Magnificent Mariners

 On their second visit to Newhaven (for Edinburgh0, TSH and Diva decided to go ashore for a short walk. Making the journey to Edinburgh seemed too much effort – almost 30 minutes on the tender plus 30 minutes on the shuttle bus plus waiting and connection times. They much preferred the previous arrangement when Silversea ships docked in Leith next to Royal Yacht Britannia.

Going ashore, they were greeted by a man from the local tourist organisation. TSH, who can be tactless, has specific instructions not to talk to people from the USA about their presidents in general or Donald Trump in particular. Unfortunately, Diva had not thought of banning conversation about football at a time when Scotland is out of the Euro 2024 competition and England is, at least for the moment, still in the running.

The current captain of the Silver Spirit does not speak good English and struggles with the announcements, of which he makes as few as possible. At the start of each announcement, he seems to say ‘This is your silly captain speaking from the bridge’ but he probably means ‘Silversea captain’.

Today is the International Day of the Seafarer. At lunch-time, using the public address system, the Captain spoke to express his thanks to the whole crew for their efforts in making the customer experience excellent. TSH and Diva joined in the applause requested and as a result two of the Maitre D’s came over to chat to them. It was a strange time to make such an address –  La Terrazza was almost deserted because most guests were ashore in Newhaven.

First leg finale

From Edinburgh, TSH and Diva went on an excursion to Rosslyn Chapel, whose historical significance is eclipsed by its appearance in Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. Visitors to the Chapel were typically 40,000 per year. Following the book’s publication and banning by the Pope, the visitor numbers increased to 200,000. There was money for further renovation and a smart new visitor centre. The bus driver practised his bagpipes whilst waiting for the guests to return.

In Newcastle, TSH and Diva travelled on a private (they were the only people to turn up!) shuttle bus to Tynemouth for a pleasant walk along the promenade. The first outdoor lunch was burger for TSH and BBQ chicken wrap for Diva. The weather is becoming warmer and the hope is that summer has arrived.

Diva has already had her ship card replaced once and she feared that the second was also useless. This was a false alarm and she is trying hard to keep the card away from her phone, which seems to upset it.

The first leg of the voyage will end on June 22^nd and TSH and Diva are looking forward to being two of the six people staying on for the next leg.

The wild penguins of Dundee

 After many hours sitting in the Firth of Forth outside Leith, the Silver Spirit eventually wound its way slowly to Dundee, arriving a day early. On the bonus day, TSH and Diva joined the complementary bus to Edinburgh and were able to go ahead with their planned walk around the Old Town. Dinner was their final (for this cruise) pizza in the open air in Spaccanapoli.

They visited Glamis Castle and were greeted yet again by a lone piper. It was a good tour, bur a little disappointing for Diva, who had expected to see more of the rooms connected with the Royal Family and less of the old kitchens converted into showrooms for the animal heads, bearskins and suits of armour. Not to mention the stone spiral staircases.

The penguins were brought to Dundee by Scott of the Antarctic and released into the river when the local zoo could no longer accommodate them. They moved along the river to Broughty Ferry (the upmarket part of the area) and established a successful colony. Google does not know about this event, so it was lucky that TSH and Diva had an informative local guide.

No port in a storm

 The arrival in Leith dock was scheduled for 4:30 am. In TSH’s words, there was ‘banging and crashing’ all night, so they assumed that the Silver Spirit had passed through the lock and entered the small port of Leith. Turned out the entry to the lock had failed because of high winds and swell, the lock was closed by the port authority and the ship was at anchor in the Firth. Eventually, Captain Arma decided that it would not be possible to call at Leith and hence Edinburgh on either of the two scheduled days and he was looking for an alternative. By then, TSH and Diva had got up especially early to be ready to take the first shuttle bus to Edinburgh and Diva had eaten her sightseeing breakfast of bacon rolls.

The cruise director (who invited TSH and Diva to dine with him on Venetian night) decided to organise a ‘country fair’ to entertain guests who would be experiencing an extra (maybe 2 extra) day(s) at sea. The main attraction is the towel and napkin folding (attended by 3 guests last time) and they are promised golf. There is much bunting.

TSH had experienced a personal crisis earlier when he was searching throughout the suite for his ship card – which he never loses, as that is Diva’s department. There was a card on the worktop, but that was Diva’s. The search eventually reached her handbag, where she had carefully stored his card instead of her own.

There is still no information about what is to happen next or where Silver Spirit is going. Food and service still excellent.

An unconventional distillery

 

In Dundee, TSH and Diva walked along the waterfront and into the impressive city centre, which has many grand stone buildings. In spite of it being Saturday, the centre was not busy and they wondered how long it will take for large town and city centres to recover from the Covid crisis.

TSH even managed to see a steam train passing by the ship – Tornado for those who wish to know.

Some people may be familiar with the Irish folk song about the pub with no beer. Much to TSH’s disbelief, the excursion in Edinburgh included a tour round a distillery with no whisky. The reason is that it is a new enterprise and it is not allowed to call its product whisky until it is 3 years old. So in the meantime they are selling products which are produced on the road to whisky, and gin which they can make in just a few days. The gin flavouring is sea salt (from a named coast) and beeswax (!!).  The other part of the tour was supposed to be a guided tour of Holyrood, but the ‘guided’ part was dropped, there was not much in the way of helpful signage and Diva did not want to touch the audio tour equipment. So it was all a bit unsatisfactory.

The next morning, they went on their own visit to the royal yacht Britannia, which is an excellent visitor attraction. In its days of service, the vessel had 240 crew (not sure if that included the food, drink and cleaning people) and conveyed at least 2 cars – a smart Bentley (??) and a small Land Rover type for expeditions to uninhabited parts.

The view from the ship in the port of Leith is spectacular – a full panorama including distant hills, Edinburgh Castle, Arthur’s Seat, road and rail bridges over the Forth and a Regent cruise ship in the fore-ground.

One pleasant dinner with Dr Peter Crimes and one pleasant dinner of pizza in the open air.

No TV for several days. No internet in TSH and Diva’s suite.

TSH has booked the Sainsbury delivery for the return home at the end of the month.

Information drips out

 The Silversea website is still down. There is no real official explanation but guests are told that the Tech Department are working on it. TSH has been told verbally that the system was taken down in response to a threat and that no data is compromised. An unofficial communication included the words 'It takes longer to get a system back up than to take it down'. Really? Over a week? Contingency planning should cover such an eventuality. Diva has seen an online comment that Silversea need a new Tech Department.

TSH and Diva have now been sent information about the second leg of their cruise, confirming that it is another round of Britain. Or, to quote Silversea 'an immersive experience'. Which is an unfortunate turn of phrase from a cruise company. An interesting quirk is that the itinerary down the east coast visits Edinburgh before Dundee. A mistake or a scheduling issue with the ports? Watch this space. 

TSH has had his hair cut.