Mid ship Veranda in the Caribbean on the Wind - which deck????

My trip next year to San Juan has just had a visit from the upgrade fairy courtesy of the silver select promotion thats been added to the cruise.

We had purchased a Vista suite which we'd have been more than happy with. The alternative is $1500 onboard spend or 50% off a second suite. The 2 category upgrade seems to be the best option for us.

So now to chose where!

I was lucky previously sailing on the aft of the Cloud on Deck 7 to have really calm waters in the baltic, but very rough sea on one leg on a med cruise on Deck 6.

I appreciate no one can predict the weather and seas, but ive conflicting viewpoints. Ive been told the caribbean in March will be nice and calm and another saying it gets very rough and frequent.

Id probably go for Deck 5 to reduce motion, but in reality would prefer deck 7..... (easier to get to la Terraza!!) lol

Thoughts?

I have personally found that once an upgrade is mentioned there is no choice to the passenger of which deck or where the suite will be. I wasn't ever given a choice and a couple of times ended at the far end of the ship in the bow. Yes it was an upgrade but not very pleasant in rough weather.

I have personally found that once an upgrade is mentioned there is no choice to the passenger of which deck or where the suite will be. I wasn't ever given a choice and a couple of times ended at the far end of the ship in the bow. Yes it was an upgrade but not very pleasant in rough weather.

Considering I've already been given the choice (and several different suite numbers on each deck) they are dealing with it in the correct way with me.

Besides, since when is a mid ship veranda going to be at the bow? :eek:

I wouldn't worry about taking the deck 7 suite for this itinerary.

I have cruised numerous times in the Caribbean and whilst it can be rough, it's isn't often and it's not really comparable to something like a transatlantic itinerary. Your biggest risk is probably the final sea day from Grand Turk to Lauderdale when you're in the Atlantic rather than the Caribbean sea and no longer pootling around the islands but I wouldn't even worry about that.

Les, you are lucky if you've been offered a midship upgrade as my personal experience has been the same as mrscrab....so best grab it with both hands whilst you can.

Sophia [emoji4]

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Les, you are lucky if you've been offered a midship upgrade as my personal experience has been the same as mrscrab....so best grab it with both hands whilst you can.

 

Sophia [emoji4]

Hi Sophia.... I probably should have explained better if its not clearer. (Sorry if that's the case)

The current promotion on this cruise is a 2 category upgrade. If you book a vista suite right now you will get a mid ship veranda upgrade for free. I guess using "upgrade fairy" made it sound like I was randomly picked. Everyone who booked is entitled to this upgrade under their price guarantee policy.

And for anyone from the UK, the current price is an absolute steal as it also includes air fairs to San Juan and back from Miami and all transfers for £299..... I priced up those flights on the BA site at the time and they came out at £2500 .... An incredible price.

No worries Les.....it all sounds excellent....[emoji4]

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No worries Les.....it all sounds excellent....[emoji4]

Even before this latest promotion. (It seems the cruise is only 30% full) the price because of the air fare was good for us.

After the fiasco going on at the moment with Carnival making a hash of their med cruises on Vista VAT charges. The cost pro rata is comparible for this caribbean cruise with what we paid. In fact, now they are charging VAT per drink and not allowing anyone to take a drinks package, this is probably cheaper.... then they go and give us an upgrade! haha

We were in Cabin 730 on the Wind out of San Juan in March for a 10-day cruise. Rarely felt the ship move much less rock and roll. Granted you can't predict weather for every cruise but I'd not hesitate to book the same cruise and cabin again.

We were in Cabin 730 on the Wind out of San Juan in March for a 10-day cruise. Rarely felt the ship move much less rock and roll. Granted you can't predict weather for every cruise but I'd not hesitate to book the same cruise and cabin again.

Thanks Randy, that settles it for sure.

The suite we were offered was a little further forward than yours..... I take it you had no issues on deck or swimming pool noise that Ive seen others mention? I assume yours was the same ports of call..... Ours is also on the port side - which weve picked for the majority sun sets. I expect most of our views when at sea, will be exactly that .... sea.... which ever side you are on?

Great to hear you'd book this cruise again.... Very reassuring to know.

What were the highlights? Any tips? ......

