Kjtravels16

Havie sailed both but on,y once on Crystal and three times on Silversea. As others have pointed out, the cabins on Silversea are coonsiderably,y larger. That matters to me when I travel with a friend rather than solo. I think of Crystal as summer camp—-tons of options, lots of activities, etc. also more Americans. On my Silversea trips, I have met many more people from other places such as UK, Australia, France. I love that aspect of Silversea. I felt food was fine on both. Silversea had the butler service in veranda level but I am fine without that. Crystal had lots of laundry facilities which were dreadful on Silversea. Both were very positive experiences so it would depend on itinerary and pricing.

I booked for 1 for all evenings on my Spirit cruise from Rouen to Lisbon last year. Never ended up dining alone as I met people along the way. It was easy to change reservations once on board. Silversea did a nice job with solo travelers—-it was my first solo trip and I would not hesitate to do again.

Have a great trip! I loved my cruise.

I booked a solo for all evenings on my Spirit cruise from Rouen to Lisbon last year. Never ended up dining alone as I met people along the way. It was easy to change reservations once on board.

Have a great trip. I loved my cruise.

Glad it worked out well for you Merly. Really loved my recent Barcelona-Athens cruise on the Wind.

Heading home from Athens and wanted to add some thoughts on the cruise, especially regarding expectations because we met a large number of people who were doing their first cruise on Silversea.

First, this itinerary was spectacular and I doubt I will ever have 13 more interesting days——-from the peacefulness of Ithaca to the crowds in beautiful Mykonos, sailing thru the Corinth Canal and having the opportnity to see Ephesus at night, gorgeous living postcard Santorini. It goes on and on. Did not hurt that we had stellar weather.

Service, great and food really good. Just a few small misses but generally better than I expected.

While I spoke with many who enjoyed their experience, on our last night, we were with some people who expressed very negative comments on this cruise (their first with Silversea) specifically regarding gym facilities and entertainment. They had expected 5 star in both of those categories. Here’s my reaction. I have a nephew who exercises every day and when he and my niece travel anywhere, they always stay at large, Marriott hotels where he knows he will have the equipment he wants. No boutique hotels for them. As far as entertainment, yes, on Crystal with a ship with close to 1,000 passengers, the Billy Joel show had the person who played the role on Broadway. It was excellent but I don’t expect the same level with Wind having under 300 passengers.

I guess my point is this——research well. If a casino is important, consider the size of the ship as well as cruise line. If ports are the main focus with early dinner, early bedtime and early awakening, think about who to choose. I loved my Crystal cruise but don’t need all the choices they offer if I am doing a port intensive trip. I travel with a friend and the negative with them is cabin size—-Silversea offers more space as well as butler in veranda suite. Those are things I weigh when selecting.

Going forward, I would look at Silversea first but also consider others based on itinerary and comments from friends who have had good experiences on Regent, Crystal and Viking. I had a great time on this cruise and pointed out my criticisms on an earlier thread. My message here is do research on the ship and cruise line before booking so you won’t be disappointed. Know the strengths and weaknesses as much as possible so you can enjoy your trip and not have a negative experience.

Used Denrus in 2016, Whisper Baltic cruise. We signed up for group but others did not sign up. There were only 2 of us but we paid for third person and got group rate (hope that makes sense) for 3 days of tours. I really wanted to see the Russian Museum and other group tours did not offer it. Great experience, as is the evening concert at the Hermitage.

Well, yesterday I was outed when someone on the ship asked if I was kjtravels ((you know who you are!!). 😀😀😀. Person said that my comments came across more negatively than when in conversation, soooooo, let me clarify a few things.

This is a terrific cruise with wonderful ports. The shore excursion yesterday in Ithaca and the one today in Santorini were excellent. Yesterday, Alan gave a nice presentation on his career in cruising as well a bit on Santorini. Staff is great, nice passengers, very good food, and, lucky for us so far, sensational weather.

All that said, I try to be objective in my comments, not meaning to be nitpicking or negative. I am not at all bothered with the decor, etc on Wind as some others are. My poached eggs this morning were overcooked. So what. Not a big deal at all and hope you hear the tone in that comment. I really do mean so what.

The 2-3 areas I had issue with were destination speakers, the laundry facilities or lack there of, and the really heavy doors out to veranda. Would that make me not sail on the Wind, no. I would gladly boas Wind again. But, I do feel it is fair to raise those things.

