Celebration

Diva told the butler that they wanted a speciality restaurant booking for their wedding anniversary. Mistake.  In the early evening, the butler appeared with Prosecco on ice and two glasses. Following his stroke, TSH does not drink alcohol so the Welcome bottle of champagne was not finished and about half of it was still in the fridge. They did not explain this to the butler and hoped he was not too offended when he returned later to find the Prosecco untouched.  In the Nepalese speciality restaurant, after the main course there was much banging of trays and several waiters gathered round their table to sing ‘Let it be you’.  They had already ordered carrot cake but an elaborate chocolate cake and two more glasses of Prosecco appeared.  TSH refused his and they both cancelled the carrot cake. The photographer ordered TSH to move from his seat to sit beside Diva for a photo. TSH refused on the basis of his reduced vision. So Diva had to squeeze out of the narrow space to move to sit beside him. The photos have not appeared yet.

On return to the suite, they found towels folded into the shape of swans and a Happy Anniversary banner. Many thanks to Saga for all their efforts.

Food and service are still excellent and TSH and Diva are looking forward to their last full day at sea before the return to Dover.

‘Feel like you’re on a ship’ mode

For TSH and Diva’s first time in the Isles of Scilly, they visited the famous Tresco tropical gardens. The clue was in the name. Diva wore her raincoat because the transfer to Tresco was in a partly open local boat, which, although it was not raining, was likely to be breezy. So by the time she had walked to the gardens she was very hot and exhausted. Fortunately, Saga had supplied a packed lunch so, along with most other guests, they treated the garden visit as an extended picnic. TSH covered himself in glory for once, as, despite his reduced vision, he was the first to spot a red squirrel. A few others appeared later but moved too quickly for there to be any chance of a photo.

Over dinner, TSH and Diva chatted to a couple whose male half was distressed at the loss of a pair of specs. They had retraced their steps around the ship and were unable to find them. Diva advised a call to Reception, who in the past had carefully looked after lost specs belonging to TSH. The female half was sitting on a cushion and when she came to leave she wanted to take it back to the cushion store. Fortunately she ignored TSH’s advice to leave it for the waiters to deal with. There under the cushion was the specs case – she had been sitting on it throughout the protracted wailing.

Some of the guests thought that there was a lot of motion of the ship during the night crossing to Eire. (TSH and Diva didn’t notice anything in spite of being 5 decks higher than their preferred location on Silversea). Some people mentioned this to Captain Jason and he explained that the additional movement was because he had set the autopilot to ‘feel like you’re on a ship’ mode. 

Sinking ships

On arrival at the Irish port of Cobh, Captain Jason put the Spirit of Adventure into a manoeuvre called Stop and Spin. This is exactly what it sounds like. The port welcomes cruise ships by encouraging their passengers into the Titanic exhibition and the heritage museum with a section about the Lusitania. TSH and Diva were assigned boarding cards with the names of two of the passengers – one from each ship. They never discovered if they survived but as Irish people in third class it seems unlikely.  

At breakfast, Diva asked for a brown roll to go with her Cumberland sausage. The sausage arrived but the roll came some time later because a waiter had to go to another restaurant for it – 7 decks away! And then they brought two rolls, which was too much for requirements.

The first use of TSH’s camera did not go too well – he had charged the battery at home but forgot to insert it back into the camera.

There have, as usual been timing issues. TSH’s phone decided it was in France and moved its time forward. So the alarm went off very early. It has now been instructed not to do it again.

Spirit of Adventure shows no sign of sinking and the food is excellent and the wine plentiful.

TSH stars in the blog already!

The day started with a rush. TSH and Diva got up early to have plenty of time before the car arrival slot of 8:25 – 8:55. At 7:20 came a text message to say that the car would arrive at 8:00. Which was better but slightly challenging. By 13:30 they were seated in the Grill on the Spirit of Adventure. The embarkation arrangements at Dover are second to none. Many many Saga employees to help and show the way. Security staff who are helpful and polite. Airports who have staff barking unintelligible commands could learn a lot from this.