Edit.... just found your web site ... will have a read. What was the Intercontinental like? We've booked this for 2 nights pre-cruise but it sounds like they have contract problems and we may well be switched!

Thanks Randy, that settles it for sure.

 

The suite we were offered was a little further forward than yours..... I take it you had no issues on deck or swimming pool noise that Ive seen others mention? I assume yours was the same ports of call..... Ours is also on the port side - which weve picked for the majority sun sets. I expect most of our views when at sea, will be exactly that .... sea.... which ever side you are on?

 

Great to hear you'd book this cruise again.... Very reassuring to know.

 

What were the highlights? Any tips? ......

 

 

Edit.... just found your web site ... will have a read. What was the Intercontinental like? We've booked this for 2 nights pre-cruise but it sounds like they have contract problems and we may well be switched!

We've spent 42 days on the Wind in the past four years and loved every minute. We've had two cabins on Deck 7, 708 and 730, and 804 on Deck 8 and have never been the least bit bothered or even noticed any noise from above and rarely from the hallway. All have been the port side but that's more from my wife's preference than from consideration of views. Truth is that we've spent the vast majority of our time out of the cabins as we've been cruising with friends. The Wind isn't huge so vantage points are close at hand anywhere in the ship.

We booked the Intercontental totally separate from Silversea and actually didn't know they were using it as one if their hotels for our cruise until just before the cruise. We liked the location on the beach and the grounds with pools, bars, and a cafe were great. We spent three nights there with friends and used it for our base to take a few tours. We only ate breakfast in the hotel which was fine. We did eat one dinner at the attached Ruth's Chris and it was super. Our other dinners we ate in Old San Juan after tours and just grabbed a cab back to the hotel.

I should have added that we didn't do a lot of tours or excursions on this cruise. For the three years prior to this cruise we'd spent some 60-70 days in the Med cruising on Silversea on the Wind and Spirit. My wife and the couple we travel with came to call our time in the Med as "Randy's Antiquities Death March". They asked for just a kick back and enjoy cruise without having to get up and off the ship every morning to visit some historical site. We did go snorkeling in St Barths and went over The Baths in Virgin Gorda via ship's tours but generally just relaxed on the ship and wandered around a few ports. Funny thing was that we were the only cruise ship in Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas. Having been there before, maybe a dozen plus times when we cruised a lot in the Caribbean, it was almost surreal to have the town so empty. We did get off the ship as we wanted to take our friends to Gladys' Cafe in town.

I should have added that we didn't do a lot of tours or excursions on this cruise. For the three years prior to this cruise we'd spent some 60-70 days in the Med cruising on Silversea on the Wind and Spirit. My wife and the couple we travel with came to call our time in the Med as "Randy's Antiquities Death March". They asked for just a kick back and enjoy cruise without having to get up and off the ship every morning to visit some historical site. We did go snorkeling in St Barths and went over The Baths in Virgin Gorda via ship's tours but generally just relaxed on the ship and wandered around a few ports. Funny thing was that we were the only cruise ship in Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas. Having been there before, maybe a dozen plus times when we cruised a lot in the Caribbean, it was almost surreal to have the town so empty. We did get off the ship as we wanted to take our friends to Gladys' Cafe in town.

Thanks again Randy.

Funny you should talk about your "death march" in Europe. We just got back last week from a cruise on the med and it is too intense I agree. I booked (through a tour company) a trip to Pompeii, Herculaneum and summit of Vesuvius. It was scorching in Pompeii - but climbing Vesuvius really could have been a death march! Not for the feint hearted and very strenuous in the heat of an August sun! We did an almost identical itinerary on the Wind 5 months ago, so we could have taken the sites a bit easier.... but didnt!

Our intentions on this cruise is to take things easy. I'd never (again) book a SS tour as apart from being expensive, I know I can get the exact same thing for half the price or less. So yes, we would probably disembark and wonder the town - or anything worthwhile book with the locals.

The aim of this trip is relaxation.

I have thought about taking my drone with me and flying over the sea to view the Islands, but I suspect it would probably be hit by aviation laws being near an airport or unknown laws so not worth taking the chance. (I think it would get fantastic images and video though).

