Silver Shadow Singapore to Singapore: Pirouette's observations

Yesterday was a warm and calm sea day. The waters have been so calm that it remains hard to believe that we are at sea! We booked this cruise within 6 weeks of departure and there were few cabins left. We have been on the pool deck, which we normally would never consider (we always go lower and mid ship) but this has been great. The pool, bar and grill are right outside. Very convenient....we may have had a different view if the seas had been rough.

There have been a number of onboard activities to pass the time. The usual trivia, bridge, fitness classes and enrichment lectures. The lecturers on this cruise are Evelyn Evans and Ernie Rea, a former BBC radio host. We have enjoyed Ms Evans historical lectures about this part of the world. They help provide some context to the ports we are visiting. Mr. Rea’s lectures are fine but not as topical. Today he was to lecture on the roots of Islamic extremism- an odd choice for this cruise.

We found the quality of enrichment lectures on Regent to be slightly better. Our lectures have been jammed into sea days rather than spread out throughout the cruise. There are three lectures today. Spending precious sunlight hours indoors in the Athenian Lounge is not our preferred way to spend the day, no matter how compelling the topic. Others may have a different view. It would be nice to have these sessions spaced out more during the cruise.

Some of the other indoor activities have been fun. Yesterday there was a cooking contest between the food and beverage manager and the chef. ( a la Iron Chef). For those who enjoy food and wine it was very entertaining and informative. Other activities include fitness lectures on how to eat more and weigh less and how to have a flatter stomach....Not a chance after this cruise!

We attended tea time for the first time yesterday. We have done this on both a Regent and Oceania. We liked Silversea’s version: varieties of loose tea, not tea bags, individual tea sandwich and pastry tower, warm scones to die for. We have decided to eat a lighter lunch just to make room for tea a few hours later. A young guitarist played soft contemporary music throughout. The whole experience was delightful. We give Silversea the edge on this one!

We are rarely ably to get to the shows because we dine late, but there is something to suit all tastes each night. There was an old fashioned Irish sing along yesterday and today there was a traditional English pub lunch in the bar. We did not attend either but full marks to Silversea for trying different options.

There is one aspect of this cruise that came as a surprise. There is a charge of $2 pp/ per day that Silversea donates to a cancer charity sponsored by the cruiseline’s owners. Apparently they set up a foundation after losing a family member to cancer. Passengers can opt out of this charge by signing a form that was provided on either the second or third day.

The goal of this charity is laudable but many of us have experienced the tragic loss of family members from this terrible disease. We make our donations accordingly within our own community. The negative option contribution may be contrary to law in some jurisdictions. It is not something we expected on Silversea.

We went on the captain ‘s bridge tour earlier today. It was interesting to see the nerve centre of the ship. He welcomed about 20 passengers and answered questions for about 20 minutes about the inner workings of the ship and a whole range of issues raised by the passengers. He was very generous with his time.

We are off to our final stop in Malacca tomorrow. We have found 11 days too short. Not everything is perfect but after a rocky start, we have enjoyed ourselves. Much credit to the sommeliere, Karolina who is not only a wealth of knowledge, but who has done everything possible to see that our preferences and expectations regarding the wines has been met.

I will do a more comprehensive comparison between Silversea, Regent and Oceania soon. All are decent cruise lines but each have different strengths and weaknesses, at least from our perspective.

One more day, then the long flight home and back to reality.

I'll just pick up on Karolina, the sommelier. She really is outstanding both in her depth of knowledge and attention to the customer. A real gem.

Nnn

A very informative and readable review.

Thanks

Thanks for continuing your review Pirouette and glad that Karolina is looking after you well.

However, I am horrified that you report that the 'Charity Charge' has been increased to $2 a day. Most long term SS cruisers hate the fact that this an opt out instead of an opt in, corporate doesn't get any say in the matter, it's just down to Manfredi and he will never listen.

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Thanks for continuing your review Pirouette and glad that Karolina is looking after you well.

 

However, I am horrified that you report that the 'Charity Charge' has been increased to $2 a day. Most long term SS cruisers hate the fact that this an opt out instead of an opt in, corporate doesn't get any say in the matter, it's just down to Manfredi and he will never listen.

