Have we made a mistake in booking with Silversea?

We have been considering cruising with Silversea for some time. We are largely itinerary driven, but good food, service and comfort are also very important, and all our previous sailings have been with Azamara and Regent.

When I spotted the Silver Wind cruise in February 2014 from CapeTown to Accra it seemed to me to be the ideal opportunity to try Silversea and so we duly booked.

I have been reading the recent posts on here and find that there is a lot of dissatisfaction from Silversea regulars about declining standards (although you will find such views expressed on the CC boards of many other lines, including Regent and Azamara - which we don't feel are justified) in many areas including food, service and the need for repeated muster drills.

The question I wish to pose is, simply, have we made a mistake in booking this Silversea cruise and should we bail out (pun intended) before it is too late? Or, are standards still high enough for us to continue?

Hi Rampant Snail,

I have just done my first Silversea cruise and we had a wonderful time. The standard of food, service and entertainment were exceptional and I am sure you will have a fantastic first experience on Silversea. We will certainly be booking another cruise with them very soon.

Perhaps some of the regulars on Silversea do say that standards have declined...I am a dedicated Azamara cruiser and it has been noticeable that there have been a few reviews recently claiming the same decline in the usually wonderful Azamara experience too.....but I have to say that I think both lines provide a wonderful and unique cruise experience and the crew on both SS and AZ try very hard to make it so.

Don't cancel.....you will have a fantastic time.

Thank you Lottie. That is very reassuring, particularly coming from an Azamara cruiser!

We had over 250 nights with Radisson/Regent prior to switching to Silversea. We have not regretted it. The lines are similar regarding food, etc., but the pax mix( more international) on SS is far superior and the crew is as well. You'll have a wonderful time. Haven't been on the Wind or Cloud, but both have just been refurbed and I understand both provide a very warm and friendly environment. Staterooms are a bit smaller than the larger ships, but they are well appointed and more than adequate. To long time SS cruisers the Wind and Cloud are their favorites.

Have sailed Azamara and Silverseas but not Regent. The biggest difference between the two lines was the friendliness and level of service from the staff. Superior on Azamara but cabins and bathrooms were much nicer on Silverseas. However, if the itinerary was correct, I would willingly sail on either line.

Last cruise was on Azamara but next one is on Silverseas.

+1 Doug

Ida and I learned in our five+ decades of military service to give the new leadership (e.g., often our Commanders (Captains to 4 star Army/Air Force/Marine Generals) changed over 2-3 years) to give them at least a year before making a conclusions on their leadership style.

Therefore, as much as we also find some of the new adopted SS marketing policies since new leadership (Mrs. Bettridge et.al.,) arrived questionable from our home deck chair, will wait until we are on board a Silversea ship deck chair (Spirit in April, Cloud in July) before we form a first-hand on board experience perspective.

Will note now that many of the very, very seasoned Silversea cruisers (Duct Tape (now on board the Whisper's WC), Embtsam (sailed the Cloud Amazon voyage in November), Wellseasoned (sailed the Cloud in November after $30m refurb) and for some of the very recent first timers like Lottie A above) have enthusiastically noted the marvelous service/cuisine on board experience that Silversea is renown for--continues.

Do realize most of us are resistant to change, but Silversea under the ownership of Manfredi Lefebvre with the CEO, Enzo Visone brought Mrs. B in along recently a newsales team to tweak the marketing approach of SS. Continuing to press forward in a competitive luxury cruise line environment, changes the owners put in place over the last 12 months include, management changes (incl Mrs. B), pricing strategy changes, changes in protecting TA commissions, major refurb of the Cloud, and a new Galapagos Explorer ship. Yes, for SS in the Americas there have also been changes in marketing (gifts, surveys, shorter cruises, WC itinerary sold as one not segmented (yet)).

In short, for us--we will withhold judgment (on the Silversea cruise experience) until we sail again with Silversea.

ps..we sail both Regent (over 100 days sailed on Regent) and Silversea. Which line do we prefer? Well, we now have 65 days booked on Silversea in the next 15 months and zero days booked on Regent.

If you chose for itinerary, you've chosen a spectacular cruise.

I wanted to do Africa but was terrified of 'doing' Africa, so chickened out and did it from the safety and security of SilverSea. I think it was my favourite cruise so far (although that's a tough call.)

