Arlopop

I’m sorry they haven’t adjusted your excursion time. I checked ours as soon as I got the port arrival changes and the only conflict with an excursion of ours was one originally scheduled at 11 am, and it had been changed to 2 pm. So I assumed all the excursions were being adjusted.

We are on the upcoming 2 week Southern Carribean on Navigator leaving end of April. We received changes in port arrivals and departures 2 weeks ago, and although it didn’t substantially affect our plans (it pushed one excursion back a couple hours) I did wonder if it had something to do with an engine issue that will require substantial maintenance, or perhaps squeezing some diesel savings ($) from slower speed. In any case I’m hopeful there are no further surprises.

The SS FB page is pretty much a cheer section for Silversea. It can be difficult to actually have a conversation that even hints at flaws. That said, I’ve seen posts there that were genuine tirades about how the ice in their drinks was sized inappropriately (too small and melted too much) 😂.

I certainly hope she isn’t getting attacked. It was a fair and consistent review of her experience. I felt the review hit on things she found good and not so good. There is no reason for the OP to be attacked at all.

That’s been a major complaint from longtime SS cruisers over the last year - that the dress code has fallen by the wayside. I suspect it will be changed at some point.

Maybe it was more than four years ago because this is a thread from Cruise Critic from 9/25/18 that quotes the same criteria from their website. I’m sorry you had a rude experience. I’m inclined to believe it was anomalous, but I understand how it can stay with you and sour any other thoughts of trying it again. I’m glad you’ve found Regent to your liking.

It actually is - on their website. https://www.silversea.com/travel-informations/general-information.html Clothing Suggestions – Shipboard Attire Shipboard attire ranges from casual to formal. Casual wear is appropriate for daytime aboard ship or ashore and consists of standard sports outfits as worn at five-star resorts. Shoes should be flat or low heeled for deck activities. Evening attire falls into three categories: casual, informal and formal. On casual evenings, pants, blouses, skirts and casual dresses for ladies; open-neck shirts and slacks for gentlemen are appropriate. On informal evenings, ladies usually wear dresses or pantsuits; gentlemen wear jackets (tie optional). Appropriate formal evening wear for ladies is an evening gown or cocktail dress; gentlemen wear tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits. Tie is required. On formal nights, guests may dine in La Terrazza and choose to dress informal; dresses or pantsuits for ladies, jackets for gentlemen (tie optional). This option also applies to Seishin and Stars on board Silver Spirit. Dining at The Grill is optional casual all nights. Following dinner, all guests are free to take advantage of any or all public spaces, however, jacket is required. Sailings of 9 days or less typically feature 1 formal night, while longer voyages usually have 2-3 formal nights. Details will be provided in your final cruise documents, but the chart below provides a basic guideline to assist in packing the proper attire. Please note: On 7 day sailings in the Baltic, Mediterranean and Alaska, formal night is always optional; guests may choose to dress informal, a jacket is required for gentlemen. Evening Dress Code* Number of Cruise Days -> Formal -> Informal -> Casual 4 -> 1 -> 2 -> 1 5 -> 1 -> 3 -> 1 6 -> 1 -> 3 -> 2 7 -> 1 -> 3 -> 3 8 -> 1 -> 4 -> 3 9 -> 1 -> 5 -> 3 10 -> 2 -> 5 -> 3 11 -> 2 -> 6 -> 3 12 -> 2 -> 6 -> 4 13 -> 2 -> 7 -> 4 14 -> 3 -> 7 -> 4 15 -> 3 -> 8 -> 4 16 -> 3 -> 8 -> 5 17 -> 3 -> 9 -> 5 18 -> 3 -> 10 -> 5 19 -> 3 -> 10 -> 6 20 -> 3 -> 11 -> 6

Totally understandable - some people prefer a less formal atmosphere, while some like something more. It’s nice to have a choice. It is interesting that you say it was “never announced beforehand” as Silversea always lists the dress code for the evening in the daily Chronicle that is distributed to each cabin, and throughout the ship. I include an example:

We did 15 day Carribean last December on the Whisper. As far as entertainment goes I agree entirely - it was not very good. Fortunately for us it isn’t high on our list of expectations. The serving and bar staff are superb. They knew exactly when to check on us without ever hovering, and there wasn’t a single crew member who didn’t give their all if one had a request or question. They are simply the best. We found La Terrazza to be perfect. We kept going back. The main dining had one single hiccup in terms of food quality (a dish arrived a little cold) and was easily forgiven. We didn’t encounter any provisioning problems at all and we were actually surprised at what they had on hand when we asked. We had one excursion, sailing, that went awry when the boat we were to board broke down on the way to get us. We were told it could be an hour or more by the ship rep before they got it fixed. When we said that we would pass and take the tender back to the ship because, as my wife said, “How do we know it won’t break down again while we are aboard?”, the rep mocked my wife and said, “You’re being ridiculous.” That left a sour taste in our mouth and we reported it. Overall, our experience on Whisper was wonderful, and we were quite pleased.

For our Southern Carribean next April I used my iPad and no problems at all. Just went down the list, port by port, and booked. At one point changed my mind and had to call to remove the previously selected excursion. Got right through and it was dropped in less than a minute on the phone.

I just looked and they actually do have a dinner restaurant- Bar 50. A link to their menu: https://www.hyatt.com/content/dam/hotel/propertysites/assets/regency/coral/documents/en_us/dining/bar-50/Bar_50_FULL_M.pdf

Hi, We have never sailed Ponant, but have worked our way through Silversea, Regent, etc. Ponant’s itineraries, particularly the ones off the beaten (to a pulp) track have intrigued us and we find ourselves tempted by them. We love small ships and that is part of the appeal of Ponant. We are considering a test voyage and are looking at a TA or Oceanic to try out. Since Ponant makes no port stops on those voyages it is essentially nothing but sea days. We actually LOVE sea days, but are concerned that 10 or 11 in a row (or more) could wear even us out. What kind of sea day activities are offered by Ponant? We aren’t looking to be distracted constantly; just hoping there’s an occasional shipboard offering to break up the long string of ocean loveliness.

How long was the cruise originally?

And today the hotel assignment appeared: Intercontinental Miami. Was hoping for Mandarin but Intercontinental is fine.

Does anyone know if Regent has completed the transition to facial recognition for passengers on all ships instead of cards to reboard in ports? It’s my understanding they did a trial run, but I haven’t heard if they’ve adopted it or, if so, whether they are using it fleet wide as yet.