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Silver Muse

September - October 2023
Vancouver-Tokyo on Silversea Read more
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  • TravelerSilver Muse
    Day 1

    We’re leaving on a jet plane!

    September 4, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We wake up to spontaneous synchronized humming of “leaving on a jet plane”. It’s holiday day today and I’m looking forward to meeting holiday Royce - he’s a hoot. No pressure! We’ve checked in online, the Blacklane transfer to airport confirmed and we have the day ahead of us in anxious anticipation for our upcoming Vancouver to Japan holiday. This is our second Silversea experience (thanks Max and Ian for the recommendation) and we are so excited to share our holiday with my big brother and his partner Kay Chee. We are packed and ready to roll. Picked up by Blacklane chauffeur in a very nice Tesla with white leather seats. Off to the airport no traffic and no queues and within 15 mins we are sipping Champers in the business class lounge. Bit of a story, we are flying economy - we don’t have an endless travel budget unfortunately- but because we were bumped from business to economy on a domestic flight on my birthday trip last December very rudely, I complained and they gave us lounge passes which was a lovely way to start the holiday as Mike and Kay Chee had them too! The flight was bearable helped by exit row seats, extra legroom, my travel bag doubling as a foot stool and noise cancelling headphones. The food was fantastic - we ordered vegan meals and were served first, lots of snacks a yummy dinner and breakfast- couldn’t see any cutbacks or stinginess here! Straight through immigration with the new Arrive Canada app, picked up by a man with a sign - how fabulous and the worlds biggest SUV - all part of the cruise fare - as were the flights and being picked up at home. We booked an air BnB - 2 bed 2 bath and it’s very well appointed with a great outlook and we really enjoyed the terrace for G&T’s ( well Gin & Sicilian lemonade as the bottle shop had no tonic - another story) after dinner at Boston Pizza and the Canadian Caesar that I have been waiting 34 years for. Amazing! Not a salad. Vodka and Clamato juice 🥤. Very Canadian. I was on exchange here in 1989 as. Kindergarten teacher and it’s my first visit since then. The area is a bit seedy however we feel quite safe and it’s near the sky train station. As I sit writing this with my husbands dulcet times of deep sleep next to me it is very noisy as the air con goes through an open window - screened off but noise coming straight in. Not whinging - although I may tomorrow if I don’t sleep. A very long 4th of September that has gone for 40 hours by my girl math.Read more

  • TravelerSilver Muse
    Day 2

    Exploring Vancouver

    September 5, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    After a bit of a shaky start (for Royce Newdick) we are off on a sunshiny exploring day in Vancouver. Ferry to Granville Island, Lee’s donut tasting, clam chowder and oyster burgers followed by refreshing beers, ceasers and margaritas. Royce starting to perk up a little and we Uber to the sea bus for the trip to Lonsdale Quay to make our way up to Grouse mountain. Glorious weather! The full
    Transport excursion ✅False creek ferry, sea bus, transit bus, sky train, Uber, walking, Sky ride. 14,000 steps - what a day, what a team - Team ( TBA) subject to inspiration. Just a little bit delirious after 2 bottles of Okanagan red ( half price) and a mountain of Greek food.
    We saw grizzlies, eagles, squirrels. An amazing day!    Read more

  • TravelerSilver Muse
    Day 3

    Sea to Sky

    September 6, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    A glorious BC day and I remember why I fell in love with this place 35 years ago. We had the most beautiful day on the sea to sky tour to Whistler via Shannon falls and the gondola ride to the most amazing view of Howe Sound and the mountains.
    Exploring Whistler Village was enhanced by an impromptu pub crawl after a delicious lunch in a French brasserie. Royce had another iffy start to the day forgetting his travel sickness meds but came good after a visit to the chemist. The suspension bridge reminds me of mum’s visit while I was in exchange when she was a daredevil, jumping up and down on the Capillano bridge. We meet a cute chipmunk at the observation deck at the top of a gondola and Pedro who is a very interesting character. Spectacular views along the way home and another stop at Boston Pizza for a light dinner ( followed by a panookie - baked cookie in a pan topped with I cream and caramel topping - not so light) and we are ready for a good nights sleep before we board our cruise ship tomorrow!!!!    Read more

