cruise 2633 Silver Wind TA

Wes - Please give our regards to Samantha. She does an excellent job.

Continue to enjoy!

Will pass along your warm regards to Samantha, Victoria.

Leaving San Juan now enroute to Ft. Lauderdale but not before our third cruise critic/silversea meet & mingle in both Grand Suites (701/Doug& Lynn, and 702/Gary). Bob will provide entertainment on the keyboard. Spinnaker2, Ida and Lynn will do vocals. Shot of four mega ships and the Crystal Serenity in the San Juan port as we sail away.

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Holy crap, those are some mighty big monsters!

Wonderful third version cruise critic/Silversea meet and mingle last nite. Bob (retired United Pilot and keyboard prodigy) led a 60's/70's/80's sing-a-long in Doug and Lynn's suite. Spinnaker2, Lynn, and Ida were lead vocals. Pls enjoy a few pix:

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Guys, I forgot to ask earlier and it hadn't dawned on me to look at MarineTraffic... but could you pinpoint on google maps where you berthed and post the link.

The hotel SS has booked us in. Appears to have cruise ship on full view from the restaurant window so just curios if we get to see Silver Wind arriving in San Juan from our room, which would be great if we could!

Today on the way to FLL it's partly cloudy and almost 80F at 0700 local. Had and still have pretty strong winds out of the northeast hitting us broadside with some pretty good swells(MR. Toad's wild ride). The ship did well in the safety and food inspections and the crew did work their butts off. Lousy immigration setup though, but not really the ship's fault at all. Due to where we were berthed and the inspections, the crew got very little if any time ashore. Wes only got a portion of the mega ships in the photos. There were actually 6 of them in with us and we were the last to arrive. What a zoo! All things considered, I think the ship and crew did a fine job of handling difficult circumstances. I give them an A+! The party last evening went well and I think everyone had a good time. Unfortunately, Miss Lynn has come down with a slight cold, so it will be good to get back to the dry AZ climate in a couple of days. Even though the ship and crew have been wonderful, I don't think we would do the Wind or Cloud across the pond again; would go with the Spirit or Muse. Not much dancing coming across the pond on the Wind; just enough ship movement to make it less than enjoyable and/or hazardous to one's health. We've met a lot of great pax though and the social environment has been splendid.

Welcome to the third world (Puerto Rico) and the rough end of the docks today. Face to face immigration and the ship is being crawled over by the USCG and health police. All guests made to walk down 2 floor gangway regardless of ability, across wet, slippery and foul dock , then a further long walk to be fingerprinted.

 

Full crew drill with El Capitano sounding seriously harrassed.

According to some crew friends we have, whenever a ship is entering the U.S. After being abroad for awhile it's pretty difficult/nasty experience for everyone. i'm surprised San Juan was so bad, as Fort Lauderdale/Port Everglades is notoriously difficult. Did you dock in Old San Juan? When we've docked there it's actually been quite pleasant...but the ship wasn't entering the US after being away for months--which is a different circumstance.

Sorry that everyone was put through this.

Today on the way to FLL it's partly cloudy and almost 80F at 0700 local. Had and still have pretty strong winds out of the northeast hitting us broadside with some pretty good swells(MR. Toad's wild ride). The ship did well in the safety and food inspections and the crew did work their butts off. Lousy immigration setup though, but not really the ship's fault at all. Due to where we were berthed and the inspections, the crew got very little if any time ashore. Wes only got a portion of the mega ships in the photos. There were actually 6 of them in with us and we were the last to arrive. What a zoo! All things considered, I think the ship and crew did a fine job of handling difficult circumstances. I give them an A+! The party last evening went well and I think everyone had a good time. Unfortunately, Miss Lynn has come down with a slight cold, so it will be good to get back to the dry AZ climate in a couple of days. Even though the ship and crew have been wonderful, I don't think we would do the Wind or Cloud across the pond again; would go with the Spirit or Muse. Not much dancing coming across the pond on the Wind; just enough ship movement to make it less than enjoyable and/or hazardous to one's health. We've met a lot of great pax though and the social environment has been splendid.

Great info--I have often wonderied how the Wind and Cloud fare vs. the Spirit!

Another outstanding evening on board the Silversea Silver wind. We enjoyed a fabulous Scottish themed dinner along with the Wind's hotel Director, Daniel. Doug enjoyed his favorite Navy drink, a Shirley Temple. We also enjoyed the Captain's farewell with the crew, as we disembark on Friday in Ft. Lauderdale.

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Great photos, Wes.

I wonder if I am alone in carefully scanning the faces of the crew and thinking ''I know him'', ''I know her''?

While following this thread is clearly nowhere near as good as being there, it goes someway to dispelling the gloom of the long winter evenings.

