Silver Wind Conversion for Ice Cruising

[Perfectionistcruiser]

Just received an e shot from S S saying that in Summer 2020 the Wind will undergo further works including Ice Hull and itineraries for 2020/21 in Antarctica .

[Tothesunset]

Just received the same plus a link in the email to Wind's Maiden Antarctic Season

 

Clicking on the link produces a page which states access forbidden on this server. 

 

Something's afoot. And it's not 12 inches. 

[les37b]

33 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

Just received the same plus a link in the email to Wind's Maiden Antarctic Season

 

Clicking on the link produces a page which states access forbidden on this server. 

 

Something's afoot. And it's not 12 inches. 

 

Got the same email and broken link! Even listed my SS consultant in the mailshot!

 

Now hearing this has not come as any shock and probably CC as always seems to be a better gauge of whats to come (or at least speed of learning) than from SS direct! The mailshot is merely official confirmation!

 

Now...... Knowing that mine was the last sailing before being Cloudified in August 2020, I do hope the prelude of the final voyage is not fraught with too much onboard disturbances which is usually the case. I wont be impressed if it is!

 

 

EDIT........ It would appear that it isnt just the mailshot with a broken link. I decided to check silversea.com to see if I could read "more about" this conversion. But the Wind link as well as all ships from the main menu are broken! Oops!

 

 

Edited December 19, 2018 by les37b

[les37b]

Seems to have been fixed now.

 

 

 

 

[DCCruiser57]

Not surprising.  Expedition cruises are extremely profitable with the per diem being about twice that of "regular" cruises.  That's one reason that Seabourn has order two new "expedition" ships with only 200 guests.

[jollyjones]

And the Moon will be in service by then to maintain (increase!) classic cruise capacity.

 

At least the uncertainty is over. I'd better make the most of my three Wind cruises in 2019, but not book any more on her.

Edited December 19, 2018 by jollyjones

[jpalbny]

Expedition cruising does seem to be where it's at these days. I admit that I find them more fun, on average, than traditional destinations but we have a good time with both types of cruise. And I too will miss having the Wind on traditional itineraries. I guess we will have to break down and try one of the bigger ships.

 

I am a little worried that the whole expedition cruising industry is expanding too fast. Is the talent pool of available experienced expedition staff deep enough to staff all of these new expedition ships? Silversea has lost a lot of expedition talent to other companies, where will they replace them, and hire even more to staff additional ships? Are there enough captains with experience sailing passenger vessels in the Arctic and Antarctic? I hope that the current high standards of safety and quality can be maintained for future expedition cruises.

 

Will Antarctica start to look like St. Thomas, with ships lined up at every docking location? When will they open the first Diamonds International there? 

[Stumblefoot]

4 hours ago, les37b said:

Now hearing this has not come as any shock and probably CC as always seems to be a better gauge of whats to come (or at least speed of learning) than from SS direct! The mailshot is merely official confirmation!

 

4 hours ago, les37b said:

Now...... Knowing that mine was the last sailing before being Cloudified in August 2020, I do hope the prelude of the final voyage is not fraught with too much onboard disturbances which is usually the case. I wont be impressed if it is!

 

Totally agree Les!  And, there is no way I'd sail the last voyage before dry dock, or even the first couple after.  Don't forget the disaster that awaited those poor souls who were booked on the first Cloud voyage out of Buenos Aires.
 

4 hours ago, jollyjones said:

And the Moon will be in service by then to maintain (increase!) classic cruise capacity.

 

At least the uncertainty is over. I'd better make the most of my three Wind cruises in 2019, but not book any more on her.

Amen!

I think you have a sense of Amy and my likes/dislikes.  So, IYHO, is a Wind voyage a "must do" since we've never sailed her before?  I'm not sure we could sneak in a first voyage on her before the conversion with the current travel plans we have in place.
 

3 hours ago, jpalbny said:

I guess we will have to break down and try one of the bigger ships.

 

Will Antarctica start to look like St. Thomas, with ships lined up at every docking location? When will they open the first Diamonds International there? 

First, I think you'll enjoy the bigger ships (i.e. Muse class) if for no other reason than the dining variety they provide.  

Second, bite your tongue!  Everybody knows the first jewelry store in Antarctica will be Colombian Emeralds.  😁

[Silver Spectre]

I personally think this is a mistake, it would make more sense to keep her going as is for a couple more years and then replace her with a brand new Expedition ship.

[Tothesunset]

Lovely little ship, the Wind.  We have 2 more voyages on her (in Les's beloved 738): Apr 2019 and Mar 2020 and then we shan't see her again.  It's a shame but at least SS still retains the Whisper and Shadow for a bit of old-time elegance.

[Bramcruiser]

Actually, I await the total do over of the Wind. I must admit the sailing on her we did this past Sept/Oct had a number of disappointments about it when compared to my previous two Silversea cruises (one traditional and one expedition). It felt like the ship just wasn't getting the respect from the company that we experienced previously.The sailing was far from a total disaster but I definitely noted room for improvement. When you hear a number of fellow passengers compare it to other luxury lines and say it didn't live up to those standards, and I certainly felt like it didn't live up to Silversea, I wasn't sure if it was just the ship or worse, the line itself. Perhaps a total revision of the Wind's purpose in the Silversea family and new blood will kick it out of complacency.  

[Bramcruiser]

Update to the Silver Wind story. We were honest in our completion of the survey onboard but thought that would be the end of that. We just received a small refund cheque in the mail today from our travel agent - whom we have not said a word about our experience. It seems Silversea gave us a small refund on that last sailing. What for, I am not sure but given the issues I mentioned previously I can only think Silversea was inundated with comments about the Wind - not always in the positive. Not sure why our Silver Wind experience went into disarray but glad to see Silversea is attempting to show it still cares for its fleet and the customer experience which places the line into the higher category it is in. Will we sail with them again? Perhaps for the right destination and right price. No big plans for 2019 at this time.