La Terrazza unavailable 11 December 2105

Last weekend we came to be within 120 days of sailing on Whisper which visits Aruba on 11th December. Upon going to Mysilversea I see that La Terrazza is not available that day. At this early stage there is no way it is fully booked so I wonder what the reason is.

My fear is that there is a large group on board who have taken it over for the night. The only other explanation I can think of is that the BBQ is back but I feel this is unlikely although sailing at 11.00 would give a stable mooring for the event.

Any other explanations occur to anyone?

First, no restaurant bookings on SS can be made beyond 2100. December 11, 2105 bookings are not possible. :)

The BBQ theory makes sense. I do not know the current status of BBQs on the fleet. Can anyone report whether they are been offered in the past several months?

Another possibility: SS assumes that many people will dine ashore and is thus closing the space in order that some wait/galley staff can have a bit of time shore. According to this theory, all onboard guests could be accommodated in the MDR.

Our only experience of Terrazza closures in the past resulted from Charter parties taking over the whole restaurant.Unfortunately it happened on two nights on a seven day charter,La Champagne restaurant was also closed for two nights for same group.In addition Panorama lounge closed on second night of cruise for welcome party for charter.Hope the BBQ is the reason on your cruise eastwoodboy as Charters are nightmare for normal clients.

I seriously doubt that you will have a charter group on board 11 December. It is just not the right time for group cruises so close to the Christmas season.

I would bet that they are planning an on deck BBQ as the ship will be in port late that night.

It is either the deck BBQ or a private dinner for the crew which has happened a number of times in the past.

Are the BBQs back?

I seriously doubt that you will have a charter group on board 11 December. It is just not the right time for group cruises so close to the Christmas season.

 

I would bet that they are planning an on deck BBQ as the ship will be in port late that night.

Prime time for Aussie groups as December/January are our summer holidays.A well known Aussie tour company uses Silverseas for their groups-50+ 0n our last cruise.

Are the BBQs back?

I believe it depends on the itinerary and possibly on the length of the cruise.

Thanks for the interesting comments and the one possibility I had not come up with was the crew party which I have never come across before in 16 SS voyages but this is a 7 Day cruise and would cause quite a scramble for bookings on the remaining nights. I would have thought a longer voyage would be more suitable to take it out of commission for a night. Whilst for us this is the first part of a back to back I suspect it is not the case for the majority.

It was my understanding that the BBQ was a thing of the past due to the dreaded H&S considerations although the Chefs lunch on deck we had on Whisper in March was all but a BBQ in my view.

Sadly we are left with the possibility of a group which is the worst outcome. In the past we have gone over the Christmas period but this year we went for this cruise and the following one so to avoid the Christmas rush. Having spoken with crew on Whisper in March ( only 80% full) we had the impression that the early December cruises were usually run below capacity and we rather liked the idea. I did not take into account the southern hemisphere holiday season and assumed that a number of people would be focusing on Christmas so this would be a good time to choose. If the large group just happens to be from one travel agency then the impact should not be significant but if a company jolly or similar then could be different. Oh well we shall see.

Thanks for the interesting comments and the one possibility I had not come up with was the crew party which I have never come across before in 16 SS voyages but this is a 7 Day cruise and would cause quite a scramble for bookings on the remaining nights. I would have thought a longer voyage would be more suitable to take it out of commission for a night. Whilst for us this is the first part of a back to back I suspect it is not the case for the majority.

 

It was my understanding that the BBQ was a thing of the past due to the dreaded H&S considerations although the Chefs lunch on deck we had on Whisper in March was all but a BBQ in my view.

 

Sadly we are left with the possibility of a group which is the worst outcome. In the past we have gone over the Christmas period but this year we went for this cruise and the following one so to avoid the Christmas rush. Having spoken with crew on Whisper in March ( only 80% full) we had the impression that the early December cruises were usually run below capacity and we rather liked the idea. I did not take into account the southern hemisphere holiday season and assumed that a number of people would be focusing on Christmas so this would be a good time to choose. If the large group just happens to be from one travel agency then the impact should not be significant but if a company jolly or similar then could be different. Oh well we shall see.

