labrasett

Seems to me if people dont like the cost of BC upgrade then they should take the air credit and buy their own flights.   We are taking air credit for flights down under next winter which come in at £1,500 per person and we have booked our own BC flights which come in at circa £11,000 so thats £4,000extra per person over the [economy] air credit from Silversea which is broadly similar to what they were offering when the trip was booked (I think at that time it was £1999 per person per flight).   For me on this occasion the big difference is that I wanted to do open jaw flights and I wanted control over the routing and the airlines and this is what I have got.   If you go for the Silversea upgrade option you may (and I only say may) be booked on airlines you dont like, on routes you dont like and at times you dont like.  On many routes Silversea offer flights below what you can personally buy but to do this they must make savings somewhere so the result it quite often discontent and inconvenience for the passenger.   

Door decorations?   OK so long as they are temporary and dont cause damage.

Binoculars?   Bring your own

Southamptom?   Southampton Cruise Terminal but the dock may change dependent upon how many ships are in

I have just paid two arms and two legs for self booked air fares from UK to Perth and return from Auckland to UK.   Airfares are never going to get cheaper.   The only alternative is to travel in economy (or even premium economy where available) but on these long flights it really isnt for me I would prefer not to travel!!

50 minutes ago, erikzen said:

The food might not be great but you wouldn't know it looking at your pics. They at least seem to do a good job with the presentation.

The pizzas were out of this world delicious.

Anyway, a lot of my friends are American.

2 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Catch a ferry indeed.

Have you not seen the last dogs breakfast at the  Easter getaway.

I wouldnt attempt to travel during the School holidays!!    However notwithstanding the queues at Dover this year there are other departure points where these issues were not so marked (Portsmouth, Plymouth, Poole for example).   

She certainly is a beautiful ship.   We dont care for "entertainment" so werent in any way disappointed in that respect and I hesitate to suggest that music by the pool except perhaps at lunchtime or in early evening would be unwelcome for many, peace and quiet has have many merits.   As for food, well my main complaint would be that the meat portions were just too big for me, I cannot face a large piece of meat on my plate so didnt have meat apart from sharing a fillet steak with my husband at Hot Rocks on one occasion.   I ate lobster perhaps five or six times in various venues, I had wonderful turbot, salmon, cod and prawns also in a variety of venues.   All the fish dishes were, to me, surprisingly good considering they must have been frozen at some point but were nevertheless succulent and appropriately flavoured.  The lunch buffet in La Terrazza never failed to offer something delicious including some really wonderful quiches and also some spicy hot dishes.   Overall I didnt feel the food was disappointing but mainly not to my taste.

I wonder if the passenger mix (US biased apparently) has something to do with the routings.   Lots and lots of trips around Europe are possibly less attractive to Europeans since it is easy for us to get around the see our own continent.   It is unlikely we would book a cruise in Europe since from UK we can get in the car, catch a ferry and drive across Europe very easily.   We can also have a huge rail network available to us in Europe.  I suspect many Europeans are more attracted to the distant destinations than those on their doorstep.   I am a bit sorry to see the rather limited choices of cruises around South America in the next couple of years compared with recent itineraries.    It will be interesting to see what the national mix is on a cruise from Sydney to Auckland.

Oh dear more moans and groans.   We have been sailing on Silversea since 2011 and they have always offered us champagne on boarding.  Baseball caps are never welcome in the dining room although some people try and push their luck.  Perhaps people in US have more money to spend on holidays than people in Europe.   Didnt hear Atlantide pronounced Alant - eyed  when we were on the Dawn last month.

48 minutes ago, canderson said:

I'll be wearing mine on my tank top (can't find one with lapels, even at Men's Warehouse), so I guess we won't be speaking!

 

Drat, I dont usually wear a tank top over my posh frock.

2 hours ago, drron29 said:

Just think of the numbers in my reply. If 542 guests averaged just 7 nights it means more than half the cruise consisted of new guests so the chance of them sitting next to another new guest is greater the chance of sitting next to someone who has done many cruises on SS.

Does it matter so long as they are all enjoying themselves.

So what is stopping the small number of Venetian Society guests from mixing with the new SS guests?  In my experience you dont discover who are Venetian Society guests until you start talking to them, new guests to SS are usually really enjoying themselves and what is for many a real luxury experience.   We need lots of new SS guests to ensure our favourite cruise company continues to thrive and grow.

On 4/14/2023 at 12:24 PM, MBP&O2/O said:

The last cruise I did with SS was just after covid so we had all the usual tests etc. SS clearly said that they would provide a comfortable waiting area and that they would supply refreshments etc. They provided nothing whatsoever ever. They made people wait in an unheated room and absolved themselves of responsibility from not  providing refreshments. Apparently it was due to covid?

The whole process, from failing to issue boarding instructions, to actually boarding was a shambles. I did 'offer feedback' but it was ignored.

A phrase concerning parties and breweries springs to mind.

Being that there were other issues with SS UK  corporate, I wouldn't trust SS ever again .... and the OP's issues do not surprise  me at all.

There is a solution, travel with someone else you are obviously well fed up with SS.

On 4/2/2023 at 5:11 PM, Cahmuty said:

we just got back from Japan, leaving from Miami. Was a nightmare.  Booked through Silverair due to the costs of booking directly.  Will never use Silverair again, not matter what the price. Not only did it take us 30 hours and 3 changes but When we were booked on a flight LAX to KIX and weren’t given a seat assignment, knew we had a problem.  Of course, flight was overbooked.  after much stress, (passengers shifted around)we were finally given a boarding pass and seat assignments 1/2 hour before flight took off.  Other people on our Japan cruise had similar experiences.  

