First Time on the Spirit

Boarded yesterday in Venice on a 10-day to Istanbul. Check-in and boarding at 12:00 noon was easy and painless. Cabin is quiet, roomy enough with plenty of storage. Lorenzo is our butler but showed up on the scene too late to unpack. He seems very nice and has already shined DH's shoes! Bathroom is also big enough but we miss the double sinks from Whisper. Food seems okay so far with quite a selection on the buffer in La Terrazza for lunch and breakfast. Dinner was just okay with the service being a bit choppy with forgotten requests and overall slowness. All staff seems very friendly.

Unfortunately we missed the CC Meet and Mingle. It was just at an odd time and difficult to fit in on the first day.

Sail away in Venice at night was wonderful.

Most negative observations have to do with the ship. The gym is really small and crowded and I was surprised that it was not significantly bigger than the gym on Whisper. There is no bathroom anywhere near the Observation Lounge and it just seems odd that the walkway from the outdoor area of Promenade Lounge leads right through the dance floor! The card room is extremely small without any windows at all. There was exactly one set of playing cards with bidding boxes for bridge apparently locked up. Not conducive to an impromptu game.

I will try to add more observations as the cruise continues.

Welcome aboard! Duct tape, RosePark and grandma of 3 missed you last evening. We had a nice intro with tasty nibbles. The Spirit is different from the other ships. It takes some adjustment, I agree. Lorenzo The Magnificent is a good one to have. Enjoy your trip. See you around the ship. I am going to start another thread.

If it's the same Lorenzo we had, he also showed up too late to unpack for us.

Most negative observations have to do with the ship. I will try to add more observations as the cruise continues.

Oh yes, please do remind us of why this is the chosen favorite of so few. I need a reminder before boarding for the second time.

Bon voyage. It does have a few good points, but not many. Is Seishen still open for lunch?

Seishen is still open for lunch - sushi only. But when the waiter told us it is the same sushi and sashimi served on the buffet in La Terrazza we went there for the nice assortment.

If it's the same Lorenzo we had, he also showed up too late to unpack for us.

I do not know Lorenzo, but I think it is unfair to pile on him for not unpacking. I think that the unpacking noise made by Silversea is bogus.

Let's forget for a moment that a butler needs some downtime on embarkation day. S/he has probably been serving breakfast since ~6 am and working on preparing rooms for new guests. By 2 or 3 pm, when guests are occupying suites, s/he may be resting.

Let's also say that the butler has 10 suites to service. I think it may be slightly more. Let's also say that it takes 30 minutes to unpack each guest. That would be five hours if every guest wanted unpacking. If the butler began at 3 pm and took no break, it would be until 8 pm before all guests in ten suites would be unpacked. That would be "too late" for many guests.

I think it is really unfair to the butlers to have SS "promise" unpacking by butlers.

Observer,

I made an observation, personally, I wouldn't call it piling on.

Regardless, if you have an issue with butlers having to provide unpacking, or any other advertised service, you should take it up with Silversea management, not with the people who only expect to receive what they were told to expect.

Mark

Observer,

 

I made an observation, personally, I wouldn't call it piling on.

 

Regardless, if you have an issue with butlers having to provide unpacking, or any other advertised service, you should take it up with Silversea management, not with the people who only expect to receive what they were told to expect.

 

Mark

I take your point. I did not mean to attack you. :)

I think this is another instance of Silversea's promising more than it can deliver.

I think it is humanly impossible for butlers to unpack for more than a very few people (esp. if they are dealing with other suites, etc.) Why do they advertise this service? Similarly, their website announces: "All-Inclusive, Nothing Extra." Not true. There are lots of extras for which there are surcharges.

I have tried to raise such issues with SS management, who do not respond. So I am "taking it up" by radically reducing my (previously very frequent/heavy) use of this line. There is world elsewhere.

This issue of what is really "buttling" and what is not in the silversea parlance perhaps deserves its own thread..

I have often wondered how many pax actually get to have their bags unpacked or packed. It is such a personal choice. If I really had a butler at home, he or she would know where I want my stuff. Will they channel my choices for clothing drawer preference or hanger preference? How do they know? Is it by my type of suitcase? A duffle or hard case? Is it by how I packed...Omg. Or if I had a butler at home, maybe there is a universal packing code.

Do they know if I want my underwear near my t shirts or is that like having stuff too close on my dinner plate.

No foods touching.

I will admit. I have not had anyone unpack my bags.

The day of changeover , ie, when we embark always seems so crazy busy for the "butlers".

So how many pax have had a butler unpack?

And how did it go?

This issue of what is really "buttling" and what is not in the silversea parlance perhaps deserves its own thread..

 

I have often wondered how many pax actually get to have their bags unpacked . . . .

 

I will admit. I have not had anyone unpack my bags.

The day of changeover , ie, when we embark always seems so crazy busy for the "butlers".

So how many pax have had a butler unpack?

And how did it go?

