Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[Lirio]

Today is Labor Day in Brazil, so no need to work from Auckland and I went to the Auckland Museum to see a photography exhibition with the first photos taken in NZ. Very nice. Then walking around in the park, buying some groceries and a lazy afternoon.

[FlyingScotSailors]

@UKCruiseJeff Jeff, as you probably saw, we thought your analysis of current cruise pricing/offerings was very astute.

 

Back to this thread (😳), here is our pizza dinner tonight.  A bit of pent up passover demand.

 

 

 

Not as fancy as your oven, but it reaches 700F and produces a nice pie in about 9 minutes.

 

[Port Power]

7 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

Supper was rusticly simple.

 

 

I wish I could eat bread!   I never see gluten free bread that looks this good.  I have baked my own GF bread in the past, but I don't eat enough of it to make that a regular past time.

[UKCruiseJeff]

6 hours ago, FlyingScotSailors said:

@UKCruiseJeff Jeff, as you probably saw, we thought your analysis of current cruise pricing/offerings was very astute.

 

Back to this thread (😳), here is our pizza dinner tonight.  A bit of pent up passover demand.

 

 

 

Not as fancy as your oven, but it reaches 700F and produces a nice pie in about 9 minutes.

 

 

That dough edge is something you should be proud of.  A very nice pie! 

 

🙂

 

Jeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

5 hours ago, Port Power said:

 

I wish I could eat bread!   I never see gluten free bread that looks this good.  I have baked my own GF bread in the past, but I don't eat enough of it to make that a regular past time.

 

It’s a real shame that you need GF. Can you tolerate a small amount of gluten? 

 

By coincidence yesterday I made some lovely orange almond cake that was very good.  It is gluten free and although it is unphotogenic it is extraordinary.  

 

It seemed a waste to have it with tea and so Amaretto is a proper substitute. 

 

 

[Port Power]

45 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

It’s a real shame that you need GF. Can you tolerate a small amount of gluten? 

 

By coincidence yesterday I made some lovely orange almond cake that was very good.  It is gluten free and although it is unphotogenic it is extraordinary.  

 

It seemed a waste to have it with tea and so Amaretto is a proper substitute. 

 

 

No. I have coeliac disease and adhere to a gluten free diet.  There used to be a wonderful patisserie that made delicious pies and an excellent Italian loaf, but they shut up shop years ago.  I lost my recipe for orange almond cake.  Boiling whole oranges is a great way to start making a cake!   

[UKCruiseJeff]

12 minutes ago, Port Power said:

No. I have coeliac disease and adhere to a gluten free diet.  There used to be a wonderful patisserie that made delicious pies and an excellent Italian loaf, but they shut up shop years ago.  I lost my recipe for orange almond cake.  Boiling whole oranges is a great way to start making a cake!   

 

Only recently (it turns out that I am a very slow learner …..) had I decided to write down exactly what I do when making stuff so that I can then make adjustments for “next time” rather than relearn from scratch every time.

 

So what I did was:

 

1.  Boil two whole extra large oranges for one hour, then cut open and de-pip and then blend it all to a fine pulp.

 

2. Blend 5 eggs with 250gms of ground almond and 250 gms caster sugar with a squirt of honey and a teaspoon of baking powder - and add the orange pulp and bake.

 

I’d not adjust this recipe when I make it next.  I don’t think the baking powder will harm you.  

 

This makes two loaf cakes. 

 

Jeff

[Host Jazzbeau]

12 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

By coincidence yesterday I made some lovely orange almond cake that was very good.  It is gluten free and although it is unphotogenic it is extraordinary.  

 

It seemed a waste to have it with tea and so Amaretto is a proper substitute.

If you made it a day ahead, sliced the layer horizontally and soaked the cut sides with Amaretto, and then reassembled it with whipped cream in between and on top – it would be ever better!  [And if you did it with four half-layers and molded it into a large round bowl, it would be what my DW's dessert called 'the bomb' – actually adapted from a recipe for trifle, but things have a way of shifting with her baking just like CC threads often do...]

[Dolcevita Diva]

Yum!  Note to self - do not ever log into the Cooler when it's almost time for dinner and you didn't eat lunch! 🙂 

 

Separate note to @LoisRJax  @Daveywavey70 and @jollyjones

Silversea released a list today of 78 voyages with 0% single supplement.  I just learned of this from a friend (neither Silversea nor my TA notified me) so wanted to let you know in case you had not received this info either.  

 

[Dolcevita Diva]

9 minutes ago, LoisRJax said:

Thank you for the tip. I will have to check out the website.

For some reason when I did a normal search for the Lower Solo Supplement offer using the drop-down on the website, only 54 voyages show up.  Here's the link that brings up the larger list of 0% solo supplement voyages:     Enjoy our Exclusive Solo Travellers Offer | Silversea

[Port Power]

3 hours ago, Dolcevita Diva said:

For some reason when I did a normal search for the Lower Solo Supplement offer using the drop-down on the website, only 54 voyages show up.  Here's the link that brings up the larger list of 0% solo supplement voyages:     Enjoy our Exclusive Solo Travellers Offer | Silversea

 

I have also found booking a very long time in advance (18-24 months), the solo supplement is often 25%.  Soon after I have booked, that discount disappears.  I have booked Silver Ray for March 2026.  The transatlantic has a 25% solo supplement, but the Caribbean cruise is 50%.  Caribbean cruises always book well, so no incentive for SS to reduce the supplement.  Transoceanic cruise do not book out, hence a better incentive.

 

My TA did pass on that email from SS with the list of low solo supplement cruises.  Not that many of them are this year.

