NeilP57

On my one week Spirit cruise last month, there was no included NZ Sauvignon Blanc available after the first night and according to reports none available either the following week. 
 

I did find the included wine offering disappointing. It was okay but nothing special. My wife was particularly disappointed that her tipple of choice (NZ SB) was unavailable. 

15 hours ago, Rothko1 said:

Our suite had an umbrella but no binoculars.

Same on Spirit last week. 

15 minutes ago, fudge said:

There are 498 passengers on board so pretty full.

I was told 514 last week, so very similar.

Got off Spirit last Friday. First time SS passenger.

One area that I thought SS did particularly well was the included excursions. Plenty of choices, the descriptions were excellent, and they were never crowded. 

If this is an area of particular interest to you, it may be worth enquiring of the availability of excursions before booking. I am one of those who book ages in advance, and then book excursions the minute they become available. 

We enjoyed our first time cruise with SS, some small gripes, but overall worth what we paid but felt our cruise lacked any  real "wow" moments often associated with a top end cruise line.

Would we go again, yes we would, if the itinerary and price was right.

22 minutes ago, turnip eater said:

There is no NZSB on board.🙁

That is amazing, but am I surprised?

13 minutes ago, turnip eater said:

Oh! I do hope they have the NZSB on board.we had red yesterday, no Auzzi red,,,,,but a very good Argentinian Malbec 🍷

Just off to brekkie 🍳 ☕️

Last week they had a really good Aussie Shiraz, hope I didn’t empty the cellar! As a back up try the Sonoma County Cab Sav. (Alexander Valley)
 

We loved all the outside space especially at Breakfast, a light breakfast outside of the Arts Cafe was our favourite. Super comfy seating. Enjoy your brekkie! 

2 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Now you’re talking!

 

Has SS brought on FeverTree for their tonic selections yet?

Got off Spirit yesterday. No fever tree on board, just Schweppes.  Not any NZ Sauvignon Blanc either. Fudge and Turnip Eater Hopefully they will have restocked the NZ SB this week if that’s one of your tipples 

32 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

I was under the impression that you could ask for any of the wines off the complimentary list at any time.  Is that not the case and they only offer one complimentary white & red wine at meals?

 Indeed you can always ask but if they haven’t got what you want ……. My wife wanted NZ Sauvignon Blanc and was disappointed none were available. 

They have plenty of other white wines for you to try. 
 

Currently on a short 7 night trip on Silver Spirit in the Adriatic. 
 

A little whine about the wine. 
 

On day 1 managed to track down a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc for my wife. 
 

This happened to be last bottle on board. No other NZ Sauvignon Blanc on board, other the $50 Cloudy Bay option. 

I find it staggering that a luxury line has run out of a staple offering of many wine lists around the world.
 

Being offered plenty of Chilean Chardonnay though. It’s been the first wine offered on each of the first three nights in three different restaurants. if they offer it again tonight, my wife may scream! 

3 minutes ago, turnip eater said:

We’ve just received an email stating that no testing will be carried out at the cruise terminal, but we have to present a negative antigen test performed within 72 hours of boarding, when we are checking in.

This is for the June 24th Venice sailing.🤔

How very strange, in the email quoted in post #34 above they said that pier side testing for EU departures would continue until June 31st. 
 

Maybe the EU requirements have changed from a negative test <24 hrs pre boarding to <72 hours. 
 

Or maybe the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing? 
 

I am boarding on the 17th in Venice and I have not received any new emails other than the one quoted above. Then again I have not received any  eDocs, tickets, etc either. 

2 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Thank you for this update. It is appreciated!🙂 What port are you sailing from?

The port is Venice with check in at the cruise terminal and then a bus takes passengers to the Fusina port about 25-30 minutes away. 

7 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

I arrived at the port at 12:40pm (earlier than intended). There were plenty of SS reps around; they took the luggage and directed me to a waiting area. The rep explained they wouldn’t begin boarding processes until 2pm including Covid testing  (and bc of Covid there wouldn’t be refreshments; however bottled water was available.)

