commodoredave

55 minutes ago, exeter_acres said:

curious as to which ship this was and what cabin type...   thanks

It was a balcony cabin on the QM2 and it happened about 8-10 years ago. Where the light shone through the door, a previous occupant had applied duct tape around the door frame, as we could clearly see the sticky residue left behind. I believe this may be a bigger issue on ships that regularly do ocean crossings where rough weather can be a factor. Needless to say, we’ve never accepted a connecting cabin again on any cruise ahip.

I never went to a M&G for refreshments, it was always to meet people from the Roll Call that I had struck up an online friendship with. After Covid I stopped going to M&Gs and instead just arranged to meet like-minded people for drinks in at a bar or lounge at some point. For us, this works much better.

On 7/23/2024 at 10:31 AM, pinotlover said:

Here’s the truth of the matter. If your neighbors talks LOUDLY, plays the television on a HIGH volume, slams and bangs doors and drawers, etc., it doesn’t matter what cabin your in. If your neighbor is quiet and makes little disturbance, it matters not which cabin you’re in.

 

Look at the multitude of posts on the Vista regarding noise issues. It’s 98% dependent upon one’s neighbors.

 

Personally, I’d take the cabin and hope for the best. Just like in life, you rarely get to choose your neighbors.

Not true based on my experience. It also depends on the integrity of the connecting door in terms of proper fit and sound proofing. For example, on one cruise we had with a connecting door we could literally see light coming through the door. Unfortunately, this also meant that we could hear almost everything happening in the next cabin, especially at night.

14 minutes ago, jimlouisesophie said:

I cannot give you first hand advice, but I would always get a cabin with cabins above and below me.

Agree. In fact, I think cabins above or below noisy areas should be sold at a discounted rate to cabins in other areas.

13 hours ago, lincslady said:

Presumably some people have been taking them home?

I doubt it, but if so, just charge the missing robes back to the passenger's account. 

This has happened to us several times on different cruise lines, so we now "hide" a bottle if we wish to take it to our hotel if not travelling home. However, on our most recent cruise with Silversea, our room steward removed our bathrobes on the final night. We found that a bit much. 

7 minutes ago, stan01 said:

 

Now that would be interesting.  Per Seabourn's website I think you could wear a jeans jacket or even a puffer jacket with your slacks to argue your point. You also apparently don't have to have a shirt on underneath the jacket either, or heaven forbid you could wear a t-shirt under the jacket to dress like a billionaire tech founder.  Seems like Seabourn has some more editing to do.

 

Any word about socks?

6 hours ago, stan01 said:

Formal night:  minimum is jacket and trousers for men

Hey Stan. What if I wore a jean jacket on formal night?! 🙂

On 6/11/2024 at 11:29 AM, Capri73 said:

I do not understand the issue with a tie. It is so easy to pack.

I used to pack two ties. One to wear, and the other to replace the first one after I spilled gravy on it!

7 hours ago, markham said:

What status match will Silversea offer those of us who have already sailed 200+ days with Silversea but not quite 250 days? 

 

It seems to me that as far as revenues earned by Silversea and access to Silversea benefits at the 250+ days threshold are concerned we are not being treated fairly. I know it’s all about marketing Silversea to other RC customers who don’t patronize the Silversea brand but this sales campaign on its face seems unbalanced. As in we are being overlooked, to put it mildly and simply.

How about Silversea giving us a freebie benefits boost too? Does RC know or care? Do chime in…

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

 

 

I agree with you, and I say that having just benefited from the status match with Celebrity.  

On 7/11/2024 at 9:24 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

Hot Rocks seems to be the closest thing to a steakhouse on Silversea, although I’m not sold on the idea of cooking my steak on rocks.  Sounds too much like a griddle - I prefer a charcoal grill. 

I agree that charcoal grill is much better. I'm okay with cooking my steak on the hot rocks. However, the weather does not always cooperate, thus removing one good option for steak on some nights. Having said that, I have always been able to find good steak in other restaurants. 

For our cruise that departed June 18, we were told by Silversea that our luggage tags would be at the pier in NYC. However, when we arrived at the pier, the baggage handler was surprised and did not know what to do with our bags because they had no tags. Luckily, we were able to find a Silversea rep who got us some tags that were applied to our bags. A silly system in my view. Many cruise lines now make the luggage tags available online -- just print them and attach them yourself. Never had a problem with it.

