Unibok

2 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

The naming ceremony is in Lisbon on March 31st.

Hmmm... the Spirit will also be in Lisbon on Mar 31st. I wonder if through-travelers will be able to attend the ceremony. Does anyone know how that works?

14 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

 

It’s just a credit off your invoice when you book your cruise.

Hmmm ... the cruise was booked and paid for long ago ... we'll see what my SS rep says.  Jim, I'll let you know! 

Tuscon, I'm in the same boat (so to speak). Blacklane doesn't service my local airport, and I would have welcomed the early morning ride. 

Does anyone know how the credit works? Is it OBC? FCC? Refund?

Each day's Chronicle should list which musicians are playing where, and at what time. Also, since you will be on the Spirit, you might be interested in music at Silver Note. You can dine there, or just sit by the bar and listen. Reservations are recommended, as it is a small venue.

2 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

I absolutely MUST sail with Unibok someday, somehow. Ol’ ZQTchas should not get to have all of the fun!

I welcome that, Stumbles+family! And you, too, JP/Chris!  Luckily , I'll get to dine and discourse again with ZQTChas and Elaine again very soon 🙂 They are very good company indeed. 

 Cheers,

I'm so glad you asked this question, A Tucson Guy, as I'm eager to hear the answers. I really struggle with this.

For a formal night on the Muse, my daughter and I asked to be seated with others who were also seeking company. We were placed at a table of 6, with 3 pairs. The talk was political, and my daughter and I simply kept our mouths shut, and had a miserable time. We would have been better off by ourselves.

For a Thanksgiving dinner on the Wind, I gathered a group of folks I thought would be fun to host. It was one of the most awkward and painfully long Thanksgiving conversations I've ever had, and I come from a family with a rich tradition of awkward and painfully long holiday meals. @Fletcher believe it or not, the Brits I had invited spent most of the dinner trashing and/or defending the royal family ... while I was quietly thinking, um, maybe can we talk about some American Thanksgiving traditions, since that is the occasion we are marking?

At a solo gathering on the Shadow, dinner consisted of middle-aged women (of which I am one) comparing the youth, stamina, and virility of their lovers. Another woman and I stayed awkwardly silent, slightly embarrassed by the "let's pull out the ruler and measure it" mentality of our peer group.

Needless to say, I'm now a bit scared off from being seated with randos. As others have advised, I've made lovely friendships, met for drinks, and joined folks for dinner after getting to know them a bit. One couple I met at the sail-away "Dancing in the Street" preview, another I met at muster, and another on the bus during an excursion. And one Shadow Captain's table formal night was especially lovely -- delightful conversation from truly interesting people at our table of 5.

This probably doesn't reassure you, Tucson. For the time being, I'll probably avoid being seated with others I've not already gotten to know at least a little bit. 

Cheers,

Hi, all,

Before booking my next voyage, I would love some help from those of you who have navigated the new programme. Although I understood the old pricing system fairly well, I'm not entirely sure how the new one works. Specific questions:

* Are On-board Booking, Venetian Society, 100+ days, and B2B discounts all still stackable? And have any of those discounts changed (in my case, all were 5%)?

* What percentage is the Deposit?

* How does door-to-door vs port-to-port affect any of those pricing structures?

* To get the Early Booking Bonus, we needed to pay in full by a particular deadline. Now that there is no EBB, when are final payments due?

I think some of these questions have been addressed in various threads already, and I'm hoping it is helpful to others (besides me) to have it all in one place.

Thank you in advance for your wisdom and experience!

Fascinating! And a bit worrisome. I'm interested to see how this plays out. Thanks for the updates, bitob.

Hi diamondj,

I've seen a wild -- and wide -- variety of attire on embarkation day. The rattiest of them were cleaned up by dinner; the nattiest stayed that way.

What you describe sounds perfect. Enjoy the solo experience! So far, my solo voyages have been my favorites. 