 

There were probably 50 people already waiting when I arrived. About 1:15 they handed out the health questionnaire and shortly after began taking people for processing. Because there was no formal announcement and it was difficult to hear & many people started rushing in so staff had to corral them so that everyone wasn’t tryout to go in at once. The whole process was well organized with staff directing you along each step. I did do my Covid test there so that added to the process but once got the all clear I headed to checkin (photo and credit card) the to the shuttle bus. I was on the bus by 2:15. We sat for along time to get out of the port area — not sure why. By 3pm I was boarding the ship. Rooms were not ready until 4pm but restaurants were.  

Many thanks for the information, that’s so kind of you to post so promptly.
 

Perhaps turning up later (maybe 3pm) would be preferable. I may try and get a COVID test done in Venice late afternoon the day before. 
 

Was there any suggestion that this would have speeded up things by much? 
 

I am also trying to find out what happens at the end of the trip, does everybody get bussed back from Fusina to the cruise terminal or can go by taxi/coach from Fusina to the airport. Any thoughts, but maybe I will need to wait until your disembarkation instructions. 

For the avoidance of doubt these wonderful islands are called the Isles of Scilly, pronounced “silly”. 
 

Sicily is an island at the foot of Italy. 
 

I agree they are great photos and a great place to visit. We were there for a week last year and booked for another week at the end of July. 
 

On 5/26/2022 at 4:18 PM, mchell810 said:

@NeilP57    I did get the email this morning from SS: they are continuing pier-side testing until June 30th.  They note it as part of the EU requirements, as we are both boarding in Venice/Fusina I want to share this info.  (I cannot say what is happening for other regions.)

 

 

We received exactly the same message for our June 17 departure from Venice, I think which is a week after your departure. So glad that pier side testing is being retained for the Venice departures. 
 

The one point I am unsure about is what time to show up at the cruise terminal in Venice. The email says that embarkation is from 2pm, so does that mean arrive at the Venice cruise terminal at say 1pm, do all the normal check in formalities plus for us, pier side testing, and then get bussed to Fusina to arrive just after 2pm to board the SS Spirit. Or is the 2pm the earliest time you can arrive at the Venice cruise terminal. Any insight from your experience next week welcome. 
 

Just now, fudge said:

How long before you sail do they inform you please? We are 24 days out before sailing, nothing yet?

It used to be circa 30 days but given the changing circumstances, we had an email a while back from SS telling us that it would be circa 15 days before sailing. 
 

We are departing Venice on 17th June and are still waiting and an OP departing a week before us on 10th June received their boarding instructions and requirements yesterday. This indicates that they are sticking to what they say and issuing them 15 days beforehand. 

That is so very kind of you to let me know so promptly and the sensible outcome is good news. 
 

We hope your cruise goes well and you create great memories. 
 

2 minutes ago, Clodia said:

I can get tests from Randox and upload results via their app for certification for travel. Does anyone know if Silversea accepts these as the nearest pharmacy test would be over 50 miles away.

Hi Clodia, is the test itself overseen by a third party eg via a video link or is it the version whereby you upload a picture of the result and they produce an official looking certificate. 
 

From what I have read, unless the test itself is viewed by a third party, whereby you show them your passport, test kit, take the test and wait whilst the result comes on the lateral flow test itself, then the certificate they issue  is acceptable to SS. Whereas if you upload a picture of the result and they issue a certificate, then this is not acceptable. This is probably understandable as there is no third party verification of who took the test. 
 

29 minutes ago, mancunian said:

However the 17 june will be trickier and you will be denied boarding with no backup.    

We are on the 17 June departure on Spirit from Venice, Italy. Flying out from Heathrow three days beforehand. We are awaiting the final boarding instructions from SS, which we are told will be issued 15 days beforehand. 
 

