Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[DavyWavey70]

Finally found a bit of time to knock out a couple of videos from my recent jaunt for anyone that’s interested.

 

 

 

[turtlemichael]

[QueSeraSera]

Just returned from a fun Hawaii trip, stayed in hotels + did an island-hopping cruise with NCL.  Not my new favorite cruise line...but not horrible either - some great meals and wonderful people.  We flew Delta One which was also good, even a memorable crab cake meal which I can recommend to you (if you like crab cakes!)

Some pictures:

 

 

sunset through the mountains 

 

 The Pride of America ship from the shore.  Can't say I understand all the ins and outs, but the ship is USA flagged and mostly USA crewed due to some law.

 

 

Fireworks over the water from our hotel suite in Honolulu.

Glad to be back on the cooler.  If you've ever been frustrated with Silversea internet, you "ain't seen nothing" till you've been on this particular cruise.

 

Edited February 12 by QueSeraSera
typo

[TLCOhio]

The Silver Moon is getting closer to Mumbai and our boarding on the morning of Feb. 14.  Now traveling at 18.2 knots.  Moderate waters.   The Captain can crank things up more, if needed.  The excitement is building!!  We are staying in the Tower area of the Taj Palace.  Won't bore anyone with the "average" nature of the good offerings here, so far.  Can always hope things improve above the bland ballroom buffet of the first night that is not exactly at or near the Silversea "luxury" level.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[lincslady]

Sorry you are not in the old wing, Terry.  There is/was a really good Chinese restaurant in the Taj, which we went to both nights we stayed there.  Of course this is quite some time ago, and it could have changed.  Worth a look - it is quite near the main reception area. And not very Indian, but delicious food.

 

I remember the buffet breakfast being less than exciting.

 

Lola

[drron29]

 

 

 

[Lois R]

20 hours ago, QueSeraSera said:

Just returned from a fun Hawaii trip, stayed in hotels + did an island-hopping cruise with NCL.  Not my new favorite cruise line...but not horrible either - some great meals and wonderful people.  We flew Delta One which was also good, even a memorable crab cake meal which I can recommend to you (if you like crab cakes!)

Some pictures:

 

 

sunset through the mountains 

 

 The Pride of America ship from the shore.  Can't say I understand all the ins and outs, but the ship is USA flagged and mostly USA crewed due to some law.

 

 

Fireworks over the water from our hotel suite in Honolulu.

Glad to be back on the cooler.  If you've ever been frustrated with Silversea internet, you "ain't seen nothing" till you've been on this particular cruise.

 

Hi Que, welcome back........Hawaii sounds nice. I have never been there before and have never sailed with NCL.........I am trying to find a cruise for March or April  and not used to looking elsewhere but right now SS isn't showing anything I want to do at the moment.

I have heard all kinds of things about NCL.......did you find lots of kids on board? 

[QueSeraSera]

17 minutes ago, Lois R said:

did you find lots of kids on board?

More than our beloved Silversea, but not all that many really.  I'd estimate a dozen, and of those, a couple were babies.  Saw none in the specialty restaurants and did not notice any in the main dining rooms.  One kid/parent incident all but ruined a breakfast visit to the Aloha buffet.

NCL is the only cruise line that island hops within Hawaii; we visited 4 islands, 3 of which we might never have seen otherwise.  The ship is USA flagged; I think it is the only ocean liner that is, & it seemed fine - cabin steward was good, ship was very clean, etc.  Port talks and culture talks were also very good.  

 

[QueSeraSera]

Not sure why the Hawaii pictures posted in a weird manner and wasted a good half of this page.  Will try to repost one of them (Maui sunset) below using a different method.  If this does not work, I will return to just enjoying the great photos you all share.

Edited February 12 by QueSeraSera

[jpalbny]

58 minutes ago, QueSeraSera said:

Not sure why the Hawaii pictures posted in a weird manner and wasted a good half of this page.

 

I assumed it was an issue with my phone, but now on my laptop I can't see them either. 

 

I can see the one that you just posted, though, so feel free to post more! Love Hawaii. Many nice memories from trips to those islands.

Edited February 13 by jpalbny

[QueSeraSera]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

I assumed it was an issue with my phone,

Very gracious of you, mahalo (TY in Hawaiian).  I have now learned a direct copy and paste from an email is doomed here in the world of Microsoft.

For turtle lovers, these sea turtle mothers had come on shore in a protected area on Maui to do their part to ensure the continuation of the species. 

A good photographer would have included a human tor size perspective, I'll offer an estimated length of at least a yard or at least a meter, probably more...