The suite is a mirror image of the one they had last time. Interesting for anybody – daunting for the partially sighted. After unpacking her mountain of luggage, Diva realised that although she had charged her spare electric toothbrush before leaving home, she had not packed a brush head for it. She asked the butler if he could help. He thought that the shop might have one and the times when the shop would be open could be found in the daily schedule. Not an impressive start. Fortunately the shop did indeed have a toothbrush.

The first event was the mandatory safety drill. International Maritime Law. Captain Jason informed everybody several times that they would need to take their keycards to the muster so that they could be ‘swiped’ as having attended. TSH arrived at the muster point without his card, to much consternation all round. Fortunately they agreed that Diva’s ‘swipe’ could count for both.

Almost finished

TSH and Diva knew it was the last full day when the breakfast included champagne, bucks fizz and caviar. None of which they wanted, but it made for a festive atmosphere.

The best entertainment on the Spirit of Adventure has been the Irish group The Four Harps, who performed a mix of traditional Irish and modern pop songs. They took a risk with ‘The wreck of the Irish Rover’ but it went down well.

Second best entertainment – look-alike Elton John.

Packing soon.

The carpets in the suite (photo above) have been chosen so that they will not show red wine stains – not a problem on this cruise, as TSH neither drinks nor pours.

In the fjords

Gerainger does not have docking facilities for a ship like the Spirit of Adventure but it does have the Sea Walk. This is a long walkway which ‘folds’ and sits parallel to the quay side when not in use and stretches out to form a walkway from ship to shore when needed. The problem on this occasion was that the engine which drives the folding was out of use and a small boat had to do the work. Diva knew that this was not a well-practised procedure when the driver of the boat – attached by a rope to the walkway – shouted panicky instructions to the people on the walkway and as soon as the rope went taut the driver’s assistant fell over from the rebound. However, after much revving of the boat’s engine and application of its pull and push power to several strategic points on the walkway, the folding operation was completed and the Spirit of Adventure could make its way back down the fjord.

Before long, the group of waterfalls known as the Seven Sisters was reached and Captain Jason twirled the Spirit of Adventure for a while so that everyone had a good view.

The location of Andalsnes is even more spectacular than that of Gerainger, as there are more snow-capped jagged peaks in many directions. TSH and Diva enjoyed the brighter warmer weather and, after a walk around the small town, had their first outdoor lunch of the cruise on the lido deck. Salad and burger for Diva and salad and fish and chips for TSH. This was also the first occasion of coinciding with the Hurtigruten coastal voyage.

A chat with one of the waiters, who has also worked on Silversea ships, revealed the interesting fact that he thinks that the crew are treated better on Saga than on Silversea and he is trying to persuade his friends who work on Silversea to join Saga instead. 

 

Putting the record straight

 TSH and Diva consulted the family zoologist about the presumed orcas and TSH sent several pictures. She was able to contact a cetacean specialist who pronounced them to be pilot whales.

TSH was upset when he left his light sensitive specs in the Living Room but the Spirit of Adventure lost property system worked well and he reclaimed them from Reception.

They have left behind the Land of the Midnight Sun and now there is twilight from around midnight until 3:00ish. Still no actual darkness.

Diva forgot to mention that the nail salon on the Spirit of Adventure is crewed by the usual failed dental hygienist. Who not only hurt her but insisted that she should relax and feel pampered and happy throughout. She could not just leave because she was trapped in the large chair with built-in foot spa but was actually reduced to saying ‘just put some nail varnish on my toes and then I can go’. There was also an attempt to ‘upsell’ by announcing that the excellent gel polish applied to Diva’s finger-nails just before departure had grown out and needed immediate replacement. Not a good experience.

Gerainger has the best scenery and the best weather of the cruise so far. The sail-in was early in the morning but TSH and Diva are looking forward to the sail-away at 17:00.

Light and shade

 After dinner, TSH and Diva watched a large group of more than 12 whales – presumed to be orcas – swimming around the ship’s bows. The sound of their ‘blowing’ could be heard clearly.

It has been light for 24 hours for days but TSH and Diva have not seen the Midnight Sun because of the cloud cover. Until last night, when the sun shone brightly for the hours around midnight. Until the sound of the Spirit of Adventure foghorn alerted them to what Captain Jason calls ‘the f-word’.

On arrival in Bodo, the weather was sunny for the morning walk but for the rest of the day, first one part of the view and then another was obscured. The views include snow-capped jagged mountains.

