LAexNY

Looking forward to hearing this as well.

We get on the Wind when you get off in Lisbon.  Sailing on a B2B to London Bridge then Reykjavik. 

It depends on the excursion.  If you read the description of a particular one, it will specify whether there is free time included.

On 3/8/2024 at 7:03 AM, Techno123 said:

We are yet to sail with Silversea but do have 2 cruises in the pipeline. If it's anything like Regent and Seabourn, mentioning individual staff by name either on questionnaires or directly to their managers regarding excellent service can mean that they are seriously considered when a promotion becomes available. Tip (if you must) but also let management know just how delighted you are.

 

Sadly that doesn't work with the back room staff as we don't know who they are so that is where a donation to the crew fund can come in 😁

Not sure why you say “tip if you must!”

United also has a nonstop to Lisbon from Dulles.

Messaging is not permitted on Cruise Critic.

I suggest you use the Search function within this Silversea board and search for each of your topics.

You will find many posts on each of your questions.

That has been the usual practice on every cruise line we have been on.

We are on Explorer now and Matt is on board.

We are on Explorer now and it is still there. Nearest cabin is 424.

We have been in aft cabins over a dozen times on Oceania and never were bothered by motion.  I suppose each person’s experience will vary.

I can’t answer your question but I am curious to see any answers.  We love aft cabins and have one booked on Nova for 2024 and another on Ray for 2025, both on deck 8.

We are on the Silver Explorer in the Kimberley now.  Passports were collected when we boarded in Fremantle and will be returned when we disembark in Darwin.  The entire cruise is in Australia, no other country or customs involved.  Go figure!

3 hours ago, pavementends said:

In my experience collecting passports is very typical.

 

In principle all passengers can be cleared in advance of debarking at the final port. This does not always work however (Iceland, stand up).

 

There seems to be a certain randomness about this. On a recent trip (UK to Iceland) there was no need for passports at any intermediate port. At some ports the cruise card seemed to substitute for a passport. At one small stop in Iceland, there was no check at all leaving or reboarding the ship (except for Silversea's check that I was a passenger).

 

And at the cruise end in Reykjavik, there was a massive cluster** when the Icelandic reps seemed to be slow-walking the checking and stamping of every single passenger's passport.

And don’t forget that the customs reps who come aboard in the morning always like to enjoy a nice breakfast on board before getting down to their work.

And no one is asking you to.

6 hours ago, twangster said:

FYI

 

Dear Esteemed Guest, 

We are thrilled to welcome you soon to the wondrous unspoiled beauty of the Galápagos and your ultra-luxury voyage aboard the aptly designed Silver Origin. Today, we have important information to share with you regarding your pre-cruise arrangements. 

Recently, we were notified of extensive preventative maintenance operations scheduled for the Quito Airport, affecting flight operations this Fall. As such, you will fly directly to Guayaquil, Ecuador avoiding Quito, and all pre-cruise arrangements, including the Machu Pichu and Cloud Forest land programs, will be conducted now from Guayaquil. 

All guests on a standard Galápagos voyage will now stay at the Oro Verde Hotel, Guayaquil, before their cruise for the same number of overnights previously planned. Silversea has likely already communicated this information via phone. Still, to clarify today, we will also reschedule all transfer arrangements from the airport to the hotel and hotel to the airport for the flight to San Cristóbal to embark on the ship. 

For guests with air travel arranged through Silversea, we will secure new flight arrangements for your arrival in Guayaquil and communicate the updated flight itinerary once the change is made. For guests with indep

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this unexpected situation may bring and thank you for your understanding. If you have any additional questions, don't hesitate to contact your travel advisor or cruise consultant. 

We all look forward to sharing the authentic beauty of this unforgettable region with you. 

Best personal regards, 

Barbara Muckermann
President and CEO

We stated at the Oro Verde after our Silver Origin cruise last year.  Very nice hotel although not as nice as the Marriott we stayed at pre-cruise in Quito.  Nor was the neighborhood as nice.

Have we gone a bit off topic here?

3 hours ago, Dolcevita Diva said:

Perhaps, but I’ve never found this to be an issue on Silversea in the past. 
It seems that as more people are discovering Silversea, more of the “norms” from the mainstream lines are accompanying them…

Please protect us from the norms!

You would not have been too happy with a hotel near JFK.  There are no 4 or 5 star hotels, mostly Courtyard or similar.  The choice is convenience near the airport or a more luxurious stay in the city.

