Silver Spectre

Just to recap, very poor service on the first two days, suite bathroom flooded twice by backwater from the bath, not fixed the first time! Missing items in the suite but available from the butler when asked. Still no LP pink fizz. TV requires remote to be pressed twice for any response. Awful WiFi in suite, at the third time of asking and after 36 hours the router was changed. Wine and food supply issues. Missing ports (weather related). Poor communication regarding weather related changes. Grumpy staff (not surprising when being sent home without pay for 4 weeks). Warm food served on cold plates. IMHO SS needs a real kick in the proverbial because this is a 4* service at 6* prices.

Slightly weird dinner at the Grill last night. My ribeye was almost twice the size of the one I had last week and the prawns had been shrunk down to big shrimp size. Wine service was good, although the Pouilly Fume has completely run out. Interestingly we have loads of Tiki whilst my neighbours on the Whisper are about to go cold turkey as they only have 2 bottles left.

We are running away, instead of overnighting in Mauritius and leaving at 6pm tomorrow we are now leaving at 8pm tonight! So tomorrow becomes another sea day. We had to cancel today’s tour after getting a stomach bug from the poor lunch on the useless tour in Reunion yesterday. The service on the ship is very up and down. Although we were having dinner with the CD last night it took over 30 minutes to get any wine and despite asking for a hot plate for the main, hot food came on a cold plate. Plus yesterday morning and for the first time in 20 years on SS, I got dissed by a member of the wait staff in La Terrazza at breakfast.

Why? The reason I haven’t played is because my partner died.

And tonight at 11pm we are on tune 3 of the same 9 that the so called DJ plays every single night, yawn.

So, what is it with all the idiots who refuse to adhere to the dress code and turn up in a bar or restaurant on an informal night without a jacket. It defies my understanding. This also includes those who come, underdressed to the Venetian Lounge.

Have not played bridge at all for almost a year. There is bridge on here but I believe only one or two tables at the most.

British Pub Lunch on the Pool Deck, with a strange Antipodean flag

Very rough last night and when we reached Tolagnaro this morning the Authorities told the ship that the port is closed due to adverse weather conditions, so now we have sea days 4 and 5 on our way to Reunion.

No, it’s not the Art Auction Route, it’s the same stuff that used to be on here 12 years ago with the Andrew Weiss Gallery in LA.

Along with the retrograde dancers (remember the days of Jean Anne Ryan) SS has now tipped their corporate toe back into the cesspit that is the art market and allowed the Spirit to be adorned with many series of expensive prints. Oh, and there is an art curator too!

It’s amazing how often folks get the wrong end of the stick on here. Your ‘clue’ is very much appreciated.

Today’s cappuccino at breakfast was produced in 4 minutes and the staff are significantly more attentive, so things are looking up. Today is our second day at sea and the weather has improved. The swell is down and we have sun again. All is good apart from Trivia, where we are being thrashed by the Grand voyage teams.

Hi Terry, good to see back on SS again at last.

Interesting to get a different perspective from new SS cruisers. Mine is based on 20 years with SS and a number of cruises since lockdown and the RCL takeover. I also have friends on the Whisper at the moment who experiencing similar issues.

Currently on the Spirit. Last night's formal attire was followed by the vast majority of guests, except for one male person who had the temerity to appear in the Dolce Vita in a short sleeved shirt.

Last I heard he was still with SS and living in London. Just checked with my oracle who has heard nothing, and they would know.

Atlantide lunch with seafood medley and a veggie leek tart

@ARDXXXsorry to hear that. So far have eaten dinner twice in Indochine, food good and to our liking, service ok, apart the coffee issue, and once on the grill where the service was patchy and looked understaffed. Lunch on the grill was poor, both fish and Camembert overcooked and returned. Better when replaced. The Arts Cafe is good, the bars also good and most wines that I like are onboard. Will be going to Silver Note tonight and will report further observations.

This morning, at 9:45, we had the express cappuccino delivery in La Terrazza, taking less than 60 seconds. Somewhat of a turn around from 2 days ago when 25 minutes and three requests failed to produce one. Perhaps it’s because almost all the guests are off the ship on safari.

My understanding is that the marine insurance situation changed as soon as the Houthis started attacking shipping. This dictated the ability of lines to travel through the Red Sea and thus re-routing of SS’s ships would have been decided weeks ago. All that has happened since is just poor corporate communication and cheese paring of compensation.

Valentines Day and we have just arrived in PE.

Joined in Cape Town on Sunday with gorgeous weather. Unfortunately the ship has a seriously weird vibe onboard. Many Grand Voyagers are not happy about being turfed off in Mahe, with the announcement letter only arriving a couple of days ago. There are also a significant number of very unhappy crew and service levels are pretty awful at times.

There appear to be a number of unhappy guests on this ship and a significant number of very unhappy crew. Service in some areas is to be frank, pretty awful. The way this has been handled by SS is very poor.

Glad to hear that the dress code is being adhered to.