 

[TLCOhio]

On 2/11/2024 at 11:20 PM, lincslady said:

Sorry you are not in the old wing, Terry.  There is/was a really good Chinese restaurant in the Taj, which we went to both nights we stayed there.  Of course this is quite some time ago, and it could have changed.  Worth a look - it is quite near the main reception area. And not very Indian, but delicious food.  I remember the buffet breakfast being less than exciting.   Lola

 

Appreciate Lola's follow-up.  Yes, the breakfast buffet in the hotel's regularl ground-floor location is less than exciting, but was much better than the lunch and dinner buffets.   Last night's dinner was more of the SAME!!  Boring, uninspiring BALLROOM BUFFET food that any medium-level Holiday Inn would serve up in luke-warm big "institutional" trays.  

 

Personally, I like the one beer offered, Kingfisher Ultra, from here India.  Other beer people hate the lack of any choice.  Wine options?  One lame red from here in India and one white offering, maybe, if they don't run out.  If you do not like spicy foods and/or non-meat items, your "choices" are "SLIM and NONE"!  

 

The Silversea staff here, limited and powerless, try to spin it as being being the hotel's fault.  WRONG!  It's the cheap, tight-wad "Bean-Counters" in either Miami or Monaco limiting the options and expected quality.  Fair or unfair?? 

 

Remember the original written promise and commitment to us: "three-night luxury hotel accommodations, reflective of Silversea standards, and enriching and immersive excursions in Mumbai.”?

 

Is this called legally as "Bait and Switch"?    Or, the long-standing customers are so dumb, they won't noice or say anything.  Lots of grumbling!!  For very legitimate reasons.  

 

But, now some good news:  Here are two nice visuals.  One a view from the top floor of the Taj Tower and second from their lobby inside.  Both classy!!  And fun!!

  

 

And there has been some nice music at dinner.  Here is an example from last night.  Nice touch of  the local and classic feel/style. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

From late 2018, see “Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East. Now at 22,402 views.  Connect at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/

[drron29]

A man walks into a bar and orders three pints of Guinness...
He sits at the back of the room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn.
When he finishes all three, he goes back to the bar and orders three more.
The bartender says to him,
"You know, a pint goes flat after I draw it and it would taste better if you bought one at a time."
The man replies, "Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in America, the other in Australia, and I'm here in Dublin.
When we all left home, we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days when we all used to drink together."
The bartender admits that this is a nice custom, and leaves it there.
For many months the man becomes a regular in the bar and always drinks the same way.
He orders three pints and drinks the three pints by taking drinks from each of them in turn.
Just after New Years Day, he comes in and orders two pints.
All the other regulars in the bar notice this and fall silent.
When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says,
"I don't want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your sad loss."

The man looks confused for a moment, then a light dawns in his eyes and he laughs.....
"Oh, no," he says, "Everyone's fine. It's me......I'm doing Dry January

[drron29]

I took Rojaan shopping but no purchases. This is in a Softbank branch.

 

You can be taken care of by a robot.

 

 

The streets in this part of Tokyo are unlike most as this is a recently developed area.

 

 

 

After dropping R ojaan back at the hotel I wandered a bit more to get my steps up. little temples and shrines are everywhere.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 13 by drron29

[drron29]

The next day was a beautiful day so Rojaan and I went for a walk along the waterfront. The locals were enjoying it on the top of the water taxis.

 

A glimpse of the Hamarikyu Gardens which are worth a visit if in Tokyo.

 

 

That afternoon I caught the Automatic train -the Yurikamome line - to Odaiba Island. Again a new developement. Amazing roadworks.

 

 

The Maritime museum.

 

It's only 4pm but the sun is setting. You get views of the planes going into Haneda.

 

Lots of entertainment. The big kids can have a go in go karts.

 

This fellow wasn't that good.

 

Interesting buildings.

 

And more for the kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got on the train back to the  hotel at 5pm and it was night already. but I had a good seat.

 

 

The next morning I took Rojaan over to the island to look around. You see some interesting sights.

 

Maybe she had been teleported there.

 

[lincslady]

I think, Terry, that you are now sailing southwards from Mumbai, and I hope that you are now getting the real Silversea feeling.  Looking forward to reading about the ship and the interesting ports you will be visiting.  

 

Lola

[drron29]

Now you may notice that very few of the tourist things appear in my asian trip reports. Basically because with Thailand we have visited over 100 times and Japan over 50. So generally I jus go walking. usually just to see what I can find. but sometimes I do set out to do something. today was such a day. I set off to walk on the Rainbow bridge. That is the name given by the public but it's official name is the Tokyo port Connecting Bridge.

It was a bit of a walk from the hotel to the bridge. Passed by another set of flood gates tor the canal.

 

Plus views over Tokyo bay.

 

Then the bridge itself.

 

 

 

 

You catch a lift up to the walkway.

 

Great views down Tokyo Bay towards Yokohama.

 

 

And across to Odaiba Island.

 

 

 

Another beautiful sunny day.

