My thoughts....a review of my 1st cruise

[LauraBK]

As I sit here about a month after returning from my 1st cruise, still running those experiences through my minds eye - I realize that I never wrote a review and I think I owe one after all the information and help I've gotten on this forum. First, a little bit about us: we are from the US, in our late 30's, not experienced travelers (never been outside the US). We were on voyage 4118 for 15 days from Copenhagen then along the Norwegian Coast.

My dream was to stand at the iron globe at Nordkapp. I know that may seem trivial - since it's a "tourist trap", but it meant something to me :) - I just never thought I would have traveled there on such an amazing vessel (yes I took the bridge tour and the captain made it clear that this is a VESSEL :) )

We took advantage of the "free air" offered by Silversea. I chose the exact flights I wanted and advised my travel agent. The flights worked our perfectly! We arrived in Copenhagen the day before the cruise, which unfortunately was not enough time to see everything we wanted to see, but it was wonderful all the same. On Friday, June 17th we took a cab to the Nordre Toldbod Pier and our dream began!

The moment the cab arrived at the pier, a swarm of gentlemen opened the doors, and trunk and began removing our luggage. They told us it would all be waiting for us in our room, and to move to the table and provide the staff with our ticket. After that we boarded the Whisper and were given hot towels, champagne and then directed to the 5th floor for our pictures. Finally when pictures were done, we were escorted to our room. I think it took about 5 minutes from stepping out of the cab - to being in our room. I was shocked at how efficient the whole process was.

We were in vista suite 431, which looked exactly like the pictures we have been looking at for over a year since we booked the trip. Everything was in place, a fresh orchid on the table along with chilling champagne, Bulgari toiletries in the bathroom and our stationary on the desk. Yeah....I can get used to this :). I was worried that the room would be small for 15 days, but that was not the case, there was ample room and we never felt cramped.

We left to explore the ship which we felt was very elegant and classic looking. The pool area was bigger than I expected for a ship that holds less than 400 people. The railings were shiny, mirrors polished, it was all sparkling and beautiful...and waiting for us! We ran around the ship like little kids in a candy store taking everything in. I can't say there are any surprises, it looked like the pictures. I also can't compare it to any other ship, so for my first cruise this was amazing....I wonder if this is what all the ships are like??

Our first dinner was casual and we ate in the dining room with another couple who wanted company. The food was very good, we both tried food that we normally wouldn't have - and were pleasantly surprised. We tried all of the restaurants on the ship with the exception of Le Champagne. Our favorite was La Terrazza for breakfast, the Pool Grill for lunch and the Restaurant for dinner. We ate at Hot Rocks twice and liked it, but in such a cold climate it was difficult to relax when you are so cold.

Our butler was Octavio from Nicaragua and our cabin steward was Jayesh from India - and they were wonderful. After our first formal night, we returned to our room to find balloons, chocolate mousse cake, a bottle of champagne and a card from them and the captain for our anniversary. It was a very special evening and they made it more special. We felt like every time we returned to the room we found something special...our glasses cleaned with a Silversea cloth on top, a bubble bath with rose petals one night, recipe's for desserts we liked, and our luggage cleaned the night before departure.

I have to say the staff were one of the things we liked best about this trip. I never thought it would matter to me if someone knew my name, but it did! I can't explain it - but when you walk into a room and someone whom we've never met says "good evening Mr. and Mrs....thank you for joining us" it means something. So for all of the staff that offered their arm to me in the dining room, brought us hot chocolate on the aft deck, made "Miami Vices" at the pool, brought us blankets, unrolled the towels at the pool, brought popcorn when we had "movie night" in our room, smiled when we past them and said our name even when we've never met......THANK YOU. You made this trip so special to us.

Yes - Norway was beautiful and we saw and did SO MANY AMAZING THINGS, but I expected that. I did not expect to fall in love with Silversea and the many talented people who make it all happen.

I can't imagine being on any other ship - I'm hooked! How can I go on a ship with 4000 people? I don't want to wait on line for buffets and tenders, or search for a free table in the dining room or eat with others if I don't want to.

So that's my review, well, more "my thoughts" than a review. But if there's anyone out there wondering.....GO FOR IT! You won't be sorry.

Sadly my dream for this year has ended.....but I have this to remember it - the picture I waited 39 years for.

Thanks for listening :)

[duct tape]

I am thrilled you had such a wonderful experience! Do it again, when possible. Cheers!

[meow!]

