Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four

[philw1776]

Reading this, I hope our Silversea Alaska cruise Aug 2019 is more like our Silversea 2015 Istanbul cruise which was 5*.

I don't expect perfection, but wife hates cold food. Now know not to order room service, not that we ever do.

I think we'll love our cruise.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Afternoon all,

 

To reassure Coolers .....

 

For what it’s worth, I think that if you have sailed SS recently and find the product to your liking, then there is nothing really in what I have posted that should cause you to be overly concerned. We are all different; have different tastes, needs, prioroties and experiences, and I remain convinced that the majority of SS customers will be happy with the product and the numbers of SS passengers will increase and most of them will be happy.

 

The product isn’t for us for a number of reasons and overlaid over that is the impact of being overwhelmed by a totally unsuitable group booking that we were not warned about in advance so that we might have made an informed choice about whether it was for us or not and perhaps making a change to a more suitable cruise choice. SS clearly knew of this booking at the time because when we booked availibility was limited and this group had had their competition in place for 18 months. It is the compound effect of those two factors that make our experience what it was. We were told authoritively during the Venetian reception that every one of their normal customers on this cruise had complained and if that is true then this clearly was (hopefully) a one-off. I was told that many were a lot less “controlled” than I have been.

 

I think the only concern all customers should have is the way they respond to reasonable complaints and how quickly and fairly they are dealt with, and if they do not do that then do not in my view deserve anyone to trust them. But I will update Coolers as whether they pass that test or not. You have seen Dave’s issue and so far they aren’t doing well .......

 

Anyway we managed a few minutes in Terrazza for lunch when they started to pile in. The table next to ours was four and as they sat down the first chap took his table napkin and used it to mop up all the sweat from around his considerable self and when he finished he plonked it on his bread plate. They then had an animated conversation about who was most ill during this morning due to last night’s drinking - and who had drunk the most. One of the two females declared herself winner on the basis of her claim that she had drunk one and a half bottles of Sambuca. I noticed another chap with a plate of oysters and he was buttering pieces og baguette and plonking one in each to make a sort of oyster sandwich. One lives and learns.

 

We moved away and couldn’t stand it all any longer and then gave up and made our way back to the suite.

[Mudhen]

Sniff....sob....OMG. Is there no mercy?

[Mudhen]

Mud...

We had a lovely time aboard the Muse in April. We have sailed the Spirit many times and she didn't disappoint.

We will have a wonderful time aboard her in the Fall.

:-)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

I'm taking a page from Jeffy's reports. If all else fails, there always alcohol. Hope they lay on a good supply of quality champers and a case of Hendricks and Grey Goose....just with our cabin ...haha! Feeling a little better now!

[UKCruiseJeff]

There has at least been some entertainment this afternoon. :)

 

We believe that Whisper was unable to anchor today and we seem to be drifting around a bit and are somewhat further from land than this morning. Tendering this morning was reasonably easy although there was the odd unexpected wave.

 

The average tonnage of these people seem to be considerably higher than that of the median Brit. This aftenoon the water has got very choppy and it has been a real job getting the tenders to make friends with Whisper and stay still. They are going up and down, up and down and it has been quite a spectacle seeing the transfers clearly many having never been through this before. There are sounds of considerable terror coming from the tenders. The tender and transfer crews are all pretty small chaps and they have been really struggling wedging people back on to Whisper. It is better than TV.

 

:)

[Isklaar]

There has at least been some entertainment this afternoon. :)

 

We believe that Whisper was unable to anchor today and we seem to be drifting around a bit and are somewhat further from land than this morning. Tendering this morning was reasonably easy although there was the odd unexpected wave.

 

The average tonnage of these people seem to be considerably higher than that of the median Brit. This aftenoon the water has got very choppy and it has been a real job getting the tenders to make friends with Whisper and stay still. They are going up and down, up and down and it has been quite a spectacle seeing the transfers clearly many having never been through this before. There are sounds of considerable terror coming from the tenders. The tender and transfer crews are all pretty small chaps and they have been really struggling wedging people back on to Whisper. It is better than TV.

 

:)

 

Hopefully the sounds of terror are emanating from the pink-faced brigade, not from the tender crew! :D

Are you watching this from your balcony?

 

Oyster sandwich, anyone?

[UKCruiseJeff]

We are!

 

I have been wondering how the transfers could be better and I reckon they should either fire them back on using a big cannon or perhaps a large catapult directly on to the pool bar area. It would save the stairs or the lift.

 

Wifey has just indicated that she would like her and I to go up the top to see the sail-away because she thinks is would be romantic. I have told her that all my romantic has got up and gone.

