Mayflower1

Good Morning Brimary. Thank you for your input and good wishes - we hope that you are both well and maybe looking forward to another Cruise when Covid allows ?

Its all very well seeking Information when Booking a Cruise but regrettably from our experience no quality response is achievable to help with decisions - in this latest Issue the ' Possible Part Charter ' came to light only a couple of weeks after the initial Booking ( On Venetian Launch Day !!!!! ). All very frustrating and indicative of a Poorly Run Business especially now some 6 months later where no definitive answers are forthcoming. How can a Business allow a possible 4 Day Charter to impinge on Sales for 6 months ????

I notice that The Dawn Transatlantic has apparently now been cancelled after Barbara Muckermann specifically indicating some weeks ago that this would take place - Who exactly runs this Business and fails to Plan ? - Certainly those Guests who heed the Marketing Blurb to Book early to secure the Best Suite/Price etc are being taken for Fools and maybe we must learn from this ?

As we have said many times the On Board Service is wonderful but On Shore is woeful and a discredit to all the Staff who work on the Ships to give us such a wonderful experience. The Corporate Bosses should hang their heads in shame.

Sorry to sound so Down on a great Product but Barbara and her Cohorts have no idea what makes ' Seamless Luxury Travel ' that she so brazenly expounds at every opportunity. The Line is certainly losing its edge and there are others out there that may benefit.

Good Afternoon tbliss - regrettably your Post dated 12th January does not seem to have appeared - Have you received any further Information about the Barcelona to Lisbon Sector ? - we have not in spite of numerous chasings by my Agent ( and myself ). We are getting rather fed up with the Silversea attitude as its now nearly 6 months since this Sector was ' Waitlisted ' 

I think you have ' Hit the Nail on the Head ' with your comments relating to the Documentary Title and the ' Characters ' involved.

We watched the Programme with interest and having not sailed on Regent ( over 20 Years of High End Cruising ), thought the Ship looked spectacular albeit there was little footage of The Public Rooms. We wonder how a Cruise Line can allow a Programme to be shown without Corporate Vetting because the emphasis on the OTT Cruise Director and his Antics certainly did not, in our opinion, demonstrate a Quality, let alone Luxury Product.

Luxury is a very Personal Issue and just to major on Expense/ Glitz and OTT Performance sometimes puts Potential Guests off.

These are Personal Views which are not intended to offend those of a different persuasion - I am sure there are many who would find the whole Cruise, as portrayed, perfect,

We have experienced both Suites on The Spirit and to be frank both are excellent. The Walk In Shower Suite appears more spacious ( I dont believe it is but have not bothered to measure ) with its excellent large Shower Cubicle but it does suffer from wetting the Bathroom Floor if one is not careful. Conversely the Normal Suite does offer the Bath if One wishes to have a relaxing Soak.

We would not be concerned which we have on our Favourite Ship - All of the new Walk In Shower Suites are Mid Ships, within the new section added.

Good Afternoon Silver Spectre - so pleased that you finally managed to get back home after your adventure.

We have much enjoyed your comments from the ship and find it woeful that the Disembarkation experience was so poor - whilst no doubt Covid Procedures contributed it does appear that some of the aspects do not compare well with Barbara Muckerman continually stressing a ' Seamless Luxury Travel Experience ' ???

Good Morning tbliss - I too am affected by the same Possible Charter as you and found out about it by noticing the Cruise was ' Waitlisted ' over 2 months ago. My Agent has been attempting to get specific information from Silversea about The Charter and apparently it is only a 4 Day Charter and it is thought that the Charter will start & end in Barcelona ?. There is no information concerning when this will be firmed up and consequently we must just wait. I have been affected by such a situation a number of times and it makes Planning very difficult especially if the Charter is at the start of our intended Cruise as is the case this time. The Revised Itinerary is not being disclosed.

There is a long time to go i.e. May 2023 and I suspect it may be some time before matters clarify. Apart from the uncertainty my only comment will be that a Full Charter ( in which no other Guests will be on board ) is far better than a Partial Charter - we have experienced this on a couple of occasions and it is generally most unsatisfactory for a regular Guest, with Restaurants, Bars etc closed off at times and some of the Charter Guests are often very different to a normal Silversea Guest !!!