TSH is making more unescorted trips to the buffet. Even when he cannot immediately find his way back to the table he is able to remember its number. Unlike the lady overheard telling a waiter that she did not know her table number but she had left her blue bag with a decoration of pink butterflies there.

Food glorious food

TSH is still recovering his strength and needs a lot of energy. So he is hurling himself at the food with gusto and sometimes still claims to be hungry. The buffets are unfamiliar in layout and the dining rooms are huge by Silversea standards but he has managed to make a few buffet trips alone – and find his way back to the correct table.

Bonus energy is provided by the Werners Originals handed out on the excursion buses by the Saga representatives.

Diva was pleased when one of the singers launched into a song by Leonard Cohen. The singer even pointed out the context - Cohen wrote it when he was 82. But it was a tactless choice for a ship full of over 50s with some people considerably older. 'I'm leaving the table. I'm out of the game'. 

Unidentified Marine Phenomena

 

The second excursion was to the North Cape – supposedly the most northern point of the European land mass. Except it is on an island and there are more northerly islands.

The bus journey to the Cape was scenic but a bit too white knuckle for Diva, as it took them up steep slopes and around hairpin bends. The weather stayed clear so that the views were spectacular and it was not too cold. The first fog bank did not occur until the early evening during the sail past the Cape, as the Spirit of Adventure prepared for its return journey south.

In the evening, a number of guests spotted what has to be recorded as Unidentified Marine Phenomena. Almost certainly not of alien origin, opinion was divided as to whether the dark shapes in the sea were whales or dolphins.

The sea is mostly calm with an occasional choppiness but TSH and Diva have not needed any Stugeron so far.

The captain of the Spirit of Adventure is less formal than captains encountered by TSH and Diva in the past. He often starts ‘Hi, this is Jason from the Bridge’. On Silversea ships, there is a very strict ‘All aboard’ time. One lunch-time Jason said ‘We plan to sail about 4:30, so it would be great if you could be back a bit before that’.

On the journey to the Cape, TSH and Diva saw a herd of reindeer and animals which were either sheep or goats.

First SAGA excursion

 

TSH and Diva went on a short excursion to see the Northern Lights Cathedral in Alta. It is a spectacular building inside and out. It was surprising to hear the cathedral guide declare that she could not explain the plaques on the wall – no-one had been able to make any sense of them. The cathedral is only around 20 years old, so someone must still remember!

The excursion was marred by the guide’s inability to provide clear instructions about when to return to the bus. So the people who understood the earliest time waited 20 minutes for the ones who understood the latest one. The early departure from the cathedral was followed by a panoramic drive through the Alta industrial estates.

TSH and Diva also saw another large pod of orcas.

Exclusive event

 

At the assembly point for the event, there was much speculation about what was to happen. Would a small boat be involved? A small boat had indeed been launched earlier and was moving around the head of the fjord and the end of the glacier. Diva declared firmly that if hard hats, life jackets or disclaimers were involved, she was returning immediately to her suite.

The event was held on the helicopter deck at the front of the ship, providing an excellent view of the glacier for almost an hour. Diva drank a glass of fizz with aqua vita and TSH ate a waffle with strawberries and cream. No danger.

Time and Technology taunt the Travellers

Diva admits that being an hour ahead of ship time on the first morning was because she misread the instructions. But she was baffled when two days later they were an hour ahead again and they entered a breakfast Dining Room empty of all but crew laying tables. And the day after that they were an hour behind official ship time.  It turned out that in the night the phones were choosing which time zones to communicate with and they were resetting the time themselves. The phones have now been instructed not to do this again.

Microsoft and Google have also introduced obstacles. By demanding passwords, refusing to recognise correct ones, switching to recovery accounts and generally delaying use of IT by many hours. At one stage, TSH’s iPad went into ‘loading’ mode for many hours and had to be reset by the wonderful Guest Services officer. Some of the issues might have been cause by timing – the Internet on the Spirit of Adventure is extremely slow, even by maritime satellite standards.

TSH and Diva have now crossed the Arctic Circle and are wearing extra layers, especially when walking around the outside deck. They have been invited to ‘an exclusive event’ to see a glacier with the ship’s officers. ‘Bring warm clothing’.

