Mayflower1

Hi Les37b & tiggertom.

I have investigated the add on cost as I am taking a Roundtrip Cruise from Southampton. I am advised that the added mileage will currently be £3 per Mile ( this is subject to change when the actual date arrives i.e. September ).

This Service is therefore not suitable for us in the above Scenario as the additional Cost is more than I can achieve with a trusted Local Supplier.

I hope this is useful.

'Seamless Luxury Travel ' is the constant Mantra of the Top Executives of Silversea - Perhaps it is for them and they have no ability to even question that for the majority of their Guests it is far from the reality.

Its about time that some permanent change of approach is effected or I am afraid Silversea will disappear beneath the waves of dissatisfaction currently being experienced by their loyal Customers on so many Issues, all surrounding Communication. The Corporate Team are doing such a huge ' Kick in the Teeth ' to all those hardworking and wonderful Staff on the Ships.

I cannot see any Quality Agent recommending Silversea to past or future Clients at the moment.

I fear that the current ineptitude of the Senior Executives at Silversea to communicate a coherent Policy bodes very badly for the future of this once great Line. Their ability to provide inconsistent Information on so many Issues is staggering.

In an attempt to get This Topic back to where it started, are you still intending to take this Cruise tbliss ? - The Barcelona to Lisbon Segment is still ' Waitlisted ' ???. Your thoughts would be welcome.

Good Morning tbliss - Have you heard any News from Silversea regarding the ' Possible ' Charter ?

I have been advised by the London Office that the Charter is now cancelled and the Cruise will go ahead as planned but the SS Website is still showing the Barcelona - Lisbon Cruise as ' Waitlisted ' ???

Is this another example of inaccurate information or merely sloppy Website updating ???

Any News you have will be appreciated.

You are so right Labrasett concerning the need for Patience & Resilience when travelling during these most unusual times. However both the Issues raised by tbliss & Others does not relate to Travel difficulties but merely to Poor? Wrong or No Information emanating from Silversea Corporate.

We all appreciate that Silversea Corporate are struggling to keep Cruises operating during Covid but this is no excuse for their failure to provide Booked Guests with Quality Information on Cruises not directly impacted by Covid - its all too easy to blame Covid for every Administrative Failure which is what seems to be happening at Silversea.

This Topic has been covered on these Boards before - however we have stayed in the ' Shower Only ' Suites and the Bathroom does APPEAR more spacious but this may be just an illusion ( I have more to do on a Cruise than measure the Suite dimensions !!!! ). The whole Suite is the same size as others so I would doubt that the Bathroom size is actually any different.

We found the Bathroom excellent but be aware that the Bathroom Floor will easily get very wet and slippery without care and the use of Towels !!!!.

We have stayed in 752 and it was excellent and well positioned,

I hope this will be of help and have a wonderful time on our favourite ship.

Good Morning Brimary. Thank you for your input and good wishes - we hope that you are both well and maybe looking forward to another Cruise when Covid allows ?

Its all very well seeking Information when Booking a Cruise but regrettably from our experience no quality response is achievable to help with decisions - in this latest Issue the ' Possible Part Charter ' came to light only a couple of weeks after the initial Booking ( On Venetian Launch Day !!!!! ). All very frustrating and indicative of a Poorly Run Business especially now some 6 months later where no definitive answers are forthcoming. How can a Business allow a possible 4 Day Charter to impinge on Sales for 6 months ????

I notice that The Dawn Transatlantic has apparently now been cancelled after Barbara Muckermann specifically indicating some weeks ago that this would take place - Who exactly runs this Business and fails to Plan ? - Certainly those Guests who heed the Marketing Blurb to Book early to secure the Best Suite/Price etc are being taken for Fools and maybe we must learn from this ?

As we have said many times the On Board Service is wonderful but On Shore is woeful and a discredit to all the Staff who work on the Ships to give us such a wonderful experience. The Corporate Bosses should hang their heads in shame.

Sorry to sound so Down on a great Product but Barbara and her Cohorts have no idea what makes ' Seamless Luxury Travel ' that she so brazenly expounds at every opportunity. The Line is certainly losing its edge and there are others out there that may benefit.

