Jump to content

Just back from The Spirit in the Baltic


Mayflower1
 Share

Recommended Posts

My wife and I have just returned from Copenhagen having spent 10 days on the ' New ' Spirit in the Baltic. We had some reservations having read about the early Cruises following the Refit and wondered if this Cruise would in any way compare with our numerous other Silversea Cruises.

 

As an overall ' Personal ' Comment we would say that it is one of the best Cruises we have ever taken with Silversea ( since 1999 ) and we were most impressed with the most aspects of the Ship and the unfailing Service provided by another Great Crew. I will attempt to provide a more detailed response of various aspects below:

 

The Suite - We were in one of the new ' Shower Only ' Suites on Deck 7 and found it delightful, spacious and decorated to our taste. The Large Walk In Shower was great and seemed to make the whole Bathroom quite spacious.

 

Dining: We tried a number of The Restaurants on this short Cruise and will respond on our thoughts:

 

Atlantide - The least favourite of the Venues in our opinion. The Restaurant looks superb with lovely decor, but it was on our visit extremely crowded, noisy and the whole atmosphere was frenetic and in no way relaxing. The Staff appeared stressed throughout the entire Dinner Session and we noticed a number of Guests turned away when wanting a Table for 2. The Menu is quite long but does not change and our Food was at best Luke Warm. We did have a Lunch in this Venue and found it completely different, a better Menu, quiet and calm. I guess that a lot of Guests do not make Forward Reservations and end up in Atlantide ?

 

La Terrazza - Our Favourite Venue and a transformed space since the Refit - For Lunch it seemed to cope well and we seldom saw any significant Lines for Food - we never had a problem getting a Table and the Service was superb and friendly. At Dinner it is transformed into an elegant Italian Restaurant with an extensive Menu ( it too does not change ) with plenty of choice. The Food was very well presented, Hot and both Food and Wine Service excellent. This is certainly one of the best Terrazza experiences across the Fleet for us.

 

La Dame - We greatly enjoyed the experience and would say that it is very similar to the others we have visited across the Fleet - The Menu again does not change and has been slightly tweaked to past visits but remains very Rich but excellent. The Room is small and quite dark but an experience.

 

Silver Note - this was our first time in trying this Venue and we were initially very taken aback at the Food Offerings - but we thoroughly enjoyed the experience - it was certainly different. Our only slight criticism is that Non Dining Guests are permitted to come into the Venue to listen to the Singer/Pianist and the distinction between Restaurant & Bar is rather confusing ( There is no separate Bar as on the Muse so Guests merely occupy any Tables that early Diners have vacated ). As is often the case the Drinkers do overtalk the Performers and this can be irritating.

 

The Pool Grill - This Venue is very similar to that previously experienced, but the Menu is much enhanced now ( some items the Staff suggest should be cooked and served by them which does seem to negate from the purpose of the Venue ). There are many more Tables down the sides of the Pool area and these are now protected from the Weather by See Through Screens that can be wound down - this does make those Tables a tad strange but much appreciated in windy weather ). We found the basic Steak/Fish items very good quality. The Venue is extremely popular ( even in the Baltics ).

 

The Arts Cafe - a superb Venue throughout the day, with a wide range of Deli Fayre offered, changing for Breakfast/Lunch/Tea/Evening. A really great addition and heavily used.

 

Public Spaces - The whole ship seems so spacious and welcoming. The Dolce Vita Lounge/Bar is very large but not cavernous - it is used for The Welcome Reception, Bingo, Trivia etc and is a nice place to relax. The Panorama Bar remains our favourite spot and is now, in our opinion, very elegant with comfortable chairs & sofas and the usual superb Service. A Trio plays here in the Evenings and it is very well utilised ( unlike similar Venues across the Fleet ). The Tors Lounge/Library/Evening Bar is good but very cut off at the Top/Front of the ship - unfortunately the Library element has been reduced and is no longer much to write about.

 

The Pool area is large but with very few Loungers available in the shade - however we found no difficulty in having Loungers positioned down the Side of the ship - this aspect may have different results on a really Hot weather Cruise.

 

All in all we were very impressed and will be keen to return in 2019. We hope this will help others but would stress the comments are ours alone and others may have differing opinions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m so pleased you had a fantastic cruise Mayflower. It’s good to hear that they seem to have ironed out the initial problems on the ship. I Hope that any worried cruisers after reading about the initial problems can take comfort from your great experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the trip review. My wife and I are on the Baltic Spirit Cruise Aug 24 Copenhagen to Stockholm. Glad to hear it seems that things have been ironed out. I was wondering if your cruise was fully booked? Did you happen to eat outside at La Terrazza at all? And final question were you happy with the included wine offerings? Once we boarded and had lunch I was planning to see if I could get a copy of the included wine offerings on our sailing.

Thanks Again

Neilio

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Phew! We're on the fall TA on the Spirit and have been pretty horrified at some of the scathing reports, post stretch. So glad to hear that things are pretty much up to snuff! Thank you for reporting!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife and I have just returned from Copenhagen having spent 10 days on the ' New ' Spirit in the Baltic. We had some reservations having read about the early Cruises following the Refit and wondered if this Cruise would in any way compare with our numerous other Silversea Cruises. All in all we were very impressed and will be keen to return in 2019. We hope this will help others but would stress the comments are ours alone and others may have differing opinions.

