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Let’s see who has the last laugh

Silversea didn’t do it for Crystal people. Why would Crystal do it for SS people?

I'm getting more and more excited for the return of that other cruise line. Especially after our not so stellar sailing on SS.

And sometimes they'll quickly get you something hot and other times it will take longer so that tablemates will be finished with their meals. We just got off the Whisper. I didn't find the rooms tired looking although we did have an issue with our sliding door on our second segment (We had to change rooms between segments). I felt The Restaurant reminded us of a dining room in an assisted living place with it's dated decor. I found that the lack of a place to grab a snack or a light bite annoying and found room service less than adequate. If it's a port intensive itinerary, I'm sure it will be ok. However we found the lack of quality entertainment in the evening plus the lack of lectures or other things to do during sea days to be a detriment. Of course YMMV depending on what you like

That was something we forgot to mention. Our included land tours were less than stellar. Stuffed into a bus that was filled and tours that were for lack of a better word, basic. We did a boat tour with a tour of the city in Boston. We didn't do the city part as we've been to Boston more times than we could count. The boat tour was ok. The guide, once we were off the bus, before we got on the boat spoke so softly that no one could hear her. Another boat tour we did was in Gaspe out to the rocks to see the birds and seals. It would have been a nice tour if we could hear the guide's descriptions but the PA system he used was so bad every word came out garbled. I might not be remembering this correctly but I believe Gaspe was the port that wasn't originally on the first segment's list of ports. It was added last minute, taking away another port, and it was the reason we didn't get a full day before turn around day in Quebec City. Additionally, they didn't figure out the tours until the night before. At 6:30 PM people were lined up from the tour desk to The Bar waiting to hand in their tour choices. (If I have the wrong port, please correct me.) Another tour (don't remember what town) was supposed to take us to a museum showcasing life back in the day and including Native American culture. We were told once on the school bus that the museum was closed so instead we'd be going to a iron sculptor's house to see his interesting sculptures. Yes they were interesting but we had several people who could not walk for an extended length and not only did we have to walk for an extended length but the walk was along a dirt path and to see the sculptures, one had to traverse wobbly wooden planks, similar to a boardwalk but narrower and very uneven. Plus we had taken the tour to learn about the history of the area. We did have two excellent tours. The first one was the one given to those who were staying on the ship and was given in Quebec on turn around day. It was a tour of Quebec and the falls and we were only 6 people with an excellent guide. It was included in our fare and well worth it. The second excellent tour was in Halifax on our second segment that went to Lunenberg and Peggy's Cove. Of course that tour was not one of the "included" tours but actually cost us $159 each. However the difference was the bus held 40+ people and there were 36 total who signed up for the tour. They divided us into 2 buses so we were able to spread out. It included a delicious lunch in Lunenberg, some interesting stops along the way and time at Peggy's Cove.

From what I see, they are doing a bunch of cost cutting at the expense of passengers. Some small things and others major like this OP's experience.

Just want to add some additional info on our cruise: What wasn't mentioned in the review was of course how ports had to be missed because of Hurricane Fiona. No one's fault although there is a question as to why on Friday of the first segment as the storm was bearing down on eastern Canada, Silversea decided to try and make a run to the Bay of Funday instead of spending a third day in Boston. We started sailing north and then the decision was made to turn around and sail south and stay in Cape Cod Bay which is obviously south of Boston! We also wonder why we made an unscheduled stop in Gaspe instead of a port that was scheduled and closer to Quebec City on the first segment and because of that stop, we missed a full day in Quebec City.

We did a 22 day B2B on the Whisper from NY RT to Quebec City. Below is a link to our review. What wasn't mentioned in the review was of course how ports had to be missed because of Hurricane Fiona. No one's fault although there is a question as to why on Friday of the first segment as the storm was bearing down on eastern Canada, Silversea decided to try and make a run to the Bay of Funday instead of spending a third day in Boston. We started sailing north and then the decision was made to turn around and sail south and stay in Cape Cod Bay which is obviously south of Boston! We also wonder why we made an unscheduled stop in Gaspe instead of a port that was scheduled and closer to Quebec City on the first segment and because of that stop, we missed a full day in Quebec City.

We booked with our TA for next Sept and the price was per suite.

Well those of us who are Crystal refugees, on sea days we had 3 lectures a day, computer and photography classes, knitting and art classes, gym classes, golf lessons, bridge classes, dance lessons, trivia of course, afternoon tea and I could go on. The idea being that one could do as much or as little as they wanted. Many of us actually enjoy all the activities. If there were no activities on a crossing, I personally would eventually be bored.

While the dining options absolutely look tempting and expansive, the question is what else will be offered. They offer several pools which on a Greenland/Iceland cruise (which we are booked on) is not something I intend to partake in, and even if it were a Caribbean cruise, I most likely wouldn't partake as I live in Fl with our own pool and hot tub. So the question still remains, what about entertainment, lectures or classes?

They charge $60/pp for La Dame and $40/pp for the Japanese restaurant.

Thank you. Definitely going to look into it.

I look forward to meeting you someday soon. 🙂

Thank you everyone. We decided we're going to just Uber over to the Breakers first and go from there. Herman, it's been at least 25 years since I've been to all the mansions, so will definitely take your suggestion to see Rosecliff. My actual favorite is a bit smaller; Kingscote, but it's currently closed.

We are booked in a butler suite for one of their September cruises, so will let you know.

Exactly what I was about to say. We are guinea pigs on an Explora cruise doing Greenland/Iceland/NY next year, and also intend to be guinea pigs on the first Crystal cruise back if all the cards fall right. For us, a beautiful new ship is nice, but what drew us to Crystal since 2014, was the food, entertainment, lectures, and classes.

Yes tickets have to be bought in advance. We do want to see all three mansions if possible and are not interested in all the other "points of interest" as we're doing a b2b so will be back in Newport on the return and hope to do some of that on the return. Also it's not clear that Marble House is included in the tour or if they just do a drive by.

I've been to Newport several times and the only 3 that will be open are Marble House, Breakers and Elm House so those are the 3 we are hoping to do. We have one member who cannot do a full day of walking so maybe what we are looking for is a driver for the 3 mansions?

We are booked on the Whisper for the NY-Quebec cruise in late September. We are wanting to do 3 of the mansions and are looking for a private guide for the day for 5 of us. Hoping for some recommendations please.