 

 

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I'm sure they mean $1 a day per person. Two persons per suite equals $2 per day.

Yes nfcu, you may be correct that it is $2 per cabin. I did not keep a copy of the opt out form so I cannot verify the amount assessed.

Malacca was the last port on this cruise. We opted for the included historical highlights tour. This was a tender port. The tour was scheduled to depart at 8 am. Unfortunately the ship was not cleared until about 8:20 am. Tour participants waited in the Athenian lounge for updates on tour departures. Staff was doing their best to keep groups together while awaiting instructions on tenders which varied in passenger capacity. It was chaotic. Our tour escort (from SS on board staff) was not particularly communicative and did not do a very good job of monitoring the group.

We were jammed into a “high capacity” tender. It was very uncomfortable and crowded to the extent that both DH and I had safety concerns. We made it to the jetty unscathed and met up with our guide for our half day tour. She was knowledgeable and had a quirky sense of humour. We were about an hour late in the start time.

Though we enjoyed seeing the highlights of this city, the tour was light on content. The guide had trouble keeping the group together, particularly before and after the tri-Shaw ride. The vehicles were not where the guide expected. When we reached the tri-Shaw area, multiple groups converged and it seemed like no one knew where to go and which units were part of our tour. We were just told to get into any one of about 30 Tri-Shaw’s. One that I selected was not part of our group tour. It was fortunate that I asked the driver before we got underway. There was simply no direction. The scene was complete chaos.

At the conclusion of the ride, 6 members of our group were missing. The ship’s escort was of no assistance. This was in contrast to an excellent ship escort on other tours who “rode shotgun” and ensured that everyone stayed together. The missing passengers were ultimately located after a brief delay. I could sense our guide’s frustration. It was very warm and the tour appeared to involve more walking than some of the participants had expected.

At the end of the tour we returned to the jetty to find multiple tour groups waiting for a tender with none in sight. Again, disorganization.....We were told that in Malacca SS was required to use a certain number of local tenders as well as its own. The tenders themselves were of varying capacity and waits were long. The timing of the dispatch from ship to shore seemed random and not coordinated with the end time of the shore tours.

Back on board in time for a nice lunch and later afternoon tea. This was the last night on board and we wanted to enjoy as much as possible. A leisurely swim at 6pm was perfect! I tried to sit in the hot tub too. There is no proper step into or out of the hot tub. DH and I are very fit and flexible but this was difficult even for us. It could be a real challenge for passengers with mobility concerns and could be a potential liability issue.

We said goodbye to a number of new found friends at the Bar and enjoyed a final dinner at the Restaurant, some Thai dishes that Chef Grant made by special request. Delicious!

Homeward bound now and back to reality. This was an enjoyable 11 day break. We wished it had been longer but our professional commitments required us to return directly rather than staying on in Singapore. I will post some final thoughts after I have had a day or two to reflect. Thanks to those of you who have joined me on this journey.

The charity charge is definitely an irritant.

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Thank you Pirouette for sharing your voyage with us. It was very enjoyable. Best wishes.

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The charity charge is definitely an irritant.

Agreed. I've tended to leave it on mine, but won't do so in the future from now on. I would probably opt in if I were asked and given a choice, but resent it now being expected on each voyage. I'm guessing this is done this way because (a) people won't notice or (b) will be too embarrassed to ask for it to be removed.

Thanks again for your review Pirouette. I look forward to your summary as we're boarding the Shadow in 4 weeks. Just looked.... She is docked next to Sentosa Island currently. Not 100% sure what we'll do on embarkation day. I think we may well ignore the transfers that were included and make our own way after spending a bit more time in Marina Bay. Need to work out the logistics with our luggage.

We took a cab to and from the airport. It was much cheaper than the SS transfers, about $28 from the airport to the terminal. This morning we paid $20 to the airport from the terminal. It was very quick and efficient both ways.

We took a cab to and from the airport. It was much cheaper than the SS transfers, about $28 from the airport to the terminal. This morning we paid $20 to the airport from the terminal. It was very quick and efficient both ways.

Just found a decent tool to work out taxi costs. Not really needed now I can see how cheap taxis are! Thanks for the prompt. Its been 8 years since my last visit, when we had a weeks Volcation thanks to that funny sounding name Volcano in Iceland.

