DCPIV

I've never even considered tipping a butler or room attendant in advance, and that goes back to when we didn't even have the prepaid tips. Now that we do, tipping more in advance makes even less sense.

I do hear you on both of those. We spent very little time in Arts Café, and I suppose that's because it wasn't particularly inviting. We even had one day where the gangway was at the forward stairs on 4, so most pax basically went in and out through there. That was odd for both those sitting there and going through. I can't say that it was -bad-, but it was odd and somewhat counter to what we thought was the idea of the place. I'm relieved to know you are enjoying yourself!

Hey, Lois! I'm sorry to hear that you aren't enjoying Nova as much as we thought you might. We didn't think about how the Arts Café has changed from one ship to the other. SALT Kitchen was our favorite spot for dinner. I don't know if I could really sum up the reasons why, but we just liked the atmosphere. We also had fun with the menu. I think I ordered off the "non-changing" menu once, and I don't think Charie ever went past that first page. Thanks for all your continuing reports! We love hearing them!

It was just the pump things when were on board. We always bring our own (bar) soap, though, because of my fragrance allergy.

Cheers!

Assuming all goes smoothly with the ship coming into port (including all the official stuff), you should be off the ship no later than around 9:30. As mentioned, it's no more than 15 minutes to the airport. You likely would be quite fine even if you were the last one off the ship. You do have the questionnaire, but I'd also let your butler know that you have an earlier flight.

Good call on just taking the cab, but you are well aware of that now. Just for the sake of posterity, we were on bus #1 from the hotel in Barcelona. It was due to leave the hotel at 11:15 but was nearly an hour late. The only bad thing that happened is that we had a later lunch, but I would've gladly just taken a cab had I known we would run so late. In the future, we'll just look into a cab (especially if we aren't on the first bus). By the way, check-in at the Barcelona terminal was very smooth. Have fun, Lois!

I'm glad to hear that travel went so smoothly! Don't miss the Dusk Bar. We were there when a lady came by with a rather wonderous look on her face. "I've been on this ship three weeks and didn't know this was here!" 🤣

We must be on the same wavelength, Lois. I was just thinking about you about the time you posted this (as well as how I never posted my review)! May you have an absolutely wonderful trip! Nova is fantastic! FWIW, we were on 8, roughly mid-ship, and we loved it. I can't speak for open Atlantic, but Nova may very well be the most stable ship we've ever sailed on. Say Hi to Aldo, Aurora, Giuseppe, Toni, and Chef Erin for us!

I completely agree. We enjoyed it very much on Nova. My wife went four times, and I joined her for three of those. Chef Erin was a great host and had very interesting menus. I actually did learn a few things, and we cook a lot. You are absolutely correct, though, that it's impossible for Erin to keep track of everyone with a full class. It turns into a bit of chaos with many folks missing instructions, making mistakes, and then causing further problems by asking over and over what she said (leading them or someone else to miss the next thing), and that just snowballs. It still was mighty fun, and everyone seemed to enjoy it regardless, but it could get pretty crazy in there! It helps that the only cost is about an hour of one's time.

There is no issue bringing on your own wine. No problem at all. It's hard for someone to publish a list because it can change a lot (especially with regard to the complimentary ones).

We also just got off Nova, having sailed in a Deluxe Veranda on 8. We were Barcelona to Lisbon, so I expect the itineraries are, at least, similar. Motion was not an issue. Nova is remarkably stable for any ship and even moreso considering its size. The only exception was one night (from Tangier to Cadiz) when there was some shaking motion that kept me awake for a while. However, I'm a light sleeper. Also, to be fully honest, I think it had more to do with me being unable to quiet my mind more than it was the motion. I also never heard anyone complain about the motion. I think I was the only one, and it was only that night. 🙂 If you typically have no problems, then I would expect you would be fine unless the weather became severe (and then it likely wouldn't matter where you were).

I don't think there would be much of a problem. If you were standing near the rail, then I would expect I could see you. Maybe a little more than that if I were all the way aft and you were on 6 I did pay some attention to that when we were out there, but it was hard to tell (which I suppose is a good thing). It did seem that they were set back enough.