Good Afternoon tbliss - regrettably your Post dated 12th January does not seem to have appeared - Have you received any further Information about the Barcelona to Lisbon Sector ? - we have not in spite of numerous chasings by my Agent ( and myself ). We are getting rather fed up with the Silversea attitude as its now nearly 6 months since this Sector was ' Waitlisted ' 

I think you have ' Hit the Nail on the Head ' with your comments relating to the Documentary Title and the ' Characters ' involved.

We watched the Programme with interest and having not sailed on Regent ( over 20 Years of High End Cruising ), thought the Ship looked spectacular albeit there was little footage of The Public Rooms. We wonder how a Cruise Line can allow a Programme to be shown without Corporate Vetting because the emphasis on the OTT Cruise Director and his Antics certainly did not, in our opinion, demonstrate a Quality, let alone Luxury Product.

Luxury is a very Personal Issue and just to major on Expense/ Glitz and OTT Performance sometimes puts Potential Guests off.

These are Personal Views which are not intended to offend those of a different persuasion - I am sure there are many who would find the whole Cruise, as portrayed, perfect,

We have experienced both Suites on The Spirit and to be frank both are excellent. The Walk In Shower Suite appears more spacious ( I dont believe it is but have not bothered to measure ) with its excellent large Shower Cubicle but it does suffer from wetting the Bathroom Floor if one is not careful. Conversely the Normal Suite does offer the Bath if One wishes to have a relaxing Soak.

We would not be concerned which we have on our Favourite Ship - All of the new Walk In Shower Suites are Mid Ships, within the new section added.

Good Afternoon Silver Spectre - so pleased that you finally managed to get back home after your adventure.

We have much enjoyed your comments from the ship and find it woeful that the Disembarkation experience was so poor - whilst no doubt Covid Procedures contributed it does appear that some of the aspects do not compare well with Barbara Muckerman continually stressing a ' Seamless Luxury Travel Experience ' ???

Good Morning tbliss - I too am affected by the same Possible Charter as you and found out about it by noticing the Cruise was ' Waitlisted ' over 2 months ago. My Agent has been attempting to get specific information from Silversea about The Charter and apparently it is only a 4 Day Charter and it is thought that the Charter will start & end in Barcelona ?. There is no information concerning when this will be firmed up and consequently we must just wait. I have been affected by such a situation a number of times and it makes Planning very difficult especially if the Charter is at the start of our intended Cruise as is the case this time. The Revised Itinerary is not being disclosed.

There is a long time to go i.e. May 2023 and I suspect it may be some time before matters clarify. Apart from the uncertainty my only comment will be that a Full Charter ( in which no other Guests will be on board ) is far better than a Partial Charter - we have experienced this on a couple of occasions and it is generally most unsatisfactory for a regular Guest, with Restaurants, Bars etc closed off at times and some of the Charter Guests are often very different to a normal Silversea Guest !!!

I hope this matter is settled before too long but should I hear any more information I will Post here and perhaps you will do likewise.

Good Afternoon Brimary.

I hope you are both well and enjoying some late Autumn Sunshine as we are here. 

I assumed that the Mid Morning Embarkation Issue has been changed purely due to Covid but maybe I have missed a more general announcement - we certainly have welcomed this in the past and hope that in time it will be reinstated.

We are booked on the Southampton to Southampton Norway Cruise on The Moon in September 2022 and it would be nice to have you on board - we are very off Flying at the moment but realise that it does rather limit our horizons. Thankfully my dear Wife is improving so we are hoping for a better 2022.

So nice to hear from you on these Boards.

Good Morning Silver Spectre - Regrettably in my experience of Silversea over 20 Years is that accurate Communication between Company & Guest is one of their weakest Issues and it has got worse ( this has nothing to do with Covid ).

It looks as if those who purport to have ' Friends ' in high places have no better information than anyone else ? - Silversea, like all Lines will do what is best for them and will advise Guests at a time they decide. However its always nice to receive ' Inside ' Information but dont take it too seriously.

