Silver Spirit Live ... getting ready to enjoy

My wife, son and I will be boarding the Silver Spirit on Jan 5th. Looking forward to exceptional service, fabulous food and drink on our first SilverSea sailing. We have sailed Seabourn in the Med twice and loved both voyages. Many of the passengers had suggested SilverSea as an alternative when itineraries did not work with your schedule. Having recently moved from upstate NY to the west coast of Sourh Florida and our son's college break schedule this cruise fit the bil. Plus, it has been awhile since being on the water and we have the itch. I will make this a live thread and provide an honest review for those interested. Happy Holidays!

Fair Winds and Following seas and Happy Holidays too!

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Have a wonderful time!

Happy sailing and happy holidays too! Looking forward to your live report.

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My wife, son and I will be boarding the Silver Spirit on Jan 5th. Looking forward to exceptional service, fabulous food and drink on our first SilverSea sailing. We have sailed Seabourn in the Med twice and loved both voyages. Many of the passengers had suggested SilverSea as an alternative when itineraries did not work with your schedule. Having recently moved from upstate NY to the west coast of Sourh Florida and our son's college break schedule this cruise fit the bil. Plus, it has been awhile since being on the water and we have the itch. I will make this a live thread and provide an honest review for those interested. Happy Holidays!

Appreciate your posting and super looking forward to your live postings, etc. Any chance for any pictures? We have done four cruises on the Silver Cloud, but in June it will be our first sailing on the Silver Spirit in going from Lisbon to Rouen over eleven days. Might have questions as you do your "adventure" about the Silver Spirit.

Nice to see that your upcoming cruise has stops in both San Juan and St. Barts. We enjoyed both of those locations very much two years ago on the Silver Cloud after doing the Amazon River, etc. Below are links for some of my pictures and ideas to enjoy at these two ports. Been to either of these great locations previously?

For San Juan: our “Pix's, Fun, Experiences”, check out this posting:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2264847

For many more pictures, details, tips and ideas, check out "St. Barts: Our Experience, Pix's!!" at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2253803

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from my latest live/blog at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 24,471 views for this reporting and visual sharing that includes Cape Town, all along the South Africa coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

I'll be following your comments with great interest & may have questions since we'll be embarking as you disembark! Have an excellent cruise - withing you smooth seas - enjoy every moment (and bite-and sip-and warm breeze!)

Merry Christmas!!!

Loved the pictures thanks so much for sharing. I will certainly post pictures. Other than San Juan we have not been to the islands on this itinerary. For St. Bart's we have rented a car, so any suggestions please share.

I have a question for the SilverSea travelers .... my wife had scheduled dinner reservations weeks ago at both Stars Supper Club and Seishin. When logging into our account for those restaurants it says to please see the maitre D. I am having flashbacks to our days on RCCL and HAL. Is this standard protocol? Is this a task our butler can manage?

See you onboard.

We have booked three golf days on this cruise.

Merry Christmas!!! Loved the pictures thanks so much for sharing. I will certainly post pictures. Other than San Juan we have not been to the islands on this itinerary. For St. Bart's we have rented a car, so any suggestions please share. I have a question for the SilverSea travelers .... my wife had scheduled dinner reservations weeks ago at both Stars Supper Club and Seishin. When logging into our account for those restaurants it says to please see the maitre D. I am having flashbacks to our days on RCCL and HAL. Is this standard protocol? Is this a task our butler can manage?

YES, to your sharing of the Merry Christmas greetings!! Appreciate your plan to post photos. On St. Barts, having a rental car and driving around can work well, assuming that things are not too crowded and busy on the day that you will be there. It is not that big of an island! Lots to see. Be sure to stop, soak up the great views and interesting settings, etc.

I assume that they will be able to work out your dinner reservations in a satisfactory manner. Tell us later how that works out on the Silver Spirit.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 46,488 views for these postings.