Are you sure the fault lay with Silversea?   Airlines have a habit of overbooking and it wont matter if you have an assigned seat if they decide to bump you off.   On another tack some passengers turned up at Lisbon airport after Barbados to Lisbon cruise and when they looked for their departure details on the departure board their flight wasnt on there.   To cut a long story short the flight had been cancelled and SS hadnt been advised but with the help of a local rep and Silverair the passengers were eventually rebooked on to an alternative airline/route but without business class for one of the longer sectors.  They were pretty complimentary about the way SS handled the matter for them.   I cant remember which airline it was but it was one of the "better" ones.   Air travel is very hit and miss these days.

I too changed a booking when the prepay discount came available.   I cancelled and rebooked and even with the UK£400 rebooking fee (becomes a potential FCC) I got around £2000 back and it was paid within a week.   My re-booking was into the same cabin.    Since I was already doing my own flights to accommodate one of the great train rides across Australia and having a few days in Perth and Sydney pre-cruise, it was so worthwhile.    No trouble at all my SS rep in London was very helpful and it was all done and dusted in one phone call and a couple of emails.

On 4/12/2023 at 3:35 PM, broker1217 said:

I was just on the Moon and there were many, many scooters, wheelchairs and walkers in the hallways. Electric wheelchairs and scooters were plugged into hallway outlets to recharge.

 

Several mobility aids parked in the corridors on the Dawn on Barbados to Lisbon.   Still sufficient room for other mobility challenged individuals to get past.   Very disability friendly.

On 2/10/2023 at 9:21 PM, A Tucson Guy said:

SS never ceases to amaze me. I sent Barbara Muckermann an email this morning explaining the problem above. In THREE HOURS I got an email back from Barbara and the name of one of her associates that is going to help me solve the problem. Barbara agreed that the 40 minute connection was not doable and she recommended a minimum connection time of 90 minutes, also. I call this excellent customer service!! I will post the "rest of the story" when I have it.

Sadly I dont think even 90 minutes is enough to change aircraft and terminals at LHR.   I would have said a minimum of two hours and ideally more.

I am afraid I dont understand why people complain about their butlers (or indeed anything else on SS) on a site like this when the solution would have been to ask for a word with the Head Butler or other person in charge.   A gentle push at the status quo, in my experience, usually results in a good outcome in almost all spheres of life.   If a butler is new or inexperienced then he might be glad to be told what is going wrong or what he lacks.   We had one new butler who asked us outright if there was more we wanted from him and what he could do to improve his service to us - not really anything we told him because we dont expect or ask much of our butlers, we only wish for them to be polite and cheerful and to put some Sauvignon Blanc in our fridge and keep the fridge topped up accordingly.   😃 

On 4/6/2023 at 6:44 PM, erikzen said:

I'll play Devil's Advocate and point out that Silversea claims they send their "butlers" to butler training a The School for Butlers and Hospitality. So it seems not only are we getting duped into thinking they are butlers but the "glorified cabin stewards" must be getting duped, too, if they think they are going for butler training, when in fact it is steward training. Or perhaps they are all in on the marketing plan.

https://schoolforbutlers.com/the-school/

https://schoolforbutlers.com/blog/teaming-up-with-the-number-one-cruise-line/

Thank you for providing evidence that the butlers have received at least rudimentary (4 weeks) butler training.   They do very well on it.

I saw a hot water bottle on the top of a trolley in the corridor on the Dawn only a couple of weeks ago.

15 hours ago, Rothko1 said:

 

I call our butler a Plenipotentiary instead.

Having looked up the full definition of the word plenipotentiary now there is an individual to be held in high esteem and awe (such as we generally do our butlers)

15 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

I think the point is some new to SS cruisers are intimidated by the “Butler” moniker.

I find it hard to believe that anyone who can afford to travel on SS is "initimidated" by references to a butler.   Most passengers do not come much more humble than we were when we first started travelling on SS and while we were a little tremulous about the whole experience the word "Butler" was not a cause of any consternation our main concern was about whether we would "fit in".   All nonsense of course since 99.9% of SS passengers are lovely people.

Does it really matter what the role is called?   I dont think people from US are so shallow as to be impressed by the aristocratic title of Butler.   Whats in the name?    Frankly very little, on the cruise the butler is your friend and assistant offering to facilitate whatever you wish for.   They are almost exclusively lovely people who would be missed by many longer term SS passengers.

1 hour ago, VanBC20 said:

Thank you for the info.  2 questions:

 

1. What time did you arrive in Guayaquil?  I'm booking our own flights from Guayaquil and need to get home early.

 

2. I'm having difficulty finding the correct information on the Covid policy.  Ecuador and Galapagos islands don't have any restrictions/testing requirements but the SilverSea website says they do require tests.  What was your experience on that?

The flight to Guayaquil left around 10.30 in the  morning and got in around 1.30 ish as I recall (three weeks ago).   We had flights to Lima booked for 9.00 pm that night and took the day room in the hotel and had transport (SS) back to the airport around 6.30.

SS check vaccination papers on arrival at the hotel pre cruise.  Fully vaccinated pax with evidence did not need to take further test.

On 3/14/2023 at 5:51 PM, Rothko1 said:

That's funny, I totally forgot about the rubber bands on the shower door.  The staff kept putting them on the door to keep it shut, and I'd take it off every morning for a shower, and they'd be back on whenever we came back to the room.  A quirky little thing; I thought nothing of it.

 

Also had a very aggressive closet light sensor that would go off if you walked to the bathroom at night.  Because the closet door couldn't close because of the latch issue.  The butler solved that problem on Day 2 by putting a piece of paper over the sensor so that the light would go on if you walked into the closet, but not if you walked by it.  Never bothered us again after the first night.

Love your comment about butler solving the light problem, please see comments in the thread about butlers -  clearly they are useful and often resourceful!!    😃