On our recent cruise on the Shadow (June 18-30), the new dress code seemed to work very well. I didn't notice anyone not wearing at least a jacket on formal optional night, at least not in the main bar and dining room. There were some men who wore tuxedos (about a dozen), and maybe another dozen who wore a suit with tie. I don't know how much longer men will choose to bring tuxedos with them on future cruises when so few wear them, but those doing so did not look out of place. And everyone seemed to be happy with their choices. 

On 7/7/2024 at 5:41 PM, sunviking90 said:

We’ve always just picked up at the port as there was no other option for Canadians. It hasn’t delayed us as far as I know in getting on the ship. All medallion accessories that you see are also available on the ship to buy. I actually waited to buy on the ship as mine came in 2 sizes and I wanted to try on first.

Things may have changed as we were recently able to order our medallions for delivery to our home in Toronto.

One travel writer in The Telegraph suggested people travel to hotspots like Barcelona, Venice, the English Lake District, etc. outside of the peak summer season when these places are the most crowded. Not an option for parents with kids in school, but it is for others. Personally, we try not to travel anywhere in peak season.

I have just posted in the CC Review site my review with photos of our recent New England / Canada cruise on the Silver Shadow. I have also pasted it below in case you want to see it before it is posted. This is our experience (me, wife and a couple travelling with us), and may not represent the experience of others on this cruise.

Boarding Process: A

The boarding process at the Manhattan cruise terminal was fast and simple. Within 15 minutes, we were on the ship and sitting down to lunch in La Terrazza. In contrast, there were huge line-ups that seemed to stretch to NJ for people waiting to board Carnival and Costa ships. A great start. 

Ship condition: B

The Shadow is showing its age (built 2000 and last refurbished in 2019). We noticed a few spots of rust in some places, some chipped paint on the pool, some worn spots on carpets, some patio doors in suites that are difficult to open/close, a loose control panel in one elevator that was held together with duct tape for a day, etc. However, for a ship that is 25 years old, we felt the Shadow was still in reasonable shape and its current shortcomings are mainly cosmetic. 

Ship amenities: C

The Shadow is a small ship (28,258 Tons, 392 passengers), which means fewer choices for dining (4 choices), bars, entertainment, and other amenities than on larger vessels in the fleet. This may be fine on short cruises (less than 10 days), but for us this gets a bit boring on longer cruises – especially when bad weather restricts use of the pool and pool-side Grill restaurant as it did for part of our voyage. 

Food: B+

While the variety of restaurant choices on our ship was smaller than on larger vessels, the quality of food on board was very good. On our first night, we had a fun and delicious meal at the outdoor Grill, where we cooked steak and shrimp on hot rocks – a great choice for the sail-away from NYC.  On most nights, we dined at The Restaurant which offered a good selection of dishes - everything we chose was well-presented, cooked to order and delicious. We love the atmosphere in the Main Restaurant. On one night, we paid $60 each to eat at La Dame - the one extra-charge specialty restaurant on board.  On five previous cruises we had dined at La Dame and had come away unimpressed each time. However, this time was different – the food was prepared to perfection and the service was superb! Finally, we had all our lunches in La Terrazza, the buffet style restaurant that also does table service. We have, and continue to, love the quality of buffet options – especially the sushi. Unfortunately, our two dinners at La Terrazza, which does an Italian theme at night, were disappointing. Pasta overcooked. Lack of sauce on some dishes. Average tasting food. Not up to the standard of specialty Italian restaurants on other cruises.

Service: B

After boarding in NYC, we went to La Terrazza for lunch and met our first waiter who was efficient, personable and charming. A nice start, we thought, but this kind of service was not limited to one waiter or one venue – we found it almost everywhere on the ship. And yet, we were told than some 130 crew were relatively new to Silversea and our ship. What they may have occasionally lacked in polish, was certainly made up for in desire to please and make passengers happy. One example is the lack of cocktail napkins on the ship, which were supposed to arrive before our cruise but never did. In response, one of our bar waiters went ashore and bought some cocktail napkins with his own money. The bar staff, particularly in The Bar lounge, were terrific. Unfortunately, our butler and room service were average – on several occasions items we ordered (caviar, bottles of alcohol, water) arrived late or not at all, on the first night there was no Chronicle left in our room showing the next day’s activities, and several items including shampoo, body wash gel and tissues in the bathroom ran out without being replaced. On the last night our room steward removed our bathrobes and left no bottles of water.

