Silversea Water Cooler: Part 3, Welcome!

[UKCruiseJeff]

It is going to be a very, very, very long night here in the UK. :(

[TLCOhio]

It is going to be a very, very, very long night here in the UK. :(

 

From the Wall Street Journal at 5 pm EDT, they just posted this lead-off summary: "The U.K. risks plunging into fresh political turmoil after exit polls signaled that the governing Conservative Party failed to achieve an overall majority in Thursday’s election." Will be watching with interesting this evening and look forward to the insights from Jeff and others smart folks in the UK.

 

Another WSJ story also indicated that the value of pound fell based on these early exit poll numbers.

Full story at:

http://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/ukelection

 

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 181,328 views for this posting.

[MissSophia]

It is going to be a very, very, very long night here in the UK. :(

 

Possibly a hung parliament Jeff and another general election on the horizon?

[Joc123]

Just woken up here in Oz and turned on BBC World to watch election results - it may not be a long night after all Jeff! Looks like Mrs May isn't going to get the result she was wanting.

I love the fact that you get a result so quickly. Here we have a preferential system which means that counting can go on for days, sometimes weeks before we get a result.

They just announced the pound has gone down - as we use a U.K. TA, I might pay the balance of our next cruise today! :D

[MissSophia]

The pound has fallen against both the US dollar and the Euro.......

[UKCruiseJeff]

For those interested in the technicalities. Until recent history surveys of around 1015 to 1030 gave a plus or minus of 3% error rate. This they are saying is a genuine exit poll of 30k plus. In my earlier post I outlined why this cuurent election is so uncertain, but what I'm struggling with is if it is accurate how can May justify staying on without the clear mandate she sought? :confused:

 

First result favours Conservatives .... as it is ONLY a 2% swing to Labour.

[Joc123]

OMG! Just returned to tv after my shower and Labour candidate in Newcastle Central already giving acceptance speech! How fast is that? I love it!

And now Sunderland South - WOW!

[mjnvoyager]

OMG. Exit poll dire but I'm not sure I believe it. Think she'll get at least 20 to 30 seat majority but she's now very damaged. She did run a dreadful campaign and JC came out fighting even if it was relying on a manifesto that is deceitful to the electorate. The second result showed a swing to the Conservatives. It's going to be a long night.

Jane

 

 

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[Tothesunset]

The pound has fallen against both the US dollar and the Euro.......

I expect it will be up and down like a bride's nightie as the results come in.

[MissSophia]

I expect it will be up and down like a bride's nightie as the results come in.

 

Well it's falling sharply so could be a tarts...😉

[UKCruiseJeff]

[MLeh]

Thank you for the kind welcomes into the Cooler.

 

I'll refrain from political commentary, as I live on the far left in Canada. Physically, if not politically. ;)

 

As the old Chinese blessing/curse says "May you live in interesting times."

 

MLeh......I have used the SS valet/luggage service and found it excellent. I forwarded two cases to NYC but sadly wasn't able to follow them due to illness....SS were very helpful with organising their return on my chosen dates so it may be worth looking as an option for you.

Frank Sansone in the Miami office is probably your best contact.....FrankS@silversea.com

S 😊

Thank you! That was exactly what I wanted to hear.

 

Hi MLeh, and another welcome.

 

I'm also not sure of the specifics of what you're asking but if I make a few assumptions I think I can figure it out... The only TA I see on Silver Whisper is 22 August from Southampton, so I'll assume you're on that voyage. It seems like you want to know how and where to stash a suitcase of cruise-only stuff, while you're off doing some independent pre-cruise travel? And, if that stored suitcase were to appear on Silver Whisper at the start of your cruise, even better!

 

Is that your question? I certainly agree that an extra suitcase of stuff that you don't need would be a pain to lug around for the pre-cruise portion of your trip.

 

I have no experience with the valet service, as we usually travel light and don't have extra stuff to lug along. But I do wonder if the valet service would pick up from you in London - perhaps from your hotel - and then ship to Silver Whisper in time for your cruise. Worth asking. It should certainly be cheaper to deliver from London to Southampton, than to deliver from somewhere in North America all the way to Southampton.

 

Failing that, I'd look into a left luggage service at LHR, or a train station, or a London Hotel, as Jeff suggests. I'd pick the most convenient spot in terms of dropoff and pickup, depending on where you will be on embarkation day. You don't want to have a huge detour to pick up a bag, when you should be relaxing and having a smooth embarkation.