I'm a little upset to read this because I, like you, am doing this cruise and the next one b2b and was hoping for a less than full ship with easy restaurant access. On a cruise, I never know where or when I'll feel like eating so I never make reservations ahead of time, just turn up wherever and see if they can seat me - I hope this isn't going to be impossible on the Whisper. I have done two 7 day Caribbean cruises in the past b2b on the Spirit and there were two big groups on the first leg with none on the second and what a difference it made to my potential cruise enjoyment - the big groups had their own activities planned and didn't really mix with the rest of us - I felt I was relegated to leftover bits of the ship that they weren't using. Fortunately, this feeling of adversity pulled together the ordinary passengers who were a small but fun group, and we all had a wonderful time, but I feel I was lucky in that because it could have turned out otherwise.

It is either the deck BBQ or a private dinner for the crew which has happened a number of times in the past.

Agree, but its more likely to be the former. We have come across crew dinners on a number of trips, but always on a sea day and during a longer cruise with multiple sea days. We have also been on at least one trip in the last 12 months where there has been a deck BBQ.

Shhhh...somebody will report it to USPHS!

The Deck BBQ was one of the reasons we fell in love with SS. I sure hope they bring it back.

The Deck BBQ was one of the reasons we fell in love with SS. I sure hope they bring it back.

Each to their own. I detest them and am thoroughly glad they're gone.

The Deck BBQ was one of the reasons we fell in love with SS. I sure hope they bring it back.

Whilst communicating with SS I raised the question "are deck BBQ held on any SS ships?" The answer from SS HQ was "Deck BBQ not held anymore due to US health and safety regulations." SS apologised and indicated matters were outside their control .Hope this clarifies for frequent posters on this subject.

Whilst communicating with SS I raised the question "are deck BBQ held on any SS ships?" The answer from SS HQ was "Deck BBQ not held anymore due to US health and safety regulations." SS apologised and indicated matters were outside their control .Hope this clarifies for frequent posters on this subject.

This will presumably bring few tears to the eyes of crew. The deck BBQs were a huge amount of additional work for them, and not infrequently their work would be for naught when the weather changed and they had to cancel the event. This led to some interesting times in the MDR, which expected only a handful of guests and not an entire shipload.

Lots of work, yes, but they like being outside. To supplement brimary's info, USPHS is also the reason that Afternoon Tea was moved to The Terrace and there are no more Galley Lunches. If you on a cruise and any of these events occur, enjoy them and keep it to yourself! [emoji3][emoji6]

Lots of work, yes, but they like being outside. To supplement brimary's info, USPHS is also the reason that Afternoon Tea was moved to The Terrace and there are no more Galley Lunches. If you on a cruise and any of these events occur, enjoy them and keep it to yourself! [emoji3][emoji6]

A great shame because all the events were great social occasions outside the norm,particularly the deck BBQ when the the SS artistes did a show and disco to conclude events.Always felt the staff appreciated the different environment from the normal routine despite the additional workload.Like your last sentence and will say nothing if we get lucky!!

If you really yearn for deck BBQs and Galley Lunches, try Seabourn; both are features on Seabourn's 3 ships.

If you really yearn for deck BBQs and Galley Lunches, try Seabourn; both are features on Seabourn's 3 ships.

Which is why I doubt Silversea is being truthful when using the USPH regulations as their reason for no longer holding them on their ships.

Which is why I doubt Silversea is being truthful when using the USPH regulations as their reason for no longer holding them on their ships.

Exactly.

:)

Which is why I doubt Silversea is being truthful when using the USPH regulations as their reason for no longer .I think you may b

E right. We were on spirit recently and had several grand outside dinners and lunches below the life boats. It may depend upon the dedication of the hotel director.

Will be on whisper in Sept for 30 days then shadow for another 30. I will report our experience. I really like the outSide when everyone enjoys the fresh air, good food, and fun music

USPH regulations probably make it difficult for SS to hold outside bbq's and under the life boat lunches when the ship is sailing in and out of US ports on short cruises, but certainly on the recent South Pacific Grand Voyage on the Spirit, those types of events were held and enjoyed by many.

Shhhh!

Why do all good things come to an end?!!

A great shame because all the events were great social occasions outside the norm,particularly the deck BBQ when the the SS artistes did a show and disco to conclude events.Always felt the staff appreciated the different environment from the normal routine despite the additional workload.Like your last sentence and will say nothing if we get lucky!!