 

I have a question for the SilverSea travelers .... my wife had scheduled dinner reservations weeks ago at both Stars Supper Club and Seishin. When logging into our account for those restaurants it says to please see the maitre D. I am having flashbacks to our days on RCCL and HAL. Is this standard protocol? Is this a task our butler can manage?

Just back home after being onboard for the last 2 cruises but I have to say have never been referred to Maitre d after having made a reservation on Mysilversea. Having said that I have never used Stars or Seishin either it may be something to do with those specific locations. Upon boarding you should be given a printed confirmation of your reservations which I find works well for Champagne and La Terrazza which we do use. The only thing to watch is the time allocated which usually defaults to 7.00 and you may need to change these if you prefer.

We found that we had been given 8.00 for Champagne and asked the manager of that restaurant to change to 7.00. To cut a long story short we ended up cancelling the booking in view of the attitude shown over our request. The problem is that the Mysilversea website defaults to 7.00 and the manager then tries to balance the bookings over the evening. It could be that whilst you are in the restaurants you require you may have to negotiate with the manager to get the time you want. I have never before had a problem as the various managers have always been most helpful but this one time was the exception.

Your butler could certainly sort things out for you but if various options are provided you may wish to deal with it yourself. I know I would. If the excellent Francesco is still on board in charge of Terrazza then he is the man I would always go to as he is the best.

Hope you have as good a time as we did.

taxman1, wishing you both a wonderful cruise.

My wife and I boarded The Spirit on January 7, 2016 for a R/T Fort Lauderdale cruise. We had a very nice time.

Keith

It's official .... the suitcases are opened and ready for activity. Big packing day today as there are two more days of work this week before we launch from Sarasota for Ft Lauderdale. Need to make a dent today.

Taxman, we've drank the ship dry of Corona Extra on this voyage, so if you're looking for your beach, hopefully it'll be replenished in Ft. Lauderdale.

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Merry Christmas!!!

 

Loved the pictures thanks so much for sharing. I will certainly post pictures. Other than San Juan we have not been to the islands on this itinerary. For St. Bart's we have rented a car, so any suggestions please share.

 

If you have rented the car at the airport, it is approx a 1500 meter walk to the airport (20 minutes). Or a $20 under 5 minute cab drive.

Whatever you prefer.

I love the Corona post! Will let you know if they replenished my beach:)

Ok .... let me begin by saying I am keeping an open mind. I am not from the Republican Party or the Democrats, but am a member of the Cocktail Party!

We utilized the Park n Go facility and highly recommend it to anyone in the future. Extremely efficient and friendly as can be. Shuttle ride to the pier was short and efficient.

Now I will start the boarding process. Very ineffective IMO when compared to our experiences with Seabourn. You pre-register at a desk on the Pier, board the ship, then need to make your way to the main bar/reception area to finish registration, turn in your passports and then have your photos taken. Lines are not long, but space is at a premium and thus makes it a crowded process. All in all a 40 minute check-in process. Our seabourn experience was all of ten minutes ... entirely done before boarding the ship such that when you did board someone was waiting to take you to your suite.

Will continue after muster.

I am keeping an open mind. I am not from the Republican Party or the Democrats, but am a member of the Cocktail Party!

Now I will start the boarding process. Very ineffective IMO when compared to our experiences with Seabourn. You pre-register at a desk on the Pier, board the ship, then need to make your way to the main bar/reception area to finish registration, turn in your passports and then have your photos taken. Lines are not long, but space is at a premium and thus makes it a crowded process. Will continue after muster.

Appreciate this super fun posting as to being an "open mind" and a member of the "Cocktail Party". Great!! Love this creativity and writing approach!!

Glad you're sharing all of the details and experiences. Look forward to reading, learning more, hearing your insights and reactions, etc., etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 165,654 views for this posting.

Back from Muster and watching the Silver Wind and RCCL Independence of the Seas leave port.

