not? It's the quickest and most efficient way of doing it. Dunno about snail mail to Bill B in Vietnam, but snail mail to Bermuda ... sometimes the snail makes it but sometimes I think it drowns in the Atlantic.

Maybe one day one will be able to get in the port just by showing the pdf on your phone (as with mobile boarding passes at airports) but there's no sign of that yet ... sigh

On the upside - leaving tomorrow to board the Wind on Monday, hooray!

My booking confirmation (done in 2017) shows a 5.30 PM departure so I was anticipating a beautiful evening sail. 

Presumably a typo since the website now shows a 5.30 AM departure. 

I am deeply disappointed. May even pursue the matter. 

The box isn’t so important although you should have received yours by now, what is important is your cruise ticket which you download and print from my Silversea, it’s under documents. 

If you haven’t got the box and the ticket isn’t showing, check you have completed all the information required on my Silversea or ask your TA. 

The Silver coloured cardboard box in which arrive your luggage labels, one luggage name tag per person, and a glossy (IMO complete waste of trees) 'Travel Journal'.

Sent out to your TA, or you if you booked directly with SS, starting 100 days pre-cruise. Or later if you haven't completed the forms on 'My Silversea'.

This has been around since at least last September - that was the last but one time I cruised - I was looking at future voyages as I do (nearly) all my bookings onboard.

But it definitely does appear to be 2 digits year, 2 digits month, 2 digits day of embarkation followed by 3 digits cruise duration.

SW - Wind

SL -Spirit

SS - Shadow

WH - Whisper

SM - Muse

MO - Moon

Expeditions are a bit different.

Coming from an island where water is a precious resource, I look on baths as a terrible waste. Love a walk in shower where I can just nip in and out in a very short time.

Shame about the Wind bathrooms, altho' I suspected they hadn't changed as the dry dock wasn't long enough. The above pictures don't seem representative of the usual cabin bathrooms which in my memory are smaller and darker and it's quite difficult to clamber into the tub around the glass screen.

I'll soon see, I'm embarking Jan 14th. Hope I like the new decor, I'm on her again Apr 10th for 20 days, then Jun 22 for 14 days!

1609 at the Hamilton Princess hotel has amazing views down the harbour but could be described as not inexpensive. https://www.thehamiltonprincess.com/dining/1609-restaurant/

Possibly Blu - it's supposed to be good but haven't been there myself.

http://www.blu.bm

Same for Cambridge Beaches.

https://www.cambridgebeaches.com

We are surprisingly poorly served for water view dining.

No iron allowed in your room, just pop along to the nearest laundry room to iron.

I don't take clothes that need ironing so I've never asked the butler to give them to the laundry (he doesn't press them himself) so I don't know that one, but probably yes.

Thanks for this info, at least I now have some months to accustom myself to the disappointment that my TB lift time in June is 5.45AM.

Even tho' I'll try and be up - I think it might be my last time under TB with the future Cloudification of the Wind - I don't  function well at that time.

Maybe it'll be a nice dawn. Last time I sailed in to TB (i.e. going west-ish), it was at sunset time and what should have been glorious was actually grey sky and pouring rain. England ...

8 hours ago, cruising cockroach said:

Was on a HAL TATL repo a few years ago and a solo traveller told me that the single supplement for outdoor and lesser (i.e., inside) categories is (or was) only 50%.

It used to be that Inside and Oceanview cabins could be had at a lower solo supplement (65% on Princess, similar on HAL), but then they got greedy and solo supps went up to 100%. (Lower supps can still be found but they're much rarer.)

That's when I changed to Silversea with it's lower solo supps - my last Princess cruise, when grats and a very modest drinks bill were counted in, cost more per diem than some of my Silversea cruises. And Silversea is a so much better product than Princess ... or the other mainstreams (I've sailed them all).

And as for NCL - I totally agree with calliopecruiser's opinion (above). Plus when you price the solo cabins they aren't as much of a bargain as they try and tell you.

PS Last minute deals are of very limited use to cruisers who would have to pay high last minute airfares, even if the flights weren't full.

PPS Consider carefully the impact of five or six 23 hour days - it is noticeable and can be wearing. That's why I usually sail east to west - all those 25 hour days still disrupt the body clock but you can rest more if you need to. I usually do two, sometimes three, Transatlantics a year so I do know!

Nice to see you back on the boards Spins, hope Greece wasn’t a bust.