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Silver Whisper Review, Oct., 2017, Montreal to NY


markham
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On Board Silver Whisper: Review and comparison to the Seabourn Odyssey class ships, October, 2017, Montreal to NY

As I said earlier in this thread I have an unusual challenge to compare apples and oranges. And this was my first Silversea cruise on one of their ships; the brand is stretched and varied across a few types of ships ranging from the largest 600 passenger Muse to their 100+ passenger expedition ships. Seabourn’s brand is simple. You choose between three identical 450 passenger ships or one 600 person ship, Encore. So there’s our starting point.

 

The Silversea Whisper, to me at least, offers a somewhat different experience to the Seabourn Odyssey/Sojourn/Quest (OSQ) ships from the moment you step on board, even though Whisper (and her sister Shadow) are close to the OSQ ships size-wise. So that’s the basis of my comparison.

Firstly, Whisper carries about 80 fewer passengers, is a deck lower and several years older. It’s like entering an established Italian luxury hotel with lots of muted pastels, rather quiet, dark, and self-possessed. There are top quality linens, towels, bathrobes, wonderful Bulgari bath products and a bonus in a tuxedo-wearing butler who folds away your clothes, puts the dirty in laundry bags, and shines your dress shoes without prompting. He spirits away what’s in those bags - ok, you do fill in the forms - and returns them same day to their drawers. Wonderful! The suite and long(er) bathtub are very comfortable, although the beds measure 2x80 cm, which I believe is 20 cm narrower than those on the OSQ ships.

What about Whisper’s decor? It’s rather bland but no doubt comforting to some. I find it faded, not at all edgy and much less adventurous than Seabourn’s statement. My favourite big space is the Show Lounge with its murals, tiered levels in red, and classic charm. Our suite is soothing and homey. But many public areas could benefit from attention. The Bar, with its green, brown and teal velour striped chairs and settees would be my first renovation project. The large, uninspiring and apparently under-utilised Panorama Bar needs upgrading and maybe repurposing.

About the ship’s layout, there is nothing comparable to the OSQs’ light-filled glamorous Observation (cocktail) Bar which has commanding views over the bow of the ship and its large teak passenger deck and jacuzzi 4 decks forward and below. On Whisper the forward Observation Lounge is less than half its size and is primarily a library and self-serve coffee bar. The Whisper’s Panorama Bar facing rearward on a lower deck is the manned coffee bar while the OSQ ships have the game-changing Seabourn Square that combines a manned cafe, light snacks, library and all front desk customer services in one very large meeting space as the ships’ hub. And it makes a big difference in generating the ships’ social vibe.

 

Outside, the Whisper’s pool deck 8 and deck 9 remind me of the 200 passenger Seabourn Spirit/Pride/Legend ships, now with Windstar. But with one major difference: Whisper has a real circular and blue rubber carpeted jogger’s track at 9 laps to the mile, only narrow-ish at the forward end. The deck loungers are thickly padded. Excellent! The much smaller circular walkabout deck on deck 9 of OSQ is not as wide, and there is also a U shaped walking area on deck 5. The OSQ ships’ loungers are not especially comfortable but the ships offer much more outdoors deck space, notably all in teak, with a top deck putting, shuffleboard and ping pong area, and 5 jacuzzis on various decks to Whisper’s two jacuzzis by the pool.

Anyway, what excels for me?

For cuisine and wine service, I can heartily recommend the professionals at both! About bar service, Silversea serves superior Pommery and Heidsieck complimentary champagnes with linen serviettes printed with the company’s logo. Beats Nicholas Feuillate and paper coasters every time. And about the food, fine cuisine is the calling card of Silversea with their attention to detail and depth of selection, especially with their authentic Italian and French kitchens. The dinner reservation-required La Terrazza and La Dame restaurants are fabulous, while the MDR, serving a range of dishes, including choices from India and Indonesia, is very very good. That’s where I have all my breakfast and lunch meals. I much appreciate the relative calm and the experienced wait staff who create such refined ambiance. Really... who can deliver several choices of al dente and authentic pasta dishes better? And what other shipboard restaurant prepares desserts with raspberries stuffed with cream as a mere accompaniment?! This is about superlatives- refinement and confidence and strict adherence to detail.

 

Over to Seabourn, I am a big fan of the steak house theme Thomas Keller grills which replaced the old tasting menu concept of the R2 restaurants. I love the outdoor seating and overall scope and style of the Colonnade for breakfast, lunch and the occasional dinner when it’s Thomas Keller (TK) or country-specific “country market” themed. The buffets are generous, the whole area bright and I seldom order at the table from the menu. Seabourn has the big modern space design to execute which you either have or you don’t; the La Terrazza tiled buffet area is very tired and the outdoor seating is less than a third of the Colonnade’s seating. Both have poolside restaurants of similar size. On Silversea there is waiter service while the OSQ venues offer also offer a large buffet and are smoke-free. The entire starboard side poolside restaurant on the Whisper is not smoke-free and, unfortunately, this happens to be near the only outdoor bar.

