Live from the Shadow- new SS traveler posting from Alaska

[DisneyJen]

Thanks for taking us along our cruise! Looking forward to your summary:D

[duct tape]

Thanx for the ride. Enjoy your stay in Vancouver!

[zqvol]

A quick update from me. Yesterday was a pleasant cruise down the inside passage, unfortunately wildlife was not in abundance and about three I went to the cabin and napped. Not much to say about yesterday's food. Breakfast and lunch were typical of what we had during the entire cruise.

 

I enjoyed the departure show my the SilverSea singers. They did there usual excellent job, but in particular I have to throw a shoutout to Amanda Bridgette, you don't realize how well she sings based on her performances with the group, but if you download her CD from iTunes, hold onto your hats, her jazz ivoice is amazing. Plus she seems down to earth, she seemed genuinely pleased this morning when I saw her and told her how much I enjoyed her work.

 

Dinner was at the grill. I just don't understand the thought process in the kitchen. Both my steak and my salmon came out smothered in some sauce, that I had to scrape off in order to cook the food properly. Oh well, it's done.

 

Debarkation was smooth as silk, our color was called at 9:00 and we were off the ship and in our hotel room by 9:30 for much needed naps.

 

We went to Granville Island this afternoon for lunch. The food "Bridges" was very tasty. We both had pizzas. Great crust, nice and thin, and the toppings were interesting. It was then off to the public market (why don't we have something similar at home) for a little shopping, and a lot of getting lost. Eventually we found each other and got back to the hotel for more naps. Eating in Gastown tonight, and may watch them shoot a Bollywood film outside our hotel later.

 

On a disappointing note while on board the ship someone got a hold of FTs iPad and posted some garbage under her name. I thought on a so called luxury line people knew how to behave and respect other peoples things. Guess I was wrong.

[DisneyJen]

Wow zqvol ... Hope FT got her iPad back!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Emtbsam]

So sorry to hear about the iPad mystery. Hope it has been resolved.

 

Thank you both so much for your wonderful posts about your trip in Alaska. Makes us want to go back.

 

Safe travels home.

[frequent traveler]

Thanks, iPad is back in my possession. Had left "unlocked" because I had problems in the sun taking photos and then left unattended for a while. But all is well.

 

Now that I'm off the ship, I can put all the pieces together (of course, we are missing our afternoon fruit plate!) .

 

Service was good across the board and excellent in several cases. Our butler, Reynaldo, and cabin attendant had 15 cabins and we did not feel neglected. What is irritating however is being in your own cabin and hearing the doorbell of the adjacent cabin go off multiple times. That happened to us continuously, so if it it wasn't "visitors" Reynaldo was very very busy. At many of the meals, multiple servers checked our water and wine without being requested and that too was relaxing- not having to flag down staff. Bartenders checked on us and the excursion team was very helpful. We had a couple of poor servers, but in that many meals, that's to be expected. Room service was excellent both times and that's a plus.

 

We had no contact whatsoever with any management, except for being greeted by the Maître D the last night so I can't comment. The head chef also came out that night. This is a bit different for us as we got used to seeing Regent and Sea Dream officers all over the ship but it didn't affect service, just didn't foster any "bonding" with Silverseas.

 

Service was definitely acceptable and would not keep us from returning.

 

Part 2 to follow, but it's sunny in Vancouver.

[DebbieH103]

Been enjoying the reports. Thank you for spending so much time on it.

 

I've never been on a Silversea cruise without pastries in the public areas in the mornings or appetizers in the bars before dinner (though Silver Spirit seemed to think it was normal to serve what should be hot as room temperature and said they would not be heating them). Nothing to be had in Panorama lounge? These sound like either timing or cost cutting issues. I hope it is the former.

[frequent traveler]

Been enjoying the reports. Thank you for spending so much time on it.

 

I've never been on a Silversea cruise without pastries in the public areas in the mornings or appetizers in the bars before dinner (though Silver Spirit seemed to think it was normal to serve what should be hot as room temperature and said they would not be heating them). Nothing to be had in Panorama lounge? These sound like either timing or cost cutting issues. I hope it is the former.

