Tarwood3

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate your post wasn’t directed at me or anyone in particular. I felt the need to reply as someone who really doesn’t want the Wind to be Cloudyfied, and have voiced this on CC so was in part an invite to respond.

 

I’ve seen many posts suggest the colour scheme to musified ships is a bit drab. I don’t. I like it and think it’s an improvement. I did really enjoy my time on the Muse, despite the hysteria regarding reservations. I personally had no problems, but accept others did. If SS has kept that model and continued musifying ships including the new builds, I think there would have been mutiny.

 

As I said, none of this affected me. But if everything is made the same, it’s not diversifying, which was my reason for suggesting it was contradictory.

 

Having lost the cloud to expeditions, my concern (along with others) was that financially that decision may be sound, but losing the Wind as well would be a point where you voice your dislike of the plans in the hope they are listened to.

 

With the Spirit now Muse 2, the Cloud now expedition and whisper on world cruise duty, it really only leaves the Shadow. Four small ships (one one slightly bigger one seen in the same light) has become one small ship (Shadow). And then the charters kick in.... that’s not diversity that’s decimation.

 

I’m not adverse to change. Just think this “progress” might be ripping the soul out of Silversea. Maybe dramatic sounding, but it would iMHO be the end of an era.

 

Funnily, I had a conversation a short while ago with a senior staff member. I put across the points of view of some of the older members on here regarding musifying and removing the MDR suggesting SS were treading on thin ice regarding loyal repeat customers. The reply was along the lines of what you’re saying (regarding changes) but bluntly said everyone one is not around forever. It wasn’t said in a crude or unsympathetic way, but none the less, it spelt out that customer loyalty was something SS were happy to gamble with in the search for new blood. I can understand both sides of that fence in this respect.

Lol, gotcha. I understand what you mean about Muse ify and Cloude ify. If SS changes the older ships to be like Muse, that’s not diversity. Got it. Totally agree. Guess I’m hoping they do keep the smaller ships around as an alternative to Muse for that different experience. Idk what their plans are for Moon and Dawn exactly. I imagine they will be the size of Muse but maybe they will change things up a bit interior to make things even more interesting. I have to admit I do like the more modern interiors. Too dark reminds me of grandmas house. It’s all personal taste. Hopefully SS has some fun surprises up their sleeve. SS will always feel like family for us since Whisper was our very first cruise ever. So we will always have a soft spot for SS.

Funny comment from that senior staff member you mentioned. I’m 50, so I guess I have a good 30years of cruising to look forward to if I’m lucky.

Please do not compare Ponant, Oceania and Viking with SB, they are a different level of product. Which is not a luxury one. Ponant is quite possibly the least luxury line I have travelled on, even in their top suite, not remotely like SB. Viking and Oceania are also somewhat " municipal ", in comparison.

I think you are very wrong here with your post. It really comes across as snobby. I think people can compare Carnival to Seabourn if they want. Point is....just because sails on Seabourn, doesnt mean they might not want to try a different line and different level of service. And comparisons of different levels of cruise lines also provides insight to those who are thinking about trying an ultra luxury line from a premium line for example. They want to know what they are getting for the their money, whats different and if the extra money for an ultra luxury is really worth it to them. Everyone has different interests, motivation and priorities. There are always lots of threads comparing every types of lines to one another...there;s a reason for that, thousands of people are curious...they are doing their homework and trying to educate themselves. People like to sample until they find what suits them. Instead of being critical of the OP...why not just chime in with a more positive reply as to why Seabourn is great choice not berate people for seeking info. There’s enough negativity on here as it is...dont be one of them. You may be completely sold on SB, but looks at the number of views of this thread...obviously there’s a significant interest .....

Not quite sure if hoping SS don't cloudify Silver Wind is considered nit picking or chronic complaining, or why the view that 300 is better than 1000 but hey ho. Everyone is entitled to their thoughts even if it is viewed as opinionated and looked down on if it's a different perspective on what is more enjoyable to them.

 

The only time I've exchanged cross words with SS was when they cancelled my cruise pre paid when they decided at short notice to stretch the Spirit.

