First timer questions

[cruisevirgin24]

We have recently booked on the Ray's June 15th, 2024, Lisbon to Rome. I have set up our account and have booked dining reservations and excursions. Since our's is a 12 night cruise, I have ascertained that there will be 1 or 2 formal nights. However I can't see online which nights these will be in order to select the correct restaurant to dine in. Please can someone help me find this info on "my account"?

We took our first ever cruise in January on Regent's Grandeur (we are hoping to compare the 2 new ships). I would greatly appreciate some experienced cruisers giving me some tips on what to expect from Silverseas in comparison to Regent, dress, suite, staff, food & expeditions. We were Concierge on Grandeur and will be Medallion on Ray.

Thank you very much!

[scottjeanne]

When you go into you activities, they show a spread sheet type calendar.  There is a small bow tie next to the date if it is formal.  The icons are at the bottom of the page.

 

[stan01]

Rather than trying to compare in advance, I would go in with an open mind almost as if you'd never even been on Regent.  Give it a try and see what you like or don't like.  Both are very good products but each person is going to have their personal preferences -- sometimes quite strong.  I hope you find that both are very good experiences, but you may find there are a few little things that cause you to prefer one over the other.  Some people will place caviar at the top of their list, others place lounger cushions at the top of theirs.  Some people find there are lots of things a butler will do for them, others feel having a butler is unneeded and can't even figure out what the butler is supposed to do.  Some people will not eat in a buffet or do not drink alcohol.  Some people feel strongly they should be addressed by their name, others don't care.  Those are the types of things that seem to become differentiators.  

Edited March 8 by stan01

[gnome12]

21 minutes ago, scottjeanne said:

When you go into you activities, they show a spread sheet type calendar.  There is a small bow tie next to the date if it is formal.  The icons are at the bottom of the page.

 

Yes, but for my cruise, also departing June 15 but on the Dawn, there are NO bowties showing yet, even though restaurant reservations are available. (And more important for us, because they haven't changed the dress code on the Dawn as they have on the Nova and Ray.)

[Gourmet Gal]

It’s not unusual for the bowtie icon to show up fairly close to the sail date but in time to pack.  Also, I believe the dress code on Nova and Ray includes formal-optional so not as strict as the rest of the fleet.  There are rumors that it will roll out to the rest but no word on timing.

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, Gourmet Gal said:

It’s not unusual for the bowtie icon to show up fairly close to the sail date but in time to pack.  Also, I believe the dress code on Nova and Ray includes formal-optional so not as strict as the rest of the fleet.  There are rumors that it will roll out to the rest but no word on timing.

You are correct. Nova and Ray both have formal nights that are optional so formal attire is not necessary.

[babydrum]

3 hours ago, scottjeanne said:

When you go into you activities, they show a spread sheet type calendar.  There is a small bow tie next to the date if it is formal.  The icons are at the bottom of the page.

 

Thanks for that info.  I hadn't noticed the bowties.  I believe I read on one of the threads that you don't have to dress formal if you dine at La Terrazza just standard evening wear is acceptable?  Is that correct?

[Lois R]

29 minutes ago, babydrum said:

Thanks for that info.  I hadn't noticed the bowties.  I believe I read on one of the threads that you don't have to dress formal if you dine at La Terrazza just standard evening wear is acceptable?  Is that correct?

It is acceptable at any of the restaurants on Nova and Ray.

[babydrum]

3 minutes ago, Lois R said:

It is acceptable at any of the restaurants on Nova and Ray.

Sorry, I guess I highjacked the thread.  I was talking about fleetwide.  My cruise is on the Silver Moon.

[QueSeraSera]

2 hours ago, babydrum said:

My cruise is on the Silver Moon.

Then yes, you are correct.  If I remember right, the same relaxed dress code holds at the Grill, Spaccanapoli, and of course room service is always available.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Don't put too much faith in the bowties.  I booked La Terrazza to avoid formal nights but once onboard they decided to shift the second one to a different date.

