Silver Spirit Officers & Crew

Does anyone know who the Captain, HD, Chef and Cruise Director will be at the end of the month?

The Captain a few weeks ago was Alessandro Zannello (not sure if that is the correct spelling of his name--I may be mixing it up). He's an Italian/Australian fellow in probably his late 40s. Paolo just returned so he will most likely be onboard as HD. Chef Dotti was on but not sure when that is switching. Kirk D will be cruise director until early November, I think, then Don Fluke is boarding. And for the October 31 Andrea Bocelli cruise, Fernando will be onboard as the Venetian Society host from what I understand. Artistes of Silversea are (I think) Jason, Matt, Zach, Brianne, Vicki and Melissa...a great group. MDR maitre'd recently switched so not sure who will be there. Cruise consultant was Asta and she should still be on. Hope that helps!

Thanks for the information.

Hope to travel with you again some day!

Just back last week from the Spirit. The Maitre'd is the excellent Hedi and sommelier was Cosmin. After our last cruise in June on the Wind our faith was restored. We found the Wind shabby and the staff sloppy and the food indifferent. The Spirit was in excellent shape, the crew fantastic and the food back to SS best. Have already booked the next cruise.

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Just back last week from the Spirit. The Maitre'd is the excellent Hedi and sommelier was Cosmin. After our last cruise in June on the Wind our faith was restored. We found the Wind shabby and the staff sloppy and the food indifferent. The Spirit was in excellent shape, the crew fantastic and the food back to SS best. Have already booked the next cruise.

 

 

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what a super recommendation, we are joining her next week, which will be our first time on the Spirit and it is good to know that you have found her and her crew in good heart.

Rp

Mjnvoyager,

While I am very happy that you found the Spirit to be in great shape and her crew to be excellent, I am extremely concerned about your comments on the Wind. We are boarding her next week for a b2b. Added to my dismay is the recent email I received from SS informing me that there would be construction going on with the remodeling of the Boutique. Our cabins, both of them, one for us and one for our daughters are on deck five which puts them in the middle of the noise and chaos. What is SS thinking?? How can they possibly think that this is acceptable?

If anyone now on, or just off the Wind could comment, I would be very grateful!

We have done approx 250 days with SS and on most of the cruises have had a wonderful experience. We felt the Wind cruise was unusual at the time and indeed talking to other passengers during and after the cruise found we were not alone in our criticisms. It is in need of a refurb as I think SS would agree. However in comparison to many other cruise lines it's standard is usually extremely high. I agree that working on the Boutiques during a cruise is insensitive and if you write to Head Office they should address your concerns. If they accept that any grievance is genuine they will make recompense. They appear to be rolling this out across the fleet. It should be done in dock. We were once on a cruise when extensive deck work was done daily. Large areas were cordoned off and the noise and the smells were unbearable. This was done because the cruise following was a charter and they had requested that no maintenance of any kind took place during their voyage. It cost SS quite a lot of money. Having said all that I would not use any other line and crews do move around and hopefully the Wind has a staff of their usual high standard. Speaking to a manager earlier in the year he did indicate that it was due for work though when this will happen I do not know. If the staff are good they can make all the difference. Hope that SS give you a wonderful holiday.

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Thanks for the information.

 

Hope to travel with you again some day!

Same here!!! We haven't booked anything for 2015, but will be back on board in a few months and will do so then.

I would just add that we thought this cruise on the Spirit was perhaps our best ever in terms of food, service, entertainment, etc.

The bars, in fact, were incredibly well-managed. They never ran out of what we were looking for (which did happen occasionally in the past), and if they did need to get it from another location, it was not a problem at all and incredibly fast. The bar staffs were happy, helpful and all of the bars ran very smoothly. Gareth (formerly a bartender) is now bar manager and that could be why....

Just back last week from the Spirit. The Maitre'd is the excellent Hedi and sommelier was Cosmin. After our last cruise in June on the Wind our faith was restored. We found the Wind shabby and the staff sloppy and the food indifferent. The Spirit was in excellent shape, the crew fantastic and the food back to SS best. Have already booked the next cruise.

 

 

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I would add that we were incredibly impressed with Hedi. We hadn't met him before and do hope to sail with him again. He did mention that he would not be on the Spirit in December, which is when our next cruise is. He is being replaced by someone whose name I didn't recognize. Not sure when that is....

Mjnvoyager,

While I am very happy that you found the Spirit to be in great shape and her crew to be excellent, I am extremely concerned about your comments on the Wind. We are boarding her next week for a b2b. Added to my dismay is the recent email I received from SS informing me that there would be construction going on with the remodeling of the Boutique. Our cabins, both of them, one for us and one for our daughters are on deck five which puts them in the middle of the noise and chaos. What is SS thinking?? How can they possibly think that this is acceptable?

If anyone now on, or just off the Wind could comment, I would be very grateful!

Well, at least they gave you advance notice. Apparently they did not do so for Whisper guests on the Transatlantic. They were apparently surprised by the work. For details on the disruption involved in the remodeling, see a thread on the voyage from Southampton to Boston.

Did SS offer the opportunity to move suites for your b2b or compensation or the ability to cancel? When did their email arrive? Presumably, this work was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

It is outrageous that SS expects passengers to pay good money to be in the midst of reconstruction that should of course take place in dry dock.

Just back last week from the Spirit. The Maitre'd is the excellent Hedi and sommelier was Cosmin. After our last cruise in June on the Wind our faith was restored. We found the Wind shabby and the staff sloppy and the food indifferent. The Spirit was in excellent shape, the crew fantastic and

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You are wrong. The Wind is not now nor has it ever been Shabby. I simply think what you said is just awful. Just book a cruise on a cheep line. Lots of sparkle, none of the nice people.

