Bantry Bay

In Bantry, TSH and Diva took an excursion to Gougane Barra National Park, which resembles parts of the English Lake District. The roads were very narrow with no passing places. Diva sympathised with the (female) driver of a car which met the coach and had to reverse for some way in an awkward place. Other (female) guests spent the time howling with laughter at her plight.

The driver sang ‘Danny Boy’ and ’40 Shades of Green’, which is an unlikely Johnny Cash song written when he toured in Ireland. He finished with some yodelling. 

On the tender, a US guest was heard to ask an Australian guest how long it would take to ‘see’ their country. She had ‘seen’ New Zealand in 14 days and wondered if the time would be comparable.

In the evening, TSH and Diva decided it was just warm enough for their third (and last) pizza night in (outdoor) Spaccanapoli. Excellent as ever. They were told that late every evening a huge pizza is prepared for crew members, who are all ravenous after their day’s hard work.

Dressing Down

The Silver Spirit was extended some years ago – it was cut in half and a new section inserted. TSH wondered if the leak from the ceiling in the entrance to Dolce Vita coincided with the join. Two crew members were working on a repair – the sections of pipe laid out in the corridor looked like a Lego project.

On passing a Silver Spirit management meeting where the participants all greeted him as he passed, TSH decided to interrupt properly to tell them how impressed he was with the cleaning and maintenance of the toilets in the public areas. Makes a change from people praising the butlers and the glamorous waiters!!

The dress code is now over. On an ‘Elegant Casual’ night in Atlantide, Diva saw denim jeans, T shirts, sweat shirts, many many trainers and a fleece. She wondered if people had changed into these outfits or whether they had just come in for refuelling at the end of the day. Hopefully they had washed their hands at least.

One of Diva’s gel nails came off.

3rd

On the sail away from Killybegs, TSH and Diva saw a large group of dolphins around the Silver Spirit. Perhaps not quite as spectacular as seeing orcas.

At the Venetian night on the 4^th and final leg of their cruise, TSH and Diva dropped down the league to 3^rd place. There are about 380 guests on board Silver Spirit, including 204 Venetians, which is a much lower proportion than on most voyages in the past. Dinner was with the Guest Relations Manager and the Reception Manager.

On the way into the cocktail party, Diva reassured Captain Ivo, who greeted her by name and was concerned about her welfare in the light of her failure to take a poncho and an umbrella.

In Galway, they cancelled the planned excursion and walked around the city on their own. The tender journey was a little rough at the end and they were pleased that it was driven by an experienced seaman and it was not an Officer Training Day (as has occasionally happened before).

Morning Music

Going ashore in Killybegs, there was a line-up of Captain, Hotel Director, Cruise Director etc wishing them a good day out. Captain Ivo tried hard to make Diva take a poncho or an umbrella but she insisted that her waterproof coat and hood was more than capable of dealing with Irish weather.

The excursion was to Leo’s Tavern, a pub owned by a musical family which produced Clannad and Enya. TSH and Diva enjoyed the music but refused the Irish Coffee. Caffeine and alcohol. In the morning!

Into Ireland

The crossing from Iceland to Ireland was via very rough seas, as Diva had discovered in advance. It was difficult to walk around without veering or staggering. Absolutely nothing to do with the wine. So it was a relief to all to reach the anchor point at Greencastle. This was nominally the port for Derry but after TSH and Diva had gone ashore via the tender, they discovered that the shuttle bus (which took about 45 minutes) did not connect with the tender timetable. They returned to Silver Spirit after buying plasters for TSH’s cut finger. Don’t ask.

Making a purchase was interesting. TSH and Diva know that Derry is in Northern Ireland – part of the UK – and expected to pay in UK currency. The advice in the Silversea chronicles was to use Euros. Which turned out to be correct in Greencastle itself, which is in the Republic of Ireland. Fortunately, TSH had both currencies in his wallet.

Whilst anchored, they were lucky to see three (?) dolphins just below their balcony.

When the technology started to reset, there were 23 messages from Silversea on the TV system all at once. Some relating to events from several days earlier.

For the first time in several weeks, there were a few hours of darkness.

Trouble with technology

On this leg of the cruise, TV reception has been patchy, due to ‘low elevation of the satellite’. TSH and Diva think that means they are in the middle of nowhere with low population density and it is not worthwhile to provide satellite internet. They have not been receiving the usual daily crop of on-board messages about spa treatments, restaurant reservations and future cruises, which implies that these messages are stored centrally and there is currently no connection. When they switched on the TV one mornng to a message about ‘basic mode’, they assumed it was more of the same until Diva consulted her smartphone and discovered that there were world-wide IT outages. Their butler delivered a typed copy of the Room Service Menu (usually accessed via the TV), so that if they found themselves unexpectedly hungry they would know what to ask for.