 

When on board, I've mentioned the good and bad in reviews made. Without it, it's not balanced. I'm no apologist or SS basher, though I agree both exist, just not to the levels I think are implied.

 

I'm a bit confused though because you've said what's wrong with diversity, then point the finger to those not liking ships being musified. Seems very contradictory?

 

Having been lucky enough to have been on wind, cloud (and expedition), whisper, shadow, Spirit and Muse, I personally have no issues with colour schemes being adopted and the general appearance. I quite like it in fact. However, removing yet another small "classic" and adding to the expedition fleet may make financial sense (going by the success of the cloud) but will upset a fair few if and when it happens.

 

So nothing wrong with diversity... Let's keep it diverse. I've no wish to "go to Crystal yacht or seadream" and even increasing the numbers to muse type sizes, that general personal experience is lost and you become "just another passenger". When that happens the whole thing about SS is just lost IMHO and then I completely agree, I would be looking at the rest of the market as an alternative. I have and do use other lines. SS happens to tick far more boxes so you could lump me in the loyal basket it it suits.

 

I was one of the few who got the Muse dining concept on here and thoroughly enjoyed it on my voyage. Change wasn't a problem at all nor the much maligned reservations. However if Silver Wind does go the way we are many are anticipating, then it will be a sad loss IMHO. SS are busy building new ships and converting existing. If voicing my displeasure at losing the Wind is considered not embrasing diversity, then so be it. I stand guilty as charged and offer no excuses. It's not being changed because it's unsuccessful but because another more lucrative option is there. There is room for both.

 

There are a fair few posting on here who completely understand what a special little ship silver wind is. My next 2 booked with SS are on the Wind..... Just hope they don't get cancelled too.

Awesome reply...thanks for your insights. But please know that my post wasnt directed at your or really anyone specifically. It was just a general observation that in some posts, some people go on and on about one detail and I guess it was just a reminder that iIMHO , Silversea still does pretty great despite some growing pains. I have never been on the Wind, but I have been on the Cloud before it was reinvented and it was a pleasure. My only complaint was that it was a bit sleepy. It was a bit hard to meet people. Folks seemed to go to bed right after dinner...and it was a port intensive voyage, so no sea days to meet and mingle. You said you thought my comment on Muse ifying and diversity were contradictory. I guess what I meant there was ...give it a chance.. Just enjoy it for what it is....embrace the differences and changes but if its not for you, then great. Now you know, fortunately you still have the classic ships. OUr last cruise was in a suite on Celebrity and it was amazing. We did the Norwegian Fjords..wow, spectacular. The only time you feel like there’s a lot of people is if you eat in the buffet , which we dont . Or if you eat in the main dining room, which we dont because theres a restaurant just for suite customers and its pretty and intimate. . I was amazed at how many people remembered our name...not that that one detail makes or breaks a cruise, but it does make you feel special i suppose. We are going on the Muse in November , but we are looking at another SS cruise in 2020...possibly the cruise up the West African coast...sounds fascinating. I still think SS has the best itineraries hands down!

