Whisper-7 Night Norway

We had a lovely cruise in early July. Norway is just magnificent and this was a good way to see it. While it is short relative to many other itineraries, it was sufficient for us. Overall, I'd say the cruise was "fine," some good and some underwhelming. We have been on maybe 20 cruises, only on smaller lines (SS, SB, Regent) in the last decade.

-our overall impression was that the crew was going through the motions at times.

I sensed no real enthusiasm for this destination and we got pretty much no commentary about what we were/would be seeing. The captain's messages were very brief

and infrequent as well. While I like a quiet ship, we did feel that more should have been shared

to add to our experience.

-I sense that the crew was tired. Owing to back to back full ships, they seemed to have not had quite enough time to rest. Still, they were lovely, just not as upbeat as

what we've experienced on past SS cruises. La Terrazza buffets seemed particularly challenged, probably because it was too cold to eat outside, so it was cramped. On two or three occasions, the staff seemed to be bickering among themselves, making us uncomfortable.

-Lovely group of fellow passengers from all over the world.

-We are low maintenance, so were disappointed that two of the only requests we made were not handled well. We asked for two burned out light bulbs in the room to be replaced and were told it would be done immediately. And it was, if immediately is five hours. I called

for La Terrazza dinner reservations as directed and was told they would call me back in ten minutes. It never happened, so our butler had to intervene. The words "I'm sorry" were never uttered, but the treatment we received from then on was off the charts excellent. Neither of these were big deals, but since we asked for nothing, it wasn't a good hit rate.

-We had a suite at the front of the boat. It was in good condition - in fact, though while not

new, the whole ship felt absolutely fine. We liked the location because it is quiet. Butler and

assistant lovely and hard working.

-Our pre-cruise documents said there would be a formal night, but that wasn't the case. I don't care one way or another, but I think the information should be correct. On what turned out to be "formal optional" night, the attire ranged the whole gamut. I would have preferred

to have known this in advance and left the dressy stuff home.

-I don't want to reopen the charitable contribution discussion but I do wish that less money would be spent on multipage, glossy brochures and rubber wristband type things. I'd prefer my contribution be focused more on services, less on promotion.

-We enjoyed the lively singing group very much. Don't like opera, so we skipped nights when

that was the format. There was pretty much nothing by way of activities (lots of unsupervised table tennis and bocce on the schedule) and one speaker three days. He was good, but I would have liked more Norway specific information. Of course, daytime activities

are not why people choose SS, so we were fine with it.

-In general, we found the food better than it was on the Shadow on our last cruise. Not amazing, but certainly enough variety. Only one day of "local" specialties. Table assignments seem to be a perennial issue. I saw many people complaining when assigned to noisy tables near the food stations while others got the quiet window seats. It's probably true on all cruises. Because we are repeaters and were in a suite, we usually got nice treatment but,

at times when the crew didn't know us, we really felt a difference in attitude. Again, just an observation, not a complaint.

Overall, we were happy with our cruise and wouldn't hesitate to sail on SS again. Still, I do think most aspects of this experience could have been a bit more polished. Happy to answer any questions.

-our overall impression was that the crew was going through the motions at times.

 

-I sensed no real enthusiasm for this destination and we got pretty much no commentary about what we were/would be seeing.

 

-On two or three occasions, the staff seemed to be bickering among themselves, making us uncomfortable.

 

-Our pre-cruise documents said there would be a formal night, but that wasn't the case. I don't care one way or another, but I think the information should be correct. On what turned out to be "formal optional" night, the attire ranged the whole gamut. I would have preferred

to have known this in advance and left the dressy stuff home.

 

-One speaker three days. He was good, but I would have liked more Norway specific information.

Such a disappointment when a voyage doesn't live up to one's expectations. Based on your descriptions, I would have been terribly disappointed too.

We were on the Cloud in Norway at the same time you were on the Whisper and thankfully, our experience was nearly the complete opposite of yours, which is such a shame for the passengers on the Whisper. Our crew was excellent, service superior, absolutely no bickering, enthusiasm for itinerary high, three formal nights (out of 17-night voyage), and the speaker was very knowledgeable about our ports of call, including Russia.

From my perspective, the differences between what we both experienced is most likely attributable to management. We had a highly qualified captain, an excellent Hotel Director, a superior Cruise Director, and very good Executive Chef. At the end of the day, the ability of these individuals were reflected through the personnel who cared for us during our voyage.

I hope your next cruise with Silversea is much better. Because, for the cost of sailing with them, the hard and soft product should be exceptional each and every voyage.

It seems to me that what SS lacks in general is consistency of product. We should expect the same level of service the same quality of food, the same ambience aboard all their ships (expedition ships excluded.)

Otis, thanks very much for your well written, thoughtful & balanced Whisper Norway voyage summary. Agree with both Brian (Stumblefoot's) and Henry (wripro's) cogent comments above. Your post is helpful to other CCr's reading here--suggest you (directly if u did not use a TA) or via your TA a brief summary of where SS exceeded/met/did not meet your expections. Your comments reflect not only a weakness in on board Team leadership but also some deficiencies made by the home office. Letting them know formally (your experience--esp as a Venetian) may help them get their SS on board experience better for the next Silversea sailor.