Sea Dreamers trying Silverseas

FT and I have been pretty quiet of late. We are trying Silverseas in Alaska (last time we were on Regent) and have one of our usual lengthy threads going on the Silverseas board.

Feel free to follow along on our journey. It's going to be two weeks of fun.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=43539309&posted=1#post43539309

FT and I have been pretty quiet of late. We are trying Silverseas in Alaska (last time we were on Regent) and have one of our usual lengthy threads going on the Silverseas board.

 

Feel free to follow along on our journey. It's going to be two weeks of fun.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=43539309&posted=1#post43539309

Certainly will.

Look forward to it.

Alaska, how marvellous.

We are in the same boat so to speak. We have done nine on SeaDream but grew disillusioned over kids and other issues. We leave this coming Friday for Copenhagen where the following Monday we board Silver Whisper to see the fjords of Norway. First time on a line other than SD. Will advise how it goes!

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Looking forward to your report on the Silver Whisper. I am contemplating a Silversea cruise in 2015. Still on the fence about it. Waiting to hear FT and Zgvol's reviews and now I will wait for yours too.

And which cruise would that be, WhatNot?

Vandrefalk

Just looking at several possibilities on several lines. One is the Sept 11, 2015 Rome to Monte Carlo on Silver Wind. Also considering a Windstar, a Seabourn, and a Sea Dream. All in September 2015.

Take a look at Oct on Sd and you can celebrate our anniversary :D

Vandrefalk

October is too late for us because of our annual fishing trip to Louisiana.

We just boarded Silver Whisper in Copenhagen after nine trips on SD since 2008. While this ship is under 400 passengers, for better and for worse it already seems so much bigger. Since this is our first non-SD cruise, and this ship seems large, we can't imagine what one of the mega-ships would feel like! Just unpacked. Some of the advantages are already evident: larger room, walk-in closet, his/her sinks, bath tub and shower, a bathroom I can stand up in at 6'4", and a balcony so we have our own outdoor space and fresh air in the room. All that said, we already miss not knowing the crew as we did on SD! The weather for our one week to the Norwegian fjords and back is expected to be mixed, with chilly temps and rain, so having private indoor/outdoor space will likely prove to be a very good thing. However, in warm weather I can already tell that SD would have many advantages. Also, on Silversea the embarkation started at 1 PM or so with lunch served in several venues. There is an assigned butler who even asked about brand preference in toiletries. We are thinking the early embarkation may have had something to do with purchasing a pre-trip hotel/transfer package via Silversea but we aren't certain.

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We just boarded Silver Whisper in Copenhagen after nine trips on SD since 2008. While this ship is under 400 passengers, for better and for worse it already seems so much bigger. Since this is our first non-SD cruise, and this ship seems large, we can't imagine what one of the mega-ships would feel like! Just unpacked. Some of the advantages are already evident: larger room, walk-in closet, his/her sinks, bath tub and shower, a bathroom I can stand up in at 6'4", and a balcony so we have our own outdoor space and fresh air in the room. All that said, we already miss not knowing the crew as we did on SD! The weather for our one week to the Norwegian fjords and back is expected to be mixed, with chilly temps and rain, so having private indoor/outdoor space will likely prove to be a very good thing. However, in warm weather I can already tell that SD would have many advantages. Also, on Silversea the embarkation started at 1 PM or so with lunch served in several venues. There is an assigned butler who even asked about brand preference in toiletries. We are thinking the early embarkation may have had something to do with purchasing a pre-trip hotel/transfer package via Silversea but we aren't certain.

 

 

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Bon Voyage JES. You will appreciate the extra indoor venues when the weather is less than perfect. SD is pretty much unbeatable in the Tropics with great weather but we found it very limiting in cold/wet times. I am about the same size as you so also appreciate a larger bath/shower. In the past several months we have been on very different ships with SD and 105 passengers being by far the smallest. Star Princess with just under 2,000 on board was nice but mainly because we spent lots of time in a large aft suite. Pacific Princess with 670 on board was probably the best overall so maybe this equivalent sized ship you are on with only 400 or so will be a great trip. Are you posting over at Silversea?

Bon Voyage, JES. We just completed SD's Norwegian Fjords cruise last month, and you are going to love the itinerary. We had very unusual weather for the fjords when we were on SD, dry and mostly 80's & 90's, so we never had to deal with the problem of indoor spaces. I don't know how it would have worked out. I can tell you that it was a concern of ours before the trip, but as it was we had all breakfasts & lunches, and most dinners, topside.

We have also found the Silverseas ships to be quite comfortable, and the bathrooms are terrific!

Enjoy this lovely trip.

Bon voyage JES!

Thanks for checking in. Looking forward to your review:cool:

Apologies for delay. This will be a partial review because sadly on our first full day on Silver Whisper my back went out big time trying to navigate the hallway back to our room after breakfast in very rough waters. Ended up in bed or room for next three days. The seas going from the Baltic departing Copenhagen once we got to the North Sea were a consistent 10-12 feet with cross winds and some swells to 15 feet many times per the captain. This went on for like 18 hours as we went up to the coast until we got into calmer inner waters. Many were seasick we weren't as we had taken pills the night prior when the captain had announced there would be "inclement" weather. Wish had been seasick instead of such a debilitating back flare up. The ship doctor was great.

