Silversea TRYING to attract KIDS

[Silver Spectre]

Looks like a race to the bottom

[TLCOhio]

5 hours ago, markham said:

TLCOhio,  With all due respect... The Business101 text you mentiom hopefully has a section about the realities of risk management after the opening chapter on seeking out new business. You don’t surprise, annoy, fool or otherwise turn off your current main customer segment with a Royal Caribbean Line stack ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap, which is what they do to fill their kids club, skating rink, climbing wall and mega wave pool attractions ships all year ‘round.   This smacks of foolishness. Does Silversea know or care about their current demographic? Who would risk their hard earned cash on a future cruise booking when you won’t know what you’re in for. When cruise lines sell lots of cabins to corporate incentive groups the vibe on the ship can change for the worse. It’s a group mentality thing where their numbers “entitle” them to crowd out others and monopolize facilities. Same with children as far as the older more sedate crowd is concerned. And on a ship without a kid’s club with pool, we have nothing at risk. Please!

 

Yes, understand your very valid point about "risk management", PLUS trying to balance keeping the current customer base happy.  There are trade-offs to consider and evaluate!!??  All I can observe is that from our experience just a couple weeks ago on the Silver Muse is that, fortunately, we did not have any disruptive two-year-olds, nor parents neglecting their duties.  All worked well and smoothly during our seven day sailing in Alaska.  As noted earlier about key staff having their families with them, our CD Rico was traveling on this cruise with his wife and five-year-old son.  Cute, fun, well-behaved young man.  Additionally, on a cruise like ours in a cool climate, there were no pool competition/conflicts to create any issues.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

From late 2018, you can see “Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East.  Connect at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/

[dawntrdr]

When I first saw the deck plan for the Muse, I noticed an "Activities Area" room opening to a captive portion of the deck on Deck 9.  "This has kid's club written all over it" I thought.  Those of you who have been on the Muse, is that what it is reserved/used for?  On the Silver Moon, that same space is the Connoisseurs Club.  

[Observer]

2 hours ago, RachelG said:

I have seen a 18 month old on Regent, as well as many others under age 5.  I think their minimum age is something like 6 months

 

I stand corrected.  On Regent cruises with activities programs for kids, the minimal age for participation is apparently 5.   In general, I gather than they allow children above 1 year old.

[Silver Spectre]

49 minutes ago, dawntrdr said:

When I first saw the deck plan for the Muse, I noticed an "Activities Area" room opening to a captive portion of the deck on Deck 9.  "This has kid's club written all over it" I thought.  Those of you who have been on the Muse, is that what it is reserved/used for?  On the Silver Moon, that same space is the Connoisseurs Club.  

On two Muse cruises so far and never seen anyone in the room. I understand that SS is smoker friendly but changing the Activities Area to the Connoisseurs Club is a very forward thinking idea.

Edited August 13, 2019 by Silver Spectre

[Capt.F]

 

Happy 25th Anniversary!!!

As a serial World Cruiser I have just learned what I consider to be a real slap in the face perhaps to many of us! 

Silversea has announced a new "Family Cruise Savings" and have listed every segment of WC 2020 as part of the over 300 cruises to which it applies. Full fare guests can now avail themselves of the following:

50% SAVINGS FOR GUESTS BETWEEN 2-17 YEARS OLD/ 75% SAVINGS FOR GUESTS UNDER 2 YEARS OLD.

 

Unlike other ships in the fleet with multiple restaurants, the Silver Whisper has basically only one main restaurant. This promotion was applied to each and every segment of the World Cruise was thoughtless.  Although Silversea has never had a policy forbidding children this is a change in branding for sure.

 

Although I'm sure we all love children, particularly our own, many of us have experienced first-hand the problems on prior World Cruises where only a few children of various ages were onboard.

 

Some first-hand examples: Children in the dining room banging utensils on the table; crying kids whose parents were unwilling to leave the dining room until the child calmed down because they wanted to continue their dinner; kids on the pool deck bouncing balls that could be heard in the suites directly below; kids jumping or throwing things into the pool, toddler that wasn't diaper trained taken into the hot tub; wild ping pong tournaments on deck; etc., etc. 

 

For Silversea to remain the untarnished luxury cruise line it has always been, perhaps somebody in management and marketing who actually understands the 25-year reputation of the brand needs to step forward. I hope that person(s) will.

