tinaincc

I am new to SSea and will be sailing on Ray in June hopefully. I am wondering how SSea goes about staffing a new ship, do they hire a completely new staff or do they pull experienced staff from other ships or a combo? 

On 3/7/2024 at 12:05 AM, Host Jazzbeau said:

Not only is it adjoining, but it is the 2nd bedroom for the Master Suite next door – so you may get bumped if Daddy Warbucks wants it.  [I think.  I have 6088 booked on Ray, which is the same situation.]

On 3/7/2024 at 4:39 AM, frankhi said:

I'll be interested to hear about 6088. I have wondered why it is a classic veranda while the other aft facing verandas are premium. It does looks a little different on the deck plan.

We are in 6088 on the Ray in June - I will take photos and post here upon our return. 

6 minutes ago, Port Power said:

Silversea doesn’t have a good reputation for letting customers know when cruises are cancelled.  However, the  “lemonade” aspect means that you should be able to book another Med. cruise at a good last minute price!

Precisely!!

17 hours ago, Joc123 said:

Online Lisbon to Rome is waitlisted but they show the segments are available.

This is what they did on our recently cancelled trip Singapore - Mumbai.

For your sake, I hope I’m wrong.

Me too - although I plan to make lemons out of lemonade if they do cancel. We will use our cheap business class flights and figure out how to enjoy ourselves in the Mediterranean! Wonder how much notice we would get?

Just now, Joc123 said:

Have just seen this cruise is now completely waitlisted which in my experience means it will be cancelled. I hope it’s not the case but not looking good for you.

Really? I looked today and there were veranda cabins available. 

On 4/9/2024 at 6:39 AM, jmmiva said:

Last year I sailed SS Spirit in Greece and X Apex in the Caribbean; veranda suite and retreat sky suite.  Will admit the cost on SS was higher but the experience was higher as well.  There were several things that turned be off to X.  Dining was a hassle.  Very crowded and very difficult to get in a restaurant.  We tried not long after dining was available and could not get in many of the restaurants - never were able to on the boat as well.  Luminae got boring after a while.  And, usually a line and wait there as well.  Never got into Fine Cut, Raw on 5, Le Grand or the MCRide.  Tried to walk into Le Grand for lunch one day - restaurant practically empty but were turned away.  Dining is one of the best parts of a cruise - on SS I did not have any problem getting into all restaurants.  The other issue for me was crowds.  Getting on and off the boat was taxing.  Running track, gym, casino all shoulder to shoulder.  

Are you sure you were on Apex?  We were on last Summer as well and ate at Fine cut 2x, Eden 2x and Raw on 5 for 4 lunches. Le Grande bistro was only available for lunch and we did it once. I agree that Lumine became boring but I would say the food and ambiance on Apex was great.  What is MCRIDE?

Oh no!! I am a data-gal so now I will commence the worrying in full force!

We are scheduled to be on what now will be the first sailing of the Silver Ray on June 15th out of Lisbon.  Should I be concerned that it is the first voyage or that it may not even go forward as planned?  We were pretty comfortable that we were going to be on the second sailing but now that that one is officially cancelled I am starting to be nervous about our sailing.

2 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

Apropos to this development, here is an excerpt from a message I received today. A friend is on Nova and this is his take on the dress code so far:

 

DRESS: Our first formal “optional” night, we arrived at Atlantide @ 8:15p and were given a table whereby we could see the coming and going of all guests. The venue was packed and only two couples arrived later than us. Out of 52 men, 25 were in tuxedos or suits, 24 in sports jackets with tie, and 3 in jackets with no ties. Jackets were worn through the entire meal, none were draped over a seat as has been reported elsewhere. We have one more formal “optional” night remaining.

 

All other nights are classified as “elegant casual”. This means for men, open collar shirts are acceptable, jackets are optional. Slacks are required as jeans and shorts are not allowed after 6:00p in indoor venues. Outdoor venues are always casual. We dined at the grill one evening and it was practically like being at a neighborhood barbecue party, with the vast majority of men in shirts without collars and at least half in t-shirts. I’d say at least one-third were wearing shorts as well, including a couple who apparently were allowed to dine in their swimwear.

 

Another evening we dined in SALT. Again, the venue was packed to the gills when we arrived @ 8:00p. I was taken aback by how poorly the men were dressed. Of the 63 I could count, 10 were literally allowed to wear t-shirts! Another 12 were in what I would categorize as golf shirts, and another 17 in short sleeve collared shirts. 14 wore dress shirts and no jacket while 8 wore a jacket. 2 wore a jacket and tie; me and a gentleman from Italy. It was like eating in a cheap Hilton or Ramada Inn dining room and I felt so out of place.

 

Last night we dined in Silver Note. Much smaller venue and only one table was open after we were seated @ 8:30p. 2 men in t-shirts, 4 in collared short sleeves, 11 in dress shirts without jacket, 1 in a Helly Hansen work out shirt, and 4 in a jacket without tie; me, an old chap days away from the grave, and a couple from the Netherlands.

 

All-in-all, and just as I feared, this dumbing down of the dress code on Silver Nova is heading toward the lowest common denominator in dress, and is taking SS away from the elegance and sartorial classiness that made it special.

I know this is copied from a friend but wow, the energy required to “track” what others are doing to that level of detail is astounding. It seems like that level of focus on something other than enjoying a vacation is worse than someone in a t-shirt.

