spencgr

Never sailed anything but Silversea, but have certainly seen videos of the chaos at check-in and the waits for embarking and disembarking on other ships.  The ease of "here I am, please take these to my cabin" is such a great luxury feeling.  We pay for it, biut worth it IMO.

Just now, Lois R said:

Hi, welcome to Silversea and nope, luggage tags are not provided in advance. You can get them at the pier. 

Hope you have a great cruise🙂

Is that new?  Albeit, it was a few years ago, but Silversea sent mine to me.

Are you attached at the hip? Why can't you do trivia and your husband do whatever floats his boat? :cool:

certainly not attached at the hip! In fact, we spend most of our non-vacation time apart. I guess that's why we tend to want to spend time with each other on vacation. No problem finding something we both like.....

Ah...generally a big trivia fan....but my husband hates it......we don't participate.

Wow, so much great info. Thanks everyone. I guess I should be a little more specific as I would like to have food bought from the local ports however I am more interested in having choices of location specific meals such as greek in greece, polynesian in the south pacific, salmon and crab in alaska, etc. but of course I want it of high quality. Most mass market lines will have ethnic cuisine but its not dependent on where they are in the world and it is usually of low quality and americanized. I don't mind dressing nicely for dinners but dont want formal wear every night or feel strange wearing shorts during the day as I am on vacation. Even though we are still fairly young for the luxury lines I feel like the older I get the more luxury I want and expect.

My husband and I sound like you guys. We've done SilverSea twice and loved it. While more formal than we like; it is not a deterrent to sailing with them again. We go to The Grill on formal night or eat onshore. As a foodie, I find most everything very delicious on board (except for La Dame, which has been a disappointment twice); but we plan for our "local" food off the ship. We research ports and restaurants and get our "local" fix there.

Unfathomable gave a great description, but I'll add some more, as I am also on the Spirit now until Tuesday in Lisbon. This is my first time on the Spirit, so I can only compare to the Whisper.

1) Size - Obviously bigger, but I haven't felt that onboard. No lines, places aren't crowded...it feels the same to me, which is good.

2) Restaurants - Had great meals at Seishen and Atlantide. Extremely disappointed in La Dame. We quite liked Le Chapagne on the Whisper, but this was a mockery of fine dining.

a) appears I could only get the house wine without paying extra?? What?? We had many options on the Whisper, considering we were already paying extra for the meal.

b) need to use a knife for the Lobstet Bisque? Really?

c) Souffle was like a heavy eggy pudding. Very poorly executed.

d) My husband's Beef Bourguignon had cilantro instead of parsley in it. Enough said.

Also, not allowing ordering from the restaurant menu in the rooms is a HUGE step back.

3) Tours - We normally like to do our own thing, but will sometimes take an offered tour. But the tour should be as offered. Don't just stroll me through shops when the tour was supposed to be about the history.

4) After "stretch" issues - Our room is still missing wall plates for electrical sockets and the button on the phone to call our butler doesn't ring anywhere. Not major issues for us.

5 ) Art/ Arts Cafe - The Arts Cafe is a lovely place to grab a morning or afternoon snack. While I didn't see any art in here (lots of art books) , I am very pleased with the diverse and interesting collection of art throughout the ship.

So, overall, a great trip. My experience on the Whisper was much better (it has double sinks in the bathroom), but this has been fine.

I'm just thinking with the premium we've paid for luxury, some of these things shouldn't have happened.

Why aren't you considering Crystal?

I'd prefer a line with as few children as possible.

Be sure you are comparing apples to apples. I don't believe those three lines are identical with what they offer for the price. Doesn't Regent offer air fare and some excursions, possibly a hotel room before the cruise? Also, specific cruises might have special offers. Why aren't you considering Crystal?

I am doing my best to compare apples to apples by adding in airfare (when another has it included) and estimated costs for excursions, etc. I still find Silversea noticeably less expensive than the other two.

Itineraries do factor into the price. Some itineraries car simply more expensive than others.

Yes, I am comparing similar itineraries across the lines.

I'm about to embark on my 2nd "luxury" cruise (actually 2nd cruise ever), and both will have been with Silversea. Both times I did extensive research between Regent, Seabourn, and Silversea to find the best price for a comparable itinerary. (Northern Europe; Western Mediterranean). I kept coming back to Silversea, because the price was better.

So, my questions are:

Is it just the itinerary I am choosing that makes Silversea less expensive? Are there other itineraries that make the others better priced? If so, what are these destinations?

If Silversea is actually at a lower price point, what are the tangible benefits to the other two lines? All three are all-inclusive; all three are considered luxury.. .........so what makes people choose the other two?

