Just Booked my First SILVERSEAS CRUISE

While we love the Wind, she was our first Silversea's ship, we've really enjoyed our two cruises on the Spirit. The Spirit is bigger with more passengers but we never got the feeling that it was crowded. We like the outdoor areas better than the Wind, particularly the area aft outside the Panorama Lounge. The restaurant choices are good with a couple more than the Wind. We particularly enjoyed the Stars Supper Club as a nice change from the Main Dining Room, La Terraza, and The Grill which are our standards on the Wind.

 

While it won't apply to you since this is your first Silversea cruise we also have enjoyed the movement of some personnel within the fleet. For instance, we cruised the Wind four times before we tried the Spirit. When we boarded the Spirit and eventually made our way to the Pool Bar and Grill we were pleasantly surprised to see and be greeted by one of our favorite wait staff from the Wind. He remembered our drinks of choice and even what we liked from the grill. When we returned to the Wind for last year's cruise we when to La Terraza for dinner that first night to be greeted by the maitre'd who had served us so well in the Stars Supper Club the cruise before in the Spirit. In all I'd say we've run into maybe a dozen or so staff/crew members who have remembered us from previous cruises on other ships in the fleet. Now that might not be surpring or unusually to many of the more experienced Silversea cruisers here but it makes us feel welcomed and comfortable. It speaks to the outstanding staff and level of service we love on Silversea.

Randy, don't you mean the Spirit and not the Wind, when you mention the outdoor areas outside the Panorama Bar?

Randy, don't you mean the Spirit and not the Wind, when you mention the outdoor areas outside the Panorama Bar?

That's what I said. :) The Spirit seating area outside the Panorama Bar is one of our favorites, probably four or five times the same area on the Wind.

Lois R - Just an update.....we reached a decision with our friends and will be booking the Spirit tomorrow for a cruise in November. :)

Hey Randy:)...congrats........but why not move it to August 9th?:D;p:)

Hey Randy:)...congrats........but why not move it to August 9th?:D;p:)

Darn work gets in the way. :( Pressing it a bit as it is to squeeze it in this year but the itinerary and the cancellation of another cruise we we considering pushed us and friends to make a decision yesterday. Will book with my TA tomorrow.

Darn work gets in the way. :(

Ahhhhh gotcha...........you are preaching to the Choir on that one;p

That's what I said. :) The Spirit seating area outside the Panorama Bar is one of our favorites, probably four or five times the same area on the Wind.

OOPS! Sorry Randy, I misread your post. And you are 100% correct about this area as it is our favorite also.

I wanted to say a big thank you for all of this great information. I just booked the Spirit for 01 July so have been in research mode high gear. This thread is great - answered almost all of my questions.

Hi Lois. I'm late to this board so I hope this isn't redundant. You will be so happy that you will become part of the Silversea family...and you will become part of it immediately. We were on the South American Grand Voyage from FLL & return in Jan-Mar & still can't get our heads around being home. It was a wonderful experience & your first Silversea cruise will be also. There was a very active singles group with 2 hosts & so many activities. The staff, as almost everyone has said, is beyond fabulous. You are in for a treat & I envy you.

In Barcelona we have stayed at Le Meridien which is very nice & well located on Las Ramblas but is sort of chain hotel'ish, & last year we stayed at El Palace which is gorgeous & a real slice of "old Barcelona" with so much character! When we return in Sept., we'll be staying at Hotel Grand Central (maybe Grand Central Hotel?) which friends highly recommend - it's not very far from the port. There are so many wonderful restaurants to explore that you might just want to stay!

Enjoy every moment & please report back on your experience. Again, I hope this information isn't redundant.

Good morning....never too late for friendly advice:D........thanks for your post:p

Hopefully others will be reading this......Randy, if you are around, I have a question about dinner.......when you sign up it

gives certain options.....7-8 is one of them........one of the gals on the roll asked and I am echoing the question......does

that mean you can show up between that 1 hour? And we are not expected to eat dinner in that same hour time frame,

are they? Just want to make sure we understand the process:) I would think it would take longer than an hour to eat dinner.

Good morning....never too late for friendly advice:D........thanks for your post:p

 

Hopefully others will be reading this......Randy, if you are around, I have a question about dinner.......when you sign up it

gives certain options.....7-8 is one of them........one of the gals on the roll asked and I am echoing the question......does

that mean you can show up between that 1 hour? And we are not expected to eat dinner in that same hour time frame,

are they? Just want to make sure we understand the process:) I would think it would take longer than an hour to eat dinner.

I am fairly sure that the reservation is for a table and there is just one sitting. Im guessing the reason they have staggered bookings is to ensure better service. If everyone turned up at 7 I suspect they'd be overloaded then twiddling their thumbs later in the evening. Could be wrong.

Ahhh...ok, thanks Les:).....that makes sense. It is not like everyone is eating in the same place on the same night at the same time.

I am fairly sure that the reservation is for a table and there is just one sitting. Im guessing the reason they have staggered bookings is to ensure better service. If everyone turned up at 7 I suspect they'd be overloaded then twiddling their thumbs later in the evening. Could be wrong.

Ahhh...ok, thanks Les:).....that makes sense. It is not like everyone is eating in the same place on the same night at the same time.

I think Les is correct. We've only been on the Spirit once, though it was for 16 days, and I can't remember our dining schedule. Being used to the Wind and its relatively limited venues it was nice to have a few more choices but we also had our favorites. We tried all the venues but ate frequently in LaTerrazza, Hot Rocks (The Grill), Stars Supper Club, and The Restuarant. On our cruise, actually a 9 and 7-day taken back to back, LaTerrrazza and Hot Rocks were extremely popular and reservations were almost a must particularly on the first 9-day segment. We had record heat that first segment, it was 100 F in Santorini, so outdoor venues were in high demand. Luckily we'd thought that out before the cruise and made those reservations before the cruise.