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Silversea TRYING to attract KIDS


descartes1
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The kids and babies discount promotion remains up for the inaugural Moon sailing, and 282 other voyages.

 

I suspect Mark Conroy has zero control over this if Royal Caribbean corporate wants it, which seems to be the case.

 

I'm pretty sick of the BS and aggravation with this (and on the last Silversea voyage we took) and there are many other options on sea and land which "get" what we are looking for in a vacation.

 

If it's not addressed there's a high probability we and the others we are sailing with will cancel.  They'll need to book 32 babies on board at 75% discounted fares to replace that revenue.

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Yours will not be the only losses.

 

I exchanged messages last night with another couple I had met on SS.  They shared my dismay regarding the very young (crying, pounding, etc.) children on a cruise we shared last fall and they say they have moved to Viking.  They are the third couple I know moving to Viking because of the child policy.  They say they took their pre-teen grandchildren a couple of years ago on a port intensive SS cruise and it worked well.  What they can't stand -- and SS will apparently not address -- are very young kids (sub 6 or 7, they say) disrupting meals with their acting out (age appropriate conduct for which they are not precisely "responsible." )  Beginning dinners at 7 pm is a recipe for such kids, they say.  

 

Please note:  Removal of the "promotion" from the website does not imply the removal of the discount.  It's simply not being advertised.

 

It would be good to imagine that the delay is a product of serious reconsider at SS and adoption of a policy saying that no new bookings will be taken for kids below, say, 6 or 7.

Edited by Observer
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50 minutes ago, Observer said:

Yours will not be the only losses.

 

I exchanged messages last night with another couple I had met on SS.  They shared my dismay regarding the very young (crying, pounding, etc.) children on a cruise we shared last fall and they say they have moved to Viking.  They are the third couple I know moving to Viking because of the child policy.  They say they took their pre-teen grandchildren a couple of years ago on a port intensive SS cruise and it worked well.  What they can't stand -- and SS will apparently not address -- are very young kids (sub 6 or 7, they say) disrupting meals with their acting out (age appropriate conduct for which they are not precisely "responsible." )  Beginning dinners at 7 pm is a recipe for such kids, they say.  

 

Please note:  Removal of the "promotion" from the website does not imply the removal of the discount.  It's simply not being advertised.

 

It would be good to imagine that the delay is a product of serious reconsider at SS and adoption of a policy saying that no new bookings will be taken for kids below, say, 6 or 7.

 

I would be completely fine with the sort of policy you suggest.  It makes sense.  I'm even ok with kids on board, so long as it is not promoted, because in the past it seems only a limited number of kids are on board.  (I have always felt like kids on board is tacitly discouraged because there is nothing oriented towards kids on these voyages or on the ships themselves).

 

I fear, however, that Royal Caribbean has done focus groups on this and figures they can make more $ if they promote these cruises to families.  The focus groups/consultants/bean-counters usually win when it comes to corporate decision making.

 

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2 hours ago, descartes1 said:

The kids and babies discount promotion remains up for the inaugural Moon sailing, and 282 other voyages.

 

I suspect Mark Conroy has zero control over this if Royal Caribbean corporate wants it, which seems to be the case.

 

I'm pretty sick of the BS and aggravation with this (and on the last Silversea voyage we took) and there are many other options on sea and land which "get" what we are looking for in a vacation.

 

If it's not addressed there's a high probability we and the others we are sailing with will cancel.  They'll need to book 32 babies on board at 75% discounted fares to replace that revenue.

Still sickened by this, and not happy to have been ‘lied to’ by the London Office last week. It’s beginning to look like next years WC segments may be our last.

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What will it take for Silversea to honestly and respectfully deal with its existing patrons? This Royal Caribbean revenue grab is ridiculous.

 

One indicator might be fewer on board deposits for passengers who have concerns such as I do. In my mind, Silversea is about calm and relative quiet and sophisticated food offerings. Their ships are just not expansive enough to change up as a children’s resort and maintain the ambience we are accustomed to. So RCL/Silversea management, what about it? And who do you think you are kidding?!

 

We have 2 Silversea cruises in the next 6 months. This may be the end of the line. What a shame and a pity. We know 2 other lines better (with which we have over 1100 days between them) and have yet to see them engage in such silliness. Apparently, they know who they are, who we are, and we trust them for our (already-booked) 2021 cruises. 

 

Oh, brother.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

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I checked the website in the earnest hope that this promotion had finally been removed -- or at least limited to a handful of holiday/summer vacation cruises.  No such luck.  It's still there on 200+ classic sailings, including Grand Voyage segments.  I went to the Terms and Conditons page and found the following passage: "To benefit from the promotion children must be booked as 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th pax in suite. Guests 1st and 2nd are not eligible, regardless of age."  So Silversea is imaging the possibility of four children in a suite occupied by two adults?  This seems a bit much even in the largest/most expensive suites.