So my TA told me the following were "extra" cost:

Hendricks Gin

Luksusowa Vodka

Diet Tonic Water

ok, I get that the Vodka is not standard, but we provided plenty of notice...and it is 1/4 of the cost of what we can get for no added cost (Chopin).

I also see that Diet Tonic isn't standard, but, really? They can't throw us a bone? Not hard to find.

And Hendricks??? Very standard gin. I haven't been in a bar in three years that didn't have Hendricks.

No.

 

 

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Thanks!

The internet costs at sea are very, very expensive. So, just have him bring video of the Eagles winning the Super Bowl to keep him occupied. [emoji6]

 

In all honestly, there are so many variables on streaming quality, it’s virtually impossible to estimate whether it’ll work. If it does, there is a television in the card room, but not sure SS would let him connect to it.

 

 

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Ha! Well, he's already watched that enough that he can say the announcers' lines before they do. Not sure he'll wake up to watch it again (but he may!)

Yes, I totally know that wi-fi is spotty and NOTHING is guaranteed, but just HOW expensive are these internet costs?

oh geeze...gonna be on the Spirit in May (but not the first cruise, apparently the 2nd), and this is the first I've heard of the remodel.

Is this something Silversea should have shared with me?

Is this something a good travel agent should have shared with me?

I've actually booked my dinner reservations already (waitlisted on one night), so is this anything I should be actually concerned about?

So, my husband and I will be on the Spirit this May. My husband is a HUGE Philadelphia Flyers fan. Should they make the playoffs, and move into the 2nd round (I know, these are "ifs", but I would like to be prepared, if possible), there will be games while we are on the boat. Does anyone have experience with watching US sporting events on a Silversea cruise?

I know they won't have a feed. It will have to be through wi-fi, streamed through his device. Is there a screen anywhere, that he can hook his phone up to?

Are other areas of the ship (yes, I probably won't want him watching it in the room at 2 am) that he can go to watch?

Do the bars close? Can he get a drink/ beer while watching the game (outside of our room) in the middle of the night?

I'm sure I can look deeper on the Silversea website, but does anyone know what the Wifi package costs are? We are in a Veranda suite, so we only "get" 1 hour per person per day.

Thanks for any information!

For how much these cruises cost, I was rather shocked how crowded the laundry room was on Day 1. (If we can afford the cruise, can't we afford the laundry service?) I actually like booking a room near the laundry room to make it more convenient.

Took me a few minutes to figure out the machine..but I got it. Bringing your own dryer sheets is a great tip.

I can't find an itinerary on Silversea, so maybe it is already full. But I did a Southampton to Copenhagen cruise last summer and LOVED it. What are your port stops?

Dining at Le Champagne is akin to a multi-course tasting menu at an exclusive restaurant. With meals and wine, my husband and I easily spend $600+ when we do this. I find the $120 fee extremely reasonable and really enjoyed it.

I do agree that the portions are too large, though.

My husband, who is somewhat of a whiskey snob and has a collection of about 300 bourbons, scotches and other whiskies, found the selection akin to a nice hotel bar (Loewes, Fairmont, Ritz, etc). He did prefer the specialty selections in the Connoisseur Lounge, but those are not "all-inclusive". Since it is also the cigar bar, I didn't enjoy sitting there (who wants a smokey outfit to put back in the closet), but I believe you can order from there and drink it elsewhere.

We didn't make use of them having our room stocked with our preferences, but certainly will next May.

Does anyone know what airlines SilverSea has contracts with? I'm trying to understand what my flight itinerary might be should I purchase their airfare. Thanks.

On Silversea you can always get dinner served ("course by course" or all at once) in your cabin and wear anything you want. After a long day of sightseeing, my husband and I chose dinner in the room a few times.

On a cruise...

Noma - Copenhagen, Denmark

Hertog Jan, Brugges, Belgium

not on a cruise.....

Alinea - Chicago, Ill

La Bernadin, NYC, NY

Thanks again & one day, try a Junior or Mini Suite - these cabins generally are 50% bigger than regular cabins & balconies are often 30-50% bigger as well ( but NOT NCL or Princess..) DW LOVES the walk in closets & bathtub & living room areas!!

Yes. So we were on a SilverSea cruise, so the cabin was a suite (with balcony, walk-in closet, living room area, separate bathtub (jetted) and shower, two sinks, etc).

So, I am definitely spoiled now. Bad for me; good for the cruise industry.

Oh, and I am pretty sure I am also spoiled in regards to ship size. A small ship, with no lines ever for anything, is the only way I will go now.

Just sailed on my first cruise last month, and had a balcony. As I start to research, plan, and price the next one, my husband said, "Before we went I didn't think the balcony would be necessary; I now realize it was crucial".

I won't ever sail with out one, now.