Hi Gourmet Gal,

There's a 98% chance that the first formal night will be the second night on board, no matter the voyage.

Expect another one 6-8 nights in, on an evening when you won't be in port. That will likely also be the Venetian Society reception. Not sure if there would be a 3rd.

I've been able to guess successfully within these parameters 🙂

8 hours ago, jwh said:

For some reason the pool area sounds a bit more fun and festive.  Oh, and I promise we won't be missing any cocktail opportunities in the process!

Yes, it is more fun and festive around the pool! And waiters circulate with cocktails throughout the event. Win Win!

6 hours ago, jwh said:

 I do like the idea of a 'dog and pony' 🙂 show around the pool.   Sounds like this could be fun for us seeing it for the first time but I imagine would get a bit old for the regulars.  Can't wait.

I love your attitude, jwh. As a matter of fact, I did enjoy the first one ... but since then my enthusiasm has faded. I can guarantee it will include the Silver Singers doing "Dancin' in the Streets"   😂 

On Muse and Whisper, for the theatre/Venetian Lounge acts, you can expect a sextet of Silversea Singers (3 male, 3 female) who do themed revues -- lite blues/R&B, show tunes, all-duets, etc. 1 male and 1 female will also be trained opera singers, so you can expect an opera night as well. [Note: in my experience, sometimes they blend beautifully with the other singers, sometimes they don't.] Some of the singers may have a solo show, which seem to rotate among them. The cruise director may also have a solo show on the Whisper, but not the larger Muse. Sometimes the first night on board is a movie night.

Sometimes there are surprise special guests, like two contemporary cellists who performed for a few days on the Shadow in Asia.

On the Muse, you'll find jazz vocals (sometimes just instrumentals) in Silver Note, which is open for drinks and super inventive (delicious!) tapas.

Otherwise, the Silver Trio (keyboard, drums, guitar) show up pretty much everywhere there is a performance going on, and there will likely be two additional lounge musicians playing in bar venues -- at least one piano, and often a guitarist as well. There's also a DJ who spins nightly in the Panorama for dancing.

I'm not a casino person, so I can't speak to that, but I know both ships have one hahaha.

That's all I can think of for now. Anyone else?

Hi jwh, great question! I look forward to hearing the types of responses you receive.

My personal preference on the 1st night of a Muse sailing is La Terrazza -- outside if possible. That's partly because although where I live is considered to be a foodie heaven, we lack decent Italian food with handmade pasta. By the time I'm onboard, that's what I'm craving. The Grill can also be a lot of fun on the first night at sail-away, but actually Spaccanopoli would be even better -- it is on a higher deck, and you'd really get the sense of sailing away together.

Twenty is a big group, so I would think about the larger venues. Even when I sailed on a full Muse a few years ago, Indochine was never full (and I happen to LOVE their food). So much so that Indochine was made smaller when the Spirit was Muse-ified. Atlantide is exactly the same size, but likely to be more crowded on the first night.

Venues to avoid with a large group on night 1 due to their smaller size: Silver Note, Kaisecki, La Dame.

You've probably already thought of this, but you may want to select a gathering place for before dinner, and make that your regular place. For a group your size on the Muse, I would choose Dolce Vita, near the bar area. The bartender will get to know you and your group well, and that is part of the fun.

I'll let others respond about what to do after dinner 🙂

Enjoy!

20 hours ago, Will Work for Tiramisu said:

Knowledgeable cruisers know well where they want to be on a ship.

Hi Tiramisu -- I appreciate your perspective; thanks for adding it into the conversation. I'd like to push back a bit, though, on the idea that "knowledgeable/savvy" SS travelers have strong location preferences. Like you, I spent quite a bit of time looking into different options, the why's and wherefore's of bow vs mid-ship, upper vs lower decks, and what is on all 6 sides of the suite. 

