Considering Silversea

My wife and I have been on six cruises over the past six years and are considering SS Spirit June 2017 Lisbon to Rouen. We have been on Crystal, Regent and Oceania. Our first cruise was on Crystal Symphony to the baltic and we absolutely loved it. We would stay with Crystal but tried the other two lines due to the timing and itineraries and have actually very much enjoyed every cruise. I tend to do more of the research and invariably spend a lot of time on the cruise critic site. As many of you know there are reviewers who absolutely love certain lines and others who aren't as crazy about them. Our second cruise was on Oceania Nautica Istanbul to Athens. I was excited about the itinerary but was a bit concerned about whether we would enjoy the cruise experience as much as we did on Crystal. The comparisons I read on Cruise Critic consistently rated the service, food quality and overall experience on Oceania to be significantly worse than Crystal but we really enjoyed the cruise. Later when preparing for a cruise on Regent to Alaska I read many reviews and comparisons that made me question my decision to try Regent but again the experience was fantastic.

Now to my question: how does SS compare to the other three lines I have sailed on? We are relatively flexible and like to try new things but after reading posts on this site for the past few hours I feel like I have more questions than answers. We are most interested in comments on food quality, enrichment programs, fitness facilities and design/condition of the ship. It seems like everyone agrees that service is excellent. We live in LA and enjoy going to nice restaurants but must say we enjoyed the food on all of the lines- probably Crystal was the best followed by Regent and then Oceania.We enjoyed the lecturers on all the ships but Crystal was by far the best. Some of the ships we were on were more recently updated than others. It would be demoralizing to be on a ship that was in poor condition.

I would especially appreciate comparisons to the three lines I have sailed on. Sorry for this long winded question. I truly appreciate your responses.

Haven't cruised Crystal or Oceania, but we have had @ 250 days on all of the Regent ships in the past. Switched to Silversea in 2009 due to the management change at Regent. Have been on the Shadow and have had 6 cruises on the Spirit. IMHO Silversea and the Silver Spirit are excellent. Silversea, Regent, Crystal and Seabourn are comparable, depending on your tastes. We find that SS has a much more international pax mix than the other lines and we very much enjoy that. Go for it; you'll very much enjoy the Silver Spirit. It's probably the smoothest riding cruise ship that you'll find.

Thank you for your rapid response. As you have been on many SS cruises over the past seven years have you noticed any decline? Last year prior to our second Crystal Symphony cruise I had read about a deterioration in the Crystal cruise experience related to new management and an effort to save money. We saw minimal changes on that cruise but nothing that detracted from the experience. I try to take extremely negative reviews about lines I have not experience with a grain of salt but the concerns raised sometimes leave lingering doubts. I am glad to hear that you enjoy SS enough to make it your line of choice over Regent. Would you say the food and ship condition on SS is comparable to Regent? Really appreciate your input.

A tendency I notice, and not just related to cruise lines, is that people often condemn change as deterioration. Certainly some of the points made in various critiques is that things have changed over the years on SS - now the point is whether those changes are in any way relevant to the first-timer on the line.

We had our first SS cruise in 2013 and have 135 days aboard, much of that total from the Spirit. We love it. It is our preferred ship although we only hve the Whisper and Shadow to compare. We had a 14 day Caribbean cruise with Seabourn and very much enjoyed that - in fact we would say that the product is so similar that there is really little to differentiate them. Judging by what we have picked up chatting to other cruisers on board it would seem that the higher end lines may have their own character but they vary by a lot less than one might expect.

So it comes down to personal preference and, of course, that is an imponderable that nobody else can judge. But I think one would have to be a stony-faced curmudgeon not to enjoy the SS experience - especially if approaching the cruise with an open mind and the intent to have a great time. Why not give SS a try? Or Seabourn?

Aren't we lucky really, those of us that inhabit these boards, to have such a feast of choice?

When was the last time you were on Spirit? Did you feel that your cabin and the public areas were in good condition? Some reviews have mentioned a perceived deterioration in food quality with bland offerings served cold. What was your experience?

When was the last time you were on Spirit? Did you feel that your cabin and the public areas were in good condition? Some reviews have mentioned a perceived deterioration in food quality with bland offerings served cold. What was your experience?

I really find this thread fascinating. What difference does it make if they were on a trip yesterday, last month or last year. Your experience today is going to be completely different from your experience tomorrow.

Don't believe all that you read in some of these reviews; many are plants. SS is very good about keeping their ships in top condition. We're on the Wind in Nov and she will just be coming out of refurb, for example. SS has an extensive refurb plan for all of their ships that has been published. Service is always superb and food is certainly comparable to the other top luxury lines. Food is always a matter of choice. We've never had a problem with it on SS or Regent. Enjoy!

We are Regent customers that have sailed Silversea three times. We find the service and food comparable (we like the main dining room on Regent better than Silversea and the buffet/Italian dining room better than Regent). Our first Silversea experience was on the Spirit. While we loved the service and food, we disliked the ship (stayed in a Silver suite). The ship was built during the downturn of the economy and, IMO, the ship showed it.