 

Are you using any touring services, or drivers, while you're in the UK? Or, do you have a driver hired for embarkation day at Southampton? They may also have suggestions. Perhaps your driver could even fetch the bag for you, on his way to pick you up to get to the ship?

 

If you want to share a few more details about your pre-cruise plans, maybe we can come up with some more specific suggestions for you. Enjoy and happy anniversary!

 

You are correct in your assumptions, JP. We are spending three weeks in the UK and Ireland prior to boarding the Whisper in Southampton on the 22nd. We are renting a car and just toodling around hither and yon. We have a few important dates booked, but (even though it is the 'high' season) hope mostly to be able to go where the spirit moves us. We usually travel fairly lightly, but will have that 'extra' bag of formal wear for the three formal nights on the ship, and other cruise essentials that we won't need on land.

 

One of us (not me) has a bad back, and so lifting that extra bag out of the boot of the car and carrying it into the places we're staying (to no good effect) each night just seems a complete waste of effort. Most of the places we're staying are smaller B&Bs, and my experience in the past is that the owner's backs are just as bad as my DH's.

 

Our itinerary does start in London (sans vehicle), but then after a few days there we're picking up the car, heading out of the big city, and will eventually end up in Southampton, with no intentions of crossing our own path at any point. We're doing a big counterclockwise circle, skipping most of the parts that we'll be seeing as part of the cruise. Hence my asking if anyone had ever used the valet service.

 

It would indeed be delightful it they could pick it up at our first night's hotel near LHR, and then have it just 'magically' appear on the Whisper at the appropriate time.

 

I'll send an email into SilverSea.

 

As an alternative, I can possible scoot down to our hotel in Southampton at the beginning of the driving part of our journey and just ask them to store it until we arrive a couple of nights prior to boarding the Whisper.

 

Thanks for all the welcomes and suggestions.

[TLCOhio]

Thank you for the kind welcomes into the Cooler.

 

Welcome to this new Cooler friend from Canada. Looks like an exciting trip upcoming. Keep posting here!! Don't be shy!

 

Election results coming in very slow from the UK. One recent headline claims: "Glimmer of hope for Theresa May: First REAL results of UK election contradict stunning exit poll." As I understand in 2015, the exit polling was off and the actually voting worked better than expected for the Conservatives. Will be watching with interest for the insights and added analysis from Jeff and others in the UK.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean adventure that started in Barbados, here is the link for that live/blog. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.):

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 51,320 views for these postings.

[mjnvoyager]

Theresa is finished. Boris is the tip. Exit poll now looking quite accurate. Mayhem is to come.

Jane

 

 

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[Joc123]

I have had BBC on all day watching the results - I know, I need to get a life!

In my uneducated, but fascinated opinion, a hung parliament is the worst possible result.

To all the Theresa May's supporters, I believe her campaign was run by an Australian - I apologise

[Tothesunset]

Boris is the tip.

That last word should be a palindrome.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Morning Coolers, …. what a long, long night. I know that many non-Brits are interested in following the pantomine of British politics and so this is my personal take on what has happened, obviously offered before the better informed stuff we will read and digest over the next few days from much better informed people than me using the anayltics that will be calculated and emerge.

 

We have had a referendum we should never have had, and now an election that should never been called, and all of us in the UK are trying to make some rational conclusions on how we got here.

 

For what it's worth, none of the analytics have been completed yet but for it seems to me that for the disparate reasons I gave a day or so back we have the result of several miscalculations each of which might have been OK but when they compound together led to the mess we now have.

 

Whether May called the election for the reasons she gave or simply because of the political ambition of having her own personal mandate clearly the country wasn't impressed to be asked and didn't on balance believe her. She calculated that the appetite for avoiding a Corbyn was so high even amongst Labour supporters that she would win by an extremely strong margin. So she became regal and aloof. She refused to be involved with televised debates and because she was so certain of a landslide she announced a manifesto without wider consultation that was deeply immediately unpopular, which she then defended cack-handedly and changed it. She then basically absented herself from the TV election campaign and thought she could remain aloof and above it all.