Seems it will cost S$10 from our Hotel in Orchard Road to Marina Bay Sands / Gardens and the same to the Harbour front location that Shadow docks at. I must admit, I do now wish that is was that hotel we had booked. I want to have a swim in the infinity pool!

It certainly makes any decision not to use the SS transfers included easier and to make the most of our time by leaving our luggage at the hotel in storage, then collecting it after we have finished with the visit to Marina Bay.

The charity charge is definitely an irritant.

 

 

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I think ripoff is a more appropriate description.

Thanks for taking us with you on vacation. I look forward to your final thoughts.

The so called “Charity” charge is awful. The fix is easy; just ask Reception to remove this charge when you register. Then, if you’d like, make a donation to The Crew Fund. The money collected goes towards both crew family emergencies and crew celebrations. We’ve done this for years as have many other passengers.

The so called “Charity” charge is awful. The fix is easy; just ask Reception to remove this charge when you register. Then, if you’d like, make a donation to The Crew Fund. The money collected goes towards both crew family emergencies and crew celebrations. We’ve done this for years as have many other passengers.

Yes, this is what we do too. We donate to charities of our choice throughout the year but onboard we donate to the Crew Fund. There is never any issue at Reception with cancelling the charge and the hard-working crew really benefit from the Crew Fund donation.

Thanks for your trip report. We've tossed up whether to do this cruise, since it's in our patch of the world, so this has provided valuable insight.

The charity fund has nothing to do with a donation to the crew fund. The latter is a reward for great service made VOLUNTARILY by the passengers. The former is an unauthorized charge to a charity they know nothing about (and is a pet project of the owner's wife) that has to be removed by the passengers assuming they even know it will show up on their accounts. As I said....a RIPOFF.

Regarding the earlier comments on the Wine Selection and availability of a Wine List, I emailed SS, told them which cruise I was on, and asked them to photocopy the list for me and pop,it in the suite on embarkation day.

They emailed me back .... and sent me a spread sheet listing of what should be available [emoji3]

One is a happier bunny now! Well I was until I realised we fly next week and I am nowhere near ready ... [emoji15]

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The so called “Charity” charge is awful. The fix is easy; just ask Reception to remove this charge when you register. Then, if you’d like, make a donation to The Crew Fund. The money collected goes towards both crew family emergencies and crew celebrations. We’ve done this for years as have many other passengers.

This is what we always do. We were surprised this time by the number of crew members and officers who made a point of thanking us by name!

They emailed me back .... and sent me a spread sheet listing of what should be available.

I’d love to see how the list on the Muse changes from its South American voyages this winter to Europe this summer.

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This is what we always do. We were surprised this time by the number of crew members and officers who made a point of thanking us by name!

I agree that the automatic charity charge is an abomination and unworthy of a line like Silversea. But this has been said often enough, and apparently the owner(s?) don't care. It can't raise that much money. Why don't they just raise fares by this modest amount and give the increase to their charity?

I use my visit to Reception to cancel my contribution and give (much more than I have saved by cancelling) to the Crew Welfare Fund. It makes me feel like less of a cheapskate. I think that different Captains/HDs/HR directors treat contributions to the Crew Welfare fund differently. I also always received a thank you letter. I often receive oral thanks from crew -- even crew I barely know. But I was surprised on my most recent Silversea cruise that only 2 or 3 crew thanked me. In any case, I'm not contributing to collect thanks. :)

As i understand it, the list is a “corporate” one, applicable across the fleet.

For what it is worth .... and don’t shoot the messenger ...

The last one is an 80% duplication ... it was the only way I could figure out how to do it ....

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As i understand it, the list is a “corporate” one, applicable across the fleet.

For what it is worth .... and don’t shoot the messenger ...

 

The last one is an 80% duplication ... it was the only way I could figure out how to do it ....

 

 

 

 

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Thanks so much for sharing. Will be interested to see how much of it is loaded on the Wind.

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As i understand it, the list is a “corporate” one, applicable across the fleet.

For what it is worth .... and don’t shoot the messenger ...

 

The last one is an 80% duplication ... it was the only way I could figure out how to do it ....

 

 

 

 

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Thanks very much for taking the time to upload. This is very helpful.

Neilio

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