First Impressions of Silversea (Whisper)

[Silver Spectre]

Glad to hear that the dress code is being adhered to.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Last night the kitchen printers went out, so none of the orders that the waiters were putting on their tablets were getting through and general chaos resulted (DW got a NY strip instead of the Filet Mignon she had ordered); tonight it was fixed and the dining room was again operating smoothly.  The ship seems to be fully staffed (they announced 290, which is almost the number in the Insight Guide) – I don't know the passenger count.

 

They are running out of fresh food items.  Two nights in a row DW's salad has not had the promised type of greens but only wilted iceberg lettuce – tonight she asked the waiter and he confirmed that they are out of greens, berries, etc.  Apparently the ship was last provisioned in Sydney at the beginning of the previous cruise so I expect things will be worse as we go along.  [I suspect New Zealand's strict biosecurity regime makes it impossible to provision a ship here except with local foodstuffs, and RCG may not have contracts in place or allow the chef to purchase on his own like Azamara does]

 

Entertainment and shore excursions continue to be excellent.  Food is good, but not up to Crystal.

 

The hull shows lots of rust spots.  They were out yesterday morning putting something like Bondo around the porthole windows, and by evening it had all been painted to match.  But the rust is still there underneath – I hope the coming dry dock will give the hull a good stripping and complete repaint.

[Panda3]

Thank you!  I have a hold on a cruise on the whisper and this was helpful!!!

[A Tucson Guy]

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Last night the kitchen printers went out, so none of the orders that the waiters were putting on their tablets were getting through and general chaos resulted (DW got a NY strip instead of the Filet Mignon she had ordered); tonight it was fixed and the dining room was again operating smoothly.  The ship seems to be fully staffed (they announced 290, which is almost the number in the Insight Guide) – I don't know the passenger count.

 

They are running out of fresh food items.  Two nights in a row DW's salad has not had the promised type of greens but only wilted iceberg lettuce – tonight she asked the waiter and he confirmed that they are out of greens, berries, etc.  Apparently the ship was last provisioned in Sydney at the beginning of the previous cruise so I expect things will be worse as we go along.  [I suspect New Zealand's strict biosecurity regime makes it impossible to provision a ship here except with local foodstuffs, and RCG may not have contracts in place or allow the chef to purchase on his own like Azamara does]

 

Entertainment and shore excursions continue to be excellent.  Food is good, but not up to Crystal.

 

The hull shows lots of rust spots.  They were out yesterday morning putting something like Bondo around the porthole windows, and by evening it had all been painted to match.  But the rust is still there underneath – I hope the coming dry dock will give the hull a good stripping and complete repaint.

I know it is a personal preference but we really like the newer Nova class ships over the older ships that are getting long in the tooth. 

[Port Power]

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Last night the kitchen printers went out, so none of the orders that the waiters were putting on their tablets were getting through and general chaos resulted (DW got a NY strip instead of the Filet Mignon she had ordered); tonight it was fixed and the dining room was again operating smoothly.  The ship seems to be fully staffed (they announced 290, which is almost the number in the Insight Guide) – I don't know the passenger count.

 

They are running out of fresh food items.  Two nights in a row DW's salad has not had the promised type of greens but only wilted iceberg lettuce – tonight she asked the waiter and he confirmed that they are out of greens, berries, etc.  Apparently the ship was last provisioned in Sydney at the beginning of the previous cruise so I expect things will be worse as we go along.  [I suspect New Zealand's strict biosecurity regime makes it impossible to provision a ship here except with local foodstuffs, and RCG may not have contracts in place or allow the chef to purchase on his own like Azamara does]

 

Entertainment and shore excursions continue to be excellent.  Food is good, but not up to Crystal.

 

I’ve been on many ships that have provisioned in New Zealand.  Restocking fruit and vegetables in particular.  These ships included Celebrity Solstice and two “Of The Seas” as RCG has been going to NZ for decades now.  Bio security is for incoming food, not outgoing.

[Host Jazzbeau]

We've had rough seas since we left Dunedin, but thankfully the worst was sailing around NZ toward Milford Sound.  Once inside the sound it calmed down, but all the rain and wind from the previous day meant the waterfalls were full – beautiful!