Cabins: B

We and the friends we were travelling with had classic veranda cabins on deck 5. I like the layout of the cabin with a sitting area next to the patio door, and a separate bedroom that can be closed off with drapery. Our cabins were in good shape, although our friends had a sticky patio door that required several visits from maintenance to open on multiple days. Our linen curtain on the patio door had several streaks of black smudges where the curtain must have got caught while the door was being closed – would have been nice if it had been replaced and laundered. The TV worked much better than on the Muse where the TV is part of the wall mirror and is difficult to operate. There were electric sockets next to one side of the bed, which made charging devices convenient. Internet worked reasonably well in our suite. Overall, a nice cabin. We chose deck 5 because it is on the same deck as the Atrium where we conveniently could go for take-out coffees in the early morning to enjoy while we got ready for breakfast.

Entertainment: C+

The ship’s troupe of singers/dancers and their shows were good. We loved the guest singer, Rachel York, especially her tribute of James Bond theme songs. The piano vocalist in the Bar was terrific. The Silver Sea trio were very good. The guitarist was disappointing. The DJ was average. The RCMP pipe band that came on the ship as a guest appearance was lovely.

Itinerary: B+

This was our third cruise to New England/Canada, so we clearly like the itinerary. And even though bad weather forced the ship to skip its call at Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine – the major reason we chose this particular itinerary – we still enjoyed all the other ports of call. For us, there is something special about the charming small towns and coastline of New England and Maritime Canada. And, of course, the abundance of reasonably priced lobster, oysters, and mussels at local restaurants. Our itinerary included Newport, Boston, Portland, Halifax, Charlottetown, Saguenay and Quebec City. Every stop was interesting and worthwhile to visit. Quebec City, with its old-world charm, French culture, and superb food was our favourite, and we stayed there for two nights after the cruise.

Other: D

There were two men travelling together with two standard poodles on board. The staff told us that these dogs were service dogs and that both men needed them. However, if these were indeed service dogs, they were not trained as traditional service dogs. These dogs occasionally barked at people, yanked their owners around, engaged with passengers, and ate off the floor in La Terrazza at lunch as their owners dropped food scraps on the floor for them. I don’t have an issue with legitimate service dogs, but Silversea needs to have some way of ensuring dogs allowed on board know how to properly behave.    

There were several shortages of items due to a container not being delivered to the ship when it was in St. Thomas several weeks earlier.  

Overall experience: B

We were pleased with the itinerary, quality of food, and overall level of service we experienced. The Shadow isn’t the best cruise ship we’ve been on, but we like small ships and were okay trading off more dining and entertainment options for a cozier environment where everyone knows our name and treats us like family. However, our cruise was just 11 nights, and had it been longer we may have had a different opinion. In fact, we were just beginning to wish there were more onboard options when we disembarked in Quebec City. Overall, we enjoyed the cruise enough that we will be sailing with Silversea again in the near future.   

I have written a review of our recent NYC to Quebec City cruise on the Silver Shadow. It should be available soon in the CC Review section with a few photos, but for those who would like to see it sooner, here it is. 

Boarding Process: A

The boarding process at the Manhattan cruise terminal was fast and simple. Within 15 minutes, we were on the ship and sitting down to lunch in La Terrazza. In contrast, there were huge line-ups that seemed to stretch to NJ for people waiting to board Carnival and Costa ships. A great start. 

Ship condition: B

The Shadow is showing its age (built 2000 and last refurbished in 2019). We noticed a few spots of rust in some places, some chipped paint on the pool, some worn spots on carpets, some patio doors in suites that are difficult to open/close, a loose control panel in one elevator that was held together with duct tape for a day, etc. However, for a ship that is 25 years old, we felt the Shadow was still in reasonable shape and its current shortcomings are mainly cosmetic. 

Ship amenities: C

The Shadow is a small ship (28,258 Tons, 392 passengers), which means fewer choices for dining (4 choices), bars, entertainment, and other amenities than on larger vessels in the fleet. This may be fine on short cruises (less than 10 days), but for us this gets a bit boring on longer cruises – especially when bad weather restricts use of the pool and pool-side Grill restaurant as it did for part of our voyage. 

Food: B+

While the variety of restaurant choices on our ship was smaller than on larger vessels, the quality of food on board was very good. On our first night, we had a fun and delicious meal at the outdoor Grill, where we cooked steak and shrimp on hot rocks – a great choice for the sail-away from NYC.  On most nights, we dined at The Restaurant which offered a good selection of dishes - everything we chose was well-presented, cooked to order and delicious. We love the atmosphere in the Main Restaurant. On one night, we paid $60 each to eat at La Dame - the one extra-charge specialty restaurant on board.  On five previous cruises we had dined at La Dame and had come away unimpressed each time. However, this time was different – the food was prepared to perfection and the service was superb! Finally, we had all our lunches in La Terrazza, the buffet style restaurant that also does table service. We have, and continue to, love the quality of buffet options – especially the sushi. Unfortunately, our two dinners at La Terrazza, which does an Italian theme at night, were disappointing. Pasta overcooked. Lack of sauce on some dishes. Average tasting food. Not up to the standard of speciality Italian restaurants on other cruises.