I absolutely do not want anyone unpacking my stuff. I have too many weird and unique personal items I travel with which I like to put in completely unintuitive places in the suite. It would take longer to explain to a butler where to put things, than to just do it myself ( even if he made his presence known on time, which he did not do until after sailing the last couple cruises). Plus, I do not want butlers potentially having material for amusing or baffled conversations with fellow butlers later in the cruise. And, of course, they are very busy on the first day ( and other days). I do like having them put the empty suitcases away as that is hard for me to do.

However, I agree SS should not advertize the service when the butlers cannot realistically perform.

All right, already...I was just making an observation. I never asked for unpacking but it wasn't offered until I was almost done. It was not a big deal but I mentioned it because I had heard and read that it was one of the many little luxuries offered.

Most things have gone fairly smoothly since then. We had dinner in Stars on Formal night and it was excellent except for the horrible singer. In fact, we cancelled our other reservation for Stars after finding out that we would have to endure another performance. I enjoyed the set list but she somehow made every single song sound the same!

Ravenna, Hvar and Kotor were all nice stops. We did our own thing in Ravenna and Hvar and today in Kotor we hired Milo. It was a fun 5 hours and we had a great overview and history of Montenegro. This afternoon before sailaway I attempted to do a bit of laundry and every single washer is taken by pax who put their laundry on the max setting of well over almost 2 hours! There are well placed signs advising use of the express wash setting for lightly soiled clothing. I guess everyone has really dirty laundry! Perhaps I will try again during dinner!

Last night we stopped by the bar for a drink before dinner. At first we were seated on the starboard side near the band but there was a terrible sewage stench we moved and it was much better. Not sure if that is an issue everyday? Dinner in La Terrazza was fine but I will have to agree with other posters that the quality of the "house" wine is just very average. Not in a luxury category at all but not horrible either.

GG.

I wasn't singling you out as to the packing/unpacking.

Your post just reminded me of my possibly uncouth query as to whether anyone takes the butler up on his or her offer of this service.

I concur that if it's touted as a service it should be available.

In general the butlers who have been assigned to our suites have been superb.

I appreciate the time you have invested in posting.

Try the laundry room on deck 11.

Not used much.

Hope that you eventually come to like the Spirit.

I was going to recommend the laundry on deck 11 also. Not busy since everyone up there gets free laundry anyway! We must catch up soon!

Gourmet Gal

When you sailed with Silversea Baltic Stockholm to Southampton Sept. 2013 what ship was it? and did you actually enjoy it - it being the ship, the food, the entertainment.

We sailed on Whisper in the Baltic and enjoyed it very much. The entertainment seemed better than what we've seen so far on Spirit but except for some odd design issues the overall product is the same on both ships. Food, service amenities seem the same.

On this cruise we've tried Seishen, Stars, La Terrazza and the MD. We're skipping Le Champagne this time after not being particularly impressed with it on Whisper. We have also cancelled our remaining Stars, Seishen and La Terrazza after our first visits. The service and food are better in the MD especially after settling in with our favorite servers. Seishen is totally overated and the actual sushi was really bad. The menu there is just odd. Stars food was very good but we couldn't tolerate the singer, Helene. La Terrazza is just a bit boring and service just doesn't seem pulled together-this was our same experience on Whisper. The included wines have been hit or miss but generally not awful. We have enjoyed some of the Italian varietals that we don't find at home.

The staff is very friendly and professional in general with standouts being Reception and our butler Lorenzo.

Agree with many posters comments regarding the boutique. I would prefer a bigger gym than a bigger shop!

We have really enjoyed this itinerary. It has been a nice mix of countries and port sizes. We went on one ship excursion and thought it was excellent. We booked private tours on our own for all ports except Katakalon.

Some small issues. The duo loungers outside of the Panorama lounge are almost impossible to sit on comfortably. Odd design that just doesn't work. I cannot believe there is still smoking allowed on Silversea! I also find it odd that there is any form of art selling going on. Seems tacky. Also, we couldn't figure out when snacks were being served in Panorama or the bar prior to dinner...we seemed to just miss them most of the time. Other times our request for something to nibble on were ignored. Again, just odd.

Our next ship experience will be The World but after that we have decided to try another cruiseline just for a change. 90% of our travel is land-based so I am not sure when we will be on a real cruise but we are interested in Seabourn if a good itinerary presents itself.

Thanks for that comprehensive post, Gourmet Gal.

Some of my thoughts:

Stars supper club is available only on the Spirit and if, like us, you enjoy the food and atmosphere it is a major plus. We really love it.

Seishin never seems very popular and although we have only taken lunch there we were not impressed. We also find the pool grill a bit disappointing but for no definable reason - just a personal thing.

We too like the MDR over La Terrazza but, from conversations with others, that seems to be a minority view.

Our one and only La Champagne visit was disappointing - we expected something along the lines of a very high class French restaurant (think Lamelois, Troisgros, Bocuse [yes, we lived in Burgundy which accounts for this geographic idiosyncrasy]) but found the experience a little dull and insipid. Having said that, that was a failure to meet perhaps unachievably high expectations.

