Silversea - when to book for best price? do they upgrade at all?

Travelling as a single using the great 'only 25%' supplement and just wondering if you book early if you have more/any chance of an upgrade at all? Also wondering if Silversea do the heavy discounting nearer to cruise sail date as with typically P and O etc.??? In other words if I want to make use of the 25% single supplement and get the best deal when is it best to book?

My understanding from my travel agent is that they do not do deep discounting close to the cruise date as that would irritate and alienate the passengers who have paid a higher fare, and diminish the caliber of the PAX.

I've rarely heard of people being upgraded unless there is problem in their cabin. Pick the category of cabin and location that you want and pay for it to guarantee it--the odds, from what I understand, of an upgrade are slim to none.

The earlier you book the better and SS does not discount like the mass market lines do. We usually book our cruises on SS at least a year in advance. If you wait you will have ever decreasing cabin availability.

If you book early, you'll probably have the lowest fare, and you'll certainly have the best choice of cabins. Silversea's fares can go up as time passes (sometimes quite a lot, on popular itineraries). Newly-increased fares might come with an onboard spending credit that wasn't offered previously; the credit may or may not make up for the fare increase, depending on how you'd use it.

Silversea has been able to maintain its brand and exclusivity, in part, by not offering upgrades and massive discounts, even during these challenging economic times. That said, their Venetian Society encourages members to register online for last-minute offers available only to repeat passengers. These can be good savings (albeit with limited cabin selection) if your schedule is flexible.

But, in general, I'd suggest booking as early as you can.

Thanks for all your replies....good to hear no discounts/upgrades....! Much appreciated...

The earlier you book the better and SS does not discount like the mass market lines do. We usually book our cruises on SS at least a year in advance. If you wait you will have ever decreasing cabin availability.

I booked our trip last July on the Cloud. I noticed there was a major price reduction last month. I called my TA and he was able to get me the reduce fare.

Bravo to you, Canyonman, for getting the lower rate! Silversea used to have an unwritten policy to adjust fares, if requested. Good to know it's still possible.

One other thought: on our last cruise, we thought we might upgrade once we boarded since we knew the ship wasn't full. We asked to upgrade and they called us the following day with the cabin location (which we didn't care for) and price. No selling of discounted suites once on board on Silversea! It was the same price as what we would have paid if we booked weeks before boarding.

I do have to respect them holding the line on pricing..they just don't discount as they most likely feel it would erode their brand.

Rarely, very rarely, prices go down. That is what happened on our Baltcs cruise. SS offered us money back or upgrade fr free since with the price decrease we had already paid the rate of the higher level. We took the higher level cabin.

I agree with all the other posters on the rarely discounting of Silversea cruises - albeit when it does happen it is very good to hear that Silversea via an agent are able to offer reductions of fares or upgrades. I will be on my 3rd & 4th Silversea sailing this October & Novemer and always used to sail with Cunard in their suites. I have not done so since sailing with Silversea as I just love the 5/6* ambience & product on board and not withstanding travelling solo the single supplements are much fairer than other mainstream lines something I applaud Silversea for as they have much smaller ships and only double suites! From my recent bookings and when to book, the reduced single supplement in my experience is usually still there even close to the time of sailing but due to demand on certain sailings. ie. my next cruise is on the Whisper from NYC to Barbados the fares have gone up and I wish I'd booked this at end of last year as I even had to go on a waitlist initially! That being said I sailed on the Spirit last November to the Caribbean and booked it in May or June and there were reduced fares at the time that also included a 25% single supplement. I think it all depends on the sailing and where it is going to and how busy the sailing might get that determines whether it is better to wait for last minute offers and take a chance on suite location or book early! If this is your first sailing on Silversea you will love it - I am hooked after only 2 cruises to date!

Kind Regards,

Richard

I couldn't believe I was reading some of these posts and it is the year 2012.

We started cruising with Silversea in 1996. All in all -- the prices were much higher back then.

Silversea along with the other luxury lines has learned to offer value for the money without diminishing too much the cruise experience in 2012 versus years ago (with exceptions such as taking away the free-flowing Moet and caviar).

That being said, some of the deals they are offering with free air and onboard credit make it so tempting that it is very difficult to stay home.

And once you are a repeater (Venetian Society member), they send e-mails called Venetian Value where they offer cruises departing 30 days or so from the e-mail at rock bottom prices.

All of the people who are saying to book a year in advance because the cruises sell out and the prices go up are not giving accurate information. Unless there is a specific itinerary and cabin location you can't live without, my opinion is that there are just far too many uncertain variables in the world economy that have driven cruise prices down across all lines, including the luxury lines.

Kind regards,

Gunther and Uta

Certainly, if people have flexible schedules or choices in terms of cabin location or itinerary, there's plenty of time to wait for what may be evolving offers. However, the poster, in a separate thread, is also evaluating Vista vs. Veranda cabins, and availability could be an issue.

We only book Vista cabins and I'd like to share that I just secured the last Vista cabin on a 2013 cruise that I very much want to experience - that category and others are now wait-listed. I also booked last summer's Mediterranean voyage very early (it already included free air) and was startled to see that we saved well over $1,000 per person when the fare went up.

If timing or itinerary aren't an issue, waiting is certainly a valid strategy for many. However, for others, booking early has advantages, and there's plenty of time to cancel with no penalty, or ask the travel agent to handle things in the event that prices go down.

Certainly, if people have flexible schedules or choices in terms of cabin location or itinerary, there's plenty of time to wait for what may be evolving offers. However, the poster, in a separate thread, is also evaluating Vista vs. Veranda cabins, and availability could be an issue.

We only book Vista cabins and I'd like to share that I just secured the last Vista cabin on a 2013 cruise that I very much want to experience - that category and others are now wait-listed. I also booked last summer's Mediterranean voyage very early (it already included free air) and was startled to see that we saved well over $1,000 per person when the fare went up.

If timing or itinerary aren't an issue, waiting is certainly a valid strategy for many. However, for others, booking early has advantages, and there's plenty of time to cancel with no penalty, or ask the travel agent to handle things in the event that prices go down.

And isn't it wonderful we have a choice.....:)

I, too, noticed that there was a considerable reduction in the price of my cruise. My agent contacted SS and I was offered an upgrade. Since I found nothing wrong with my previous selection, my tariff was adjusted. SS then changed my flight. We were to fly out of NYC on the last flight of the day the day prior to departure. Since I did not want to miss the cruise and the Olympics were an added wrinkle to timing, I had no choice.When I asked to change my flight to the prior day SS wanted $250/person more. As I was already paying $100/ person to deviate at the end of the cruise, we decided to book our own tickets. We were able to do this more reasonably ourselves. We are certainly getting a good deal. I hope the quality does not suffer.

We have experienced about 12 SS cruises and were always satisfied. Only once the prices went down after our booking and the TA was able at least to get an onboard credit. So all in all a very good experience with SS.

This year we booked a CUNARD cruise additionally because of the itinerary from Hamburg. We know it will be a different experience. But furthermore some days ago we received an email from CUNARD offering us the same cruise in the same category for a price of about one third less our price. The TA received a response from CUNARD that the utmost they can do is a $ 100 (!) OBC or we could rebook to a higher priced category meaning spending more money. That is exactly, what I do not like and will most probably make it a one time experience for us.

Thanks to all for such helpful replies - I've now booked in the confidence that there should be no last minute deals and if there are they are likely to be offered to me too! Thanks again!