For officer and crew engagement in the context of the social scene, this isn’t easy to discuss, this voyage being my first on Whisper and with this itinerary. Suffice it to say that both lines have extremely professional hotel department officers such as maitres d’s, sommeliers, bar staff and customer service staff. But Seabourn’s staff, and especially their senior officer staff, including the captain, staff captain, and the hotel and bar managers, seem to be much more visible and engaging. They, and various social staff and entertainers, very often host dinner tables in the main dining room which is a boon to single travellers and those who want company. I seldom noticed that on Whisper. That said, Silversea management stands behind their printed public room dress code standards, allowing staff to enforce it. They mean what the printed daily program states. I wish Seabourn would do so!

Bear in mind, too, that the Seabourn ships, all built since 2009, may be more practical if you have ambulatory issues. I noticed when we were docked in Halifax that there were 36 steps to conquer. Why so many? We exited from deck 5, there is no deck 4 facility, and the deck 3 door (used for tenders) was too low against the pier given the tide. This made for difficult work for some passengers and the crew who so capably assisted them. The OSQ ships offer more flexibility and fewer steps from their deck 4.

Summary, then:

1- Whisper, and presumably its sister Shadow, are mellow, serene and staid. If you want superb food, calm and unobtrusive service by the Continental senior staff and largely Filipino and Indonesian hotel staff - all extremely charming - on a slightly older and traditional ship, look carefully at Whisper and its sister Shadow. Also if you like to run on deck.

On the other hand, if you want something more “New World” (to include Seabourn’s large complement of energetic Latin and South African staff and also their eager cohort of eastern European staff), a somewhat more varied cuisine, bright and “designer elegant” appeal, more outdoor deck space for general recreation, look at the Seabourn OSQ ships, and the excitement and fun generated by such events as “Caviar in the Surf” (or on deck) and the “Officers on Deck Epicurean Party”; and

2- Check costs for comparable cruises on both lines. And then there are the loyalty club benefits.

Oh, and if high speed internet is important, note that Silversea offers a high speed option for a price. The lines are quite different, and at Silversea I understand that the 9 ships vary greatly, for example, when you compare the Whisper to the Muse, not to mention the expedition ships. This is obviously less so at Seabourn when comparing OSQ ships to Encore. Those deck plans reveal so much, e.g. the size and scope of the spas and any “serene area”; and

 

3- Decide when and where you want to go. The 2 lines are taking different approaches to attract you to more exotic places: Seabourn with their classic ships’ ventures group and zodiac tours that combine the best of worlds. Silversea now operate 100-200 passenger true luxury expedition ships to even more remote places. They look very appealing to me!

Where do we cruise next?

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Markham - thanks for an excellent and balanced review. As I have previously stated, we have about 500 days with Seabourn, love the Odyssey class ships, Seabourn Square, and the past passenger benefit program, but we find the food on SS to be better, love Pommery and Heidseck champagne, really like that the MDR is open for lunch on port days, and the lunch/dinner menus are better quality and have much more variety than Seabourn. We love the interactive TV system on Seabourn. SS's past passenger program is pretty good (free laundry after 100 days). All in all, both lines are very good, but we don't like the direction than Seabourn is taking and therefore SS is now our go to luxury cruise line (don't like Crystal - most cabins are way too small and ships are too large and we don't like Regent as their per diem costs are way too high due to "free" shore excursions as we much prefer exploring ports on our own).

 

In addition, we love the SS dress code and hate Seabourn's dress code. The fact that Seabourn closes the MDR for lunch during port days is very disappointing. We like to get off the ship around 9 AM and walk around to explore the port and then come back to have a nice lunch in the MDR - can't do this on Seabourn. Also, during sea days, the MDR on SS has a great menu with lots of variety whereas Seabourn has reduced the number of items to the point it's like OK if you want us to have the MDR open for lunch on sea days, we are limiting it so you will not longer go and we can close it down.

 

 

Also, SS makes fresh pasta in La Terrazza for lunch (and dinner). We also find that SS has many more items on the dinner menu than Seabourn does. Lastly, although we have not been on the Encore, we did not like the TK selections on the MDR menu (often the items we no longer available as we dine late) and we have no desire to dine "family" style in the Colonnade on TK nights.

 

That said both lines are very good. Although Seabourn's past passenger program is among the best in the industry, SS offers free laundry after 100 days along with a 5% discount, and given that they are a privately owned company they have much more latitude than a publically traded company., A prime example is the complimentary wines - SS has a dedicated wine ambassador who buys quite of bit of local European wines from small vineyards vis-a-vis Seabourn's corporate (i.e., Carnival) IDIQ contracts.

