Royal Caribbean acquisition of silversea

[ryansmousehouse]

My first silversea cruise is happening in June...I keep reading about cutbacks an other issues with the silversea acquisition by Royal group. I keep getting the impression that it is a recent acquisition when in reality royal acquired a 60 percent interest in 2018 and acquired the remaining 40 percent in 2020...am I missing something... hasn't royal been bean counting for at least 4 years

[Stickman1990]

1 hour ago, ryansmousehouse said:

...am I missing something... hasn't royal been bean counting for at least 4 years

Yes and investing in new or acquired ships such as Silver Endeavour and Silver Nova and Ray - so if the have made “cut backs” they’ve also made investments in the brand

[Host Jazzbeau]

The investments were decided on years ago.  The cutbacks started recently and have accelerated.  And does anybody think the two new Royal installs were given orders to undo them?  

[Stickman1990]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The investments were decided on years ago.  The cutbacks started recently and have accelerated.  And does anybody think the two new Royal installs were given orders to undo them?  

 

Really? So when Crystal went bankrupt in 2022 and Crystal Endeavor was put up for sale - Silversea had prior to the RCL acquisition already planned for that to happen and when it was sold by tender they knew just what to bid to win it over the competition. That being the case they're very good planners indeed!

 

My point is that there has been money invested in the Silversea operation - so those complaining about the changes need to consider that element as well

Edited April 13 by Stickman1990

[RetiredOnVacation]

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The investments were decided on years ago.  The cutbacks started recently and have accelerated.  And does anybody think the two new Royal installs were given orders to undo them?  

I'm not convinced that what's seen as 'cutbacks' is actually wastage reduction, because something might not be always presented as it was once but is still available on demand. Eg Suite fruit bowls, or the restaurant menus which are still impressive, but just not so comprehensive as before ie. Primo & Secondi courses in La Terraza, which people often skipped or short cut. 

Consider also the recent investment in other f&b onboard provisions such as the brilliant (imo) SALT and Arts Cafe! And the much improved Dolce Vita layout on Moon & Dawn cf. Muse. Would these be down to RC input ? 

Edited April 13 by RetiredOnVacation

[jollyjones]

And consider that if not owned by RCI with its deep pockets, SS would probably not have survived the Covid shutdown.

Especially since it is possible that Manfredi sold the first tranche to RCI because he was already a bit over-extended with the new ship orders (I don't know that for a fact but have heard suggestions that it was so).

 

I for one am very glad that my favourite cruise line is still sailing at all, even with some modifications, and I'm very excited to be boarding the Nova in a couple of days to enjoy finding out all about her.

 

 

[shipsmail]

We were onboard the MUSE in September last year and were impressed by the service again after having spent more than 500 nights on Silversea. We look forward to the SILVER ENDEAVOUR later this month and hope the standards are still high. There has always been differences between the ships and the current staff, be it better or worse.

I am more concerned about the increase in the rates lately. 

[TLCOhio]

36 minutes ago, jollyjones said:

And consider that if not owned by RCI with its deep pockets, SS would probably not have survived the Covid shutdown.  Especially since it is possible that Manfredi sold the first tranche to RCI because he was already a bit over-extended with the new ship orders (I don't know that for a fact but have heard suggestions that it was so).  I for one am very glad that my favourite cruise line is still sailing at all, even with some modifications, and I'm very excited to be boarding the Nova in a couple of days to enjoy finding out all about her.

 

Appreciate these above great comments and follow-up from our Bermuda friend. Well summarized!!

 

YES, there are various pro/con, plus/minus factors involved.  During our 18-days, Mumbai to Singapore experiences with Silversea and on the Silver Moon, many aspects were very good to excellent.  But, there were aspects in the three-days in Mumbai where what was promised/claimed by Silversea fell significantly short.  Way off and not good.  Sorry to be so blunt.  If you need specifics, I can provide them.   Plus, some goofs in connection with the SS-provided tours during our cruise.  

 

The challenges are more with the "bean-counters" in Miami and Monaco.  Those finance-types are out of touch with promised and expected "customer service" priorities.  Their short-sightedness dictates policies that tarnish the brand.  

 

Overall, as someone following closely the finances of the three major cruise companies, Royal Caribbean has done better as viewed by the stock market compared to Carnival and Norwegian.  BUT, RCL and the others are still far, far away from their past value peaks.  And, most of the big billions of debt are still hanging over their heads.  Plus, billions of dollars in new ship orders, etc.  And, when does the next recession hit to affect future bookings?

 

I understand the need to "pinch pennies", but how do they balance that with maintaining a high, superior level of service/quality.  Not easy to make everyone happy??

