Caribbean Sunshine Aboard the Shadow December 10, 2019

[spinnaker2]

yesterday's sunset

 

 

 

 

 

 

and this morning they are filling the pool, notice one gentleman has a net, just in case of fish!

 

The pool deck is set up for another buffet lunch. And as we walked by the pool,  before 8 am, there were already sunbeds reserved with hats and other articles but no pax.

[TLCOhio]

13 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

Confirmation of no Indochine aboard the Moon, and likely Indochine will be a thing of the past on other ships. The concept hasn't been a success. Atlantide will expand and menus will be more varied.  Partnership with Lalique in La Dame. Relais and Chateaux is gone.  Lots of money to pour into ships as a result of Royal.

 

Glad that Spins/Candy was up early this am to enjoy the dawn and the start of your final seaday.  Agree, that packing up after a nice cruise can be challenging and not fun.  Good luck in returning back to "real life"!! 

   

Appreciate these great follow-ups and details.  Very helpful and interesting background.  Personally in late July on the Silver Muse, we enjoyed Indochine not just once, but twice.  BUT, clearly its set-up and menu could be either complicated and/or misunderstood.  Understand why SS is making those changes.  Keep up the great sharing.  Don't be shy in posting more fun and interesting visuals.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Live/blog, June 2017 from Portugal to France along scenic Atlantic Coast.  Now at 30,001 views.  Many interesting pictures, details for history, food, culture, etc.:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

[brimary]

22 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

Seafood buffet at the pool deck with live music today harkens back to other times aboard Silversea.

A lovely touch was the Voices of Silversea coming to the pool deck dressed in 18th century costumes complete with powdered wigs, singing "be our guest".

 

Earlier a presentation by Mark Conroy and Peter Shenks as to the future of Silversea...bright according to corporate. 

Sounds like the Good Old Days on Silversea!! Probably because the Boss is on  board.Enjoy it Spins!

[spinnaker2]

And now the sea is like a lake.

Flying fish skittering atop the water, sun glistening like so many jewels scattered on the surface to entice us as to the royalty of the water. No jewel in the boutiques will ever come close.

We too skim along the sea, ever forward to our destination.

Almost all of the pax out by the pool soaking up every last ray.

Buffet was seafood and live music again.

Can it be that our last day is the best weather of all of our cruise?

 

[spinnaker2]

diamonds on the surface

the lake

[spinnaker2]

Lots of rough seas starting about 3 am with side to side and bow bop!

We have finally arrived at Port Everglades and are about to dock.

Rain and mist and overcast here.

 

And so it ends.

[jpalbny]

Sad to have it come to an end, Spins. But we will try to pick up the gauntlet in 2 weeks, when we board Silver Cloud! 

[jollyjones]

Spins -  I'll do my best to follow in your footsteps when I board the Shadow on Jan 7th.

 

Season's whatnots to you and Dr L.

Edited December 19, 2019 by jollyjones

[Stumblefoot]

Albeit more crummy weather than good on your voyage, I'm glad you got to experience the upgraded Shadow, Spins.  Nice email today indicates virtually the entire ship was upgraded.  I was amazed to see how much bigger La Dame was!  I just hope they added an additional waiter as the size previously was very, very difficult for just one.

Hope you're able to get out the Beav soon!  Lots and lots of snow has the mountain nearly completely open with base snow levels running 120% - 140% of average.

[spinnaker2]

Thanks JP, Jolly, Terry and Stumble.

 

We were home by 9:30 am and that was with a lot of traffic due to this rainy and chilly weather.

 

The 30 million dollars from Royal did completely redo the inside. The Shadow is beautiful.

I am not sure that the plumbing and electrical and AC were fixed or upgraded. I did not ask.

Our AC struggled at times and did fail twice as previously mentioned here.

 

The crew!!!! Terrific!!! There aren't enough superlatives for them.

If you have cruised with Silversea you will recognize many faces.

They bring a level of expertise and warmth.

 

I was told the boutique management is unhappy with their space as it is too small in their opinion. Meetings are scheduled to discuss same. I frankly don't like that the Arts cafe is sandwiched between the boutiques and reception. I don't care to see shadowboxes of jewelry while I have a coffee.

But I get the marketing concept.

The merchandise is high priced. There was a selection of Silversea logo stuff on the last day.

Shirts made of bamboo with a logo started at 40 dollars.

 

I did not eat in La Dame but my friend did and said the food was good but tables too close together and no dim lights for ambiance yet.

