Silver Spirit Caribbean Nov 22 - Dec 2

SYNOPSIS

Silver Spirit is an excellent ship with modernistic design. It may, however, be a shade less luxurious than the Shadow/Whisper, and may not look as cute. Despite a larger capacity of 540, it still did not have “bottle necks” as such, though its public facilities appeared more heavily used than its older siblings.

The standard cabins are nice with lots of gadgets, and are similar in size to the Shadow/Whisper’s. The practically designed closet and the ample sized balcony are improvements. The two separately controllable behind-the-mirror television sets are useful additions. The more extensive make-up station was a real attraction to the female cat, though the narrower passage way between that and the end of the bed posed some inconvenience to the male cat.

The smaller singled storied theatre was inferior to those on other Silversea ships, and the small stage could not properly accommodate those good “production shows” performed by the eight member troupe. The greater variety of food provided was well appreciated. The pool area was shorter, and the mezzanine above had also to be used for the pool-side barbeque. The service was very good, but on a “larger scale”.

The Caribbean islands visited were small but interesting enough. The weather and sea condition were typical of that part of the world at this time of year. On the whole, this voyage had been nice and enjoyable. This sailing was perhaps 90% full, with half the passengers being new and they looked well satisfied. This ship is different and should be appreciated on its own merits.

INTRODUCTION

We had been paying attention to the Silver Spirit’s construction ever since its inception (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=733105 ) and discussed this topic extensively on this board. We felt that after asking so many questions, we owed it to ourselves to get on this ship and see for ourselves. As ordinary cats with limited means, and the fact that Silversea’s per diem fare was rather geographic location dependent, we could only afford the cheapest of locations, the Caribbean. (And in fact all three voyages we had so far on Silversea were in that region.)

We chose this ten day voyage when it was still at 60% off and with “free” air. We liked the fact that it included four sea days, to give us ample time to “scope out” the ship. We had been on a seven day Mexican Riviera aboard the Shadow in 2004 (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=112474 ) and felt it too short to get familiar with everything. We subsequently had been on a fifteen day Panama Canal also on the Shadow in 2007 (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=680435 ), and with more time, we could gauge the atmosphere on board much better. With limited funds, we believed that this ten day sailing would be a good compromise. It should also allow us the opportunity to try out all (the increased variety) dining venues on this larger vessel.

On Silversea, we would normally book a “vista suite”, at 80% the fare of the standard “verandah suite”. However, on the newbuild Spirit, the “vista” would be at 90% the “verandah”, making the price differential rather slim. Worse, there were a total of only one dozen “vistas” (the fewest on any Silversea ship), they were secluded on deck 4 (like all other Silversea ships), and possibly half or more would likely be occupied by lecturers, guest chefs and entertainers. These would be nice people, but they would also leave only a handful of “vistas” for regular passengers, thereby making such passengers “conspicuous by rarity”. Since we would rather not be noticed, for anonymity, we took a regular “verandah suite” instead. Of course, it would also provide us the opportunity to measure the standard balcony accurately.

So, with the above considerations settled, we stretched our paws to the limit and swallowed the bill hard. We finally went on our journey as promised, a rather rare opportunity for us. As usual, we will post our report section by section on this thread, possibly over the next couple of weeks.

Meow, thanks for your first Spirit report installment, look forward to more.

Thank you kindly, Colonel. While we cannot jog, now we understand your frustrations with the jogging track!

Just got back from this same cruise. First time on Silversea, but lots of cruises (mostly Luxury and some Mass Market) under our belt. With no previous experience with the line, we have nothing to compare Spirit to, but a couple of observations;

Service - in 36 cruises, the Main Dining Room service was the worst we have experienced anytime, anywhere. If it was just us, I could understand maybe it was bad luck in seating, but it was a constant topic of conversations in almost every venue on the ship we spent any time. With all the other options available, we only dined there three times. I did speak to the Hotel Director after our second three hour meal in succession (not that long by choice) and it was marginally better the third time, but not by any stretch what we expect from a luxury cruise line.

Bar service, by contrast, was uniformly excellent in every venue as was our Suite service team. Pool Deck service was good, with gusts to excellent.

Dining Options - we tried everything that was available (including room service) and were very impressed. Seishin and Le Champagne were both excellent and given their small size I understand the need for a cover charge. They are simply too small to accomodate all 500+ people onboard, even over ten days. The CC reduces demand. La Terraza was good for breakfast, but better for dinner and Stars was different, but also very good. The Pool BBQ was one of the better ones we have seen.

Suite - we found the suite a bit narrow for our tastes, but otherwise comfortable. Unlike some, we didn't find the tap/sink in the bathroom challenging, but the design does leave something to be desired. The full shower is a nice addition. The only real comment about the much discussed vanity table/bed issue is that my Better Half found the vanity too small to use unless she opened the drawer. If you are going to make the space that narrow, at least make the vanity functional!

The Ship - we found the design took some getting used to, but once we got oriented it seemed to work. Not having anyplace to host everyone for the Captain's Welcome party is a real design flaw in my opinion. We arrived 15 minutes early and could not find a seat in either The Bar or The Panorama. We also found the main public spaces to be consistently crowded before dinner. We never were able to find seats in The Bar, and Panorama was not much better.

The Observation Lounge became our favourite spot as it was rarely busy, but I really question the wisdom of putting the lounge at the end of a hallway of suites on Deck 11 with no public restroom anywhere closer than midship on Deck 9!!! We actually found it quicker (when necessary) to go back to our cabin on Deck 7! A staff member told us the first drydock will see one cabin removed to be replaced with a washroom.

