CinciCruise

I am guessing Silversea is changing the ship to different itineraries. This happened with the Wind a few weeks ago. All the Arctic itineraries in summer 2025 were replaced with new ones to Iceland, Scotland and Norway, but other cruises on the ship could not be booked for a short time.

I am guessing Silversea realized there was not enough demand for 2 ships doing Greenland. The new itineraries for the Silver Wind in summer 2025 are posted and open for booking. I've wanted to do an expedition cruise that did the Norway fjords because I have done Greenland and Iceland already and I plan to book one of the new cruises.

We love Silversea and there are lots of tables for 2.

We have been in the cabin with our adult daughter who is a full time wheelchair user. Yes, the cabin is large. However, there are some negatives. One is it is a long way from the elevators. The issue is when attendants are servicing cabins (hours every morning) It is very difficult for us to navigate around the carts in the halls. We have to move the cart ourselves to eat by. It is a long hallway. The accessible cabins on S and M class ships are near the elevators so it is not an issue. There are never any carts blocking our way. Although the room is big a lot is not useable because it is at the front of the ship and the walls slope. I am trying to remember but I think I put the toilet chair we requested and use in one area and had to duck. The bathroom is at an odd angle. Nothing in the cabin is in a line like regular cabins. Entrance to the cabin is via a mini hall because it can be combined with the cabin next to it. None of this may be an issue, but I want you to know it is an usual design. Doors are automatic on E and S class ships and activated by a card key. This is great for a wheelchair user. It may be an issue for someone visually impaired not knowing if the door is moving. Doors on M class ships are not automatic. There is one big pro for us with our daughter: cabin has a real bed for the 3rd person. S and M class ships have a chair that makes a bed and it is terrible. This would not be an issue for 2 but for us it makes the long walk worthwhile. Two of the 4 OV cabins are for 3. We have to book 2 years ahead to get one of the 2. Very few accessible cabins are for 3. We love the cabin for the bed alone for our adult daughter and put up with the long walk.

I have an adult disabled daughter and it is very difficult to book an accessible cabin for 3. We can never bid for an upgrade or do a guarantee cabin because Celebrity will not promise an accessible cabin. It is impossible to go on a last minute cruise. Thus, I am shocked and saddened that a TA would offer an accessible cabin. When booking we do have to say we need one. Yes, the cabin is bigger, but it is not really useable space and there are downsides. There is little room in the bathroom to put things because the sink is accessible. There is also less storage in the cabins to allow for accessibility. The rods in closets are low and it makes hanging long times difficult. Water does go everywhere when using the shower because there is no lip. We require an accessible cabin for our daughter with cerebral palsy who can not stand, so we accept the downsides. The automatic doors are great for us when pushing the wheelchair, but not fun when one of us is coming in/out and the door remains open. If you do not need an accessible cabin, do not book one. Honestly, there is really no advantage to having one if you do not need it.

We returned a few days ago from a transpacific cruise from Japan to Alaska on the Silver Muse. There were extra things to do during the day that we had not seen on previous cruises (not trans-ocean cruises) in 2019, 2021, and even February 2023. This is a summary of our experience. Our cruise had a destination speaker plus 3 other enrichment speakers (current affairs by retired general, computer expert, and science expert.) In addition there was an art expert who held daily art classes on sea days (clay sculpture or water color painting) and 2 bridge instructors who taught 2 classes also on sea days. There were dance classes taught by cruise activities staff of some of the 4 dancers. Of course, there were the usual activities daily for points to trade in for Silversea merchandise at the end of the cruise: team trivial, bingo, bean bag toss, golf putting, table tennis (table moved to Silver Note). There is always the gym or spa. There was an American Diner lunch and British Pub lunch with live music. In addition, the evening entertainment was different from any previous Silversea cruise. I understand new entertainment is rolling out across the fleet. We had 2 singers and 4 dancers do 5-6 shows with a live band of 3-4. On nights without a production show, there was a cellist, magician, and singer and they all had 2 different performances. Shows were at 6:30 p.m. some nights and 9:45 p.m. other nights. We very much appreciated rotating times because the previous cruise all shows were by 6 singers to taped music and at 10 p.m. We never went to one on that cruise. We welcomed the change in entertainment! Of course, one can stream movies (free) or watch TV. We watched Formula 1 and even the coronation. My husband read, but I was so busy I never picked up my book once. It was chilly and no one really ventured on deck. However, there was plenty to do inside.

We sail Celebrity at least yearly with an adult disabled daughter who uses a wheelchair, and we sail Silversea yearly without her. We were on a Celebrity Caribbean cruise in November and just returned from the Silver Dawn last week. Silversea’s food is excellent and much better than Celebrity’s. The service is better and the cabins are larger. It is a true luxury experience. Yes, it is more expensive, but worth it. The only area where Celebrity shines over Silversea is nightly shows and lifts for pools and hot tubs. Of course, a larger ship allows better entertainment and more accessibility. We do not cruise on Silversea for the entertainment, but our daughter expects it when she cruises and she needs to use a pool or hot tub with a lift. There is a cruise for everyone. I do not understand the complaints. about the food or service on Silversea. As for the filet mignon, we also thought it was better at the grill than Atlantide. All were better than Celebrity’s meat.

