is this Denmark?

In Bornholm, an island which is currently Danish but has been Swedish (no wonder that Diva does not understand the geography in this region), TSH went on an excursion which took him to a small fishing port. For the first time on this holiday, the temperature was high and he was pleased to have his Silversea water bottle.

At dinner with the Hotel Director and the Head Housekeeper, Diva remarked to the latter that she could not imagine housekeeping for 1,000 people. Bafflingly - and worryingly - the response was 'Neither can I'.

The sunsets have been dramatic, even though they mostly do not result in darkness. One evening the reflections appeared to turn the sea orange. One night, Diva looked out of the window and saw darkness for the first time for many days. 

It wasn't an official Bloody Mary day but one guest was heard to ask for one at 9:45 am. She was politely directed to the venue where such drinks are available all day. 

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.

Celtic Cool

In Belfast, TSH and Diva went into the city on the shuttle bus and had a short walk around the shopping area. In the evening, a local group of musicians and dancers entertained the US guests, whilst being vey lukewarm in their welcome to the English. Maybe times have not changed as much as everybody hoped. Dinner was taken in the outdoor (but covered and heated) pizza restaurant. The pizzas were excellent as usual but TSH and Diva had under-estimated quite how cold and windy it was and they were glad to be back indoors. Non-UK guests are divided. Some think that British summers are always like this and others are totally shocked at the cold and wet. The seas remain smooth.

Silversea IT systems are as bad as ever. TSH and Diva always check the TV in their suite for any messages about dinner reservations etc. So far, there had been none. Until 17 messages, some of them days old, all appeared at once.

TSH and Diva received a letter from the hotel Director in response to their mid-cruise questionnaire. It was both apologetic and constructive, so full marks to him for that one.

There was never any plan to go ashore in Greenock and the grey drizzly weather confirmed this as the right choice. Tai Chi ‘under the life boats’ was going well until Diva spotted a pair of dolphins. By the time TSH had prepared his camera and the dolphins had vanished, they had both lost their place in the sequence and the session was abandoned.

 

Grubby guests

Diva’s 3^rd tantrum was bigger, prolonged and entirely justified. She ran her morning bath and it was completely cold.  A phone call to Reception established that a pipe had broken and the whole ship was without hot water. TSH and Diva did their best with a cold wash-down but this is nightmare territory for clean-freak Diva. TSH had his own tantrum whilst shaving with cold water. Diva was further incensed by the usual cheery announcement from the Cruise Director with docking information and the instruction to ‘enjoy your day’. No mention of the cold water. So when she passed the Hotel Director’s office she popped in to ask about the lack of any apology. ‘The Cruise Director probably does not know’. ‘The pipe broke, caused a flood and we are working very hard’. ‘Apology comes later’. Diva’s (M.A.) linguistic analysis skills suggested that this narrative was coming from the perspective of the pipe and she pointed this out, saying that empathy with the guests would be useful. They agreed to leave it there and she stormed out. Half an hour later the Cruise Director was back on the PA system with a (lukewarm) apology. Result. TSH and Diva were shocked by many of the crew and many of the guests being unaware of the problem. Many people had not tried to access any hot  water that morning. Hot water was restored an hour or so later.

The rest of the morning  seemed more like the old normal. TSH left the suite alone to go to the top deck to take pictures and then he collected the daily puzzles from the other end of the ship and made it back safely. He then rushed around the Liverpool waterfront with his camera and Diva trailed along to keep an eye on things.

A  note from the previous night: In the bar, Diva ordered a limoncello and TSH a non-alcoholic cocktail. A different waitress brought the drinks and offered Diva the non-alcoholic one. Clearly not familiar with hard-drinking northern England women.