I very much enjoyed this well written review. After 18+ cruises under my belt, it never occurred to me to take a TA withOUT my Husband.  Your 'lazy' days on your suite balcony sound heavenly. 

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

So this is what I read:

 

 

For people who sailed on the Nova, is this enforced? I know that even with the current dress code, people would still have dinner in the Grill without a jacket, but if I want to go to one of the lounges or see an evening show, will they turn me down?

I read this as only on formal optional nights you will have to have a jacket however I too am curious what the practice is on Nova and soon to be Ray as those are the ships we will be on. 

in the age of AI and Photoshop, how is this even possible. how could they be so dense?

2 minutes ago, drkitkat123 said:

Just off the Muse, Auckland to Sydney and could find little evidence of any enforcement in any restaurant. I had studied up on the grid of dress code versus restaurant but was so relaxed on holiday, that I was not bothered to work out the difference between casual and informal and which restaurants required which. Just dressed neatly, with a jacket on some nights when I felt like it and it worked fine for me. Wore a tie one night with a suit for formal in Atlantide and did not bother for second nite and no-one said anything. One night a friend was asked to put long pants on (I did warn him) and another nite I believe someone was given a coat to put on the back of their chair in Atlantide (was not asked to wear it!)

Thanks for the observations.

For the life of me I cannot understand why they insist on giving out jackets to put on chair backs. So silly.

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Rumor has it, it will all become simpler in 2024.  Not in time for my Jan. 29 cruise, but hopefully in time for you.

Gosh I hope so!

1 hour ago, chrism23 said:

I don't want it ruined by somebody in a sleeveless shirt and cargos shorts, sitting with a can of Bud being loud at the table next to me in the MDR.  

 

I don' think there is a great divide, yet, among Silversea passengers, most of whom favor some sort of dress code, nor do I think there will be..  Let us hope, or we may reach to the point where SS is running spring break cruises out of Miami with 500 drunk college kids.   😃 

You seem to be confusing attire and behavior. What someone wears does not guarantee behavior or class. 
 

SSea dress code on Nova allows for you to continue to dress to the nines while giving others the option to dress to their satisfaction as well. 

1 hour ago, KarlK said:

Been a good read this thread. I don't even pack socks, only sandals, I don't even own a tie, and I have not even brought long pants on my last 2 cruises. To each their own. I also don't even try to enter the Dining Room for evening meals, knowing better per rules. Your vacation, relax how you want, but rules are rules.

Hope you try Sea Dream yacht Club. We just disembarked this morning and your dress preference is exactly their code - it was FABULOUS. Never treated as a second class citizen based on appearance. People in long dresses sitting next to someone in shorts. The conversation and scenery were the focal points. 

On 12/26/2023 at 10:58 PM, Lookingtocruise42 said:

I beg to differ. The argument I’m making is simply: “I will meet the minimum required of dress code, as written.”

The counter argument is a pearl-clutching: “You offend me by being comfortable!”.

 

This whole thread is neither here nor there. All that Matters is the official policy.

This is a great summary of the two “sides” of this coin

1 hour ago, seaver said:

That may be correct,but will I get turned away?

No you will not.

1 minute ago, seaver said:

Will be on Nova in Feb. and I plan on bringing only nice polos and a blazer. My thinking is that a polo has a collar. Thoughts?

Sounds appropriate!!

13 minutes ago, canderson said:

If that were true, we wouldn't be seeing the many complaints about the current dress code that some find too strict.  Your 'gravitation' is the right approach, but still hold out hope that SS leaves "the former loyalists" (not accurate in our case, as we just completed our first SS cruise) somewhere to gravitate to.  In my attempts to book future cruises, I certainly don't find that SS is having any trouble with bookings on Muse class ships .. at least not for the cabin/itinerary combos I've been trying to find, even at the substantially higher prices vs 2023.

I see this as a good thing! You can find space in the more formal ships and I can find space on the ships that don’t require a tie. Win win!!

6 hours ago, canderson said:

Not if the rules say otherwise, no.  People gravitate to where they like the rules.  It's why people leave some states and move to others.  But please don't expect every state to bend to the will of those with different preferences.  If Silversea decides to leave the Muse class rules the way they are, please don't expect us to apologize because we've lobbied for that to occur.  Your preferences for rules can be found on the vast majority of cruise ships.  Why continue to begrudge the rest of us a refuge - in Muse class, for example?  That would be a legitimate "two-way street".

I gravitate to the ships on this line, Nova and Ray, that have the dress code that I can live with.

No one is begrudging anyone for their preferences that I can see except for the formal loyalists that are upset with those “optional”/more relaxed codes.

2 hours ago, Mahogany said:

Snarky

Not at all. Focusing on what one can control is the key to happiness in my opinion. Far better than worrying about what other people are wearing.

34 minutes ago, Carolfay said:

My only reason for commenting was to point out that there's more than one viewpoint on this matter, and I think all views should be weighed when policy changes are considered.  I'm sure I'll enjoy my dinner just as much if the people at the next table look like they just came inside after doing yard work.

You may want to focus on your dinner companion(s) - you may enjoy yourself more.

Just now, Carolfay said:

There are those of us who choose Silversea because they continue to have some degree of formality.  I hope we won't be entirely ignored.

Great news! You will always be afforded the opportunity to dress up to your preference! 

2 hours ago, GaitherBill said:

 

What brand?

 

I'd love one. 

Eddie Bauer Traveler Line has one