Tasmania to Tokyo – Seoul – Day 58 can be found here.
Today’s Chronicles can be found here.
Sea days give us time to catch up on life’s little minutiae – and the chance to take stock of this particular trip.
While in the middle of the trip itself, it can be difficult to separate out minor-yet-amplified irritants – such as the persistent crackle in Dolce Vita’s speaker – and more systemic issues. But I think we’ve put our finger on something here.
There are too many Complainy Pants on this leg of the cruise.
Case in point – a woman in La Terrazza asks for Pellegrino, which she is brought. She refuses the beverage, saying that she asked for Pellegrino. The staff are confused. They bring her a bottle and open it in front of her. She says that isn’t it. It’s a kind of wine. Champagne? No, not champagne, nothing like champagne. A muscat with a tiny bit of fizz? No, not wine. Eventually someone brings out prosecco. “Yes! That’s what I’ve been asking for, why did it take so long for you to get it right?”
Long suffering sigh.
This isn’t to say that you can’t have a complaint. We have lots of complaints. But – we engage with the staff in good faith, we use our manners, we give credit where credit is due, and our complaints come from a place of wanting to help Silversea improve in a reasonable and measured fashion. It’s not because we have weaponized our incompetence or get off on having power over the staff.
It’s a similar energy we’re seeing from those who refuse to explore areas with foreign-language signs, or who fail to let their tour guide know that they’re heading off on their own, or who scroll TikToks at top volume in Panorama, or who scream at the port staff because there are technical issues with the gangplank.
I won’t say that this is a classic cruising problem, as the first two legs of our cruise had a much different vibe – nor will I say that expedition cruises are devoid of Complainy Pants. But there are enough here to render them a near-constant presence.
Anyway. Of the 44 days of further cruising we have planned, 37 of them are on expeditions, so hopefully they mark a return to an intrepid, all-in-this together type of cruise.
(And maybe we’re being too harsh. If you think so, leave us a comment.)
Breakfast at La Terrazza this morning. Our server insists on waiting for our drinks to arrive before taking our food orders – a bold move during one of the busiest times, but it actually only takes an extra minute or two. Silver Note has remained open during breakfast and it seems to have sped up the process immensely.
We also order our eggs Benedict with the English muffins extra toasted – and the end result is much more palatable. (Otherwise they often feel as though they have been led through a warm room, as opposed to actually toasted.)
We are going past the islands around Daeheuksando , so I break out my chonky lens (180 to 600 mm f5.6 – 6.3 with teleconverter) to take a few photos:
Very pretty. Wonder what it’s like to visit – maybe one day.
Off for some safari planning. It now looks like we will be able to return to Dulini in Sabi Sands, and we will add in a stop at Thornybush too. We looked at adding in Londolozi but they are renovating then so were unwilling to book early or to negotiate on pricing. Another time!
Lunchtime – a fantastic seafood spread at La Terrazza:
We then head back to Dolce Vita for a few rounds of Euchre. The kids pick it up quite quickly!
My wife and son head to the lecture by Jon Fleming on Kochi. Here they learn about a brief overview of Japan’s history and the usual facts and figures. They found out that Japan is made up of around 3,000 islands the Shikoku was not directly connected to the main island of Hanshu until a bridge was built in the 1980s.
We’re planning to hike the Nakatsu Gorge which the lecturer has some fantastic photos of and he informs us that the rich colour of the Niyodo River has become an actual colour – Niyodo Blue. If we have time we’re going to try to get to Kochi castle after our hike as it’s one of the very few original wooden castles left. We’re warned that there are no modern amenities like elevators so we’ll have to hoof it if we want the view from the top. Theoretically the sakura will be blooming starting the day of our arrival which could make for some fantastic shots.
Our daughter heads off to art class, where she paints and cuts out some lovely flowers. Photos to follow after the art show!
It’s then time for bingo – nothing won today, though we are rewarded with extra prize points for playing only with a single card apiece. Then on to another round of A to Z trivia – we correctly identify the term for tissue swelling (edema) and a temperature term starting with K (Kelvin), but learn that the Norwegian currency is the Krone (not the Euro) and a type of plant that has adaptations to live in a dry climate is a xerophyte (not xenobiology).
Back to the room for a pre-dinner drink – it’s remarkably calm today:
Off to the Venetian Society cocktail party:
No crew awards tonight. A handful of people are awarded free laundry, and the top cruiser has somewhere around 1,300 nights. Top five started at 500 – something to aspire toward!
We then head off to our last dinner at Silver Note.
I once more get two beef tournadoes and a lobster tail:
And follow it up with a black swan:
It’s good, but the opera cake and pavlova are better in my opinion.
We even manage to stay late enough to take in both piano and singing:
Then it’s time to call it a night. Early start tomorrow as we head off to visit the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple in Busan – our final day in Korea before we head to Japan.