Live Spirit Cape Town to Mahe Feb 11 to 26

[Silver Spectre]

Joined in Cape Town on Sunday with gorgeous weather. Unfortunately the ship has a seriously weird vibe onboard. Many Grand Voyagers are not happy about being turfed off in Mahe,  with the announcement letter only arriving a couple of days ago. There are also a significant number of very unhappy crew and service levels are pretty awful at times.

[jpalbny]

Good to have you back, Silver. Sorry the atmosphere is so weird. I can see how these drastic changes could put everyone in a funk - hope that improves over the voyage.

[spinnaker2]

Happy sailing!!!

 

[PaulaJK]

We had already arrived in CPT when notified that we would not be sailing on to

Dubai. This reflected poorly on SilverSea. The cancellation is not articulated by senior staff and is an elephant  in the room or low lying fog obscuring the horizon. My impression is that many pax are trying to accept the inevitability of the geopolitical situation and the many changes in travel plans. Some crew members are quite upset, worried about their jobs and economics. There is a shortage of merriment, enthusiasm and positive excitement in both groups. For ourselves, we have not suffered poor service so far but the concerns noted above do put a pall over things. The ‘shortfalls’ I have experienced seem more systemic or line inspired..a tedious digital tv program for all/ daily information, a weak hair salon , beautiful but non operational settings for caviar service, a sauced dish that appeared without the sauce.

Will follow your posts w interest..and hope for better impressions. 

[Silver Spectre]

Valentines Day and we have just arrived in PE.

[Silver Spectre]

This morning, at 9:45, we had the express cappuccino delivery in La Terrazza, taking less than 60 seconds. Somewhat of a turn around from 2 days ago when 25 minutes and three requests failed to produce one. Perhaps it’s because almost all the guests are off the ship on safari.

[ARDXXX]

We disembarked on Sunday and this was by far the poorest Silversea Cruise we have ever experienced, we were only on for two weeks and if it had been our first Silversea Cruise we would have great reservations about booking another. Many issues about very limited and poor and repetitive menu in Main restaurant, only three main courses, a couple of starters and one dessert on the daily changing menu. I had a word with Oliver the manager and he said it was to prevent waste! And it was head office that devised the new menu.

The service was intermittent in quality, we waited over two and a quarter hours one evening for two courses, which when they arrived were not even what we ordered, it took half an hour to even get the menu and as long for a glass of water.

The ship seems a little tired and generally Silversea stating that they provide a six star experience is a bit of a joke. I agree that the communication was very poor and feel very sorry for the way the people on grand voyage have been treated. We were on a group of 23 and the general opinion of many of our group was that it was very poor and not a great experience.

[Silver Spectre]

@ARDXXXsorry to hear that. So far have eaten dinner twice in Indochine, food good and to our liking, service ok, apart the coffee issue, and once on the grill where the service was patchy and looked understaffed. Lunch on the grill was poor, both fish and Camembert overcooked and returned. Better when replaced. The Arts Cafe is good, the bars also good and most wines that I like are onboard. Will be going to Silver Note tonight and will report further observations.

[Silver Spectre]

Atlantide lunch with seafood medley and a veggie leek tart

[jpalbny]

That looks far too healthy. Hopefully things are looking up, and the improved coffee service is a sign of better things to come! 

[GonzoWCS]

Following along.  We have friends on board with you now!

 

Cheers

[Liberty Shield]

It is our first cruise with Silversea. Boarded in Cape Town on Sunday. Yes we were disappointed that our back to back cruise from Mahe to Dubai has been cancelled but fully support the decision that had to be made for the safety of all passengers and crew. So far we cannot fault the service we have received . We have dined in La Dame,La Terrazza, Indochine and Atlantide  an have found the food to be better than anything that we have experienced on any other cruise line. 

[Silver Spectre]

1 hour ago, Liberty Shield said:

It is our first cruise with Silversea. Boarded in Cape Town on Sunday. Yes we were disappointed that our back to back cruise from Mahe to Dubai has been cancelled but fully support the decision that had to be made for the safety of all passengers and crew. So far we cannot fault the service we have received . We have dined in La Dame,La Terrazza, Indochine and Atlantide  an have found the food to be better than anything that we have experienced on any other cruise line. 

Interesting to get a different perspective from new SS cruisers. Mine is based on 20 years  with SS and a number of cruises since lockdown and the RCL takeover. I also have friends on the Whisper at the moment who experiencing similar issues.