 

I will get to food later and I promise to try to limit repeats of earlier posts. No sense beating a dead horse

 

As to the Panorama lounge, I tried it several mornings at different times, both early and late. Nothing but coffee. Maybe others had better luck but there was no set up or even evidence of a set up on the days I tried. The only appetizer was in the little bar on deck 5 - and we had to request. It was a 3 bowl container of nuts, hard cheese, and bar mix. Again nothing in Panorama but we were late. I don't know if they roll up the carpets while dinner is being served but we could only get a drink on deck 5 even though Panorama was advertised as open until "?"

 

Not exactly appealing for those who go off "schedule"

 

FT

Edited August 8, 2014 by frequent traveler

[DebbieH103]

Agree off schedule or on schedule. After showing my MIL Seabourn after doing a world cruise on HAL, a grande voyage on HAL and many sailings with them and Celebrity, I was hoping her first time on SS, along with hubby's cousin's first time on SS would have all of these little touches we had on Seabourn and that we always had on SS and Regent. They are in a silver suite, so they will do their canapies there, but hubby doesn't always like what they bring, and we do like a drink before dinner. Used to Panorama for this and manage to get them to learn my "Debbietini" in a day or two. We didn't like it when they moved tea away from trivia. And not seeing the officers about? I know you were off the ship a lot, but still...I am glad that you found the staff to be great.

[harbormaster]

It might be timing, but in the Bar after 6 pm there were 4 different hot hors d'oevres served on a plate, two pieces each. They came with our drinks and we were offered more. This was in addition to the bar snacks of pretzels, etc.

In the Panaroma starting at 6:30 am, Fe served coffe drinks and there were plates of pastry, doughnuts and croissants on the bar. They were not at the table with the coffee and tea. They were on the three plate trays that are used for afternoon tea. We had them each morning and I sometimes took them back to the room with coffee. Yesterday we had them as we sailed into Vancouver, right in the Panorama bar. The ship's doctor came in every morning for her coffee and pastry.

[frequent traveler]

It might be timing, but in the Bar after 6 pm there were 4 different hot hors d'oevres served on a plate, two pieces each. They came with our drinks and we were offered more. This was in addition to the bar snacks of pretzels, etc.

In the Panaroma starting at 6:30 am, Fe served coffe drinks and there were plates of pastry, doughnuts and croissants on the bar. They were not at the table with the coffee and tea. They were on the three plate trays that are used for afternoon tea. We had them each morning and I sometimes took them back to the room with coffee. Yesterday we had them as we sailed into Vancouver, right in the Panorama bar. The ship's doctor came in every morning for her coffee and pastry.

 

Totally different experience. After reading your post about the addition of pastries in Panorama I arrived around 9:30 am on Wednesday (our sea day) I started on deck 10 with just coffee but the room was unbearably stuffy. In panorama there were only beverages, I walked all around the room and then asked. I was referred to the restaurant. At the bar that evening we had to ask for the bar mix and handful of cheese we received. We have the solid impression that during mealtimes we only had a choice between a restaurant and room service, even for just a piece of fruit. That's not my idea of luxury cruising , but again just an opinion.

[frequent traveler]

food safety-

Other than the bread basket incident we saw nothing on board that gave us any concern about food safety. The bread basket wouldn't have bothered me but for the greater chances of Norovirus. Our waiter only touched the bread with tongs bringing it to us but used his hands to move the breadsticks to another basket. I know we picked through the bread since there were different choices. I know other passengers do also. Management was not requiring people to use hand sanitizer as they entered the dining room so there is a small risk. And not all the bathrooms have hand sanitizer. While I prefer hot water and the soft towel SS provides, since the disposal for the towels is at the sink, hand sanitizer would be nice before you exit. Sounds like overkill, but on a ship overkill prevents Norovirus.

 

In fact, the pendulum on food safety has probably swung the other way. Spanakopita can be safely refrigerated but there were no leftovers from lunch available at dinner- massive quantities had been destroyed (or we hope, made available to the crew). Crab legs that were to be served cold arrived partially frozen, a sure sign that the kitchen was not risking them sit at room temperature.

Each food on the buffet had its own serving utensil- meaning if guests weren't careless, no cross contamination. And for breakfast I never had a cold item that came close to reaching the improper temperature. We have 2 adult children in the food service industry and I hear Anthony Bourdain horror stories. Nothing like this on the Shadow. So I felt comfortable ordering anything on the menu and did- steak tartar being excellent.