 

DW and I have some experience with rocking and rolling from a Noble Caledonia cruise that went from Seville to Malaga around Gibraltar.  Once out of the shadow of The Rock, we were sailing head-on into fierce wind and waves – so major rocking (mitigated by the stabilizers).  Then we made a sharp left turn and the rocking changed to rolling (stabilizers don't help, and Oh Mama!).  But in preparation we had battened down everything that could move in our cabin; once in bed we were safe and sound and slept through it.

 

So for these three-days in the Tasman Sea we applied our experience to our Silversea cabin.  Worked again – nothing broke.  [Vs the bars and dining rooms which lost a lot of glassware]  The only problem is now we don't remember where anything is!

 

N-C's Hebridean Sky was built for Antarctica, so all the drawers have brass rods that lock them in place and all the doors have sturdy catches.  Silver Whisper isn't so battle-ready.  The drawers in the closet kept opening and shutting.  The closet door and bathroom door close securely, but the shower door never stays shut (even when the ship is docked).  DW came up with a hack to keep it from swinging all the way open and to spring it back to the closed position every time it opens.  Worked like a charm:

 

[No phones were harmed in the making of this hack – so far...]

[Host Jazzbeau]

We filled out our mid-cruise survey and mentioned the lack of fresh greens and berries.  We immediately received two responses:  DW was sought out at breakfast by the food manager who explained that most food comes from Miami but they had a problem in Auckland because our turnaround day was Auckland Day; he also said they had gone shopping in the supermarket in Port Chalmers to buy all the berries available.  [A good response, but there were several ports with probably larger supermarkets before PC...]  When she pressed him that in The Restaurant every days menu offers a 'mesclun salad' but comes only with very tired iceberg lettuce – but La Terrazza offers a salad bar with several crisp varieties on offer – he replied that there was either a communications breakdown or they weren't sharing, and he would look into it.  [We'll be watching...]  Secondly we got a nice letter from the Hotel Manager thanking us for our survey and stressing that "it is only from hearing from our guests about their onboard impressions and experiences that enables us to be truly confident that our standards are being achieved."

 

The letter also mentions that they have forwarded our suggestion that it is time to give each guest free internet access on two devices (since most people bring a computer and a phone) to the Head Office for their review.

[Host Jazzbeau]

On a more negative note, the food continues to disappoint more often than it delights.  I have given up on fish onboard, although friends said they enjoyed the Dover Sole in La Dame.  Speaking of La Dame, it wasn't worth $60 – the service is fussy, but the food doesn't live up to the theater.  I had filet mignon which wasn't as good as FM in The Restaurant [tender but flavorless]; DW had duck breast which was thin slices (like carpaccio) so not juicy and flavorful as a good duck breast would be.  I had pistachio soufflé for dessert, which was more like a pistachio cupcake – not light and airy at all, and the bottom was burned to the ramekin.

 

Meat is generally better.  And the Italian pasta dishes are quite good.  Desserts are often good.  But the breads and pastries are subpar.  If you like salads, but most go to La Terrazza for their salad bar – the salad offerings in The Restaurant never measure up to the menu descriptions.

 

The included wine list is quite extensive, and all the wines are palatable but not memorable.

 

Earlier on I said that all Silversea had to be is Azamara with better ships.  Silver Whisper is that better ship and the shore excursions are a big plus, but the food isn't up to Azamara standards.  This has been confirmed by several dining companions who have sailed Silversea and other luxury cruise lines – none are happy with the food on this or other recent SS cruises.  

 

I fear that RCG is 'value engineering' this line with all the negative connotations that term richly deserves.  Maybe the new passengers coming from mass market cruise lines will think the food is a step up [and I hear that Celebrity has also downgraded its offerings], but those of us with experience on upper premium lines will not be impressed.

[texanaust]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

but the food isn't up to Azamara standards

 

Interesting.  We just took our first Azamara cruise and I thought the food in the main dining room was very average at best.  The buffet restaurant was a disgrace-I think Carnival would have had better offerings.  The only good food to be had was at the two upcharge venues.  I totally understand why the suite guests never ventured anywhere else as those restaurants were included for them.

 

We had some friends that were in a suite and they mentioned they wouldn't sail on Azamara if it wasn't for Prime C and Aqualina.  I tend to agree.

