Does Silversea Have These Features?

[toolworker]

Do Silversea ships have these features?

 

1. 1. Booking and changing tours at reception 24/7

2. Booking and changing things on the app - tours, dining reservations, ... ?

3. Quietvox or equivalent for tours (phone app doesn't count)

4. Starlink internet

5. Play enrichment talks on TV with pause, resume, save your place.

6. 800 number to call Reception from shore for international phone charges only.

 

I'm asking because we've been cruising Regent lately, and it doesn't have any of them (except phasing in Starlink).  I've seen these on other lines but can't remember which lines have which ones.

[Gourmet Gal]

I see not much response so I’ll share what I know.

1.  The excursion desk has set hours, not 24/7 for sure and I don’t know why that would even be necessary.  I will say that if you don’t want to go on a tour it’s a simple matter of turning in your tickets.  We’ve never been charged for cancelling any last minute included tours.
2.  The App and the Interactive TV seemed flukey on my last cruise so didn’t use them much.

3.  Yes, unfortunately the tour groups are so large that the Quiet Vox system is necessary.

4.  Yes to Starlink but you’ll still want to purchase the upgraded plan.

5.  Don’t know how interactive those recordings are.  They aren’t very long anyway.

6.  You’re given a number to call for each port in the event you have a problem.  That’s all I know about that because luckily I’ve never had to call!

[mahasamatman]

1 hour ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Yes to Starlink but you’ll still want to purchase the upgraded plan.

 

I second this. The standard Internet is useless.

[toolworker]

12 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

I see not much response so I’ll share what I know.

1.  The excursion desk has set hours, not 24/7 for sure and I don’t know why that would even be necessary.  I will say that if you don’t want to go on a tour it’s a simple matter of turning in your tickets.  We’ve never been charged for cancelling any last minute included tours.
2.  The App and the Interactive TV seemed flukey on my last cruise so didn’t use them much.

3.  Yes, unfortunately the tour groups are so large that the Quiet Vox system is necessary.

4.  Yes to Starlink but you’ll still want to purchase the upgraded plan.

5.  Don’t know how interactive those recordings are.  They aren’t very long anyway.

6.  You’re given a number to call for each port in the event you have a problem.  That’s all I know about that because luckily I’ve never had to call!

Thanks, @Gourmet Gal!

 

1. On Regent, it's not so much cancelling - people just don't show up for free tours, which is most of them. But since they're free, people are also prone to change plans - and that can be inconvenient. Destination Services has limited hours outside of which nothing can be done. During scheduled morning hours, they're usually dispatching tours so not at the counter. When they are open, there can be a wait.

 

3. I love Quietvox. I can be 100' away taking photos and not miss a word, and I don't care how large the group is.

 

5. Enrichment lectures are generally 45 or 50 minutes. If they just loop on TV, as on Regent, you always come in somewhere in the middle.

 

6. Sounds like you're talking about the port agent's phone number, which would probably be just as good in an emergency. I think most cruise lines, or at least high end lines, have a number (and email address) direct to the ship, but some lines have a surcharge for the phone call.

[Gourmet Gal]

9 hours ago, toolworker said:

6. Sounds like you're talking about the port agent's phone number, which would probably be just as good in an emergency. I think most cruise lines, or at least high end lines, have a number (and email address) direct to the ship, but some lines have a surcharge for the phone call.

Really, how often in your cruising life will you ever need to use that number and I would think if you had to use it the last thing on your mind would be who’s paying for the call.

[toolworker]

4 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Really, how often in your cruising life will you ever need to use that number and I would think if you had to use it the last thing on your mind would be who’s paying for the call.

I would think that if a cruise line's passenger needed to use that number, the last thing on the cruise line's mind would be making them haul out their credit card and read in the number so the cruise line didn't have to pay for the call.

 

Some companies put themselves in the customers' shoes. Some don't.

 

(Regent doesn't. See the list in my original post.)