Service: B

After boarding in NYC, we went to La Terrazza for lunch and met our first waiter who was efficient, personable and charming. A nice start, we thought, but this kind of service was not limited to one waiter or one venue – we found it almost everywhere on the ship. And yet, we were told than some 130 crew were relatively new to Silversea and our ship. What they may have occasionally lacked in polish, was certainly made up for in desire to please and make passengers happy. One example is the lack of cocktail napkins on the ship, which were supposed to arrive before our cruise but never did. In response, one of our bar waiters went ashore and bought some cocktail napkins with his own money. The bar staff, particularly in The Bar lounge, were terrific. Unfortunately, our butler and room service were average – on several occasions items we ordered (caviar, bottles of alcohol, water) arrived late or not at all, on the first night there was no Chronicle left in our room showing the next day’s activities, and several items including shampoo, body wash gel and tissues in the bathroom ran out without being replaced. On the last night our room steward removed our bathrobes and left no bottles of water.

Cabins: B

We and the friends we were travelling with had classic veranda cabins on deck 5. I like the layout of the cabin with a sitting area next to the patio door, and a separate bedroom that can be closed off with drapery. Our cabins were in good shape, although our friends had a sticky patio door that required several visits from maintenance to open on multiple days. Our linen curtain on the patio door had several streaks of black smudges where the curtain must have got caught while the door was being closed – would have been nice if it had been replaced and laundered. The TV worked much better than on the Muse where the TV is part of the wall mirror and is difficult to operate. There were electric sockets next to one side of the bed, which made charging devices convenient. Internet worked reasonably well in our suite. Overall, a nice cabin. We chose deck 5 because it is on the same deck as the Atrium where we conveniently could go for take-out coffees in the early morning to enjoy while we got ready for breakfast.

Entertainment: C+

The ship’s troupe of singers/dancers and their shows were good. We loved the guest singer, Rachel York, especially her tribute of James Bond theme songs. The piano vocalist in the Bar was terrific. The Silver Sea trio were very good. The guitarist was disappointing. The DJ was average. The RCMP pipe band guest appearance was lovely.

Itinerary: B+

This was our third cruise to New England/Canada, so we clearly like the itinerary. And even though bad weather forced the ship to skip its call at Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine – the major reason we chose this particular itinerary – we still enjoyed all the other ports of call. For us, there is something special about the charming small towns and coastline of New England and Maritime Canada. And, of course, the abundance of reasonably priced lobster, oysters, and mussels at local restaurants. Our itinerary included Newport, Boston, Portland, Halifax, Charlottetown, Saguenay and Quebec City. Every stop was interesting and worthwhile to visit. Quebec City, with its old-world charm, French culture, and superb food was our favourite, and we stayed there for two nights after the cruise.

Other: D

There were two men travelling together with two standard poodles on board. The staff told us that these dogs were service dogs and that both men needed them. However, if these were indeed service dogs, they were not trained as traditional service dogs. These dogs occasionally barked at people, yanked their owners around, engaged with passengers, and ate off the floor in La Terrazza at lunch as their owners dropped food scraps on the floor for them. I don’t have an issue with legitimate service dogs, but Silversea needs to have some way of ensuring dogs allowed on board know how to properly behave.    

There were several shortages of items due to a container not being delivered to the ship when it was in St. Thomas several weeks earlier.  

Overall experience: B

We were pleased with the itinerary, quality of food, and overall level of service we experienced. The Shadow isn’t the best cruise ship we’ve been on, but we like small ships and were okay trading off more dining and entertainment options for a cozier environment where everyone knows our name and treats us like family. However, our cruise was just 11 nights, and had it been longer we may have had a different opinion. In fact, we were just beginning to wish there were more onboard options when we disembarked in Quebec City. Overall, we enjoyed the cruise enough that we will be sailing with Silversea again in the near future.   