Mars in the Mist

The weather in Djupivogur was cold and misty and TSH and Diva stayed on the Silver Spirit. The Panorama lounge was only a few degrees warmer than outside and it stayed that way despite several guests (including Diva) and crew reporting the situation. They were told that it was equally cold on the Bridge. If the senior officers cannot keep themselves warm there is not much hope for anyone else.

Concerned about the North Atlantic crossing to Ireland, Diva consulted the Met Office shipping forecast. She has no experience with this information and does not really understand it but 2 large deep red rectangles right in the path of the Silver Spirit did not seem good. She considered informing Captain Ivo, just in case he was not aware of the dangers ahead but TSH advised against this, as he was sure that Captain Ivo would have his own sources. When the Captain spoke to the guests he indicated that the sea would be ‘moderate to rough’, so Diva issued Stugeron and they hoped for the best. The necklace that Diva chose for the evening was likened by one of the crew to one that was found on Titanic – not a good omen on a cruise ship!!  At the time of writing, nothing too bad has been experienced.

Here is a picture of Viking Mars – anchored quite close to Silver Spirit in Djupivogur. This is not a bad photograph, this is exactly how it was. 

Prompt Politics

In Seydisfjordur, the weather reverted to cold and damp but this did not deter TSH and Diva from taking a short walk around the town. As this is their 3^rd visit of the cruise, they are becoming quite familiar with it. Some tourists from the USA (from Silver Spirit or Viking Mars) stopped them as they walked and asked where they might find a coffee bar. It then took about a minute and a half for the Americans to express dismay with the state of US politics. They seem to be seriously considering emigrating to the UK.

Back on board Silver Spirit, Diva is experiencing the usual trouble with her suite card becoming regularly demagnetised, in spite of care to keep it away from her phone.

The crew are as attentive as ever and beginning to remember what drinks TSH and Diva have. One afternoon, they brought Diva a cup of hot water because the last time that waiter served her she had decided to supply her own tea bag (she always carries a few for variety).

They overheard a group of American women asking a waiter what beer they should drink. He suggested Budweiser, Heineken or a new one – Newcastle Brown (!!). They tried all three and seemed quite impressed with the NB.

Concerned Captain

Captain Ivo is very concerned that TSH and Diva are happy and comfortable. In Atlantide one night he asked why they were not watching the football match. Diva assured him that they were saving themselves for the victory parade but alas that was not to be. When they went ashore in Akureyri, he said that Diva would be cold. She should be wearing a jacket, despite bright sunshine and relatively warm weather. She assured him that her wool cardigan would be adequate and this turned out to be the case.

Captain Ivo occasionally announces the presence of whales around the Silver Spirit but so far TSH and Diva have failed to spot them.

The excursion was excellent – the Godfoss waterfall followed by the Botanic Gardens. All in warm weather.

Diva and the Director

On the first night of the final leg of their cruise, TSH and Diva had dinner in Atlantide. Captain Ivo and the Hotel Director were at the next table. The wine service was below standard – TSH was served with alcohol-free red when he had asked for white. The refill he requested did not appear and Diva’s glass was empty. They did not complain (except to each other) but the Portuguese Hotel Director is an observant man. Suddenly two glasses of port appeared with his compliments. Diva waved a ‘Salute’ at him before drinking hers.

When TSH goes to the La Terrazza buffet, he leaves his small blue glasses case in a prominent place on the table to act as a marker for his return. The crew have observed and remarked on this and one waiter requested a demo of the folding glasses fitting into it.

There was disappointment at finally leaving the Reykjavik area without any sight of volcanic activity.

Sociable Start

At the start of the 4^th leg, for the first time that she can remember, Diva was greeted at the lunch buffet by a newly embarked guest with whom they had sailed before - on the Silver Moon. She and TSH were greeted as old friends by other In Transit guests and they also made a new friend in the queue outside La Terrazza. This experience is already more sociable than most of the previous 3 legs.

Also in Reykjavik was Saga Spirit of Discovery, which will be taking them to the Canaries in March 2025. Even in port, the wind was so strong that the original intention to do Tai Chi on an open deck was dropped.

Some of the crew do not remember TSH and Diva and are welcoming them aboard in Silversea style. Others are very familiar with them by now. When one waiter tried to explain how things worked, a more experienced one pointed out ‘these people have spent more time on the Silversea ships than we have’.