We were generally pleased with our first experience with Silversea but will likely try one of the other ships next time.

A note on the "charitable contribution" thing - they provided a form to "opt out", no questions asked. We dropped it off at the front desk and the charge did not appear on our bill. It appears management may be listening to the complaints.

Thanks, Meow for the observations, I anxiously await further installments.

Roland, thank you for your report, also. Your main dining room experience sounds like our first two nights on the ship in December/Jan, but we did not have this issue a couple of weeks ago. I know some did.

I know on the maiden, I was very unimpressed that the captain's party was so jammed, and with the senior officers on board for that sailing, we had to stand somewhere in a "stack" to even see them. I was used to the idea this time, but they captain only stays 15 minutes at each venue, and if you are running late, well, you miss out.

We are also going back to another ship next time though we have enjoyed both cruises on Spirit. We are doing Whisper or Wind or both next year. We love them both but have not done Wind since the redo.

Roland, your Spirit comments are laser spot on--just what we found (xcept MDR service was excellent on the maiden crossing in Jan). Did u get to try Hot Rocks? Absolutely, echo your Obsn lounge comments and hope the first dry dock will remedy.

ps..read on another thread you said the Spirit cruise before yours was the first call in the US for the Spirit. Actually, our maiden crossing (arrived in FLL on 19 Jan) was the Spirit's first arrival in the US followed a few days later by the Christening ceremony. Our disembarkation was also delayed due to multiple inspections as well.

Like DebbieH103, we are anxiously awaiting further installments of your review since we were also on the Spirit in November. We did find the Captain's Reception extremely crowded. If the ship held a few less passengers (maybe 500 instead of 540), it might be more comfortable. Since SS is already removing one suite, perhaps they could look at a few more.

We found the Spirit to be very "plastic". This week I learned about restrictions on the use of wood on the newer ships. Is it correct to assume that the other Silversea ships were able to use real wood?

If the ship held a few less passengers (maybe 500 instead of 540), it might be more comfortable.

Please read our previous posting http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=26738460&highlight=#post26738460 (posting #71) and see if you agree.

Since quite a few of you are interested in our opinion, this time we will attempt to deal with "The Ship", "The Food", "The Service" first, and postpone measurements of "The Cabin" to a few days later. We have just returned and we will post as soon as we are able to .. meow!

Just got back from this same cruise..

… continued from above

THE SHIP

From the outside, the new ship looked somewhat larger, and the front part of the ship appeared more like an apartment building. The Shadow/Whipser looked more streamlined with a “bullet shape”, and therefore more cute. While the Spirit was still distinct and beautiful, it already showed some inkling of becoming a “passenger ship” instead of a “mega yacht”. On its defence, Navy Captain Burns found it to be the best riding ship. We do not have enough experience to comment on how steady the ride had been compared to the earlier ships (which would depend on the sea conditions at the time).

The Spirit is larger than the Shadow/Whisper (claimed 36,000 tonnes versus 28,282 tonnes), but the number of passengers to be carried increased by even more (from 382 to 540). This resulted in a reduced “space ratio”, from 74.0 to 66.7, a decrease of 11%, and this showed. While the cabins on the new ship are no smaller (we will discuss that later), the decrease in total per passenger space results in even greater decrease in per passenger public space. (Please read http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=21108239&highlight=public+area+ratio#post21108239 posting #18 for details). As we walked around the ship, we felt the lesser lengths we could roam around in the public areas.

The pool area was obviously shorter, and thereby more square in shape than the Shadow/Whisper. The deck chairs were “heavily used”, though there was a “mezzanine” on the deck above. We can understand Colonel Wes’ disappointment with the jogging track though we cannot jog ourselves. ( http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=21782057&highlight=jogging+track#post21782057 posting #7 )

The theatre is only single storeyed, and there are only some 360 seats for a maximum of 540 passengers (unlike the Shadow/Whisper which could practically carry all passengers “in camera”). Therefore from the safety drill on the first day, some passengers were directed to the main bar aside from the theatre. Also, unlike the Shadow/Whisper with their Las Vegas style theatres (with a small table in front of the seats for drinks and snacks), the Spirit’s theatre was more Broadway styled (sans mezzanines and upper floors). The stage was pitifully small, rather confining for the otherwise quite good eight member (three men and five women) performance troupe. They did, however, tried to make up for this deficiency with two side stages.

The internet room and library were combined, with half a dozen computers for passenger use. Perhaps with much better internet connection to the cabins, the designers figured that few would use this facility. We saw this room more heavily used than on the Shadow/Whisper, though we could still find seats if we didn’t mind sitting close to others.

The main kitchen appeared smaller, and fifteen of us took the “galley tour”. The head chef was very nice and showed us everything. He told us that since the aisles in that kitchen were too narrow, it was not suitable to hold a “galley brunch” (for all passengers) as on the other Silversea ships. This again, was an obvious drawback due to reduced public space. The main restaurant could not hold all passengers “in camera” any more, though there were enough tables for two for those who did show up, and queuing time was minimal (waiting to be escorted to your table rather than waiting for others to finish their meals).

The Terrace buffet, while not large, was surprisingly adequate (and people could “overflow” to the adjoining Super Club room during the day). We were always able to get a table for two when we appeared, and therefore would not consider this as a “bottleneck”. The distances between tables for two in a row were a foot and a half to two feet, which was respectable (unlike the roughly eight inches on Oceania’s R ships). So couples sitting next to other couples could reasonably stick to themselves and did not have to behave as if sitting on a “long table”. We would discuss the other restaurants under “The Food” section later on.

