Recent Sailing on the Shadow - Freo to Singapore

Just wondering if anyone else thought this sailing was abysmal. The cruise director was nonexistent and seemed incapable of organizing a logical event or communicating with guests. The staff seemed on edge. And to top it off, the cruise consultant could not even manage to deliver my paperwork for my future booking to me even after numerous attempts to hound and hunt her down.

Perhaps the lack of paperwork was a blessing in disguise.

More info please...who...CD...CC...Capt???

I have to agree - we were on this cruise and it had no zap or sparkle. I don't put the senior staff's names on CC but agree that things weren't like the usual Silversea cruise. Whats happening in HQ when they are told by people on these boards that things need looking into. We are told that good things can happen if we mention things on the passenger questionair but the attitude of "this is what you get" shouldn't be part of Silversea.

What did you think of the life boat drill?

It is a safe bet you will not see this captain again. Today, in Gulf of Tonkin in dense fog the ship had a mild collision with a small freighter.

No great damage and only a 90 minute delay reaching destination.

The Shadow?????????

Yes......Destefano is Captain. It will be interesting to see how they do the repair work. Next week the ship is chartered.

Thats a shame, on our recent cruise he seemed more controlled and competent than some I have watched from the observation deck.

Thats a shame, on our recent cruise he seemed more controlled and competent than some I have watched from the observation deck.

I agree. He was our Captain for the cruise we did recently between Singapore and Sydney. He spent a lot of time talking to our bridge tour group and seemed most competent.

meetmeforagt and mrscrab, who was the cruise Director? On our sailing it was David Lawton, who seemed pleasant enough, albeit a little superficial. He vexed some by telling participants (or hinting very broadly) the answers at trivia but then, he has to ensure nobody looks too idiotic i s'pose. His blonde sidekick (the International Hostess) was vapid and not terribly competent but then, it was one of her first cruises and she meant no harm.

My only issue with the crew on our cruise was the dreadfully rude and most unpleasant head waiter on the pool deck. He was quite unbearable and it's safe to say I've experienced far better service at our local McDonalds. Thankfully he didn't pass on his poor attitude to the pool deck staff, all of whom were lovely.

Oh! do tell...who was that Head Waiter on the pool deck??

Oh! do tell...who was that Head Waiter on the pool deck??

I believe his name is Danut. Despite being given "guidance" by his manager on two occasions that I witnessed he seemed incapable of moderating his bad temper. When he wasn't being rude to the passengers or scolding his staff, he was often propping up the pool bar with one of the junior officers (who, after taking over from the Filipino driver, collided one of the tenders into the side of the Shadow one afternoon. But that's another story...)

I can't find an Internet reference on the Shadow colliding with a freighter. Is there a link available, oregon50?

He vexed some by telling participants (or hinting very broadly) the answers at trivia but then, he has to ensure nobody looks too idiotic i s'pose.

We love trivia but felt it was so pointless we gave up after two sessions! Something else which was generated by David Lawton, which also grated, was his request for 'let's put our hands together' for virtually everything.

I joked to my wife that the only thing unclapped were the propellors 'which had turned ceaselessly and uncomplainingly all night, thus driving us to our next destination'. Yuk!

Don't know what it is about the Shadow in Asia. I was on a cruise from Hong Kong to Tokyo back in 2006 which was a complete anomaly to SS's typical offering. Terrible service. Terrible food. the only thing that saved it was the itinerary and the people we met onboard.

We join Shadow in a little over 3 weeks and are staying on for 2 cruises.

Should we be worried because although we love Silversea and were on shadow last Oct there were elements of the crew who shone above others and we saw some bickering between waiters and butlers.

The cd was David (nice) and hd was Lester (very approachable)but the captain was never seen.

Hope these reports are not a sign of things to come.

John & Joy

I hope you will enjoy the cruise. We thought that the cruise over Christmas on the Shadow was one of the best we had been on.

The CD, apart from trivia, is a nonentity to me (in the nicest possible way) and usually has no impact at all on my cruise. The other staff on that particular cruise, with very few exceptions, were excellent.

The CD, apart from trivia, is a nonentity to me (in the nicest possible way) and usually has no impact at all on my cruise. The other staff on that particular cruise, with very few exceptions, were excellent.

That is usually the case for me too, but on my last cruise the CD was a great addition to the cruise. Perhaps it is a matter of him being a perfect match for me and the previous ones weren't.

I will say that a CD mis-matched to my personality will in no way turn me off SS. The first one we had, years ago, was OK (personally very nice, but nothing special in her role) and then we've had some that didn't match our personalities at all. But we keep coming back, over and over, because the overall experience from all of the crew is so amazing.

That is usually the case for me too, but on my last cruise the CD was a great addition to the cruise. Perhaps it is a matter of him being a perfect match for me and the previous ones weren't.

 

I will say that a CD mis-matched to my personality will in no way turn me off SS. The first one we had, years ago, was OK (personally very nice, but nothing special in her role) and then we've had some that didn't match our personalities at all. But we keep coming back, over and over, because the overall experience from all of the crew is so amazing.

U nailed it CanadianKate! I feel exactly the same way.

Cheers

Jennifer