Roll Call - Silver Cloud April 17, 2012 Monte Carlo - Monte Carlo

[Silver Spectre]

Service was excellent, very much up to the usual SS standard. The wines were holding their own this time. There was a very good selection of Sauvignon Blancs, 2 NZ, 2 French, 1 Italian, 1 Chilean, some reasonable Chardonays, 2 from California, and of course there was 'Crusher' onboard. The best chard was a French Chablis. Only complaint here was from someone who really likes their Chards heavily oaked and couldn't find one oaky enough. There was also a very good selection of reds, two Aussie Shiraz's, one or two decent French reds, a couple of Italians and some South American reds. For those who still get on with the female Argentinian Dictator, there was a good Malbec. Oh, and some Rose's.

[Wellseasoned]

We are aboard the Cloud, Monaco to Monaco, 21days, and are long-time SS cruisers. *I am mystified at the recent post of lower standards on this cruise. *All has been first-rate , as usual. *I know that individual experiences and perceptions can vary, *but service has been superb, food excellent, and wine outstanding. *The Dashwood Sauvignon blanc is here. *The restaurant menu had been changed and was a bit confusing, but SS has decided to go back to the old menu arrangement after customer comments. *The crew has been wonderful as always. *Hotel director Gianni Dotti is again the best and most responsive there is. *A couple of minor port changes were made due to sea, weather, and the new post-Concordia Italian laws forbidding close-in anchoring near nature preserves, but SS and Capt. San Giacomo handled the changes efficiently while preserving excursions and minimizing inconvenience.

 

By the way, the information I've received onboard suggests that the *Cloud dry dock in October in Palermo should be quit extensive. *The bathrooms will be redone, and about 80 percent will be converted to stall shower, with some tubs remaining on each deck. *The electrical and communication systems will be modernized, and there will be more electrical outlets in the suites! *The fitness center will also be redone, etc. *And there will be furniture, carpet, and other cosmetic changes. *I'm told that the improvements will be in the$30 million range. *I am really looking forward to the November Amazon cruise after the dry dock! *

[dusababy]

Dieter thanks for bringing some seasoned updates into this thread. And the news about the retrofit is wonderful -- Cloud and Whisper are my favorites. I'm booked Whisper in October and Cloud.........yet to be determined;)

[Dolcevita Diva]

Very reassuring- thanks for the additional detail, Silver Spectre and WellSeasoned!

[mp8shnt]

I was on 1212A Monte Carlo to Rome and thought it was incredible. I have previously sailed Silversea twice - once on the Whisper and once on the Shadow. I have also sailed Regent five times. I thought the Cloud was a great ship and in great shape for 18 years old. I understand the dry-dock in November will be hitting some things I thought it needed like more outlets in the room, newer carpets/drapes/linens etc. One thing I had not experienced was the Butler Service - I thought that too was incredible - we had a great Butler on Deck 4 Veera. He brought our breakfast to the room every morning right on time, he arranged for a Martini Party in our Room with Appetizers and he helped tie my bowtie twice.

 

The Service I thought was superior. We had a few issues with service in The Restaurant - probably partly our fault as we stayed in The Bar on most nights past 8:00 pm. I thought the food was amazing. There was a Buffet Night in The Restaurant on the 5th night I believe - and Buffets are not my thing. The Maitre d' and the Executive Chef came over to our table of 6 in the back of the Restaurant to see if everything was to our liking, I said yes as did the others - then the Executive Chef asked if he could make me anything to order. I said I would love a Filet - he asked how I would like it cook and what else I would like with it. He said give me 8 - 10 minutes. Now that was AMAZING! That was SERVICE and with a smile!

 

I thought the wines served were good. We kept going back to a Cabernet Shiraz that they had served us one night. Also kept going back to a Sauvignon Blanc they were serving. We also ordered wine off the menu one night and had it decanted.

 

Never went to any shows as we were always late to dinner.

 

Bar Service was excellent - Loved Marwell!

 

Shore Excursions were good - although a bit early for my liking - some were before 9 am.

 

Posted pictures on Facebook and the other Luxury Cruise Talk website. Add me as a friend if interested Todd Riley.

[WesW]

Todd, welcome home, thanks for the brief Cloud report. Love your pix on the other board and now (like our good friend Wellseasoned) look forward to boarding the Cloud London to Iceland and back) next July.