I was also worried about my cabin on the Wind being way too small for a long cruise (we did Capetown to Barcelona) and it was not a problem at all. The level of comfort and service was the same as on any SS ship.

With an itinerary such as yours, you'll be exposed to the best of SilverSea's clientele, the "travelers" as opposed to the "tourists." People who have led interesting lives and been to interesting places.* You'll enjoy your dinner conversation immensely as a result. And the Wind, being a smaller, more intimate, ship, combined with ports that are not large, means you'll form a bond with your fellow passengers, getting to know them more quickly than on a Med cruise, or on a larger ship.

Repeated muster drills are not a risk on your cruise.

I've only been cruising SS for 6 years and have noted a decline in the level of luxury but it has not affected the level of service from the crew. It is annoying to have the little touches which delighted us so much at the beginning be eroded away, year after year, but I have noted no drop in the level of service from the staff. And I've noted no lowering in the quality of cabin (in fact the flat screen tvs are an improvement.)

One bit of warning, should a container or two not get loaded in Capetown, not everything will be to SS standards - among the things not loaded for our cruise was champagne, our non-alcoholic wine, hyper-allergenic toiletries. The first didn't bother us, the second was a disappointment (we can't get it at home so enjoy it greatly while on SS), and the third was a huge issue (because it wasn't like I could run into a store in port and pick some up) but was solved when they finally realized how serious a problem it was for me and brought me incomplete sets (in keeping up standards, they told me they had none, when in fact, they had no complete sets.) But it took my rash and repeated requests to finally get action. (Yes, I traveled with some for before and after the cruise, but not enough for a full month since I know SS has it on board, I won't make that mistake again.)

*This distinction was explained to me by a wonderful passenger on our worst SS cruise. There were days when she salvaged the cruise for me by turning my attitude around, usually by telling an entertaining story about a traveling disaster. The focus on shorter cruises worries me because it will change the mix of passengers skewing it towards tourists. There are always a few tourists on any cruise, but they either quickly embrace the travel style of the travelers and have days and days to learn to slow down and relax, or they learn to keep to themselves. With the shorter cruises, I'm afraid the relaxed attitude will never settle down. I started my first cruise as a tourist and it took until the mid-point for me to learn to settle down and change my expectations. But I had 17 days in order to morph. I'm not sure even 10 days is enough for that to happen and I know it won't happen in 4 - 6 days; people will be rushing around trying to get 'full value' out of their vacation.

Thank you all for your responses. I am very encouraged. I particularly welcomed the comment that we would find travellers rather than tourists on our cruise. We consider ourselves travellers, having roamed extensively in South America, India and South-East Asia in recent years. We are now looking at sub-Saharan Africa, starting with our forthcoming visit to Tanzania in September and chose this cruise as a taster for the west coast of Africa.

I don't think you can ever make a "mistake" sailng with Silversea. It's a true luxury line and with that itinerary you wil surely have a great time. Is it perfect? No. But no cruise line is. And remember that the majority of people on your cruise will have never heard of Cruise Critic and are probably better off for it. They just board and enjoy!

For 10 years and over 200 days, I have enjoyed the Silversea experience. My most recent voyage was on the Spirit Dec 2012 . It absolutely met my Silversea expectations. I can relate and I agree to all the comments thus far on this thread. Changes have occurred but Silversea at the present time is still my choice. Looking forward to my 2013 voyages.

We, and another couple, all of us SS regulars will be joining you on this cruise. My guess is that the passengers taking this particular itinerary will be even more experienced travelers than is usual...and that's saying a lot! You'll have a wonderful time.

Sure, there have been changes, especially, recently, after Ms. Bettridge arrived, but after 15 years of cruising with SS we put up with the "economies" because the on board crew remains spectacular, the ships are kept in fine shape, and the fellow shipmates are, for the most part, not whiners. They are curious, friendly and fun. Usually the whiners are isolated pretty quickly.

We'll look forward to meeting you!

Your itinerary sounds like a wonderful adventure, RampantSnail, and Canadian Kate makes an excellent point: your fellow travellers on this voyage should be interesting people you'll want to spend time with. Regardless of changes that may be taking place on Silversea, we've always, always found the service to be exceptional and polished, with a warm, friendly staff ready and happy to take care of you. Don't hesitate to ask for anything at all, whether a different pillow choice or lobster at dinner (just give them a day's notice for this one!).