 

Still ..... we have checked in and tommorow night we will have a proper cup of tea and a bacon and chip and Sarson vinegar baguette and life doesn’t get much better than that. Proper grub. :D

[Isklaar]

We are!

 

I have been wondering how the transfers could be better and I reckon they should either fire them back on using a big cannon or perhaps a large catapult directly on to the pool bar area. It would save the stairs or the lift.

 

Wifey has just indicated that she would like her and I to go up the top to see the sail-away because she thinks is would be romantic. I have told her that all my romantic has got up and gone.

 

Still ..... we have checked in and tommorow night we will have a proper cup of tea and a bacon and chip and Sarson vinegar baguette and life doesn’t get much better than that. Proper grub. :D

 

I'm annoyed with Sarson because the last bottle of vinegar I bought, I couldn't remove the top to refill it. I ended up with a huge 2L container of vinegar with no pourer opening so I had to manage by flicking the vinegar around until I could buy another one of the small bottles with a pourer.

[Isklaar]

Mysty, did you see the raccoon who climbed a 23 storey building in Minnesota? Quite remarkable.

 

BBC link here :

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44465587

Edited June 13, 2018 by Isklaar
Apparently I can't spell raccoon!

[Tothesunset]

An oyster sandwich without ketchup is just barbaric!

[UKCruiseJeff]

I thought I was the only one that was too mean to keep buying the small table bottles when you can buy a years supply and refill. However I use to make such a mess doing it I now buy the table bottles and just grumble each time I do.

 

If you can buy an SS cruise you can buy table Sarsons. Serves you right for being so bleedin’ mean. :D

[UKCruiseJeff]

An oyster sandwich without ketchup is just barbaric!

 

Us sophisticats down South use tartare don’t you know.

[Tothesunset]

Us sophisticats down South use tartare don’t you know.

Hah. Snobs. Bet you use butter instead of dripping.

[UKCruiseJeff]

:(Oh dear ...... wifey reports from the balcony that she has just seen a man a few balconies along pour a bottle of Champagne or Prosecco (can’t tell which) over the balcony into the sea. They think it hugely funny.

[Isklaar]

I thought I was the only one that was too mean to keep buying the small table bottles when you can buy a years supply and refill. However I use to make such a mess doing it I now buy the table bottles and just grumble each time I do.

 

If you can buy an SS cruise you can buy table Sarsons. Serves you right for being so bleedin’ mean. :D

 

ha ha!

But like you I've learned my lesson and will just buy the small bottles that are fit for purpose. Not sure how I'll manage to save up for my next cruise though now.

[Mudhen]

:(Oh dear ...... wifey reports from the balcony that she has just seen a man a few balconies along pour a bottle of Champagne or Prosecco (can’t tell which) over the balcony into the sea. They think it hugely funny.

 

Before I was only sobbing. Now I'm wailing........sniff, blubber....

[mysty]

Mysty, did you see the raccoon who climbed a 23 storey building in Minnesota? Quite remarkable.

 

BBC link here :

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44465587

 

 

Thanks Isklaar! Yes I did see it! They are a crafty lot! Very agile and smart!

[spinnaker2]

Mud.

don't worry, we will have a terrific time.

start studying your trivia now.

phobias and airports codes and stuff about zimbabwe...

[mysty]

:(Oh dear ...... wifey reports from the balcony that she has just seen a man a few balconies along pour a bottle of Champagne or Prosecco (can’t tell which) over the balcony into the sea. They think it hugely funny.

 

This is just getting ridiculous now! Seriously!!!!! Is this crowd mentality at work among the UW gang? Surely there must be some people who find this behaviour repulsive other than the regular SS passengers.

[UKCruiseJeff]

M, you must be joking.

 

One of them had been chatting for a few days and came over to us last night and asked whether we had enjoyed our cruise and we said that we had not. She asked whether it was her group that was the cause because she couldn’t see why, and we said it was. She also said that one of her friends had said when they had heard of this incentive that they felt sorry of all the other people on the ship. Very wise.

 

Anyway she asked why what they did impacted our enjoyment. I said to her

 

“Imagine you had booked youyrself into your favourite expensive restaurant for a quiet romantic meal and once you had started your meal a group of 220 kids came in for a birthday party. Imagine that they were being what kids are, making a lot of noise, running around, drinking and eating everything and generally making the few other normal customers upset. Then imagine that they were all boasting they got their party for free µ, could do anything they wanted, and the restaurant owner then told you that he had locked the doors and that you were locked in with them for a week and you couldn’t leave and had to pay until you were let off. Imagine that he took no action to quieten the kids down or demanded that their parents exercised reasonable control. You wouldn’t be annoyed with the kids because they are doing what they will do. You are annoyed with the restaurant owner for letting it all happen. That ia how we feel” .

