Why is Whisper the only of the quartet with serivce issues?

[Pop-I]

From trolling the boards, i see that Whisper is the only SS ship with service issues. Questions: why is that, and what is SS doing about it -- if anything?

[DebbieH103]

Some of the service issues I read about were during a short time frame (when people also didn't like the executive chef). I hope some of that is cleared up. We've been on her twice and had wonderful service.

 

They really read those comment cards, and people need to do the mid-cruise one. They try to correct things right on board. That seems to be much more effective than waiting until you return.

[meow!]

Yes, but writing on those comment cards makes the case "personal", rather than "material". And they get to know who you are! For example, we cyber cats try to be honest, objective commentators, while staying in cyber space. For us ordinary cats, it is the content, validity and usefulness of the comments, that we emphasize on, which we hope the cruise line will pay attention to, and other readers can comment on .. meow!

[Hobar]

these upper end cruise lines are sophisticated enough that if you sign your name, you won't get a waiter who comes up to you the next day and says "you're the one!." anonymity may be nice but as others have said, they really want to make your cruise enjoyable and if you Do get personal attention to your issue, that's a "good" thing. and they take them all into account.

[DebbieH103]

Agreed, they will attempt to fix it during the cruise, not make things worse. I have told a number of times about my experience with the spa issue that was addressed while on board. We have had a couple of other things, too. Each thing was addressed immediately, and we were checked on a bunch and called by name.

 

Choosing to remain anonymous is a personal choice but then you cannot hope for a fix until the next trip whereas you could have got a solution on the current trip.

 

I know a lot of resort managers in land-based venues, and they circulate the comment cards to all employees in all departments. People get awards based on these type things, and they pride themselves in striving for improvement. I am a firm beleiver in this tool.

[freddie]

I emphatically agree with Debbie that making specific comments on the comment cards is much more useful than making comments on these message boards. First, we should not assume that Silversea staff read these boards religiously. Only a very small percentage of SS passengers post of these boards or even know they exist. Further, one can make all the cute feline puns in the world (and I am a genuine cat lover and kitty daddy), but without letting SS know a problem exists, it is quite unrealistic to expect SS to correct it. I don't understand this apparent need to remain cyberspaced-out anonymous. One will not be keel-hawled, left in some remote port, or otherwise treated with disdain because one has made a comment or complaint about some aspect of SS's product. On the contrary, we found that our comments not only resulted in remarkably fast corrective action but also seemed to make the crew more friendly to us. Perhpas they also know about problems but are not able to safely comment on them... When a passenger comments, that may lead to a corrective action that benefits the crew as well.

 

Cheers, Fred

[meow!]

Thank you all kindly for your input. We had not experienced any bad experience while on board that would require an immediate correction (see our previous reports) other than one burnt out pizza delivered to our cabin which we threw away! So short of anything that requires immediate attention, it is more interesting to meow to you all nice folks here on this board!

[DebbieH103]

All the more reason to do the card! They need to know when they are doing things right, too.

[Pop-I]

on Seabourn (call me a snob) i never - i repeat NEVER - had to complain or in any way comment on less than stellar service. Silversea, on the other hand, seems to have ongoing service problems. i don't want to wait until mid-cruise on a 14 day cruise -- where we've already spend over $7,000 to get service issues resolve. i don't fear retailiation -my issue is that i want the service as good on Silversea as on Seabourn -is that really asking too much? and who at SS can i address my concern directly, if not on Cruise Critic??

[ging466]

Silversea, on the other hand, seems to have ongoing service problems. i don't want to wait until mid-cruise on a 14 day cruise -- where we've already spend over $7,000 to get service issues resolve.

 

I agree with Pop-I...I've just made my final payment for my cruise in December on Whisper. At almost $12k, reading about these continual service issues is not making me very happy. This is my first cruise on a so-called 6 star ship and everything should be perfect...for the amount of money I've just paid I am expecting that. However, I'm a very low maintenance cruiser so I'm wondering what people actually mean when they say 'poor service'. Is it crap food, slow dinner service, drinks not cold, uninteresting menus?

 

I'd be interested to hear from other Silversea regulars as to what service they have come to expect and receive.

 

Cheers

Ging466:confused:

[meow!]

December is less than four months away. You should be aware that if your voyage is the Christmas-NewYear one, it is especially expensive just because of that, and may not be fair comparison. Hopefully, after your voyage, you can tell all of us what is your assessment!

[ging466]

December is less than four months away. You should be aware that if your voyage is the Christmas-NewYear one, it is especially expensive just because of that, and may not be fair comparison. Hopefully, after your voyage, you can tell all of us what is your assessment!

 

Hi Meow

My voyage is not a Xmas/New Year voyage. I booked this trip in October last year and it is a solo fare (150% supplement) for a Vista suite.

 

But the cost isn't the issue...I want to know what regular Silversea passengers expect....what bang do they expect for their buck!

