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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
Diva and TSH decided to pre-ship most of the luggage for their 69 day cruise, using the FedEx service. This was despite the problems with sending luggage in advance in early 2022, when all of TSH's clothes were in a case that took twelve days to catch up with the ship.
It makes the journey much easier if you send as much as possible in advance but it does add some interesting issues. Firstly, if you send a lot of clothes two weeks before you leave, it reduces the clothes you have to wear at home. Then there is provision for the journey itself, with two nights in different hotels on the way to the Silver Moon. Including a gala dinner in Florida.
TSH and Diva had to deal with the very important issue of spreading clothes between all of the cases so that in the event that one (or two) were delayed there would still be clothes available for both of them. TSH took photographs of the contents of each case and the associated FedEx documentation. This might be considered more than a bit nerdy but was not as big a job as Diva thought (please don’t tell her).
TSH had one or two issues of concern regarding the FedEx service, so he sent an email to Silversea for clarification. A very welcome and helpful phone response from the Vice President of Global Guest Relations followed.
TSH kept a close eye on the progress of the bags in case emergency action was required. Before leaving the UK at Stansted airport the bags did a tour of Britain to get the hang of travelling – Newcastle upon Tyne and Derby were amongst the places visited. The suitcases entered the USA at Memphis on Christmas Day, just after the monster winter storm hit.
After seeing how many items were still needed as hold luggage, Diva decided that a larger case was required. So on Christmas Eve, TSH and Diva bought themselves a new suitcase.
All of the cases arrived in Fort Lauderdale on the 27th December despite one of the bags deciding to stay on at Memphis for twelve hours after the others had be shipped onwards. All have been signed for by the ship's agent.
TSH and Diva are much relieved.
