rickandpat

This is our first time on Silverseas, I'd compare both with Seadream. Our cabin, the least expensive on the ship, was on the third level. An okay size and furnishings, comfortable, but nothing outstanding. Food was tasty and plentiful,and we understood when they ran out of cucumbers for my salads (provisioning that far out couldn't be easy). We really enjoyed the outdoor hot rocks dinners too.

Arrived home a few days ago from the cruise, and have to say for the right price and itinerary we'd do Silver Discoverer again tomorrow. No, it wasn't quite as active as we'd like - we sailed over 2700 nautical miles and covered a lot of ground - but there was some good hikes, and the snorkeling and diving were quite good. The islands were beautiful and culturally, just wow. The lecturers were outstanding (Apex was on-board and had some of their own people, but even without them the level of knowledge/education was excellent), and so the sea days were not so bad. The gym is small but surprisingly well-equipped. Food was quite good. There were a few hiccups I wouldn't have expected but we liked the expedition style and figured in 5-10 years it will will be just right.

Nancy and Steve, when were in French Polynesia in March met up with a diver who had just been in the Solomon Islands, maybe 6 months earlier. He said at that time the diving was great, no mention of bleaching.

Hi Nancy and Steve:

Thanks for posting! I looked up the village that is taking the place of Port Resolution (Waisisi), and it's the same distance to the volcano, if not closer. We're a little nervous too about changes, but we're hoping to be blown away - above and below the ocean. We'll keep our eyes open for you two.

How about on the Discoverer? I know, one of their older ships.

We've put in a deposit for a two-week expedition cruise Oct. 2017, covering the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. It offers free diving and hiking volcanic islands, along with expert lectures. We're in our 50s, love adventure, being active, diving and snorkeling, hiking, experiencing new places and learning new things. We don't need luxury, big rooms or fine dining, though they are nice to have. Has anyone done this type of cruising with Silversea? I'm a little concerned about sea days, though they said there is diving on those days too.

Fresh off our third cruise, all of which have been in the Caribbean. We've been wanting to do a cruise that includes Istanbul, unfortunately the one in May for 2016 got changed to roundtrip out of Athens. In 2017 the only choices are July or a longer more expensive one in Sept. that just isn't going to work. I'm leery about going to that area in July. We were in Turkey for a wonderful two weeks in mid- to late-June several years ago and it was fine in Istanbul, but got hotter the farther south we went. Anyone been on a similar itinerary at the height of summer? Do the tours tend to start earlier before everything heats up for the day? Are there good swimming or watersports opportunities? Thanks, itinerary below:

Istanbul

Kepez

Kusadasi

Patmos

Paro

Sifnos

Hydra

Athens

We were just in the area Dec. 5-12 (St. Martin round trip). Though the weather wasn't perfect - in fact skirted near a storm the first night - except for that one night didn't feel the ocean much at all. Just to be sure I stopped by the Concierge desk and they gave me a couple anti-nausea tablets (I believe scopalomine, I had bonine with me), the bonine worked fine and then no need for any more meds. And it was pretty hot, fine for outdoor dining. As I don't drink, I can attest that the cruise is loads of fun with or without alcohol. As suggested, do check in with the doctor, and enjoy!

I think SeaDream would be the perfect line to do an itinerary I've long thought would be great - but no one seems to be doing it. How about something that includes 2-3 places in Sicily,Malta,an Aeolian island or two? Throw in a day in Naples - or even better, Ischia or Capri - and I'd be the first to sign up. Am I dreaming here?

Always glad to hear good things about SeaDream. We're headed back to the Caribbean Dec. 5.

Did that itinerary in May, and our day in Vienna just happened to be the rainy/windy/cold day. We knew we didn't want to go back in the city and wander as we'd planned for the afternoon, so when we got back for lunch we asked the concierge if we could join the palace tour last minute. Within the hour we were on our way, and we lucked out with an excellent guide. We were glad we did it.

Our first SD cruise, about four years ago, about two months beforehand we got an e-mail of some discounts. One of them was for our cruise, for around $400 less a person. I called them up expecting to pay a rebooking fee to get the discount (in effect we'd cancel our reservation incurring $200, and rebook the same room and such, ending up saving $200 per person). Without asking, they waived the rebooking fee, so we got the full discount of $800. Worth a try.

Good to hear that it's a nice time of year, we could care less about restaurants and such, quiet and winding down for the season is fine with us. Rick is a pretty hardy swimmer, maybe it wouldn't be too cold for him. Vandrefalk, it's the Oct. 10 Istanbul to Athens, perhaps you're on a charter (not seeing anything starting Oct. 17 on the calendar online). Would love to meet you too!

Pat

You're a well-traveled bunch, we're considering a SD week cruise Istanbul to Athens, hitting mostly places we haven't visiting before. Patmos and Rhodes are both interesting to me (don't know much about Kepez, which is close to Troy), and the last time we went to Ephesus the Terrace Houses were still under excavation and off-limits. I've been in this neck of the woods in May and June, (would do that time frame again but thought to link this cruise with another European vacation set for the week before), will mid-October be terribly brown and scorched looking? Will the sea still be warm enough to swim in? I believe the air temps will be warm but not hot, which is a real plus. Any thoughts?

I don't see this itinerary for next summer. Is it one they only do every few years?

