Colonel Wes asked me to post his sea mail for him.

Arrived at dock at 3:20 and made it through Silversea processing in 10 minutes. Both Ida and I had Flutes of Pommery within 15 minutes. I successfully booked La Terraza for Five nites available as Ida was asked if she would like to be escorted to our suite. Naturally. We just took a quick tour of the Whisper and as Ngaire points out you could swear you're on the Navigator. Am Sipping Champagne on the balcony waiting for my turn to unpack. Ida said she would save me one drawer. This SS embarkation gets an A+ compared to Paul Gauguin and Navigators B's.....more later

Wes
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Wes, glad you and Ida are having fun. Can't wait to hear more. One drawer isn't so bad. Did she leave you 1/2 rod in the closet?

Donna,
Colonel Wes sent this reponse to your post.

Donna, that cracked me up, but seriously, she pointed to the balcony railing
and said that's yours. Wes

Colonel Wes asked me to post his sea mail below:

We're now anchored off St. Bart's--we had to flip flop ports with Antigua due
to sea conditions Friday.

First, and foremost truly enjoying the Silversea experience. You note the immediate "social" difference at the bars pre-dinner time with this all inclusive policy. We have met Ian from London, Jim and Liz from Boston. Juan from San Juan--well you get the picture.

Cabins and Stewardesses:

Veranda cabins are very nice, almost identical to the Navigator--Ida believes the closets on Navigator are slightly bigger but she likes the canted angle of the walk-in closet on SS.

Our stewardess, Korina worked on the Paul Gauguin for two years and was Jerry 's (our
favorite waiter in L'Etoiile) girlfriend--small small world.

Korina and Ilkodia are super, friendly and effecient. They replace our drinks instantly, when ida asks for more Acqua Di Palma it magically appears.

La Terrazza:

We have eaten Dinner here the last two nights and adore it. This Italian Cucina has magnificent five course italian dinners--think Portifino's on the Navigator, but as Emeryl says they have kicked it up a notch. They hand u a
glass of prosecco as u enter. As u ponder the selections the antipasti piatto appears. The next three courses are superb. I finish with Tiramisu, Ida with Cheese plate/port.

Then off to the Humidor for my nightly Macanudo and Cognac (all include naturally)..

Last night they had Pavarotti under the Stars on a large screen poolside. They covered pool loungers in weave blankets. Waiters brought you
strawberry Mumms Champagne, with chocolate (white or dark) strawberries as you laid back to the divine sound of Pavarottis--don't get any better than this.

Only negative for today was when they flipped ports--by the time we got to Antigua, I could not move my dives from Sat to Fri and went diveless yesterday.

More in a few days
Wes

Wes, Ida, and Susan, sounds wonderful. Makes us even more anxious for our cruise on the Cloud in less than a week. Sounds like they got all the bugs worked out from that 4 day cruise a few weeks ago. Glad to hear that you are having a great time.

BTW, who is the Captain and CD? Is Stefano still the Head Waiter in the Le Terraza (formerly know as the Terrace Cafe)?

Wes, sorry that you didn't get to make your dive. Hopefully you have plenty more opportunities.

Don,
Wish I was sailing and diving with Wes. Unfortunately, I am not. However, he is emailing me his sea mail from his Blackberry so I can post for him.

Oops! I should have read it closer.

Wes and Ida

So glad to hear from you and that everything is as it should be on Silversea!

Thanks so much for posting (via Susan!)

Hoping you get in all the rests of your dives (if you have more line-up.)

Kim

Wes, Thanks for reporting, and thanks, Susan, for posting his report. I'm so glad you and Ida are having a good time. Hope to hear more, from you!
Enjoy!!!!!

Betty

Here's latest from Colonel Wes:

Don, CAPT Gennaro Arma is the Capt and Armando is now M'D at La Terraza.

Our expectations on this cruise for dining, service, cabin, room service,entertainment all were exceeded and I (Ida still prefers Navigator) prefer SS over RSSC--EXCEPT this cruise has failed miserably to control the 30
children on this sailing, Children in diapers in pool, 7 year old girl dancing with SS international host at 11:30 at night in bar/lounge,misbehaved/loud children ruining the romantic dining atmosphere in La Terraza, Passengers searching for quiet place to eat in main dining room and failing.

We've let the Hotel Diretor know. He wrote me a letter w/in 24 hrs--SS is working on this--but there were kids in the lounge before dinner last night.

We may cancel November's sailing

Wes

Wes,

What a shame!! I guess that SS is unaccustomed to having that number of children on a voyage, but there is, in my mind, no excuse for not being better prepared to deal with the problems.
I hope they get a handle on things soon. Sorry about your disappointment. Keep us posted.

Betty

Here's some dive information from Colonel Wes.

Susan, just dived with Anchorage in Dominica--excellent dive and Dive op--tx for Rec. Yesterday, Grenada was poor dive (30 ft Viz) poor dive op. Would not dive Grenada again

We adore La Terraza, do think it is a
step up (ambiance, dining, service) compared to Portinfino's. Tonight, is only (CPT's farewell) time we're eating in The Restaurant (main restaurant)and tomorrow we eat in La Terraza for our fifth time--and again it is booked
solid--waitlist only if u did not book early. A couple we met earlier in the week mentioned they could not get in, so I asked the M'D if he could make our table of two Weds. Nite a table for 4 and he worked his magic.

Susan, St. Kitts good diving altho not as enjoyable as Dominica. Bird Rock hotel Dive Op good too. Viz was only about 30-40 ft, saw sting rays,lobsters, and lots of fish schools. Also, dove a tug boat wreck. Wes