First Impressions of Silversea (Whisper)

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, labrasett said:

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.

 

We sail for ports. I could tolerate overcooked meat and mediocre entertainment (among other things), but if I knew that a certain cruise line cancels ports more than other lines, I would definitely cross that line from my list. I just don't believe this is the case. I believe that no cruise line would cancel ports unless they absolutely have to. 

 

This is why we have O, SB, SS, Azamara and Windstar on our short list of lines we would sail with, given the right itinerary and price.

Edited February 18 by ak1004

[drron29]

But Silversea does cancel ports after you have booked and well in advance of sailing.

We had our Back to back Singapore-Doha-Athens May 25 cruise get a 6 day gap between sailing in and out of Doha. They expected us to pay for the 6 nights in Doha as well as the inconvenience of packing then unpacking again on the ship. They won't say why but I think it likely to be a 6 day Middle eastern charter.

So we cancelled our Doha-athens voyage and instead added a Capetown-Capetown cruise to our 26 Mahe-Capetown cruise as we wanted to see a little more of Eastern Africa. However about 2 weeks after booking the cruises suddenly became waitlisted. Now back on but now it has become a west African cruise which we have already done.

In late November after our last Muse cruise we were rusted on SS passengers. now I am thinking it's time to look elsewhere.

[ak1004]

29 minutes ago, drron29 said:

But Silversea does cancel ports after you have booked and well in advance of sailing.

We had our Back to back Singapore-Doha-Athens May 25 cruise get a 6 day gap between sailing in and out of Doha. They expected us to pay for the 6 nights in Doha as well as the inconvenience of packing then unpacking again on the ship. They won't say why but I think it likely to be a 6 day Middle eastern charter.

So we cancelled our Doha-athens voyage and instead added a Capetown-Capetown cruise to our 26 Mahe-Capetown cruise as we wanted to see a little more of Eastern Africa. However about 2 weeks after booking the cruises suddenly became waitlisted. Now back on but now it has become a west African cruise which we have already done.

In late November after our last Muse cruise we were rusted on SS passengers. now I am thinking it's time to look elsewhere.

 

My post was in response to OP saying that she will not sail on Oceania because they cancel ports and change itineraries. So my point was that all lines do it those days.

[drron29]

13 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

My post was in response to OP saying that she will not sail on Oceania because they cancel ports and change itineraries. So my point was that all lines do it those days.

But yours is not the only post on missed ports. So I was just pointing out some of the significant changes SS is making to scheduled ports.

[ak1004]

21 minutes ago, drron29 said:

But yours is not the only post on missed ports. So I was just pointing out some of the significant changes SS is making to scheduled ports.

I know. And it just confirms my theory that all lines have port cancellations.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, ak1004 said:

My post was in response to OP saying that she will not sail on Oceania because they cancel ports and change itineraries. So my point was that all lines do it those days.

"He"

 

The point about Oceania was that they were routinely changing time in port to arrive later and leave earlier than on the itinerary this past year to save fuel (they obfuscated by claiming it was for ecological reasons, but fuel saving was the only result – so I put it down to 'shrinkflation').  That threw off everybody's private tours (another sneaky way of forcing you to buy the ship excursions).  I'm not as paranoid as many, but I do see NCL bringing their 'Nickel-and-dime Cruise Line' approach to Oceania.

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

"He"

 

The point about Oceania was that they were routinely changing time in port to arrive later and leave earlier than on the itinerary this past year to save fuel (they obfuscated by claiming it was for ecological reasons, but fuel saving was the only result – so I put it down to 'shrinkflation').  That threw off everybody's private tours (another sneaky way of forcing you to buy the ship excursions).  I'm not as paranoid as many, but I do see NCL bringing their 'Nickel-and-dime Cruise Line' approach to Oceania.

 

Well, people might say that Royal Caribbean bringing their 'Nickel-and-dime' approach to Silversea and Carnival bringing their 'Nickel-and-dime' approach to Seabourn.

 

Some people also say that O cancels ports to save money (while they actually lose tons of money by cancelling ports). And people who want to book private tours will continue doing it even with shortened times in ports.

 

I do agree with you that ecological reasons is just an excuse, and I agree that O communication is terrible. But personally I still like their product, and I don't believe that they cancel ports more than other lines, as you can read on numerous topics on SS and SB boards.

 

And my apologies for the mix up with your gender.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Some Seabourn fans on Cruise Critic definitely say that Carnival is ruining the line.  Celebrity is also being ruined [this from the perspective of someone for whom it was previously a favorite line] but I think that is a deliberate decision by the new (and prior) Celebrity management...  Since I haven't sailed (or even followed closely) Silversea in the past, I can't compare my cruise to the 'good old days' – but I can hope that what I experienced is the new normal on which to base my future expectations.

