Neilio
June 23rd, 2010, 07:37 AM
This is a review of the Silver Spirit Venice to Athens sailing June 5-12. First, a little background on my wife and I. This was our first Silversea experience and actually our first cruise. We are both in our 40’s and very active. We love good food and wine and we were celebrating our 5 year anniversary. We booked a Mid-Ship Veranda Suite on Deck 7. After considerable research and reviewing blogs and posts on the cruise critic we chose Silversea as we wanted a smaller ship and the Silver Spirit being brand new was very appealing.
Overall Experience:
The cruise was fabulous. From the time we embarked in Venice to the time we disembarked in Athens everything was first class. The suite itself is beautiful and very functional. We liked the TV’s in the mirrors and enjoyed having on the channel showing the live view from the ship. Some of the tips that we read about on the cruise critic came in very handy. Every evening around 6:30 pm we ordered hot and cold canapés delivered to the room and enjoyed them on the veranda. Prior to our sailing we requested 1 bottle of Sapphire Gin, one bottle of Willamette Pinot Noir and one bottle of Sonoma Chardonnay. In addition to the chilled champagne in our room all the other beverages were delivered prior to our arrival. We also asked for salt free mixed nuts. Twice during our cruise the Wine was restocked without asking. We did not really have our butler do a lot more than this. In speaking with some staff members the cruise had about 400 passengers (about 75% capacity). The mix of passengers was very nice. Probably our biggest surprise was that there were quite a few families with children on the ship. There were also quite a few younger people (ages 30’s to 40’s) than we had expected based on previous posts we had read. At the end of the sailing you receive a directory of all the passenger names and home towns. It looks as though on our sailing the mix +/- was 25% U.S. , 50% European/South African/Australian/NZ and 25% South/Latin American. All the people we spoke with and met were very nice.
Food:
We ate at each restaurant with the exception of Le Champagne. During our sailing there were 2 formal nights and the last night there was a bbq on the pool deck which was incredible. We ate dinner at La Terrazza 2 nights, Hot Rocks one night, Seishin one night, Stars one night and the Restaurant one night. As noted, the last night there was a bbq that we attended. In addition to our anniversary dinner at Seishin, the dinners at La Terrazza were just outstanding. One evening we enjoyed dinner al fresco at La Terraza which was just incredibly beautiful. The wines at all the restaurants were very good. If we did not care for what was being poured all we had to do was ask and the staff was more than happy to bring another wine for us to try. The staff and management at all the restaurants were professional and could not be nicer. For our anniversary dinner at Seishin we were surprised with a beautiful personalized cake after our dinner. This was really nice. Then when we returned to our suite we could not believe that a hot bath with rose petals was drawn, including champagne with a plate of strawberries and a box of chocolates. This was a very nice touch. For breakfast and lunch we really enjoyed sitting outside at La Terrazza. In the morning we would order juice and coffee to the room and then go to breakfast. One day we had lunch at the pool grill and that was probably the weakest meal of the cruise. The choices at La Terrazza for lunch were really great. One evening the fish special was Dover Sole at La Terrazza and it was the best we have ever had. We very much enjoyed our dinners at The Restaurant as well as Hot Rocks and Stars. The bbq the last evening was incredible. The food choices and preparation were outstanding. It was also a nice touch as the ships staff was recognized and came out around the pool while all the guests applauded. The staff works very hard and it’s important that they be recognized.
Activities:
For the most part we just relaxed and enjoyed our time on the ship. We did visit each port for a few hours each day. The weather was just incredible and it was fun walking around each port/city to explore. On a number of occasions we ran into some SS Staff and they would great us by our names. My wife participated in Yoga 4 times and really enjoyed the class. Although she hoped they would provide some more times for the classes. I enjoyed a few nights playing blackjack after dinner. We did not see any of the shows. However, we did see the show in Stars a few nights in addition to our dinner and show and that was very good. It was a woman named Alfreeda singing some jazz numbers accompanied by a piano player. We very much enjoyed the swimming pool and hot tubs on the ship. The one area where we were somewhat disappointed was there were a few small children in the pool area and the parents let them go in and out of the hot tubs. My wife and I watched as there was numerous SS staff that were aghast, but no one said anything. Also, to our dismay a baby’s soiled swimsuit was left on one of the hot tub benches one day and sat there for several hours. One evening during our dinner at Hot Rocks there were two small children screaming for several minutes until the parents intervened. This is not the type of ship/cruise for children as there are no activities and it’s ridiculous that the parents would bring children on this type of trip.
