Observer

It need not be a classic book like Austen or Dickens or Trollope. A title like this, conspicuously displayed, might be effective in ensuring your solitude.

I have a friend who shares this preference. But she also enjoys a solitary pre-dinner drink in the bar, etc. Her strategy is to carry a book or magazine and pretend to be reading it or at least holding it on her lap. This sends a signal and helps avoid situations in which some well-meaning person/couple seek to join you assuming that you are lonely and in need of company.

Actually, on the Spirit there are some differences. Only a handful of the deluxe suites (those created when the ship was stretched) have the bathtub removed and a huge and wonderful walk-in shower with a bench.

Thanks!

Thanks very much for the prompt response. My question is whether there is a discount when booking two separate individual cruises, back to back. Another cruise line I use applies a 5% discount to each cruise, when two consecutive (say 10 day) cruises are booked to make a longer (say 20 day) cruise.

Hello, I looked and looked and didn't find an answer. Is there a discount for two consecutive cruises booked back-to-back? TIA.

Thank you for your important question, which is doubtless on the minds of many Silversea guests. The cruise line should have stated explicitly that swimwear is not acceptable in the restaurants at dinner time. Failure to do this has led to the category error your question implies. Bathing suits and jeans are in different categories. The former is in the swimwear category; the latter in the category of trousers. 🙂

This is not the case on longer cruises. Casual nights can be sprinkled throughout the cruise. They are not as frequent as informal nights and generally occur when a ship is in port until late in the evening.

This outrage regarding jeans is remarkable. There are some very high end, very expensive jeans from widely recognized designers. Why should they be frowned upon so?

You are most welcome. Did you happen to test my assertion by looking on my.silversea to see if any excursions were available for your 2025 booking?

The Navigator is a wonderful, smaller, older ship. I would gladly sail it again if the itineraries were right. Find yourself a good travel agent who specializes in cruiselines like SS and Regent. They can answer your questions and provide nice perks for your business. The Internet is your friend here in finding someone.

In a recent development, excursions are open on my.silversea immediately upon booking.

If you embark on the cruise with expectations of anything like Crystal, you will be disappointed. But if your needs/wants are more modest and if you can amuse yourself with a good book or a movie in addition to lectures, competitions, in conversation with new friends, you will have a fine time.

The suite attendant's functions are quite different from those of the butler. The suite attendant does not deal with food or drink. S/he works very hard making the beds, changing the linen, vacuuming the suite, cleaning the bathroom, washing the door to the veranda, etc. Ideally, the suite attendant and the butler are a team who work well together.

The butler's work is often largely invisible. S/he will often service the suite when the guests are away at meals or ashore. S/he dusts, replenishes the fridge with water and other beverages, tidies up the room, etc. Other services (such as delivering breakfast and/or coffee, refreshing the fresh fruit, collecting and delivering laundry, making reservations at restaurants that require them, delivering canapés at cocktail time, etc.) are on request. The core functions are often invisible. Other services need to be requested.

I really do not understand why Silversea feels the need to offer so many inclusions. I rarely take excursions offered by the ship. I prefer to explore independently, and I resent paying for these excursions. I would assume the most guests are experienced travelers and have established methods of getting from home to the airport and vice versa. Why does Silversea feel the need to offer this transport to everyone?

I will not use Blacklane in the US. The problem is that the company does not have its own cars but rather subcontracts the rides to other limo companies. Let's say my Blacklane ride is contracted to Acme Limo. Acme has some long-standing customers who book directly with Acme. And then they take orders from Blacklane to pick up the slack. Let's say there is a big snowstorm in Minneapolis and there are many delays at the airport. The regular Acme customer was supposed to arrive at 8 PM. My Blacklane ride was scheduled for a pick up at 10:30 PM. The regular Acme customer in fact arrives at 9:50 PM and is met by the Acme car. I arrive on time and there is no car for me. They are not going to diss a long-standing, regular customer. So they cannot do my scheduled Blacklane run.

I share your skepticism about Blacklane and will post a separate message below. But the scenario that you outlined above is not likely to occur, according to my understanding of the program. The program does not have a Blacklane limo meeting guests at the ship. I believe that the limo transport is from the guest's home airport to the guest's home. So the demand will be distributed among airports around Europe (possibly around the world.)

On another social media site it was asserted that lunch was not available in Atlantide. If true, this is very disappointing, particularly for guests with limited mobility who cannot comfortably navigate the buffet in LaTerrazza and who may be averse to eating at the Grill. I would be grateful for current information on this matter. TIA.

And why is that? Why can this decision not be made earlier? Decisions about what ports to visit, the times of the visits, the provisioning for the ships, etc., etc. are made long in advance. If they can make dress code decisions two weeks advance for 14 night cruises (the list is provided in the Chronicle available on embarkation) why can't they be made earlier? Obviously, there may be changes if the ship is in very stormy weather, etc. But this is a bit of information that guests reasonably want to have while making restaurant reservations.

They could follow the example of Viking Ocean and forbid children under a certain age. 18 (the Viking age minimum) may be too severe. But 12 might be reasonable.

This is an entirely reasonable desire, and one that I have as well. Try as I might, I cannot understand why this information cannot be provided in advance of the cruise.

The butler serves dinner if it is taken in the suite. My understanding/recollection is that at dinner time one can order from the Restaurant/Atlantide menu in addition to the room service menu. The galley for room service is close to the main gallery for the MDR, with access to the same service corridor/lift, etc. Things would get much more complicated if one was ordering from other restaurants on other decks with other access to service lifts. As ever, I may be mistaken and would be pleased to be corrected/edified.

One would think this would be the case, and it may well be. However, when I asked for some applesauce to accompany a pork chop, I was told that they would gladly make some for me. The implication was that they would not just be opening a can or jar.

It is worth noting that the room service menu is quite large and varied. Includes not only soups, sandwiches and salads but also steaks and salmon and pasta and pizza and fruit plates and several nice desserts.