Good morning,
our travels continue and after the Queen Anne we have now tried a new companyfor us: Silver Sea with a cruise on board the ms Silver Spirit. Reason for this company/ship was that it made a round voyage from Southampton so we did not have to fly,
This review can be found to the right of this post under the header:
My Cruises and Reviews
Please click on it, and then go one more time to the right and you will see the name of the ship and click again.
I hope you will find it interesting and maybe diverting.
July 3, 2024 at 12:27 am
So great to see your name in my email list again.
I have decided to try another company and its small ships. That was what attracted me to HAL in the first place. Route is Pole to Pole and commences in 4 weeks. Very excited.
July 3, 2024 at 9:44 am
Thank you Capt Albert. Excellent review.
Detailed , informative and entertaining.
Outside my price range and based on my previous views, confirmed by your review, not great VFM.
Three comments on points made.
1. The captains poor English. We were on Ambassador ship”Ambition” for a short taster cruise to Dublin (Dunlaghaire) and experienced similar problems in understanding the Captains announcements as both his accent and microphone skills (fading in and out) were sadly lacking. He was Croation too as were many of the crew.They promote their line as “British” but not one officer on board was!
and I have no problem with crew nationalities but not one!!
2. Tender service at Dublin//DL, was appalling .mainly due to bad weather and when we eventually made it to the tender deck I considered it unsafe to board, and went to the reception to say so. No comment was made but 20 minutes later the tender service to shore was terminated.
3. Despite the above negative comments the cruise was very enjoyable, food more than adequate, service levels good and entertainment was superb
and the cost, albeit for an inside cabin and at a cost of around $80 per night each.
Ending on a more positive note we are back on HAL this weekend on the good ship “Oosterdam” happily in a balcony cabin and very much looking forward it
Best Regards
July 3, 2024 at 9:48 pm
Always happy to get your email!! Thank you for all the interesting information. Looking forward to reading about your next adventure.
Happy travels.
July 3, 2024 at 10:20 pm
Good to see your name again
Like your comments & philosophy
July 4, 2024 at 4:54 pm
Absolutely the best review which we read through in one sitting right to the end. A very informative, amusing, and fun. Photos are excepetionally interesting and most welcome. We do like to read your comparisons with HAL especially and your perspective based on many years as Master add a superior professional angle . Nice to see your lovely lady. May she book many more cruises for you to enjoy and review. Thanks for the great post.
August 31, 2024 at 4:23 pm
Beste kapitein Albert,
Bij toeval kwam ik op uw website terecht. Wilt u mij misschien een gunst verlenen?
Ik weet dat een collega van u, Henk Draper, ook kapitein van HAL is, of is geweest. Misschien is Henk inmiddels wel gepensioneerd . Ik wil u vragen of u Henk mijn groeten wil overbrengen.
Ik heb Henk leren kennen toen hij tweede stuurman was op RV Tyro gedurende
de tweede Snellius expeditie in de Indonesische archipel in 1984-1985.
De Snellius expeditie was een oceanografische expeditie met verschillende disciplines, zoals marine biologie, geologie fysica enz.
Ik was toentertijd werkzaam bij het NIOZ, het Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut voor Onderzoek der zee op Texel. Veel NIOZ collega’s, wetenschappers van universiteiten en Indonesische wetenschappers bedreven wetenschappelijk onderzoek. Henk was stuurman gedurende ons thema in de Banda Zee, zuid van de Molukken. Ik ben inmiddels al ruim 10 jaar gepensioneerd maar ik heb zeer goede herinneringen aan deze expeditie en aan Henk Draper.
Henk was ook radio-officier en heeft vele telexen naar het thuisfront gestuurd want satcom was nog niet aanwezig op de Tyro.
Twee jaar geleden was ik in Vancouver waar de Noordam in de haven lag.
Henk was toen net van boord. Enfin, lang verhaal kort: wilt u hem mijn groeten overbrengen want ik heb geen emailadres waar ik zelf mijn groeten naar toe kan sturen. Misschien hoor ik nog weleens iets van Henk.
Ik dank u zeer bij voorbaat!
Met vriendelijke groet,
Maarten Mulder
September 4, 2024 at 5:37 am
Goede morgen,
ik heb uw reactie, met link naar mijn website, doorgestuurd naar het laatste schip waar Henk op voer, dus hopelijk krijgt hij het, of houdt zijn collega het vast als hij met verlof is, tot hij terugkomt.
mvg
capt. Albert