[DavyWavey70]

3 hours ago, Dolcevita Diva said:

Yum!  Note to self - do not ever log into the Cooler when it's almost time for dinner and you didn't eat lunch! 🙂 

 

Separate note to @LoisRJax  @Daveywavey70 and @jollyjones

Silversea released a list today of 78 voyages with 0% single supplement.  I just learned of this from a friend (neither Silversea nor my TA notified me) so wanted to let you know in case you had not received this info either.  

 

Thanks for that DvD, I had seen it. I Went straight to look but January 25 has 2 voyages, neither of which are either possible, desirable or doable for me. I'm about to finalise things on a South African adventure for Jan 25 though.

Edited May 3 by DavyWavey70
Typo faeries.

[rojaan19]

Could we put UKcruiserJeff  food thread into a separate thread for those of us on a diet please 🙄

[lincslady]

Do we need a thread titled Cooler Comestibles?  (I prefer to leave things as they are, personally - a nice jumble).  You never know what might come up next.

[DavyWavey70]

1 hour ago, lincslady said:

Do we need a thread titled Cooler Comestibles?  (I prefer to leave things as they are, personally - a nice jumble).  You never know what might come up next.

It could turn into a war then Lola, Comestibles vs Combustibles!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good afternoon Coolers,

 

Today was chicken in white wine sauce with mash and peas!  As an aside.  My memory just sparked up.  Did someone use to pop up in Cooler history and shout out “PEAS!” every time I posted a piccy of peas?  🤔

 

Anyway, in sympathy with Rojaan19 we have smaller portions for the dietary compromised.  😦

 

I’m proud of the parsley because a year or so back I was bored and we got heavily into hydroponics for fresh stuff and as a result we have been overtaken by stuff including parsley.  Hydroponics is a wonderful thing.

 

Today it was house wine.

 

Jeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

17 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

If you made it a day ahead, sliced the layer horizontally and soaked the cut sides with Amaretto, and then reassembled it with whipped cream in between and on top – it would be ever better!  [And if you did it with four half-layers and molded it into a large round bowl, it would be what my DW's dessert called 'the bomb' – actually adapted from a recipe for trifle, but things have a way of shifting with her baking just like CC threads often do...]

 

One thing I have learned, is that sometimes “Less is More”

 

😄

 

Jeff

[Dolcevita Diva]

14 hours ago, Port Power said:

 

I have also found booking a very long time in advance (18-24 months), the solo supplement is often 25%.  Soon after I have booked, that discount disappears.  I have booked Silver Ray for March 2026.  The transatlantic has a 25% solo supplement, but the Caribbean cruise is 50%.  Caribbean cruises always book well, so no incentive for SS to reduce the supplement.  Transoceanic cruise do not book out, hence a better incentive.

 

My TA did pass on that email from SS with the list of low solo supplement cruises.  Not that many of them are this year.

I'm delighted to see that after a long spell with very limited offerings at lower levels (had to pay 75% single supplement for my cruise this August -ouch), the revenue management/promotions team is starting to use or test these as another avenue to drive bookings. Just booked a voyage for next May and am scanning the rest of the list for other itineraries that appeal. 

[spinnaker2]

6 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

Good afternoon Coolers,

 

Today was chicken in white wine sauce with mash and peas!  As an aside.  My memory just sparked up.  Did someone use to pop up in Cooler history and shout out “PEAS!” every time I posted a piccy of peas?  🤔

 

Anyway, in sympathy with Rojaan19 we have smaller portions for the dietary compromised.  😦

 

I’m proud of the parsley because a year or so back I was bored and we got heavily into hydroponics for fresh stuff and as a result we have been overtaken by stuff including parsley.  Hydroponics is a wonderful thing.

 

Today it was house wine.

 

Jeff

PEAS! I love peas.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Just now, spinnaker2 said:

PEAS! I love peas.

 

Mange tout mon cher petit pois.

[TLCOhio]

8 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

Today was chicken in white wine sauce with mash and peas!  

 

Appreciate these wonderful dining delights and all of the tasty follow-ups.  

 

Anyone ready for their "Golden Years"??

 

 

BUT, where's the Gold?  At the end of a rainbow??

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[Lirio]

We canceled our cruise for Alaska with Silversea. We should have made more research before booking.  I was expecting a different cruise.

We had a D2D, tours included. Many tours (included or suggested) were fully booked or waitlisted. I felt uncomfortable to pay for tours that I can not book because they are full. I tried to book tours independently but must tour operators I got in contact with was fully booked.

Alaska mainstream area, as far as I understood, is crowded during the season and the itinerary planned by Silversea is all about these areas. Juneau, in the day that we would be there, another 7 cruises will be there! Some big ships.

I found good options for expedition cruises with Hurtigruten and Lindblad, but unfortunately the schedules were not suitable for ours.

So, no cruise in 2024! Instead we are doing a road trip around Portland and Seattle.

 

Meantime in Auckland, last night at my daughter´s house. What else can I desire?

 

 

 

At hotel lobby, a train made of chocolate.

 

[UKCruiseJeff]

Lirio,

 

Such a shame to hear about the cancellation.  Reading what happened it sounds like you have had a narrow escape to what sounds like almost certain disappointment

 

Those platters are impressive particularly with the cheese knife set and is that walnut loaf … with a touch of honey perhaps?

 

Tonight’s supper was  Mortadella and salad with mayo in focaccia panini and a mug of house white. 

 

 

Edited May 3 by UKCruiseJeff
shpelling

[Lirio]

Some views from Auckland.

 

Sunset close to Mission Bay.

 

Another vocano....

 

 

 

[drron29]

And some more hotel views in Sydney. This time from the Club Intercontinental. First at night then in the morning. It was a very wet weekend in Sydney.