[weintime]

We are on The Cloud ex Copenhagen 10July for 16days appreciate if you could tell me who the crew will be? If Chef Douglas Hope will be the Chef and Jorge Caeiro, Dining Maitre D' . Good to hear the SS service and quality is still first class. We were disappointed that the refurbish was put back from May 2012, so am pleased to hear the Cloud is still in good condition. Would be great if you could tell me who will be our crew? Thanks and enjoy your wonderful trip. Georgina:)

[Starshine2006]

Haven't seen anyone post about this one yet......

We'll be 4 days in Nice just before boarding....

Wanting to spend the Florence time at Uffizi - any tour companies especially focused for that? Or should we just buy our tickets in advance, and take the "Florence on Your Own" trip from the ship?

Thanks.....

I read all the posts about Silversea......and want to thank everyone for sharing.....can't wait....will be celebrating my 65th BD......

[bogey]

Well Seasoned -- just spent 2 weeks on the Could with you. I agree with 99% of your thoughts. Food and Service were typical SS quality. Yes, the new menu needs some getting used to, but the food quality remains very high.

I agree that the wine selections were good. That is an area where the all-inclusive lines seem to have cut back in recent years. I think the Cloud is moving back in the right direction with their wine offerings.

I did think that the condition of the ship was not up to SS standards and that it will benefit greatly from the refurbishments you describe. We are so optimistic that we booked a future cruise on the Cloud and can't wait to hear your thoughts on your post-refit cruise.

 

Bogey (Tim)

[FDV]

My wife and I were on the cloud Monte Carlo to Rome, We are avid Regent cruisers, with over 9 Regent cruises and our opinion was that the service and Food was better than Regent in our opinion. I know the Cloud is going in for a re fit, but the price for this cruise was nothing like we have seen in years and this was our first SS cruise and for sure we will be looking forward to sailing SS again in the future..

 

The only negatives I would say is a couple times in the dining room our service was very slow, also I really liked the size of the ship, but wished it was a little bigger, and what I mean by that is got sick one night from the rough seas and had to leave dinner early, real bummer.

 

SS really is a great product.....

[Wellseasoned]

We are on The Cloud ex Copenhagen 10July for 16days appreciate if you could tell me who the crew will be? If Chef Douglas Hope will be the Chef and Jorge Caeiro, Dining Maitre D' . Good to hear the SS service and quality is still first class. We were disappointed that the refurbish was put back from May 2012, so am pleased to hear the Cloud is still in good condition. Would be great if you could tell me who will be our crew? Thanks and enjoy your wonderful trip. Georgina:)

 

Giorgina, our 21 days on the Cloud was excellent! Yes, the ship needs the refit, but we took photos of the rooms and furnishings to remember with nostalgia. The day you board, Capt Sangiacomo goes on holiday. I believe his substitute will be Capt Rutigliano. Capt Sangiacomo will rejoin for the refurb in October. Your cruise director should be the great Judie Abbott, who boarded during our cruise. Jorge will not be the Maitre D'. He is on the Wind. The chef is Ramon De Bernard. He is truly excellent, and I think you will love him (see mp8shnt's post above).

 

Dieter

[Wellseasoned]

Haven't seen anyone post about this one yet......

We'll be 4 days in Nice just before boarding....

Wanting to spend the Florence time at Uffizi - any tour companies especially focused for that? Or should we just buy our tickets in advance, and take the "Florence on Your Own" trip from the ship?

Thanks....

.

 

I just finished the Cloud cruise and went to Florence specifically for the Uffizi (last time was a long time ago, it was dingy and empty). I bought a ticket online for 9 euros. I took the SS "Florence on your own" tour, which was fine, good guide along the way. Whether you can get a private tour more cheaply depends on how many other ships are in port, whether you want to risk a late return if the ship is sailing, etc. Unfortunately, the week we were there was a big holiday and free admission to everything week for Italian citizens, so Florence and the Uffizi were packed solid with school groups, etc. Still, great art! Get you ticket for entry as early in the morning as you can.

[Wellseasoned]

Bogey (Tim), Debbie and I also enjoyed cruising with you, and we will definitely give you our report on the Cloud after the refurb. Hope you had a pleasant trip home .

 

Dieter

[mp8shnt]

Dieter we enjoyed traveling with you and Debbie as well.

[weintime]

Thank you for the crew information update.Capt Luigi Rutigliano was the captain of the Wind in May 2011 when we did our 9 days Med cruise. He is a truly lovely man from Bari...so will like to catch up with him again this trip. Thanks for the positives about The Cloud, when you live "down Under" in Australia...it is quite a distance and expense to fly just to get over there to do the cruises. We have been so looking forward to doing the 23days on SS with the whisper and cloud.....been dieting for weeks to get into shape.

Thank you again, Georgina:)