Observer

This makes no sense at all to me. I wonder if it is an error.

Thanks to GOARMY for the contact information. I wrote to her a month ago and have not had the courtesy of a response. I understand that there has been holidays, etc. But there was not any acknowledgment of my message or an out of office reply. Friends who sail both on Regent and Silversea say is that they may be canceling voyages on Regent because of this decision. They see interesting health implications in a time of viruses. On many Silversea ships there are consistently three outdoor options for dinner. They lost a parent to Covid and are being as cautious as possible. they recently returned from a Caribbean cruise on Silversea and say they had every dinner outdoors at three restaurants.which offered al fresco dining.

These are not normal times in Peru. However, I do not react automatically to State Department travel advisories. Having lived and work abroad for a number of years and having good cooperative relations with the consular services, I know that State Is hyper-cautious. Part of this is the CYA mentality of many bureaucrats, who quite reasonably do not want to be called in front of congressional committees if a citizen or two happens to have been injured in a riot. Why were they there? People should exercise common sense to retreat from such situations.

I do not believe that the in-house cruise consultants are permitted to offer any onboard credits anymore.

Booking a Silversea cruise used to be fairly straightforward. Now it is an ever-changing target. Management seems to be fond of tinkering. And then there are the stealth changes, such as the sudden abolition of any onboard credits when cruises are booked directly with a Silversea consultant. I am not optimistic about my favored cruise line under its new leadership.

About 25% of the evenings have casual dress code. So no jacket expected anywhere on the ship. On dressier evenings, one can always drink at the pool bar, which is open until late every night. The pool bar is always casual (as is the Pool Grill restaurant.)

To be precise, dinner jackets or other formal wear is never required on Silversea. The jackets that are expected on nights designated “informal“ are sport jackets or suit jackets but not dinner jackets.

I agree that Silversea is a bit dressier than Regent. However, there is always a very casual dinner option on Silversea: the pool grill. It is outdoors (though service can be in covered areas with heaters if the weather is inclement) and some guests can and do appear in shorts and T-shirts. The menu is largely steaks and chops and fish, that can either be prepared in the galley or can be cooked by the guest on a hot lava rock at the table there are a few salad options and a few desserts. Since it is outdoors, it is quieter than typical restaurant venues. In this period of multiple viruses floating around, it may will also be healthier to be sitting in an open air venue rather than in a possibly crowded indoor restaurant.

Thank you. I will write to her shortly.

Any suggestions regarding a person in management (and email address, please) whom one could write to express serious disappointment with this apparent decision?

This is very disappointing news. Of course it is losing money. Nearly everything on Regent loses money. The money is earned with the very high fares. I assume that the bars lose money and the restaurants lose money. Luxury cruise lines are supposed to offer services, and the pool grill offers a quick, light dinner in a very casual atmosphere. Had Regent promoted dinner at the pool grill? Every guest dining in the grill is a guest who will not be crowding other (indoor) outlets. I can imagine myself making much greater use of room service at dinner time, and this is presumably a far more labor-intensive way of delivering food. I hope that Regent will reconsider and reverse this unfortunate decision.

I cannot find it either. I am pretty much a klutz with social media. I am reassured that fizzy says that s/he saw it as well. So I was not fantasizing. I certainly hope they are not abandoning the light dinner option al fresco at the pool grill.

It was on Facebook. Dare I say? 🙂

I was very pleased to learn in another thread on this board that dinner is available most evenings at the pool grill. It is a light dinner, and the dress code is very relaxed. However, in another social medium, someone said that pool grill dinners will no longer be available beginning in January. This would come as a great disappointment to me. Can someone who is currently on Splendor or who otherwise has access to authoritative information cast any light on this matter? TIA.

Many thanks!

I hope someone can help clarify a matter: The Splendor deck plan on RSSC site shows the Coffee Connection on the port side of deck five and Meridian Lounge on starboard side. But we are otherwise assured that the deck plan is incorrect and the Coffee Connection is starboard, etc. This is important for a noise-sensitive friend who was planning to book a G2 on the starboard side. Will be grateful for clarification. TIA.

