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CLOU

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Posts posted by CLOU

  1. I figured I would not be denied boarding. I just thought it was odd there ws no ticket, and yes, I did complete all of the on line info, but there was no way I saw to print a ticket.

  2. Nope. There is no ticket. There is a page entitled "Your Cruise Information" but then it specifically says it is not a ticket and the ticket will be emailed 5 weeks before the cruise. I am not too worried. I cannot imagine they would not let me board, although I had a small concern since Silversea is providing the airport transfer. I do have local contact info. I wonder if anyone who has sailed in the past has also sailed recently and can report if Silversea has changed it's procedures. Thanks again.

  3. We are leaving on our first Silversea cruise on Thursday and I did not receive a cruise ticket. We got a Travel Journal a while ago with luggage tags, but the Journal says cruise tickets would be emailed 5 weeks before sailing. I called my TA when we first got the Journsl and she said we would get a cruise ticket later. When I never go a cruise ticket, I contacted my TA again. She contacted Silversea and they sent the same thing again, a Journal and luggage tags. My TA said she checked and Silversea must have recently changed its procedure because they said there was nothing else to send. I have printed materials from my TA both on it's letterhead and on Silversea letterhead with my booking number and confirmation of my transfer from the airport to the ship. However, no actual cruise ticket. I am used to Seabourn where you can register on line and get an electronic ticket. Plus My TA always also sends a hard ticket. While I was able to fill out my Silversea guest preferenceson line, there was no way to print a ticket. Has Silversea eliminated an actual ticket? Seabourn personnel had told me previously that you don't really need a ticket, which I imagine is true as long as you have ID and a booking number, but since this is my first time with SS, I am just a little concerned.

    That you

  4. Does Silversea regularly extend invitations to dine with members of the crew and if so, is it acceptable to turn down the invitation? My experience has been with this on Seabourn and, although you are free to turn down the invitation, and we have many times, we have said yes various times also. Inevitably, after such a dinner, we remind ourselves that we should just say no. While the hosts, ranging from the doctor, to entertainers to the hotel captain to the cruise director, usually do their best to entertain and keep the table happy, my husband and I find that we are usually separated by assigned seating, and have had experiences with table mates we would not care to repeat - such as being seated next to someone who insists on talking politics, diametrically opposed to mine, who won't stop despite my numerous attempts to try and get him to agree to disagree. I prefer to choose my dinner companions myself. Since I will be sailing on the Cloud in less than a month, and the Cloud is such a small ship, I imagine that if it is the custom on Silversea to extend such invitations, we will likely receive one and I want to know that, if I choose, can follow my instincts and politely decline.

  5. Thanks, Wes. We may still order a bottle of wine from the connoisseur's list, but I did not want to commit to having to do that, on top of the original fee. May depend on how the menu looks or whether we have shipboard credits to use.

  6. I am taking my first Silversea cruise in a month, having been on several Regent and later Seabourn cruises. Normally, I don't like the concept of paying extra for things on an all inclusive cruise, other than ship's excursions since I generally don't take them. However, people seem to really like Le Champagne, and I will have a shipboard credit to spend. However, does the $40/person fee include wine. I thought I read somewhere that the complimentary wines are not poured. If this is the case, and wine is not included, then we are tacking on a wine off the reserve list, on top of the per person charge. Just want to know what we will be committing to. Thanks.

  7. We are trying our first Silversea cruise, after numerous cruises, first on Regent and more recently on Seabourn. We leave from Rome and arranged our airfare through Silversea, since surprisingly it was actually cheaper than we could get ourselves. This means that Silversea will pick is up at the airport and take us to the pier. Our flight lands at 8:30. I know we have to claim our luggage and that the Civitavecchia is well over an hour from the airport, but do you think Silversea will take us straight to the ship and let us board when we get there? Also, will we have our own car or be in a bus or minibus with other passengers. I haven't sailed Regent in years, in fact before airfare was included, but when they provided transport from the airport to the ship it was on a minibus. The one time we used Seabourn's airfare, it was also from Rome. They picked us up at the airport in a Mercedes sedan, because it would be too early to board, they took us to a hotel where they had booked a day room in Rome where they thought we would nap, but instead we toured around until 1:00, and then they picked us up and took us to the ship. However, this was in the days when they did not let you board much before the scheduled boarding time of 2:00. Just curious if anyone knows what I should expect from Silversea. Looking forward to trying something new.

  8. I think I will suggest that my brother-in-law call. When I have used the preference form for a spirit that is not on the list, sometimes the requested bottle is in the room when we board and sometimes not. Of course, my stewardess has always provided the requested bottle by the first evening, but I know that is is commonly stocked on Seabourn.

     

    How much of a particular beer has Seabourn provided? Not that my brother-in-law will be drinking night and day, but like many of us on vacation, especially on an all inclusive cruise where driving is not a concern, a six pack or even two is not likely to last the cruise. He can, of course, deal with the standard offerings if his special request is not honored or it runs out. Since I have told my sister and brother-in-law how much I have enjoyed my Seabourn cruises, they are going with us mainly due to my recommendations, so I want to make the trip as enjoyable for them as possible. Thanks.

  9. Terry, I am in cabin 614. How does one check about the shower? I know, of course, I can ask my travel agent, but I am just curious because you said you could check. Perhaps it is because you are in the industry, although I don't think I am supposed to say that on these boards.

  10. Thanks for the link to your blog, Terry. It is making me even more anxious to go. Of my prior cruises on Seabourn, one was on one of the little sisters, and several of my Regent (formerly Radisson) cruises were on the Diamond, so I have experienced and enjoyed the very small ship atmosphere. As the cruise gets closer, I am sure I will have more questions and appreciate all the information people on the boards provide. In fact, I have another question already. We are in a veranda suite and the Silversea website says some suites have separate shower and bath and some are combined. Other than asking my travel agent to find out, is there any other way to tell what type of facilities will be in my booked suite?