Despite not liking the ship, we booked a cruise on the Whisper and loved the ship (as well as the food and service). We would book Silversea again if the itinerary was of interest but would only sail on the Whisper or Shadow (note: we have also toured one of the smaller ships and did not care for it -- it felt and looked old).

Thank you for your replies Dougburns and Tothesunset. They are very helpful. The reason I ask about the timing of one's SS cruise experience is to help address the issue that I have seen raised about a recent decline in the quality/experience of the SS product. In addition to getting feedback on the experience of SS cruisers, I am interested to hear how the experience has changed over the years and whether people feel that the quality has remained the same or if aspects of the ship's condition or food have improved or worsened. Answers to these questions are helpful in determining whether I am interested in cruising on a line that I have not yet experienced. Before someone recommends talking to my travel agent, I have. The people who post on Cruise Critic can be a phenomenal source of information that can be used to help make decisions for those of us who have limited vacation time and want to optimize their cruise experience.

You will never know until you try it! Go, have a great time and decide for yourself. [emoji4][emoji568]

You will never know until you try it! Go, have a great time and decide for yourself. [emoji4][emoji568]

Duct Tape knows, you know [emoji6]

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When was the last time you were on Spirit? Did you feel that your cabin and the public areas were in good condition? Some reviews have mentioned a perceived deterioration in food quality with bland offerings served cold. What was your experience?

The last time we were on Spirit was Dec 2015. We thought the ship was in good shape then. We always have a Vista suite of which there are relatively few on the Spirit but they are well positioned just for'ard of midships. I know there are many who are disatisfied with the public areas but I think this is a lot to do with personal tastes about the furnishings rather than an indictment of the condition of those fixtures and fittings. Again, the Spirit suffers from the comparison syndrome whereby change or difference from the established norm is treated as a retrograde step - certainly you will find a lot of the negative comments are direct comparisons with the Whisper and Shadow (which are identical to each other) with which people may be more familiar. For us the Spirit was our first SS ship and we fell for it immediately and that may well be why it is our favourite (first love and all that).

We certainly do not recognise the comments about food quality. We have always found it to be of a high standard, impeccably delivered and varied. We particularly appreciate that while the clientele is largely US-based, SS does try to bring an international flavour to its offerings and in the MDR will produce some fantastic Asian meals (Indian, Thai, Malay, Philippino etc) with 24 hours notice. As for the wine offered - neither of us are experts but we do like most of the free-pour wines and when we are offered one we don't appreciate then we will be offered alternatives. My only caveat is the free-pour dessert wines - I am keen on (and relatively knowledgable of) dessert wines and find their offerings disappointing. They do however carry some excellent Tokai on the connoiseur's list and have half bottles of Chateau d'Yquem at around the $200 mark which is absolutely without equal.

Remember, too, that the Spirit has a couple of extra dining venues not available on the other current ships - Stars, which provides a night club atmosphere with a tapas-style menu (it is our favourite venue) and a Japanese restaurant whose name escapes me largely because Japanese food is not to our taste; I am told the quality is excellent but that is pure hearsay!

As others have said, you really need to make up your own mind by experiencing SS. I doubt whether you would hate it, at worst it might not fill your needs in the way that other lines might. Either way, the large number of repeat customers on SS tends to indicate that it is doing something right for a lot of people.

My experience with Silversea is somewhat limited (a 10-night cruise on the Cloud in 2015, a 17-night cruise on the Spirit in 2016). We're also booked for a 7-night Barbados-to-Barbados cruise this December on the Spirit.

But I think I've seen enough to say that the Silversea experience is fabulous, especially the dining. The Spirit is, for me, a better ship than the Cloud (which is definitely showing its age), but the dining on the Cloud was just as good.

On our Spirit cruise, we had dinner twice with a featured entertainer who spends over half the year on cruise ships---mostly luxury lines. For whatever it's worth, his two favorites are Regent and Silversea, which he felt were about equal in overall quality.

My only other luxury-line experience was with Seabourn, but that was years ago on the Pride (no longer in the fleet). It, too, was a great experience, but I think the food on Silversea is better.

Thank you all very much. Your responses have been very helpful. Travelcat, I would be interested in a bit more detail on what you did not like about Spirit The itinerary on Spirit is what initially peaked my interest. We are considering a verandah suite. Was it the overall design/layout or were there specific aspects you disliked?

reed992, I was on the Spirit in January which was our second Silversea Cruise. We do mainly sail Crystal.

In the end, I would let the itinerary be the driver and remember that in the end the only opinion that matters is your very own.

I can't compare the condition of the Spirit in January to a few years ago as that was our first cruise but I found it to be in very good condition from the suite we were in to the public rooms.

We booked the cruise as we did with our other Silversea cruise for the itinerary.

If itinerary was not the issue we would book Crystal.

The reason I say this is speaking for us my wife and I find that we spend more time in our suite on Silversea cruises than we do on Crystal Cruises because we find there is far less to do on the ship. We end up reading more and watching more movies. Close friends had the same view as we do. Again that is just our experience.

I wrote a review from our experience on the Spirit:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=523334

Don't overthink your decision.