The Wind and her sister ship the Cloud were always our favorites, for their wonderful feeling of intimacy, like being on someone's private yacht. (We didn't feel this as much on Silversea's larger ships.) The cabins are so beautifully designed that we never found anything we thought needed improving. Yes, the Wind's cabins are a tad smaller than their larger ships (mainly due to those ships' larger bathrooms), but you'll still have a luxurious feeling of space.. and probably more storage than you'll need!

The only way to know if a cruise line suits you is to try it. If the dates work for you and you're excited about the itinerary - and CruisinPashmina is onboard, to boot! - please go ahead with your plans. And we'd all love to read your Member Review when you return!

Hi TheRampantSnail

I'm on that voyage also but going all the way through to Las Palmas.

On another thread, I said I may cancel this voyage but now I know that u and CruisinPashmina are on board....I ain't cancelling:)

Africa, for me, has been too scary as I travel on my own. Like CanadianKate says, doing it from a SS ship is a safe & secure option.

Hey, now I'm really excited about going.:D:D

Cheers

Jennifer

No mistakes, you will enjoy your SS adventure. Have been on both Azamara and SS, both have their own Pros and Cons. Was taken a bit back by your comment on being "terrified" by S/Africa. Just got back from the Jan 5th cruise on the Wind from Capetown/Capetown, was one of the best cruises of our lives. S/Africa was beautiful. after the cruise did a 11 day extended day trip, which included a 4 day Safari trip, will never ever forget S/Africa. Suggest everyone put this Cruise on your bucket list and please extend your trip as well. Africa will not disappoint you.

No mistakes, you will enjoy your SS adventure. Have been on both Azamara and SS, both have their own Pros and Cons. Was taken a bit back by your comment on being "terrified" by S/Africa. Just got back from the Jan 5th cruise on the Wind from Capetown/Capetown, was one of the best cruises of our lives. S/Africa was beautiful. after the cruise did a 11 day extended day trip, which included a 4 day Safari trip, will never ever forget S/Africa. Suggest everyone put this Cruise on your bucket list and please extend your trip as well. Africa will not disappoint you.

Strongly agree with your post. South Africa is one of our three top places in the world. Absolutely no reason to fear this wonderful place:-)

Strongly agree with your post. South Africa is one of our three top places in the world. Absolutely no reason to fear this wonderful place:-)

+1

Absolutely loved South Africa. We did a safari at a private reserve near Kruger before our CPT-CPT cruise 2 years ago, and spent a few days in CPT afterwards. We rented a car and drove all over the Cape, and to the winelands near Stellenbosch. The landscape is gorgeous, the people warm and friendly, and we'd go back every month if it wasn't a 15+ hour flight...

That being said, there are certainly places in SA where you shouldn't wander around on your own - but that could be said about many other destinations as well. Other places in Western Africa would be less familiar to us, and we'd probably prefer seeing that region via cruise ship as well, rather than going out on our own.

To answer OP's question - doubtful, unless you have unrealistic expectations. While SS may not be what it used to be, neither are we... It is very hard to compete with idealized memories of how great your first few cruises were. The present always comes up short compared to the "good old days," but SS is still for us a luxurious experience, and one that we'll keep going back to unless something drastically changes.

Great insight and great post Colonel. Always enjoy your insight. FDNY is semi military and the best commanders always did as you have written.

thanks FDNYcruiser and thanks for your service. along the lines of our waiting to hear from SS cruisers experiencing the on board SS product..pls see:

Old Today, 04:05 PM

jtm1 jtm1 is offline

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Join Date: Jul 2006

Location: Park Ridge, IL

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Default And Now We're Home

All good things must end and our cruise was no exception. In reflecting on Silver Spirit and our time on board we realize that this was truly an excellent experience, the best of our five cruises on Silversea vessels. Even disembarkation in Los Angeles was smooth.

For all who wonder: YES, SILVERSEA IS WORTH EVERY PENNY.

Keep cruising.

Jim

We have cruised with silversea for the past 7 years and unfortunatly we have to end that relationship for a while and give Seabourne a try. We cruised over the holdiays from Singapore to Sydney and we have noticed that things had been slowly going down hill esp. for the last few years but now they have eliminated the passenger directory with some story an=bout someone having and affai, taking their mistriss on board and then leaving the directory where their wife could find it and so the cruise line is afraid of future lawsuits! how rediculous! What else...the excursions were not good; no they were actually bad! Poorly planned etc. The food was a bit better than before. The cabins are tired. No invites to sit with any of the officers. And here is the way that Silversea rewards their best clients....when i complained about this and several othter problems to their head office they offered nothing!