 

Please, Silversea:  Can we get some clarity on this matter?  The inclination to make alternative plans grows.....

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16 minutes ago, Observer said:

I checked the website in the earnest hope that this promotion had finally been removed -- or at least limited to a handful of holiday/summer vacation cruises.  No such luck.  It's still there on 200+ classic sailings, including Grand Voyage segments.  I went to the Terms and Conditons page and found the following passage: "To benefit from the promotion children must be booked as 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th pax in suite. Guests 1st and 2nd are not eligible, regardless of age."  So Silversea is imaging the possibility of four children in a suite occupied by two adults?  This seems a bit much even in the largest/most expensive suites.

 

Please, Silversea:  Can we get some clarity on this matter?  The inclination to make alternative plans grows.....

Can you imagine paying a small fortune for a high-end suite on a Grand Voyage segment, only to find there are three or four screaming kids in the suite next to yours? As others have said, that is not a luxury cruise experience. Add to that the increasing tendency of Silversea to book partial charters of drunken car salesmen and the like (on company-paid junkets), and what we have is Royal Caribbean with a fancier accent.

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I suspect it's all about all of those new ships, Silversea & others, coming into the various fleets, with all of those cabins to be filled. Competition is going to get tougher & they will need to replace those of us moving up the age ladder.  How better to do it than to attract a family willing to spend the $ for a "sample" cruise?  There is another thread started by a poster whose children are the model of "decorum, good taste & refinement" - aren't they all?  But she was probably the target of this new and most unwelcome promotion.  As much as Mr. Conroy might agree with the majority of us, his hands are probably tied by the corporate bottom line driven marketeers.  Moving to another upper end line will probably only swap one bottom line for another. Anyone know what the new Ritz Carlton line policy is regarding children?

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1 hour ago, Observer said:

So Silversea is imaging the possibility of four children in a suite occupied by two adults?

 

No, I don't believe SS is imagining four children and two adults sharing a single suite.  I'm pretty sure the only way a family of 4, 5, or 6 could travel together would be to book one of the adjoining suites that many of the ships have now.  For example, I believe there are 60 suites that connect to each other on the new Silver Moon.

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6 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

 

No, I don't believe SS is imagining four children and two adults sharing a single suite.  I'm pretty sure the only way a family of 4, 5, or 6 could travel together would be to book one of the adjoining suites that many of the ships have now.  For example, I believe there are 60 suites that connect to each other on the new Silver Moon.

 

Understood and agreed.  I doubt they are imagining six people in a regular Vista or Verandah suite.  But it should be possible in a two bedroom Owners or Grand suite, for example.  

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24 minutes ago, nowornever said:

I suspect it's all about all of those new ships, Silversea & others, coming into the various fleets, with all of those cabins to be filled. Competition is going to get tougher & they will need to replace those of us moving up the age ladder.  How better to do it than to attract a family willing to spend the $ for a "sample" cruise?  

 

Within a couple of years, Viking will have seven cruise ships with thousands of berths to fill, and they are claiming as a comparative advantage that no children are permitted on its cruise ships.  I gather they are succeeding.  Virgin cruises is about to launch, again forbidding children. (I believe Ritz Carlton does permit children.) "Those of us moving up the age ladder" have in many cases done the child thing and relish some quiet and decorum when on holiday.  It takes only one youngster -- hungry and tired when dining room only opens at 7 pm -- acting out by pounding or crying to disrupt dinner for scores of people trying to enjoy a quiet, luxurious meal.  I really believe that a ban on all young (sub 6 or 7?) children would be in Silversea's commercial interest.  Even more drastic bans seem to work for Viking.

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This comment on the Virgin Voyage board shows what can happen when parents are given incentives to bring kids on a cruise:

 

"No kids is a big winner for us! Did you read on the Celebrity thread where it sounds like their "kids sail free" promotion bit them in the ass, when about 600 kids showed up on a recent cruise. Their ships aren't designed for that and made the cruise less than pleasant for many. It would have been our cruise to Hell. Thank goodness for Virgin!"

 

I hope someone in Silversea's management takes notice before Virgin and Viking eat their lunch. 

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On the Easter cruise on the Spirit this past year there were lots of kids. It was a short cruise and port intensive, and the kids kept to themselves for the most part. They did monopolize the ping pong table, to some pax consternation.

At dinner in laT one night there was a young man and his family playing a board game which involved shaking dice in a cup before each person took a turn. Our table was adjacent to theirs, and adjacent to many others in LaT.  It was jarring and we had to try and talk over the game! While we didn't mention it to the maitre d,  someone must have,  because the family were eventually moved to another table which was in a corner. 

Now just a thought and a thorny question, would adults ever play such a game during the dinner hour? 

I hope that I am not presented with such a scenario.

I do note that one of our upcoming cruises has the "children offer". I wait to see what will transpire. 

 

 

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On 8/25/2019 at 12:55 PM, Silver Spectre said:

Based on the response so far I have very little faith that they listen to anything.