So I’m more of a passive user of CC (like most I would imagine). I like to read a lot, educate myself , find out tips etc. I’m not much of a poster because Iknow no matter what I write, I will get the angry responses from very passionate opinionated members. But after doing some reading through several SS threads over the last few months, I have been surprised at some of the ridiculous complaints....some downright petty and pretentious really. I don’t claim to be a super cruiser...we only have 12 cruises under our belt, but are extremely well traveled probably over 80 countries at this point and almost always do luxury. The majority of our cruises (including our very first one) have been on SS. We have always loved our cruises and overall they have been excellent, although nothing is perfect and there are things that I have been disappointed in, all in all, I think they provide an excellent product. IN reading posts, it seems people are very upset over this Muse-ifying of the line and worried what that means for the future. I guess my point in starting this thread is: What’s wrong with diversity? I love variety, new things, new people,places etc...thats why we travel right? For the experience and the adventure. I dont want a cruise line where the whole fleet is identical?? I think its great that we have options...the purists can have Whisper/Wind/Shadow. Some will prefer to have a more modern ship with more options for dining and more public areas such as Muse/ Spirit etc. and then there’s the unique Explloration ships. I applaud SS for trying to appeal to a wide variety of interests and preferences. There are SO MANY new ships out there and so many new ones on the horizon, SS has to stay sharp , keep current. Staying the same and not changing or taking a chance is the death of a business. For the die hard SS cruisers that are also chronic complainers, may be its time to try a few other cruise lines...maybe SS really isn’t for you..maybe there’s a better fit out there? That’s why we have decided to dabble in few other lines...I want to see how others do things differently and again, I like variety. And you cant judge a cruise line from just one experience either. For example ..food...we have had cruises with amazing food every day and then the next cruise on SS, has very disappointing food. And my last observation...the folks that are so distraught over SS building big ships....Really? 596 is not big. Give me a break. You’re gonna be hard pressed to find any cruise line with less than 600. Even a 1000 isn’t terrible because the ships are bigger, with more to do and more real estate, so it never feels crowded but typically entertainment is better and the social scene is much better. We have only had 1 SS cruise that wasnt dead at night. If you’re upset over 596 people. Where ya gonna go boo? Crystal yacht or SeaDream maybe? You’re about out of options. I wish people would relax on here a bit more and not nit pick every little thing , god forbid your water glass got close to being empty a couple times..the horror of it all! Lol. I’m not discounting some valid and complete blunders by SS, but I think they are the exception rather than the rule. So in short...we have 10 future cruises booked right now...only 1 is on SS...SS is losing a lot of $$ from us since we are taking our business elsewhere for a while to sample anddabble. Even when we do Celebrity , its in a suite (and not cheap), but their suites are very spacious and our best butler on any line was on Celebrity). And its not because we are unhappy with SS, ‘‘Its because we are curious. Point being, lots of competition out there.... Its only going to get harder for any line to keep loyal customers and attract new ones. So kudos to SS for trying...... Hopefully people are going on Muse and just enjoying the new experience and not trying to make it fit into their old habits on Whisper etc...

Hi Florida

 

Original native.

 

First sailing on Carla C 1952 I think

 

Summit to Hawaii 3 times

 

Tried the connie (francis). I have found that certain ships with certain sailing personnel have had mega issues. Fortunately few and far between.

 

However on my 2015 sailing transatlantic from fla, a disaster of the highest level.

 

The oven for cooking meat seemed to be broken as all the meat appeared RAW.

 

Ice cold.

 

Not medium rare as they claimed. I complained everywhere, having some medical

and restaurant knowledge. Then it happened that a gentleman at the next table

over had an issue with his steak which became the last steak he would ever eat.

 

We ceased eating in the MDR for the balance of the sailing.

 

Be careful of complaining, Celebrity banned me from sailing because of this.

It was a full registered complaint as was the Summit where the illegal waffle makers

were taken off line by the CDC.

 

Not likely to be a repeating event but ....there were other issues where celebrity one

touch as well as onboard staff simply refused for procedural reasons to attend to

critical issues.

 

I make a lot of lemonade too.

You gotta let it go...this isn’t the first time you have posted this same story....you are a chronic complainer. Hopefully the OP ignores this person...

Xuan is very busy with his tour business, since he is the only one. I would definitely book him now. You pay the day of the tour. I promise you will not be disappointed in whatever tour you decide on. He adapted the tour for our needs and we were thrilled. We want to go back! Have a wonderful day with Xuan.

Thanks so much for the tip! He is available for the day and a half we are there, so we have booked the Mekong Delta and Cai Be tour the first day. Then highlights of Saigon for half day on our second day there .

We did a tour with Xuan 2 weeks ago and LOVED it! He was so engaging, funny and loves to show you his country! We had a special request to view the Tan Sa Nhut airport which was the old American base in the war because my FIL was based there and wanted to see it again. Hoping for some closure and it worked! Xuan arranged for us to go to a building across from the airport to the top floor so we could see the base. He was so kind and compassionate there, as well as the War Remanent Museum, which was also a little hard on FIL with the pics. We had a delicious lunch at a spot he took us and ordered our food, which we loved. We didn't go in the Rex, but just took pics. Going to the top of the CIA building was awesome. Great views all over the city. I would highly recommend Xuan and he'll happily accommodate your requests. Enjoy! Terri

How far in advance did you book with him? We will be there in Nov 2018.