I hope this matter is settled before too long but should I hear any more information I will Post here and perhaps you will do likewise.

Good Afternoon Brimary.

I hope you are both well and enjoying some late Autumn Sunshine as we are here. 

I assumed that the Mid Morning Embarkation Issue has been changed purely due to Covid but maybe I have missed a more general announcement - we certainly have welcomed this in the past and hope that in time it will be reinstated.

We are booked on the Southampton to Southampton Norway Cruise on The Moon in September 2022 and it would be nice to have you on board - we are very off Flying at the moment but realise that it does rather limit our horizons. Thankfully my dear Wife is improving so we are hoping for a better 2022.

So nice to hear from you on these Boards.

Good Morning Silver Spectre - Regrettably in my experience of Silversea over 20 Years is that accurate Communication between Company & Guest is one of their weakest Issues and it has got worse ( this has nothing to do with Covid ).

It looks as if those who purport to have ' Friends ' in high places have no better information than anyone else ? - Silversea, like all Lines will do what is best for them and will advise Guests at a time they decide. However its always nice to receive ' Inside ' Information but dont take it too seriously.

As I have indicated before I have disembarked a Silversea Cruise at Maghera in its present Form and it was a nightmare for Guests and Crew. The Luggage was transported to the main Venice Port Facility and the Guests had to go there by Bus to collect Luggage and then be transported in another Bus to the Airport. A long, hot, tedious experience for all, taking well over 1.5 hours to get to the Airport ( there were many fearing missed Flights ).

For Maghera to become a feasible option much money & effort will be required which I doubt will happen any time soon.

This would appear to be an ' Enhancement ' with a number of caveats ? - The mileage add on at an undisclosed Rate could make this expensive, and as the Contract seems to be between the Guest & Blacklane I assume Silversea will not wish to involve themselves if the Pick Up goes wrong ( they already indicate a missed Flight is the Guests responsibility ). This would not seem to be as Seamless as the Advertising suggests.

I have, in the past, Priced Blacklane against another Luxury Provider and they have always been far more expensive for the same Service - this is not to say that they are not themselves a good Provider.

I feel the Option to Decline this Service and get a £75 pp Reduction may prove attractive ?

The Pool is not always open at that time !!!! at the start of a Cruise but with some gentle coaxing from the hardy early Swimmers the Staff soon get the message !!!!. What happy memories.

Good Afternoon Brimary - hope you are both well - We have both seen many examples of ' Sad ' Guests over the years but as you so rightly say The Half Empty Glass so often gets replenished on Silversea to make the syndrome a non starter  for all but the saddest !!!!

Fortunately my dear Wife is progressing after a torrid time in Hospital and we are sincerely hoping that we can get back to Cruising as we all knew it before too long - we are booked on The Moon Stockholm to Southampton in August 2022 but maybe something before will beckon if Covid allows,  providing the PCR Tests/Masks Issue becomes less of a feature ( and also Flying becomes more attractive ?? ).

Have you anything planned ?

So pleased that we will not have to encounter this couple of ' Glass half Empty ' Cruisers again on Silversea. I doubt that any Line will suit them.

We have sailed into Maghera to disembark a Silversea Ship during a Festival when the Guidecca was closed. It is a terrible place and some considerable distance from Venice. We had to go by Bus to the Main Port area to collect Baggage and then take another Bus to the Airport - a long and tiresome end to a Cruise ( Private Cars were not an option ).

If Maghera is to be the new home for Cruise ships it will make Venice an almost no go city to visit by way of a Cruise ship and Start/End situations will have to be better managed  to those we experienced - the poor ships staff were frantic.

This Survey has also been circulated in the UK relating to Around UK Cruises. My reaction was very similar to your Terry in that I am not keen to have to take an organised excursion in Ports that we know well - also the substantial change in the on board atmosphere by way of substantially less Socialising which is what Silversea is all about. 

I cannot see Cruising returning to what we have enjoyed up to now for some considerable time. The UK Government have now added The Philippines to the Unacceptable List so what impact this has on Crewing is interesting.