 

Appreciate all of these details and this comprehensive follow-up/review. We enjoyed a year ago doing the Spirit from Lisbon to Rouen before its stretching. Had friends from the Philadelphia area who super enjoyed this "new" stretched Spirit in late June. Am considering now doing Alaska for the first time on the Silver Muse. Am concerned about "mis-management" about certain large groups, but hopefully the bean-counters in Monaco have learned some lessons. Nice, first-hand reporting by Mayflower1!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean adventure that started in Barbados, here is the link for that live/blog. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.):

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 57,580 views for these postings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife and I are on the Baltic Spirit Cruise Aug 24 Copenhagen to Stockholm.

Thanks Again

Neilio

 

Hello, Nelio. We will be on the 7/24 cruise, and don't see you either on the roll call https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2542126&page=2 or on the Meet and Mingle list. Please sign up for both.

 

Mayflower 1, thanks for the review. We, too, were worried about the bad reviews from the shakedown cruise. Thanks for letting us know that the ship is OK. J & J

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for your review, Mayflower! We have not been on the Spirit in three years due to some concerns and she sounds just fine right now per your report, other than Atlantide at dinner ( though I would still want a suite with a bath :))

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the excellent review of recent Spirit experience and pleased you found the majority of luxury cruising requirements to your liking.We are currently on the Wind on a Norwegian only cruise which has produced fabulous scenery,weather (not needed the many jumpers and coats packed for usual Norway weather and our favourite Wind is perfect with a great crew as usual and th e food in all restaurants is top class and much more variety than expected.The ship is in excellent condition.We have a new to SSHotel Director from a previous line with a fleet of ships that carry Thousands rather than the 290 passengers size we prefer.At dinner last night with him he tried without success to reassure us on the subject of the SS take over by a mass market cruise line which concerns us as long term SS clients.

Look forward to meeting up again on theWind next year.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good Morning Brimary - Thanks for the note and so pleased that all is well on The Wind - The weather sounds to be perfect and long may it continue. I feel we must all ' Watch this Space ' regarding the impact of the takeover ( We were also given reassurances as to there being no change to the Silversea Product ??? ).

 

Continue to have Fun - looking forward to June 2019

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the excellent review of recent Spirit experience and pleased you found the majority of luxury cruising requirements to your liking.We are currently on the Wind on a Norwegian only cruise which has produced fabulous scenery,weather (not needed the many jumpers and coats packed for usual Norway weather and our favourite Wind is perfect with a great crew as usual and th e food in all restaurants is top class and much more variety than expected.The ship is in excellent condition.We have a new to SSHotel Director from a previous line with a fleet of ships that carry Thousands rather than the 290 passengers size we prefer.At dinner last night with him he tried without success to reassure us on the subject of the SS take over by a mass market cruise line which concerns us as long term SS clients.

Look forward to meeting up again on theWind next year.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Thank you for the positive words on the Wind we leave in three weeks for the Baltic and while looking forward to the ship, our first trip on the Wind, concerned about some of the critics. We have always enjoyed Silversea and are hopeful that it is not going to change too much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A nice LIVE view of the Spirit at Geraingerfjord along with the Hapag-Lloyd vessel Europa -

 

YES!! Nice link and view. Brings back nice memories from 2010 when we were in this same locations on the Silver Cloud eight years ago. Appreciate your sharing and this follow-up.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 228,524 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the positive words on the Wind we leave in three weeks for the Baltic and while looking forward to the ship, our first trip on the Wind, concerned about some of the critics. We have always enjoyed Silversea and are hopeful that it is not going to change too much.

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy your upcoming Wind cruise as much as we are doing at present.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mayflower1. thanks for all the good info. We are taking our family on our first SS cruise in February on the Spirit in the Caribbean, and we are happy to have any knowledge about this"new and (hopefully) improved" ship.

 

One question- were the evening shows performed at any predictable time? I know that not everyone is a fan of cruise ship entertainment, but we are, and would like to be able to plan our dining reservations with this in mind.

 

Thanks,

Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mayflower1. thanks for all the good info. We are taking our family on our first SS cruise in February on the Spirit in the Caribbean, and we are happy to have any knowledge about this"new and (hopefully) improved" ship.

 

One question- were the evening shows performed at any predictable time? I know that not everyone is a fan of cruise ship entertainment, but we are, and would like to be able to plan our dining reservations with this in mind.

 

Thanks,

Bob

 

As I recall, the shows are around 9:30. Others can give more definite and current Spirit information. In any case, please don't expect "entertainment" such as one would find on much larger ships -- lavish production shows, etc. The entertainment is generally more low-key, consistent with the overall ambiance on the ocean ships.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with Observer's assessment. Hardly a lavish spectacle, but very enjoyable. My husband who NEVER sits thru a production, stayed for all of them , thru the whole thing...a record for him. If Moss happens to be your CD, he often puts on a one man show that is not to be missed!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good morning Boblerm - On our 10 day Cruise the Shows were at 10.00 pm apart from 2 Pre Dinner Shows at 6.30 pm - as others have said they are not Big Production Shows but the Group of Singers we experienced were extremely talented and very enthusiastic - they wre also very nice people and were very visible around the ship during the day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...