Nice to hear that you enjoyed it. That is typical of the Shadow/Whisper, we believe!

[Travelcat2]

Reading your review can make anyone smile. Really do not think that you need to try any other ship. The Whisper is about as perfect at it can get:-)

[billcrooz]

Reading your review can make anyone smile. Really do not think that you need to try any other ship. The Whisper is about as perfect at it can get:-)

Ahhh! The Whisper 90 more days and we will be on board! You captured it perfectly!

[Host Dan]

Thank you for the terrific review!

Host Dan

[alexandra cruiser]

between Seabourn,,Regent,,,which I ve been on and loved,,and SS,,would be a newbie,,but that itinerary looks the best,,have read good review so far,,so now I ve decided to GO FOR IT,,but must wait till next yr...as have 2 booked this yr.,,so far,,,love the small,luxury ships,,that are all inclusive,,,but too small not good for us,,tried SeaDream,with 150 passengers and not a good fit...this sounds JUST RIGHT>>>>:D

[wripro]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review. Reading about Silversea through your eyes mademe recall the wonder I felt the first time I boarded the Cloud in 1994. It's great to see that Silversea still had the ability to amaze.

[TLCOhio]

I have to say the staff were one of the things we liked best about this trip. I never thought it would matter to me if someone knew my name, but it did! Yes - Norway was beautiful and we saw and did SO MANY AMAZING THINGS, but I expected that. I did not expect to fall in love with Silversea and the many talented people who make it all happen.

Appreciate, Laura, your great review. It's brings back super nice memories from last July when we were on the Silver Cloud doing most of the same stops you did. I'm glad you "plugged" the great staff and the nice job they do. The hard work and dedication of the staff makes a nice difference. You mentioned where you boarded in Copenhagen for your adventure. Great, special location in a charming city.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Just back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. These postings are now at 25,312 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:
www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2011, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 47,600 views.
www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Appreciate those who have “tuned in” for these two posts. Don’t be shy and feel free to comment and/or ask any questions of interest.

[daddyo]

Laura,

We were on the Cloud in Norway last summer. The Boss took a pictuure of me and that Globe!! It was the best cruise experience we have had. The Nord Kapp was on our bucket list also. And we have Terry's pictures to prove it!!


Hope you to see you on a Silversea cruise soon.

[LauraBK]

We'll definitely be back on Silversea, we were spoiled from the start and can't go back now :). Right now we are looking at the Silver Explorer - Ushuaia to Antarctica.

We have been bitten by the travel bug and decided our goal was to get on every continent, might as well get Antarctica out of the way ;)

[dusababy]

we'll definitely be back on silversea, we were spoiled from the start and can't go back now :). Right now we are looking at the silver explorer - ushuaia to antarctica.

We have been bitten by the travel bug and decided our goal was to get on every continent, might as well get antarctica out of the way ;)


a wonderful and worthy goal.......go for it !!!:)

[ging466]

Just back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. These postings are now at 25,312 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:
www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474 (http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474)

Hi Terry

OMG...I've just had a look at your Europe photos. U really have out done yourself this time, they are sooooo magnificent. I think they are better than your Norway pics.

Well done!:)

Cheers
Jennifer

[TLCOhio]

Hi Terry. OMG...I've just had a look at your Europe photos. U really have out done yourself this time, they are sooooo magnificent. I think they are better than your Norway pics. Well done!:) Cheers Jennifer

Appreciate so much the nice and kind comments by Jennifer about my pictures from Italy, Croatian Coast, Barcelona, etc. I plead "GUILTY" as certain of the sights, buildings, etc., from these areas as super wonderful. Below are just two examples. Norway was wonderful, but this cruise hit some of the best of the best and most scenic places in the world. Like the sail-in for Venice! Some of the locations are really super excellent, but not all of the places are at that level in Norway. Both wonderful places. It also gave a chance to sample a larger ship. It was not Silversea in personal service and food quality, but it was a good value that worked well for our needs. We are considering doing a future cruise to New Zealand and Australia on the Solstice. Really want to see that great "down under" area of the world.