You create such a wonderful vision of SMM which will sustain us over the continuing miserable days until we can be together again !!!. We  coincidently shared our Seaborn Adventure with the much missed Duct Tape from CC who must have been one of the greatest Silversea Fans - she was far from impressed and vowed ' Once is enough ' !!!!

We hope you are both keeping well and like us hoping for brighter days ahead.

We have ventured once to Seabourn ( over 20 years with Silversea ) on the first of their larger ship (Odyssey ) for a 3 week Med Cruise. We had a great time and liked some of the aspects including Colonnade Restaurant and The Seabourn Square but disliked the Pool area ( too much loud Taped Music most of the day ) and The Main Restaurant. The ship was also suffering from substantial Soot deposits which involved a number of Free Laundering Sessions. This aspect has probably now been fixed.

We would return to Seabourn if there was nothing we fancied on Silversea but for us the wonderful Crew on Silversea cannot be beaten - we also prefer the slightly more formal approach and with the onset of more Dining choice on Silversea for us there is no real contest.

In this very strange world we are living in at the moment any Cruise on either would be more than acceptable !!!

Good Afternoon Brimary - hope you are both well, as we are - Yes such memories have kept us going throughout this dreadful period.

So good to see Mary in such fine spirits on the Photos - No doubt you were keeping the usual low Profile Brian ???

Lets hope we can meet up again soon and renew our Friendship, and meet the fabulous Crew again.

Its so great to see such wonderful examples of the truly brilliant Silversea Crew whose company we have enjoyed over many years. Its somewhat unfair to select ' Favourites ' but to see Monteza & Joey again brings back such memories - we have been fortunate enough to sail with them many times and they certainly typify all that is best in Silversea.

We hope that all The Officers and Crew are keeping safe and we hope to meet up again before too long.

I suspect you are right Stumblefoot - Our Agents are going to be busy trying to get a number of Cruises priced if we are considering various combinations or they are going to be trying to secure Suite Options on Cruises we may not take when we get a Pricing. Not the most efficient way to operate in my opinion but others may differ. The effect of the ' Free Excusions ', Air Package and Business Upgrades makes for an interesting time ?

It is so good to have you on these Boards Barbara so that there can be a sensible dialogue between some longstanding Venetians and The Company.

Having attended the Webinar, which I found most useful, it is disappointing to see that the much anticipated release of the 2022/23 Itineraries makes no reference to Costings. This makes effective Planning somewhat difficult as I suspect that not all Venetians are so wealthy as to have no need to consider the cost. Furthermore it is not helpful when ones National Office indicates that it has no idea when Pricing is to be released. Please be good enough to see what can be done ahead of 1st December.

Good Morning Tothesunset - Just a quick ' Heads Up ' on the use of a Large Credit Balance on your Credit Card Account - it is not recommended as The Card Companies believe its a Fraud Risk - They suggest getting such a balance removed immediately to another Account. Just be careful.

Good Morning Brimary - Hope you are both well and managing to survive without Cruising !!! - its very difficult from our perspective but there are many worse off than us.

We started Cruising on Cunard on the great Ships Vistafjord & Sagafjord in the 1990s and found Silversea in 2000 when we travelled with Capt Arma ( his first Sailing as Staff Capt ) from Singapore to Dubai - it was magical with many Sea Days and a great Guest/Crew complement. This started our love affair with Silversea and we are still great Fans albeit we do not always agree with some of their Marketing decisions !!!.

We hope that we can return to our ' Home at Sea ' before too long to meet more great Crew & Guests - Lets also hope that we can also revive the ' Early (ish for me ) Pool Swims which we enjoyed so much.

Thank you Stumblefoot for your kind reply to what was our Personal viewpoint, which we quite understand will not be shared by many others.

You are so right about The Arts Cafe being a great innovation on the larger ships - it is interesting that having sailed a number of times on The Spirit Post Stretch, she is now our favourite ship ( given that the Wind/Cloud are both heading for the Expedition Fleet which is not for us ) and The Arts Cafe on board is in our opinion even finer than that on the Muse. Also the new ' Shower only ' Suites are a  fantastic addition.