The head sommelier, with whom they have travelled many times, has left the ship but not before she introduced her replacement, also a Serb, to them.

Westman weather woes

TSH and Diva were looking forward to the Westman Islands. They were to have sight of Surtsey, the island which was created by volcanic activity in the early 1960s and of the remains of a town destroyed by volcanic activity – ‘Pompeii of the North’. But Diva was concerned about the low mist and the high swell as they ate their minimal breakfast before the early tour departure. So she was conflicted when the Captain used the PA system to inform everybody that it was not safe to operate the tenders and the port would be missed. The Silver Spirit would spend the day at sea before arriving as scheduled in Reykjavik.

A Code Alpha (medical emergency) alert was followed by another announcement from Captain Ivo. It was necessary to reach Reykjavik as soon as possible and arrival would be in the afternoon. Eventually the arrival time was changed again to ‘after dinner’.

The rough sea was such that the serving dishes on the lunchtime buffet were placed on clingfilm, increasing the coefficient of friction and preventing sliding and spilling. TSH would have liked such an arrangement for his chair, which slid around as he ate his lunch.

Round and Round

The white-knuckle excursion on the Faroe Isles involved a long tunnel under the ocean as they crossed from one island to another. This was followed by a ride along one-track mountain roads with steep drops, especially at the hairpin bends.

They did, however go twice round the only (alleged) roundabout on the planet which is under an ocean.

On the plus side, TSH and Diva had good sight of extremely dramatic cliffs where – spoiler alert – 007 died in a recent film. The chocolate cake at the refreshment stop was very good but not quite as good as Diva’s brownies.

The Faroes appear to be more developed than Iceland, although it is unclear why. TSH and Diva even saw a supermarket!! The claim is that 90% of the income is derived from fish. Sheep-shearing was in full swing - there are more sheep, of a variety of colours, than humans.

Perfect Peaches

On the third Venetian night of the cruise, TSH and Diva again came second. On this occasion, their name was, for the first time, pronounced correctly and reference was made to their diligent use of hand sanitisers throughout the ship. They are shocked that this precaution appears to be noteworthy.

Statistics: 478 guests on board. 209 Venetians – a much lower proportion than TSH and Diva are used to.

Whilst waiting for the announcements to begin, Diva received a tap on the shoulder from Captain Ivo. He was checking that all was well with her and assuring her that the seas would be calm overnight. They were also approached by the Food and Beverage manager, who told them that grilled peaches would be available for them at any time they went to Atlantide for breakfast. And this turned out to be true. Perfectly grilled and presented as in the past. Full marks to him and the restaurant staff.

Replaced by Regent

In Seydisfjordur, TSH and Diva were expecting to dock, like last time they were here a week or so ago. Instead, they were forced to anchor and tender because Regent Seven Seas Splendour had taken the only berth. As this is such an attractive town, they went ashore for a walk in spite of the inconvenience. In the tender on the return journey to Silver Spirit, they chatted to climate change deniers from Ohio. Fortunately everybody remained civil.

In Djupivogur, they decided not to go ashore because a long tender was involved and there is very little to see in the town. Instead they admired the magnificent views from the Silver Spirit of the smooth waters of the fjord and the jagged tops of the mountains. The sky is now blue.

TSH and Diva have some On Board Credit included as part of their booking. It has to be spent on board on this cruise or lost forever. So Diva decided to treat herself to an incredibly over-priced tinted lip balm. For which the ‘boutique’ had no testers or colour charts!! She did not purchase. Her pedicure went well in spite of an attempt to persuade her to move from ‘basic’ to something more expensive – unspecified, as price lists are not readily available. The woman who did the pedicure was kind and totally unlike the brutal one on Saga.

TSH had a lunch-time dessert immediately followed by 2 scoops of chocolate ice-cream. The server asked if he needed 2 spoons for ‘sharing’. The answer was a resounding ‘no’.

Most of the crew, including the security officer, are now addressing TSH and Diva by name and the restaurants manager regularly curtseys.

Left in the Lift

In Husavik, TSH and Diva decided not to go ashore, mainly because the Silver Spirit was (unexpectedly) anchored and a tender journey was needed. The weather was initially grey and drizzly but by afternoon there was bright sunlight and magnificent views from the ship. Diva was glad that they had not booked for whale watching when she saw the small fast boats which were being used.

With less than three weeks to go until the return home, TSH and Diva are becoming very accustomed to ship life and being waited on. They are even adapting to the new menus.