Per ardua ad astra

Diva is still making heavy weather of the logistics on the cruise. SAGA made the mistake of giving 24 hours advance notice of the change to Norwegian time, so she made the mistake of implementing it 24 hours early. So …..early breakfast. Many other people made the same mistake, so the cruise director made an official announcement notifying everybody of the correct time.

Another official announcement came into every cabin at midnight. This was related to a sick guest being winched off by helicopter. The ship grapevine said that this was to wake everybody in case of any accident and a requirement for muster stations!!

Despite the misty and drizzly weather, TSH and Diva walked a couple of laps round the outside deck. Outdoor clothes, but not too cold yet.

A pod of orcas was spotted at lunch-time – quite a number of them appearing partly out of the water.

Diva attended the astrophysics lecture (on the Solar System) given by a very skilled science communicator and NASA ambassador.

TSH and Diva had no idea that SAGA has its own archbishop – Barry Morgan – who holds regular sessions in one of the bars.

New Experiences

 

The food is very good indeed and all the crew are effective and eager to please. The suite is comparable with Silversea, although differently arranged, and there have been negotiations about allocation of storage between TSH and Diva. Reservation for the first dinner is made by Saga, so that everyone is organised for their first night. TSH and Diva were booked into the only Nepalese restaurant at sea. Excellent. The only problem was finding the right restaurant to match the booking.

Navigating the ship itself is interesting. Their suite number starts with C and the digit 5, which in hotels and Silversea ships would be an indication of which deck it is on. However, it is on Deck 9 (sometimes also known as C Deck, but not in the lifts). Cabins on the port and starboard sides have different number sequences. The analyst who came up with all this has clearly not heard of the old IT KISS advice – Keep it Simple, Stupid.

In all their cruising days, TSH and Diva have never before participated in a Magnetic Compass Swing, which is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing for 45 minutes. It is a maritime requirement which all ships are required to carry out every 2 years. (In case GPS fails?) If the Swing itself is unsuccessful, it is unclear what happens next.

A New Beginning

 

Following TSH’s stroke and loss of vision, there will be no long-haul travel, no flying and as little stress as possible from now on. So the latest cruise is on Saga’s Spirit of Adventure – pick-up from home with luggage and all voyages UK-UK.  A big venture after 670+ days with Silversea but TSH and Diva are determined people.

The pick-up and journey to Dover went well and embarkation was smooth.

They’ve been a bit subdued

All is well now but the last two days have been difficult. TSH has been unwell and has been under the care of the fantastic Silver Moon medical team. Their readings of his condition improved considerably when Diva remembered to tell them that his heart is not in the standard position.  Although they were almost sure that his symptoms were all caused by heat stroke, dehydration and the lack of food on long tours, they recommended he went for a CT scan in Santo Tomas, Guatemala. So TSH and Diva were put into a taxi accompanied by the local ship’s agent. They first arrived at a local hospital but then the driver discovered that they needed to go to a medical imaging centre.

The imaging centre people were helpful and efficient and assured TSH that they had found his brain and it is normal.

So it was back to the ship. Excursions and wine are cancelled for a few days until he is more stable. Diva will also cancel excursions but she will continue with the wine.

Encounter with an old civilisation

 TSH and Diva spent two days visiting Mayan ruins in Mexico and Belize. This was their first encounter with this culture and Diva was impressed that mathematicians were regarded as extremely important. Maybe back then she would have been a goddess?

One of the tours also involved tequila tasting, including some neat tequila. The most disgusting thing Diva has tasted in a long time,

Some guests climbed up the pyramids but TSH and Diva both decided that it was far too hot for such activity.

The food on board is as good as ever and the service is excellent – many waiters remember TSH and Diva and seem pleased to see them. Diva’s blue nail varnish and silver trainers have both been much admired by passing strangers.

Wildlife sightings: Iguanas of various sizes, a huge crocodile half out of the water, egrets, many black vultures. The guide said there were dolphins in the bay by Belize City earlier in the day but none were visible during the long transfer from the Silver Moon to the shore.    