[Fletcher]

No one goes on a cruise because of the food.  At least, we don't.  Cruise food is never more than a mass catering operation consisting largely of pre-prepared, warmed-up dishes, a notch or two above premium airline food but way below the level of a halfway decent city or country  restaurant with daily access to the freshest and finest of ingredients.   The nationality of catering teams also counts for a lot - Asian teams, for instance, tend not to have much understanding of European food and vice versa.  On most lines I find breakfasts and lunches are usually OK, dinners a case of hit and mostly miss because that is when they pretend they are restaurants.  Go on a cruise with low expectations and you will not be disappointed.  

Edited February 7 by Fletcher

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, Fletcher said:

No one goes on a cruise because of the food.  At least, we don't.  Cruise food is never more than a mass catering operation consisting largely of pre-prepared, warmed-up dishes, a notch or two above premium airline food but way below the level of a halfway decent city or country  restaurant with daily access to the freshest and finest of ingredients.   The nationality of catering teams also counts for a lot - Asian teams, for instance, tend not to have much understanding of European food and vice versa.  On most lines I find breakfasts and lunches are usually OK, dinners a case of hit and mostly miss because that is when they pretend they are restaurants.  Go on a cruise with low expectations and you will not be disappointed.  

I disagree.  I have seen Cruise Ship kitchens and unlike mass catering they are preparing each dish individually.  They don't necessarily wait until your order comes in to start preparing it, but because of the large number of diners they know that if they keep preparing the dishes on a regular rhythm there will always be a freshly prepared one when a backwaiter comes to get it.  And on many cruise ships the food has been far better than you describe.  That's why Silversea is not meeting my expectations: expectations based on previous cruises.

 

Tonight we dined in La Terrazza and it was better – this is the level that the MDR should be hitting every night, but that means it isn't up to the level that a specialty restaurant should achieve.  Everything was OK, but nothing delighted (except the pistachio gelato and the Valpolicella).

[taxatty]

9 hours ago, Fletcher said:

No one goes on a cruise because of the food.  At least, we don't.  Cruise food is never more than a mass catering operation consisting largely of pre-prepared, warmed-up dishes, a notch or two above premium airline food but way below the level of a halfway decent city or country  restaurant with daily access to the freshest and finest of ingredients.   The nationality of catering teams also counts for a lot - Asian teams, for instance, tend not to have much understanding of European food and vice versa.  On most lines I find breakfasts and lunches are usually OK, dinners a case of hit and mostly miss because that is when they pretend they are restaurants.  Go on a cruise with low expectations and you will not be disappointed.  

I disagree as well. We've done many cruises on the RCI and Princess megaships, and what you stated matched our expectations--mass market banquet-style catering with powdered eggs and many defrosted and underwhelming offerings. We've only been on expedition cruises on Silversea to date, on its oldest ships. We anticipated--and got--very good to excellent meals at all times (at all of the venues) with only a couple of exceptions such as very overcooked fish. We certainly didn't expect and won't get top-notch Miami or New York restaurant food on a ship, but what we have been served on Silversea was not the Army canteen slop that some have reported.

Edited February 7 by taxatty

[daddyo]

Maybe this forum should have a name change; Chow Critic😀

[turtlemichael]

The dumbing down of food for cost saving purposes, now widely reported on Silversea and other lines post-covid, is a big concern to me. I've never expected, or received, Michelin star standard food but have generally had very good meals, matching the service, on Silversea. This is one of the reasons we cruise particularly as we get older and the attractions of 8 hour hikes and tours or long flights to a ship, diminish.  Am I better off choosing a nice hotel or resort in a great location with excellent restaurants on the property and nearby rather than a Silversea cruise?  The other bit I can't grasp is that all luxury lines know that their future is in both looking after us old fuddy-duddies but also in attracting affluent young cruisers. They demand good food.

[curmudgeon98]

Too often I think the luxury lines try to use "luxury" ingredients, and elaborate place settings, but lately haven't been so good on attention to detail in preparation and delivery timing.  Our Regent cruise last year was bad about making a big show of service, but delivering lukewarm food with awkward pacing between courses.  Seabourn was a bit better on that, but again didn't wow us.  Our experience with Azamara has been better delivery, though somewhat less luxe ingredients.  The included wines on our last Azamara cruise, on the other hand, were pretty poor.  Overall, I don't expect a cruise line to deliver the meal quality that a decent owner-run restaurant does, I just hope that it's "close enough" to be reasonable.  