Love this thread. I was just thinking the other day about starting a thread “which M class ship is your fav?”. We have done several S class cruises and love them but since we tend to prefer much smaller intimate luxury ships like Silversea, I was thinking the M class might suit us very well but I , too, was concerned that they might a bit tired. But this thread has completely squashed that concern. I think we will book an M class....

That was the Shadow, if I remember correctly. The scores for the Wind, since about 2011, when she started regularly calling at the US, have been in the 90's.

Whoops, yep, yoiu’re correct. My mistake...it was the Shadow...guess it’s time for another cup of coffee....I’m not firing on all cylinders.

What is especially interesting is that the ship went from a score of 93 in January, to a score of 79 in March. One of the key factors I look for in a ship's scores are consistency over a long period, which indicates an adherence to a "sanitation culture" where the requirements become part of daily routine, and not something trotted out for an inspection. This "muscle memory" is something the inspectors look for, and why they require a meal service during the inspection to add another level of stress to the crew to see how they react.

Excellent point!!! Especially since the Wind was covered by CNN back in 2013 i think it was, for hiding carts of food etc in crew’s quarters from the inspectors. I’m sure because of this ship’s history, the inspectors are definitely looking at her closely...

I dont think they were particularly harsh....no more so than on any other ship. Just like a home inspection , sometimes things seem to be petty, but point is that the same criteria is measured on all the other ships and they got it right. These inspections are certainly no mystery, the ships have been through them many times and so they know what the CDC is looking for. I have been on many Silversea cruises (not the Wind however) and at least to the eye, everything was tip top...so was pretty surprised that they were one of the worst. Potable water is obviously hugely important on the ship..used for drinking, ice, cleaning and prepping food etc...so no wonder it is worth a 5 point deduction. Hopefully the officers in charge of this ship have been disciplined..

was just looking through the past years inspections from CDC out of curiosity. Score of 84 needed to pass, the Wind scored 79. Looks like it keeps having trouble even after getting some bad press a few years ago about a failed CDC inspection. The rest of the fleet did quite well...wonder whats’ going on with that ship?

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionDetailReport.aspx?ColI=MTkzMDA0NzY%3d-txsn%2fx4Y9gs%3d

10 future cruises booked, I love it!

You put me to shame, I only have 5.

Better get going.:D

It is a bit of an addiction huh...one that I dont care to cured of!!

Great thread....nice to see honest and fair assessment of both lines without the fierce loyalists who cant seem to see the merits of any other line except for their favored one as I have seen on so many other threads. I think all the ultraluxury lines seem to do a really good job overall and of course each have their own strengths and weaknesses and culture of each offer a slightly different experience. We have sailed on Silversea and Azamara a lot but want to try something different , not because we are unhappy with them, we love them, but its nice to change things up ...variety is the spice of life. We have cruises booked on Crystal, Regent and Seabourn and are so looking forward to them!

Well, i think this topic has been beat to death...back to the OP...so you have your answer....some do some dont. Your money, your choice. You should be able spend your money However you wish...so to each his/her own...

We always tip the butler and room attendant....they work their asses off every day. We spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on these cruises, we certainly can afford to pay a few extra bucks to the people we have the most contact with and do the most for us. Most of them come from countries where a few bucks go far.....Only once have we not tipped a butler...it was on Silver Explorer...the butler was very forgetful. Pretty much anything we asked , he forgot. But we did leave a tip for the room attendant who was terrific.

Was hoping we would get at least a trickle of info from VV, but they really have said nothing for months. Hoping they will start to tease us with a few sneak peaks soon. Yes curious about how they will target the marketing. We have been going back and forth on whether we will do the inaugural or not. I have seen a schedule of all new builds and it shows Feb 2020 as completion date. We have a 2 week NZ trip planned in February 2020, so not sure we will be up for it. So we might do a transatlantic if it goes to Europe for the summer.