Overall:
The overall experience was excellent. The ship is beautiful and the service is first class. The food is excellent and there are many choices. We really loved this cruise and look forward to our next one.
Overall Experience:
The cruise was fabulous. From the time we embarked in Venice to the time we disembarked in Athens everything was first class. The suite itself is beautiful and very functional. We liked the TV’s in the mirrors and enjoyed having on the channel showing the live view from the ship. Some of the tips that we read about on the cruise critic came in very handy. Every evening around 6:30 pm we ordered hot and cold canapés delivered to the room and enjoyed them on the veranda. Prior to our sailing we requested 1 bottle of Sapphire Gin, one bottle of Willamette Pinot Noir and one bottle of Sonoma Chardonnay. In addition to the chilled champagne in our room all the other beverages were delivered prior to our arrival. We also asked for salt free mixed nuts. Twice during our cruise the Wine was restocked without asking. We did not really have our butler do a lot more than this. In speaking with some staff members the cruise had about 400 passengers (about 75% capacity). The mix of passengers was very nice. Probably our biggest surprise was that there were quite a few families with children on the ship. There were also quite a few younger people (ages 30’s to 40’s) than we had expected based on previous posts we had read. At the end of the sailing you receive a directory of all the passenger names and home towns. It looks as though on our sailing the mix +/- was 25% U.S. , 50% European/South African/Australian/NZ and 25% South/Latin American. All the people we spoke with and met were very nice.
Food:
We ate at each restaurant with the exception of Le Champagne. During our sailing there were 2 formal nights and the last night there was a bbq on the pool deck which was incredible. We ate dinner at La Terrazza 2 nights, Hot Rocks one night, Seishin one night, Stars one night and the Restaurant one night. As noted, the last night there was a bbq that we attended. In addition to our anniversary dinner at Seishin, the dinners at La Terrazza were just outstanding. One evening we enjoyed dinner al fresco at La Terraza which was just incredibly beautiful. The wines at all the restaurants were very good. If we did not care for what was being poured all we had to do was ask and the staff was more than happy to bring another wine for us to try. The staff and management at all the restaurants were professional and could not be nicer. For our anniversary dinner at Seishin we were surprised with a beautiful personalized cake after our dinner. This was really nice. Then when we returned to our suite we could not believe that a hot bath with rose petals was drawn, including champagne with a plate of strawberries and a box of chocolates. This was a very nice touch. For breakfast and lunch we really enjoyed sitting outside at La Terrazza. In the morning we would order juice and coffee to the room and then go to breakfast. One day we had lunch at the pool grill and that was probably the weakest meal of the cruise. The choices at La Terrazza for lunch were really great. One evening the fish special was Dover Sole at La Terrazza and it was the best we have ever had. We very much enjoyed our dinners at The Restaurant as well as Hot Rocks and Stars. The bbq the last evening was incredible. The food choices and preparation were outstanding. It was also a nice touch as the ships staff was recognized and came out around the pool while all the guests applauded. The staff works very hard and it’s important that they be recognized.
Activities:
For the most part we just relaxed and enjoyed our time on the ship. We did visit each port for a few hours each day. The weather was just incredible and it was fun walking around each port/city to explore. On a number of occasions we ran into some SS Staff and they would great us by our names. My wife participated in Yoga 4 times and really enjoyed the class. Although she hoped they would provide some more times for the classes. I enjoyed a few nights playing blackjack after dinner. We did not see any of the shows. However, we did see the show in Stars a few nights in addition to our dinner and show and that was very good. It was a woman named Alfreeda singing some jazz numbers accompanied by a piano player. We very much enjoyed the swimming pool and hot tubs on the ship. The one area where we were somewhat disappointed was there were a few small children in the pool area and the parents let them go in and out of the hot tubs. My wife and I watched as there was numerous SS staff that were aghast, but no one said anything. Also, to our dismay a baby’s soiled swimsuit was left on one of the hot tub benches one day and sat there for several hours. One evening during our dinner at Hot Rocks there were two small children screaming for several minutes until the parents intervened. This is not the type of ship/cruise for children as there are no activities and it’s ridiculous that the parents would bring children on this type of trip.
Overall:
The overall experience was excellent. The ship is beautiful and the service is first class. The food is excellent and there are many choices. We really loved this cruise and look forward to our next one.