 

But – if we're getting down and dirty with Mass Market cruise line comparisons – nobody does Nickel-and-Diming better(!) than NCL.  They are the only line I know of that prohibits bringing any beverages on board – even water – even bottles of water that you BOUGHT on the ship earlier in the day!  That is truly world-class Nickel-and-Diming!!!

[ak1004]

Well, Oceania does allow brining any drinks on board, including wine. So I definitely don't think Oceania does any Nickel-and-Diming.

 

Speaking of which - to me, SS does more Nickel-and-Diming by charging extra for 2 restaurants, premium internet, laundry etc. O doesn't claim to be all inclusive, SS does. So what's the justification for all the extra charges?

 

Don't get me wrong, none of this is a deal breaker to me, I will gladly sail on both lines given the right itinerary and price - my point is that if you look hard enough, you will find enough negatives in any product.

 

btw, my understanding is that it was after Royal Caribbean acquisition that they brought back the unlimited black caviar (SS veterans, please correct me if I'm wrong). Also, we sailed on O first time in 2018 and then 3 times post Covid, personally I didn't see any difference in food and service.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

@ak1004 I'm happy that you're happy on Oceania.  We book for Itinerary first, so the reports I read about Oceania's shenanigans last year have put me off them until I read otherwise on a consistent basis.  [Note: our last cruise on O was in Jan. 2022.  We loved the ship (Riviera), the food and service, and the entertainment.  Our itinerary got changed more than any other cruise we have taken – but none of that was Oceania's fault (Covid anxiety by Caribbean islands) and we felt that O did a great job of finding us other 'ports in a storm' as it were.  I will consider them again once assured that I can expect that level of customer focus.]

[ak1004]

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

@ak1004 I'm happy that you're happy on Oceania.  We book for Itinerary first, so the reports I read about Oceania's shenanigans last year have put me off them until I read otherwise on a consistent basis.  [Note: our last cruise on O was in Jan. 2022.  We loved the ship (Riviera), the food and service, and the entertainment.  Our itinerary got changed more than any other cruise we have taken – but none of that was Oceania's fault (Covid anxiety by Caribbean islands) and we felt that O did a great job of finding us other 'ports in a storm' as it were.  I will consider them again once assured that I can expect that level of customer focus.]

 

We had itinerary changes on all three our post Covid sailings. On all of them they found us replacement ports for at least some of the cancelled ports.

 

We were disappointed, especially on the last cruise when we missed Lisbon and Porto, but we just learned to accept the fact that this is part of cruising. Our Dubai cruise on SS in 2022 also had few significant changes, and the main difference was that SS offered us compensation (which O never does).  

[Host Jazzbeau]

So, back to my trip report: after the cruise we had three lovely (if you can ignore hot and humid...) days in Sydney, staying at the Four Seasons and exploring The Rocks, the Opera House, CBD, and the Taronga Zoo.  Flight back on Qantas SYD–LAX was incredibly smooth, although the food didn't match the level of their flight over JFK–AKL (redeemed for me by a very good Aussie single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon), and our four checked bags all made it.

 

Final flight on American LAX–JFK was also very nice – their A321T business cubicles are more spacious than most, and the food and service were good.  But [and I hope @jpalbny is reading this] we got a scare about our checked luggage.  When we landed Apple 'Find My' reported that 3 of our bags were 'with us' on the plane, but the 4th was in Winslow, Arizona!  Humming the Eagles' song to relieve the anxiety, we proceeded to baggage claim to get our 3 bags and file a report on the stray.  Of course you have to wait until ALL the bags come off the belt before they'll talk to you, and ... what do you know, all four bags appeared [the 'missing' one came last, just to prolong the suspense].  Checking 'Find My' again, it admitted that the bag was now 'with us.'  But I was thinking of @jpalbny the whole time, hearing the sound of schadenfreude laughter in my ears...

[highplanesdrifters]

12 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

but the 4th was in Winslow, Arizona

One if our bags was at a Chick Fil-A. It eventually came home to roost and joined the other bags.

[daddyo]

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

So, back to my trip report: after the cruise we had three lovely (if you can ignore hot and humid...) days in Sydney, staying at the Four Seasons and exploring The Rocks, the Opera House, CBD, and the Taronga Zoo.  Flight back on Qantas SYD–LAX was incredibly smooth, although the food didn't match the level of their flight over JFK–AKL (redeemed for me by a very good Aussie single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon), and our four checked bags all made it.

 

Final flight on American LAX–JFK was also very nice – their A321T business cubicles are more spacious than most, and the food and service were good.  But [and I hope @jpalbny is reading this] we got a scare about our checked luggage.  When we landed Apple 'Find My' reported that 3 of our bags were 'with us' on the plane, but the 4th was in Winslow, Arizona!  Humming the Eagles' song to relieve the anxiety, we proceeded to baggage claim to get our 3 bags and file a report on the stray.  Of course you have to wait until ALL the bags come off the belt before they'll talk to you, and ... what do you know, all four bags appeared [the 'missing' one came last, just to prolong the suspense].  Checking 'Find My' again, it admitted that the bag was now 'with us.'  But I was thinking of @jpalbny the whole time, hearing the sound of schadenfreude laughter in my ears...