 

The train runs down the middle of the lower level of the bridge.

 

You can see it coming so you can get ready for a photo.

 

I walked back a different way.

 

Those are all barges to carry cement around Tokyo's waterways.

 

Lots of new apartment buildings.

 

I would hate to live there. That is the expressway running over the top of it. Two more levels of roadway below that plus a train line.

Now another plant that has the seasons wrong. I saw lots of autumn foliage but this is a flowering plum at least 2 months early.

 

[drron29]

 

 

[TLCOhio]

16 hours ago, lincslady said:

I think, Terry, that you are now sailing southwards from Mumbai, and I hope that you are now getting the real Silversea feeling.  Looking forward to reading about the ship and the interesting ports you will be visiting.  Lola

 

YES, Lola!!!  All smooth sailing from Mumbai for the Silver Moon as we are re-fueled and back to being loaded with passengers.  Now heading south to Goa.  Getting ready for drinks and dinner now.

 

Need "evidence" for what we saw before starting the cruise?  And proof that there are some interesting things there in Mumbai?  See below from yesterday including the Gateway of India Arch that greeted an English King and Queen (and many others), being at the colorful morning flower market and visiting various temples, etc.  Lots more to share later when able to start my live/blog.

 

 

 

 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

Canada 2022/2023: Scenic visuals, details from Canada Maritimes (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island).  Plus, new from Aug. 2023, exploring historic/charming Quebec City.    Visual/Info Summaries:

www.flickr.com/photos/196555480@N08/albums

[drron29]

 

 

 

[drron29]

during that last walk I had a little stumble. didn't fall but put my hand onto a wall to steady myself and knocked the camera out of my hand. I was fine, the camera terminal. So on my last full day I went to Shibuya where there were several camera shops that also sold Used cameras which get good reviews.

I took the hotel shuttle to Hamamatsucho station and caught the train to Shibuya. It is so easy to get around Tokyo by train. they are clean,virtually always on time and easy to use. Some of them have a dedicated wheel chair entrance.

 

There are also dedicated women only carriages. In Shibuya.

In Shibuya I was concentrating on finding the camera places. Only one was on a main street. I really learn't how useless Google Maps can be. I wanted to go to Map camera which is where I did buy a cheap replacement of my Sony camera. A used camera of a later Sony model. I stood outside the west exit of Shibuya Station and google said go to the east exit then it is 12 minutes to Map camera. It took me about 25 minutes. After buying my camera I fired up my google maps and it told me the west exit of Shibuya station was 2 minutes away. And it was.

 

That night we went to an upmarket food court called a Goumerium. We picked a seafood place. I had a fried oyster set with amberjack sashimi. very nice. Rojaan had a salmon and salmon roe Donburi bowl but they insidted it should be part of a set so it came wit a bowl of Udon which I slurped my way through.

 

 

We were followed when we left by the security guard.

 

Outside a nice light display with reflections.

 

Back to the hotel where Rojaan was desperate for a wine. I had a beautiful G&T made with a Japanese craft gin.

 

Edited February 15 by drron29

[drron29]

The next day was a Shinkansen ride to Kyoto. so a big breakfast was in order. I like the Japanese buffets with their mixture of Asian and Western dishes. This was my plate on that day.

 

Got the 1115 hotel shuttle to Hamamatsucho station and caught a Yamanote train to Tokyo. We were only carrying our carry ons having used the Takubin service to send our large case to the Hilton Osaka where we will be checking in in 3 days time. The Takubin system makes train travel so much more comfortable.
An easy transfer to the shinkansen lines but on our platform none of the little food stalls have reopened after Covid. On other platforms some were open so we went downstairs again to get some lunch for our train trip.
So our train.

 

 

 

Had some interesting neighbours across from us. An old Japanese couple probably in their 90s. Before sitting down they spread Newspaper on the floor.

 

 

Each of them had 3 bottles of drink with some more in a bag on the floor. The 3 each that were on their trays they had finished by Nagoya. No wonder that they had to make a few trips to the front of the carriage.

We were on the side which can have views of Mt. Fuji. I kept my 100& record with it as usual covered in cloud. Some shots from the train.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally in just over 2 hours arrived in Kyoto and said good bye to our Nozomi shinkansen.

 

[drron29]

 

 

 

[drron29]

In Kyoto we stayed at the Crowne Plaza Kyoto which is just across the road from Kyoto castle.

 

 

 

 

Lovely night views.

 

 

 

We stayed in a renovated Japanese room. nice window shades.

 

And a japanese style bathroom. you are meant to shower first before having a bath.

 

There is a roof top bar but it was closed during Covid and hasn't reopened. so to the bar on the looby floor. Nice displays.

 

 

And the view from the bar at night.

 

 

Service though was very poor. not like Japan was.

 

[drron29]