I suspect I may end up putting a little weight on this trip too! ;-)

I will be bringing my scuba license with me, but the best Island for diving will be within 48 hours of flying so not doable I think. We'll settle for snorkeling!

Were the ports tenders or did the wind dock?

You tender at St Barths, the rest should be docked altho' I'm not sure about Punta Cana, I've not been there yet.

Thanks again Randy.

 

Funny you should talk about your "death march" in Europe. We just got back last week from a cruise on the med and it is too intense I agree. I booked (through a tour company) a trip to Pompeii, Herculaneum and summit of Vesuvius. It was scorching in Pompeii - but climbing Vesuvius really could have been a death march! Not for the feint hearted and very strenuous in the heat of an August sun! We did an almost identical itinerary on the Wind 5 months ago, so we could have taken the sites a bit easier.... but didnt!

 

Our intentions on this cruise is to take things easy. I'd never (again) book a SS tour as apart from being expensive, I know I can get the exact same thing for half the price or less. So yes, we would probably disembark and wonder the town - or anything worthwhile book with the locals.

 

The aim of this trip is relaxation.

 

I have thought about taking my drone with me and flying over the sea to view the Islands, but I suspect it would probably be hit by aviation laws being near an airport or unknown laws so not worth taking the chance. (I think it would get fantastic images and video though).

 

I suspect I may end up putting a little weight on this trip too! ;-)

 

I will be bringing my scuba license with me, but the best Island for diving will be within 48 hours of flying so not doable I think. We'll settle for snorkeling!

 

Were the ports tenders or did the wind dock?

For our Caribbean cruise each couple had $1,800 in on-board credits ($1,500 from Silversea, $300 from our TA) so we used that for the few tours we did take but in the Med we typically do either self-guide or privately arranged tours. For the Caribbean cruise the ladies did take full advantage of the OBCs and spent a lot of time in spa since our cruise ended with two full sea days. I think all the guys got, besides the tours, were a couple of good cigars and a special bottle of port. :)

The itinerary for your cruise is similar but not exactly the same so the only common tendering port is St Barths. For the rest of the ports in common we were docked. We didn't go to Castries this past cruise but have been there several times and we've always docked. Never been to Punta Cana so can't comment.

You tender at St Barths, the rest should be docked altho' I'm not sure about Punta Cana, I've not been there yet.

For our Caribbean cruise each couple had $1,800 in on-board credits ($1,500 from Silversea, $300 from our TA) so we used that for the few tours we did take but in the Med we typically do either self-guide or privately arranged tours. For the Caribbean cruise the ladies did take full advantage of the OBCs and spent a lot of time in spa since our cruise ended with two full sea days. I think all the guys got, besides the tours, were a couple of good cigars and a special bottle of port. :)

 

The itinerary for your cruise is similar but not exactly the same so the only common tendering port is St Barths. For the rest of the ports in common we were docked. We didn't go to Castries this past cruise but have been there several times and we've always docked. Never been to Punta Cana so can't comment.

Thanks guys.

I think Punta Cana looks like a Tender location too.

Just had a look on "Whats in port"

We have no other ships in any port (so far) listed with the exception of the Regent Seven Seas Explorer. Nice - I'll look forward to see this close up! ;-)

Silver Wind 17 March 2017 Itinerary - what's in port!

March 17 2017 Puerto Rico, San Juan

March 18 2017 St Barthelemy

March 19 2017 Dominica, Roseau

March 20 2017 Barbados, Bridgetown

March 21 2017 St Lucia, Castries

March 22 2017 Antigua, St Johns

March 23 2017 British Virgin Islands, Tortola

March 24 2017 Dominican Republic, Punta Cana

March 25 2017 Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

March 26 2017 seaday

March 27 2017 USA, Fort Lauderdale

The only place (So far) that has another ship with us in port is Antigua, where the Regent Seven Seas explorer is with us. (Would quite like to explore that ship if we could!!)

.

Gosh, I thought I'd just happened across someone looking at the same cruise as us!

Looks like we may be on the trip before yours. Just a 5 day one, for £1250 each, which seems pretty good to me, as it's half the daily rate for the other trips on this boat. Especially nice with this upgrade 2 classes offer.

