Is Silversea Gaming their Reservation System?

We have been booked and paid in full for a Spirit voyage in the Med August 2017 for many months. We are traveling with 2 other couples. All of us are Venetian Society members.

I noticed yesterday that our voyage, along with ALL other sailings of the Spirit in the Med from late July to late August-- a full month-- have been taken off the website. The Muse sailings have been left up.

I called Silversea and was told that they are "in negotiation" for a charter which would supplant our voyage, and our voyage would be cancelled if an agreement is reached. They would not tell me when a firm answer can be expected, or what the compensation will be.

Despite what Silversea has told me, it seems unlikely to me that they would charter the Spirit for a whole month and displace numerous customers. When I pointed this out to the Silversea rep they said they were quite surprised and this would be "highly unusual."

There is a very significant price difference between the cost of sailing on the Spirit v. the newer Muse. ($8,000 v. $5,000 per person for Veranda category). I can't help but wonder whether taking the Spirit voyages off the board is a tactic to push visitors to the website to book the Muse, at higher cost. I suspect most people looking at the site would see the price difference and choose the Spirit. Muse bookings may be lagging.

I'm feeling quite frustrated because I, and my travel group, did proverbial "back flips", and incurred expense (child care, business coverage, etc.) to make our schedules work for our booked and paid for sailing on the Spirit. If it is truly going to be cancelled we need to know to make alternate arrangements.

And, if it is cancelled, unless we are given VERY significant compensation, we will never sail Silversea again. My fellow travelers feel the same. The lack of a clear and definitive response, or even a promise as to when a response will be forthcoming is just terrible customer relations.

Which cruise are you booked on? My August 25th cruise is showing up online.

From my perspective, it is too early to panic or speculate. I would think if we are asked to move then some form of accommodation will be made (even if they are not legally obligated).

My 8/25 shows up also,But no other Spirit sailing is showing up in August, Would not give me the warm and fuzzes either.

OK, I must be missing something...when I go to http://www.silversea.com and select August, and then select "Mediterranean", I see (3) cruises:

August 8th, 20th, and 25th.

I also think it is a stretch to think their strategy is to book a charter, and then "force" everyone onto something more expensive, so I think the title is not necessarily appropriate.

However, I wouldn't want to be on a personal vacation, sharing space with a chartered cruise, and would switch to something else (all else being equal). So I think this concern is legitimate.

OK, I must be missing something...when I go to http://www.silversea.com and select August, and then select "Mediterranean", I see (3) cruises:

 

August 8th, 20th, and 25th.

 

I also think it is a stretch to think their strategy is to book a charter, and then "force" everyone onto something more expensive, so I think the title is not necessarily appropriate.

 

However, I wouldn't want to be on a personal vacation, sharing space with a chartered cruise, and would switch to something else (all else being equal). So I think this concern is legitimate.

Sorry but yes, you are missing the fact that the cruises on the 8th and 20th are on the Muse, not the Spirit.

Please re-read the OP's post!

Sorry but yes, you are missing the fact that the cruises on the 8th and 20th are on the Muse, not the Spirit.

Please re-read the OP's post!

OK, the OP doesn't mention the date of his cruise...do you know the Spirit dates that have recently disappeared? The 25th is still available and is not that expensive. So not sure about the theory of pushing people to the Muse.

We're not booking the Muse because they only have specialty restaurants and no main dining room at this stage. Perhaps they will change it, but maybe not.

Looks like all the cruises are back up on the website.

According to the UK website only voyage 5722 9th August has been reinstated and reads as it did in the 2017 brochure. Still missing are voyages 5270 for 26 July, 5271 for 2nd August and 5273 for 18th August.

An interesting discrepancy in pricing also shows up as the reinstated 5722 is priced at from £3,825 after early booking bonus for the 9 days. The voyage just before the blackout period is 5719 also for 9 days yet is from £5,625 and the voyage prior to that for 10 days is from £3,555. Guess who is on the expensive one!

Looks like all the cruises are back up on the website.