This cruise has been wonderful and has exceeded my expectations. I love the smallers ships. So, there you go!

Replies to a few of you. First, regarding destination speakers——for me, 13 days is a long cruise! 😀. Baltic was shorter and had a destination speaker. Others have also been disappointed by this.

Ship Captain is Gennaro Alma (I think that is the spelling), Flavio Giola Hotel Director and Alan King Cruise Director.

Great tour in Ithaca today. I had no idea it was such a beautiful island. An earthquake in 1953 destroyed all structures but the towns were rebuilt with a strict code and it is charming..Spectacular views from the mountain, hairpin tours, wow. We are the only ship in port which has not been the case nor will it be, going forward. Tomorrow is Corinth Canal which will be exciting. Truly a lovely itinerary. And, rain was expected today but none so far. Been so lucky with the weather.

Mid ship veranda here too and while we requested and had sliced fruit yesterday, nothing came or was asked about for today.

That said, the unlimited wifi has been a benefit to me. Certainly I would not be posting here without it!

Tonight the dining room is serving ragu de chingale, one of my favorites. Also, a Greek group of some sort is coming on to perform folk dances and songs. Should be fun. If only they had destination speakers......

There have been lots of comments on the Wind so thought I would add my experiences so far on the Barcelona to Athens cruise. This is my first time on the Wind but have sailed on Spirit last summer and Whisper 2 years ago. I don’t find it as tired and shabby as others have stated,

I do like the size of the ship. Staff throughout have been very friendly, creating a nice, warm environment. Been served excellent meals at La Terraza and good at restaurant too. I know others have complained about the food and service but I am not experiencing that at all.

Guides on shore excursions ok so far. Paolo in Capri was terrific.

I do, however, have some real complaints. There must really be some cost cutting moves. No destination presentations at all. If one is not taking a shore excursion, you get a printed out map and shuttle schedule but have no sense of the port unless you have done your own research. I have only taken 4 cruises, 3 Silversea and 1 Crystal but all had commentary that was interesting and informative.

Then there is the laundry room 3 machines, 1 iron, 1 ironing board. Machines are challenging to operate correctly and not working well. 294 passengers. Need I say more. Apparently the expectation is that people will send out their laundry or have sailed enough to get it for free.

Little picky things like needing to ask for snack in room in the afternoon. Previous cruises did that automatically, 3 chops on rack of lamb rather than 4, etc, as I said little things.

The doors to out to veranda are hard to open and only stay open if chair placed against the door. I miss the sliders that can be kept open.

So far the weather has been glorious and the itinerary is truly a lovely one. I really think the major disappointment for me is the lacking of a destination presentation.

Hi Mudhen

On the Silver Whisper Baltic cruise a few years ago, we used DenRus and did 3 days of the private tour. There were only 2 of us but we paid for 3 and were able to customize at a group rate. I really wanted to go to the Russian Museum and this afforded us the opportunity to do so. We had a great experience with them throughout the process.

Also, did the Silversea eveining concert at the Heritage and it was a trip highlight. Have a great time!

Kathy

Thanks for the positive posts on the Wind. Looking forward to cruise at the end of April. May also do a tour from Livorno into Lucca so appreciate your positive feedbaxk on that.

DW and I on the Wind in April for Med islands and Amalfi coast. Really enjoyed the ship and crew. Have a great cruise.

Thanks!!

Thanks for your post Rols. I will be sailing on Wind next April and had been concerned since there were a number of negative reviews. It's a great itinerary and your post made me even more excited! Kathy

Yes, Mudhen that Osso Bucco was fantastic!!! The coffee gelato was also perfection!

Hi Lois,

Keith knows Crystal well and is giving a more thorough/thoughtful comparison that I can do. There are several things, however that do really stick out to me in terms of differences beside things like the size comparison of the ship and butler service not offered on Crystal unless in Penthouse suite.

I travel with a friend so the larger, much, much larger veranda suite is a real positive for Silversea. Been on Whisper and Spirit and both rooms were great. So let me focus on some other things I experienced, not in any particular order:

Laundry facilities

Crystal had lots of well working machines on each floor and they were usually avaialble.

Silversea had one machine on Spirit, difficult to use, rarely available.

