descartes1

So, you’d rather have SS keep the Shadow in Alaska where she’s been the past decade? Seems to me Alaska is way overdue to see the Spirit or Muse.

 

 

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Absolutely. Based on many, many reviews (including detailed photos), the condition of the Shadow (and Whisper) is appalling for a supposed "best in class" luxury product.

The Med is THE place to be in the summer with far greater demand than Alaska. It defies common sense that neither the Muse nor the Spirit will be sailing in the Med summer of 2019. At least one, if not both, should be there.

2019 Med Sailings show only the Shadow and the Whisper available in the summer months. How disappointing! By almost all accounts these two ships are really tired and worn, even after supposed refurbishments.

Shouldn't Silversea put its best foot forward in the Med during the prime time summer season?

It's going to be a "pass" for us in 2019.

Hi D,

 

The issue is that SS is on a clearly stated planned trajectory that takes them on a journey from A to B. You and many loved A but that does not guarantee that you and SS share the same vision and hopes, and that you will like B and sadly you and others have no say, you can only lump it or like it,

 

On the possible plus side, the most likely outcome will be lower diems as the pursuit of the need to attract up from other lines, conflicts with perceived loyalty abandonment, at a time of likely accelerating harder world economies, the pursuit of cost savings in a business with a very highly geared fixed costs model (making the only thing you can easily,control are the valued differentiators) and the downward quality spiral that this inevitable combination of predictable factors often produces.

 

C'est la bleedin' vie.

@UKCruiseJeff

Above all, the quality of service and the experience is tops, and that has really fallen off based on my experience this summer. The experienced staff are spread way too thin and the staff populating the fleet are new, and drawn from lesser cruise lines and they don't seem to grasp what the Silver Sea customer experience should be all about.

It is only going to get harder when the Spirit adds 68 more guests to care for. Frankly, most of the staff on our sail this summer seemed completely flustered trying to handle the passenger compliment at its current size. I mean basic things like taking orders at meals and providing drink service around the pool. In my humble opinion, Silver Sea should be committing massive resources and time towards training the staff in the ways and customers of Silver Sea. They need it. What we experienced this summer was an embarrassment. Absent this, long time and loyal VS members (and probably new passengers too) will be very disappointed going forward.

This is a highly competitive market and good and consistent customer service will win every time.

I would venture to guess that most Silver Sea patrons are used to staying at Four Seasons, Ritz and the like. That is the standard (at least) to which Silver Sea should aspire for all staff.

Sixty Eight (68) more passengers and virtually the same exact common areas doesn't seem like such a great proposition for customers. Silversea used to pride themselves on passenger to space ratio, which is one of the things we've liked about it. This seems to cut against that.

The mis-steps seem to continue....

The summer 2019 itineraries have been released to Venetian members.

Very disappointing. Only the Whisper and Shadow will be sailing in the Med. (The Muse and the Spirit will be in Alaska and Northern Europe).

This is a real bummer. Frankly, I have little interest in sailing on the older ships for a variety of reasons including because (i) much smaller cabins and the same or even higher pricing for equivalent accommodation; (ii) ships are aging and modest refurb isn't terribly appealing to us (the Whisper's issues have been well documented in the press); (iii) fewer restaurant choices; and (iv) they draw an older demographic in my experience (we are around 50 years of age), which is not necessarily a bad thing, but we know on the Spirit there is almost always a decent sized group of people in our age range (whereas on the smaller ships there is less of a likelihood of this).

At least one of the newer ships should be sailing in the Med in the summer.

Also, only ONE single itinerary in July/August has Venetian Society benefits. Really, what is the point of loyalty to this cruise line if you get no benefit during the one time of the year when you can sail?

Last, it appears that they have scaled back doing overnights, which is one thing Silver Sea really does well compared to Seabourn. The only mid-cruise overnights that are offered are in Sorrento (on 3 voyages) and Barcelona (on one voyage). Would definitely prefer to see more overnights, and especially in ports where nightlife is the thing, such as Monte Carlo, San Tropez, Ibiza etc.

