2nd itinerary change

The Silver Moon docked in Ajaccio, from where TSH and Diva could see mountains, including some snow-capped. Their morning walk took them around the town and along a sea-front promenade. This was an excellent port.

The Silver Moon was docked next to P&O Azura.

The new captain (took over in Rome) has already announced that the weather is worsening and it will not be possible to anchor and tender at Portofino. So the call will instead be to Genoa.

There is no bad weather, just unsuitable clothing. TSH and Diva had made provision for cooler and showery weather but not for the rain storm – almost hail -  which descended on them in Pisa. Diva was wet to the skin and on return to the ship had to change completely into the warmest clothes she could find. TSH had his cap and his long coat, so was better prepared for the wet and had only the cold to contend with. He kept announcing that ‘it is about to fair up’ but Diva saw no evidence of this happening.

En route to Pisa, TSH’s memory was such that he gave Diva due notice of the railway yard they were about to pass.

The Silver Moon was docked in Livorno next to Philip Green’s super yacht and another one which is on sale for £175 million. Obscene.

A change for the better

Before sailing from Monte Carlo, the captain announced that Silver Spirit would be going to Genoa in order to dock, as the swell was too great at Portofino to use tenders. Diva and TSH were pleased about this because they have visited Portofino twice already on this cruise, so they cancelled their booked tour  and instead paid their first visit to Genoa.


Genoa turned out better than expected. There were many fine buildings and the cathedral was well worth a visit. Outside the cathedral Diva and TSH talked to a member of the crew from the ship who was touring round Genoa on his bicycle.


Whilst on the shuttle bus from the ship to the city centre Diva and TSH overheard many inane comments.  One person was very confused when the guide said that Silversea had arranged for a shuttle bus to run at half hourly intervals from the ship and the city centre. 'So at 11:00 is the bus starting at the ship or at the city centre?' He had not grasped that the answer was 'both', as two buses were running – obviously he could not read the supplied timetable. Diva ended up in fits of the giggles.


TSH has been quite amused by the voice in the lift which announces  “Going Down”. Not really a cheerful message on a ship.


At lunch time, one confused passenger returned from the buffet to what he thought was his seat but was in fact on the other side of the dining room. It was of a concern to Diva that he had left his white wine behind but he solved this by getting a new full glass (the wine is included in the price paid for the cruise).  


Whilst going to the dining room, Diva and TSH encountered some people waiting for other members of their party to join them for dinner. This was at the back door to the dining room. At the proper entrance to the dinning room, there were also people there waiting for others to join them.  The same group, perhaps?

At the third visit to Livorno, TSH and Diva took an excursion to Pisa, which looked as beautiful as ever. In the cathedral, TSH was so busy spotting the place where he rescued the bat in 1995, that he tripped over the base of the column - but avoided falling. No harm done except to his pride.  They missed the final bit of the tour in order to buy tickets for the cemetery building, so that Diva could be photographed with the statue of Fibonacci which is kept there.

They were lucky to get to Pisa - a very loud noise followed by a clunking noise caused the bus to park at the side of the road. It turned out that the bracket holding the spare wheel had become loose. With the help of a passing lorry driver, the bus driver resolved the problem quite quickly.

In Pisa, as in Florence, there were vigilant police not only armed with automatic rifles but with their fingers on the triggers.

Despite the number of cancelled tenders and re-arranged ports, the sea is very smooth - on only one night so far has it been possible to feel the motion of the ship.


Diva and TSH hope that the news that someone is buying the Thomas Cook stores is good news for Thomas Cook staff.