We just got off Nova. We weren't in an aft cabin, but we did spend a good deal of time in the outdoor, aft areas while underway. The only time we noticed any extra noise or vibration were when the ship was settling sail or docking (plenty of reversing and using thrusters). I noticed no fumes at all. We had a VERY nice dinner outside at La Terazza on deck 4. If we were going to notice anything while underway, that would have been the time. No issues at all.

We just got off Nova. While I cannot comment about the noise in a Classic Veranda that is adjacent to a crew area, I will say that the noise insulation is no better or worse than other Silversea ships I've been on. We still would hear the doorbell, toilet flush, and even some loud conversation in adjacent rooms. It wasn't bad, so please do not feel that I am complaining. However, I might hesitate to be right on top of a crew area. There are plenty of Classic Veranda rooms that are not adjacent to a crew area, so I'd go for one of those if I could. If not, I might think seriously about ponying up a little more to go Superior. I do hope someone can come in here and give more appropriate first-hand experience, but we have to keep in mind that we're talking about a very small population that currently have that experience.

Oh, I will. We only got home at 10 PM last night, so I'm still catching up with . . . everything. 🙂 I'll tell you this much, Lois. If you enjoyed the Moon (and I know you have), I expect you will love the Nova. She is the finest ship we've ever sailed upon. While the larger pax count was something of a mess at times (nearly all onshore), I would not hesitate for one moment to return. I truly expect you will have a marvelous time!

We just returned from the Silver Nova, sailing from Barcelona to Lisbon with stops in Morocco and Gibraltar. While we weren't a "tipping culture" area, I'm one of those Americans who still actually enjoys tipping when someone does an exceptional job for one reason or another. To be clear, I tip out of appreciation rather than a sense of obligation. I did not tip every guide on this trip, but there were a number that were absolutely fantastic that I truly wanted to give them something. When I did tip, I did so in euros. We only had 3 stops that were not EU, and those were happy to accept euros. It's too easy to pull some out of an ATM at an excellent exchange rate (and our bank refunds transaction fees to a point). We tend to buy only trinkets as souvenirs (mostly refrigerator magnets), so it's easy to break larger notes into 5s or 10s. I had to be a little conscious of what I was doing with our currency, but it was hardly an effort. Just think enough to pay for the magnet with a 20 instead of a 5 or tapping. Just a heads-up to everyone. While much of Europe has gone cashless, not everywhere has. You'll have no problems at all using a credit card if you stick to the hectic, overpriced tourist areas filled with cruise passengers, but why in the world would you want to do that? If you get out of those spots, then you may very well find places that are absolutely wonderful but that accept only local currency or credit cards from local banks. Your Visa/MC/AMEX will be useful only as a coaster.

One certainly can tell the difference between pubs that are in tourist areas and those that are not. The last time we were in London, we popped into a more touristy pub because it was a convenient meeting place. They had "tap and tip" setups where you could just tap a card and (supposedly) tip 2 or 3 pounds. 🤨

We got off in Lisbon the day you came aboard. We had a wonderful time, and I hope you do as well!

It isn't difficult through the Retreat Concierge, but you're better off going straight to the glass blowing area and making your appointment then. They only thing the Concierge will do is contact them and try to get the time you want or something around then. If you go glass blowing area, you can speak directly to them and know what you have immediately.

I don't know. We've always just watched the videos on the app.

Just to be a little more clear on where we stand, we still think that Celebrity has a good product at the moment. The issue is that it seems we now can get the same quality product for less money in some places. In other places, we can get a better quality product for the same money. I can't make Celebrity make sense as a choice under those circumstances. Some folks might buy a pitch along the lines of "it's not the best, but it's the most expensive," but I don't.

It should be easy to find by the time you need to find it. I've also never worried about it beforehand but also never had an issue finding our station.

Just to expand on that a little, you should get a green check next to the video after you've watched it on embarkation day. That's a simple way to know that it counted. Regardless, the worst thing that can happen if you show up to the muster station without it counting (or without having watched it) is that you get to watch a crewmember put on a life jacket.

I can't speak to what is in those reviews and YouTube videos, but I can tell you that we've enjoyed Whisper a great deal in the past and would not hesitate to go back. I'd be lying if I said I wish there were one more bar on board or dining choice on board, but I'd be lying even more if I said that keeps me from going back. A smaller, older ship is a different experience, but it's not a bad one of you just embrace what you have. You will know the crew and most of the other passengers. It's cozier but also more congenial. We're in our early 50s, if that helps for reference.