 

FT

[Silver Spectre]

Totally different experience. After reading your post about the addition of pastries in Panorama I arrived around 9:30 am on Wednesday (our sea day) I started on deck 10 with just coffee but the room was unbearably stuffy. In panorama there were only beverages, I walked all around the room and then asked. I was referred to the restaurant. At the bar that evening we had to ask for the bar mix and handful of cheese we received. We have the solid impression that during mealtimes we only had a choice between a restaurant and room service, even for just a piece of fruit. That's not my idea of luxury cruising , but again just an opinion.

 

In the past, on both the Shadow and Whisper, there have always been h'ordeuvres available in the small bar by the casino from 6pm until about 8pm.

 

And pastries and fresh fruit in the Panorama until about 11am.

[ronrick1943]

What a great report, thanks for taking the time. Looking forward to are SS cruise soon.

Rick

[frequent traveler]

Taking a break from the heat in Vancouver for a couple of hours, so onward. We have covered Granville island, a portion of Chinatown, Gastown and the Coal market areas since disembarking. Last night was dinner on the waterfront at the Cactus Cafe. It receives rave reviews but we must have had wrong items. Of course it was slammed with a line monitored by a bouncer the entire time we were there. Two monster sized ships are departing today and waterfront is much quieter now that people have started boarding. Lunch on Granville island was much better- ZQVOL's pizza is on Instagram and the different chocolate vendors made it difficult to escape. I wish I could bring all the berries home with me. Last trip here we did Stanley Park and Whistler so I don't think we will repeat those. A movie was being shot on the street in front of our hotel and it was interesting to watch at least 10 or 15 cars with Illinois plates going back and forth and back and and forth . . .

 

Back to the Shadow. Before I go too much further, if I repeat I'm sorry but I'm not rereading my own posts. I travel extensively on business, both internationally and domestic. Stuff happens (especially while attempting to make a connection in the Sao Paolo airport) and I pretty much go with the flow-but I rarely get "irritated" in the moment unless it's a safety issue or a "fairness" issue. Being a 1st time SS traveler with absolutely no inside knowledge, SS veterans, this could be very boring.

 

While I was disappointed that the cabin and "verandah" were not Regent sized, it was still comfortable (except for balcony chairs). Balcony door is extremely hard to open with lifting a lever and pulling at the same time. Due to weight you could hear your neighbors open/close their doors even if you were inside.

 

In bed area, we heard very little noise from walking above or in the hall. You could hear in the entry area of the cabin but not in the bed area. I'm a light sleeper, so this was great. I could hear murmurs and conversations from the adjacent cabin while sitting on the couch so it wasn't totally soundproof, however it was much better than the other AIs we've sailed. The ugly note was always hearing the neighbor's doorbell. Forget any nap. That should be turned down.

 

Couch and one chair were comfortable. I'm about average height for an American woman and could stretch out with my feet up to watch the ocean as we sailed. This became my chaise lounge for ocean viewing.There are little end tables on either side of the couch and bed that provide more storage.

 

I loved the double vanity in the bathroom with lots of under counter storage space, open and yet secure from rough seas. Marble and grout were perfectly maintained- the full bath was just wasted on us. Bath sheets were large but not especially plush. While not thin and in excellent shape, many hotels have better. Separate make up vanity with lighted mirror across from bed has small open up drawer but top shelf is not the most practical, smaller items fall out.

 

Master closet was a bit smaller than Regent's- but more than sufficient. And it's the first time ever on any line that I have not had to request more hangers. We unpacked in record time. laundry was returned on hangers miraculously appearing in the closet - same day service. Reynaldo offered a shoe shine and those shoes returned to the closet neatly wrapped in tissue paper. With an upper shelf, accessory rack, and chest of drawers, including wall safe and life jackets on top, the closet was a very efficient use of the space.

 

We were able to store all of our bags under the bed which aided the packing process.

 

As with most ships, electrical outlets are limited. Two North American outlets and 2 European outlets.