Back to boarding ... we proceeded directly to our cabin although we were told it would be 20 minutes before it was ready. Sorry ...We could not wait. Suite was ready and the largest space we have had to date. Silver suite is much larger than the PH on Seabourn. A prior poster mentioned they thought the Spirit was ready for dry dock and I agree. The cabin is very clean, but has some wear and tear to the furniture. Bathroom is gorgeous and closet space is to die for ... at least that is what I am hearing from the better half. Veranda is great on space, but again, wear and tear on furniture. Let me be more specific ... cushions have more wear and tear while furniture is perfect.

1st day lunch at La Terrazza is chaulked up as first day jitters. Will pause a day before commenting. Just say not impressed for the moment.

Muster was an experience. It has been a while since we had to wear the orange AND walk from the meeting point in the bar to the lifeboat. I am not complaining ... important process and one I pray we don't need to engage over the next 11 days.

Enjoying some light fare on the veranda with some bubbly as our butler is unpacking. The Butler is huge and something we have not experienced before. Neo is a great soul and should be fun.

Ok, we need to bury the first casualty (I.e., bottle) of the trip and see how the unpacking is going. More to come over the next few days.

Looks like you're a little late leaving Fort Lauderdale tonight? What's with the need for a tug boat at the starboard rear quarter? Ah...now (6pm) you are leaving (watching on PTZtv.com).

A prior poster mentioned they thought the Spirit was ready for dry dock and I agree.

1st day lunch at La Terrazza is chaulked up as first day jitters. Will pause a day before commenting. Just say not impressed for the moment.

There's no excuse for first day jitters as this crew has been at it for some time, unless Francesco departed today. He ran the tightest La Terrazza

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Interesting perspective so far from a first time pax with silversea.

I very much like the silvers.

Are you on deck ten or eleven?

The obs lounge is terrific.

I have cruised with silversea almost 200 days but have never had the butler unpack...

We did leave an hour past our scheduled time. Our departure was after the Wind; we did exchange salutes as she glided past onto her way into the lane.

Neo and Cristal did a wonderful job unpacking. If you have the opportunity to use the service I strongly suggest you do it. Now, I will say that service was not offered; we kindly requested to be unpacked before cocktails at 7. We are on 10 and strategically chose that location to walk out on the upper sun deck around the pool. Great location to people watch, catch the sun and drink whatever cold beverage should strike the mood.

Dinner last night was fair. We ate in the main dining room. Ryan provided good service, the white wine being poured was from Portugal was satisfying and the Sauvignon Blanc requested was a surprise. Appetizers were very good, but dinner itself was a disappointment. The scallops provided a jaw workout. Desert was good and off the cabin for a showing of Jack Reacher before sleeping like a log. Sheets, pillows and mattress are fabulous.

Breakfast at La Terrazza was very good this morning. Jordan provided great service and the food was very good.

Ice is melting, so need a refill. We shall continue.

PS ... yes I am a first timer for SS, but have traveled many lines and have been blessed to stay at the best hotels/resorts across the globe. I will call it as I see it which is a fringe benefit of being a member of the Cocktail Party. My mind is still open and SS is warming up. The verdict will come in 10 days.

Great lunch at the pool grill today! The Mongolian stir fry was fresh and the sauce was just right. The trio mini burger platter was juicy and matched well with the mustard sauce. Denzil took care of us all afternoon on the upper pool deck ... 3 deep with the Caipirinha's for myself. He seemed to come around at the most opportune time. I better make my reservations for detox. Waiting for room service now ... ordered some chips and salsa and a couple pizzas. Having a difficult time posting pics. Most likely user error and may very well be directly correlated to the Brazilian cocktail montage this afternoon. Will figure it out shortly.

I have cruised with silversea almost 200 days but have never had the butler unpack...

Loving your posts. I have never asked a butler to unpack. Maybe I should try it, though I think it would be a bit weird not knowing where all my stuff was.

I too am enjoying your posts! You have a great way with words. I LOLed at the comment on "user error...directly correlated to the Brazilian cocktail montage." You're making me want to join the Cocktail Party.

Sounds like you're having a great time. We are diehard Wind and Cloud fans but some day we may step up to the "big" ships. Hope the rest of your cruise is just as much fun.