As I have indicated before I have disembarked a Silversea Cruise at Maghera in its present Form and it was a nightmare for Guests and Crew. The Luggage was transported to the main Venice Port Facility and the Guests had to go there by Bus to collect Luggage and then be transported in another Bus to the Airport. A long, hot, tedious experience for all, taking well over 1.5 hours to get to the Airport ( there were many fearing missed Flights ).

For Maghera to become a feasible option much money & effort will be required which I doubt will happen any time soon.

This would appear to be an ' Enhancement ' with a number of caveats ? - The mileage add on at an undisclosed Rate could make this expensive, and as the Contract seems to be between the Guest & Blacklane I assume Silversea will not wish to involve themselves if the Pick Up goes wrong ( they already indicate a missed Flight is the Guests responsibility ). This would not seem to be as Seamless as the Advertising suggests.

I have, in the past, Priced Blacklane against another Luxury Provider and they have always been far more expensive for the same Service - this is not to say that they are not themselves a good Provider.

I feel the Option to Decline this Service and get a £75 pp Reduction may prove attractive ?

The Pool is not always open at that time !!!! at the start of a Cruise but with some gentle coaxing from the hardy early Swimmers the Staff soon get the message !!!!. What happy memories.

Good Afternoon Brimary - hope you are both well - We have both seen many examples of ' Sad ' Guests over the years but as you so rightly say The Half Empty Glass so often gets replenished on Silversea to make the syndrome a non starter  for all but the saddest !!!!

Fortunately my dear Wife is progressing after a torrid time in Hospital and we are sincerely hoping that we can get back to Cruising as we all knew it before too long - we are booked on The Moon Stockholm to Southampton in August 2022 but maybe something before will beckon if Covid allows,  providing the PCR Tests/Masks Issue becomes less of a feature ( and also Flying becomes more attractive ?? ).

Have you anything planned ?

So pleased that we will not have to encounter this couple of ' Glass half Empty ' Cruisers again on Silversea. I doubt that any Line will suit them.

We have sailed into Maghera to disembark a Silversea Ship during a Festival when the Guidecca was closed. It is a terrible place and some considerable distance from Venice. We had to go by Bus to the Main Port area to collect Baggage and then take another Bus to the Airport - a long and tiresome end to a Cruise ( Private Cars were not an option ).

If Maghera is to be the new home for Cruise ships it will make Venice an almost no go city to visit by way of a Cruise ship and Start/End situations will have to be better managed  to those we experienced - the poor ships staff were frantic.

This Survey has also been circulated in the UK relating to Around UK Cruises. My reaction was very similar to your Terry in that I am not keen to have to take an organised excursion in Ports that we know well - also the substantial change in the on board atmosphere by way of substantially less Socialising which is what Silversea is all about. 

I cannot see Cruising returning to what we have enjoyed up to now for some considerable time. The UK Government have now added The Philippines to the Unacceptable List so what impact this has on Crewing is interesting.

You create such a wonderful vision of SMM which will sustain us over the continuing miserable days until we can be together again !!!. We  coincidently shared our Seaborn Adventure with the much missed Duct Tape from CC who must have been one of the greatest Silversea Fans - she was far from impressed and vowed ' Once is enough ' !!!!

We hope you are both keeping well and like us hoping for brighter days ahead.

We have ventured once to Seabourn ( over 20 years with Silversea ) on the first of their larger ship (Odyssey ) for a 3 week Med Cruise. We had a great time and liked some of the aspects including Colonnade Restaurant and The Seabourn Square but disliked the Pool area ( too much loud Taped Music most of the day ) and The Main Restaurant. The ship was also suffering from substantial Soot deposits which involved a number of Free Laundering Sessions. This aspect has probably now been fixed.

We would return to Seabourn if there was nothing we fancied on Silversea but for us the wonderful Crew on Silversea cannot be beaten - we also prefer the slightly more formal approach and with the onset of more Dining choice on Silversea for us there is no real contest.

In this very strange world we are living in at the moment any Cruise on either would be more than acceptable !!!