I have been an big apologist for Silver Sea on this board and elsewhere over the years, but they keep doing things to push me away.

AMEX Platinum Travel service is terrible, especially for cruises. Worst of all, they are slow to respond or fail to respond at all. I've been a member for nearly 30 years. Service now is at an all time low in my opinion, even though the market competition (internet, concierge travel services) is tougher than ever. I predict they will eventually fail.

I had a situation where I asked our AMEX cruise agent via email to book a hotel pre-cruise for 3 nights. My requests were ignored. Weeks later, after I followed up to see if the booking was made, I learned it hadn't and rates went up substantially in the intervening time. AMEX agreed to compensate me $500 for their costly screw up (which, by the way, did NOT make up the cost difference). After our stay at the hotel, I asked that the credit be applied. Several emails...ignored again. So frustrating... I contacted a supervisior, and after a series of emails it was finally resolved. Just terrible, terrible service for a near 30 year Platinum customer booking a vacation which was approximately $20,000 (which we've virtually every summer through AMEX Travel... not to mention extensive travel throughout the year for business etc.) including hotel stays on each side of a cruise at AMEX FHR properties.

I'm done with AMEX and will do everything on my own, or through Virtuoso, which offers amenities/benefits that are at least as good as AMEX's.

My last sail on the Spirit I noticed that the underside of the interior of the swimming pool (which can only see while swimming in the pool) was very badly rusted and gross. It needs to be repainted. Other than that, the ship was in very good condition. I will be on board again in the upcoming months and will report if they have addressed this.

I've been to most of these places on either Silversea of Seabourn. Here is my advice:

Hvar, Croatia- Hvar Island Highlights: Forget the excursions. Rent a small boat for the day (with a captain) and explore the area, especially the islands off the coast of Hvar. Spend a few hours at Langanini Beach Club/Fish House and/or Carpe Diem. You won't regret it. Leave an hour or two (at most) to explore the old town on your own.

Kotor, Montenegro- Flavours & Traditions of Montenegro- Forget the excursions and grab a cab to Budva. Spend some time at the beach near Sventan Steffi. Budva's Old Town at night is incredible. Or, alternatively, grab a cab to Port Montenegro and spend the day at the fabulous Yacht Club.

Olympia, Greece- Olympia - Birthplace of the Olympics- The excursion here is a must and very worthwhile. That said, there are tour companies advertising right on the pier where the ship docks which could probably do an equally good tour for less money. Nevertheless, it's not the worst thing to mingle with some fellow passengers on the Silver Sea tour and it's relatively inexpensive.

Santorini Greece- Highlights of Santorini- I'd bag the tour and rent a car. The island is gorgeous and there's lots to see in a day. (Red Beach, Black Beach, archeological dig (Akitori), etc. Leave a couple of hours, at least, to roam around Oia on foot).

Kusadasi, Turkey- Ancient Ephesus- Tour is a must here. If they do an evening concert, don't miss it.

Average age, at least in the summer months, is NOT 75.

We have been sailing since our mid/late 40s and there are plenty of people in our age range to socialize and have fun with (at least in the summer, in the Med).

This happened to us very recently and I was livid. We had made extensive pre- and post- cruise plans which would have been ruined. Fortunately, Silversea did not contract for the charter after all and our voyage was put back on the board. Had it not, I would have sought significant compensation (such as a complementary cruise, as was offered to a close friend by Seabourn under identical circumstances), or never sail with Silversea again.

I am the one who posted Seaborne cancelling.After numerous cruises with SB which we enjoy this last experience is less than stellar.

They cancelled our trip in Aug.Before anyone comments we have a great travel agent who we have used for 16 years.

10 % off a future cruise and $400 shipboard credit was what they offerd.The trip that they cancelled was $2000 less and a $500 shipboard credit.