 

I'm sure the onboard staff and management who always enjoys being on the World Cruise will be biting their lips wondering if they will now be on the voyage(s) from hell once they find out about this promotion.

 

If this was a mistake, or worse, done with some purpose, I think those of us that care about "our" brand need to speak out loudly.

If we don't then it is what it is! 

 

Another scary thought is this: they mention the condition that there needs to be two accompanying full-fare guests.

Many of us receive Venetian Society Savings, etc. and if this is a sleazy way of marketing showing a large list and then telling the guest it doesn't apply to them as they needed to read the fine print that's even worse as all they have done is tarnished the brand.

 

I certainly did not or do not want to offend anyone who wants to travel with children; but the World Cruise is special and in particular the Silver Whisper is the wrong ship in any case. If they insist, then for the sake of all if us who want complete transparency, just like each voyage shows a "badge" for gentlemen hosts; Venetian Savings; etc., they'll need to come up with a "badge" for "Family Savings" so those who want to avoid such a voyage can chose to do so.

 

Edited August 13, 2019 by Capt.F
typo

[bigmjh]

16 minutes ago, Capt.F said:

" ... If they insist, then for the sake of all if us who want complete transparency, just like each voyage shows a "badge" for gentlemen hosts; Venetian Savings; etc., they'll need to come up with a "badge" for "Family Savings" so those who want to avoid such a voyage can chose to do so."

 

👍Excellent suggestion! 

 

Just wondering ... on formal nights, will these "young" cruisers follow the dress codes? Or will they be coming to the dining room in their onesies or nappies with t-shirts??? 😬

[Capt.F]

Attention!!! I have been in touch with management in the last hour and I can confirm that all segments of the World Cruise will be removed from the listing of voyages that the Family Savings promotion will apply to.

[Observer]

24 minutes ago, Capt.F said:

Attention!!! I have been in touch with management in the last hour and I can confirm that all segments of the World Cruise will be removed from the listing of voyages that the Family Savings promotion will apply to.

 

This is good news for the several hundred people on the WC or segments thereof.  But it offers cold comfort to the thousands of other people on Silversea cruises, including for example people on multi-month Grand Voyages.  

[Capt.F]

Let me share this. In my discussions today with management it appears that only certain holiday cruises when children would probably be on vacation should have been the only voyages. The list as you know has over 300 voyages. I wouldn't be surprised that we might see a lot of these voyages removed. So let's cross our fingers and see if this is so. I totally agree that Grand Voyages have no place in this type of promotion. 

[Tapi]

This is wonderful news! We are a family of 4, including 7 and 9 year old children. Time to give Silversea a try! 

 

Before someone starts slinging mud this way, please hear me out. Our children may be a bit out of the norm. We’ve taken the time to teach them proper etiquette and protocol in various settings. They are cultured and multilingual. At their young age, they have already visited 17 countries, and sailed over 10 times across 5 different cruise lines. From Malta to Alaska to Cuba and places in between. They know what’s expected of them while traveling and they behave accordingly. 

 

I understand that many of you may be worried about the possibility of sharing the ship with hordes of poorly behaved and untraveled children, but I have a feeling that Silversea will be attracting a different type of family than the ones that may frequent mass market, family and budget friendly cruise lines. 

 

Humbly I request, please give families like mine a try. I promise, my children won’t be banging their silverware, or throwing crumbled crackers at your table while screaming at the top of their lungs. 😉

 

Edited August 13, 2019 by Tapi

[Observer]

39 minutes ago, Capt.F said:

Let me share this. In my discussions today with management it appears that only certain holiday cruises when children would probably be on vacation should have been the only voyages. The list as you know has over 300 voyages. I wouldn't be surprised that we might see a lot of these voyages removed. So let's cross our fingers and see if this is so. I totally agree that Grand Voyages have no place in this type of promotion. 

 

This is great news.  Thanks for your representations to management.  I look forward to seeing the results.

[Observer]

10 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Humbly I request, please give families like mine a try. I promise, my children won’t be banging their silverware, or throwing crumbled crackers at your table while screaming at the top of their lungs. 😉

 

 

I hear you and I trust that your promises regarding your children are earnest and honest.

 

Your children are of an age when they can be guided, when they can (and apparently do) exercise self-control, etc.