[Silver Spectre]

Today’s cappuccino at breakfast was produced in 4 minutes and the staff are significantly more attentive, so things are looking up. Today is our second day at sea and the weather has improved. The swell is down and we have sun again. All is good apart from Trivia, where we are being thrashed by the Grand voyage teams.

[Silver Spectre]

Along with the retrograde dancers (remember the days of Jean Anne Ryan) SS has now tipped their corporate toe back into the cesspit that is the art market and allowed the Spirit to be adorned with many series of expensive prints. Oh, and there is an art curator too!

[Mayflower1]

Good Morning Mr Silver from a dull and wet UK .

Surely SS are not going down the Art Auction Route !!!! - If so it merely shows how far standards have fallen recently - Food, Entertainment, Communication - where next ?

I hope you have a great Cruise and look forward to your further Reports.

[Silver Spectre]

3 minutes ago, Mayflower1 said:

Good Morning Mr Silver from a dull and wet UK .

Surely SS are not going down the Art Auction Route !!!! - If so it merely shows how far standards have fallen recently - Food, Entertainment, Communication - where next ?

I hope you have a great Cruise and look forward to your further Reports.

No, it’s not the Art Auction Route, it’s the same stuff that used to be on here 12 years ago with the Andrew Weiss Gallery in LA.

[Mayflower1]

Thank you for the update which is a slight relief.

[FlyerTalker]

5 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

Along with the retrograde dancers (remember the days of Jean Anne Ryan)

 

I had almost successfully forgotten the JAR entertainment (which was quite "jarring").  No thanks to you for reminding me - will probably take years to get that out of my brain again.

 

5 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

allowed the Spirit to be adorned with many series of expensive prints. Oh, and there is an art curator too!

 

Of course, you have to note "the egg" in Terrazza, and the one-legged woman painting at the central staircase on 7.  Plus the Chagall print of "Moses Blessing over Joshua", where Moses looks like a crazed rabbit.

 

Inside word is that the "curator" (who implies this is his personal collection) is not the most well-liked by the crew.  Plus, his daily caviar intake must be bankrupting someone.

 

 

[jpalbny]

I think JAR was in charge of the entertainment on our very first cruise (The Norway, January 1993), IIRC. No unlimited drinks on that cruise, so my memory may be intact.

[Silver Spectre]

Very rough last night and when we reached Tolagnaro this morning the Authorities told the ship that the port is closed due to adverse weather conditions, so now we have sea days 4 and 5 on our way to Reunion.

[tgh]

Good Luck ;  weather map for the next few days around Reunion looks positively pregnant

with portent 😰

[PaulaJK]

Other than possibly sharing SS’s waiter one breakfast, our dining service has been very good in all venues, as has bar ( aka salvation) service. Cuisine has varied from very good to some unchewable meat entreesThere just is no fizz to this cruise /JMO/

Entertainment seems a bit spotty w on site performers appearing on stage frequently..a movie at 9:30 last night and staff show tonight. We do not see ourselves on Spirit again. Perhaps Silversea will not see us again either as their cash grab of notifying us of the cancellation on Friday pre Sunday embarkation…plus their very expedient cancellation of the Middle East leg to

support their cruise schedule in the Med has cost us thousands of dollars. Now I hear that they are not refunding thr invoiced fare for the cancelled segment but are pro rating it and we can except to receive close to 50%. Hope this is not accurate…how can you prorate a cancelled cruise on a back to back w 2 invoices?? Hard to feel abused and happy simultaneously.

[MrsWaldo]

I’m definitely not doing an onboard booking on my next cruise.  
 

In reality I got 15% off, a cruise that was ok for dates, but not a preferred option and a lot of last minute organising for other things 

 

I truly think they should have honoured my onboard booking for the cancelled cruise and kept up the whopping $100 OBC 

 

The only future cruise I will book will need to be heavily discounted and last minute 

Edited February 18 by MrsWaldo

[labrasett]

On 2/15/2024 at 11:42 AM, Silver Spectre said:

Interesting to get a different perspective from new SS cruisers. Mine is based on 20 years  with SS and a number of cruises since lockdown and the RCL takeover. I also have friends on the Whisper at the moment who experiencing similar issues.

I am sorry to hear that I also have friends (two lots) on the Whisper and they are having a wonderful time.