 

Silversea has some itineraries that I find attractive, at a price we can live with.  I'm waiting to see if they relax the dress code enough to fit my personal tolerance level (I don't mind bringing a sports coat, but I begrudge managing the luggage for the suit-and-tie/tux routine).      

[ak1004]

On 2/2/2024 at 5:37 AM, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

They are running out of fresh food items.  Two nights in a row DW's salad has not had the promised type of greens but only wilted iceberg lettuce – tonight she asked the waiter and he confirmed that they are out of greens, berries, etc.  Apparently the ship was last provisioned in Sydney at the beginning of the previous cruise so I expect things will be worse as we go along.  [I suspect New Zealand's strict biosecurity regime makes it impossible to provision a ship here except with local foodstuffs, and RCG may not have contracts in place or allow the chef to purchase on his own like Azamara does]

 

 

This looks like a repetitive motive. On our last cruise on the Dawn, they ran out of Perrier, Pellegrino and all diet drinks. Also ran out of butter for 3 days on the previous cruise on the Spirit and few other basic items.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Random Observations

 

•  Passengers on this cruise = 383 [out of 392 max double occupancy]

   Crew = 290 [out of 302 on website]

   Net result:  plenty of staff for every venue and occaision

 

•  Silver Whisper is the only cruise ship we have been on with trash cans in public spaces:  chained down at every elevator lobby and in a few other places (I think, can’t remember now)

 

•  Public restrooms are placed conveniently near every restaurant and event space [reports say this isn’t true on Nova]

 

•  Sweeteners:  there was a question about this earlier

   •  every venue has at least white sugar, brown sugar and aspartame (canderel brand in red packets or tubes)

   •  some also have stevia (canderel brand in light green tubes)

 

•  Individual bottles of Bulgari toiletries – so much more convenient that pump bottles mounted on the walls (even though I don’t particularly like the Green Tea scent)

[Host Jazzbeau]

Final Assessment  

 

We loved everything about this cruise with the exception of the food, which was only ok.

 

•  The ship is lovely, and while showing its age in a few aspects is still in excellent condition and has a classic nautical feel which we love

•  Our cabin (Deluxe Veranda) had plenty of room, plenty of storage, and a good layout

•  The combination of Butler and Cabin Attendant gave us an elevated level of service which was welcome (even though we are low maintenance)

 

•  The Restaurant had plenty of room every night (since many guests chose to dine elsewhere, and was practically empty for breakfast and lunch every day;  plenty of staffing at all times, and all the waiters were both professional and personable

   •  There were two nights when the servers were at sixes and sevens:  one was blamed on a printer failure in the kitchen so the orders were not being transmitted from the waiters’ iPads; problems on the final night were apologized for but not explained

   •  The menu is more extensive than on any cruise we have been on, and varied from day to day (not completely different each day, but with a good rhythm that allowed us to bank something in the main section for a future night)

   •  Our dining experience improved throughout the cruise as we learned to avoid Silversea’s weak areas (like fish) and to interpret their menu language

•  La Terrazza is a nice step up at dinner, if you order the right things (again fish is a weakness, but Saltimbocca Romana was terrific and pasta is always reliably good) – the wines here are also available throughout the ship, and it was good to learn about some availabilities like the Valpolicella

•  La Dame is not worth $60 – many of the menu items are not really different from offerings in The Restaurant, and all of the wines poured there are also available throughout the ship (I think a specialty restaurant should pour better wines) – I will be monitoring this forum for reports from Nova and Ray about what they are doing to elevate the experience to justify the new $160 price

•  Boulangerie and Patisserie were not good – not up to land cafés or even to other cruise ships.  And coffee was always weak – even a latte in the Panorama Lounge.  The contrast was especially striking when we got to Sydney and I had the most wonderful croissants and lattes at Guylian’s on Circular Quay.

•  The bottom line is that while the served meals were always beautifully presented and certainly edible, they rarely delighted – not noticeably above the level on Azamara and well below our ‘old’ Crystal cruise in 2014.

