agape01

Going on my first SS cruise this coming fall and would like to ask whether is Butler service still allocated for one butler to one stateroom?

This is @poinsettiaplate's cruise. I merely copy and pasted his original review on the cruise critic website into the forum.

Could this possibly mean prices are generally going back to 2018/2019 levels?

By now you must have been realizing that you're missing out on a whole lot. I have been on Retreat on the Millennium from Tokyo to Singapore last year and prior to that I was on the Oceania Riviera from Rome to Miami. This is what I would have to say. For the price that you are paying for a Retreat experience, you would definitely be getting more bang for your buck on a Oceania. Reason? OBC are still valid and you can use your OBCs however way you want, whether you want to spend it on shore excursions or La Reserve by Wine Spectator, the choice is yours to make. Room service is 24hrs in regardless whatever stateroom that you cruise with and all specialty restaurants are included in your fare. It just depends on how many times you are able to go depending on the type of your stateroom. Of course you would have to pay extra for a premium drink package but what is already offered is a list of wines (Red/Whites) for lunch and dinner. There is almost no fight in terms of food quality at the MDR on my Oceania Riviera cruise compared to Celebrity's Luminae. Food plating is like going to a good bistro and the quality is mostly spot on. The only thing that didn't meet my expectation was when that one night I had the lobster bisque that was not consistent with the other 6 times I had it. It was not a deal breaker. My stateroom on the Riviera was a concierge class which by the way had the biggest bathrooms that I had ever experienced except for the Grand Suite One Bedroom on a RCCL cruise that I had a chance to try for cheap during COVID-19. Toilets came with bvlgari toiletries as you would find in any Ultra Luxury Cruise Line. No doubt that the entertainment is not as big as what you would find on a RCCL or Celebrity, but most of my fellow passengers seem to be entertained enough each evening. I also feel that the casino would be adequate to entertain regular gamblers. If you are comparing experience for experience for the price that you are willing pay, I would say that Oceania is a great compromise and not going to ultra luxury cruise line. Hope this helps. P.S. If you want to see "food porn" let me know, I still have the shots from that cruise.

