Tothesunset

The thing about engaging with trolls on the Internet is that you're making the same decision you would if you chose to step in dog poo rather than walk round it! 

As we start the ante-penultimate day of this cruise we find the Wind plodding along in the English Channel ready to take us up the Thames tomorrow. This is just the second sea day but we appreciate not having to scramble for breakfast before heading off on a tour that never quite lives up to its grandiloquent brochure description. Do they never run out of adjectives? 

There's always a part of me that feels I should be finding a list of "could do betters"; in truth, I'm struggling. 

I know some feel that the Wind is looking her age. But then so is Michelle Pfeiffer and that's fine by me. 

I didn't expect the floating-gin-palace vibe. The Wind is classy and comfortable in her own skin. It feels like home. It feels right. 

What makes her special is the intimacy and slightly toy town dimensions. Add to that the wonderful staff who seem incapable of being anything other than first rate. I can't praise enough the front of house experience. And at this point I'll restate the case for the Crew Welfare Fund - they all deserve recognition - as an alternative to individual gratuities (or as well as if you like). 

The food has met our expectations. That's vague enough, I think. In terms of comestibles it's impossible to truly critique because each person has their own requirements. However, since this is an opinion piece rather than an objective review I'll go with my gut instinct (pun probably intended) and declare satisfaction. My only real caveat is breakfast and lunch in Terrazza but that's more to do with my not being a fan of buffets in general and shipborne ones in particular. 

So there we have it. Let's recap. A good itinerary, even if maybe 30% overpriced. It's reasonable value at the price point but the premium for expedition cruising is, IMHO, unjustified for this sector. This has been a classic itinerary disguised (not successfully) as an exped. This is clearly not the ship to choose for bling, entertainment or vast dining venues options. We don't want or need that anyway but others do and we have heard a few negative comments in that respect. 

So has this been as good an experience as it was in the before-times? Yes. On balance we are quite content. We got what we were expecting, especially after reading so much negativity. Will we still look at SS for future cruising? Of course but, and it's a big but, the per diems are, we think, cheekily ambitious right now and it's that factor that will inform our future choices. 

Last full day tomorrow before arriving back in Blighty and will be spent at sea. Perhaps an opportunity to collect thoughts on this relatively short cruise. 

What I can say, though, is that we haven't really seen too much of a change since our last cruise with SS in 2019.  In fact, if I hadn't gone down the rabbit hole of others' experiences I doubt whether we would have  seen many differences from the pre-covid/RCI era. But we are simple souls and easily pleased! 

Excursions

This is marketed as an expedition cruise, however the 12 day sector we are on is more like a classic cruise. Indeed, it seems unlikely that the Zodiacs will be deployed at any point. I'm fine with that - we knew when booking that the itinerary wasn't challenging and as ex-military we've had enough of doing dangerous, uncomfortable and tiring stuff without needing to pay SS prices for a geriatric version of same. 

1.  Historic Porto and Douro river cruise. 

Mainly just a coach tour with an hour spent on the Douro river. All very lovely. Maybe 25 people on the tour? The best part was visiting a large Port wine producer which included a tasting session.

I'd rate as 4 out of 10.

2.  Cies Islands Discovery (Vigo, Spain) 

This was a great tour. A catamaran took us across to the islands, a journey of 40 minutes. Although the tour group was quite large, maybe 40 or so, the hike was broken down into 3 groups: soft; moderate; hard. 

Most seemed aware of their own abilities and self-selected which group to join. We did the hard group and walked 5 miles with a climb up to a lighthouse (500 ft climb in 1/2 mile - 'twas steep!) which tested the fitness of the group. The guide was knowledgable and interesting and I'm sure all the participants enjoyed the trip. Tremendous scenery and keen birdwatchers seemed to find lots to ooh and aah at. All good stuff. 

8 / 10

3.  Panoramic Belle Ile (France) 

First tender port. This tour was coach-based sightseeing with a couple of stops for photos. Maybe 30 on board. Decent commentary and a rather spectacular little island. Should have done a hike. Still, got to go to some small shops for a proper pain au chocolat. Nobody, and I mean nobody, does croissants or pains au chocolat like the French. Fact. 