This is an issue as well in La Terrazza and the Arts too. Lighting way too bright at night.

No mention of poor service nor did we experience that issue.

 

The Grill is also trying to find its identity again.

Teresa is working very hard to make it all flow. The basic hamburger and hot dog at lunch is ok but the newer items don't cut it.

Management recognized some service issues and corrected them with extra staff assigned to Teresa. 

The menu at the Grill at night has also changed. Standard items remain but no more butcher's block, which was an assortment of grilled items.

For example, the vegetable skewer is a la carte.

The salads are uninspiring and puny. 

This will cut waste I am sure.

 

La T is a nice space. We eat there often. The lunch buffet offers an assortment of food. DH likes the sushi. 

Dinner menus don't change often.

I waited until the last night to order the standby of duck ragu and paparadelle. I was terribly disappointed as the noodles were gluey and there was barely any ragu.

An attempt to correct it by the maitre d just brought me a double portion of the same and after all at my table had finished their main course. Not a good final note.

However that was the single disappointment of our experiences in La t. The gnocchi were light as a feather. The bucatini perfect.

 

The MDR is very nice and enjoys the most patronage. Breakfast is relaxing and the service attentive. Dinner is not extraordinary or very imaginative. Such items as  foie gras and lobster are present on the menu.

I did have a steak one night which was eloquently described on the menu but arrived on the plate as a thin piece of steak and sweet potato fries with a small garnish of green and red pepper. A far cry from its description and looking more like a lunch at the Grill item. The food was prepared well but way missed the mark as an elegant dish!

 

 

More later.

 

Edited December 19, 2019 by spinnaker2

[jpalbny]

Spins, sorry that the duck ragu still isn't up to snuff. I haven't ordered it in a couple of years; guess I still will be avoiding it.

 

Glad that everything else was so good, though, and it sure sounds like you had a wonderful time. We enjoyed following along as well.

 

PS - hope your "chilly" weather gets better - it was 7 degrees (F) this morning in Albany, for comparison! 😄

 

Edited December 20, 2019 by jpalbny

[WesW]

Candy (And Dr. Larry in support) thanks very much for sharing your refurbed Shadow voyage with us.  

 

Sincerely appreciate your positive posts and when necessary pointing out the shortcomings y’all experienced and observed.

 

Sincere Holiday well wishes and hopes for an adventurous & Silversea cruise filled 2020!

[turtlemichael]

On 12/18/2019 at 12:01 PM, spinnaker2 said:

 One was actually a suggestion to have an astronomer aboard to explain the night sky.

What happened on what cruise seems to fade together more as I get older. It may have been on one of the smaller Seabourn sisters, rather than on Silversea, but I do recall a navigation officer giving a talk on the sky at sea on a blacked out top deck to an interested group of passengers late one night.  I'm sure most navigation officers would still have a good working knowledge of the sky, even in this day and age, and I'd support Silversea in doing something like this occasionally.  It's something most of us don't see in the cities we live in.

[spinnaker2]

Wes 

Thank you for holiday wishes.

As you know I don't like  to air criticisms on these boards and prefer to share them directly with management if necessary

but this cruise was different as so many were looking for the state of the Shadow post refurb.

I tried to state what I saw and experienced in a dispassionate manner.

I am sure others have experienced the cruise and the vessel differently. 

The Shadow is beautiful.

 

[spinnaker2]

Turtle

The suggestion for the astronomer came from a first timer who was an avid sailor. I admit to spending time on the verandah trying to identify constellations in the night sky without the light pollution.

I would go to a lecture at night on deck! And yes I think an officer or navigator could share some knowledge of the sea and stars.

I am not sure if they still use a sextant to navigate!

Edited December 20, 2019 by spinnaker2

[MBP&O2/O]

My ‘law’ and certification knowledge are sadly out of date but I believe that they are still required to be able to use a sextant. Whether or not they still take sights ... to maintain expertise ... is debatable. If so, then all the spherical trigonometry is probably done by computer. I very much doubt that they would buy their own sextants  ... I still have mine and it still proves useful to view the sun during an eclipse
As for the star recognition, the easiest ways are either a free app on a phone or tablet, or, as we did before computers were invented, find one easily recognised constellation ... say Orion’s Belt ... and from there you can learn a few more odd stars ad infinitum.

Story:  I set an onboard examination for a Deck Cadet and asked the question ... “What is the correct name for the dog star?”

 

Answer supplied .... Pluto !