 

•  Entertainment was very good – the 2 singers and 4 dancers put on a show about every other night and all were good; we would have preferred dancers with more grace at the expense of the obvious athleticism of our pairs, but the Cruise Director announced that this staffing was done “from Monaco” and the cast pairs change when their contracts are up (he did say we had the best of all – and they did seem to fit the song selection and choreography of the shows.  It’s just that we would have preferred less energy and more familiar (to boomers) tunes.

   •  There were also two Guest Artists – an Australian women who is in love with the American 1960s folk era and the earlier female pop singers (Peggy Lee, Doris Day); and an Australian violinist who is a great cruise ship showman.  And the two singers each did a personal show, which highlighted their strengths (and weaknesses).

   •  The Show Band was terrific, although it was only a rhythm section (keyboards, guitar, bass guitar and drums)

   •  The Lecturer was good (many presentations, good coverage of the culture and wildlife of New Zealand and Australia), but somewhat hard to follow because it seemed like he was condensing 90 minute lectures into 45 minutes, and also he often got confused about the terminology he had earlier established (maybe he needs to consult his notes more often...)

   •  Trivia was excellent – good tough questions (and the B2Bers were assured that they would have all new questions on their upcoming segment), points awarded to many teams (3rd place got 1 point; 2nd got 3 points; and 1st got 5 points – and in the case of ties all teams at each level got their points)

   •  Bingo was apparently the same deal – no money involved, a friendly atmosphere for the near-meaningless points

   •  At the end of the cruise they had a display of logo merchandise to redeem your points (with great luck at trivia and the daily contest we had accumulated a total of 76 points, which was enough for a t-shirt but way short of a baseball cap) or you could turn in your point cards for a certificate to bring on your next Silversea cruise (which they rounded up to 90 for us – good deal!)

   •  We never visited the casino, spa or fitness areas, and rarely heard the guitarist or pianist in the bars or the DJ

 

•  We book cruises primarily for Itinerary, and this delivered – there were two changes between the original listing and the final reality, but we felt that both actually improved our experience (an overnight in Melbourne was cancelled because of port congestion but replaced with calls at Geelong and Eden; and later the short evening stop at Phillip Island was replaced by a later departure from the overnight at Hobart).

   •  Unfortunately they didn’t make good use of the extra time on the second day at Hobart, so when our arrival was delayed by a port workers’ strike we had to choose between our included tour to Port Arthur and our extra-cost evening tour to Bonarong.  They should have added more excursion on the second day.

   •  Other than that, the included tour offerings were extensive and interesting.  We did book several extra-cost excursions, which were all excellent and worth the cost – but there were good choices among the included tours every day of the cruise.  This makes Silversea’s move to included excursions a valuable addition for us.

 

At the beginning of this thread I said, “all Silversea has to be is Azamara with better ships.”  At the end of the cruise, I am happy to conclude that it is that and more.  The ships are certainly better (Whisper is one of the oldest in the fleet – the same age as the Azamara ships – and we are very happy with it and will be even more so when the coming dry dock adds the Arts Café.  We are really looking forward to our upcoming cruises on Endeavour (in Svalbard) and Ray (in the Caribbean, with a relaxed dress code that fits that area and our style).

 

Silversea is on our short list for future cruise planning (along with Azamara, Crystal, Noble Caledonia, and Windstar).  Choice is good!

[ak1004]

58 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Final Assessment  

 

We loved everything about this cruise with the exception of the food, which was only ok.

 

•  The ship is lovely, and while showing its age in a few aspects is still in excellent condition and has a classic nautical feel which we love

•  Our cabin (Deluxe Veranda) had plenty of room, plenty of storage, and a good layout

•  The combination of Butler and Cabin Attendant gave us an elevated level of service which was welcome (even though we are low maintenance)

 

•  The Restaurant had plenty of room every night (since many guests chose to dine elsewhere, and was practically empty for breakfast and lunch every day;  plenty of staffing at all times, and all the waiters were both professional and personable

   •  There were two nights when the servers were at sixes and sevens:  one was blamed on a printer failure in the kitchen so the orders were not being transmitted from the waiters’ iPads; problems on the final night were apologized for but not explained

   •  The menu is more extensive than on any cruise we have been on, and varied from day to day (not completely different each day, but with a good rhythm that allowed us to bank something in the main section for a future night)

   •  Our dining experience improved throughout the cruise as we learned to avoid Silversea’s weak areas (like fish) and to interpret their menu language