Here is a thumbnail between SD and Silversea based on this one time on Silversea and nine on SD (sometimes with kids and group issues) to be taken with grains of salt as personal preferences, tastes and areas of importance vary among all of us. The Silversea advantages were primarily the larger rooms: about half again as large or so it seemed, walk in closet, bath with lots of room probably almost triple SD with shower, tub and dual sinks, plus the balcony which in warm weather wouldn't matter on SD but with the back issue we could sit out on Silversea to view the fjords. The Silversea butler came in very handy under these circumstances and she was awesome. The wider 24/7 room service menu helped as did wide choices from the restaurants brought to the room those nights. That said, the rest of the ship didn't do too much for us. Very nicely appointed but even at 382 passengers felt more like a floating hotel than we expected compared to SD. Some may like that, others won't. The Silversea food and wine even when taken properly in different venues was unimpressive as to the food and underwhelming as to the quantity/quality of the wine. The service was efficient but not very personal a la SD.

In sum, SD wins hands down for us overall primarily because of the more personal attention and interaction with crew and other guests, the quality of the food/wine, and size/intimacy that only SD offers. This doesn't include all the perks of the water toys, open pool deck, and other open spaces on SD. Keep in mind this conclusion comes not from some SD sycophant but rather one who had serious concerns after our kid marred Black Sea trip this time last year and who had canceled our other SD bookings as a result. So putting aside SD management and owner issues, credit goes to where it is deserved: SD crew deliver the best, period. Can't be replicated anywhere else. If we could pick and choose, we would take the Silversea rooms and the rest would be SD. No question, not a close call, again with the caveat we missed a full week on Silver Whisper but got enough exposure to form these opinions.

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So sorry that you had back issues as a result of bad seas. I can appreciate since I have back problems from time to time. That is a real bummer to happen on your very first day on Silversea.

We came away from Regent with somewhat your same feelings. The room was fabulous and the crew, service, and food quality were acceptable, but not anywhere as good as SD.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Hopefully you someday find your way back to Sea Dream again on a cruise where there are no kids.

We sail on SD I from Dover to Lisbon next week. Will report when possible, but definitely when we return.

Hi JES. Sorry about the back. I can feel your pain that way from time to time. Your impression of SS, compared to SD, reinforces several friends reports. I have never sailed SS but feel from those reports that I would have the same take as you. The only sailing we have had that compares directly and favorably with SeaDream (when SD is providing the real SD product) was Seabourn on one of their small ships. Unfortunately, they have sold them to Windstar. I have yet to sail the larger Seabourn ships. If SD would just come out with a firm policy (one way or the other) on groups and kids I would be a happy camper.

JES, feel sorry for your back-problems - I hope everything is OK now ...

Your short comparison was very helpful for me - just one additional question: How about clothing on SS - did men wear blazers, ties or even tuxedos? I enjoyed "country-style" on Regent and hope to wear this style on SD II in September :) as well - SS looks a bit more formal to me?!

JES, feel sorry for your back-problems - I hope everything is OK now ...

 

Your short comparison was very helpful for me - just one additional question: How about clothing on SS - did men wear blazers, ties or even tuxedos? I enjoyed "country-style" on Regent and hope to wear this style on SD II in September :) as well - SS looks a bit more formal to me?!

Jackets are required some nights. No tie. And our "formal" night was optional. Informal was required - that means jacket. Having also done a week on SS last month JES is spot on but we loved being able to eat full meals (no where near the quality of SD) in our room when exhausted from the days activity.

Hope your back is on the mend JES!

Thank you for your compare/contrast review of SS/SD.

As to clothing on SS, they was a bit of a miscommunication between SS agent here who said no formal nights in summer but then when we boarded one night was formal meaning dark suit/tux for men and gowns etc for ladies. That was one of the nightsI was room/bed bound so not having formal with tie wasn't an issue. Would not have been happy otherwise. On that night one could order full meals in the room including wine and course by course service though we had all delivered at once. The other option on formal night if one didn't want formal or like us had been misinformed about it was the reservation only La Terrazza restaurant. Other nights were either casual meaning no jacket or informal meaning jacket no tie. Saw some ties here and there but mainly jackets most nights. Thanks for asking. Back is better for most part but as physical therapist said yesterday have to treat back like other important parts like teeth and give them regular daily attention so can handle cruise ships and motion in the ocean! By the way we are late 50s and most SS seemed 70s and older acting 70s at that! Glad to hear we aren't alone in our conclusion about SS v SD.

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Believe Alaska trips on SS and Regent skew differently. Our SS co travelers were for the most part very active and ranging from honeymooners to multigenerational with most in 40s and 50s. Over 60% were 1st on SS and were not formal.

Glad you are doing better and kept up the PT