 

But could you have made the promises you make when your children were 12 or 18 months old?  🙂 

[Silver Spectre]

1 hour ago, Capt.F said:

Attention!!! I have been in touch with management in the last hour and I can confirm that all segments of the World Cruise will be removed from the listing of voyages that the Family Savings promotion will apply to.

Agree with Observer that is great news for World Cruisers. What remains to be seen is whether this was an unfortunate mistake, maybe a ‘toe in the water, and see what the response is’ or a complete snafu by some marketing bod. Perhaps Barbara Muckermann would come on here and give us an answer.

[Silver Spectre]

28 minutes ago, Tapi said:

This is wonderful news! We are a family of 4, including 7 and 9 year old children. Time to give Silversea a try! 

 

Looking at your signature, are you sure that you are ready to step up to Silversea 😉

[MHF]

43 minutes ago, Silver Spectre said:

Agree with Observer that is great news for World Cruisers. What remains to be seen is whether this was an unfortunate mistake, maybe a ‘toe in the water, and see what the response is’ or a complete snafu by some marketing bod. Perhaps Barbara Muckermann would come on here and give us an answer.

Smells like New Coke to me.

[Capt.F]

I believe the many voices and opinions here have been heard and everyone should stand down and give it time to be adjusted. Conspiracy theories about RCCL are just that - conspiracy theories, as a number of views have been posted on Cruise Critic. RCCL is well aware of the position Silversea has in the luxury cruise market which is why they acquired over 66% of the crown jewel. I believe that nobody wants to intentionally shoot themselves in the foot and tarnish the Silversea brand. So I offer many thanks to those on Cruise Critic that brought this situation forward as it clearly shows the value of this forum. Let's monitor the promotion on the website and see what happens. Children have always been welcome subject to the conditions put forth on the Silversea website. 

Edited August 13, 2019 by Capt.F
typo

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, Observer said:

But could you have made the promises you make when your children were 12 or 18 months old?  🙂 

Definitely not. When my children were that age, we were testing the waters with what they could handle. Purposely, we selected  a quick 5 night Bahamas cruise on a budget line for his first cruise. Several nights, we would skip the main dining room, or if we did go, we would cut dinner short at the first indication of fussiness or crying. 

 

But with every vacation that we took, both by air and sea, we kept expanding our horizons, to where we are now. 

 

Admittedly, Silversea would not be where I would’ve tested the waters, and started my kids cruising. But I’m confident that they could handle it now without disrupting fellow passengers. 

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, Silver Spectre said:

Looking at your signature, are you sure that you are ready to step up to Silversea 😉

Admittedly, the most luxurious cruise line that I have sailed on is Cunard. But rest assured that we are familiar with the travel experience that Silversea delivers. Fortunately my land travels, since an early age, have always been considerably more upscale and sophisticated than the cruise vacations that I’ve taken. It’s much easier to tailor a luxury land vacation to fit a family schedule than to do the same with a luxury cruise where specific departure dates and cruise lengths can’t be altered. 

 

Yes, we have sailed frequently on more family friendly, budget minded cruise lines, and that’s in part due to the fact that their more frequent and shorter itineraries make it much easier for a young family to go on vacation. Another reason is because many of those cruises were complimentary perks which I enjoyed for years from a previous employer. 

 

There are many reasons why families flock to family friendly cruise lines. For us, it’s been mainly due to ease and convenience. No matter when we can take vacation, we know that we can find a cruise on a mass market line to fit those dates. On luxury lines it’s harder. Most of the time, the luxury cruises that I really like don’t match the days when we can take time off. So until that changes, we’ll continue allocating more of our travel funds to land vacations than to cruise vacations. The  search continues. 😀

 

 

[nowornever]

Tapi, yours sounds like a wonderful family & that you are parents who go out of their way to expose the little ones to a more sophisticated lifestyle.  Kudos to you both for raising them to appreciate nice things.  I do, however, agree with Observer that you two might want to take a Silversea test run without the children to see if it's a good fit. (Call it research or a 2nd honeymoon!)  I think you've probably surmised that Silversea is not a family friendly experience, no matter how worldly your children are.  There are no activities other than the pool, which most assuredly is NOT geared for children, and a ping pong table.  The shows do not start until 10 and lectures are on subjects that may or probably won't interest your children.   There are so many lovely cruise lines out there that will welcome, appreciate & cater to your children.  I can see by your history that you have experienced the family friendly lines.  Again, congratulations on being the exceptional parents who are anxious to expose them to a new experience. 

