Music Magic

The Welcome bottle of pink champagne is finished. Mostly by Diva but TSH has allowed himself the occasional glass (without incident). TSH has been assured in the past that only on initial embarkation is pink issued and after that it is replaced by ‘normal’ white champagne. Diva charmed Isaac the butler, explaining that they are embarking 4 times. And he brought another bottle of pink champagne!

But Diva cannot be on form just now, as she has missed two opportunities to give strategic guidance to the Silver Spirit management. In conversation with the head butler she failed to mention the dust on the bathroom shelf, the less than thorough vacuuming and the persistent stain on the worktop. At lunch time, the executive chef was standing outside La Terrazza – although not engaging with guests – and she did not tell him about the missing grilled peaches. Perhaps the blueberry pancakes made up for them.

Regular readers will remember that on a previous cruise Diva brought along an electric toothbrush with no brush head. This time, TSH brought a brush head but has now lost it. So he is reduced to using a manual toothbrush bought on board.

The background music throughout the ship is as dreary and old fashioned as ever. Bad covers of USA rat pack, mostly.  If Royal Caribbean are trying to attract a younger set of guests they will need to do better. It was astonishing that within an hour in Panorama lounge this morning, TSH and Diva heard both Ed Sheeran and Queen. ‘It’s a kind on magic’. They made sure to tell the bar staff how much they appreciated the change.

The sea has been calmer than anticipated and perhaps TSH and Diva did not need their precautionary Stugeron.

Diva disappointment

TSH and Diva have two rituals on transit days:

1.      They have a leisurely breakfast in Atlantide, usually including Diva’s favourite grilled peaches. Which are no longer on the menu. The CEO of Royal Caribbean will hear about this!!

2.      They like to leave the ship for a while to give the crew a chance to reset. On this occasion, they had a short walk before returning for an early lunch before the new guests arrived.

Diva had her nail gel replaced and was pleased that they had a wider range of colours available. Perhaps in response to previous comments of hers?

Their butler has been relocated to a different set of suites and they have a new one to train,

Drinking in the morning

During the night, TSH and Diva experienced the first choppy sea of this voyage. They had been warned about it by the Captain of the Silver Moon but decided to risk it without Stugeron. They were proved right.

On arrival in Malaga, TSH and Diva took an excursion which included a walk around part of the city, including a view of the Roman theatre. They went into the house where Picasso was born and then into the gallery holding many of his works. The guide explained aspects of the which they were not previously aware of. The final call – just before midday- was to a bodega for tapas and wine. Although Silversea provides complementary alcohol on demand at all hours of the day and night, TSH and Diva rarely touch a drop until at least 18:30. TSH needed to rehydrate and he drank 4 glasses of water in quick succession when he returned to the Silver Moon.

TSH has discovered that the menus of the day are all accessible via the TV, so he is now able to choose his food before entering the restaurants. He also spotted a strange beetle when he was walking around the outside deck and will try to identify it.

Silver Moon docked in Malaga close to her Royal Caribbean cousin, the Odyssey of the Seas. The latter is much bigger.

Quote of the day spotted on a guest’s t-shirt: ‘Every box of raisins is the tragic story of grapes that could have been wine.’

All change?

 

Silversea’s overlords at Royal Caribbean have decided to rebrand them. At the moment, this appears to be limited to the external appearance of the ships. The bottom section has been painted in what Diva assumed was undercoat, looks like battleship grey and is apparently meant to be silver. The logo on the funnel has changed so that it looks washed out – as if someone put white undercoat across it. There has been no official mention of this onboard – TSH and Diva asked the HR manager about it when they were chatting with her. They think it is a huge mistake.

The HR manager also described the logistics of the last 16 months. Getting as many crew as possible home - sometimes using the ships as ferries, preparing to help with evacuations from the Australian wild fires, assembling quarantined and vaccinated crew, dry runs to prepare the restaurant staff for the return of guests. The latter involved filling each restaurant in turn with non-restaurant crew such as cleaners and deck hands, who all enjoyed the new experience of being waited on.

The passengers are still trying to help out. During a lighting issue in the theatre when the lecturer could not read his notes, a passenger offered him her phone torch. It was politely refused. The lecturer – Peter Crimes – was a PhD student in the Geology department at Liverpool University when Diva, in her first job, worked on the Computer Helpdesk.

Weather misty but not too cold and the sea is very flat.

Wildlife sightings: 1 rabbit, 1 egret, 2 cormorants.

 

The handshake

Back at Monte Carlo again – this time for two days. The first day the ship was anchored in a very heavy swell. The sea conditions for going ashore by tender were much worse than other days when the captain decided against it and went to another port. Could this be because senior Silversea people based in Monte Carlo are getting on the ship for a 'special event' tonight?

This is not just a Venetian Society reunion cruise - it is also celebrating Silversea's 25th birthday. There have been special events and gifts. The haul so far is: box of toiletries (Diva's favourite), Silversea tie/scarf pins, Silversea 25th anniversary tie/scarf pins, passport holders, commemorative small plate with traditional Monaco emblem. 

Diva and TSH dined with the SVP Hotel Operations & OBR who sounds important and is based in Monte Carlo. His home town is Sutton Coldfield, which detracts from the glamour a bit. Before the dinner, Manfredi appeared and shook hands with everybody at the table. Diva vowed never to wash again. Manfredi is referred to as 'the owner' (of Silversea), although, since he sold the majority share to Royal Caribbean, this is not actually the case. 


Diva decided against going ashore on the first day – short legs and a bouncing tender make the transfer from ship to tender very difficult. TSH has longer legs and took the bumpy ride into Monte Carlo. He then walked around - past the casino but importantly not into it. The return tender was loaded with a number of boxes which rumour has it were treats for the senior Silversea staff.

On the second day, Silver Spirit was docked and TSH and Diva were able to take the local bus to the 'jardin exotique' - a very pleasant cactus garden with spectacular views across the city and harbour.

Something rotten in the state of Denmark

On the first day in Copenhagen, TSH and Diva took an excursion which had the worst guide they have encountered in a while. His English was excellent but he managed to be almost inaudible whether on or off the bus. His directions and organisation were so poor that TSH and Diva and a couple of others managed to take  wrong turning on the way back to the bus and were the last people back on board.

The destinations were excellent, however. They visited the extremely impressive  Frederiksborg Castle and walked on Hamlet's ramparts.

TSH and Diva still agree that the food on the Silver Spirit is better than ever and the presentation is superb. There are, however, two restaurants which were never their favourites and now are definitely off the list. The Silver Note (was Stars, which served a tasting menu of small plates which were much enjoyed in early 2017) now serves a complicated menu where it is not obvious how many courses to order. There is no clue in the ship literature but it turns out the food is very spicy. Diva asked for her salad without chilli but still managed to almost choke on something very hot. Her main course was served on an elaborate glass construction with black bits in the bottom (not in the actual food, which was OK).  On the last night of the first cruise, they went to Hot Rocks, where guests cook their own food on hot rocks.  So the food gets cooked on the outside and stays raw inside unless you cut it up and then you get dry shreds.  Not a great experience and not to be repeated.

A marathon walk round the city on the second day. TSH and Diva saw SCAT, the most impressive yacht they have ever seen. Google says it cost $75 million and belongs to Charles Simonyi, who was very senior in Microsoft. They also saw a seaplane, which flies a service between Danish islands and the mainland.

Silversea has been taken over by Royal Caribbean!!!!