4 / 10

4.  Coastal Scenic Walk (Concarneau, France) 

The tour started straight off the tender with groups of around 10 passengers per guide. 6 miles of mixed road, beach and wood trail. The weather was kind - cool and dry - and the scenery rather splendid. At the end of the walk a coach took us back to the tender station. Everyone seemed to really enjoy this. 

8 / 10

5.  Jersey by ebike. 

Participants were expected to be familiar with cycling and have previously ridden an ebike. I considered being the owner of a BMW R1250RT qualified me, ditto OH's Honda. Well, I was very impressed with these ebike things. So easy to ride. Hills? Who cares, just keep pedalling and let the battery do the work. 

Of course, Jersey is a picturesque place so it really wouldn't have been possible to have a bad ride. Add to that a very competent group leader, dry weather and the politest drivers in the world and we really had it made. Most of the 20 miles were on a repurposed railway path. And with the ebikes even the less physically robust were flying along like the Tour de France peloton. I think there were 15 of us. 

Best tour yet. 

10 / 10

Now, each destination had a selection of excursions, history walks and birding walks. In my view the trips off-ship have been well selected for variety and well organised. I'm actually a little bit impressed! 

The expedition staff accompany the tours but, of course, there isn't really much going on to exercise their specialist skills. Having said that, those we've chatted with are clearly keen and competent. 

1 minute ago, Fletcher said:

The GI bug was with us on the Wind from Manaus to Lisbon, as noted on my blog, and we had the pool and hot tubs drained as a hygiene measure.  Learned later it was aboard on the BA-Manaus cruise as well.  It's on the ship.  Stay firm. 

I remember you mentioned it. I hadn't realised it was still taking victims by Lisbon. The problem is trying to get all passengers to act in a sanitary fashion. There's always a few that feel the rules are for other people. 

39 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

Sounds tasty overall. Chef Pia is our favorite though! Can you send her to Darwin so she's on Silver Cloud with us?

As Paul Simon said "If I could, I surely would." 

Food

Here we go then, tin hat and body armour on. 

Breakfast:

Because of early excursions we've used Terrazza more than we would have liked. By choice we go to the MDR - not only is it much more civilized, the quality of the food is, imo, better. 

The options at LT seem to have shrunk somewhat. I can't quantify that, it's just a feeling. Sadly, the hot items generally aren't, they're lukewarm at best. While the selection of cheeses and meats are fine they are not inspiring. This may seem like a small point but the jams and preserves are now in little individual jars and are not good. Not good at all. Nor is the butter - and that applies at all venues. Butter should be rich and creamy and not a tasteless yellow blob. It's a small thing but if you like good butter bring your own. 

Finally, who wants a scrum at breakfast? I mean, really, it's not a six star (or 5,4 or 3 star) experience. Yet LT remains the most popular venue for breakfast. Go figure. 

Lunch:

Twice in the school dinner hall, sorry Terrazza, the others in the MDR. I'm pleased to report that the quality of food has been very high. I approached the lunch meals with a jaundiced eye in view of recent reports from throughout the fleet by dissatisfied guests but I feel unable to echo those sentiments. The normal caveat re personal opinion ranks strongly throughout this topic. 

On the one occasion we ate on the pool deck we had a rather tasty barbecue chicken wrap each. 

Dinner:

OH was shocked to have a fish main course that was properly cooked. I know! SS's ability to reduce the finest fillets to leather-like tastelessness is unrivalled but they've lost that knack and are now cooking fish properly. It's a revolution. 

I'm told we are fortunate to have Chef Pia in charge. We are certainly fortunate to have had the wisdom to choose quite excellent meals in both the MDR and LT. And much to our surprise had a complete meal at LT which we couldn't, in all conscience, criticise. 