A local dispute

 

Fortunately the Four Seasons provided a comfortable area for guests to wait before transfer to the Silver Moon. The authorities took a long time to clear the ship for embarkation, but the process was infinitely better than that at Athens in 2022.  After the third announcement about further delay, glasses of champagne were offered, but TSH and Diva waited until they had passed the health check and were safely onboard.  Because of the late boarding, the slow arrival of the various pieces of luggage and the need for the safety drill, TSH and Diva did not organise their suite before dinner. Clothes were hung up but everything else was strewn across the bed and various surfaces.

The following morning, they took advantage of a jet-lag inspired early rise to tidy the suite before breakfast. And before the disappointing news that there is a ‘local dispute’ near Chitzen Itza, the Mayan site they were due to visit. A replacement tour was hastily arranged but the spectacular site had been expected to be a highlight of the cruise.  

The day at sea was a welcome relaxation after the stresses of the last few days.

It is suggested that Meribek is onboard. She is a great heroine for TSH, as she was the concierge who found him when he was lost in China a few years ago.

Wildlife sightings: Flying fish (unverified. (Diva)) (Diva was too slow on the uptake to spot them (TSH)). A whole shoal of flying fish (seen by both). A small brown bird with bright yellow on the underside of its wings visited the ship.

Sunrise in Fort Lauderdale:

Timeless travel

 

Operating the lift in the Sofitel Heathrow was not straight-forward. Whilst it apparently responded to pressing buttons, it did not actually respond until the room card was swiped. So TSH and Diva travelled up and down the hotel several times, under the control of guests who had swiped. As a result, they exited the lift at the wrong floor and had to use the stairs.

TSH and Diva wanted to sit together on the 9 hour plus flight and had booked seats accordingly. But TSH’s seat had broken and the check-in desk informed him that he had been moved elsewhere. It took quite a bit of discussion before a satisfactory resolution was obtained. Their profile was raised to the level where, on embarking the plane, the steward said ‘We have heard about you’.  The BA crew were very helpful and the service excellent.

During the flight, Diva’s watch was adjusted to Florida time. Involving both of them – Diva’s nail do is too precious to allow her to pull out the control buttons. It was an hour or so later that she realised that the watch was not telling the correct time and the battery had fallen out of the back, To lodge somewhere in the innards of one of the aircraft seats.  Forever.

Miami airport was chaotic. Only a handful of passport booths for a queue of hundreds of non-US citizens. TSH and Diva eventually got to a booth with a very friendly border officer. Then the ‘system went down’ – apparently a frequent occurrence, resulting in a 15 minute delay. The people organising Silversea hotel transfers were muddled and unhelpful, resulting in a delay of almost an hour. Later they discovered that their driver had been waiting in the vicinity of the airport for 2 hours.  On arrival at the Four Seasons the Silversea reception desk was already closed and very little information available. But they made it to the welcome dinner – welcome in every sense.

The journey begins

 

TSH and Diva have made it to their Heathrow hotel and are surveying their complicated luggage strewn around the room which was originally tidy. Here is the pile they need tonight and here is the pile they will need in Florida. And here is the pile they need but must not go into the hand luggage because it is liquid. And the pile which must be in the hand luggage because they can’t manage without it. And the Camera.  They are looking forward to unpacking properly on the Silver Moon, Including the Fedex luggage, which is already in the port.

The hire car was supplied with half a tank of petrol and was to be handed back at Heathrow in the same state. Calculations before departure involved tank capacity, journey miles, fuel consumption, conversion from gallons to litres, a senior accountant and a maths graduate. A satisfactory answer was eventually found.  

TSH coped admirably with the controls on the hire car, despite it being 10 years newer than his own car, with a consequent increase in complex technology. He kept insisting that the display panel was intrusive and should be folded away (??) but Diva found it very useful for navigation. Finding the ‘park brake’ (not mentioned in the physical manual or the manual obtainable on the display screen) was a bit of a challenge. When Diva pressed a candidate button, the car leapt forward, to the immense surprise of TSH, who was at that point out of the car in a petrol station (see above). They guessed that it was not the brake.

The full English breakfast was a great way to start the journey.

Wildlife sightings: Alpacas (no, not Peru yet – just near their home in Cheshire). Red Kites along the M40, Pied wagtail at car return office.