•  La Terrazza is a nice step up at dinner, if you order the right things (again fish is a weakness, but Saltimbocca Romana was terrific and pasta is always reliably good) – the wines here are also available throughout the ship, and it was good to learn about some availabilities like the Valpolicella

•  La Dame is not worth $60 – many of the menu items are not really different from offerings in The Restaurant, and all of the wines poured there are also available throughout the ship (I think a specialty restaurant should pour better wines) – I will be monitoring this forum for reports from Nova and Ray about what they are doing to elevate the experience to justify the new $160 price

•  Boulangerie and Patisserie were not good – not up to land cafés or even to other cruise ships.  And coffee was always weak – even a latte in the Panorama Lounge.  The contrast was especially striking when we got to Sydney and I had the most wonderful croissants and lattes at Guylian’s on Circular Quay.

•  The bottom line is that while the served meals were always beautifully presented and certainly edible, they rarely delighted – not noticeably above the level on Azamara and well below our ‘old’ Crystal cruise in 2014.

 

•  Entertainment was very good – the 2 singers and 4 dancers put on a show about every other night and all were good; we would have preferred dancers with more grace at the expense of the obvious athleticism of our pairs, but the Cruise Director announced that this staffing was done “from Monaco” and the cast pairs change when their contracts are up (he did say we had the best of all – and they did seem to fit the song selection and choreography of the shows.  It’s just that we would have preferred less energy and more familiar (to boomers) tunes.

   •  There were also two Guest Artists – an Australian women who is in love with the American 1960s folk era and the earlier female pop singers (Peggy Lee, Doris Day); and an Australian violinist who is a great cruise ship showman.  And the two singers each did a personal show, which highlighted their strengths (and weaknesses).

   •  The Show Band was terrific, although it was only a rhythm section (keyboards, guitar, bass guitar and drums)

   •  The Lecturer was good (many presentations, good coverage of the culture and wildlife of New Zealand and Australia), but somewhat hard to follow because it seemed like he was condensing 90 minute lectures into 45 minutes, and also he often got confused about the terminology he had earlier established (maybe he needs to consult his notes more often...)

   •  Trivia was excellent – good tough questions (and the B2Bers were assured that they would have all new questions on their upcoming segment), points awarded to many teams (3rd place got 1 point; 2nd got 3 points; and 1st got 5 points – and in the case of ties all teams at each level got their points)

   •  Bingo was apparently the same deal – no money involved, a friendly atmosphere for the near-meaningless points

   •  At the end of the cruise they had a display of logo merchandise to redeem your points (with great luck at trivia and the daily contest we had accumulated a total of 76 points, which was enough for a t-shirt but way short of a baseball cap) or you could turn in your point cards for a certificate to bring on your next Silversea cruise (which they rounded up to 90 for us – good deal!)

   •  We never visited the casino, spa or fitness areas, and rarely heard the guitarist or pianist in the bars or the DJ

 

•  We book cruises primarily for Itinerary, and this delivered – there were two changes between the original listing and the final reality, but we felt that both actually improved our experience (an overnight in Melbourne was cancelled because of port congestion but replaced with calls at Geelong and Eden; and later the short evening stop at Phillip Island was replaced by a later departure from the overnight at Hobart).

   •  Unfortunately they didn’t make good use of the extra time on the second day at Hobart, so when our arrival was delayed by a port workers’ strike we had to choose between our included tour to Port Arthur and our extra-cost evening tour to Bonarong.  They should have added more excursion on the second day.

   •  Other than that, the included tour offerings were extensive and interesting.  We did book several extra-cost excursions, which were all excellent and worth the cost – but there were good choices among the included tours every day of the cruise.  This makes Silversea’s move to included excursions a valuable addition for us.

 

At the beginning of this thread I said, “all Silversea has to be is Azamara with better ships.”  At the end of the cruise, I am happy to conclude that it is that and more.  The ships are certainly better (Whisper is one of the oldest in the fleet – the same age as the Azamara ships – and we are very happy with it and will be even more so when the coming dry dock adds the Arts Café.  We are really looking forward to our upcoming cruises on Endeavour (in Svalbard) and Ray (in the Caribbean, with a relaxed dress code that fits that area and our style).