@poinsettiaplate hope you don't mind me just copying and paste your written review here so that it would be much easier for forum members to read. " I took this 32-day b2b in order to do two complete transits of the Panama Canal, one from each direction. It did not disappoint. The ship – All I can say is wow! The Silver Nova is a brand-new ship with a beautiful layout and décor. It was a small ship, easy to get around, did not feel crowded anywhere. The artwork was beautiful. It had all kinds of interesting design features. The public areas were open and light. Every cabin had a balcony so there was only one hallway per floor. There were glass elevators on the sides of the ship, one on the port side and one on the starboard side. When getting off an elevator, one always turned to same way to go to one’s cabin; no need to look around confusedly for the sign showing which cabin numbers were which way. The hot tub was like an infinity pool. The swimming pool was on one side of the deck, not in the middle. All of the seating on the outer decks was ocean-oriented; there was plenty of comfortable, shaded seating as well as more deck loungers than passengers. This was the most handicapped accessible ship I have ever been on, with elevators to every deck, lots of ramps, automated doors everywhere, separate specifically designated restrooms on every public deck. For a disabled person, the only drawback would have been the gangways at most ports; they were not easily negotiable. The ports and shore excursions – This was a somewhat interesting itinerary. We went to twelve ports, three of which were duplicates, three were overnights; there were thirteen sea days, plus two transits of the Canal. We were the only ship in most places. It was too many sea days, even for me. In nine ports, we did not depart until 11 P.M.; this also seemed a little excessive, since there was not a lot to do and some ports were not really safe at night. SilverSea includes shore excursions as a part of the cruise price. The number and quality were good for the most part; it depended on where we were since most of the ports were not set up for cruise ships. I took eight of them, several marginal ones and only one unsatisfactory. Most of the half-day excursions had morning and afternoon departure times. There were a few excursions at additional cost. The best excursion I took was one of these: S.A.L.T. A to Z Panamanian Culinary Experience – visit to a fish market, a town square with crafters and crafts, the A to Z Venue for an eleven-course lunch with a wonderful narrative by the chef/owner. It was incredibly pricy but well worth it. The cabins – Just as on the Dawn, this was the biggest standard verandah cabin I have ever had; it must have been three to four feet longer than any other ship’s. The lighting was very good and the AC was excellent. The AC turned off when the balcony door was opened. There was a walk-in closet with a chest of drawers; a large bathroom with a fantastically large shower, long counter, two big drawers and six shelves; a good-sized desk and a giant TV; a separate vanity with jewelry drawer; plenty of drawers and shelves everywhere, all of which had the latest automatic closing system. This cabin was definitely adequate for more than one person. The entertainment and activities –There were desktop computers available; every cabin had a tablet as well as interactive TV. In addition, one could request a hard-copy two-page chronicle of events and activities to be delivered every night for the next day and a hard-copy news digest. There was a library with a small collection. There was a very small casino, which was not used much. The inhouse singers and dancers, the house band, and the guest performers were excellent; there were one or two shows every night. There was a hosted Solo Traveler’s Group every night; two of the cruise director’s staff were always there. In addition to S.A.L.T. cooking classes, there were S.A.L.T. cooking demonstrations which were very good and based on the food where we were. The enrichment lecturers were excellent and covered a wide range of topics from health to world affairs, the Canal, the history of the indigenous populations of various South American countries. The restaurants and food – There was a buffet and two table service restaurants for breakfast. There was a buffet and three table service restaurants for lunch, including on port days – a real plus not often found on most ships. There were seven specialty restaurants for dinner, two with open seating, two with hefty upcharges. There was no buffet at dinner. Dinner service began at 7:00 and the last seating was at 9:30. Except for the Japanese restaurant, the menus partially or completely changed every three days. The upcharges on La Dame and Kaiseki were double what they were on the Dawn and were not really worth it because the other restaurants were so good. There was also a S.A.L.T. Chef’s Table, with an even heftier upcharge. It was an eleven-course tasting menu prepared tableside with narrative by the chef, a cocktail and two wines. It was an interesting experience but, again, not worth the upcharge. The Japanese restaurant needs to be eliminated unless it can be revised. The menus never changed. There were not a lot of choices. It was definitely not authentic Japanese, nor even what is currently considered Japanese American. Many dishes did not match the menu descriptions. The raw fish was not acceptable from the first day. At lunch, the sushi chef made the rolls and sliced the sashimi in advance and let it sit on an open counter with no refrigeration and no cover for the entirety of lunch. After one dinner and two lunches, I would not go again. For the most part, the food was very good to excellent. Some restaurant concepts were very innovative. I particularly enjoyed SALT Kitchen and Atlantide. The bread and butter, ice cream, vegetarian dishes, curry dishes, cheese, fruit were excellent. The coffee was very good. Caviar was available every night in Atlantide. The wines were very good to excellent. SALT Kitchen was particularly innovative. La Terrazza, the upscale Italian restaurant, had some good menus but was not consistent. One of the highlights for me: popcorn could be ordered from room service at any time. For each 16-day segment of the cruise, there were two formal nights; the rest were informal. Some restaurants had more upscale dress codes. The service was exceptional everywhere. Intangibles – My chemical and scent instruction actually made it to the ship. I was designated a VIP and my laundry was comped even though I do not have enough days on SS to qualify under their regular rewards program. It was a nice touch. No luggage tags were provided; I made my own. They need to have wedges for the beds for those who request them. The embarkation was a disaster; due to a last-minute schedule change for the ship, almost the whole ship’s passengers were to be processed at the same time. They completely blew it on planning, staffing and organization. What should have taken a few minutes took four hours with the luggage delivery after another two and a half hours. The Blacklane driver who came to the port left before I got off the ship. It was only with the help of one of their other drivers that I was able to get another driver to get home. Obviously I probably will not do door-to-door again. I would do this ship or any other in its class anytime."

For me, it would be a reminiscence of Planes, Trains and Automobiles the scene where Steve Martin was at the end of taking a shower. Having said that, I would have to remind myself about this on my first SS cruise this coming September.

I am going to be hopeful that SS is going to take corrective measures to prevent this from happening as this is going to hurt and tarnish the brand even more. Will be on the Nova for the Vancouver to Tokyo TP crossing later this year. Will still make all effort to enjoy the cruise.

I would be on the Nova for the Vancouver to Tokyo TP crossing in September later this year. It sounds like in order to be fully sanitary, I would have to wear disposable gloves when I am out on deck. Jokes aside, I would have to say that everyone has to do their part to wash hands frequently to prevent norovirus outbreaks.

I am very interested to know about this stateroom. This is a aft position stateroom and I am wondering whether was there any noise disturbance from the bar below? I have this impression that the view from the balcony on this stateroom is amazing. If you could post some pictures of balcony views would be greatly appreciated.

Anywhere towards the waterfront is pricey. Best is to let me know what is your budget and perhaps, I could assist you offline. My email is listed on the 1st page of this thread.

The Swissotel Stamford is located in downtown. From where it is located, it would have spectacular views of the Singapore skyline provided that the room is facing Marina Bay Sands as its a 73 story building. As to what you would like to see on your bucket list, it would be about a 30min walk to see the Garden light show and the light show on the waterfront, as well as taking the river cruise. All of this information can be found on google map when you key in Swissotel Stamford Singapore.

What would you like to know?

@TLCOhio Great to know that you had a wonderful time in the Lion City. Hope that the pre cruise research helped. 👍

@JSR Insightful thread about the Nova and your GVSA through SA. I might plan a RAY from Lima to Miami in the future. Having said that, its getting me worked up on my upcoming Nova cruise from Vancouver to Tokyo and I am wondering whether is the unlimited caviar offerings still available through room service/butler?

You could drop your bags off at your hotel until your room is ready. Most hotels in Singapore don't charge you for holding your bags as you have a confirmed reservation.