It was an improvement to have two elevators in the front part of the ship (instead of one). There were still four elevators in the public areas section of the ship. This worked well and there was no problem. The shops were operated by a different company (from three years ago when we were last on a Silversea ship). We did not use the casino and cannot comment. The Panorama Lounge was quite adequate when we visited, often with someone playing soft music. The Main Bar was also quite nice, we no longer heard complaints on noises from this area. We will discuss further in “The Entertainment” section later.

The Observation Lounge was on the very top of the ship and at the front. It no longer had those “massage chairs”. As before, this lounge was not used that much, even though it still had a bar and a lot of books to read. It should be a nice quasi-private spot when the sea was calm or if you wouldn’t get motion sickness. On the whole, while the public areas are less spacious than the Shadow/Whisper, this ship is still impressive on its own merits, and those who have not experienced the earlier ships will still be most appreciative of it.

… to be continued

Roland, your Spirit comments are laser spot on--just what we found (xcept MDR service was excellent on the maiden crossing in Jan). Did u get to try Hot Rocks? Absolutely, echo your Obsn lounge comments and hope the first dry dock will remedy.

 

ps..read on another thread you said the Spirit cruise before yours was the first call in the US for the Spirit. Actually, our maiden crossing (arrived in FLL on 19 Jan) was the Spirit's first arrival in the US followed a few days later by the Christening ceremony. Our disembarkation was also delayed due to multiple inspections as well.

Hot Rocks was the first one we tried and it was great. I do wonder what they would do in the event of unexpected rain though. Didn't look like enough space to pull all the "exposed" tables under cover, though our server insisted they could.

I should have been more specific that the previous cruise was the first US arrival this year. Sorry about that. According to a couple of the bar staff the unexpected USCG inspection really put them behind schedule. The CG had not been expected until this week's rotation apparently.

Like DebbieH103, we are anxiously awaiting further installments of your review since we were also on the Spirit in November. We did find the Captain's Reception extremely crowded. If the ship held a few less passengers (maybe 500 instead of 540), it might be more comfortable. Since SS is already removing one suite, perhaps they could look at a few more.

 

We found the Spirit to be very "plastic". This week I learned about restrictions on the use of wood on the newer ships. Is it correct to assume that the other Silversea ships were able to use real wood?

TC;

FYI, there were only 490 passengers last week and it didn't seem to make a difference. We actually ended up standing in the entry way to the Panorama and I think a few people might have thought we were staff as all those introduced were standing "behind" us and we had nowhere to move to. Wouldn't have been the first time I was mistaken for a Head Waiter while in my Tux!!

Many years ago RCI's give-aways were made of a rubberized plastic they called "pleather - it's plastic but it wants to be leather.". We took to calling some of Spirit's interior finishes "plood - it's plastic but it wants to be wood". I suspect the new SOLAS restrictions on the use of non-fire retardant wood had something to do with the materials used on Spirit, but I don't know that.

Continued from above …

THE STAFF/SERVICE

The new suite-attendant/butler system seemed to work alright. They were paired teams, each servicing 14 cabins (or 10 Silver suites, so we were told). This work load was similar to several years ago, when a pair of senior and junior suite-attendants took care of a similar number of cabins. Back then, both attendants worked together, in cleaning, replenishing supplies, general housekeeping, etc., with the senior overseeing and helping the junior. The relationship was then more cozy and less formal. This time, the suite-attendant and the butler had distinctly separate duties. The attendant would perform all housekeeping duties by him/herself, while the butler would do everything else. The butler would be the contact person for all requests, from booking specialty restaurants, to delivering room service food (sometimes done by other staff), to getting additional pillows or whatever. He would be the one to put reminders on our appointments each day. He seemed to do his job well enough, and this new arrangement felt more “ritualized”. Silversea claimed the butlers were European trained, but in practice, some might have no previous experience, they were given a half-hour on the job training per day during their first few months of work.

On the Shadow/Whisper, most staff called us Mr & Mrs Meow after several days. On the Spirit, only several, those who served us several times, would remember our names (we actually saw our pictures along with many others on pages hanging on the kitchen wall for the staff to recognize during our galley tour). The others would call us the generic Sir/Madam, which was just fine, and we are mentioning this only for the benefit of those interested, we don’t mind either way ourselves. One waiter remembered us from our Panama Canal voyage aboard the Shadow three years ago. Quite a few crew members came from the Cloud (which we had not been), but fewer had been on the Shadow before.

Captain Angelo Corsaro was very friendly. We met him at buffet lunches at the Terrace twice, and he always smiled and nodded at passengers. He personally gave those “bridge tours” and he seemed to perform all the public relations for the rest of his senior staff who stayed in the background. The Philippino Silversea Trio (musicians) were also very nice, chit chatting with passengers and willing to play requested songs. The executive chef Jerome Foussier led fifteen of us through the galley tour that day. The “shopping companion” by the name of Philip seemed diligently running between the ship and designated shops ashore on port days. The reception desk attendants sometimes were rather confused themselves, and the shore concierge was difficult to catch. Somehow, during the first couple of days (including the first sea day), the souvenir shops were hardly open at all, this however, improved as the voyage went on.

We might be lucky, or we went at suitable times, we found the wait staff in the various restaurants (including the main restaurant where we ate the first and the two formal nights) good enough. It usually would take about two hours to get through a dinner in any of the restaurants (we managed to “scope out” all of them and will discuss further in “The Food” section later). We did not request any special service and were reasonably satisfied.