 

So at the same time that May was losing the good will of the group that she could always rely on ie pensioners and stopping some free school lunches so that others could have free breakfasts ( …. go figure ….) whilst Labour promised the young both a referendum on the Brexit proposal something totally impractical, and to cancel university fees something totally unaffordable now that 50% of all kids go to university and to retain the triple lock on pensions and not do the terrible care stuff May proposed without any warning. So I think we will find when analysed more youngsters voted than before, some pensioners switched to labour and less pensioners voted for their normal home ground of Conservatives. UKIP having no further role to play had their votes split, but split surprisingly to Labour as well as Conservative. So May got 42.4% of the popular vote and Corbyn got a whopping 40%.

 

Now May has to go to the Palace and tell the Queen that she believes that she can form a government on a “supply and confidence” basis with the DUP and they will extract from her an extremely high price for propping her up. Even with all opposition parties combined they cannot outnumber Conservatives and DUP. The good thing is that Scottish nationalism is now dead for a good while.

 

It does get worst or better depending on your view. You might think that all uncertainty would lead to a further quick election. Probably not so. We have a new law which means we cannot have snap elections but they must go “the full term” unless two-thirds of MPs vote for it. MPs will enjoy “being there” and will not want another interim election and so will limp on with a weakened government and a weakened mandate in Europe.

[TLCOhio]

Good Morning Coolers, …. what a long, long night. We have had a referendum we should never have had, and now an election that should never been called, and all of us in the UK are trying to make some rational conclusions on how we got here. For what it's worth, none of the analytics have been completed yet but for it seems to me that for the disparate reasons I gave a day or so back we have the result of several miscalculations each of which might have been OK but when they compound together led to the mess we now have.

 

Appreciate Jeff's excellent summary, analysis and insights. WOW!! This mess is pretty amazing. Maybe as mentioned, it will be PM Boris??!! Lots of twists and turns still to happen. Looking at the map of the results is extremely fascinating and interesting. Had to look up the DUP Party from Northern Ireland to check that little "detail" that probably needs to play out. Scotland's change/shift is pretty significant. Look forward to hearing and reading more. France has its National Assembly elections coming up in the next few days.

 

Finalizing our packing this morning, taking our Yellow Lab, Rudy, to "camp" while we are gone, etc. Pick up is 1 pm from my wife's high school classmate Bonnie in order to go to the airport. Our flight departs at 3:27 pm. More later!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Venice: Loving It & Why??!! Is one of your future desires or past favorites? See these many visual samples for its great history and architecture. This posting is now at 68,585 views.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

[tgh]

A dictatorship ,of the benevolent inclination, has much to recommend as a conceptual process for subjugation of the masses…...:evilsmile:

[mjnvoyager]

Well said Jeff. Agree with all you said. It was always hers to lose. What a terrible mess. She will be so weakened in the Brexit negotiations and Brussels will be rubbing their hands with glee. Really can't face another election but she is now so weak.

Jane

 

 

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[jpalbny]

Terry, I'm sorry if I missed something but I thought you had two labs, Roxie and Rudy?

 

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[TLCOhio]

Terry, I'm sorry if I missed something but I thought you had two labs, Roxie and Rudy?

 

Great memory and attention to detail by JP. Yes, now it is only Rudy at our home. A couple months ago we lost Roxie. That Black Lab was nearly 14 years old and had had a challenged couple of years recently with serious heart issues. She passed in the night. Sad, but a good, long life for a smart "Alpha" female. Below are pictures of Rudy and Roxie from earlier days.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Panama Canal? Just completed Feb. 28-Mar. 15, 2017, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco adventure through the Panama Canal with our first stops in Colombia, Central America and Mexico, plus added time in the great Golden Gate City. Lots of fun pictures!! Those pictures start on the second page, post #26. See more at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580

 

At the top is Roxie, our late Black Lab female with those white hairs showing so much on her face. Below from last summer is Rudy, the male Yellow Lab, doing "guard" duty for our home. Isn't Rudy handsome? He's our "boy toy" and just turned age 11!:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger!)

 

[jpalbny]

Sorry to hear that. She was well-loved and I'm sure you have lots of great memories.

 

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[spinnaker2]

Bon voyage Terry, safe travels.

We will be waiting for your first trip post!

 

Sorry to learn of Roxie. :-(

[spinnaker2]

CoolersWhat next?

As we meander through the murk and muck, I hope we can find some light at the end of our journey.

I can't fathom where we are going, how long it will take or who or what will lead us.

I will do what I generally do when I feel this bewildered, go and take on a project that I can complete.

Hope all have a good day.