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

India to Singaore 2024: Live/Blog with many visuals, including “Golden Triangle”, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2992045-live-terryohio-india-to-signapore-silver-moon-rising-pix’s/

[CruisinPashmina]

After many years of reading Cruise Critic, I have gotten to know the engaged posters. You learn to depend on many of their “voices”. I will be very interested in Jollyjones’ opinions of The Silver Nova. Yesterday I wrote a negative review and it actually hurt me to do this, but management needs to be thoroughly aware that some of their paying customers are seriously disappointed in the changes being made in their beloved Silversea.
It may sound strange, even self serving, but I feel that the WONDERFUL crew is being let down by management. I have personally seen passengers being disrespectful to individuals who were trying to be helpful. In one recent case a man was offered a jacket as he entered the main dining room on a formal night, he loudly refused, causing a horrible scene. When he realized that he would not be seated, he grabbed the jacket, strode to a seat and flamboyantly hung the jacket off the back of the seat. It was truly shocking. This just has to be demoralizing for the crew…many of whom I have known for many years and some are actually multi generational.

 

Is the new relaxed dress code in any way responsible for general lowering of standards? All I can say is that when my children were dressed up, they were always on their best behavior. Could this apply to adults spending mega money on an “ Ultra Luxury” cruise? Gee, I don’t know.

This all said, I leave in a week to join the Dawn, and am booked on the Spirit in September and on the Shadow in December. I will report back.

 

[Gourmet Gal]

2 hours ago, CruisinPashmina said:

Is the new relaxed dress code in any way responsible for general lowering of standards?

Doubtful. There is no excuse for such poor behavior but passengers could also be frustrated with poor food, crowded excursions, nickel and diming, and the myriad of other issues that have arisen as of late.  

[RetiredOnVacation]

3 hours ago, CruisinPashmina said:

After many years of reading Cruise Critic, I have gotten to know the engaged posters. You learn to depend on many of their “voices”. I will be very interested in Jollyjones’ opinions of The Silver Nova. Yesterday I wrote a negative review and it actually hurt me to do this, but management needs to be thoroughly aware that some of their paying customers are seriously disappointed in the changes being made in their beloved Silversea.
It may sound strange, even self serving, but I feel that the WONDERFUL crew is being let down by management. I have personally seen passengers being disrespectful to individuals who were trying to be helpful. In one recent case a man was offered a jacket as he entered the main dining room on a formal night, he loudly refused, causing a horrible scene. When he realized that he would not be seated, he grabbed the jacket, strode to a seat and flamboyantly hung the jacket off the back of the seat. It was truly shocking. This just has to be demoralizing for the crew…many of whom I have known for many years and some are actually multi generational.

 

Is the new relaxed dress code in any way responsible for general lowering of standards? All I can say is that when my children were dressed up, they were always on their best behavior. Could this apply to adults spending mega money on an “ Ultra Luxury” cruise? Gee, I don’t know.

This all said, I leave in a week to join the Dawn, and am booked on the Spirit in September and on the Shadow in December. I will report back.

 

There's no excuse for behaviour like that and I'd never condone it even with a confused and changing dress code. Chill, you're on vacation, it can't be that important! 

 

I wonder if it's more the lowering of fares post covid to attract business back (they're rising again now of course) that may have attracted a type of person that wouldn't previously have cruised with SS. Maybe the pricing now will mean those types return to MSC, X etc! ⛑️

Edited April 14 by RetiredOnVacation

[Gourmet Gal]

Unfortunately, income strata does not deter boorish behavior nor a sense of entitlement.

[drron29]

8 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Doubtful. There is no excuse for such poor behavior but passengers could also be frustrated with poor food, crowded excursions, nickel and diming, and the myriad of other issues that have arisen as of late.  

Doubtful as the incident I mentioned on this current cruise which was disrespectful , rude and borderline racist was by a fellow of his second night on SS. It was also when he was offered a jacket on a formal night.

[commodoredave]

If there’s a major cruise line out there that hasn’t cut back and changed in the past 5 or so years, I’d be interested in knowing who. But the best ones know how to save money with minimal impact on the customer experience. With SS, the situation has been exacerbated by over-promising in the company’s marketing, without the ability to consistently deliver. SS might be better off if they under-promised and over-delivered more often.

[Joc123]

16 hours ago, Invited On-board said:

The tour continued without Mrs Angry of Adelaide and husband ( who had to follow

Just confirming this is not me!!!

[Tothesunset]

4 hours ago, Joc123 said:

Just confirming this is not me!!!

Ah. The old double-bluff! 😲