On the floor of the lift there was a plate, containing just a few crumbs. Diva could only speculate as to how it came to be there. On the whole, guests and crew do not eat their meals in the lift.

Akureyri Again

On the second (watch this space!!) visit to Akureyri, TSH and Diva did a self-guided tour around the harbour and into the town centre, which was mostly open even on a Sunday morning. There was snow on the surrounding mountain tops and in the gullies. Although the weather was cold – less than 10 degrees C – their warm clothes are proving adequate.

 When dining with the Future Cruise consultant, he pointed out that TSH and Diva were the only guests who always used the sanitiser as they passed his office. Still clean!

Photoblog

Aberdeen Winter Gardens

 

Seydisfjordur

Puffin

Eggs of Merry Bay

Stone Museum

Orkney Sunset

Lennon Link

TSH and Diva did not go into Reykjavik, as the Silver Spirit was docked some way out and there was no shuttle bus. So they enjoyed a few relaxing hours onboard until the next set of guests embarked.

They spent some time looking at a point on the southern horizon where there appeared to be a plume of smoke. This is a possible sighting of the result of the currently active volcano. In the Arts Café, they chatted with the on-coming Food and Beverage Manager, who is from Birkdale, near Liverpool. He now knows about the missing grilled peaches.

TSH and Diva are now very familiar to the crew and seem to have achieved celebrity status with some. The restaurants manager delivered a sweeping curtsey as they arrived for breakfast in La Terrazza.

Guests on this new leg, like the last one, are younger than the usual Silversea guests and sometimes this feels more like an expedition cruise.

Also in port was Regent Seven Seas Splendour.

On the way out of Reykjavik, Captain Ivo, in his accented English, pointed out something connected with John Lennon. Diva heard ‘tavern’ but TSH correctly identified ‘tower’. The connection is explained here: Imagine Peace Tower - Wikipedia

In Patreksfjordur for the second time, it was sufficiently cold that, on an open deck, TSH and Diva practised Tai Chi wearing coats. Also, for the first time ever, TSH wore gloves throughout.

Eccentric English

Overheard in a museum: ‘It’s just a collection of old things’.

On the bus they overheard a heated debate about the difference between a fjord and a peninsula. Neither participant knew which was water and which was land. Both words had to be Googled for clarification. Diva has O-level Latin and had to stop herself from explaining the derivation of ‘peninsula’.

The variant of English used by the crew must be specially taught. The Cruise Directors have always said ‘at this time’ for now and ‘start your disembarkation process’ for ‘leave now’. Recently they have heard  ‘May I prepare you another coffee?’ for ‘Do you want some more?’. Waiters now ‘guide you through your dining experience’.

Transport Terror

Akureyri was the most scenic port so far, but that could be due to the effect of the unusual bright sun. They enjoyed an unescorted walk around the town and harbour.   Captain Ivo now recognises TSH and Diva. He exchanged a few pleasantries with Diva and when he met TSH he advised him to keep a watch for whales during the sail-away along the fjord.  TSH kept watch from the balcony for some time but there was only one possible whale sighting.

From Patreksfjordur, TSH and Diva went on an excursion to a bird cliff.  They had excellent close sightings of the puffins and possible sightings of seals on the rocks far below. Diva was glad she had eaten a good breakfast, as the no-choice lunch consisted of bread (fresh, excellent) and cream of mushroom soup (she does not eat cream). On return to the Silver Spirit, they had finger sandwiches in the Arts Café.

The drive along narrow unfenced roads with steep drops at the side was terrifying for Diva, especially when passing other vehicles. Fortunately the local driver was both careful and experienced. Another guest was appalled when the return journey took the same difficult route as he expected to return ‘on an Interstate’.

Overheard on board

Whilst looking at a German ‘Mein Schiff’:  Crew member ‘That is a German ship. They pay very well but if you work there you have to speak German’. Guest: ‘I should think they would have to pay more if you have to learn German. English is a much better language.’ Note that for very few crew members is English a first language.

During the escorted walk in Seydisfjordur, they were shown an archaeological dig and told about the dangers of avalanches and rock falls. Both are common and unpredictable. People asked what they should do in such an event. The answer was ‘run’ but there was no advice about in which direction.

Refreshments were served in a hotel whose plain interior seemed more like a climbers’ hut (not that Diva has ever been in a climbers’ hut). TSH collected some items which he thought were chocolate but turned out to be some kind of dried fish. No information was available about any of the food offered. The weather was cold but the heaters made it possible for burgers on deck for the second time on this cruise.