The current information on the SS website for EU embarkation is that pier side testing will be provided. This can be found at:

https://www.silversea.com/lp-silversea-hrts-consumer-eu.html

It does provide details of what testing you can do yourself to expedite boarding.  In my experience, whenever I have done things to expedite boarding, uploading vaccination certificates into VeriFLY etc, I am often asked to provide sight of same. 
 

Obviously this could all change and we await the embarkation instructions with more than the normal interest. 
 

The Silversea Healthy Return to Sailing page on the website provides different information for different regions in the world. 
 

EU departures still say there will be pier side testing if independent negative tests are not provided. 
 

Northern Europe (assume cover the Moon departure from Iceland on May 30 referred to above) departures says that independent negative tests should be presented in boarding but is silent on what happens if not provided. 
 

By contrast, departures from Canada, Alaska and New England require a negative test before boarding but it does state that pier side testing will not be provided and boarding will be denied if a negative test result is not provided. 
 

The lesson of the story is to be careful about generalisations as it would appear that Silversea are operating different rules by different spheres of operation. Which makes sense because rules vary by jurisdiction.

Obviously it could all change! 

37 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

 

I am boarding Dawn in Venice on June 10th --  after searching the SS site I've learned that is the next (first ?) cruise out of Venice.  As far as I can tell, in other ports SS is doing pier-side testing, and I am hoping that will continue into June. A couple of weeks ago I received an email from SS saying they will send cruise specific information 15 days out, instead of 30 because of constantly changing regulations.  So, while I await further information from SS,  my backup plan is to do a test at VCO airport when I arrive June 9th -- I know that's not helpful for you.   I will post my experience since I know many have the same concerns.

Wow, that is great thanks. You post is much appreciated. We are departing on June 17th, so your timing will be perfect. I am sure I can find somewhere in Venice to do a pharmacy based test if they have stopped pier side testing in June, but it is now what I wanted to do in the few days we have pre-cruise in Venice.

We have had the same info regarding the 15 days days out rather than 30 days out. It will be interesting to see what they say to you in your cruise specific information. Also, it will be interesting to see how they deal with embarkation times, given that we have to check in at the Cruise Terminal and many will be arriving by water taxi. Can't make my mind up about trying to get their early (possibly with everybody else) or get there towards the end of embarkation when the early rush may have subsided.

Another two weeks have passed and I don’t think we are any clearer about what is happening to pier side testing. 
 

Have I missed anything? 
 

Boarding Spirit in Venice in June after a 3 night stay at a Hotel on a small Venetian Island, followed by water taxi to the cruise port ti check in, to be followed by a bus to Fusina to finally board Spirit. Not sure many options to get tested other than pier side. 

End of April becomes End of May……

Hopefully End of May becomes End of June.
 

We are due to embark in Venice in June after 3 nights hotel stay on a small island.
 

Surely they have to keep offering pier side testing or scrap the requirement altogether.
 

As others have said, it’s not the cost but the hassle of arranging.
 

13 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

 

May I ask where you see embarkation times in MySilversea?  I am sailing on the Dawn from Venice in June but haven't seen anything about boarding times -- maybe I just don't know where to look.

It is well hidden under Guest Information Form button, and then Guest Info tab  and then near the bottom of the Emergency Contacts tab and then near the bottom of that page just above where they ask for details of your insurance. 
 

Hope this helps. 
 

Will definitely try to help once we know what really happens at embarkation. 
 

We are staying in Venice for 3 nights prior to the cruise, so any testing requirements are very much of interest. The letter suggests that pier side testing will continue, but who knows if this is actually what will happen. 
 

There is no mention of embarkation times in the letter, MySilversea is still showing all times available from 2:00pm onwards, I have just been reading elsewhere on CC of the long lines of people waiting to board in Lisbon. 
 

it’s still a couple of months away so hopefully things will be clearer and better organised by the time we get to June.