 

Silversea is on our short list for future cruise planning (along with Azamara, Crystal, Noble Caledonia, and Windstar).  Choice is good!

 

Very nice summary, thank you!

 

Curious why SB and O are not on your short list?

[Texas Tillie]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Random Observations

 

•  Passengers on this cruise = 383 [out of 392 max double occupancy]

   Crew = 290 [out of 302 on website]

   Net result:  plenty of staff for every venue and occaision

 

•  Silver Whisper is the only cruise ship we have been on with trash cans in public spaces:  chained down at every elevator lobby and in a few other places (I think, can’t remember now)

 

•  Public restrooms are placed conveniently near every restaurant and event space [reports say this isn’t true on Nova]

 

•  Sweeteners:  there was a question about this earlier

   •  every venue has at least white sugar, brown sugar and aspartame (canderel brand in red packets or tubes)

   •  some also have stevia (canderel brand in light green tubes)

 

•  Individual bottles of Bulgari toiletries – so much more convenient that pump bottles mounted on the walls (even though I don’t particularly like the Green Tea scent)

 

Crystal has trash cans by all the elevators.

[Lois R]

Hi Jazz, what a wonderfully, well written review😀 Glad you both had such a good time.

 

As for the price of LaDame? This is just one person's opinion, but no way I am paying 160.00 and I sailed on Nova back in November. 

 

Oh, welcome back😀

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Very nice summary, thank you!

 

Curious why SB and O are not on your short list?

Oceania:  main problem is itineraries, that is their penchant for changing them (after final payment) in bad ways.  If Azamara is forced to cancel a port, the captains have authority to find a replacement; O just adds a sea day.  O has also been reducing time in port, while Azamara has kept and redoubled their focus on port stays and overnights.

 

Seabourn:  not sure why we haven't ever tried them, but there have been so many complaints on Cruise Critic about cutbacks that I don't even research them.

[ak1004]

41 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Oceania:  main problem is itineraries, that is their penchant for changing them (after final payment) in bad ways.  If Azamara is forced to cancel a port, the captains have authority to find a replacement; O just adds a sea day.  O has also been reducing time in port, while Azamara has kept and redoubled their focus on port stays and overnights.

 

Seabourn:  not sure why we haven't ever tried them, but there have been so many complaints on Cruise Critic about cutbacks that I don't even research them.

 

I think all lines have their share of bad reviews, including SS. Some of those reviews are just ridiculous. 

 

O board has few whiners, they just keep whining about everything. Personally I don't have clear evidence that O cancels ports more than other lines, but they have a big communication issue. People are much less likely to complain if they are communicated properly and/or offered some compensation. O does not communicate well and never offers compensation for cancelled ports. That said, they do replace cancelled ports with another port based on our experience, but it's not always possible.

 

I know few people who continue sailing on SB and enjoy it very much, so I wouldn't dismiss them. 

[ak1004]

P.S. a lot of upset and unhappy guests on both SS and SB boards and social media groups due to cancelled ports and other changes. lay don’t think that Oceania is worse than other lines when it comes to port cancellations. But I guess perception is everything.

[labrasett]

13 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

P.S. a lot of upset and unhappy guests on both SS and SB boards and social media groups due to cancelled ports and other changes. lay don’t think that Oceania is worse than other lines when it comes to port cancellations. But I guess perception is everything.

I have to say I get particularly cross about complaints about missed ports.   The reasons are almost always pretty obvious at the time and are way outside the control of Silversea.   Changes to itineraries are generally brought about because of changes in berthing and on shore arrangements which again are things that Silversea cant control.   It is disappointing but the crew on SSC seem to do their utmost to make the best of what they have got.   We were on Whisper the cruise before Host Jazzbeau and I would tend to agree with his comments although we didnt go to trivia or bingo!   I did enjoy Dover Sole and two styles of lobster in the MDR but mostly I dont enjoy the style of cooking at dinner on SSC generally but I am perfectly happy to pick and choose and eat only those items from the menu which I fancy.  I thoroughly enjoy the lunch buffets and always find something delicious and breakfast is perfect for me as I only wish for fresh fruit and yoghourt.   I am very fortunate to come home only slightly heavier than I go away due to being so picky but I fear the weight I do gain is more related to wines and champagne than food.   Onwards and upwards, it will be the Endeavour for us next.