The time again

 In Riga, TSH and Diva both walked along the riverside and into the old square but in Tallinn Diva stayed safely onboard the Silver Spirit whilst TSH went on an organised walking tour of the city. In the evening, TSH had banana foster for dessert whilst Diva - the banana fan - did not. A first. It was Formal Optional and, walking past Reception, they were greeted with 'super elegant as usual'. That will do.

The MacDonald brothers are back on the ship, impressing everybody with their energy. It is amazing how an international audience can sing and clap along with Wild Rover and Whiskey in the Jar. 

It seems that there is a new Silversea style, omitting the customary daily briefings about the location and the sea state. Certainly this captain is not very communicative, although in Gdansk he found time to chat with TSH and Diva and show them the Polish sausage he had bought ashore.  Do they not feed the captain on this ship?

Regular readers will know that Diva has struggled many times with technology and time changes. On this cruise, she has set the phones to automatically adjust to local time. Most of the time it has worked well. Sailing up the east side of the Baltic, the time is 2 hours ahead of UK time. But in the night the course of the Silver Spirit often swings to the west, returning to UK + 1 hour time. And does not revert until docking has been achieved. After the alarm should have gone off.

There are now 11 spare coat hangers.

Eating all the time

 

They missed the rainstorms in Riga by taking their walk early - some guests who went out later were thoroughly drenched. The weather in Warnemunde was grey and drizzly but this is the first unpleasant weather that TSH and Diva have encountered on this trip. Warnemunde is a pleasant coastal town with attractive riverside walks, as well as a railway but no steam locomotives.

The shower door in the suite refused to open, so Diva called the butler, who said he would send the steward  to assess it before the joiner was summoned. In case the guests are too decrepit to operate the shower door? The multi-talented steward yanked off the door seal, repositioned the door and reapplied the seal to correct the situation. Diva thanked him and asked if he would like to live with her.

The food continues to be good and they especially like the roast duck in 'East meets West'. The cookies are brilliant and every bit as good as those on Silversea. The roast beef for Sunday lunch was cut from a joint bigger than any they have ever seen before. It was mind-boggling to imagine the size of the cow it came from.  Some of the combinations can be bizarre - a breakfast muffin with creamed spinach and fried egg and another with scrambled egg and avocado soldiers.  One item on the dinner menu is 'clapshot pie'!

The day of the Griffin

 

Diva forgot to mention that in Tallinn they passed an office labelled Malware Bytes. Turns out it is a perfectly respectable cyber security company but it is not a name she would have chosen.

Riga is a lively place with many local people around the city - not just shuffling Saga pensioners this time. Lots of cafes with loud music. TSH and Diva saw a group of young men on a large cycle with beer provided. Singing loudly and having a great time (the men, not TSH and Diva).

In TSH's world, there is no crisis that cannot be solved by use of half a box of tissues. So when an unfriendly bird made a deposit on Diva's sparkly shoes, he was ready for an instant clean-up. Diva has two pairs of sparkly shoes with her. Both receive many compliments from passing guests and crew.

As usual, TSH and Diva attempted the Saga morning crossword. One of the clues 'Great venture' evaded them until they traded solutions with other guests. Turns out there was a misprint, the clue should have been 'Great vulture' and the answer was 'Griffin' - a word that Diva had thought of but could not connect to 'venture'. 

Jeosh, their butler, read their mid-cruise questionnaire and came to enquire about Diva's well-being. More than the safety officer has bothered to do so far. 

Victory

The destination lecturer is good but Diva was terrified by some of his pictures for Riga. He spoke about the regional wildlife and showed close up pictures of wolf and lynx. The Golden Oriole was pretty. 

Before dinner, TSH and Diva hosted drinks and nibbles for two friends who live near their home. Their butler - one of the best they have ever had on Saga or Silversea - set up the table, including champagne on ice.

On formal night in the Grand Dining Room, many guests were looking at their phones during the Euro 25 final match. A cheer from the first table to spot the victory spread round the room. A table near to TSH and Diva were late to the realisation of what had happened but did their own cheer some minutes later.