  11. Thanks for the info, I guess I will have to bring my Seabourn tote bag.

     

    It was interesting to hear there are no streamed movies. I could not find any info on the Silversea website, but when I googled Silversea and movies I found a 2013 press release that stated that on the Cloud you could now watch streamed movies on your personal devices. I guess that did not work out.

     

    These are minor details. I continue to look forward to my July cruise.

  12. I am an experienced cruiser, with over 20 cruises in the past, most of which were on Regent earlier and then Seabourn. We are giving Silversea a try. We are on a 7 day Mediterranean cruise in July on the Cloud. We wanted to do a short cruise for our first Silversea cruise to see how we like it and how it compares to Seabourn, and this was sort of spur of the moment. I know the Cloud is one of the older ships, so I will take that into account in my comparison. While I am a little worried about recent reviews, I am also excited to try a new line and am keeping an open mind.

     

    I have a few questions. I saw on the website that the Cloud has free streaming movies on the personal devices. Does that mean there are no movies available through the tv? Not that I go on cruises to watch movies, but sometime a little down time with a glass of wine is nice. Also, I saw that each passenger gets an hour of internet free per day. This is great for keeping in touch. How is that free time affected by streaming movies, if at all?

     

    Next, does Silversea provide tote bags? If not, I am afraid I will have to be a shill for another line by bringing along my Seabourn tote bag.

     

    Lastly, at least for now, since the Cloud is a small ship. is there any problem getting a table for two in any of the restaurants?

     

    Any answers or additional information or input would be greatly appreciated.

  13. While my husband and I have been on a number Seabourn cruises, we are not really beer drinkers so i have not paid attention to the beer selection. This September, my sister and brother-in-law are joining us on the Quest on the Boston to Montreal cruise. My brother-in-law is a beer drinker. Can anyone tell me some of the beer choices that are available? Also, I seem to recall that people have mentioned that if you contact Seabourn in advance, they may be willing or able to stock his refrigerator with at least a six pack of a specifically requested beer. Although a six-pack will not last him very long, I thought it might be a nice touch to have him start out with one of his favorites. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

  14. We will be in Bar Harbor off our cruise at the end of September. We were considering going on the Ollie's Trolley tour. Does anyone know if we need to make advance reservations, or can we simply make arrangements after we dock. If it affects your answer, it appears there may be 3 cruise ships in port that day.

     

    Any info on this or other considerations for Bar Harbor would be appreciated. Thanks.

  15. I am looking into booking the September 21st cruise from Boston to Montreal. If anyone has taken this cruise, is there a preferred side of the ship? Looking at the map on the Seabourn website, it looks like one side might be better in certain areas, and the other in other areas, but I thought I would check and see if anyone has done this cruise and has a recommendation regarding port or starboard, as well as any other thoughts or recommendations for this cruise.

  16. I was on deck 6 in a v3 balcony which we had reserved. I have to a agree with Marazul that the weather was perfect which certainly helped the cruise. We went off on our own in Provence and purchased several rosés, some of which we took home and a couple of which we drank on the ship on the warm afternoons.

  17. Returned last week from a 10 Mediterranean cruise. We did a very similar itinerary last year, so I have a recent experience to compare. Here are some random thoughts, in no particular order.

     

    The service was very good, better than last year. Our stewardess learned our routine very early and was in and out quickly, almost as soon as we left the room She paid attention to details, such as making sure we always had sparkling water. We boarded on the late side and she overheard me tell my husband that I had noticed that the stewardess trays I saw go by did not have L’Occitane soap. When she brought us our soaps, not only did she hunt down a L’Occitane for us, but she gave us another bar the day before our cruise was over. While not that important to me, more staff addressed us by name than on the previous cruise. The bartenders in the club knew our drink and were preparing it before we were seated. However, only once did someone try and carry my plate from the buffet to my table for me, but that was okay by me. I always thought that service was a little silly and staff could be utilized better elsewhere.

     

    I know it is important to many, but we had no problem with cigarette smoke, anywhere. Not even in the Observation lounge, although we were only there one evening.

     

    Speaking of the Observation Lounge, all of the teas at afternoon tea, other than the standard English Breakfast which is poured if you don’t ask for a specific tea, were loose tea, which is an improvement from last year when only one or two of the tease were loose tea.

     

    I thought the food had gone downhill a little. It was still acceptable, and I don’t expect 3 star Michelin level dining on a cruise ship, but it was a little bland and there were a few dishes that were downright flavorless. Restaurant 2 has passed its prime and I think it should be replaced. We used to enjoy going at least once and even sometimes twice during a cruise, but this time, we went once and were quite disappointed. Still, I think as cruise ships go, the food is decent. One consistent complaint was that the sparkling water was rarely cold. On occasion it would be, so clearly it can be, but usually it was room temperature.

     

    The complimentary wines are worse than mediocre. It still surprises me, especially when you consider the level of name brand alcohol that is available without charge, that Seabourn consistently pours such poor complimentary wines. There are definitely better wines, even at a similar price point, that would be available.

     

    Seating in the main dining room was a small issue. We like to dine on our own and for the first few days, the hostess simply kept seating us against the back wall. Only after we complained a little did she go out of her way to try and find us a better table, closer to a window or simply better located.

     

    Sophie, the cruise director, was great. She was always out and about chatting with the passengers and seeming genuinely interested in making sure we were all having a good time.

     

    In general, I think this cruise, which was our 7th on Seabourn, was about the same quality as last year. Although I have seen some decline since we first started sailing Seabourn (after jumping shift from Regent when the prices went up and the quality went down), I think Seabourn is still the best line out there for what we are looking for.

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