Lots to see and enjoy in the Med!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Just back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. These postings are now at 26,102 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:
www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474


In Dubrovnik, we started with a local cab driver who gave us a “panoramic tour”, including crossing this unique bridge near the main cruise ship docking area. Then we drove up and up through narrow twisting roads to the high point overlooking Dubrovnik and near the cable car high station. From this point, we could also see part of Bosnia and and Montenegro. The “super star” view was down below with this angle of the harbor and walled city. Beautiful!!!:

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm271/tlcohio/2DubrOverallHighViewOne.jpg


Overlooking Positano along the Amalfi Coast, this is the view as we dined, family-style for lunch, at the Elisir di Positano per La Caglioita. The views here were super and the sun came out in strong force as we enjoyed our three-course lunch with local wine and drinks.:

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm271/tlcohio/PositanoDiningViewTrees.jpg

[cmaygar]

I enjoyed reading your review! I will be enjoying my first Silversea cruise starting on August 20th. Although it's not my first cruise (HAL (3x) great experiences, RCL-good experience, MSC (never again), and Carnival (never again)) it will be my first premium cruise experience. It sounds like you had a fabulous time.

[meow!]

TLCOhio: A question on the pictures, got to ask a professional grade photographer like you. You probably use those SD-MMC cards for your pictures. The price range of those cards (even same Gb) varies a lot. Are the more expensive ones really better, or just gimmicks? Also, we find the 4Gb cards (for a 10 Mpixel camera) about right. Is there any disadvantage to overly large Gb cards? What is the shelf life of those cards, 20 or 50 years? Thank you.

[TLCOhio]

TLCOhio: A question on the pictures, got to ask a professional grade photographer like you. You probably use those SD-MMC cards for your pictures. The price range of those cards (even same Gb) varies a lot. Are the more expensive ones really better, or just gimmicks? Also, we find the 4Gb cards (for a 10 Mpixel camera) about right. Is there any disadvantage to overly large Gb cards? What is the shelf life of those cards, 20 or 50 years? Thank you.

Appreciate your excellent questions, meow!. The big downside in using too large of SD card is that you will keep shooting and shooting pictures, day after day. If there is a disk problem, data loss, camera stolen, etc., type of problem, then you are really in really bad shape. Lost, gone, nothing!!

On this past trip to Europe in June, I shot "RAW" on an 8 GB card with Nikon D3100 camera. That gave me lots and lots of pictures. BUT, I always downloaded at the end of each day to my laptop with all of those pictures taken. I then would back up my laptop with an external hard-drive that was kept in the room safe. I didn't think there would be a likely situation where my camera and/or lap-top would be stolen or lost, BUT, accidents and/or unfortunate things can or sometimes do happen. Didn't want to take those risks. Back-up are important!!!

On the SD cards, I have used a brand called SanDisk. They get good ratings and are a well-respected, established company with a long history in this field. There are many cheaper brands and types. BUT, given all that is being invested on a vacation and how affordable these SD's are now via web sources, why not have a better quality product with less downside risks? The cost difference between an off-brand and SanDisk is not that much these days. Some of the SD's are cheaper because they are slower in "writing" from what the camera sees/captures and getting it placed on the recording medium. Those cheaper ones can be slow in how they do that data transfer or hand-off. Don't assume that the most costly is best, as some SD's are much more "speedy" or large in capacity than needed for most normal uses.

The "shelf-life" of these cards might be twenty or more years. BUT, that is "shelf-life". These items are used in real life where a car could get hot, a camera dropped, water getting in or around them, etc., etc. Nobody knows how long they will really last, especially if conditions are less than ideal. Given how we've gone from 33-LP's to 8-track audio to cassettes to CD's; beta tapes to VHS to DVD, these technologies are changing fast. Real fast!!! The SD might last twenty years, but who knows what you'll be able to play it on in 2031.

Does this help some? Reactions? Sorry to be a little long, but I wanted to try to answer all of your smart questions.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Just back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. These postings are now at 26,102 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:
www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[meow!]

Thank you so much for the quick reply. It should be helpful to many people.

[KaraokeQueen]

Laura, loved the review! We did the Nordkapp in 2007. Got our globe photo and ran back to stand in line for the transport because we two Floridians were freezing!

You brought back fond memories of our cruise on Whisper back in April/May. It was our first time on Silversea and definately not our last.

[Stumblefoot]

I did not expect to fall in love with Silversea and the many talented people who make it all happen.I know exactly what you mean as I felt the exact same thing.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and bringing back wonderful memories.

[LauraBK]

We had such a fantastic time in Norway, that we just booked our next cruise on Silversea.

This time we are doing Rome to Monaco on the Silver Cloud.

Our first cruise was on the Whisper, and that seems to be a favorite (we loved it)...will we be disappointed on the Cloud? Is it really that different?

[dusababy]

We had such a fantastic time in Norway, that we just booked our next cruise on Silversea.