I have no wish for sparkle and glitter, just quality and high standards which is why I travel on SS and have done for many years. Friends in a Silver suite had stained carpets and ragged curtains. Their concerns were taken seriously by SS happily to their satisfaction. Surely we are allowed to say when we find something not up to scratch as we expect. Over the years we have met many delightful people and made many new friends of like mind. When the Wind has had a refurb I'm sure it will be back to the usual standard. We love the brand of SS and have travelled on all the ships and have recommended and indeed brought along new customers for them. Surely Cruise Critic is what it says, a forum for people to honestly express the good and the bad without being abused.

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I have no wish for sparkle and glitter, just quality and high standards which is why I travel on SS and have done for many years. Friends in a Silver suite had stained carpets and ragged curtains. Their concerns were taken seriously by SS happily to their satisfaction. Surely we are allowed to say when we find something not up to scratch as we expect. Over the years we have met many delightful people and made many new friends of like mind. When the Wind has had a refurb I'm sure it will be back to the usual standard. We love the brand of SS and have travelled on all the ships and have recommended and indeed brought along new customers for them. Surely Cruise Critic is what it says, a forum for people to honestly express the good and the bad without being abused.

 

 

 

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Welcome to CC SS.

I am sorry that your first posts on CC was met with such rudeness and such a poor welcome. Please don't be put off.

Don't feel the need to justify simply expressing your own first-hand observations. It's great you took the trouble to post.

Please do so again. :)

Jeff

I disembarked from the Spirit earlier today and Herman the Cat has it right on personnel. The captain is Alessandro Zanello, the hotel director is Paolo Percivale, and the cruise director is Kirk Detweiler. The guest relations manager is Saskia Harm from the Netherlands, and she is a spectacular problem-solver. Things go wrong even on the best cruises, and this was a great cruise that I will write a review on later, but when there is an difficulty Saskia moves right in and corrects the situation. This happened to us when there was a smell in our cabin. When I spoke with other passengers I found a few who had similar experiences Saskia on this and previous cruises.

I second everything mjnvoyager says about the Spirit and its crew. It was a nine-day cruise with never a mediocre meal. Two nights ago I had Tournedos Rossini; probably the best I have ever had. The service, of course, was tops. The people in the crew could not do enough for the passengers. Rosepark you can be assured of a terrific cruise.

Well, at least they gave you advance notice.

 

It is outrageous that SS expects passengers to pay good money to be in the midst of reconstruction that should of course take place in dry dock.

Some people may have had advance notice but it's the first I've heard of it (and my TA is very good at forwarding any emails) - I'm boarding the Wind at the end of this month and this is making me rather uneasy since my cabin is not a million miles from the boutiques, and peace and quiet in my cabin is very important to me. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens, at least I'll be cruising ...

Some people may have had advance notice but it's the first I've heard of it (and my TA is very good at forwarding any emails) - I'm boarding the Wind at the end of this month and this is making me rather uneasy since my cabin is not a million miles from the boutiques, and peace and quiet in my cabin is very important to me. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens, at least I'll be cruising ...

CruisinPashmina wrote yesterday that (s)he was beginning a b2b next week on Wind and had been notified: "Added to my dismay is the recent email I received from SS informing me that there would be construction going on with the remodeling of the Boutique."

You say that you are boarding at the end of the month. Perhaps you received no email because the work will have been completed by then.

You may have the peace and quiet that CruisinPashmina will apparently not enjoy.

How wonderful to hear that Saskia is on board. We have cruised with her several times and she has always gone out of her way to help us out.

By any chance, do you remember if Philippe, the French waiter usually at La Terrazza, was on board?

Do you remember if Philippe, the French waiter usually at La Terrazza, was on board?

Sorry, I do not recall Philippe as being on board. Rest assured, though, that the service will be as good as ever. The second time I had breakfast at La Terrazza they knew I drink two Cappuccinos in the morning. If you speak with Saskia please tell her that the couple whose cabin she shifted because of an odor think fondly of her and appreciate the seriousness with which she treated the problem and the speed with which she resolved it.

Welcome to CC SS.

 

I am sorry that your first posts on CC was met with such rudeness and such a poor welcome. Please don't be put off.

 

Don't feel the need to justify simply expressing your own first-hand observations. It's great you took the trouble to post.

 

Please do so again. :)

 

Jeff

Spot on Jeff, nothing changes and as l have said before, as long as l am safe who the hell cares who is who on board!

Silver Wind is a lovely ship and one that l have enjoyed two voyages on this year without any complaint whatsoever.

I just feel very lucky to be able to enjoy such adventures wherever l may go.

Sophia :)

I have no wish for sparkle and glitter, just quality and high standards which is why I travel on SS and have done for many years. Friends in a Silver suite had stained carpets and ragged curtains. Their concerns were taken seriously by SS happily to their satisfaction. Surely we are allowed to say when we find something not up to scratch as we expect. Over the years we have met many delightful people and made many new friends of like mind. When the Wind has had a refurb I'm sure it will be back to the usual standard. We love the brand of SS and have travelled on all the ships and have recommended and indeed brought along new customers for them. Surely Cruise Critic is what it says, a forum for people to honestly express the good and the bad without being abused.

 

I do not believe you have been abused, after you are called out for claiming the Wind is shabby, because a single silver suite has a soiled carpet and god forbid a torn curtain; in a suite in which you were not sta

I used the Silver Suite as an example, not the sole reason for my thoughts. For those who are happy with the Wind I am pleased because of course their opinion is as valid as mine.

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