So the lost us and our friends for a while. We will see how Seabourne does.

Save your money. I will post something like this as a review.

We have cruised with silversea for the past 7 years and unfortunatly we have to end that relationship for a while and give Seabourne a try. We cruised over the holdiays from Singapore to Sydney and we have noticed that things had been slowly going down hill esp. for the last few years but now they have eliminated the passenger directory with some story an=bout someone having and affai, taking their mistriss on board and then leaving the directory where their wife could find it and so the cruise line is afraid of future lawsuits! how rediculous! What else...the excursions were not good; no they were actually bad! Poorly planned etc. The food was a bit better than before. The cabins are tired. No invites to sit with any of the officers. And here is the way that Silversea rewards their best clients....when i complained about this and several othter problems to their head office they offered nothing!

So the lost us and our friends for a while. We will see how Seabourne does.

Save your money. I will post something like this as a review.

Welcome to CruiseCritic DallasMaui.

Regarding the passenger list, I believe I read on a different thread that Silversea are trialing a new method of having these lists available without infringing on anyone's privacy.

You don't say which ship you sailed on. Which one?

As for dining with officers...we all have our preferences (mine is to not dine with them) but I'd be hard-pressed to "ding" Silversea for not getting such an invite. On the flip side, I'm glad you enjoyed the food.

I look forward to your review and I hope you'll include what type/amount of compensation you were looking for.

We have cruised with silversea for the past 7 years and unfortunatly we have to end that relationship for a while and give Seabourne a try. We cruised over the holdiays from Singapore to Sydney and we have noticed that things had been slowly going down hill esp. for the last few years but now they have eliminated the passenger directory with some story an=bout someone having and affai, taking their mistriss on board and then leaving the directory where their wife could find it and so the cruise line is afraid of future lawsuits! how rediculous! What else...the excursions were not good; no they were actually bad! Poorly planned etc. The food was a bit better than before. The cabins are tired. No invites to sit with any of the officers. And here is the way that Silversea rewards their best clients....when i complained about this and several othter problems to their head office they offered nothing!

So the lost us and our friends for a while. We will see how Seabourne does.

Save your money. I will post something like this as a review.

I have to agree with you Dallas about trying another line. Having just gotten off the Shadow from Auckland to Sydney, I can positively say that it was the worst food we have ever had on any of our 25 sailings with various lines, including Silversea. The fruit and vegetables were exceptionally poor and the meats were very "iffy". Sometimes we had a good steak and the Dover sole was fine, but many other entrees were horrid. We dreaded going for dinner many nights because the service was sooo slooow (not leasurely) and the food was so bad. It really ruined what was a wonderful itinerary. My advise: cancel and get your money back even if you have to pay a penalty! That's what I would have done if someone had really warned us.

We have recently disembarked Silver Cloud after a superb Baltic Cruise. Whilst it is difficult to answer your concerns specifically as we all have differing viewpoints on Service/Hardware I will try to be helpful. The Cloud is now approaching 20 years old and will therefore not be as smart/glitzy as the new ships - however for some this is its particular charm. From our perspective, following the recent Refit, she continues to be a very comfortable ship. The Crew are magnificent and truly want to make ones holiday a success. We found the Food and Wine to be excellent and overall Service levels were, in our opinion, very good in all Departments.

The latest news regarding the failure of The Silver Shadow to meet CDC Inspection requirements is indeed shocking. However, as with any Hotel/Restaurant throughout the world, the Customer rarely has an idea of what happens behind the scenes. We can only comment on what we have seen.

We would have no hesitation in travelling on Silver Cloud again.

I hope this provides some measure of comfort but ultimately one has to be happy at the start of a trip or the result will probably not meet expectations.

Agree wholeheartedly....hope to meet up again soon we have 75 days booked on the Cloud in the next 12 months.

Brimary - Greetings to you both. We are off to the Wind in 2 weeks to meet up with The Bowens from Chicago ( longstanding Venetians who you may know ? ). We have 6 Cruises booked on Wind for 2014 but due to one of those common ' Shoreside Office ' Group Issues, we may transfer 2 to the Cloud - hope to meet up with you again soon - happy Cruising.

Not another Group issue! How do you find out there is a group on board? Best wishes to you both happy cruising.