Appreciate these interesting questions and/or "Web Mysteries". Which one??? In checking this morning, the July 26 cruise from Rome and the August 18 from Rome are both currently missing. Strange, but it could be those pesky ghosts playing with the Silversea website. There is also a September 10 cruise from Athens missing.

I did notice on the SS website this morning a Cape Town to Cape Town ten-day sailing on the Silver Spirit starting January 5, 2018. And the price being offered now is less than we paid for doing that cruise a year ago. Looks like a great value, especially on the Silver Spirit. Our June 14 Lisbon to Rouen Silver Spirit cruise is still showing and working fine.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 47,068 views for these postings.

 

I did notice on the SS website this morning a Cape Town to Cape Town ten-day sailing on the Silver Spirit starting January 5, 2018. And the price being offered now is less than we paid for doing that cruise a year ago. Looks like a great value, especially on the Silver Spirit.

We booked this 2 weeks ago since when the price has risen - in £££s at least - by 10%.

I wonder if the presence/absence of some cruises might be due to SS repricing or reorganising the website

We booked this 2 weeks ago since when the price has risen - in £££s at least - by 10%. I wonder if the presence/absence of some cruises might be due to SS repricing or reorganising the website

Appreciate this smart follow-up and glad to hear that our UK friend is planning on doing this fun, interesting South Africa cruise with Silversea. Your guess/theory about the impacts of SS doing various pricing adjustments and/or web re-organization being the "cause" could be very possible.

Let me know if I can be of any help as you research and plan for your upcoming Africa adventure.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from my latest live/blog at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 28,688 views for this reporting and visual sharing that includes Cape Town, all along the South Africa coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

I'm terribly sorry about this situation, Descartes1. It's understandable that after all you did to make the logistics, planning and expenses work for 3 couples, you now find yourselves uncertain about the trip working out at all.

Multi-week charters can be for a big corporate event, to house athletes at the Olympics, or house government officials in a secure setting for international summits. They don't affect us if they're already built into the schedule when it's first announced. Of course, it's a different matter when a line negotiates a charter later on, when passengers are already booked. Especially when passengers, like you, had to do back-flips to make it work!

I don't know whether you booked through a travel agent but if you did, he or she will have an inside track and may be able to get your information more quickly - and maybe even secure "Satisfaction Plus" in the event that the cruise really is cancelled.

But I hope your voyage goes ahead as scheduled, so you can all finally sit back and anticipate it!

Let me know if I can be of any help as you research and plan for your upcoming Africa adventure.

Thanks. Cruise and hotels booked - now just waiting for the various airline companies to release their schedules for Jan next. Only BA fly direct from the UK to CPT but looking to use Air Miles on SAA through Virgin. Sometimes things just seem so complicated!

Thanks. Cruise and hotels booked - now just waiting for the various airline companies to release their schedules for Jan next. Only BA fly direct from the UK to CPT but looking to use Air Miles on SAA through Virgin. Sometimes things just seem so complicated!

Glad your South Africa planning is progressing well. Until you do this research and actually fly into Cape Town, you do not realize that their airport there is relatively small. The "biggie" airport in this part of Africa is Johannesburg. Very huge operation and massive terminals there, however. If you can fly directly to Cape Town, it does help. We flew from the U.S. to Doha/Qatar and then directly on a new Boeing 787 to Cape Town. Good luck with your flights!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 207,639 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Thanks. Cruise and hotels booked - now just waiting for the various airline companies to release their schedules for Jan next. Only BA fly direct from the UK to CPT but looking to use Air Miles on SAA through Virgin. Sometimes things just seem so complicated!

Have you looked at flying BA out of a European city and then via Heathrow for a better price?

Last night (U.S. Eastern time) our August voyage on the Spirit was put back on the website. The Spirit is still off the board, however, from July 26 through August 9th, and also from August 18th to the 25th. If these are indeed charters, that's a pretty heavy charter commitment during the high season.