 

As mentioned in my earlier post, I'm a low maintenance cruiser and have not been on a luxury cruise before and have no idea really what to expect. Since I have only cruised recently on NCL type lines, I have a very low benchmark.

 

Cheers

Ging466

[meow!]

"Good afternoon, Mr/Ms Ging, here are some toiletries for you to choose. Do you like Bulgari, Aqua di Parma or Neutragena?" Something along those lines can be expected. Other than that will be your "luck". Wish you a nice voyage, and hope that you post your opinion in December.

[Hobar]

Ging, first, let me put your concern to rest - my mom is a single cruiser and has been for 12 years since my dad died - she cruises Seabourn, Silversea, and Crystal. She says that all offer unparalleled service, and introduced us to Seabourn 7 years ago, and we have cruised yearly (and sometimes two cruises a year), all SB except once on SeaDream and once on SS. Our experience on SS was not as pleasurable as on Seabourn or SeaDream, and my mom was with us on that SS cruise and she said it was an exception and to give it another try. The reason we prefer SB is b/c it is smaller (200 passengers) and really does have a more intimate feel, and all the crew and officers know your name by the 2nd day. I did not find that on SS - but then again, it was a highly discounted (for SS) cruise on the Mexican Riviera, so i think that might explain the service issues. Sorry for digressing - i'll now answer your question - i too do not consider myself high maintenance, i just want service to be even - i want everyone to be nice / friendly / gracious - and i did not find that on SS. They did not know my name or my favorite drink or my favorite food - believe it or not, they do on SB. (well, i do sound high maintenance - well, that's only b/c Seabourn made me that way!!!!) OK, i found that the guy (maitre 'd) in the Terrace restaurant barely smiled, the wait staff was not always that friendly, the person who arranges the tours was not helpful or accomodating -- really, just little things. Had i not been spoiled by Seabourn, i would have thought i'd died and gone to heaven, so i do believe you will have a wonderful, fabulous time. We are returning to SS b/c they are offerring a great itinerary in Asia that Seabourn is not, and we are hopeful this experience WILL be stellar. Also, food on SB is true Charlie Palmer wonderful but i am not such a foodie and think SS food is fine, and now i see in the new brochure that SS is offerring new healthy / diet conscious food and smoothies (called "energy drinks"). Can't wait to hear about your trip. Have a ball!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Truly, SS, SB, SD (SeaDream) are all like nothing you've ever experiences. We just came back from 2 weeks in Spain - NOT on a cruise, and although we stayed in 5 star hotels, we did miss a cruise!

[IdRathrBCruzn]

Just was on the Whisper Aug 23-30 and service was absolutely fantastic. We had no complaints and even thought service exceeded our expectations. Food was very good, too.

[shipsmail]

We were just back from the Whisper. Our cruise from Athens to Venice was outstanding in quality and service as always (this was our second cruise this year on the Whisper). We have given some minor questions on the midcruise comment card. They reacted immediately and exchanged our matresses the same evening. We could not complain about anything.:)

[ldimmock]

Hi, I was on the same cruise and couldn't fault it. I am not sure why there has been so much comment on the Whisper.

 

I was on the Cloud a couple of months ago and both ships have yet again lived up to expectations. One point I would note is that the Maitre D on both ships was Heidi who was excellent.

[duct tape]

The problems were earlier this year. Enough time has passed that things should be OK by now. From these postings, it sounds like they are. All of the ships have been through a rough patch at some point in time and it seems they are all back to their SS selves!! We can all celebrate.

[jettman]

I am glad to hear that service has improved on Whisper, as we have our eye on a future trip on her. However, the implication of his comment is that there is a different standard of service for "deeply discounted" cruises versus those that are priced at "retail". I am curious as to the view of this experienced board...Is this factually the case? Are there 2 levels of service? One for full "Retail" cruises, and one for crusies that are priced aggressively?

[DebbieH103]

My first SS cruise was on Whisper on one of those "shorties" from 2006 that a bunch griped about. Of course, I was on the second one after all the complaints on the first were brought to management's attention. I must say our experience was exceptional. We paid plenty, but there were two big groups that paid much less. There wasn't a lower level of service. On our 3 times on the bigger SS ships, a few did learn our name, and I know this past May there was more effort to do this, but on Wind, most knew our names. On each, if you went back to the same bar, they would remember the drink after 2 or 3 times. Wind, again was the most exceptional where they would name off the list of everything you ever had and ask if you wanted any of that or something new.

 

We just switched our April Asia from Shadow to Whisper for a better sale, and I am looking forward to our 3rd Whisper. We missed the pocket of bad service, I think. We were last on Whisper in December in Dubai, and I heard some complaints a few weeks later. We had more issues with Shadow, and we were on the last world cruise segment. The staff was tired, as were guests.

 

Even a "bad" SS cruise meets 95% of my expectations because there are so many good things about it, and a "good" one may meet 98%. I hope that never changes.