An excellent suggestion. Thank you. I am embarrassed that I did not try this approach myself. It appears that there is a solid "railing" on these aft suites. Not good for a short lady who likes to see the water while sitting on the balcony.

Thanks very much. I saw a post regarding this problem on Explorer, but we are trying to determine if the same problem exists on Splendor.

I am asking for a computer-challenged friend who is considering a cruise on Splendor. She has been booked in a G2 suite at the very rear of the ship, squeezed between two much larger suites. She is very concerned that a bridge partner of hers said that the railing on the balcony of the suite may be solid metal (instead of several bars/railings), thus making it difficult for her to see the wake while seated. (She is quite short.) Can someone edify? I came up dry with searches. TIA.

Thanks. I think the issue with my friends has further implications. IME, the Silver Suites sell well, and suites are often the first to be waitlisted. I doubt this suite will sail empty. But my friends automatically called their SS cruise consultant and did not think of looking beyond SS. They were also accustomed to nice shipboard credits that they used for fine wines, single malts, La Dame, and spa services. Their SS cruise consultant now refuses to offer any such benefits (supposedly saying there is no need since some [but not all!] excursions are included). So they explored the internet, asked friends, and turned to a travel agent who initially offered the same base fare as SS plus some handsome perks worth lots of money. But the TA also directed them to an attractive possibility on another luxury line. And these longtime SS travelers booked another cruise line. SS may have lost not only the sale of a Silver Suite on the initial sailing but also guests who have been directed to the world beyond SS and who may see that another cruise line should be on their holiday radar. They would never have had this experience if they were not enticed by SS marketing to use a TA (instead of a SS consultant) to get some perks. After all: a suite sold by a TA is no different from a suite sold by a SS consultant. Is this the law of unintended consequences at work? 🙂

I will not say adieu quite yet. But I am certainly saying au revoir and not booking new cruises. I have hundreds of nights and Silversea and have been a loyal supporter. I am grateful for the RCL purchase; I do not think that Silversea could have survived without their support. But there has been a cascade of marketing decisions that make me feel that the cruise line is appealing to new, relatively inexperienced travelers. The inclusion of excursions without any opt out provision has raised fares and lowered value. Many of us enjoy the cruise experience and have visited given ports several/many times in the past. We do not need tours. Nor do we need to have our flights or transportation to the airport arranged. We have managed to find our own way to the airport for many years. And those of us who have been loyalists and have booked directly with Silversea, receiving shipboard credits from our cruise consultants, are now told to pound sand or go to travel agents who will provide such perks. Friends who used to book directly with Silversea called a Virtuoso travel agent to book a 2024 cruise. The agent persuaded my friends to take a different cruise line with a very similar itinerary around the same dates. The brilliant Silversea marketing folk were instrumental in losing a Silver Suite booking for a few weeks.

I recall getting a 5% discount before D2D. However, for a set of seven night cruises, I don't think that encompasses/covers the air/transfer charges folded into the D2D fares for people in US boarding in Europe.

Thank you. I was not clear. I meant that I would make all travel/transfer arrangements myself, and would not use Silversea’s.

I hope someone will share recent experience booking back-to-back cruises under the door-to-door dispensation. Let's say that one is booking three consecutive cruises, including flights from US and transfers. Let's say that these are cruises in the Baltic, with (for each segment) a $900 reduction if one doesn't take air and a $100 reduction if one doesn't take transfers. Obviously, one is not taking separate flights to/from each cruise. So, for the single booking with three back-to-backs, would one receive a $2700 reduction in the cruise fare (three $900 flights not taken) and a $300 reduction for the unused home/airport transfers? TIA for your sharing your recent experience.

This is the case in the US as well. The cruise consultants refuse to offer any OBCs, etc. So people are being encouraged to book through TAs who offer discounts, OBCs, etc.