10 minutes ago, bitob said:

Well done

 

my friends were just on the silver wind. On an expedition. Jacket required. He did not bring one so they provided one 

 

what is clear is that you can survive indeed thrive on silversea without a tie. Jacket is a must. For us, that’s enough to know to be in compliance. 
 

maybe someone at silversea will read this and start drafting lol

Just to clarify - I am the friend bitob mentioned.  We were on a B2B expedition cruise.  On each leg (12 and 14 days) there were two informal nights where jackets were supposedly required.  This was clearly not enforced as at least one guy was wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

It had been my (apparently wrong) understanding that jackets were never required on expedition cruises. We have been on Silver Origin in Galapagos and jackets were never even suggested.

On 7/7/2023 at 9:44 PM, canderson said:

Old, OLD argument.  Let me try to put it to bed one last time.

 

To answer your question, no, not much, but it does show your disrespect for the line's business model, and in some fashion, those who might have chosen the line because of it.

 

Let's assume for just a moment that it is Silversea's intent to attempt to differentiate their product from others by, among other things, continuing to cater to those who still enjoy this style of dining, and hope to capture that segment of the cruising public by doing so.  Who are you to object? 

 

Wow!  Some people really get worked up over the dress code.  Funny, it seems to get more attention on CC than the ship, the cuisine, the service, the itineraries, the amenities, the entertainment.  Those are some of the things I care about and the things that influence my choice of a cruise line.

On 7/7/2023 at 3:37 PM, mysty said:

 

Why did you book Silversea?  Just a question.   

Believe it or not, dress code is not the primary criterion upon which many choose a cruise line.

2 hours ago, dusababy said:

Why is it so hard to question and comply with a long established, reasonable dress code that elevates ladies and gentlemen for an evening or two of an adult dining experience ??

Many of us feel that an adult dining experience does not or should not require formal dress.  It’s not a matter of questioning and complying.  Some of you old guard formal night proponents will find that fewer and fewer cruise lines are going to require formal dress.  Does it really diminish your dining experience if I am not wearing a tie to dinner?

Blacklane is not available in Portland.  We receive the $50 credit which is fine because Lyft or Uber to the airport is around $30.  One time when we were disembarking in Miami and flew to NY with Silversea Air, we did use Blacklane and were pleased with them.

That’s interesting because when we boarded the Wind in Helsinki last month, no testing was required.  Perhaps Silversea varies the requirement depending on the country. 

On 7/4/2023 at 1:45 AM, taxatty said:

Taking the advantage of a plus 13 hour time difference over EST, a Happy July 4th to everyone, live from the Silver Explorer on Australia's northwest coast. As highplanesdrifters recently posted an extensive review of the SS Kimberley cruise stops and the ship is going bye-bye from SS soon anyway,  I won't attempt to duplicate it, but our cruise has been great so far. We left Darwin on time (getting advance negative RAT tests is still needed) and have had good excursions to the Ord River, the King George Falls and Ashmore Reef, the latter being a bird nerd's dream. Note--the Explorer's forward elevator is still broken--my guess is for its duration with SS.

 

Unfortunately, very unusual for the season bad weather bungled our scheduled Bungle Bungles flight (2/3 of the pax onboard had signed up for it), but the Ord River Cruise was a reasonable substitute. The King George River falls were a bit more active and spectacular than usual due to the recent local rains.

 

As before on SS, the food and service have been excellent. The ship put out special "American cuisine" for July 4th lunch today--hamburger sliders along with hot dogs and buffalo wings, even though the only US pax onboard are me, DW and a nice young lady from Boston.

Were the RAT tests required by Silversea or the local government?

1 hour ago, AusMum said:

Hey, you are in the same part of the world as me now (although I am much further south here in Perth) - we have been experiencing the coldest and wettest winter in something like twenty years, so am not surprised the weather has also been a bit 'off' up north.  We are planning to drive as far north as Karratha, in about 10 days time.

 

JJS your best option would be to fly from the US to Sydney, spend a few days in Sydney, then travel to Broome via Perth.  Broome is a small town, but it's a major destination for Australian tourists - they have regular flights on decent aircraft.  Because Western Australia has a massive mining economy, with so many workers living a 'fly in fly out' lifestyle, big airlines like Qantas fly there.  Broome also has a large oil and gas (offshore) industry.

 

We have only cruised from Perth to Broome (much cheaper cruise company) and we also had issues getting into some ports.  Things like weather can't be controlled, which makes it difficult when you live miles away from a destination and it might be a "once in a lifetime" opportunity.

 

If you have FF miles to use, you have options.

We did very well using Alaska miles.  We got a short hop from Portland to SFO then business class on Singapore from SFO to Singapore (16 hour 40 minute flight!) with a 3 day stopover in SIN to visit friends and decompress then business SIN-Perth( 5 hour flight) all for 145,000 miles and $61.  Another option if you have Chase points is to transfer them to Singapore Air and look for flights there.

For our return home from Darwin, we bought coach tickets to SIN (4h 45m) then used Singapore miles for SIN-SEA in business (14h 45m)