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Thanks. See you on the July Venice to Istanbul trip.

PS: Love the cat pics. My wife & I have two as well...brother & sister.

Hopefully someone else can confirm whether the Grill can do all of the cooking in the kitchen and I'll just handle the eating.

I expect my wife & I will love dining at the Grill at night. I have two questions:

1. How important will it be to make a reservation on a Med cruise in July? Will it be full most nights that time of the year?

2. Can I request the food (will always be salmon for me) be fully cooked in the kitchen and brought to me on a normal plate? I really don't want the hot rock and additional cooking at the table.

Thanks for the help.

I, for one, am really looking forward to the Spirit. All of my cruises have been wonderful, but I really liked the touch of having a butler. We had a verandah suite on Regent, Paul Gauguin and Crystal, but not a butler. We thought the butler on the Cloud was wonderful and I think the bigger space, more dining options and bigger gym will make the Spirit our favorite.

Has anyone done a Viator excursion in Venice, specifically the Murano, Burano & Torcello Half-Day Sightseeing tour? If so, how did you like it or any tour provided by Viator?

Thanks for the help.

Tothesunset, that sounds great. In theory, that should be true and the advertisements certainly imply it is (not just Silversea, but Regent, Seabourn and Crystal as well), but my experience is sometimes it just doesn't happen.

I would like to hear your opinion on whether I would be frowned upon. I would hope it can happen quick and easy, but I don't want to create a hassle or appear to be rude, low-class or demanding.

Thanks to all of you for the responses.

The ice bucket is not that big of a deal. When we have stayed at other all-inclusives since 2010 it has happened for us and I liked it. I actually prefer pouring my own, although I assume it is not considered as high class, and it makes it easier on the staff.

JPAlbny, I really enjoy your travel posts.

I will be posting more questions as July approaches.

My wife & I sailed the Cloud in 2010. Since, we have sailed on Regent, Paul Gauguin and Crystal. We are finally returning to Silversea by sailing the Spirit in July. I expect the Spirit will be my favorite as the Cloud was a little too small for us.

Since we have not been on Silversea since 2010, I have some random questions as the trip approaches...

1. Do they still serve the 3 bowl snacks at the bars/lounges (chips, nuts and Chex Mix type snack mix)?

2. Do they still use the cloth coasters for drinks in the bars/lounges (I always liked that touch)?

3. Can anyone use the steam room/sauna or do you have to purchase a spa service?

4. Do the Spirit suites have DVD players or have they gotten rid of them with movies on demand service?

5. Do they serve drinks to people gambling in the casino?

6. On some days (our lounge days), it is possible, or unreasonable, to request during breakfast that they setup an ice bucket at our table for our own champagne bottle? When we dine at nice restaurants and purchase a bottle, I like the way some put the ice bucket right next to our table. If this is bad taste or considered bad on SS, we don't do it.

Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the replies.

Is it possible to do Tuscany in a day or is it too far?

My wife & I are schedule to be on the Spirit in July for Venice to Istanbul. I will be posting several questions about the Spirit in the coming weeks (we sailed the Cloud in 2010). For now, does anyone have any ideas of what day trips to do while staying in Venice? We have 5 days before our cruise and have been to Venice twice, so we want to venture away for a day (but sleep in our Venice hotel every night).

Does anyone know why the new site does not include the Observation Lounge in the list of public areas for the Silver Spirit?

I always remember:

left = 4 letters

port = 4 letters

I have been on Silver Cloud, Regent Mariner, Crystal Serenity and the Paul Gaugin. I have set to be on the Spirit in July 2015 and hope it will be my favorite due to the size and suites.

Anybody have good pics of the Spirit gym?

Looking forward to your posts. If possible, please post any pics you take of the ship.

In the standard balcony suites on the Spirit, am I right there are 2 tvs (the new "mirror" kind) or is it just 1 and are DVD players still in the suite?

I don't "remember when" because I only started doing luxury cruises in 2010 (Silversea in 2010, Regent in 2011, Paul Gauguin in 2012 and Crystal in 2013).

While they were all awesome, what I don't like is that, IMO, none live up to what they advertise. They all advertise as if every whim and desire is immediately satisfied above expectations and you can "have it all". This just is not possible and based on my 4 cruises, it felt there was class warfare on 3 of them (concierge/butler service vs not, beer/water in suite vs whatever liquor you wanted, etc.). The Silver Cloud was the exception, but I think it was also due to it being the smallest.

What I would like to know from those who do "remember when" and think the experienced has really declined is how have the prices have changed. Were the normal prices really twice what they now advertise since they sell it as "50% off%"

Does anyone have a specific educated guess of when the May/June/July 2015 sailings will be available?

Does anyone have a specific educated guess of when the May/June/July 2015 sailings will be available?