 

I have been in correspondence with Mark Conroy who informed me  a couple of days ago that it was a web design issue and that there was a misunderstanding with the web team who, in error,  included all sailings for the "Family Cruise savings"

The intention was that only holiday cruises were to be included for the offer

I have just looked at the website and it appear that this has been done so we can breathe easily once again

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11 minutes ago, beaujolais said:

 

I have been in correspondence with Mark Conroy who informed me  a couple of days ago that it was a web design issue and that there was a misunderstanding with the web team who, in error,  included all sailings for the "Family Cruise savings"

The intention was that only holiday cruises were to be included for the offer

I have just looked at the website and it appear that this has been done so we can breathe easily once again

 

Thank you very much for the helpful message.  I had given up on checking the webpage, but prompted by your message I did check again and see that the number of cruises advertised as offering this special fare is now down to 92.

 

This "misunderstanding" with the web team and the posts on this board has, nonetheless, raised what is to me (and some others whom I know) a real issue: the presence of very young children on Silversea.  Some questions remain in my mind, and I would welcome responses:

 

  • The number of cruises advertised as offering this special promotion has been reduced.  But what are Silversea's charges on other cruises for very young children (say, less than 7 years old)?  Is it the customary third/fourth guest charge?
  • Is Silversea giving any active consideration to revising its policy to decline new bookings for very young children (say below 7 years old)? (I understand the tradition of senior crew bringing their children aboard.  I would exempt them from such a policy if they took meals in crew/officer messes.)
  • Does Silversea understand the challenges involved for parents (and other guests!) in requiring that very young children have to wait until 7 pm (bedtime for many and well after the customary dinner time) to even enter the dining facility?  If Silversea will continue to accept very young passengers, could they establish an earlier dinner hour when very young children would be required to eat?

I am pleased by the reduction in the number of cruises advertised with this promotion.  But I spend ~100 days a year on Silversea and have had repeated non-holiday cruises where my experience has been significantly compromised by the presence of crying, bawling, pounding very young children when I am trying to enjoy a quiet meal or conversation with new friends discovered in the bar or introduced by the maitre d', etc. 

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Out of curiosity, i just checked my 12 day Silver Moon Voyage for 2021 and the children promotion has been removed....as of yesterday, it was still there.. Thank goodness management is listening....i don't have children, but if I did, i don't think i would bring them on a Silversea cruise, as there is minimal for them to do and keep them active....

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49 minutes ago, beaujolais said:

 

I have been in correspondence with Mark Conroy who informed me  a couple of days ago that it was a web design issue and that there was a misunderstanding with the web team who, in error,  included all sailings for the "Family Cruise savings"

The intention was that only holiday cruises were to be included for the offer

I have just looked at the website and it appear that this has been done so we can breathe easily once again

 

I disagree.  I was told specifically that our sailing would not have the kids/babies promotion, and it still does.

Ours is a summer cruise, but also an inaugural sailing, and maximizing the number of kids/babies for that event is incomprehensible to me and not what we "signed up" for.

 

And, if the policy is to always have kids/babies promotion on the summer cruises it is highly problematic for us because we like to sail in the Med in the summer.

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25 minutes ago, descartes1 said:

 

I disagree.  I was told specifically that our sailing would not have the kids/babies promotion, and it still does.

Ours is a summer cruise, but also an inaugural sailing, and maximizing the number of kids/babies for that event is incomprehensible to me and not what we "signed up" for.

 

And, if the policy is to always have kids/babies promotion on the summer cruises it is highly problematic for us because we like to sail in the Med in the summer.

 

Could you clarify your concern?  The promotion covers people up to age 18.  The conduct of a 14 year old is likely to be quite different from that of a 4 year old.  Are you concerned about the presence of any children under 18?  Or a subset of that large group?

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6 minutes ago, Silver Spectre said:

So it took exactly 3 days to fix the World Cruise segments and then another couple of weeks to change most of the rest. Not sure what that says about how (un)important the rest of us long term Venetians are to SS.

 

Can nothing please you

 

I actually first contacted Mark Conroy on Aug 22nd., so a reasonable response

Edited by beaujolais
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46 minutes ago, Observer said:

 

Could you clarify your concern?  The promotion covers people up to age 18.  The conduct of a 14 year old is likely to be quite different from that of a 4 year old.  Are you concerned about the presence of any children under 18?  Or a subset of that large group?

 

Please see my other posts in this thread.  I believe I have been quite clear about this.

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28 minutes ago, beaujolais said:

 

Can nothing please you

 

I actually first contacted Mark Conroy on Aug 22nd., so a reasonable response

 

Do you really mean to imply that Mark Conroy was not aware of this matter until you contacted him on 8/22 and that it was your contact that led to the revision of the website?  This matter had been discussed on this board ten days before your 8/22 contact.  Surely Mr. Conroy reads this board or receives reports from staff regarding discussions on social media.

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