  • TravelerSilver Muse
    Day 4

    Onboard

    September 7, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We are onboard!!!!
    The ship is seriously beautiful. We have decided on a team name … les gastronomes ( definite influences from Francophile brother). But there are rules. You need to be seriously serious about food and wine. Watch out Royce with the Diet Coke. No pressure though. A lovely day boarding, easy process. Apart from a slight hiccup when they dragged Mike and Kay Chee into a room for interviewing! All good after a few minutes … phew. An amazing seafood lunch with tuna,prawns , sushi, salad followed by a visit to spacanopoli the pizza place just to sample some pizza and pistachio gelato. Fernando our butler is very welcoming and so is our room attendant Aaron - big welcoming hugs! Sail away in the hot tub at the back of the ship with aperol spritz and Diet Coke - seriously Royce - and the view is superb. Sailing under the lions gate bridge and watching the amazing scenery as the sun sets in Vancouver is an incredible experience. Dinner in La Terrazza convinces us that this is such good value considering the quality of the food and wine. Risotto, giant prawns, shared dessert and Italian wine is a treat! We head to panorama lounge and catch the last set of the band accompanied by chocolate martinis then to Silver Note to catch the jazz singer and pianist and then to dolce vita for the pianist who is a comedian as well. He gets to know our stories and weaves them into songs for absolute belly laughs and I nearly have an asthma attack laughing and I don’t have asthma!
    Bed and we decide to opt for room service breakfast for tomorrow’s sea day inside passage viewing. It really helps to know the ship a little - this is a sister ship to the silver Moon which we went on in April. While it took a while for us to warm up to Silversea last trip, we are having the time of our lives straight away. It has been a super fun day, all the better for sharing it with family.    Read more

  • TravelerSilver Muse
    Day 5

    Day 2 Cruising

    September 8, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    I feel like I’ve been onboard forever. I am so at home here! What a fun sea day. Up to see the sun rise over the inside passage, breakfast in our room, arts cafe for coffee, looked at the shops, observation deck for viewing, line dancing and it’s only 12pm. Lunch at La Crappza as Royce calls it, was magnificent. Seafood, sushi delicious wines, the food quality is wonderful. Hot tub time at the back of the ship watching orcas spouting in the distance. Royce to the black Jack tournament and I fall asleep in a deck chair prepared by the pool attendant. The fabulous thing about small ship cruising with silversea is there are no crowds, no fighting for a space to sit or to get a waiters attention. The service is amazing. There are 420 passengers and 411 crew so it’s a 1-1 ratio of guest to crew. We drag Mike and Kay chee to trivia and we come 3rd and Mike and Kay Chee find a perfect Pisco Sour - a drink they discovered on their Antarctica cruise. We meet the captain at a reception and head to the grill for hot rocks dinner. Salmon and prawns and it’s another wonderful meal followed by piano man in the Dolce Vita and I fulfill a lifelong dream of being an entertainer on a cruise ship when I am asked to play the tambourine to dancing queen. Cruise dreams do come true.
    We come back to our beautifully made room to find Silversea backpacks prepared by the butler for our excursion tomorrow- good lord!    Read more

  • TravelerSilver Muse
    Day 6

    Deadliest catch

    September 9, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Sunrise is gorgeous and the weather is perfect for another sunny Alaska day in Ketchikan. Wake up beverages delivered and off to La Terrazza for a sea view and eggs Benny. It’s the Bering Sea fishermen excursion on the Aleutian Ballad and it’s one of the best excursions we have ever done. Lots of sea creatures, crabs, octopus, prawns, starfish and fish. They demonstrate fishing and crabbing techniques and regale us with stories of 60 foot waves and the perils of the betting sea ( where we are heading). We eat king crab legs with butter and enjoy the experience. We spot eagles and seals and we would really recommend this shore tour to anyone heading this way. The stories the fishermen tell are a bit schmaltzy in that American kind of way but it’s entertaining and we get to hold all sorts of sea creatures.
    We all go for a walk to Creek Street via a fish cafe for chowder and dungenes crab 🦀 and discover that Ketchikan is the dead salmon capital of the world. The salmon are all dying after their swim upstream and dead fish are everywhere along with some live ones that look half dead. A seal is having the time of his life taking chunks out of the still alive fish. The circle of life!
    Back to the ship for champagne and snacks in Mike and Kay Chee’s cabin . How relaxing.
    Trivia with our group and we do ok but no points today. Royce and I head off to the Silversea passengers meet up and there were 7 of us so we had a good catch up took a photo and then dinner at Silver Note.
    Beautiful food - lobster caviar fresh tuna and lovely wine. The music is great and we love this restaurant. To the panorama lounge and holiday Royce has really arrived and we got the dance floor with a vengeance. What a fabulous day!    Read more

