No entry

A few minutes before the scheduled departure from Phuket, the captain announced that the Silver Spirit was not leaving because both Myanmar and Sri Lanka have banned cruise ships for the foreseeable future because of the coronavirus. They are far more afraid of us than we are of them!!

Silversea are working on a revised itinerary, which will probably involve Penang and Kuala Lumpur.

Phuket did its best to protect itself from travellers - medics to take temperatures , masks supplied (optional - nobody used them. But TSH has 2 masks safely stored in his drawer), antibac spray squirted onto everybody's hands after every stop.

The highlight of the excursion was a temple visit - lighter than most temples TSH and Diva have seen before - where they saw many golden buddhas.

Health notes

On arrival in Singapore, scanners were pointed at foreheads to measure temperature. Diva was so tired that she did not even notice this happening. Many people were wearing face-masks.


On arrival at the Mandarin Oriental in Singapore, TSH was greeted by a masked medic who pointed a device at his head to take his temperature. Diva, who obviously looks much healthier, was waved through. Note from TSH: they were only doing one of each couple and I was in front.


The embarkation took longer than usual because there were health questionnaires and everyone had their blood oxygen saturation measured. This was done by attaching clips to a finger and the results read off a dial. TSH scored 99% and Diva 98% - both perfectly healthy and they were allowed to board.


None of the crew on the Silver Spirit are wearing face masks. Two guests were seen with them on the first day but none since.


There are increased numbers of hand sanitisers around the ship and people are using them frequently. The buffet is not self-service – waiters serve all the food. TSH and Diva are not sure how that will work at busy times.


Some people are on the ship on a last-minute half-price deal because so many people have cancelled.