 

Blackout curtains worked and were needed. Here's our only complaint- we could not keep the room at a comfortable temperature. And that was after several requests. As we sailed south, the sun hit us for hours and even with the curtains drawn, the room was stuffy. It was ok at night, but sometimes we had to leave the balcony door open to cool down the cabin. This works in a Northern climate but we would be hesitant to sail SS on a warmer itinerary. The bar was quite comfortable as was the MDR, except for one night. The breakfast buffet could go either way. We haven't experienced the range of temperatures on any other ship. Since we could dress in layers and were off ship most days this didn't become critical. Is this typical on SS- rooms ranging in temperature?

 

Bottom line on cabin- everything was in good condition and functioning (minibar, lights, docking station, etc). I would not want this size cabin for a 14 day voyage but for 7 day port intensive trip, was fine. Lack of lush blanket for viewing from balcony, plastic interior of shower, and low quality balcony chairs DQs from rating as "luxury". More like upscale business hotel. A Westin, not a Four Seasons.

[oregon50]

Did you not read the brochure? It is not luxury.....it is ultra luxury.

[frequent traveler]

Next stop- stuff to do both on board and on excursions

I rarely go to a show or a lecture, usually choosing just to donate to the casino. This trip was no different. We tended to arrive for predinner cocktails as the musicians stopped playing, so I'm no help on on those either. The cruise director was good while we were at Hubbard Glacier. We had much better information than on Regent. Other times he came off a bit strong, almost vaudeville, but again my own preference is just low key. No criticism other than I ran into Diamond classes and pro shopping way too frequently.

 

I am not a TV person either-getting away is the whole point of holidays but since I am a sports fan it was great to see ESPN on the channel listings. Except there was no ESPN. If you are a news junkie, you have access to the BBC and the conservative, liberal and middle of the road news networks

 

I truly regret that we misplaced or didn't find the invite to the CC event in all the other materials. Still not sure what happened there. We were invited to meet with the art consultant, attend a first timers event where the on board cruise consultant was the special guest, attend a special wine tasting for $25. So I was pretty anti- social this trip.

 

There was no attempt to sell any excursions. Just explanations in the daily paper (which was good). But universally everyone we spoke to enjoyed their excursion. This was another first. I've never been on a cruise where someone didn't gripe about something gone wrong. I'm sure something did but the broad cross section of people we spoke to all enjoyed their excursions.

 

That's OUTSTANDING !

[zqvol]

Interesting day today. We spent the morning walking to the far ends of Gastown and back. I wanted to stop by Nelson the Seagull, a quaint coffee shop that I had heard about, it did not disappoint.

 

As we wandered back we did some window shopping, well OK we went in too, but didn't buy anything. We eat lunch at Mahoneys and Sons at Canada Place. Both the Zaandeem and Radiance of the Seas were here turning around today. We had followed them, or maybe they had followed us since Juneau. Needless to say it was busy. We wanted to do more but to be honest we are both worn out and decided to go take naps. We slept through until after 5:00, and are now enjoying a light dinner in the hotel bar.

 

I can honestly say that the seafood chowder I just finished was the best I had on the trip, and it wasn't even close.

 

We head home in the morning and then both of us will finish our wrap ups next week.

Edited August 9, 2014 by zqvol

[Jim Avery]

Safe travels home. Looking forward to the recaps.:D

[zqvol]

At YVR, and ready to head to the ATL, then GSO. Will submit reports next week.

[Silver Spectre]

Thanks for your detailed reports. Its always refreshing to get the view from a first timer on SS.

[frequent traveler]

Finally home, we made it, luggage didn't, after unexpected stop in Augusta Georgia when Atlanta was closed. Sat at E4 for 20 minutes waiting for the gate to open while our plane home, last of the night, was boarding at E5. 10 of us all dashed across the hall to a closed door and no gate agent. Plane had not pulled away and I was tweeting madly with Delta Assist begging for help. Thankfully, the pilot decided to open the door and let us on! Local delta office says luggage will be delivered later today.

 

Looking back there are a few things that we would have done differently. Some are purely personal. I didn't know about online fishing reports, if I had - I would have checked the Juneau report and changed our excursion within the time period.

 

We had packed thinking we were going to use the on the board washers/dryers but the ship's laundry was so great and reasonably priced I did nothing more than stick my head in the room a couple of times. Never seemed to be fully utilized.