Before sailing, we asked (via our travel agent) to have some juices and pillows put in our cabin. The butler apparently did get the message and accommodated us. All staff greeted us appropriately, “Good morning Sir”, etc. when walking past us in the corridors or the various lounges. As the Spirit is larger with substantially more people, the atmosphere was somewhat different from the Shadow. Some staff were closer to you than others, instead of most getting to know you after a few days. To preserve anonymity, we mostly kept to ourselves.

… to be continued

Continued from above …

THE FOOD

There was a greater variety of food on the Spirit than the smaller ships, and there were more restaurants. We had three dinners at the main restaurant and one dinner each in all the alternative restaurants, plus room service. We had buffet breakfasts and lunches at La Terrazza on deck 7, and ordered (overnight) room service breakfast a couple of times. We also ate at the poolside grill a couple of times. There was a “full fletched” poolside barbeque one evening. It was our plan to scope out all the eating venues and with this ten night voyage, we were barely able to do so.

The buffet breakfast was nice, with more variety than on the Shadow three years ago. Food was displayed all around (the walls of) the buffet area, plus two large tables at the centre of that area. There was one long counter where attendants would dispense hot food (including oatmeal, scrambled eggs, fried mushrooms, etc.) while passengers picked up their own food from other stations. All the usual items were offered, and during breakfast hours, we saw that electric commercial model ”orange juicer” actually being operated. Waiters lined up to get this fresh (machine) squeezed orange juice (from whole oranges) right in front of our eyes. Probably to “spread around”, each person was only give half a glass at a time. Waiters would usually take the plate you had filled yourself, and deliver it to your table. Items like omelettes had to be ordered with the waiters.

As breakfast hours ended at 10 a.m., and lunch hours started at noon, that “orange machine” would no longer be operated, and whatever orange juice ordered might or might not be fresh squeezed (we didn’t know). Many items at this buffet area would be changed, and hot meals would be served at the service counter. The poolside grill on deck 9 would also start at this time, offering hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza and the like. It did not offer fried fish as on Oceania’s R ships (we missed this item), but you could get very nice “shrimp cocktail”. We did not try breakfast or lunch at the main restaurant, figuring that it would be more time consuming and the food offered would be similar to the buffet.

Dinners at the main restaurant were nice enough. Caviar was served the two formal nights (that was why we chose it), though the portions given were relatively small (compared to the past). There was also a sign (in the cabins) that said due to endangered species regulations, the caviar was from farmed American sources (or some other wording to that effect). This environmentally acceptable version happened to be a small fraction the price of the “wild” version, of course. Foie Gras was, however, available upon request, and on the menu a few times. Three years ago, sea bass used to be the mainstay fish offered, this time, it was replaced with salmon. Lobster tails were offered at the first formal dinner and sea bass at the second (and last) formal dinner. Our sailing was considered a “Relais Chateau” gourmet voyage, though we were not quite sure what difference this actually had made. The menu did indicate which items were special that night, which were regularly available, which were “healthy” (low fat low calories) for your informed choice. We particularly liked the fact that the portions served were small – this way we did not have to eat more than we wished in order not to waste, and we could order more than one item in each category when we wanted to try a variety. We also liked the “zero zero ice cream” on offer, the type with no added sugar and fat (?)

The Seishin offered a “set dinner” each night, which consisted of half a dozen very small starter courses, followed by the main courses. The sushi rolls, “made while being consumed”, were obviously better than the ones sitting on plates for hours at La Terrazza buffet. If you didn’t want raw fish, they would accommodate by giving you alternatives (for example, one small piece of king crab leg in lieu of a raw fish plate). The main courses consisted of some scallops, mahe mahe terryaki and a couple of pieces of Kobe beef. This restaurant was nearly full when we ate there. There was a cover charge of 2 x $40 without saki. (It would be 2 x $80 with saki and could be 2 x $200 with other wines, well, no thanks.) While the fee might not be welcomed by many, they charged perhaps to limit the number of people. This restaurant had only 24 seats, and could not take every passenger even once. We also could appreciate that for long voyages, people would get tired of eating “regular food” and would welcome a change of taste from time to time, even at a cost. This restaurant was unique to the Silver Spirit.

La Champagne, also next door to the main restaurant, also offered set dinners each night (but different themes on different nights, unlike the other specialty restaurants). It consisted of several tiny sized pre-courses, followed by a plate with a single scallop with some special soup added. The next main course was a lobster (in fact a scampi, we would think), followed by a desert like chocolate mousse ball (?) which was quite large, followed by coffee or tea or ice cream if you so wished. The desert was much more “filling” than the pre- and main courses (so be careful if you did not desire to gain weight from these). The cover charge was 2 x $30, with additional charges if you purchased a bottle of wine (which would be delivered to your cabin if you could not finish it), and it would be 2 x $200 if you chose to take their half a dozen paired wines. This arrangement was similar to that on the Shadow years ago.

Unlike breakfast and lunch, La Terrazza turned into an Italian restaurant with set dinners in the evenings. There were, however, some choices for the main course as well as the pasta. Also, here you could choose olive oil and balsamic vinegar to go with your bread instead of butter. (This preferred choice was not readily supplied in the other restaurants on the Spirit, but was generally available in all restaurants on the Shadow years before.) The pasta was of high quality (“crisper” and more like what we ate in Italy in previous trips than what is usually supplied in American restaurants on land). The tomato source (with or without meat) was also of good taste and quality. Perhaps due to the larger number of people, they did not invite us to choose our own spices as they did on the Shadow before, but the general theme was similar.