The one dinner so far at the grill comprised a very tender and succulent chateaubriand along with a veal chop that would have fed a small army. OH tells me her king prawns were excellent. Tick vg. 

I'll end this on a bit of a downer:

There have been cases aboard of GI illness and today each suite received a letter from the captain that explains the actions being taken to limit the risk of spread. Quarantine in suite for affected passengers, self-service discontinued, increased hand sanitation and so forth.

Clearly, without microbiological analysis the causative organism remains unknown but passengers are using the n-word. However, we are off the coast of Brittany where many passengers have been on tastings of seafood including uncooked oysters. Anyway, whatever the cause it ain't fun for those affected and I wish them a speedy recovery (almost as much as I hope NOT to become affected!). 

2 hours ago, jpalbny said:

 

They could always give you an extra "hot rock" to sit on, if you get too chilly...

Remind me never to order the grilled rump steak. 

We had a night at the grill somewhere in the Aleutians when the temp was around 5c.  God, it was cold. However, the heaters, layers and blankets did the trick and it was good fun. So much fun that we didn't do it again!

2 minutes ago, les37b said:

 

In 4 days? That must be a record! 🤣

 

Have to admit La Terrazza was always our favourite, but less so now the menu choices seemed to have been halved. 

Yes, the menu choices have certainly been reduced but, I hope, that allows the kitchen to concentrate on the quality rather than quantity. 

Certainly our meal last night was very good, better than we remember on previous sailings.

32 minutes ago, turtlemichael said:

Yes, sorry, I was assuming that is what you meant. If you are correct and if the market is as strong as we tend to believe on these boards, there might be some good opportunities for an enterprising business out there.

Crystal? 

9 hours ago, LAexNY said:

What entertainment?  

Dunno. Just a couple of people were complaining about poor entertainment. Maybe that's what they meant? 

I did say it was hearsay, your honour. 

It's the end of an era! 

What will we all do without those magical reports from Mysty? 

Even the UK Prime Minister is so disappointed he's called a general election. 

Entertainment

This will be a short post.

We don't do entertainment. Sorry about that. According to some we have spoken with they haven't been impressed. That's hearsay and I mention the subject only to ignore it! 

3 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

That's really good to hear! I have not ordered it in years - so thanks for the report. Maybe I'll try it again. Was the duck meat ground, or was it braised for hours so that it fell apart and was naturally tender?

It was ground. Recently the ragu was more like soup but tonight's had just the right amount of sauce, plenty of duck, was nicely seasoned and the pasta cooked perfectly. It was like the duck ragu of 10 years ago. 

Just a quickie. 

We must have had 30 or more dinners in terraza and each time been disappointed. Yet still we go back. 

However, tonight's dinner was superb. Really. And, best of all, the pappardeli with duch ragu was outstanding. It really was. 

I mention this only because some recent reports have been less than wholly fulsome. So we might have been lucky, on the other hand I've got to say it as I see it. 

And the icing on the cake was that my Tokaji arrived precisely with the sweet. Kudos to Mike the sommelier for being on top of this. 

5 hours ago, QueSeraSera said:

Continuing my education here in the Cooler, I had to look up one of the words Jeff used.

 

Copying from whatever search engine my PC currently defaults to:

 

The term "noily" has two meanings:¹²

1. It refers to a dry white vermouth drink from France, also known as Noilly Prat.
2. It can also be an adverb, meaning in a way that makes a lot of noise.

Learn more:

 

It's also the term a Brooklynite uses for "nearly". 

Suite

We are in 738, notionally a Vista suite, but 50% larger. My assertion earlier that it has had the 2 windows converted to Juliet balconies is erroneous. One of the windows is now floor-to-ceiling but doesn't open. 

The fixtures and furnishings have been substantially, and I think tastefully, updated since our last sailing in (I think) late 2018. The walk-in wardrobe (closet) is plenty big enough and there is a surfeit of cupboard space. 