 

That I think sums up how we feel.

 

Sorry, by the way of showing insuffifient appreciation of your daily funnies which have been great!

[MissSophia]

Jeffers......I’d get a posse of the regular pax together and attack the beggars with avengence....water pistols would be good....hopefully they’ll drop a few in the drink between tender and ship in the meantime....afraid I would be raging by now..😡

 

Mud....l second what Spins has declared....my recent cruise on the Spirit was just lovely and l did get the Grey Goose along with Johnny Walker Black and a bottle of bourbon......😁

 

Safe travels home tomorrow Jeff....hope the revised transfers go well for you and Mrs J.....

 

S😊

[mysty]

J....most welcome for the funnies. You have been busy trying to maintain sanity and doing a very admirable job of it. Like Miss S., I would be fit to be tied at this point! Your sang-froid is truly awesome!

 

I must confess that I am not quite as forgiving of the behaviour such as you have described by the supposed adults in the UW gang. From children you might reasonably expect childish behaviour. From adults who are well passed the age of reason, I think it is reasonable to expect reasonable behaviour. There are no excuses for adults. Comparing their behaviour to children is an insult to the children who do not know better. These adults most certainly do know better and are acting out anyway. Onus is squarely on them! However, I do agree that SS management on the ship should have dealt with the situation on day 1! Hold the misbehave-rs responsible and act on that!

 

And I shudder to think of what the suite attendants and cleaning crew are having to deal with! Bless them!

Edited June 13, 2018 by mysty

[sakaara]

Jeff,

I’m stunned to hear how bad room service has been for you. We have only cruised three times with Silversea.

We enjoy room service, both for breakfast and dinner with a movie, especially when you have had a long busy day and can’t be bothered to dress up.

We have obviously been very lucky to have never encountered cold food being served.

 

I feel you can excuse it once but to consistently have cold food and wrong orders and missing items altogether is completely incompetent and inexcusable.

What has the Hotel Director said in response to this? Presumably he has checked back with you?

Also you filled in a mid cruise questionaire. Any feedback?

 

I would be seething. You both deserve Sainthood for staying so calm with what appears to be playtime at the zoo!

 

I will be very interested in seeing the outcome of your legal proceedings.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Evening All,

 

Thanks for all the good wishes and I feel that the Cooler folk have been lovely in circling the wagons around one of their own and it is much more than I deserve. I haven’t been accused of “making it all up” which is what would likely happen outside of the Cooler Bar. :)

 

When I posted the first post on this topic around seven days ago, I thought I’d be posting that and be not posting much after because we’d be SO occupied in enjoying ourselves I’d dump the Cooler for seven days. Sorry mates!! However as events emerged I sort of found it therapeutic to recount each day as it emerged after the previous one, not quite believing what was unfolding in front of my eyes. Keep in mind that the reason why there had been such a long elapsed time since our last few SS cruises was because they were dissapointing and we’d decided not to trust them again but thought we’d give them another chance.

 

To answer a few questions, when I made contact with the front desk requesting to speak to an appropriate level perhaps hotel director/manager or above I was told that my complaint had been adequately registered and nothing further was required. I was basically told that it was an issue that SS understood. I have seen some of the senior guys around but feel they were probably avoiding us and the only person to talk to us was the people I previously mentioned in the Venetian lounge and the guest relations lady. To be honest I haven’t complained about the food issues because they are so trivial compared with the bigger picture stuff and if they aren’t going to engage with me on ship on the bigger stuff what is the point of talking about the food issues. There was no mid-cruise form on this cruise - for us at least.

 

At the moment there has not even been an acknowledgement let alone reply to my complaint requested of me to make to Guest Relations in London, and based on what my gut tells me is going to be the likely course of events, I’ll write to them again when I return giving them 14 days to consult and decide how they plan to compensate me for this fiasco and if it is a credit on a future cruise or an inadequate sum in cash I’ll simply start the only other option I will have and that is to formalise the claim through litigation. A piddling or poor reponse or no response will simply guarantee a result in court. I hate going to court because it sucks the life out of your time and effort, and in the end no one really wins - but if that is the only option then that is regretfully what I will do.

[Mudhen]

Mud.

don't worry, we will have a terrific time.

start studying your trivia now.

phobias and airports codes and stuff about zimbabwe...

 

OMG! Zimbabwe? really? Airport codes? phobias? Holy Moly Andy!

It also just occured to me that we're on a "foodie" cruise via the Relais and Chateau folks....I would think the food should be pretty good, as I don't think the R&C people want us to get off saying their food program was terrible! haha!

Not worried now....hey a cruise is what you make it, although I think that the Jeffys had serious troubles to deal with.

We're all going to have a wonderful time!