The Stars Supper Club was unique to the Spirit and a welcomed addition. The set dinner here consisted of five courses, represented by (though not “started” with) the five letters of the word STARS. Each course included three small assigned items, and if you didn’t like any of the three offered, you could “trade” the one you didn’t like with one of the remaining two, or take three of the one you liked. With five courses, you could potentially taste fifteen different small dishes. We found this arrangement interesting and impressive, rather original in concept and refreshing. We liked most of the small items on offer, and we could still ask for pasta from the kitchen next door if we were not full and even desert on top of that. Again this restaurant required prior reservation, and it was something we would like to repeat if we had the chance.

The night before the last, the whole ship had poolside barbeque dinner. Both the main pool deck (deck 9) and the mezzanine above (deck 10) were occupied. Passengers sat at large round or long tables, with at least four and usually six to eight people per table (no tables for two this time). They had one barbequed whole pig, as well as barbequed fish and ducks. The salad was good, and there were many different types of desert on display. The arrangement was similar to what we had on the Shadow three years ago, though instead of inviting local dance troupes to perform for us, Silversea’s on board entertainers filled that role. It was an impressive evening, the kind of event not available on mass market ships we had been on.

The Hot Rock Grill on deck 10 was a new “invention” to Silversea (while this type of meals had been served on land for decades, Silversea was perhaps the first to try it at sea?) We liked it and would like to try it again if we had the chance. They gave you a piece of pre-heated very hot rock and you cooked your own steak, fish or shrimp on it yourself, to the extent you please, so you had control of the cooking besides the fun of trying something new. We heard that this new venue, started on the Spirit was being extended to the other Silversea ships as well. Good idea, and quite practical without too much trouble.

On the whole, the quality of food was good, but no better than years ago, or perhaps a tad below what was offered before (with caviar limitation, etc.) However, the variety of food offered as well as the ways it was served had definitely been increased. Now with the new restaurants, passengers on odysseys and world cruises should not be bored with eating the same food over and over again (no matter how good the food might be). For short voyages, many passengers might not have the chance to try out each venue even once, especially with reservation requirements and limitations.

… to be continued

Great review, Meow!

Thank you so much for your detailed review- meow!

Host Dan

Thank you both kindly for your encouragement .. meow!

Really enjoying your reviews. Good reading on a cold winter's day. Thanks for taking the time to do this.:)

Continued from above ...

THE ENTERTAINMENT

The entertainment on the larger Spirit was better than on the Shadow three or six years ago. The published list showed two “cocktail pianists”, two “Stars musicians”, a “Duo” (with two performers), another “ballroom duo” (two performers), six “revue entertainers” and a “stage manager”. So that was quite a team.

Also, there was a “Silversea Trio” (with three Philippino men, namely a pianist/keyboard player, a guitarist and a percussions player) playing in the main bar (in the middle of deck 5). They usually played nice melodious pieces and were not loud, and we didn’t hear complaints on noise from those passengers staying in the mid section of deck 6 right above. Mindful of this issue (reading earlier postings on this board), we asked around, and were told that the problem had been taken care of (whatever that meant). Quite a few couples (passengers) would dance to the music here.

Music was often played in the Panorama Lounge, on the pool deck from time to time during the day, and at the Stars Supper Club in the evenings. Also, a lady would sing with a man playing keyboard on deck 9 in the evenings, serenading those having their “Hot Rocks” dinner (in the open under awnings) right above on deck 10. The ship's atmosphere was nice and cozy, with such live music all around.

There were lectures in the Show Lounge (not quite a true “theatre”) during the day, and live performances at night, ranging from piano recitals to “production shows”. We watched two shows, one commemorating the works of Sir Elton John, while the other was on sweet-sounding folk/pop songs of the 1950s and 60s, quite befitting the demographics of the passengers on board. In these two “production shows”, there were eight singers/dancers, with three men and five women. They performed well, and we liked the songs selected.

THE SEA/WEATHER

The weather and sea conditions were typical of this area of the world at this time of year. The temperatures were between 80 and 85*F and humidity between 65 and 70%, nice in the shade, but uncomfortably hot directly under the sun. There was usually a breeze, and with overcast from time to time.

The sea was “moderate” with swells of 6 to 7 feet, “force 6 to 7” wind (20 to 24 knots) the first couple of days (the forward journey). The ship movement was obvious, with some rolling and some “zigzag motion”. There was no general complaint of seasickness, though some more sensitive individuals might feel a bit queasy.

Towards the end (the return journey), the ship managed to avoid a couple of “fronts” and had rather smooth sailing. The swells varied from light to 5 feet, calm to “force 5” wind (maximum of 18 knots), and from time to time, we would forget that we were at sea (when it was really calm).

Every sea day, the captain would make such announcements at five minutes past noon. It could be heard on channel 1 of the cabin television. Thanksgiving night, the captain deliberately slowed down the ship to provide a better ride for Thanksgiving dinner. We learnt that a ship’s motion depended on its own sailing speed besides everything else.

THE PASSENGERS

They distributed the “passenger list” to all cabins. This list showed 310 passengers from the United States (with 152 of these from the State of Florida), 75 from the United Kingdom, 40 from Canada, 17 from Germany, 9 from Taiwan, 7 from Switzerland, 4 from Mexico, 3 from Australia, 2 each from Austria, Peru, Belgium, France, Japan and mainland China, and 1 from Brazil for a total of 478. Some of the cabins might have three passengers and some only one. We would imagine that just about 90% of the cabins were occupied. It was plausible that a few passengers elected to opt out of being mentioned on the manifesto.