  • TravelerSilver Muse
    Day 7

    Sunshine and whales

    September 10, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Another glorious day in Juneau. Can’t believe the weather. Sparkly sunshiny Alaska. Breakfast at La Terrazza watching the Norwegian Sun already docked and the Celebrity Millennium follow us in to dock. Our excursion is one of the best we’ve ever done. A photographer is in charge and she is amazing. First stop whales via a workshop on how to use a smartphone. It’s a special photography vessel and there are only 10 of us.
    It’s calm and blue sky and sparkly with a thin cloud of mist at sea level. We see so many whales and we see the rare bubble feeding, hear trumpeting and whale tails. It’s a magical experience and st one stage when I spot a whale near the mist that glints silver in the sun I cry. It’s so beautiful.
    We head to the Tongras National park for a hike to Mendenhall glacier. We learn more about photo tricks along the way and look at composition and lots of fungi. It’s spectacular. I’m starting to run out of superlatives.
    To the ship for pizza and rose wine, caviar and champagne in the room and get ready for more food. Dinner at Indochine is amazing - seafood Tom yum and lobster tail and snow crab! Mike is feeling a bit under the weather but we all enjoyed the dinner and the atmosphere- it’s a beautiful restaurant. We decide to have an early night with hot chocolate and Kahlua for a night cap. A great day!    Read more

  • TravelerSilver Muse
    Day 8

    And more whales without the sunshine

    September 11, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    It’s a more typical Alaskan day today. Grey and magnificent. Very rocky last night with loud booms when waves crashed into the hull. Our excursion today is to sea seals and sea otters and we see them very quickly, it’s majestic landscape all around and we brave the upstairs viewing area and see many whales closer to the boat than yesterday.
    We head into town to get some chowder and fish and chips and it’s a quaint little town full of cruise passengers. Back to the boat for hot tub and trivia with a tiny bit of drama as Kay chee has waited for the last tender and Mike got a couple of phone calls checking whether she had returned! Dinner La Dame the French restaurant onboard tonight was amazing. So much beautiful food and wine and great service. We are full of good cheer and it’s time for bed!    Read more

  • TravelerSilver Muse
    Day 9

    Sea Daze

    September 12, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Workout at the start of the day and at the end!
    Up early to the gym with Royce and shaking the tambourine and dancing with the piano man at night! A great day at sea. We had a leisurely breakfast in Atlantide, the main dining room and then a Kodiak lecture in the Venetian lounge followed by a water colour art class and then lunch.
    We deck hopped with our books and went to afternoon tea in the arts cafe before trivia (we came 3rd). Pre dinner drinks with Mike ( recovering from a cold) and Kay Chee and then an amazing dinner at Kaiseki the teppanyaki restaurant. We have had the most incredible meals!!
    We danced the night away with the piano man and again I am a tambourine sensation. A fabulous sea day!    Read more

  • TravelerSilver Muse
    Day 10

    Kodiak moments

    September 13, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    A remote part of the world bathed in beautiful sunshine and we celebrate with a hike for a couple of hours in the forest terrified of encountering a bear. How do people live here?
    We venture into town for cod and chips in a local bar and visit museums and wildlife centres. Back to the ship for a spa and meeting new friends. Trivia and dinner at the grill followed by apres dinner cocktails and the show on panorama lounge round out a great day!Read more

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