 

At which point I suspected I was fighting a losing battle!
 

 

[spinnaker2]

23 minutes ago, MBP&O2/O said:

My ‘law’ and certification knowledge are sadly out of date but I believe that they are still required to be able to use a sextant. Whether or not they still take sights ... to maintain expertise ... is debatable. If so, then all the spherical trigonometry is probably done by computer. I very much doubt that they would buy their own sextants  ... I still have mine and it still proves useful to view the sun during an eclipse
As for the star recognition, the easiest ways are either a free app on a phone or tablet, or, as we did before computers were invented, find one easily recognised constellation ... say Orion’s Belt ... and from there you can learn a few more odd stars ad infinitum.

Story:  I set an onboard examination for a Deck Cadet and asked the question ... “What is the correct name for the dog star?”

 

Answer supplied .... Pluto !

 

At which point I suspected I was fighting a losing battle!
 

 

I can find Orion and the big dipper and little dipper! 

But if the computer goes out what happens? 

[jpalbny]

37 minutes ago, MBP&O2/O said:

Story:  I set an onboard examination for a Deck Cadet and asked the question ... “What is the correct name for the dog star?”

 

Answer supplied .... Pluto !

 

At which point I suspected I was fighting a losing battle!

 

OMG! You can't be Sirius!

 

I knew all of the constellations when I was a little kid of 5 or 6. We lived on a farm in the countryside with no light pollution and it was wonderful. 

 

Nothing compares to that view. I was so nostalgic for those times, when we visited Kangaroo Island last year, and the night sky was visible in all of its glory. Spectacular! 

[TLCOhio]

18 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

Thanks JP, Jolly, Terry and Stumble.

We were home by 9:30 am and that was with a lot of traffic due to this rainy and chilly weather.   The 30 million dollars from Royal did completely redo the inside. The Shadow is beautiful.  I am not sure that the plumbing and electrical and AC were fixed or upgraded. I did not ask.  Our AC struggled at times and did fail twice as previously mentioned here.   The crew!!!! Terrific!!! There aren't enough superlatives for them.

 

Super appreciate, Spins, all of these details, pictures, insights, etc.  Very interesting and helpful.  Clearly it's nice to "re-decorate" the ship, but with an older ship, there are times (like with homes) that you ALSO must pay attention to and fix certain of the "mechanics" for the AC, plumbing, electrical, etc.  

 

How was the Internet working?  Improved or not?  You seemed able, fortunately, to post a number of pictures.  Sorry about some of the weather/sea condition challenges.  For our experience this summer on the Silver Muse, the duck ragu pasta was good and OK.  Not spectacular and/or super great.  The stars/astronomy discussion are over my head.  Not skilled in those areas. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

Recently completed Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska on delightful Silver Muse, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc.  Lots of visuals and details from our first visits to these scenic areas!!  That live/blog is at: 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s

[spinnaker2]

The fault dear Terry is not in our stars but in ourselves that we are underlings.

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

How was the Internet working?  Improved or not?  You seemed able, fortunately, to post a number of pictures.

 

When I saw all of the pictures Spins was able to post, I knew the internet had indeed improved greatly as she didn't have to forward them to our resident CC SS photog for posting like years past; TLCOhio.

[spinnaker2]

Internet worked ok. Keeping in mind we had far fewer pax than usual.

Many went off on tours and I tried to post photos on off peak hours and I shrank them as well.

Internet is one of the top complaints that Silversea gets and according to corporate they have made improvements.

One thing I forgot to mention is that reciprocity issue between Royal and Silversea. No decisions have been made yet. Acknowledgement was made that Silversea is really not for kids and there won't be anything special done for them in terms of published activities or kids camp.

I haven't followed what became of the kids room aboard the Muse.

[TLCOhio]

2 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

The fault dear Terry is not in our stars but in ourselves that we are underlings.

 

Appreciate from Spins this follow-up and added details on the Internet, etc., etc.  Great insights and info. 

 

BUT, maybe I am slow, however, I did not totally understand the "connection" and/or context for this above "fault dear Terry is not in our stars but in ourselves".  Help me!

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 47,947 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

[spinnaker2]

Terry you made a pun about the stars

As did i

[nowornever]

Was there any modification to the closet arrangement?  Still double hanging rack & shelving with safe at the top?   Can't remember if there ever was a rack at the bottom for shoes?

 

Again, thank you so much for the photos & for your thoughts.  They were all very much appreciated!