[Observer]

40 minutes ago, Tapi said:

 

Admittedly, Silversea would not be where I would’ve tested the waters, and started my kids cruising. But I’m confident that they could handle it now without disrupting fellow passengers. 

 

You radiate credibility in your posts, and I have no doubt that your children are up to the challenging of soaking up Silversea luxury.  Enjoy!

 

My concern -- and thus my question -- is that Silversea is offering inducements (75% discount) to 16 and 20 month old kids to "test the waters," often in my experience at the cost of other guests' not enjoying a quiet meal, without background cries, hollering, other forms of acting out, etc. 

[Observer]

3 minutes ago, nowornever said:

  I do, however, agree with Observer that you two might want to take a Silversea test run without the children to see if it's a good fit. 

 

At the risk of appearing to be pedantic, I might say that such is not my position.  7 and 9 year olds should be able to control their conduct (or be controlled by parents), and I trust these kids are prepared.  (I agree that SS is not a family friendly line with few activities designed for or even of interest to kids.  I trust that the cruise in question is port-intensive.)  The Viking/Virgin (no kids!) approach is appealing, but I doubt Silversea will embrace it anytime soon.  My concern -- which I hope they will address -- is with age appropriate (but not luxury cruise appropriate) disruptive conduct by infants and toddlers. 

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, nowornever said:

...you two might want to take a Silversea test run without the children to see if it's a good fit. (Call it research or a 2nd honeymoon!)  I think you've probably surmised that Silversea is not a family friendly experience, no matter how worldly your children are.  There are no activities other than the pool, which most assuredly is NOT geared for children, and a ping pong table.  

Nowornever :

 

Thank you for your kind words. I do like the idea of taking a Silversea cruise without children first. As much as I’d like to think that they are ready for it,  the idea of taking a vacation for just mom and dad is enticing! As much as we are enjoying raising these children, I do look forward to the day when they are grown enough, and we are comfortable leaving them for the longer period of time that a Silversea cruise will most likely require. 

 

As far as onboard activities go, I won’t deny the allure that kid friendly activities and amenities have. We’ve experienced them on more family friendly cruise lines. But we’ve learned that these activities don’t make our cruise vacations. Our cruise last November was in the Mediterranean, and it was port intensive. Our activities ashore are what made that vacation memorable. 

 

Our next cruise (during the kids winter break) will be aboard Holland America. Outside of the kids club, activities will revolve around music (Lincoln Center Stage, BB Kings, etc). There’s also the BBC Planet Experience at the World Stage. No water slides, surf simulators, or more kid friendly activities.  I’ve already told them what to expect, and they are looking forward to these new experiences. 

 

We’ll see how well it truly goes, but I’m hopeful that it will be an enjoyable cruise! 

Edited August 14, 2019 by Tapi

[nowornever]

Tibi,  You are are so impressive & I'm in awe of your ability to expand your children's horizons.  The music experiences sound fabulous (and a little enticing also ... BB King?  Seriously awesome)  You rock.  Consider the cruise you & your partner will enjoy on Silversea a test drive...purely for research in the name of "good parenting."  And.... a la BB....may the "Thrill (never) Be Gone."  Safe travels!

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, Observer said:

 

You radiate credibility in your posts, and I have no doubt that your children are up to the challenging of soaking up Silversea luxury.  Enjoy!

 

My concern -- and thus my question -- is that Silversea is offering inducements (75% discount) to 16 and 20 month old kids to "test the waters," often in my experience at the cost of other guests' not enjoying a quiet meal, without background cries, hollering, other forms of acting out, etc. 

Observer:

 

Thank you as well. I do agree that toddlers would most likely be disruptive in a Silversea environment. Even with the best intentions, and based on our experience, it can be hard (to almost impossible) to truly ensure that a child that young can behave in a way that won’t affect others.

 

But at the same time, I can see the benefit of such a promotion for say, a multigenerational family trip where grandparents wish to treat their grown up children and their families to a luxury cruise. While I would’ve not considered taking Silversea as a first cruise when my children were toddlers, I can see how my parents would’ve invited the whole family to come along on a cruise with them, and how this promotion would’ve made it more enticing and viable to do so.