Over time, I've realized that for me, on the Silversea ships I've sailed so far, those factors don't matter as much to me as I thought they would. No matter where my suite has been located, I've never heard noise from above (such as furniture scraping), or below (such as the sounds of a public gathering), or next door (such as a launderette). Silversea ships are small enough that upper v lower decks and bow v mid-ship don't alter how my body reacts to the ocean.

What matters very much to me is the category. For some seasoned travelers like who are like me, a GTY is often a terrific way to go. Now, I may sing another song after my trans-Atlantic next month, offering praise for a lower deck mid-ship suite at least for crossings -- we'll see! Likewise, if my physical needs or balancing abilities shift over the years, I will join the club of those who reserve specific suites. In the meantime, I do enjoy the surprise of finding out my suite location as another part of getting excited about the voyage.

I love that there is a variety of opinions and experiences on this board 🙂

Cheers,

Ask away, jwh! That's why we're here!

I've not yet gone on my voyage, so I can't speak to the quality of the newly "included" excursions, but I can say that in the past, Silversea excursions used smaller vehicles (so, fewer pax on each one), If there is great demand, they will offer several groups simultaneously but with different guides OR they will open up new timeslots. As cruiseej noted above, the logistics depend on vendor availability, staffing, etc, and is likely much more complicated during COVID.

I can, however, speak about the pricing. As Jazzbeau mentioned, the included excursions seem to have a great range -- far beyond the typical "highlights of X" included by other lines. I had made my lists of preferences long before the distinctions of included/selected were visible, and I was so pleased when nearly all of my first choices were included! Prices would have ranged from $69 to $179 for those included excursions otherwise. Indeed, for my Lisbon-to-Barcelona leg, my only "selected" excursion is the Gaudi tour transfer to the airport.

More examples from a Greece/Turkey voyage in late spring: for our overnight in Istanbul, both days we are using included excursions to do exactly what we had hoped. In Ephesus, we'll do the included excursion during the day and a special "selected" one that evening. During the 11-day sailing, we have 3 or 4 "selected" excursions, and the rest are included. I want to stress here that it is not because we are being cost-conscious; it is because the included excursions are the ones we would have chosen no matter what.

And then there are the excursions I'm doing simply because they are included. I've never done a segway tour, and I'd never pay for one, but since it is an included option in a city where I didn't have a strong preference, I'm doing it! I'm sure it will be fun, especially as an experience I wouldn't have tried otherwise.

Hoping this helps,

5 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

As a touring go getter like JP, I look forward to reading what you think of that many days at sea when you’re finished.

Hi Stumblefoot 🙂 

Well, I look forward to finding out what I think of that many days at sea as well! Neither my daughter nor my mother had any interest in accompanying me, but I am truly looking forward to it with curiosity and excitement. I'll be sure to report back here.

On 2/16/2022 at 9:53 AM, Accessor said:

 

How frustrating. They sell cabins they don't have, upgrade you, then tell you you will need to change cabins b/c you got an upgrade? I beginning to think this is their way of saying we don't want you to book B2B guarantees....we can guarantee we will split your cabins 😞 .

 

Cruiselines aren't sailing at capacity these days, are hungry for our money, then show little love when asked for one cabin during a B2B.

Hi Accessor, I hear your frustration and certainly understand. My experience with B2B GTYs has been the opposite of what you are encountering.

I have booked several B2B GTYs, and in all cases I was assigned to the same cabin for both legs -- and in many cases it was a 2-category upgrade. Unfortunately, a number of those voyages were cancelled over the past 2 years ... but my Spirit B2B next month has me assigned to the same cabin for both legs. I can honestly say I have never experienced what you are describing. It may be worth noting that I booked directly through SS, and my agent is sooooo responsive that she fixes any issues almost immediately. I urge you to stay on your TA about this.

And then there's the all-important caveat about GTYs. They *only* guarantee you will get a suite of that category or better. They don't guarantee an upgrade, and they don't guarantee a continuous cabin.

So, I only book a GTY if I know I'll be happy with the worst-case scenario. 