At the Venetian Society meeting, they reported having 230 members on board (so a shade under half were repeat cruisers). Of these, 73 were on their second cruise (and presumably received their sterling silver pin on this voyage). That would leave 157 (just about one-third, and including two cats) who were on their third or subsequent Silversea cruise. Five couples (four American and one British) had three hundred some days and two couples (both Americans) had five hundred some days. So 3% of the passengers would already have “ruby pins”.

The majority of the passengers appeared to be in their sixties and seventies. Some were in their fifties, and some eighties. There were not many younger adults, and you could count the number of children with your fingers. They were all well behaved and we did not hear any complaint against them. Finally, while some people smoked, it was not a contentious issue on this sailing as far as we knew.

… to be continued

Meow;

Great review and I would agree with pretty much everything you have posted. A couple of points for consideration;

Dining Room Service - As I mentioned in my prior post, we dined three times in the MDR and found the service the first two nights unacceptable. If we had been in the same area of the Dining Room it might have explained it, but each night we were in a different, and widely separated, area.

Many of our prior cruises have been on Crystal with its fixed dining, so I expected the service to be different. Open dining does not lend itself to establishing the same kind of "rapport" with your server and we didn't expect that. What surprised us was that on the first two nights the conversation with the waiter consisted of;

"Are you ready to order?"

"Are you finished?"

"Would like dessert or coffee?"

And that was it. No recommendations or suggestions on the menu. Nothing. In my conversation with the Hotel Director I suggested what he had were "order takers" not servers and he didn't disagree with me. Our third night was noticeably better in that regard. Unfortunately the Maitre D' seated four people at a table for eight and then forgot to fill the other seats. (For which he later apologized profusely.) Fortunately once our waiter realized what was happening he suggested we go ahead and order. Overall service that night was very good.

The Ship - We spent a fair bit of time with one of the lecturers and also one of the guest entertainers. They were in cabins well forward on Deck 5 and both commented that they felt every wave and every bump in a way they had never felt on any other ship. I mention this only because some people are more susceptible to motion than others so might want to avoid this area. I do have to say that we found the ship moved far more than we are used to given that the sea conditions were not terribly out of the ordinary for that part of the Atlantic/Caribbean.

Overall a good cruise but when we try Silversea again it will be on one of the other ships.

Thanks to Goldens4 for the encouragement and to Roland 4 for his interesting comments and addtions. It is nice to hear from so many posters and our gracious host.

Continued from above …

THE CABIN

We should start by thanking the great DGF for their very helpful measurements of the standard cabin on the newbuild Spirit http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1296987&page=2 (posting #27). Our account below is meant to complement and supplement their wonderful effort. Also, those interested to read the details of the Shadow/Whisper’s standard cabin are invited to read our previous posting http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=112477

The “centre aisle” corridor of the “normal deck” (the cabin areas of decks 5 to 9) was 4’7” in width (but with hand railings). The doors of cabins facing each other were “recessed” from the corridor by 1’11” each, so the distance between “opposite” cabin doors was 8’5”. The overall length of the inside cabin (from the balcony sliding door to the cabin door) was 32’7.5” while the internal cabin width was 9’4”. So the cabin’s internal area was 32.625x9.33 + 6.3x1.9 = 315sq.ft. (assuming the “recessed” door area was 3’ x 1’11”). The balcony of the standard cabin was 9’8.5” (the balcony partition was thinner than the cabin wall, this incidentally also showed you that the cabin walls were about 5.5” thick, assuming the balcony partitions to be 1” thick), and 6’3” deep or 9.7x6.25 = 61sq.ft. So the entire standard cabin would be 315+61 = 376 sq.ft., exactly as Silversea claimed. (in the case of the Shadow/Whisper, Silversea under-claimed the cabin size by ten sq.ft. at 345 instead of our estimated 355sq.ft.) With the above numbers, we could also calculate the ship’s beam width, at 2 x (32’7.5”+6’3”+1’11”) + 4’7” = 86’2”, in good agreement with Silver Spirit’s claimed beam width of 86’0”.

The cabin door had a clearance of 24” (important for those who use wheel chairs or baby cribs, on our voyage, one passenger actually had his/her own motorized scooter). The walkway inside the cabin door was some 12’ long and 34.5” wide, with a small 3”x31” wooden tray on the cabin wall at waist height under a 43’ high x 27.5” wide mirror (the tray could be for your incidental items such as your room key card and sun glasses, etc. which you would frequently take in and out). This walkway was further restricted at its junction with the sleeping area. So when you ordered room service, the butler would either leave his trolley cart outside your cabin door, or inside the entrance walkway but before the sleeping area, and hand carry the food trays into your sitting area and put it on your “centre table”.

The bathroom floor was raised 6.5” and was teak, surrounded by dark marble tiles. The bathroom door had a clearance of 22.5”, and there was a telephone right inside. The bathtub had a 17” tub clearance height (you had to step over this), it had an outside dimension of 72” long and 31.5” wide, and an internal dimension (at the tub top “opening”) of 62” long and between 26.5” and 22” wide in a “dumbbell” shape. It had a tap (for bathing) as well as a hose with shower head (for showering) and the usual water controls.

The separate shower stall was at a corner with walls on two sides and plexiglass around the other two, with a curved, hinged plexiglass door. This door was held by a magnet and could feel “heavy” to the elderly and feeble, so beware. There was a hose with a shower head (to be handheld), plus a “rain forest” shower head at the ceiling. This shower stall was (modified) triangular in shape, with a length of 45” and a maximum width of 31.5”. It was 6’8” tall, minus 3” for the “rain forest” shower head clearance. We found its internal space ample and the features convenient and comfortable.