Heading northwards past the Bahamas on our way to Ft Lauderdale and our final destination on this voyage. Hot and humid outside and some sunshine.

All is well.

I have followed your blog from day one and really enjoyed the posts and photographs. Thanks to you all it's been helpful as we have not yet sailed on Silversea. Safe travels home to you all, thanks again, Jean.

Greetings TA'ers! I'd like to chime in with my thank you as well. We have not yet done a TA. The posts here have whet our appetite to explore that option. THANK YOU ALL! Safe travels home!

Greetings TA'ers! I'd like to chime in with my thank you as well. We have not yet done a TA. The posts here have whet our appetite to explore that option. THANK YOU ALL! Safe travels home!

Yes, Yes!! Agree and appreciate these many pictures and postings. Still, being a port-focused type of guy, doing a trans-Atlantic is not yet our top priority. BUT, we have in late February, a Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco sailing with eight of the 15 days being sea-days. We'll see how that works out before trying a TA.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 161,818 views for this posting.

Even in the misty drizzle, it's great to be home.

Twas nice to see familiar faces and be in the company of terrific people.

Until the next time.

Safe travels all.

Really sad to say goodbye to everyone this morning, friends, crew and Colin Brown, especially when he told us that Gianni Dotti had passed away last night, in his sleep. He will be sadly missed.

Jimmy K is onboard, looking rested, fit and raring to go.

Onwards to the next adventure.

That's very sad news about Gianni. My wife and I had enjoyed his company many times. We will certainly miss him

Our thoughts are with his wife and family

Thanks for sharing the sad news of Gianni's passing Mr. Silver. Ricardo Dotti (Chef Dotti) let his Facebook friends also now Gianni passed last nite. He was a dedicated, caring, outstanding hotel director--Fair Winds and Following Seas Gianni.

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Really sad to say goodbye to everyone this morning, friends, crew and Colin Brown, especially when he told us that Gianni Dotti had passed away last night, in his sleep. He will be sadly missed.

Say it isn't so! One of our favorite memories on a SS cruise was of a "Cook-off" between two passengers, one who was assisted by Gianni, and the other by the executive chef.

Each pair got a box of food ingredients, and had to make a dish using those ingredients. Gianni was fantastic, and his antics were so funny as the event unfolded, though he didn't exactly play by the rules. He kept sending the helpers into the kitchen to grab additional ingredients that weren't in the box, but nobody really minded!

Bon Voyage, Gianni. You will be missed.

...we have in late February, a Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco sailing with eight of the 15 days being sea-days. We'll see how that works out before trying a TA.

Really sad to say goodbye to everyone this morning, friends, crew and Colin Brown, especially when he told us that Gianni Dotti had passed away last night, in his sleep. He will be sadly missed. Jimmy K is onboard, looking rested, fit and raring to go. Onwards to the next adventure.

Sad news. Evidently, Gianni had a heart attack yesterday and died. R.I.P. A very nice, kind, fun guy. He will be missed! I wasn't sure if I should post this but he was loved by so many. I just wanted people who cared, to know.

Yes, really sad news on Gianni's passing. We had only one opportunity to sail with him, but it was such a super, positive experience!! He was a TRUE PROFESSIONAL!! Very skilled and knowledgeable. It was on our first sailing with Silversea, July 2010. We had several chance to interact with him and he was so on top of the details, focused on great customer service, etc. At dinner with him and others, we learned that he had attended Cornell's top-rated school of hospitality. Below are a couple of pictures that I had posted from our 2010 live/blog from this sailing. Does anyone know if his son is still a chef and/or working for Silversea?

This is a real loss! You really remember interacting with an individual so highly productive and classy.

THANKS! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 206,146 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Here is Hotel Manager Gianni Dotti (left) with passenger Sharon Feldman and Hotel Director Jimmy Kovel on the steps of the main staircase of the Silver Cloud during our 2010 Norway cruise.:

As we were docking in Bergen, here was the “LAST BREAKFAST” for super Hotel Director Gianni Dotti (right) as he was back in civilian clothes and ready to fly out that morning for his son’s Saturday wedding near Mexico City. Also pictured, going towards the left is Captian Mino Pontillo, new Hotel Director Giuseppe Bagnato and the employee relations manager.:

Gianni Dotti.Simply the best HD.Never forget the delightful dinner you organised on a table in the Galley with chef Ann Marie for us to celebrate our Golden Wedding.All good wishes to your family and RIP our wonderful friend.We will miss you.

That is very sad news about Gianni Dotti. We had no idea that he was not well. We will remember him fondly as a great HD and a wonderful human being. Our condolences to his family and friends.

I always liked the great line 'it was Gianni's ship he just let Mino drive it'

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A lovely man. I am so sorry for his family. And for those of us who had the opportunity to meet and admire him.