This time we are doing Rome to Monaco on the Silver Cloud.

Our first cruise was on the Whisper, and that seems to be a favorite (we loved it)...will we be disappointed on the Cloud? Is it really that different?

Laura, we had 9 cruises on Cloud before Whisper was launched. Both are favorites - both are Silversea ambience - but yes, different in that Cloud is a bit smaller although one never feels cramped. Both have spacious public rooms and the suites are about the same except -- be prepared -- no separate stall showers on Cloud. You'll survive that....and enjoy the extra intimacy I always feel on Cloud.
You will not be disappointed.
I'm boarding Cloud in two weeks and can hardly wait.:)

[jpalbny]

We had such a fantastic time in Norway, that we just booked our next cruise on Silversea.

This time we are doing Rome to Monaco on the Silver Cloud.

Our first cruise was on the Whisper, and that seems to be a favorite (we loved it)...will we be disappointed on the Cloud? Is it really that different?

Thanks for your great review! If service, friendly staff, and a wonderful small ship filled with (mostly) fun fellow passengers were the things you enjoyed most about the Whisper, then it's likely that you'll love the Cloud too. Have not tried Whisper, but from reading your review you've described what we love most about the Wind and the Cloud too.

We were bitten hard by the SS bug after taking PAII to Antarctica in December 2009. Just completed #5 and booked #6 onboard. SS cruising really is addictive, and the thought of going back to a megaship gives me hives. We dearly love Oceania, but have not been able to go back even there since trying SS - sigh...

[Emtbsam]

I believe that the Cloud will have refurbished bathrooms with stall showers but no tub in the near future.

[CruisinPashmina]

The change to all shower stalls is wonderful news for us! We have been looking first at the Whisper, our favorite in the fleet, the Shadow and the Spirit's itineraries before our old favorites, the Cloud and Wind because of the difficulty of climbing in and out of the deep bathtubs. Had first hip replacement at 53 and after that I have been nervous about the tubs. I think that I'm not alone in this concern..besides, walk in showers are great, regardless of minor disabilities or none at all. Thrilled about this happy change.

[ging466]

I believe that the Cloud will have refurbished bathrooms with stall showers but no tub in the near future.

Hi Victoria

This is good news. If the bathrooms r in fact changed to stall showers, I will consider the Cloud again. I really didn't like the climb into the bath tub.

Cheers
Jennifer

[Emtbsam]

I just hope my information is correct. Please double check with SS before making reservations based on this.

[Wellseasoned]

I originally posted the info on the change to shower only on the "live from the Cloud" thread last month. I was told this by the Hotel Director, Gianni Dotti, so I assume that it is correct. The change will be made at the big dry dock next spring.

[dougburns]

Sorry to hear about the bathroom mods. My bride will not like that. No bathtub no go!

[badgerdee]

What a lovely review.

Our next Silversea cruise is in exactly 100 days from today. Can. Not. Wait!

We were on the Cloud last June and didn't mind the shower being in the tub. That said, we don't have mobility issues. I can understand how some may have difficulty.

Is the Cloud the only ship which has bathtubs or do all the ships have them (albeit with a separate shower stall)? I do love taking a bath and as we dont have one at home, i was looking forward to having one in 100 days!

[DebbieH103]

Loved the review.

I also do not want just a shower.

[brimary]

We had such a fantastic time in Norway, that we just booked our next cruise on Silversea.

This time we are doing Rome to Monaco on the Silver Cloud.

Our first cruise was on the Whisper, and that seems to be a favorite (we loved it)...will we be disappointed on the Cloud? Is it really that different?
Great to read your enthusiastic review of your Whisper cruise.We have just returned from our 6 week cruise on the Cloud which included a perfect day at Nordkap.The Cloud is our favourite having tried them all apart from the Spirit but they are all excellent.You will be delighted with the Silver Cloud which manages to create a family atmosphere between Officers staff and clients.We are booked on seven more Cloud cruises next year including Monaco,hope we meet up sometime.

[rikimuk]

[I can't imagine being on any other ship - I'm hooked! How can I go on a ship with 4000 people? I don't want to wait on line for buffets and tenders, or search for a free table in the dining room or eat with others if I don't want to. [/quote]

I had to laugh when I just read your quote above as thats how I feel. I have sailed on the bigger ships and nothing tops Silversea for the service and the experience. Im spoilt for life now and cant wait till my next cruise (which is in 8 days lol).

Glad you had a lovely time. Lindsay