How does Silversea compare to Regent

[xrvlcruiser]

The issue of steward+stewardess vs just one person taking care of our cabins comes up regularly.

 

When there were 2, they had twice the cabins that the single staff person has. Please tell me why having 2 people is "better"?

[Observer]

The issue of steward+stewardess vs just one person taking care of our cabins comes up regularly.

 

When there were 2, they had twice the cabins that the single staff person has. Please tell me why having 2 people is "better"?

 

Actually, I do not think this is a major issue. However, I do see one advantage of having two people servicing a suite at once. They should be able to perform the service in half the time. This makes a difference if the guest is in the suite and vacates while the servicing is being done. Presumably, with two people servicing at once, the person can return to the suite in half the time that would be necessary if the suite were serviced by only one person.

[xrvlcruiser]

Observer: I suppose what you say makes sense but I've never found it takes very long for our stewardess (we've never had a steward) to do our cabin.

And I agree, this is not a major issue, I was just tired of hearing that with only 1 person, the service was not as good as it was when there were 2. The comments made it sound as if the single person had as many cabins as the 2 which is not the case.

[bev'sid]

Observer: I suppose what you say makes sense but I've never found it takes very long for our stewardess (we've never had a steward) to do our cabin.

And I agree, this is not a major issue, I was just tired of hearing that with only 1 person, the service was not as good as it was when there were 2. The comments made it sound as if the single person had as many cabins as the 2 which is not the case.

 

 

I think in the beginning of this particular change, they serviced only half the rooms (not sure that is still the case). I was addressing the staff/guest ratio that has gone down, as stated in my literature. Perhaps they have extra duties now as well.

 

On my last 2 cruises our stewardess was often in sight, working away. She was in the doorway scrubbing out the entry, washing baseboards in the halls, scurrying down hallways, etc. In the past (a few years back w/ 2), I barely saw them; they seemed to do their work quickly and "invisibly," less visibly stressed, for sure. More work load = more stress, in my observations.

 

The lower prices & incentives offered by ALL the lines are temporary, I believe. As the economy improves, some of the incentives will drop off (as history has proven). This is true of BOTH lines mentioned in this thread, in my experience. I just hope the cutbacks are temporary as well. We still enjoy many lines, just notice the necessary changes due to the current economy.

[xrvlcruiser]

All I meant to say is that I have never had bad service in our cabins.

[bev'sid]

All I meant to say is that I have never had bad service in our cabins.

 

Yes, I agree with that - bottom line is service has always been wonderful for us too. :)

 

Was just addressing the staff/guest ratio, but I do find both lines to have great service, and am willing to ride this through (the "crunch" of financial challenges they all currently face).

[farthinghill]

We have never sailed with Silverseas but can say unequivocally that we would have preferred to be on the Silversea's boat that was 'shadowing' us on our recent RSSC Baltic cruise. Why? Because they docked in scenic positions close to city centres while we headed for the boondocks. We like to explore independently so this is a major factor for us.

[Travelcat2]

We have never sailed with Silverseas but can say unequivocally that we would have preferred to be on the Silversea's boat that was 'shadowing' us on our recent RSSC Baltic cruise. Why? Because they docked in scenic positions close to city centres while we headed for the boondocks. We like to explore independently so this is a major factor for us.

 

Silversea did have smaller ships than Regent. Now, with the Silver Spirit, they have a ship that is larger than Regent's Navigator. Sometimes Regent is able to dock in the city (for instance, St. Petersburg), and other times they are a bit farther out. However, they are never as far as mainstream cruiselines. We do wish that we had docked close to the city center in St. Petersburg. . . . I think it's the luck of the draw rather than the size of the ship since all of the luxury lines are able to dock where Silversea apparently docked:)

[wripro]

I have never heard of one single Silversea ship that docks further out. They always dock in the closest possible spot.

[Island Cruiser]

While our cabin service has always been excellent on both Regent and Silversea, we strongly prefer the services of two attendants. We are early risers and we never order a room service breakfast. We go down to Compass Rose or The Restaurant. When we have two cabin attendants we usually return from breakast to a cabin that has been cleaned. The attendants know our pattern and select our cabin first since most the other cabins assigned to them are still in use. This just doesn't seem to happen when one attendant is assigned to our cabin. We were very sorry to see Regent switch to a one attendant system.

[hondorner]

I have never heard of one single Silversea ship that docks further out. They always dock in the closest possible spot.

In early 2006, we sailed on a 12 day Western Caribbean cruise on the Costa Allegra, a 36,000 ton ship with 800 passenger capacity -- not much larger than the Regent or Oceania ships, but much older (it's now in service in Asia to a primarily Asian clientele). We docked at Roatan. Out in the harbor, tendering their guests, was a Silversea ship -- I don't know which one. So that day, at least, Silversea was second fiddle. I'm not certain why; there was still room on the other side of the dock. Maybe Silversea didn't want to get that close to the Costa peons...:D

[Travelcat2]

In terms of docking, it really varies. Regent has docked both in town and on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. Perhaps it is a reservation or first come first serve basis. When we were in St. Petersburg, there was a Seabourn ship docked in the "prime" spot. Back in May, we had to tender at one port for about 6 hours. Once a parking spot opened up, the Navigator moved in. It does not appear that anyone cruiseline has special docking privileges.

[wripro]

In Roatan ships normally do tender in. We even did so on a small Seabourn ship.

[PaulaJK]

Island Cruiser,

 

We keep a schedule quite like yourselves.....and we love to return from an early breakfast to find our cabin completed. Most stewardesses quickly 'learn' our schedule and frequently have serviced the cabin by the time we return. This has been our experience both with two and one stewardess.. meaning, it doesn't seem to depend on the head count but the logistical planning of the stewardess.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

We are also early out of our cabins, although I admit we come and go for a while--coffee corner early on, then a walk around the deck, then breakfast. But we have rarely come back to a cabin already prepped. Guess we've never had a particularly observant steward(ess). Yes, it's nice when they do it. We try to help by putting up the "please clean" sign, but we usually find them cleaning our room some time later in the day.

[PaulaJK]

Wow,Wendy We really have very different experiences on this one.

Last year [Voyager] we had a stewardess who did her cabins in a set order with our always last . Despite speaking with her, she

maintained her approach. I must say that we found it very annoying because, like yourselves, we come and go many times in the course of the morning. But we still consider her the exception in our experience.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I think this time I'll speak to the stewardess and ask her about her system, and let her know our habits. That might work, I've never done that.

[PaulaJK]

Wendy I think that's a good idea and hope that it works out well for you.