We re booked our mistake because we like SB.They will not assign us a cabin so we have no clue where we will be.Agent has been working with them daily to no avail.

Also as now we have not been refunded our air tickets for our previous cruise.So we have paid for 4 business class tickets and 2 cruises.

You can say what you want but SB is not stepping up to the plate.

Time to "lawyer up" in my opinion.

This is just outrageous, and mere reimbursement of out of pocket expenses in a joke.

Even a 10% discount is a joke.

If this happened to me and I wasn't offered significant compensation I would never sail the line again and discourage every person I know from doing so.

Certainly not a 6* experience, especially when you consider that summer plans in the Med must be made well in advance because the best places (pre- and post cruise) book very, very early.

Yes, is there a reason you are not sharing your sail date? It would be helpful to others who sail in August. Which week is being chartered?

The Voyage which has been chartered is #5723 which was supposed to depart from Rome on 8/18 (but may depart from somewhere else depending upon what has been agreed to with the charterer).

There's really no secret to this. You can see by simply looking at the website because the voyage is no longer posted.

I am encourage by the recent revelation that Silversea representatives are reading this Board. Therefore, in the interest of being constructive, I thought it would be good if people could list one thing that Silversea gets right, and one thing that could be improved upon.

I will start:

WHAT IS RIGHT-- I love that Silversea has significantly increased the number of OVERNIGHT stays and LATE NIGHT (11pm) departures. This affords the traveler much more time to enjoy the port visit at a more relaxed pace, have dinner locally etc. In ports like St. Tropez, Ibiza, Livorno, Monaco, Hvar, Kotor and others where there is good nightlife (which is indeed an integral part of the destination) ... it truly enhances the experience.

WHAT COULD BE BETTER-- Silversea should definitely resume caviar service. This is a big attraction for us to Seabourn. I creates an atmosphere of old world luxury and decadence, which actually aligns perfectly with Silversea's branding and atmosphere. It feels low rent, and is disappointing not to have it, when competitors do.

As the Silversea message above requested, I called customer service.

At my request, a supervisor called me back. He was very helpful.

In a nutshell, I was told the voyage after ours has been chartered and as a result there could be an itinerary change to our voyage.

I asked for a definitive time frame within which we will be advised of the change. This is important to us both for post-cruise planning (we paid SS an additional fee to delay our return air-travel because of plans near the port of disembarkation), and also because we specifically selected this voyage because certain ports which have historic and professional interest to us).

I was given a reasonable time frame within which to expect a response. I was also told that if we are unhappy with any change to the itinerary Silversea would work with us on an appropriate accommodation (although we both agreed it is pre-mature to discuss that now).

All in all, well handled by Silversea thus far.

Last night (U.S. Eastern time) our August voyage on the Spirit was put back on the website. The Spirit is still off the board, however, from July 26 through August 9th, and also from August 18th to the 25th. If these are indeed charters, that's a pretty heavy charter commitment during the high season.

I am interested to know whether our voyage has been partially chartered since it came off the board for several days and was reportedly "in negotiation" for a charter. Having a large charter group on board is certainly not ideal, and not consistent with the experience we are hoping to have.

We have been booked and paid in full for a Spirit voyage in the Med August 2017 for many months. We are traveling with 2 other couples. All of us are Venetian Society members.

I noticed yesterday that our voyage, along with ALL other sailings of the Spirit in the Med from late July to late August-- a full month-- have been taken off the website. The Muse sailings have been left up.

I called Silversea and was told that they are "in negotiation" for a charter which would supplant our voyage, and our voyage would be cancelled if an agreement is reached. They would not tell me when a firm answer can be expected, or what the compensation will be.

Despite what Silversea has told me, it seems unlikely to me that they would charter the Spirit for a whole month and displace numerous customers. When I pointed this out to the Silversea rep they said they were quite surprised and this would be "highly unusual."