I am interested to know whether our voyage has been partially chartered since it came off the board for several days and was reportedly "in negotiation" for a charter. Having a large charter group on board is certainly not ideal, and not consistent with the experience we are hoping to have.

Have you looked at flying BA out of a European city and then via Heathrow for a better price?

That's a possibility but we have so many Virgin Airmiles that we are hoping to snag a return trip once the calender for next Jan becomes available next month. The serious alternatives are Lufthansa via Frankfurt or Qatar via Doha. Remember that we are paupers and are constantly looking to shave the £££s off the fare!

Descartes1, I believe cruise lines only use the term "charter" to describe a full-ship buyout, as opposed to selling large blocks of suites to groups. I agree that having a large group on a small ship might affect the ambience (and it might not). In the past, I was sometimes able to get this kind of info from Silversea's phone reps or our travel agent. Doesn't hurt to ask!

So glad your voyage resurfaced. I hope you can all go into full "anticipation mode" in the months ahead.

Hi Descartes1, Please call your travel agent or dial us directly so that we may provide more information to you regarding this booking.

Thank you and best regards,

Silversea Cruises

Hi Descartes1, Please call your travel agent or dial us directly so that we may provide more information to you regarding this booking. Thank you and best regards, Silversea Cruises

descartes1: Thanks for all the comments. Last night (U.S. Eastern time) our August voyage on the Spirit was put back on the website. The Spirit is still off the board' date=' however, from July 26 through August 9th, and also from August 18th to the 25th. If these are indeed charters, that's a pretty heavy charter commitment during the high season. [/quote']

 

Welcome to posting number one from "SilverseaCruises". Appreciate this wonderful "dropping by" on these Cruise Critic boards by an official source/connection. Very smart and helpful for BOTH the company and us customers.

 

I have heard from on-ship staff previously that the central office does do some checking of these boards at time. We encourage continued dropping by and posting on these boards. Hopefully some here will be "nice" and not too snarky if and when added posts from SS are done. Plus, that the SS staff will learn customer concerns/suggestions and share good, added information.

 

Glad to hear that descartes1 has seen some updating on the Silversea website for their scheduled cruise. Hopefully you will follow-up and get more info for your planned cruise. Be sure to updates us on your continued progress that things work out well for your Silver Spirit sailing later this summer.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 47,156 views for these postings.

 

 

As the Silversea message above requested, I called customer service.

At my request, a supervisor called me back. He was very helpful.

In a nutshell, I was told the voyage after ours has been chartered and as a result there could be an itinerary change to our voyage.

I asked for a definitive time frame within which we will be advised of the change. This is important to us both for post-cruise planning (we paid SS an additional fee to delay our return air-travel because of plans near the port of disembarkation), and also because we specifically selected this voyage because certain ports which have historic and professional interest to us).

I was given a reasonable time frame within which to expect a response. I was also told that if we are unhappy with any change to the itinerary Silversea would work with us on an appropriate accommodation (although we both agreed it is pre-mature to discuss that now).

All in all, well handled by Silversea thus far.

descartes1, What date do you sail?

As the Silversea message above requested, I called customer service. At my request, a supervisor called me back. He was very helpful. In a nutshell, I was told the voyage after ours has been chartered and as a result there could be an itinerary change to our voyage. I asked for a definitive time frame within which we will be advised of the change. This is important to us both for post-cruise planning (we paid SS an additional fee to delay our return air-travel because of plans near the port of disembarkation), and also because we specifically selected this voyage because certain ports which have historic and professional interest to us). I was given a reasonable time frame within which to expect a response. I was also told that if we are unhappy with any change to the itinerary Silversea would work with us on an appropriate accommodation (although we both agreed it is pre-mature to discuss that now). All in all, well handled by Silversea thus far.

Appreciate these details and this follow-up. Sounds like you are getting some proper attention and decent information. Keep us posted and glad to hear that asking for a supervisor at customer service has been helpful. Good luck!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from my latest live/blog at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 28,886 views for this reporting and visual sharing that includes Cape Town, all along the South Africa coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

All in all, well handled by Silversea thus far.