I've only been on SeaDream twice, so I'm not as knowledgeable as others, but here's my experience.

First cruise was in the Virgin Islands, the price did go down $200 pp a few months after we booked. I called up SeaDream to rebook (expecting to pay the $50 cancellation fee each), but they graciously changed it without charge.

This March we booked our Southern Caribbean voyage almost as soon as it was posted. We were looking forward to this particular itinerary which they do not offer often, and it was an anniversary trip. I checked the price a few times, and by 4 or 6 months beforehand, all the lesser expensive rooms were gone (and it was a full cruise). Great voyage!

We asked a number of repeat SeaDreamers if they enjoyed their Mediterranean cruises as much as the Caribbean, and we heard nothing but positive feedback.

My sister and I (53 and 56) just went on this cruise on the Legend, leaving Passau May 11, arriving Budapest a week later. All I can say is WOW, which is high praise indeed considering we had pretty crummy weather. The ship is nice and comfortable, great 24 hour coffee/tea/hot chocolate station nearly always with a snack. Food was very good to excellent (we had a strudel demonstration!), enjoyed going through a lock during daylight hours. The staff worked very hard for us, starting with the only clinker. We stayed in Prague (another wow!) ahead of time, and then a night in Cemsky Krumlov, a charming smaller town in southern Czeck Rep. The only downside is because of geography and past history of wars and such, the only way to get to the ship in a reasonable amount of time was a shuttle, and they tried to shake us down when we arrived. The concierge and other officers helped us, and we were grateful. When Vienna turned out to be incredibly rainy, cold and windy and we didn't want to walk around after lunch after all (and David our program director kindly offered to have anyone who did not want to do the walking portion of the morning bus tour taken back to the ship - one of us persevered and one did not), they were flexible enough to let us on the Schornbrunn Palace tour at the last moment. All our guides were at least quite good, we seemed to luck out there, and the buses were very comfortable. Though many of our fellow cruisers were a bit older (over half North American but a very sizable UK contingent), we had a good time getting to know many of them through the week.

Though it was unseasonably cold and we had rain or a few sprinkles most days (and sun too - you have to be prepared for both all the time!), the countryside and gardens were beautiful, it was a lovely time of year to go. Any questions, just let me know.

It's funny,in our family it's my HUSBAND who hates the thought of taking just carry-on, he feels more secure with covering every contingency and packing accordingly. One trick that works for me: If it's anytime other than winter in the frozen north, I take only one short-sleeved nightgown (which can be hand-washed). If it's cool and that nightgown isn't warm enough I simply throw on a sweater and sleep with both. When the hot flash hits, the sweater comes off.

I certainly have enjoyed all the reviews everyone else has posted, so if anything I can add after our wonderful South Caribbean can help someone, great.

Itinerary: Roundtrip out of Barbados, including Isle de Saints (Guadelupe), Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, Bequia, Canouan, Grenada, Mayreau.

Weather: Wonderful - very warm, breezy, couple drops of rain the last day (resulting in a rainbow), and rain as we disembarked. Rough seas getting back to Barbados, rest of time pretty smooth, traveling mostly at night, so we were rocked to sleep.

Guests: 105, many countries represented, aged 30s/40s to 80s. 70% were returnees. We met some wonderful people, including Carosal from this forum.

Crew: I'm terrible with names, but recognized several from our previous cruise, and enjoyed them all including many new faces. Everyone one of them worked hard with a genuine smile, could not ask for a better crew. Found this time that they were even more accommodating than last time. The first night I told Enis how sad I'd been last time when I was only able to get the chocolate fondant on one night, and he had it available for me any night we were in the grand salon for dinner. (He explained logistically why they couldn't do it when we dined topside.) We challenged Gareth to keep up busy, and he and Josh did a great job.

Activities: We especially enjoyed the river tubing in Dominica and the hike to the Seven Sisters falls on Grenada (which was a challenging hike). Rick got in a few dives, we swam,snorkeled, hiked, kayaked and biked with groups and independently - all good. Well, except when Rick took a bike out on St. Lucia and got pushed over by a van (I told him there was too much traffic on that island for biking!) I'll say it again, Gareth and Josh worked overtime to keep us all happy, with great results.

Food: Amazing! Wine, Rick happily drank a few glasses of whatever Frank offered, it was fine for him.

Overall: Outstanding! We will be back, everyone we were hanging with signed up for another cruise or at least an open booking.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Pat

Just got home after a FABULOUS cruise, will do a review separately but it sure looked to Rick and I that both engines were working, though it's common they use just one at a time for shorter leisurely jaunts. Club Director Gareth also said fixed. That's all we know.

We appreciate the in-depth review, thanks for all the details. I'm personally hoping Gareth is still on-board next week. We like to be busy and active every day, and there's not a lot of information online on several of our ports.

Cabosal, we'll be right with you - looking forward to being warm, with sun on our (sunscreened) skin. Look for the short couple, especially me.

Cabosal, not only are we on the same cruise (woohoo!), but we're also from Michigan. THIS is the winter to get away, just brutal.

Well, we just got our e-documents today for our March 20th cruise out of Barbados. We're really excited! Any other divers or bicyclists out there?

Yes, we're also on the 3-20. We get rose petals and champagne for an anniversary?