There is a very significant price difference between the cost of sailing on the Spirit v. the newer Muse. ($8,000 v. $5,000 per person for Veranda category). I can't help but wonder whether taking the Spirit voyages off the board is a tactic to push visitors to the website to book the Muse, at higher cost. I suspect most people looking at the site would see the price difference and choose the Spirit. Muse bookings may be lagging.

I'm feeling quite frustrated because I, and my travel group, did proverbial "back flips", and incurred expense (child care, business coverage, etc.) to make our schedules work for our booked and paid for sailing on the Spirit. If it is truly going to be cancelled we need to know to make alternate arrangements.

And, if it is cancelled, unless we are given VERY significant compensation, we will never sail Silversea again. My fellow travelers feel the same. The lack of a clear and definitive response, or even a promise as to when a response will be forthcoming is just terrible customer relations.

Agree. Have no desire to pay for un-needed shore excursions or fight for space on one because people have double and triple booked.

I also agree. The shore excursions are bad value and I don't like the slow paced, impersonal, group format. We prefer to make our own arrangements for most ports.

Here is what's listed as being included per the SilverSea website:

Included in this Cruise

•Spacious suites – over 85% with private verandas

•Personalised service – nearly one crew member for every guest

•Butler service in every suite – all guests are pampered equally

•Open-seating dining options – dine when and with whomever you please

•Diversity of dining venues – casual, romantic, regional delicacies, and gourmet cuisine inspired by Relais & Châteaux

•Beverages in-suite and throughout the ship – select wines, premium spirits, specialty coffees and soft drinks, plus your own tailored mini-bar

•In-suite dining and 24-hour room service – always complimentary, always available

•Sophisticated entertainment from live music to production shows

•Enrichment lecturer and/or destination consultant

•Complimentary transportation into town in most ports

•Gratuities always included in your fare

•Free WiFi throughout the ship; unlimited in select suite categories

•Free Silver Shore Select Excursions

I found it how much is your AIRFARE* & TRANSFERS Free-Shore-Excursions and INCLUDED HOTEL

 

On Seabourn they do not include that

 

You can get it removed and should be around 400.00 per day

I see nothing that says airfare and hotel are included in the SilverSea voyage. Indeed, when you click on the "What's Included" airfare and hotel are not listed.

Interestingly, Seabourn has employed exactly the opposite pricing strategy. Originally their fares for a nearly identical Med Voyage in August we much more expensive than SilverSea's, but they have now dropped them by thousands of dollars per person.

The base rate for the Seabourn voyage is now only $2,800 compared to the SilverSea base rate of $5,850. Again, this for a nearly identical itinerary. That's a crazy price difference between two similar products, even factoring in free wifi and shore excursions.

Must be the rise in fuel prices.:eek:

Fuel prices very low right now compared to what they were. Plus, I strongly suspect cruise companies, like SilverSea, buy hedging contracts to manage the risk in fluctuations of fuel costs.

The new, increased fare does not appear to include airfare, and a hike of about $4,500 seems a bit steep for adding wifi and shore excursions.

Personally, I prefer going a la carte because I prefer to plan my own shore excursions.

I suspect is has more to do with the "all Exclusive Inclusive" meaning the new fare reflects included airfare and in some instances a pre-cruise hotel stay. Guests/agents have the option of booking the segment either way. I am not a travel agent but perhaps someone else confirm my thoughts.

Well, after the all-inclusive was offered there was a modest fare hike of only a few hundred dollars pp. More recently (and well after the change to all inclusive), however, there was this large hike of more than $2,000 pp. So, I'm thinking that it's some other factor.

Looking further at the itineraries, I see that all the port visits in Turkey have been scraped, which leads me to believe that the fares have been hiked on other ports due to demand and the cost is being passed off to customers. Or, customer demand is simply higher for the non-Turkish port itineraries, which created an opportunity to hike fares.

Sorry. Typo. Our booked fare was $4,150, not $4,140.