“Take it Easy”😀

[jpalbny]

Glad that the airtags lied, and all of your bags made it! At least it was on the way home though, so not as big a deal. Unless you had a few bottles of wine in that bag...

[Host Jazzbeau]

8 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Glad that the airtags lied, and all of your bags made it! At least it was on the way home though, so not as big a deal. Unless you had a few bottles of wine in that bag...

No, but I would have been growing a beard since my shaver was.  Also my (only) suit – how could I ever sail on Silversea again??? 😉

[FlyerTalker]

18 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

But [and I hope @jpalbny is reading this] we got a scare about our checked luggage.  When we landed Apple 'Find My' reported that 3 of our bags were 'with us' on the plane, but the 4th was in Winslow, Arizona!  Humming the Eagles' song to relieve the anxiety, we proceeded to baggage claim to get our 3 bags and file a report on the stray.  Of course you have to wait until ALL the bags come off the belt before they'll talk to you, and ... what do you know, all four bags appeared [the 'missing' one came last, just to prolong the suspense].  Checking 'Find My' again, it admitted that the bag was now 'with us.'  But I was thinking of @jpalbny the whole time, hearing the sound of schadenfreude laughter in my ears...

 

Any reason you just didn't use the bag tracing feature on the AA app?  The bag tags get scanned at the various steps along the way, so while you are waiting for pushback at LAX, you can know that the bags are loaded underneath you.  When I see that all the bags are loaded, it's sit back and relax time.

 

Ditto at any connection point too.

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I did check the AA app, and that bag was always shown as separated from the others.  I never got a clear indication that any of the bags was on the aircraft (as I do very clearly with the Delta app).

[jpalbny]

52 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

No, but I would have been growing a beard since my shaver was.  Also my (only) suit – how could I ever sail on Silversea again??? 😉

 

LOL. We'd still let you be the host even if you grew a beard. The absence of a suit, however, could be a deal breaker!

 

I love getting the (very occasional) notification from the DL app that my bag has been loaded onto the plane. Usually I just load it myself! No app required.

 

Though on our epic flight back from Victoria Falls, I was never so happy as I was when I saw that our checked bags were following us. We did an interline check-in at Livingstone, Zambia, all the way home, and I had great trepidation about doing so. However, it was the best choice because of the limited carry-on allowance on the first flight, and if I had only checked them in for that flight, I would have had to clear immigration/customs in JNB, only to just leave again. No way did I want to go through that.

 

So we checked the bags from LVI-JNB on South Africa Airlink, and the excellent agent interlined them to JNB-CDG on AF, then to CDG-ATL-ALB on DL. The DL app had the bags in the system as soon as they were checked in, in Zambia, but when they were actually loaded onto the plane at CDG... We had another glass of bubbly to celebrate!

[FlyerTalker]

18 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I did check the AA app, and that bag was always shown as separated from the others.  I never got a clear indication that any of the bags was on the aircraft (as I do very clearly with the Delta app).

 

Very strange.  Never had that with AA.  Might be some IT issues.

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Update on the shower door 'hack':  No need to use the phone cord to make a 'cat's cradle' – someone on our cruise pointed out that they offer these 'loufa' things that apparently the Brits use to abrade their skin in the shower 😁 – since we weren't using them that way, it turns out they are the perfect size to jam between the shower door and the jamb [see what I did there? 😂] and totally immobilize the door.

 

This works in heavy seas, but more importantly it also works while you are taking a shower to prevent leakage.  After a few attempts, I figured out that the best place to jam it is at the top – which even keeps the loufa dry and ready for the next user.

 

[sorry, no pictures – but you can probably find this hack on YouTube or The Google!]

[lincslady]

To put the record straight, not that they are much used nowadays, the word is 'loofah'.  Where it came from who knows, and hardly surprising that anyone other than a Brit. would know how to spell it!  (Could it be Indian in origin?)  Someone will know.

[Tothesunset]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffa_aegyptiaca

 

Wikipaedia - for all those things you didn't know you needed to know. 

[lincslady]

So we Brits spelt it all wrong after all.  I not only didn't know I needed to know all that, but rather feel that I don't especially want to know it either, as my head is already overfull of stuff, but thanks anyway, Tts.

[jpalbny]

Lola, nobody is spelling it wrong. Like most words taken from a language using a non-Roman alphabet, there can be several acceptable spellings.

 

Loofah is taken from an Arabic word. Luffa is actually the genus name of the plant on which the loofah grows.

 

Loofah is the actual entry in the OED. Wiktionary lists it that was also, with loofa and luffa as acceptable alternatives. Merriman-Webster says loofah, and luffa as a variant.

 

I've always used loofah (in a sentence, not the shower...)