I was on the Dawn last week and everyone was complaining they could not get Silver Note reservations at all or at 8 p.m. We had booked online the day reservations were allowed for the 8 p.m. - 9 p.m. time slot for only one night. We were given 9 p.m. and that is too late for us to eat. We are early to bed and early to rise cruisers. We went to Guest Relations immediately and they sent a note to Silver Note. We checked with Guest Relations daily and they kept saying they had not heard back. The TV showed 9 p.m. Mid-way through the cruise, I filled out the questionnaire that I was upset about not being able to get my 9 p.m. move to 8 p.m. I mentioned we have an upcoming cruise on Muse and I really do not want to do like others and book multiple nights hoping for one 8 p.m. In 10 minutes, I received a call telling me it was moved. Someone from Silver Note came to our table that evening in SALT and apologized and told me they were looking forward to seeing us at 8 p.m. on the day we reserved months ago. They told me next time to come immediately to Silver Note and request the change. Do not go to Guest Relations. I do not know why Guest Relations didn’t tell us that on day #1. Well, now we know. Silversea needs to change reservations to 30 minute blocks and do what Crystal did for popular hard to get reservations. Limit to one per cruise online and then only allow more if everyone is on board and has had a chance to book. Our trivia team had couples who tried the whole cruise to get in Silver Note. They had asked their butler on the first day to make a reservation and all that happened was they were on a wait list and then “rejected.” They had cruise multiple times on Silversea and were shocked they could not get reservations on the ship. The cruise was outstanding except for the whole issue of getting to dine one time at Silver Note at 8 p.m. I have no idea why they do not start dining at 7 p.m. By the way, it was worth the hassle. We enjoyed the evening. I do think people reserve multiple times hoping for 8 p.m. and then cancel. The whole Silver Note reservation system online and on the ship needs to be redone.

We stayed at the Shangri-La at the Marina and it was very nice. It showed up as our hotel in our documents perhaps 6-8 weeks before the cruise.

At least we now can book the No Perks/Cruise. Our disabled daughter does not drink anything but water and can not use Wi-Fi. It was expensive when we were forced to book Always Included. Once Celebrity changed to have No Perks/Cruise only I called and changed all our reservations. Unfortunately, one cruise was before the policy changed and it was a rather expensive premium even with a lower 3rd person rate.

We returned last week from a Silversea cruise. We were told B2B cruisers would be COVID tested (provided by ship) if a certain % of the ship is positive per RCCL Group requirement. I think it was 2 or 3%. Our ship was over several days before the cruise ended and the 44 continuing passengers were very worried. Fortunately, those who were quarantined with COVID tested negative after 5 days and were released and the ship fell below the threshold and testing was not required. Thus, it depends if RCCL Group changes the policy or not and the COVID rate on the ship. Who knows?

Mercure Nadi Fiji. I have nothing against Mercure and stay at them in Europe and South America on occasion, but this is not anything close to any Mercure I have ever stayed. It was poorly maintained and dirty and very much like a Motel 6. The bathroom was the dirtiest I have seen in 30 years. You can read the reviews. The only decent reviews are from locals. We were the only non-locals. I think Silversea did wait until the week before to book. Shame on them. They should have least give us an apology or refund or some credit.

Yes, you get paper luggage tags at the pre-cruise hotel or port. The personalized luggage tags set to your agent or home went away with COVID.

We returned last week on a door-to-door on the Silver Explorer. Unlike previous cruises before COVID, there was no personalized stationery. We did receive a small zip bag on the bed that had masks, sample size lotion, and a floating key chain but no documents. We were not quite sure of the purpose and it was not personalized. Pre-cruise documents are now emailed a couple a weeks before the trip. We never received a hard copy of anything or the typical luggage tags pre-COVID.

Let me try to further clarify. We had thought it would be a resort type hotel in the resort area about 20 minutes from the airport with a beach, lovely pool, restaurants, and shopping nearby. We all knew there were no airport hotels in Fiji that are 4- or 5- star. Many took a 15-20 minute taxi to the resort area for dinner and all commented that we should have been staying at any of the hotels there. All flights from Fiji to US are at 10 p.m. and there was no need to book a non-resort hotel to be close to the airport. The issue was the hotel was unacceptable in quality and in an isolated location when there were many acceptable, name-brand options 15-20 minutes away. Sorry everyone focused on “airport” because the issue was the quality of the lodging and I meant “airport” versus “resort.” We arrived at the hotel around 10 a.m. and had to stay there until 6:30 p.m. the next day when we all took a bus to the airport for our 10 p.m. flights. It was a very long 2 days in the heat just waiting to leave and shocking way to end our cruise. The pre-cruise hotel in Cairns was one of the best in the city, but we had the name of it for at least 4-6 months. I know many hotels are named in the documents and some are Simply Silver. Just be warned if the hotel is not named because it sure seemed like cost cutting when we heard “negotiating with hotels.”