LIVE FROM THE NOVA-Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver

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10:00 am Thursday Morning it`s about 57 degrees F.and the Pool deck is deserted. We had dinner last night at the Marque Grill while anchored off Cabo San Lucas. It was a cold wind blowing and we sat under a heat lamp which are positioned along the sides and overhead the covered area. In addition, we were provided with grey blanket like Ponchos to hang around our shoulders but even with all that we were still cold, again, what Alaska bound Travellers will have to contend with. The Nova does not yet appear to have the moveable heat lamps that many of the other Silversea ships have around the pool eating area. Those would definitely help the situation and maybe will come later. As Jolly Jones has pointed out the wind through the open area is also a factor for which there is little available solution!

Its perhaps not too late to make changes to the Ray so that theses issues can be dealt with or even eliminated. 

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As we continue to make our way towards Vancouver the seas have gradually become rougher and the winds have reached as high as 50kts. 

There has been two medical emergencies one of which involved diverting the ship to just off the coast of Ensenada, Mexico while a Mexican Coast Guard Boat came alongside and took off a sick Lady .( see photo of the boat) Another situation developed when an elderly guest passed away ostensibly while having dinner.

 It has also become colder as we continue Northwards from the Port of Los Angeles yesterday towards San Francisco tomorrow then two more days to Vancouver. Notably at both LA and San Francisco many guests are disembarking and a few embarked in L.A.yesterday. The ship will empty out in Vancouver except for a few hardy souls. JP the Cruise Director and the Captain are also apparently disembarking. 

As expected, the cold windy weather has kept most everyone inside causing the restaurants and general facilities to be very full. If the Alaka weather this summer does not co-operate then those booked on the Alaska Cruises are going to be sorely disappointed as much of the ship particularly decks 10 and 11 will be unusable.

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Well, its Friday 10th and we disembarked yesterday with most of the ship as well as a large group that got on in San Francisco for a three-day orientation. We could not help but observe that a large number of guests were suffering with heavy coughing and runny noses and unfortunately, we also succumbed which made our last few days on board very difficult as we could not go out on decks 10 and 11 due to the cold wind so we confined ourselves to our suite for the period. We had heavy winds 50+kts and rough seas from San Francisco for the first day then it calmed a bit for our final approach into Vancouver.

We could not help but notice that despite the rough seas the ship was very stable no pitching and a very slight rolling motion during the night but again the Marque Restaurant, Pool and Dusk bar were unusable due to the cold wind --How this ship is going to handle Alaska is debatable since the best parts of the ship may be unusable. Here is a video from our Balcony which shows how well the ship was reacting to the rough conditions.In my next posting I will comment on what we liked and noticed for those who plan on cruising the Silver Nova. 

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Silver Nova Things we like

• New Ship that still has that New Car smell
• Contemporary to modern styling. Very comfortable interior both in suites as well as throughout the ship
• There are many nooks and crannies to sit as well as an incredible number of lounge chairs scattered all over decks 10 and 11.
• Minimalist style of furnishing that would also appeal to a younger audience
• Very quiet ship both internally and externally. Possibly the smoothest and best running ship that we have ever experienced even in heavy seas.
• Staterooms are also very quiet, there is no noise from the Hallways or from the bossy Elevator Lady
• Food Generally has been of very good quality and very tasty and generally well cooked
• Staff are for the most part well trained, friendly and very helpful.
• Senior Officers including the Captain are everywhere on the ship, very accessible and willing to handle any concerns or immediate problems. The Cruise Director J.P. Almon is a wonderful addition to Silverseas so was The Hotel Director Stephen Crimes as well as the Food and Beverage Manager Jacob P. from South Africa who was very helpful when we became sick and confined to our suites.
• Wonderful Elevators, with a sea view, are extremely efficient Very fast and very quiet in operation although the spoken instructions are quite loud but not audible from the suites.
• Restaurant  menu`s can be seen on the TV. reservations can also be booked on the TV in the suites .
• Wi-Fi is the best of any ship that we have been on It is believed to be Star-Link.

 

Things that we noticed

•  Ship more suited to a temperate climate, rain and cold temperatures shuts down the Open Decks, The Pool area as well as the Marque Restaurant and Grill. This unfortunately tends to overwhelm the other Restaurants on board some of which have very limited seating and with no reservation at the four Restaurants that require it, you are left with only Atlantide and Salt.
• Fitness Facilities/Spa area are poorly designed and cannot accommodate the number of passengers on a ship this size. Imagine two persons in the locker room is a crowd and there is only one shower for each sex. On Sea days the fitness center is severely crowded and is much too small for a ship this size.
• Otium Spa while independently operated is not very welcoming.
• Room Service is no longer available from the Restaurants during Restaurant hours but only from the TV Menu which is very restricted, and the quality is inconsistent. 
• La Terrazza Food and service appears to have service and quality problems particularly at lunch. Possible shortage of servers but not many offers to bring the plates to the Table. Area is very large has an impersonal feel and simply does not have the Silversea experience that one used to get in the smaller ships.
• Restrooms are inexplicably not close to the Restaurants and in some cases requires a long walk. Doors open electronically and, in some cases, expose the users to the world.
• The Venetian Lounge strangely can only accommodate a limited number of passengers so can get overcrowded on popular nights.
• Suites:  a. No longer provide clocks you have to turn on a TV to see the Time.
•              b. No Binoculars are provided in any category.
•              c. Suite doors are very heavy and do not stay open. Large wooden blocks have to be requested from the Butlers to be able to keep the Bathroom doors open.
•              d. Air conditioners are difficult to control with the new electronic controls which do not give you a temperature reading only a center line and two bars on either side so one is either too hot or too cold!
•              e. Electric drape switches are unmarked and difficult to figure out.
•              f. Bathtubs are too narrow for the average Man to be able to lie in the tub.

•   The Old printed Silverseas daily Chronicles of many pages with information on Staff and shore side information   is not available instead a daily TV presentation provides some information, but we really missed our nightly read of the Chronicle's.   

 

In Conclusion we did enjoy our Cruise until we became sick, but we found that with 700+ guests the personal touch was missing. In 23 days, much of the staff particularly   Maitre 'd's still did not know our names and we had to give our suite number at every Restaurant even though we were in one of the top suites on the ship. I would have to say that The Silver Nova with that many more passengers has a very IMPERSONAL feel to it compared to the smaller ships. This is our last posting on the cruise but if anyone has any questions, we would be happy to respond if we know the answers.

 

 

 

 

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[agape01]

On 5/11/2024 at 3:48 AM, flyers said:

Room Service is no longer available from the Restaurants during Restaurant hours but only from the TV Menu which is very restricted, and the quality is inconsistent.

Didn't cross my mind until recently, but I was wondering whether might you have taken some photos of the Room Service menu on the Nova?
 

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Unfortunately, we did not think to make a copy of the Menu.Sorry about that!