Activities

Crystal was like being at camp with a wide range of interesting activities, lectures, etc, especially for iPhone, iPad, Mac users. Lectures were interesting and fun. Who knew I would even come back with a needlepoint eyeglass case I made!

Silversea

I did not enjoy the destination lecturer but it seems others did. The opera person was very interesting. Not a lot of choices of activities so going forward, so if looking for those, I would l definitely favor Crystal.

Food

Crystal had their very good Japanese, Nobu place and I consistently enjoyed other meals. As others have mentioned, the bistro is a real asset before and after excursions when other places are not serving much or just for coffee. I would give Crystal the edge on food.

On Silversea, I thought Seishin was very poor but enjoyed other meals at Le Champagne and other venues. There was some uneveness and a very little petty thing was how the top of the cappucino looked---silly I know but after having lived in Italy, I missed the attractive swirls Especially on an Italian line! In some way it sort of summed it up----nothing special food wise. I (think?) remember enjoying the meals more on Whisper.

Entertainment

I don't care about in room entertainment and prefer reading than watching a movie in my room so can't comment on that.

Crystal shows were fun, good, entertaining and I loved the Billy Joel one having seen him perform that role in Contact. Very professionally done. Another with a West End entertainer was also very good. The Rio group they has on the ship the last night was terrific. The piano bar player was really good too.

Silversea entertainment was more in the just fine category to me, pleasant but not at the same level. Maybe it has to do with the size of the ship but......

Other guests

Seems like Silversea has more of an international feel in terms of passengers. This last trip I went solo and met a woman from Scotland as well as people from Australia, England, and some other places. On the Crystal cruise, it seemed mainly Americans. Could just be my limited expereince so not trying to generalize.

Not sure if this is helpful at all. My next cruise is on the Wind so I will be curious how I like that size. When I sailed on Srerenity, there were only about 600 so it felt about comparable to Spirit. I salied to Alaska on Coral Princess and that's too big for me.

Going forward, it will be about itinerary for me and I will include Regent since I have friends who have enjoyed their cruises. Although I have traveled extensively, only started cruising a couple of years ago so this is all still pretty new to me!

Lois,

Very happy that it has all worked out so well for you! Looking forward to hearing more details. Kathy

Like some others have experienced, I ended up pleased with the outcome and am excited about my new itinerary. That said, Silversea handled the entire fiasco very poorly and as a customer, it has impacted how I feel about the cruise line (have sailed 3 other times on them). Would I cruise again on Silversea, yes, but........I had a great time on Crystal and friends loved Regent. Going forward it will be itinerary driven, not looking at where Silversea is going.

Moss was the CD on my June Spirit cruise. He joined a group of us at dinner and was absolutely delightful. Great guy with a super sense of humor.

Enjoy your cruise! It is a lovely ship and agree it was welcoming as a solo traveler. Only real problem was my weight gain primarily due to champagne consumption!

Thanks for the positive comments on Wind. I just booked and had been concerned when I read a number of negative reviews. Sorting through the comments, I think it will be a good fit. Did the Baltic on Whisper and loved it. Recently sailed on Spirit and had mixed feelings.

After a lot of hard work by my agent, there was a positive resolution. Am happy with the new cruise, am using Silversea air, paying a $150 deviation fee for dates I wanted. Got the flight options and, to my surprise, they were very good in terms of departure times, arrival times, and connecting times. I know I won't see seats until much closer to dates but so far am hopeful it will work out.

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement to keep trying for a better outcome. I was fortunate. A friend in Scotland had booked a family trip which was canceled----she was not as successful and says she will not sail Silversea again. Good luck to others in working it out.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions and you do raise an interesting point in using TA vs booking directly. It does seem those booking directly were able to influence the outcome more in this case.

The real issue for me is that I booked real early and any identical itineraries on similar lines are a chunk more. I'll try again with the longer Silversea one I liked----appreciate the encouragement to give it another shot!

I also heard from my TA today. The 20% for 2018 cruies is on SELECT voyages, not the two I was considering. Disappointed in the offer and likely will cancel, get refund and book on another line. Very poorly handled by Silversea.

Spoke with my travel agent who said Silversea has a specific person now dealing with all this. I looked at one possible new booking but the cost was not worth it. Seems they will know more next week, whatever that means! My TA was also upset to learn via me via Cruise Critic!