I like a shower, never use a bathtub and am happy to relate that this suite has no tub. Yay! Rainfall shower and conventional shower head on a snakey metal thing. Since just about all one can ask of a shower is to provide a good dose of warm water, it fills its remit. The Otium products we've abandoned in favour of Bulgari, the smell of Silversea. 

Pleased to see power outlets that can cope with US, European and UK plugs plus USB sockets and USB C fast-charging sockets Lovely jubbly. No more mucking about with adaptors. 

Afternoon tea time. See ya, later. 

If anyone can recall, I did say that this was our 1st SS since RCI and Covid but I wasn't aiming to compare. Yeah, well, ignore that. It's impossible not to compare largely because we have noticed little that has changed. 

I'm not intending to do a travelogue because other contributors - Drron, Mysty, Fletcher and many more - do it so much better than I ever could. So what I'll do, if it's OK with everyone, is share some thoughts and observations as the days pass. These may (take that as will) be random and based solely on subjective rather than objective views. 

However, I'm happy to have a go at answering any direct questions but reserve the right to be wrong. If you see what I mean. 

Back again. Since leaving you all a couple of days ago we now find ourselves in Vigo, Spain having successfully boarded in Lisbon. Yesterday was Porto. 

Now, before going any further I'm going to make my pitch for the Crew Welfare Fund. I've always felt it unfair that while front of house staff benefit from direct tipping, those we rarely, if ever, see remain unrewarded. And where would we be without the laundry staff, deck crew, engineers etc etc?  So how can a passenger show some pecuniary gratitude to all the crew? By donating to the Crew Welfare Fund. 

It's not advertised nor, I think, widely known but provides a fund for the benefit of the crew. We donated yesterday at reception and the amount donated is debited from the payment card presented on boarding:

Busy boy. News later! 

20 hours ago, Lonedaddy said:

 

Anyone going soon might look at alternatives dates

 

Fresh airport chaos looms as Heathrow workers are posed to stage more walkouts at half-term in a row over a new staff roster | Daily Mail Online

If you want only bad news and articles to make you fearful, the Daily Mail is your Cassandra of choice. 

4 minutes ago, les37b said:

 

 

BTW, I've had no joy with the issue we are aware about and its still not showing up as you board. I'll check again on Monday and have another go. Might be an idea to speak with the HD to advise your name needs to be on that list or you wont be coming in (and ask if they understand how it works!) Please post if you do get some feedback. My fingers and toes are crossed for you.

I hope you're wrong! But being forewarned puts us in a good position. 

(I know nobody understands what Les and I are talking about. But all will become clear in 2 weeks. Mysterious, eh?) 

1 minute ago, les37b said:

 

Enjoy. Was the last time in 738 on the rather rough seas to Tower Bridge from Fort Lauderdale? At least you can be sure you wont get those seas on this one! 

Spot on. We were warned of 11 metre swells (36 ft) but it settled at a tame 9 metres (30 ft). Had the dining room pretty much to ourselves! 

Footsore now from pounding the streets of Lisbon. Such a good city for aimless rambling. Bit like this thread. 

I know one should always try something different but tonight we are going for the tasting menu at Prado in the Alfama district:

https://pradorestaurante.com/

It really is such good food and something of a bargain at €80 each. Oh, I do like a bargain. 

I might have mentioned that we are staying at the Avenida Palace Hotel. It's about as central as you can get and charmingly old-fashioned but with all modern amenities. Oddly, they don't have a proper restaurant, just a breakfast room. Not that Lisbon is short of eating places. The rooms are quite small, though. Comfortable but probably around 22 sq mtr (I think that's something like 200 sq ft) so there's no cat-swinging potential. 

We noticed 2 cruise ships docked at the cruise terminal. One was a Costa something-or-other disgorging passengers onto the quayside in a human avalanche. It's a big ship. Yuk! The other ship was farther along and I didn't recognise the funnel insignia nor was I sufficiently interested to be bothered strolling any further to identify it. 

24 hrs from now we should, with a fair wind, be in our favourite suite on our favourite ship. 

Sometimes we just need to step back and remind ourselves how privileged we are.