econprofessor

Has anyone ever stayed in cabin #634 on the Silver Shadow? It is next to the laundry and elevator. When I booked the cruise on-board the cruise consultant told me they know the ship and that there is no extra noise from either. Does anyone have any first hand experience? Thank you!

It has been my experience that the internet in Alaska is spotty. This is when on a ship or on land. Vikki

That would be a disappointment for me. I liked having the additional options from MDR.

I haven't been on any Edge class ships yet. As for the wine, yes, I thought it was a step up from Celebrity. The food in Alantide was as well. More fresh ingredients.

Hi, I wrote this review awhile back. I hope you find this helpful. As a note, I now have 3 more Silversea cruises booked, so clearly, I liked them!

My first time on Silversea was last year, to Alaska. I booked a Port-to-Port fare. My Silversea representative explained the differences between Port-to-Port and Door-to-Door pricing, including the fact that you could not take advantage of any price drops. I am not sure why you didn't get the same treatment.

No. In the luxury / luxury lite, I have done Windstar - loved it, Oceania - not my cup of tea, and Azamara - loved it, but it was before they were bought (from RCL). Vikki

You make some very valid points. I am not too concerned about changing my mind. We are traveling with friends. Even if they cancelled (they took the Door-to-Door option and are only on the first leg with us) we would still go. We love Alaska. We did this same cruise, B2B last year.

You might want to check out Silversea. I just tried them for the first time in August and I liked them. I posted a comparison of Silversea Veranda vs. a Sky Suite on Celebrity, if you are interested.

Thank you everyone. I talked with Silversea today and they said I could hitch a ride on the "Lower Manhattan and 9/11 memorial Tour". We would then be responsible for getting back on our own. Due to my DH's physical limitations, Uber would be best for our return. (We cannot take the entire tour as my husband cannot walk that much.) Vikki

Hi, I am looking at a B2B Alaskan cruise in August. Silversea is offering an additional 10% off the Port-to-Port price if I pay a non-refundable fare. After talking with Steve at TripInsuranceStore, I feel good about getting my $$ back if I need to cancel. We would purchase trip insurance no matter what fare we book due to our ages. So, my concern is that I would not be able to take advantage of any promotions or price reductions. Does Silversea often offer price reductions or promotions? Or, is this a good deal? It comes to almost $2,000 in savings. That said, the cruise isn't for another 8 months so a lot could happen to pricing / promotions in that time. Vikki

Thank you so very much! Since this was a highlight of the trip, I didn't want to book the cruise until I knew what getting to the museum entailed. Since the cruise is there for a day and a half, it looks very doable. I too, wished they docked at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Silversea is now owned by RCL, so I guess they are obligated to use their facilities. Can you give me an idea of what the weather will be like in mid-November? Vikki

Hi, I am thinking of booking a trip on Silversea in November 2023 from Quebec to Ft. Lauderdale. It overnights in NYC, at Cape Liberty. I really want to see the 9/11 museum and memorial. It does not appear the cruise line has any tours going there. What is the best way to get there? How much time will it take to get there? I ask because you need to purchase the admission tickets in advance. Since it overnights in NYC, I would also like to take a water trip around the Statue of Liberty, but my main focus is the 9/11 museum. Any information you can provide would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Most nights my husband wore nice looking jeans (not denim) with a collared shirt and jacket. He never wore a suit or a tie. As this was Alaska, the formal night was optional. You cannot enter Alantide without a jacket. If you try, they will provide you with one. An ugly one at that. <g>

Thank you. I tried looking for comparisons before I took Silversea. Since I use Cruise Critic so much, I thought I would return the favor. It has been such a great resource for me over the years!

Sorry, I forgot to add this one. Room Service: Silversea has a very extensive menu. The food always arrived hot. You could also order it to be delivered anywhere on the ship. They had a nice tabletop extension for the table in the room, so it was never crowded on the table. Plus, they would bring drinks with your room service. Silversea wins handily.

I agree. I was surprised that the price points were so close. I really thought Silversea would cost a lot more.

I thought Silversea was better. The ingredients seemed fresher and better presented. The seasoning had more finesse. As a matter of fact, I loved their Alaskan rockfish so much, I asked how the Chef prepared it. (We went fishing in Alaska and brought home halibut, rockfish, and cod.)

Not much difference in Alaska. Since the Celebrity cruise left from Seattle, we didn't get to Seward. No stop in Canada in 2021 since Canada was still closed. In 2022 on Silversea we went to Haines instead of Skagway due to the rock slides. Otherwise, the same.

I agree, the food and alcohol was better on Silversea. If it weren't for the poor service, I would have given the "win" to Silversea. My favorite place on the Muse was the Arts Cafe. I also liked having a before dinner drink in the Panorama Lounge. Our weather was great for both trips so we spent quite a bit of time enjoying the views outside.