I am reminded that we have been on cruises with others from these boards and there have been times when we have one view and someone else has a completely different view and one might think you have been on a different cruise. But that is because we all are human and what one person likes another might not and what one person thinks is important to them might be of no consequence to someone else.

Keith

Thank you all for your input. We are going to book the cruise on Silver Spirit Lisbon to Rouen. Looking forward to it very much.

Sounds like a great itinerary. Hope you enjoy the Spirit as much as we have over the years.

Thank you all very much. Your responses have been very helpful. Travelcat, I would be interested in a bit more detail on what you did not like about Spirit The itinerary on Spirit is what initially peaked my interest. We are considering a verandah suite. Was it the overall design/layout or were there specific aspects you disliked?

Sorry that it took me a while to respond - we are leaving for a cruise tomorrow and it has been hectic. There were a few things that I didn't like about the Spirit.

La Terrazza (misspelled) was too small for the amount of tables. It was difficult to get past people's chairs to get to the buffet. Not a huge deal but, IMO, it should have been thought out better.

The Observation Lounge is a nice place but there should be a restroom nearby. This was discussed quite a bit when the ship was new and there was talk about putting in a restroom. To my knowledge this has not happened.

As mentioned, we were in a Silver Suite. The size was nice but the furnishings reminded me of a college dorm room. The plastic desk (no drawers) and dressing table (also no drawers) were very cheap looking. While I understand that new ships cannot use as much wood as before (the inlaid wood on the Whisper is stunning), the plastic used for tables in The Bar and inside of the suites seemed to be a cheap quality.

We did like the layout of The Bar but again, cheap furniture.

The ship is not that bad - we are used to Regent so we expected the same quality as they have. As mentioned, we did enjoy the service and food on Silversea and find the two medium size ships well-made and beautifully appointed.

Enjoy your cruise - hopefully you will find the Spirit more to your taste than we did. However, keep in mind that the Spirit is a one of a kind ship and I believe that the Muse will be dramatically better. IMO, Silversea learned a lot from the Spirit as there have been negative comments from other posters since the ship launched.

I think the Panorama Lounge on the Spirit looks a Day Room in a Nursing Home![emoji6]⚾️⚾️[emoji317]

We have had a Silver Suite several times on the Spirit, and while there are no drawers at the make up table in the bedroom, we have had drawers at the desk in the living room.

I do agree that the formica (or whatever it is) furniture is less than wonderful in some of the applications in the suites, other aspects of the suites (such as the storage areas adjacent to the mirror in the bedroom in the Veranda suites) are quite nice.

The things we don't like on the Spirit are that the show lounge doesn't have capacity to hold the entire compliment of passengers, and the main bar is akin to Grand Central Station. The tables in La Terrazza are too small and too close to one another, but the main dining room has lovely window tables with dividers behind them that cut out the noise (which is good for those of us who are hard of hearing).

We have probably traveled over 100 days recently on the Spirit and would not hesitate to do so in the future. We think the crew and officers are tops, the size of the ship is perfect, and it has been a wonderful experience for us. Our "best" cruise was on the Spirit in 2015.

Since we do not live in a palace, and our home is "homey" rather than perfect, the few dings and shortcomings of the Spirit, and certain 5* hotels really are very unimportant to us.

We hope that you will enjoy the Spirit as much as we have.

We are now booked on the SS Spirit for next June and I am hoping to remain excited about it. I should probably minimize exposure to those who make negative comments about the line and the ship. I have seen comments about poor layouts, cheap furniture and other similar complaints as those written by Travelcat and duct tape aimed at other premium lines. Prior to our six cruises on Regent, Crystal and Oceania I read similar negative comments which created a cloud of doubt prior to embarkation but we absolutely loved each one of them. All three of the lines we have cruised on are different and each had features we loved along with some we might wish to change but overall we greatly enjoyed each of the cruises. I looked at all of the lines we have been on for this upcoming June 2017 cruise but the itineraries were similar to those that we had done before and we wanted something different. I looked at SS and Seabourn but the itinerary we chose on the Spirit was enticing to us. Although there seem to be more negative comments regarding SS (especially Spirit) I was able to find a few people I know who had good experiences on SS so I booked it. For me vacation time is at a premium and therefore I try to be as sure as I can that I won't be disappointed by choices that I make. The problem with using these boards is determining how to interpret the comments.

Very well said! I find 90% of the time the negative comments I read never seem to bother me

whether it's about a restaurant, hotel or a cruise. I try to live my life with the glass half full.

Thank you Seaver. I am hoping that after experiencing SS I will agree with the majority of SS cruisers that SS deserves to be considered among the group of luxury cruise lines. If I had listened to those that felt Crystal, Regent and Oceania had such severe flaws that they would never again consider these lines, I would have never had given myself the chance to have the phenomenal experiences that I did. Unfortunately though it is hard to completely block out comments about poor experiences, bad food, college dorm type rooms and poor design. I try to remind myself that there are similar comments from similar people about Crystal, Four Seasons and other high end venues. Hopefully at the end of my upcoming cruise I will think of those comments and add them and those that make them into the "not worth listening to" category.

When was the Spirit's last refurb? Or when is it scheduled for dry dockbrefurb next?