 

We only tendered one time -in Sitka. 2 tenders operated but there was about a 15 minute wait. I was a bit surprised to see no tent, no water or soft drinks, fruit or pastries. I don't know if this was unusual or standard for SS but it was not what we are used to in a luxury line. On the other side, water and umbrellas were always available when departing the ship.

 

As I've commented earlier the dress code was a bit confusing. Since we brought hiking boots and multiple layers, a standard "casual" just for Alaska as Regent does would have been appreciated. I know others on this board really prefer SS's more formal nights, so again it's just our preference. I'm not sure why requiring a man to go back to his cabin to get a jacket but allowing a woman to wear casual leggings and a long sweater in the MDR on an "informal" night is consistent but it was permitted.

 

As first time SS guests, an Alaskan cruise is probably one of the most difficult to "get to know" a line. For me, a transatlantic is the best-you can settle into a routine and get to know the ship and the staff. On an Alaska port intensive voyage when even port and sea days vary establishing a schedule or routine is just not possible. Juneau was an all day port day. Skagway and Ketchikan were 6 hrs or less and Sitka was about 8 hrs. Some long excursions did not provide meals and ended after lunch on board ended so we usually ate one meal ashore. Because of the inconsistent hours and fatigue (miles in hiking boots seem longer than miles in sneakers) we didn't establish a rappor with staff other than our butler, not even at meals. Our most enjoyable breakfasts were from room service or the MDR. However, we missed the no "specials" of the day and the lack of variety between the 3 venues for breakfast that we've experienced on other lines. And it was weird in the MDR that only orange or strawberry jam was available the morning we were there. No other flavors.

 

We missed any use of the local fish. Yes, the cruise lines have to buy stock from the standard suppliers. However, in each port visited consistently there was a chance to buy, even if just for appetizers and advertise "fresh caught in. . . " While salmon always on the menu, no waiter could provide the source or the type (King, silver . . .). We would have loved a locally themed food night with Alaskan sourced clams, mussels, and oysters in addition to the standard fish.

 

I loved the public artwork. There were a couple of Chagall's on deck 8 that I enjoyed very much. The public areas were spacious and with wonderful ocean views. This was my favorite ship for public spaces when children are on board or outside calm waters. (SDYC has no competition for public spaces IF no children are on board and weather is good)

 

We were disappointed with the food, based on the marketing and hype. It was perfectly adequate with lots of choices but not one meal was drop dead wonderful start to finish. The Grill was very good our first night but we had to send something back the 2nd night and got condescension in the process.

 

With a couple of minor exceptions, service and attitude of staff was outstanding. Based on this we would sail SS again with the right itinerary. But not with the pricing as an ultra luxury line. No, it's not mass market, just upscale.

 

Thanks for all the kind comments and non flaming. It's been a pleasure posting.

 

FT

Edited August 10, 2014 by frequent traveler

[UKCruiseJeff]

Your post seems informative and balanced .... and it's great of you to take the trouble.

 

It does seem odd that such little effort is allowed or taken to source some of the food locally. Nothing in the freezer will go to waste, Food is such an important part of the deal. I know I am an emotional sod, but I would weep if I saw all that fresh stuff on the docks and I was being fed all meals from the freezer.

 

I would buy stuff and store it under someone's bed. I'd demand someone grilled it for me.

 

Alls well that ends well.

 

Thanks again.

 

:)

[Jim Avery]

Thanks FT. I guess the acronym for DELTA is still fairly true.:eek: That is why we adamantly travel carryon only. The last 3 DL long hauls we checked bags with--same results. And we went to the scheduled airports. Oh well, travel in the 21st Century.

[Observer]

It does seem odd that such little effort is allowed or taken to source some of the food locally. Nothing in the freezer will go to waste, Food is such an important part of the deal. I know I am an emotional sod, but I would weep if I saw all that fresh stuff on the docks and I was being fed all meals from the freezer. :)

 

I thought that the aversion to shore-bought fresh food had something to do with concerns about food safety (had the fish been refrigerated consistently, etc?) However, in some ports I recall Silversea sponsoring "shopping with then chef" shore excursions. Perhaps restrictions are more severe in US waters/ports.