[late2cruisin]

8 hours ago, gnome12 said:

Yes, but for my cruise, also departing June 15 but on the Dawn, there are NO bowties showing yet, even though restaurant reservations are available. (And more important for us, because they haven't changed the dress code on the Dawn as they have on the Nova and Ray.)

Yes, I was hoping they would change the dress code on our Dawn cruise before June. I'm assuming formal nights will mostly be on sea days...

[canderson]

10 hours ago, scottjeanne said:

When you go into you activities, they show a spread sheet type calendar.  There is a small bow tie next to the date if it is formal.  The icons are at the bottom of the page.

 

Not sure how often it happens, but on our 16 nt, 2 of 3 turned out to be on different nights than the bow ties indicated pre-cruise.

[scottjeanne]

Interesting.  We sail in three weeks.  I'll report back.  We have two formal nights scheduled.

[caviargal]

We are on Nova now and I asked some of the same questions.

I am quite disappointed in what they consider to be appropriate attire, especially based on what I read pre-cruise here and elsewhere.

We had dinner in Silver Note last night.  One couple was in joggers and sneakers and another couple was a woman in flip flops and husband in jeans and Hey Dudes.  Quite a few polos and khakis as well.  Same for the lounges. 

About 20% of the guests look fabulous every evening - IMO - and about 30% fit into the jeans and sneakers category, with the rest somewhere in the middle.

If you had a butler on Regent, you will likely be underwhelmed with the butlers on SS.  While ours is lovely, he simply has too many suites to service.  Our butler on RSSC was amazing and a highlight of our cruise.

We cannot get Perrier or Pellegrino as they provide their own water and do not offer it.  We asked for a specific brand of bourbon when we boarded and it is not available, nor the brand of soft drinks.  This was never an issue on Regent or Seabourn.

Dinner menu at Atlantide has one third the choices of Regent.  That said, the food and service have been very good, but variety is very much lacking.

We called reception and asked for them to arrange a taxi in St Lucia as we had a destination in mind and their daily agenda said this is a service they offer.  We were told no, they do not assist with taxis.

Entertainment is a weak spot IMO, as compared to Seabourn, our current favorite for all around experience.

I am not a fan of their TV system.  It is cumbersome and incomplete.  Fitness classes for example are not listed on the daily schedule at all.  One must go to page 27 (in our case) of the file on the TV to find them.

Staff is lovely. Ship is stunning!

Edited March 10 by caviargal

[Host Jazzbeau]

On Whisper last month I was able to get San Pelligrino everywhere.  The dining room waiters come around with pitchers of ship-made sparkling water, but had no problem getting a bottle of SP at every meal.  Also our Butler, despite having 15 cabins, always seemed to be hovering and ready to help – and kept our room stocked with SP from the moment I asked for it.  Different ships, different officers, different policies?

[Gourmet Gal]

12 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

On Whisper last month I was able to get San Pelligrino everywhere.  The dining room waiters come around with pitchers of ship-made sparkling water, but had no problem getting a bottle of SP at every meal.  Also our Butler, despite having 15 cabins, always seemed to be hovering and ready to help – and kept our room stocked with SP from the moment I asked for it.  Different ships, different officers, different policies?

Different policies or are the standards on Nova, the newest in the fleet, actually the direction the entire line in going in?

[caviargal]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

On Whisper last month I was able to get San Pelligrino everywhere.  The dining room waiters come around with pitchers of ship-made sparkling water, but had no problem getting a bottle of SP at every meal.  Also our Butler, despite having 15 cabins, always seemed to be hovering and ready to help – and kept our room stocked with SP from the moment I asked for it.  Different ships, different officers, different policies?

It's my first with SS so can't comment except to say it is not like this on Seabourn or Regent in my very recent experience.

[canderson]

6 hours ago, caviargal said:

We had dinner in Silver Note last night.  One couple was in joggers and sneakers and another couple was a woman in flip flops and husband in jeans and Hey Dudes.  Quite a few polos and khakis as well.  Same for the lounges. 

About 20% of the guests look fabulous every evening - IMO - and about 30% fit into the jeans and sneakers category, with the rest somewhere in the middle.

Some said it would never happen.  We predicted otherwise.