Again, I'm sorry this is the way your trip is shaping up for now, but I also have faith that suites may open and shift between now and your voyage, and that you might get that B2B Veranda after all.

One final question for you, Accessor: if you had to choose, would you prefer a Vista for both legs so that you don't have to move, or would you rather have a Veranda for at least 1 leg? If you do have a strong preference not to move, they might upgrade somebody else so you can stay in the same suite.

Just some thoughts for consideration ....

EDITED TO ADD: Ooof, I'm happy to see a good resolution for you! I clearly should have read to the end of the thread before replying 🙂

For my Spirit B2B next month, there are 2 bowties for the trans-Atlantic (11 days), and then

zero bowties for the next leg from Lisbon to Barcelona (9 days). That second leg is port-intensive, and I'm assuming that we will have an "optional formal" night on day 2. 

The formal nights for the trans-Atlantic are on the 2nd night (of course! I love predictability!), and our final night of the crossing before we reach land. 

The message I take from my calendar is that the lack of bowties on the 2nd leg is intentional, and not an indication that they just haven't posted them yet. Or, I could be mistaken 🙂

Hi Fudge,

Look by the date in the timeline in MySilversea. If there is a little black bowtie, that is your formal night. On a 7-day Med voyage, however, formal night might be optional, in which case you won't know until you see the Chronicle. That said, in my experience, formal night is usually 2nd night onboard.

Others, please correct me if I'm mistaken.

When my daughter and I sailed on the Muse in 2019, the Kaiseki upcharge was well worth it, and we would have very happily returned if we'd been able to -- but it was booked solid for the rest of the voyage (ship at full capacity in Alaska).

Although I do appreciate a fine meal at La Dame, our Kaiseki experience has remained in my memory with more potency. So much so that I've booked Seishin 3 times on my upcoming Spirit trips (the name difference is only because Seishin = Spirit, as far as I can tell). I am eagerly awaiting those meals. 

As for the rest, I concur with other posters who have lauded La Terrazza's more intimate dinners (in contrast to the busier the breakfast/lunch buffet), and I'll put in a plug for the simplicity of a fresh salad, good wine, and wood-fired pizza in the open air at Spaccanopoli. That was a surprise favorite of ours on the Muse, particularly during sailaways and Inside Passage/cruising days.

My understanding is that it could be either terminal, and it all depends on how much port activity there is with other ships. Two weeks after Stumblefoot sailed, we were at the other terminal ... which offered a stunning view of the city across the harbor. Ocean Terminal would have been more convenient, but I sure loved having that view across the harbor right from my veranda.

Hi fudge,

I've been twice: August 2009 and May 2019. As others have mentioned, there are pros and cons to any one time, as the weather and wildlife have rhythms that shift throughout the season. 

For me, the weather was better in May -- more sunny days, higher visibility from everywhere, smaller crowds, fewer kids (love 'em, but not in large numbers on my cruises). BUT we were too early for the salmon run. Bears are possible throughout the season if your guide knows where to look, so the lack of salmon doesn't necessarily mean no bear sightings; you just have to work a little harder. Our pilot knew right where to go, and we got sooooooo close for some beautiful photographs and a breathless experience.

In August, salmon were still running (flying, leaping, hurling) and even though it was past peak, it was a spectacular sight. BUT our floatplane excursion was cancelled due to safety concerns with the low visibility so we missed out on that. 

If I had to choose now, I'd return in May again.

No matter when you go, though, Alaska is a magical and marvelous place. 

8 hours ago, jollyjones said:

 

To Unibok, one word to ponder upon - trivia

 

 

I will see you there, jollyjones!!

I am on this sailing as well. 

The crossing (no ports) is 7 days, with a few stops before Lisbon. I had the same question as Cruiser6270, as this will be my first transatlantic. Thank you, Wes and others, for your specificity in responding.

jollyjones: I'm also quite an introvert, but I hope we'll meet!