Anyone any idea why? Is it just because a 5 day trip isn't something that is very popular? It's a perfect length for us as we've never cruised before and happen to be staying with friends in Curacao for most of March (lucky us!) and though it would be a nice thing to do as we can get to/from San Juan from there.

Gosh, I thought I'd just happened across someone looking at the same cruise as us!

 

Looks like we may be on the trip before yours. Just a 5 day one, for £1250 each, which seems pretty good to me, as it's half the daily rate for the other trips on this boat. Especially nice with this upgrade 2 classes offer.

 

Anyone any idea why? Is it just because a 5 day trip isn't something that is very popular? It's a perfect length for us as we've never cruised before and happen to be staying with friends in Curacao for most of March (lucky us!) and though it would be a nice thing to do as we can get to/from San Juan from there.

Kind of a strange cruise at least in terms of length. I know personally we won't go on any cruise of less than ten days. For us it's just not worth the hassle and expense. I suppose if we lived in Florida and could easily and relatively cheaply get to San Juan this 5-day cruise might make sense but I doubt it. I imagine a lot of cruisers feel this way to some extent and that probably makes the cruise a bit unattractive unless combined with the previous or following cruise in some back-to-back cruise.

Gosh, I thought I'd just happened across someone looking at the same cruise as us!

 

Looks like we may be on the trip before yours. Just a 5 day one, for £1250 each, which seems pretty good to me, as it's half the daily rate for the other trips on this boat. Especially nice with this upgrade 2 classes offer.

 

Anyone any idea why? Is it just because a 5 day trip isn't something that is very popular? It's a perfect length for us as we've never cruised before and happen to be staying with friends in Curacao for most of March (lucky us!) and though it would be a nice thing to do as we can get to/from San Juan from there.

There seems to be s gap on the SS site just before this one so guess it's a privately booked cruise?

I'm with Randy on the length. we just got back from 8 days and it was over before it began!

I'm looking at the 160 day one.... Ok won't be on it .... But I can look can't I? Lol

There seems to be s gap on the SS site just before this one so guess it's a privately booked cruise?

 

I'm with Randy on the length. we just got back from 8 days and it was over before it began!

 

I'm looking at the 160 day one.... Ok won't be on it .... But I can look can't I? Lol

Actually the gap I'm seeing is after the subject cruise (Voyage 2707). There is no Voyage 2708 listed and there's a 5-day gap from 12 to 17 March. Probably was a 10-day cruise in initial planning but somebody chartered a 5-day cruise so Silversea ended up with a one off kind of 5-day cruise to sell. I did notice that there is a gap in February and that Voyage 2705 is not listed but that shouldn't directly impact Voyages 2706 and 2707.

That makes sense then. Well, we are in Curacao for nearly a month and don't want to overstay our welcome with our friends for that long, and wanted to have a look at a few other places since we've never been to the Caribbean.

The closest thing we've done is the Portsmouth to Santander ferry :)

So, a 5-day cruise is quite an attraction to us to try it out and see if we like the idea, especially as I've noticed the first 2 days are in San Juan where we can fly to/from Curacao pretty cheaply, though we have to go on the Sunday so we will actually be on Puerto Rico for 4 days but it looks nice.

That makes sense then. Well, we are in Curacao for nearly a month and don't want to overstay our welcome with our friends for that long, and wanted to have a look at a few other places since we've never been to the Caribbean.

 

The closest thing we've done is the Portsmouth to Santander ferry :)

 

So, a 5-day cruise is quite an attraction to us to try it out and see if we like the idea, especially as I've noticed the first 2 days are in San Juan where we can fly to/from Curacao pretty cheaply, though we have to go on the Sunday so we will actually be on Puerto Rico for 4 days but it looks nice.

It works for you and you get basically a "try it you might like it" cruise and experience. My very first cruise 22 years ago was a 4-day cruise to see if we even liked cruising. Really didn't risk that much and at worst it could have been a short "blah" vacation. Just watch out...you could get hooked on cruising like many of us here. :D

The closest thing we've done is the Portsmouth to Santander ferry :)

Haha... Well you are in for a pleasant surprise! :D

I think most of these things are a personal viewpoint. I just went on a carnival cruise. I did enjoy it (I was worried i wouldn't) but I suspect many of the cruisers on that voyage would not like a silver sea cruise. I'm not too disappointed by that! lol