The bathroom one-piece curved marble counter top was short and impractical, with “enclosed” small “multi-shelves” on both sides. The fluorescent tubes right next to these side shelves heated up our toothpaste, and that single large and shallow European “fountain sink” left a lot to be desired. (We preferred the Shadow/Whisper’s double hemispherical sinks). The mirror here was 44” wide (full width) and 43” high.

The toilet itself was, however, vastly improved. On the Shadow/Whisper the toilet bowl flushing was weak, and did not flush completely, leaving toilet paper on the sides (we had to use glasses of water to flush it down to the bottom centre before it could be flushed away). We saw the much better “JETS” brand toilet bowls on Oceania R ships, and two years ago (before the Spirit’s cabins were built), we posted an open letter on this board to recommend that Silversea use those instead. (See http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=27073401#post27073401 posting #7 dated November 4, 2008). And while it could be a coincidence, we got what we desired (posting #10 of the same link). In addition to perfect flushing, the “JETS” toilet seat opening was half an inch larger all around, at 9.5”wide and 11.5” long (we also mentioned in our 2004 report that the Shadow/Whisper’s toilet seat openings were good for the female cat but a bit tight for the male cat).

The walk-in closet was 5’9” long and 3’11” wide internal dimensions (compared with 6’6” long and 4’1” wide with a chopped corner on the Shadow/Whisper). The female cat considered this new closet better arranged, with a wider (29” overall 56.5” tall and 18” deep) “chest” with six drawers plus a compartment on top for the electronic digital safe). On one wall, there was a wooden shelf 15” below the ceiling and another one 8” above the floor, for your shoes and luggage. There was a rod with wooden clothes hangers (in our case forty of them, you could ask the butler if you did not have enough), and the clearance should be enough for most coats unless you were tall and would wear long coats.

The beds were 76” (6’4”) long and 33” wide each, and with a “common top” above both (to make it one large bed) becoming 67” wide overall. There was a soft material “headboard” attached to the wall at the head of the bed. Also, there were two night tables, one on each side, at 17” x 15.5” and each with a wall mounted fluorescent lamp above controlled by a “wired” rocker switch placed on the night table. The clearance under the bed was 12”, enough to put carry-on sized luggage.

Opposite the beds, the make-up bench had an inside length of 66” and a width of only 7.5”, with one fluorescent tube on each side and two halogen lights on top. The mirror (66” full width and 44” tall) also served as a television (behind the mirror) and its screen size was 22.5” wide and 13” high (the new HDTV 16:9 ratio). There was a long, shallow drawer and two side cupboards below this bench. In addition, there were full height shallow rack-shelves on both sides of this make-up station, and other than for aesthetic purposes, we found these of little use. There was a large oval (soft) stool 23” x 17” between the make-up station and the end of the bed, nearly occupying the entire 19” passage width. While the female cat loved this make-up station, the male cat found it an inconvenience, being “hemmed in” whenever the female cat sat there. On the Shadow/Whisper, the passage was 25” wide, and the round stool only 14” in diameter, at least possible to squeeze past. (If the cabin could be 6” wider overall and the stool back to 14”, then it would be like the Shadow/Whisper and all the narrowness problems would be alleviated.)

There was a pair of heavy curtains which could be completely closed between the sleeping and sitting areas. This partition was more formalized with a 17” wide and 9.5” thick “frame” around the curtains at 6’3” wide and 6’6” tall. We measured the ceiling height at three different spots (the sleeping area, the bed area and the entrance walkway), and it was 7’1” high, the same as the Shadow/Whisper. The entire cabin ceiling was wood bordered, and the entire cabin floor was carpet bordered. The air conditioning came through 1” recess slits in the wood ceiling borders at the top of the aforementioned partition frame between the sleeping and sitting areas (both sides), and above the mirrors in both areas. There were those energy saver fluorescent ceiling lights, four in the sitting area, two in the sleeping area and three along the entrance walkway. There was one smoke detector and one sprinkler each in the sitting area, sleeping area and in the closet.

There was a sofa 72” long and 33” wide (outside dimensions) in the sitting area, with one semi-oval (22.5” x 19”) corner table on each side, again with a wall mounted fluorescent reading lamp above each (but this time, the controls were also wall mounted). There was one side arm chair and an oval centre table at 22.5” x 38”. If you want to eat your room service meals, the butler would put on this (usually folded and tucked in the “partition frame”) table-top converter, which would make it rectangular at 30” x 39.5”, which would be quite large enough.

On the opposite wall to the sofa, there was this full width and full height “desk wall unit combination”, which was 9’6” wide, with a writing area of 5’4” wide and 16” deep. There were open shelves on both sides above the writing area with two halogen lamps on top. In between was a mirror spanning the full 64” wide and 45” tall. Again behind this mirror was a 22.5” x 13” television set, and while there was only one remote control in the cabin, the two television sets could be independently controlled to play two different programs (how nice!) Below this desk were two cupboards, one on each side, with shelves in one and a minibar in the other. On top of the desk was a “writing pad” with stationary inside (with some letter-headed “from Mr & Mrs Meow”). There was again an oval stool in front, this one at 24.5” x 18” with a “raised border” at its back (we didn’t know for what). By the way, the desk height was 31.5”.