According to Virgin’s website FAQ, they state that that the inaugural will take place from Miami...I know some were hoping for a TA. FAQ also states purchase window opens end of the year.

Thank you for asking this question...I was just wondering myself. We are booked on the Norwegian Fjord cruise in May on Eclipse. We purchased the 5 night Specialty Dining package. When I tried to book the restaurants and times we wanted, it showed a price for each of us. But they should be included. So from what I can tell is that the benefit of the package is a discounted price, but the downside is that you can’t pick the restaurant and times until you board? Is this correct? Usually what’s leftover once you board is way early or way late...not too happy if this is the case. On a side note...we received an email from Celebrity last week, that they are having staggered boarding in Dublin ...and we are requested not to embark until our specified time based on deck number and /or status. We are mid point in boarding process, so again, we cant board early to snag decent dining times if this is the case? Any help on this confusion would be greatly appreciated.

We have sailed primarily on Silversea but also one offs on Paul Gauguin, HOlland America, Celebrity, Azamara and Royal Caribbean. We do have 3 more Celebrity booked...2 in Sky Suites and 1 in Sunset Veranda. We are definitely more about the itinerary, which is why we have tried so many different cruise lines...we also have Regent and Crystal booked. When looking at many of the Celebrity itineraries in suite class, the prices seem quite considering its’ not all inclusive such as ultra luxury lines of Silversea, Regent , Crystal. So we end up booking other lines because of that. I dont Iike buying into Suite class but stil having to pay for a beverage package, internet , specialty restaurants...all that is included in the ultra luxury lines and those ships are smaller and have more interesting itineraries since they are smaller and can get into many different ports than the standard ones that the big ships can only get into. I think we will always go back and forth between big and small ships...we like the variety...but for best value for you buck, just give an all inclusive ultra luxury ship a try....the service is out of this world and the pool area is so peaceful!

I can't agree with the comment that the Silversea ships are pretty dead at night. I've been on several cruises where we closed the bars with many people at 4 in the morning. Wouldn't call that dead. On my last cruise on the Shadow in Asia last year we had a group of colombians on board and they loved to dance the night away. We had lots of fun.

I am in my 40s and I was not the youngest last time.

I said “our experience”...obviously every ship every cruise isn’t going to be like what we have experienced. But I would say that people in the bar til 4am certainly is the exception! And I never said we were the youngest...but the ships skews older than other lines...

We have been on several SS cruises and while Caribbean is a bit younger, SS definitely seems to skew to the 70s and 80s. We are 45 and 50...so we have recently been trying a few other lines to find cruisers closer to our age range. Our experience has been that SS ships are pretty dead at night. We have also done an expedition cruise andexpected younger but it was no different.

This is a terrible policy....unlike any other line we have been on before. Surely it must be costing them business..?? We are considering a cruise with Viking summer 2019, but re thinking that. Even a 6 mos negotiated due date is far out....There’s a lot of competition out there doing the exact same itineraries...geez...

We are looking forward to the Muse as well....we are going on her in November ...Singapore to Hong Kong with stops in Vietnam,

Spirit actually hasn’t been refurbished yet. We are on the last cruise before it goes into dry dock. We are doing a Mumbai to Dubai cruise from Feb 14-22nd...then it goes in for a makeover..including a 50’ section installed to make it bigger..it will be done to mimic the Muse...

I agree...I would definitely do a small cruiseline on Alaska like

Silversea.

We are actually considering cancelling the Flora inaugural. The more I think about it, not sure it’s worth the $30k price tag. Galapagos is such a port intensive itinerary , no sea days and off the ship most of the day, we wont have much time to really enjoy the ship. We may wait a year before doing the Galapagos. I think the price will come down...right now it’s more expensive than Silversea...just dont think they can fill it up week after week year round at current prices. So, currently we are looking at something else to do that summer...maybe giving Viking a try or Seabourn. We are usual Silversea folks, but trying some different lines to find our sweet spot. Sometimes Silversea is a bit quiet for us.