Final Preparations before the off

Picture courtesy and copyright of the Silversea website

Nick has been in “author” mode for a while now, so it has been my responsibility to carry out all the preparation work for this holiday. To try and reduce on the stress of trying to remember everything we need to take for a non sun/sea/sand type of holiday, in the past Nick has created a Note which we share and add to. Jobs get ticked off when they’re done and items get ticked off the list when they’re firmly packed.

As I am generally the one who books the holidays, the majority of the correspondence has come to me. Occasionally Nick is included, but there is an assumption that I read said information so we don’t have any surprises.

This is our first time with Silversea, but not our first time using an American company for a cruise. It differs somewhat from other experiences we’re had before, in so much as they are very good at communication. Well, to be more specific, they are very prolific with their communication. Since booking the cruise, I don’t think I exaggerate if I say I’ve pretty much had an email from them every other day. Everything needs checking over in case they actually tell us something important. 

It won’t surprise you to hear that I noticed the following when reading all the “important” FAQs…”Will there be Gentlemen Hosts on my cruise? Distinguished gentlemen are available as dinner companions or dance partners on select longer sailings. Voyages with Gentlemen Hosts are indicated with a bowtie icon.” Well, a girl does have to keep her options open now doesn’t she? I have to report that sadly, for Nick, there is no such equivalent for the men. 

Some fun facts regarding our ship. We are sailing on Silver Wind, one of twelve ships in the Silversea fleet. It was built in 1995, but has had a couple of upgrades and refurbishments since 2018. It is 17,400 tons and carries 274 passengers and 239 crew. We have four restaurant options and thankfully if we’re feeling particularly anti-social, can order in room service too. We have 24 Zodiacs, which means that when we get off the ship, we shall simply transfer into a smaller lifeboat sized vessel to then reach the places the big ships can’t get to. We’ll have lectures and talks about the places we’re visiting. It isn’t an adults only ship, but reading between the lines there are so many restrictions on kids that I feel it unlikely any will be on board. We have chosen a cabin in the middle of the ship on deck seven, so I’m hoping that location will be reasonably stable, though I do have my trusty bands and tablets, should the ship get too waggy for me.

Considering its small size, in cruise terms, it actually looks huge when pictured going under Tower Bridge (see above). Remember that little dot of a row boat that went under the same bridge back in May 2015?

"Barbie" about to set off for Paris by going back under Tower Bridge

I’m anticipating that Silver Wind will be a tad more luxurious than that particular boat. It’s odd to be going to Iceland and yet not visit Reykjavik. One for a future date? However, ours is a small expedition cruise and is basically going to places other ships can’t reach.

Further to yesterday’s image of chaos with clothes hither and yon, I can now proudly report that I am packed and on the button of the 20KG limit. Whether our scales match those of the airport, remains to be seen. I might be wearing one of my many layers to travel in to keep within the limits.