SLSD

We had multiple flight delays on our way to and from our June SB cruise. We arrived two days early, but our new protocol may be three days. Others had flight delays as well. We also used Luggage Forward and traveled with a carryon bag. But who wants to miss embarkation because of cutting it too close? And who wants to depend on Flight Ease to get you to the next port? None of that would be fun or relaxing. I do think that flying with a fully packed carryon and using Luggage Forward is our way of traveling now.

Markham, I am assuming this person was not on our cruise aboard Sojourn from Kobe to Vancouver in 2019.

Five pm? There is tea, room service and caviar for that. Surely, that tides the really early diners over. And then, the dining room opened at 6:45 on our recent Ovation cruise. I noted that Encore's dining room didn't open until seven. I think SB is striking a decent compromise for early and late diners.

Our our Ovation cruise June 11to 25, the Restaurant was open all days for breakfast and for lunch and I think there were about 17 tables filled on the last day we had lunch there. We arrived at about 12:45 and it was quite busy. I hope that people discover that it is a wonderful place for lunch.

I will wait for your first hand report of this. If the restaurant is not going to be open for breakfast and lunch, I would probably be more included to seriously consider Silversea. I'm glad you heard the same thing I did--so I was not mistaken in reporting what I was told.

When you were on the World Cruise and said you dined at Earth and Ocean almost every night--I was a bit puzzled---UNTIL we took our recent cruise in June. We had dined at Earth and Ocean on previous cruises, but this time, it was our preferred dining venue in the evening--by a fairly wide margin.

To each his own. To me, the Colonnade is the more contemporary style of dining and I don't care for it at all. I do enjoy dining at Earth and Ocean around the pool in the evenings--which is an informal venue. No tablecloths there--which is fine.

Hopefully this will change. Wien Oban who was managing The Restaurant on Ovation told us that it was going to be open for lunch across the fleet. Also breakfast was served in The Restaurant every day. I would have been very disappointed if I had been sailing on Encore.

On our latest SB cruise in June, we had only one meal in the Colonnade and that was the first lunch. We ordered from the menu and sat on the veranda.

Thank you for these comments. It's always good to hear the reasonable experiences of others. And you are certainly right--all of us who can choose to sail on a luxury line are very fortunate indeed.

Just so you know, as of around June 11th, The Restaurant is open for lunch every day on Seabourn ships. I was very grateful for this.

Ha! I read the Facebook Silversea group. You people here can not hold a candle to them in terms of snarkiness and rudeness toward fellow posters. Almost daily, someone posts that they are second guessing their decision to sail with Silversea based on the posts that they read. And yes, it's a tiny % of SS people posting, but it does make you wonder. We have our snarky people here, but they are OUR snarky people and we know them. I do not know who these SS people are.

It is hard to judge the age of the dog's owner. It is quite possible that she is no older than I am (71). She certainly wasn't mobility challenged or anything like that. I tried to never get any closer than I had to, so I didn't observe details as to her age. She was about the ship several times that I saw her without her dog. She spoke English, but in a rather broken manner and was always quite brusque. She certainly wasn't getting special treatment from the maitre d' at the TK Grill from what I observed. I can't remember if it was a man or woman that night--but they had a wary and exasperated tone as they told her that she WAS on the wait list.

I think you are correct Markham. The allowance of dogs and the selling of blocks of suites to discount travel agents both are aimed toward filling the ship. The itinerary after our recent one was only at 300+ passengers. Another itinerary up the Norwegian coast begins today. I wonder if we can find out how many are onboard.

If you used your own travel agent, he/she can work through this with you.

It is amazing to me, if indeed this is the same owner and dog, that SB allowed them to sail again with the dog.

I've done enough reading to understand the basic difference in door to door and port to port on SS. I guess will I will just have to talk this through with our travel agent. I was a bit disappointed in the Restaurant food on SB recently. It may just be me. While not at all picky, I am hard to impress. I enjoyed breakfast and lunch, but not dinner so much. New recipes on their way is a good sign.

I don't have a concern about the actual dress code, it's the attitude of the cruisers about it. They just seem so stuffy--but I do realize that it is a tiny % who post anywhere. We have cruised with Silversea, but it was years ago. I just remember thinking that Seabourn had a better overall atmosphere. Perhaps that is different now. And then there is the door to door vs. port to port thing.

I always find the experiences of others to be interesting--so thank you for your report. Of course, we all realize that people see can see the same cruise totally differently. There are several things that hold me back from booking a Silversea cruise. One is that things seem a bit more complicated. That may just be me not understanding the differences in suites. I would not like having to make reservations for every evening's dinner so far ahead of time. I am well aware that there are two restaurants (at least on the newer ships) that do not require a reservation. And finally, some of the diehard Silversea cruisers seem obsessed with the dress code--which appears to be more stringent that Seabourns. I remember how many suitcases I took on our last Silversea cruise--which was way back in 2005. I would also miss the forward facing Observation Lounge. I've been looking at Regent and can't quite grasp what it may be like. I often ask Markham for his opinion on cruise lines etc because I have met him in person and have a good idea of what he expects from a cruise line from our in person discussion.

And I would enjoy a dinner made up of just a couple of small appetizers. Everyone is different--but I would not begin to criticize others for the time they choose to dine. Perhaps the dining venues should be open later--until 10pm perhaps like many restaurants in the US. People have various reasons for dining when they do--some are custom, some are medical, and some are merely preference.

The email did not mention The Restaurant being open every day for lunch---but this is a recent development for post Covid cruises. It was begun at the beginning of our June 11th Ovation cruise and will be across the fleet. This was a very big deal for me as I do not do buffets and enjoy a quiet lunch in The Restaurant on many days. Get rid of the white tablecloths? Because they are dated? Have you ever heard of the term "white tablecloth restaurant"? It is a thing and something many people enjoy. Perhaps this will change in time, but evidently that time has not arrived yet. And, just as a note--it may well be that people under 50 do not eat early. Many people over 50 DO eat early and perhaps when you are over 50 you'll discover why.

My main issue with the Seabourn jackets (the aqua ones from years past) is that they were unisex sizes--which generally does not work for me. Why can't they provide both men's and women's sizes?

I always enjoy your commentary on the itineraries you choose. May I ask which upcoming Silversea classic cruise you have chosen?

I've been looking at the Silversea itineraries and will certainly consider them for our next cruise--which I am actively searching for now. I assume from what you are saying that you have moved beyond seeing Silversea as having the ambience of a fine hotel instead of the more convivial atmosphere of a Seabourn cruise. Or perhaps you prefer its clientele? I follow a Silversea facebook group and have to admit that I am very put off by many of their comments (dress code of course as well as other issues). Of course I realize that the people who post are a tiny % of those who sail. I know we just have to jump in and try a cruise on Moon, Muse, or Dawn. How are you seeing the door to door vs. the port to port pricing (and other) issues? I've been reading a bit about that and haven't sorted it all out yet. We very much want to be in control of our own flights (especially after our most recent experience) and prefer also to choose our own hotels. Those of you who live in the UK and in other European countries can approach cruising from a slightly different perspective. We prefer to arrive at an embarkation port as many as three days early (these days) and choose a hotel for its charm and location. We are ok with booking our own transfers. Are we going to be penalized on Silversea for this approach?

Markham, Have you sailed on Regent? You have not. mentioned doing so in my recollection. Just curious. We HAVE sailed SS, but it has been years and years. I am a bit put off by the fact that it is a bit more complicated in terms of restaurant reservations than SB. Can you allay my concern? I am having difficulty persuading Mr. SLSD that we should consider trying SS again. I have gathered from your posts that only the newer ships should be considered.