 

Lastly, we find that SS does a better job and has more flexibility with buying local products, especially, fresh fish. Just our opinion. It's all good and both lines are better than being home doing your laundry, cleaning your house, fixing your meals, and making your own drinks. Besides the better complimentary wines, SS offers reasonably priced premium wines.

 

 

At the end of the day, it's what you like that's important and we all have different likes and dislikes. Being on a cruise ship is far better than a day at work or for that matter being at at home.

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Although Seabourn's past passenger program is among the best in the industry, SS offers free laundry after 100 days along with a 5% discount,

 

I don't recall the Seabourn program, but Silversea's gets better: 10% discount on all cruises after 250 nights, free 7 days in a verandah after 350 nights, and of course the (generally 5%) discount on sailings labeled Venetian Society sailings. I love the free laundry benefit and the fact that Silversea does not add taxes/port charges to advertised fares. As I recall, Seabourn does. In any case, neither line will be a hardship experience.

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Yes, the taxes/port charges can be significant on Seabourn.

 

What about itineraries. I've been looking around at SS itineraries--which seem a little less mainstream (and that could be a good thing) than those of SB.

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Seabourn is free seven day cruise after sailing 140 days and a fourteen day cruise after sailing for 250 days.

Thanks Markham for your report,it’s much as I thought it would be and we are lucky to have both lines to sail on.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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I don't recall the Seabourn program, but Silversea's gets better: 10% discount on all cruises after 250 nights, free 7 days in a verandah after 350 nights, and of course the (generally 5%) discount on sailings labeled Venetian Society sailings. I love the free laundry benefit and the fact that Silversea does not add taxes/port charges to advertised fares. As I recall, Seabourn does. In any case, neither line will be a hardship experience.

 

Good points - However, Seabourn offers a free 1 week cruise after 140 sail days and 2 weeks after 250 days (if you don't take the 1 week at 140 days). You also earn points on what you spend onboard with sail days - after 250 points, you get 15% off shore excursions, 25% off premium wine, unlimited internet, a day in the spa serene area, 40 minutes of free phone time, a free signature massage (25 minutes), complimentary laundry and free pressing, and 20% off luggage shipping services. IMHO, probably the best past passenger program in the industry. Just my opinion.

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Thanks for the insightful review and comparison. Did you happen to take a note or try any of their vegetarian dishes, and if so, how would you compare them to Seabourn's? How are their ice cream/gelato and sorbet (which is an area of weakness for Seabourn, IMHO)?

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Thanks Markham, a balanced review and some "food" for thought for us. Particularly as we have had issue of recent with Seabourn food. But, the other side of the coin is Seabourn has a slightly more relaxed dress code - which is great when on holidays. So...horses for courses and also it depends on the itinerary in terms of when more casual is preferred than formal, hot muggy days vs cooler etc. The comments about walking tracks is useful.

 

Interesting to note the comment about add on port taxes and charges for Seabourn. That's always a constant source of irritation for us when we travel - added service changes, taxes and the like. In Australia, consumer law prevents "drip charging". What is advertised/quoted is what it is. No nasty surprises or feeling like you have been ripped off. It's what you get used to I suppose.

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Thanks for a nice balanced review. It reads much as I would have expected in that Silversea are better for some things and Seabourn for others. I’d be happy to travel on either though in agreeance that adding “port taxes” on a super AI line is more than a little cheap and something you might expect on lesser lines to do. But if it’s all listed at the time of booking, then fair enough.

 

Thanks again .....

 

 

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Our travel agent has explained to us that port fees/taxes are more expensive in some locales than in others. For example, Baltic ports have more expensive fees than Mediterranean ports. These fees added more than $800 to each of our fares for an upcoming cruise.

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The only comment on port charges I have to make is about they are managed if you miss ports due to bad weather.

 

On Seabourn you will automatically get recredited the fees to your onboard account shortly after the port is skipped. The front desk purser said that Silversea would not offer such refunds and they can be considered refunded in connection with the $1000 future cruise credit we received after we missed Portland, Boston and Newport due to the storm.

 

 

And about pricing for similar cruises, in similar veranda cabins, on similar dates, we did check how much the Quest cruise was. It was priced similarly to ours but their cruise was 4 days longer. They started the day before ours in Montreal and while we ended in NY they were bound for Miami (and are still en route). That’s why I try to use price per day inclusive of port charges when comparing my options.

 

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

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Markham, thank you for taking the time to write this comparison.

I left SS for Seabourn around 5 years ago, the main issue for me was the standard of the food onboard. So I'd been looking forward to reading about your experience on SS since you first mentioned that you had booked with them.

It does sound as if SS may have picked up and improved so I think it's worth my while taking SS into consideration again when I'm planning my next cruise. I'm still happy with SB (overall) but it's always good to have a choice!

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