Just got off the Shadow last Sunday. While I will be doing a full review in a few days, I wanted to relay one story about how central purchasing can negatively impact the onboard experience, and how great crew try and can make up for it. When we boarded the ship in NYC on June 18, it had no cocktail napkins as they were supposed to arrive in St. Thomas two weeks previous, but had not. None acquired in NYC. And none in Halifax where staff were told the napkins would finally arrive. The first few days we had no napkins or substitutes -- who cares except that condensation collects on the bottom of the glass that when lifted to one's lips can leave drops of water on clothing -- fine during the day but not the best outcome when dressed for dinner. Staff then started to bring face cloths or cut up pieces of paper napkins with our drink order - an improvement but not very professional looking. Finally, our favourite bar tender went ashore and bought some cocktail napkins with his own money as he could no longer tolerate the unprofessional look of the substitutes used for cocktail napkins (we gave him a big tip). This is the type of exceptional onboard service that can and did compensate for some incompetent shoreside management decisions. Many thanks to the bar crew of the Shadow!

I was on the Shadow for this cruise. Saw the 2 "service dogs" for the first time at the buffet after boarding the ship. The owners fed their dogs by dropping bits of food on the floor for them to eat. At one point, one of the dogs was startled and barked at a woman passing by. I asked our waiter in La Terrazza about the dogs, and he told us they were service dogs and that all staff had been advised in advance that they would be on board and how to react to them. Throughout the cruise, the dogs dragged their owners about, and on several occasions in the Atrium they engaged with other passengers with the encouragement of their owners. Also saw the dogs almost nightly in The Bar, but at least they were not served cocktails. The two owners of the dog may or may not need the dogs with them, but they are definitely not service dogs by any normal definition. Nor were the dogs properly trained to be on a cruse ship. I have no issue with properly trained service dogs. This was not the case on this cruise.

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

How do you categorize, "pre-paid gratuities" which is part of packages on most of the mass market lines?  Or 18% added on to alternative restaurant prices, drink prices, etc.  Do you think that is appreciation for services rendered? 

The difference with pre-paid gratuities and service charges on alternative restaurants is that the "tip" is shared among staff, and it is not given directly to a specific crew member to curry better service in future (e.g. reserve a pool chair, be served cocktails faster than others, etc.). In the story, the author actually says she tipped in advance sometimes as a means of getting better or preferential service in future and wanted to see if it worked. For me, when i tip an individual, I do so to show appreciation for exceptional service rendered. Having said that, I realize that some people tip in advance in the hopes of getting preferential treatment. That does not sit well with me.

15 minutes ago, Utopia1 said:

It seems ridiculous to make judgements about fellow cruisers based on gratuities.  We are all entitled to tip or not to tip-  -It irks me when a fellow cruiser says my gratuity is "bribery" when it is given for kindness or in appreciation for services rendered .

 From my observations everyone on Seabourn receives equal attention-- with one exception.  The exception is the people who complain a lot  seem to get more attention.

I agree. My point is that the author gave tips in advance of service on several occasions, which is bribery. In several other instances, she gave tips after good service to show appreciation for services rendered. That is tipping.

CC has posted an opinion piece on tipping, While I am pro-tipping, I do not agree with the views expressed in this piece as the writer has conflated bribery with showing appreciation for good service after it is rendered. What do you think?

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/can-100-in-tips-make-your-cruise-1-000-times-better?lid=1ru18fozeaqn&crm_source=58226&crm_pos=uk&crm_cid=90e3e352-f62a-479f-920d-424de14f7e89&crm_rid=Bnb-uIoBtleMZ6TBBUIq&crm_cname=07.04.24 UK Insider - Can %24100 in Tips Make Your Cruise 1%2C000 Times Better - 6moLB&stay=1&posfrom=2

On 6/26/2024 at 5:24 PM, KY Deb said:

Please don’t tell me they’re in 623!!  That is just ridicules.  2 service dogs???   And I’m sure the animals were just dying to take a cruise!  So unfair to the dogs.  And where do they do their business on a ship ?  Gross.   

They are not service dogs by any normal description. These dogs pull their owners about, engage with and bark at other guests, and badger their owners for food when they are at the lunch restaurant. The owners oblige and drop food on the floor for them to eat. We have witnessed this. We have a cousin with a service dog. It does none of these things as it is trained and certified as a service dog. Service dogs do not behave this way.

8 hours ago, jollyjones said:

Hi,

A quick question for anyone on board the Shadow now or has been recently - are there power outlets by the bed? If not, how far away is the nearest one?

Thanks. 

Right next to the bed.

1 hour ago, admranger said:

I thought of you when it was announced that we would be skipping this stop due to the weather situation.  Unfortunate.

Yes. We are very disappointed. However, we have decided to do a car trip through Quebec and Nova Scotia next year and take the ferry to Les Isles de Madeleine. We are trying to turn lemons into lemonade!