Yes, those round, two-seat deck seats are pretty grim especially when two people are trying to get comfy. The other deck furniture is of the usual SS high standard.

Smoking. The Humidor on the Spirit is located on deck 8 adjacent to the shops and is therefore in a little-used area of the ship - a cruiser would really have to go out of their way to be offended. On the Whisper and Shadow it is located adjacent to La Champagne and in the same corridor as the entrance to La Terrazza. This causes the smell of smoke to be apparent in these areas; the smell of food also penetrates the Humidor. Not good for either clique! Outside smoking is confined to one side of the pool deck and deck 9 aft port side. Yes, smoke will be present in these areas and can be easily avoided. we have known belligerent non-smokers seat themselves in a smoking area then complain - easy answer: Don't sit there!!!

We are not wine drinkers except as an accompaniment to dinner and therefore are quite satisfied with the selections. We are, however, Philistines in this area.

We like Vista cabins and the position on the Spirit is ideal - much more towards midships than on the other boats. We had a veranda cabin (703) on the Spirit for the South Pacific Grand Voyage. We used the Veranda maybe a dozen times and felt that the suite was way too far for'ard in heavy seas. It surprises me that some of the big suites are located way out in the front of the ship.

In all we prefer the Spirit to the other two ships (Whisper and Shadow) but not enough that it is a decidiing factor. We seem to be very much in the minority on this issue.

Lastly, we have had nothing but good service on our SS cruises. We lived in the Far East for several years and love the Asian crew - they remind us of the Glory Days.

Our only other cruise was with Seabourn 2 years ago and we will continue to patronise SS as it fits our needs better.

I'm surprised at all the negative comments regarding the Silver Spirit. We've spent many a happy day on her and have thoroughly enjoyed every cruise. But then, we've always been fortunate enough to stay in a Grand Suite and have ice breaker parties there to get the social interface going. I know the Veranda Suite are a bit tight between the foot of the bed and the bulkhead, but they are spacious none the less. Hopefully, the Muse interior designers will correct that. Unfortunately, my lovely bride doesn't want to cruise anymore or I'd be aboard the Silver Spirit regularly. Enjoy!

 

Smoking. The Humidor on the Spirit is located on deck 8 adjacent to the shops and is therefore in a little-used area of the ship - a cruiser would really have to go out of their way to be offended. On the Whisper and Shadow it is located adjacent to La Champagne and in the same corridor as the entrance to La Terrazza. This causes the smell of smoke to be apparent in these areas; the smell of food also penetrates the Humidor. Not good for either clique! Outside smoking is confined to one side of the pool deck and deck 9 aft port side. Yes, smoke will be present in these areas and can be easily avoided. we have known belligerent non-smokers seat themselves in a smoking area then complain - easy answer: Don't sit there!!!

 

.

Beautifuly put, and to be honest I never heard a word of complaint on our recent, full, Whisper cruise. It appears to be only those who wish to feel upset will complain!

Beautifuly put, and to be honest I never heard a word of complaint on our recent, full, Whisper cruise. It appears to be only those who wish to feel upset will complain!

Sad but true... I concur.

Hope you don't think I am upset about the smoking. I just don't think it should be allowed at all. Just my opinion.

We are off the ship now and spending a few more days in Istanbul. Weather has turned rainy though, as soon as we have to do a lot of walking! The cruise was a good one and the minor negatives were far outweighed by the positives including the excellent itinerary. The crew were especially good and I miss them already. Disembarkation was easy and ahead of schedule. We opted for a ship's transfer to Four Seasons and it went smoothly. We would normally just take a cab but we had so much OBC we booked with the ship.

We considered booking another cruise while on board but every interesting cruise did not have an incentive and the onboard wifi was so slow we couldn't do enough research of other cruiselines for comparison. After our next stint on The World we will take a good look at Seabourn anyway but for us the final decision comes down to itinerary, "luxury level" and then ship size.

Is there any cruise line that totally bans smoking?

Is there any cruise line that totally bans smoking?

Not that I know of - as long as there are a few smokers I feel sure cruise lines will make some sort of arrangement for them. The best one can hope for is that the only indoor place is a special room, preferably away from the most used bits of the ship, and a similar outdoor one. Seabourn still sadly allows smoking on balconies, and after 8 p.m. in one of the two bars and a little outside. Regent does have a special smoking room, as I think Silversea does, but the Regent outdoor area is on the pool deck, quite large and comfortable, and we found it pretty smelly.

The sooner they all make it minimal the better.

Thanks for sharing your voyage with us. Do you recall who the due was in Stars?

I don't recall the pianist - he was excellent and played solo for the first part of the dinner. Then Helene joined him and it was downhill from there. She over-sang and then somehow treated every song the same and I was happy to leave once our meal was done. I am a huge jazz fan so this was a disappointment. They were a fixture in that venue so we cancelled our remaining rez there. The venue is actually very nice and the food is great. The entire concept is a nice change of pace so hopefully it works better with a better singer.