There were a total of three telephones in this cabin, the main “control telephone” on the writing desk, an additional telephone on one of the bedside night tables and one on the wall of the bathroom. On the left side of the writing desk, there was this complicated high-tech “connection centre” with all sorts of audio-video and computer connection sockets, which must be interesting for the experts and confusing to the untrained. There was one set of 110 volts North American and 220 volts European electrical outlet sockets at the writing desk and the make-up bench. So if a total of two sets would not be enough for you, bring your own “splitters”.

We have the feeling that there were too many shelves in the cabin. All furnishings were modernistic, “carpenter” straight, unlike the Shadow/Whisper with elegant curves. Another set of heavy curtains separated the sitting area from the balcony, with non-full width sliding doors. While the width of the cabin was 9’4”, the glassed area to the balcony was only 5’6.5”, and the sliding door could only be opened 26” wide maximum.

The balcony itself was quite nice, with two adjustable recline chairs, each with a separate foot rest. There was also a small 23.5” square table, and all balcony furniture was rattan. The balcony floor was covered with teak boards, each 37.75” long and 3.75” wide, arranged in three “columns”, with “filled gaps” in between to span the full balcony width of 9’8.5” and depth of 6’3”. There were “bar railings” on the balcony, up to 45” high, and the gap between the railings could be quite wide, so those with over-energetic children, beware. The partitions between cabin balconies were not “complete”. They were screwed on and hinged, so they could be removed or opened when necessary.

… to be continued

Hi Meow!,

Thanks for a great detailed report on the cabin, food and everything

else:D,I will be on Silver Spirit on 1st March 2011,so I have enjoyed

every word you have written so far,so I hope there is more to come:)

Thanks once again!

Meow you have way too much energy!:D

A couple of comments on the cabin;

Bathroom - The shower door IS heavy and large I wonder about the ability of a "frail" senior to control it. We found the temperature control in the shower to be rather "sensitive" and if you did not make sure the control knob for the "rain forest" head was pulled out to its off position, you got an unexpected blast of cold water (followed almost immediately by scalding hot water if you are not careful!) as soon as you turn on the water. It helps to have long arms!;)

The only real problem we found with the cabin is that both the stool for the desk and the chair are too short to comfortably use a laptop on the desk. On the subject of the laptop, we found the wi-fi internet service to be quite acceptable in the cabin even though our butler said we would not be able to access it from there. It was no faster or slower than we have experienced on other lines, access to the system was generally prompt and we did not have any issues with service disconnects. Package pricing seemed consistent with other lines.

As a general comment, I don't know where people on the world cruise on Spirit are going to store everything. There are a fair number of small cupboards but, as Meow pointed out, many of them are too small to be of much practical use.

Continued from above …

In the cabin, they provided a pair of male and female sized bathrobes (which could be purchased for $85 each), and two pairs of slippers, again one male and one female sized. We liked this thoughtful arrangement. They offered three different brands of toiletries, Bulgari, Salvatore Ferragamo and Neutrogena. Somehow, Aqua di Parma was no longer offered. They provided Q-tips (don’t know the brand, packaged in pairs) and cotton balls, but no mouthwash and toothpaste. There was a sewing kit, and a piece of shoe shine cloth. They supplied two full sets of towels, and two boxes of Kleenex, replaced as needed. The hair dryer, from “Hot Tools Professional Ionic” worked on 110 volts, it was strong enough, with three heat settings and two blow speed settings. The female cat was satisfied.

GRAND TURK

The ship docked at Grand Turk, and we walked perhaps two hundred yards to the main shopping “plaza”, which was itself a fairly large area with a few dozen shops. Many of these sold jewellery and watches (we would expect to see those goods in Europe, and were a little surprised to see them as “mainstay” tourist merchandise in the Caribbean, the first time we had been to this part of the world). The selection was good, with quite a few international brand names. Gems included the very rare alexandrite (shopkeepers were honest enough to tell people that these were mined in Brazil, as the Russian mines were exhausted), and plenty of Tanzanite (and they told people that this stone would become a rarity as its only source in Tanzania was “drying up”). So we got a lesson in luxury goods, though we didn’t buy any, despite the prices being perhaps lower than in New York, so they claimed.

We walked around and bought a couple of magnets, a few post cards, wrote some of them and mailed them at the “Information Bureau”. As there were only a few thousand resident islanders (a large cruise ship could bring in more tourists than local residents), they wisely used the (albeit failing) US$ as their local currency. Their stamps were beautiful, however, and worth buying a few for souvenir. As the sun was scorching, we did not venture far. We bought a cup of “berry booster” drink for $6, and after wandering through the various shops walked back to the ship.

GUSTAVIA

Of the five islands visited, only this one was French, all the others were historically British. We took Silversea’s “submarine” excursion. We met in the “theatre” on the ship, were escorted to the tender, and arrived at this island. We were led to this “submarine” which did not sink down into the water. Instead, it was permanently afloat, but with an underwater long narrow compartment submerged seven feet below the water surface, so we were told. This compartment could take 22 people, and there were only 11 of us, with each person taking a pair of facing seats. There were windows, but no glass bottom as we had expected.

We saw quite a few sharks, which looked smaller than we expected, and perhaps half a dozen sea turtle, interesting. The submarine was operated by a local couple, with the husband sailing the boat, and the wife serving as tour guide. They said they rented the boat, and used it as their livelihood. Silversea charged us $69 per person for this one hour excursion. After it was completed, we were left to wander on our own. There was not much else on this island, and as always, French territories were notoriously expensive. We asked the taxi drivers and were told they would charge $90 per hour (it should be $40 in San Diego, GBP 30 all through Britain, 30 euros in Italy and $30 on all the other Caribbean islands). So forget it, we took the tender back to the ship after buying a post card and a magnet.

… to be continued