Just came off the Whisper...Seward to Vancouver. 18 May - 25 May.
Service- There's lots of new staff that are new to SilverSea. They are trying hard, but it may not be the SilverSea service that you are expecting. Everyone was friendly and trying their absolute best. I noticed quite a bit of onboard training going on. We had a server who was with Cunard previously...he was amazing.
Food- B+ compared to our previous sailings (Pre-covid) we found the food to be a little below our expectations. Everything was good. The best meal I had was in the main restaurant on the last evening. Everything was perfectly prepared and presented. The breakfast buffet was excellent every morning. Least enjoyable: La Dame. We found the food to be the same as the food in the main restaurant. I suspect they had run out of "the good stuff" and substituted the food. A1/4 inch thick "fillet" ? I had the exact same fois gras in the main restaurant. My souffle was a collapsed mucky mess that tasted like raw flour. Comments from another guest: They need to pay more attention to the food and less to the silly presentation. Canapes in the lounge were served at your table on a little platter. The canape bar is gone. I suspect provisioning has a bit of an effect on the quality of the food. The ship had just come from a pacific crossing from Japan. The mushrooms were super flavorful and I suspect from Japan. Likewise on the sashimi. I noticed lots of the packaged goods were from Japan as well...yogurt...water bottles etc.
Ship- The ship isn't new but is in good shape. Our balcony suite was clean and comfortable. The public areas were warm and welcoming.
Ports / Excursions- All good. I did a few kayaking / rafting excursions. One was advertised as kayaking up to the glacier through the ice...In reality we were miles away and Im not even certain we were in the same body of water as the glacier. However it was still fun with seals, eagles, and other wildlife. The rafting was a real entry level float trip. The towns we visited were surprisingly small and the local people super friendly. Being one of the first visits of the season everyone was excited and energetic.
On / Off - Boarding at Seward was painless. We had to call SS and ask where we were supposed to meet for the bus ride from anchorage to Seward. The busses departed the Egan Center in the middle of downtown. Disembarking in Vancouver was very easy. You just turn in your customs form and walk out. There was no passport check. An Uber to the airport involved walking about a block from the port to a marked area. $33 Canadian dollars to the airport.
I'd go again tomorrow.