Yes, I wondered that myself. That is why I tried out Silversea. Since they cost less, I felt like I couldn't go wrong! Vikki

Thank you all for your "hints" on travel agents. I am eyeing the 14 day Quebec to Miami. I would like to see the shore excursions first. When I called them directly, they said they will be available for viewing in October. Vikki

This is my attempt to compare Celebrity and Silversea. We traveled to Alaska in August 2021 in a Sky Suite on Celebrity Millennium. We traveled to Alaska in August 2022 in a Superior Veranda on Silver Muse. As I use Cruise Critic as a resource, I thought this might be helpful for those of you attempting to decide between the two. I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts! Price: We drove to both ports. Therefore, airfare was not included. (On Silversea this is a Port-to-Port sailing.) As of 2022, the price was within $200 of each other, with Celebrity costing slightly more. However, Silversea also includes shore excursions. So, Silversea gets the win here. Embarkation: This is not really a fair comparison as our Celebrity cruise left from Seattle and Silversea departed from Vancouver. That said, Celebrity was much faster and pleasant. We had a designated check-in time, separate check-in for Retreat guests and were on-board within 30 minutes. Silversea gathered everyone at the same time. There was not enough seating in the waiting area and long lines. There were at least 7 check points where we had to show the same documents over and over. It took over an hour to get on board. Celebrity gets the win. Muster Drill: Celebrity wins hands down. You watch the video on your phone or suite TV. Go to your muster station and done. Silversea gathers you in 2 groups, at different times. Your group is given the muster drill in person and you were then escorted to your muster station. Cabin: The Silversea cabin nicely appointed. It had a couch and a chair. The walk-in closet had tons of storage space. The Celebrity Sky Suite also has plenty of storage, but no separate comfy chair next to the couch. The bathroom on Silversea had a separate shower and bath. As we are older, we found the step into the bathtub/shower combo on Millie a bit of a challenge. Silversea wins. Restaurants: I know this one will get comments. 😊 For lunch, the pizza and burgers were better on the Muse. It was some of the best pizza I have ever had! The Millennium had a much better lunch buffet. For dinner, I thought Luminae was equal in quality and ambiance to all the restaurants on Silver Muse with the exception of Alantide. Alantide had regional food (Alaska halibut, cod, rockfish, and salmon) every night along with lobster, steaks, and very good vegetarian meals. However, you had to wear a jacket to dinner (no tie), which DH didn’t love. If you didn’t wear one, they provided one for you. On Silversea, if you don’t make dinner reservations prior to boarding you will find yourself out of luck with the exception of Alantide and Indochine. – Unless you want to eat at 9pm, that is. As this was our first time on Silversea, I wasn’t sure which we would like best, so I made reservations at all of them except La Dame. I would have liked to return to La Terrazza, but couldn’t get a reservation. Overall, wait service was better in the Celebrity restaurants than Silversea. One night in Hot Rocks our waiter was more interested in flirting with another crew member than taking our order! I would call this a tie, as the Silversea quality was great, but their service was inconsistent. Wine Steward: The wine stewards on the Muse were terrible. They took forever to come take your wine order (wait staff could not take your wine order) and rarely ever came by to refill your glass. On Millennium, the wine stewards were knowledgeable, always making recommendations, and your glass was never empty. Celebrity is the big winner. Butler: I know this varies depending on the butler, but our butler on Millennium was much better trained and responsive. Our Muse butler seemed overwhelmed at times and didn’t offer anything beyond what we asked for. Celebrity is the clear winner. Bars: The bars are great on the Muse. They had large ones where you could socialize with other passengers and small ones if you preferred a more intimate gathering. The bartenders were personable. While I love Cellar Masters on Millie, Silversea is the winner. Entertainment: The shows on Mille were not up to pre-pandemic standards. However, the music in Michael’s (Retreat Lounge) was better than anything on Muse. Celebrity wins. Shore Excursions: ShoreX are included on Silversea. They were smaller groups than on Celebrity, but of the same quality. Since they are “free”, and smaller, I would give the edge to Silversea. Overall: I really enjoyed being on a smaller ship. However, with the Retreat areas, you can get that same vibe on Celebrity. Overall, service was better on Millie. The cabin was better on Muse. Food, in my mind, was about equal. I would choose future sailings based on iteniery and pricing. We got a great price on Silversea because we had Port-to-Port. Their Door-to-Door pricing (included airfare and transfers) is much higher. They seem to be moving to fewer Port-to-Port sailings so I am not sure if we will sail with them again.

Can you say who the travel agencies are? I am interested in learning more about Explora. The travel agent I contacted had never booked anything with them before. Makes me a little nervous.

Just came back from Canada, so I have first hand experience with this. It is a Canadian rule. No, you do not need the test results to complete the ArriveCan. You will need to do (2) ArriveCan submissions. One prior to 10/1 to get into Canada. This can be done up to 72 hours before arriving. Then another on 10/1 (or 10/2) to get on the ship. The first one will be for arriving by plane or car. The second will be for getting on the ship. You cannot do the second one until you get to Canada. You can only have one active at a time. Confused yet? <g> It really isn't all that bad. Just enter your info into ArriveCan now. Then it is easy to do the dual submissions.