Silver Spectre

Good to see that this is starting to get some press coverage, even if it doesn’t really cover the guests ire

Apparently someone on the Nova got a email response from said person and read it out to their dinner table last night. The responder couldn’t understand why the guest might be upset and didn’t show any empathy.

Only for some and not those in the know.

Went to Indochine on an Informal night with the CD, wearing a very snazzy weskit. Being polite I ascertained from the Head Waiter whether I should be wearing a jacket, so I changed to one. On spotting another guest who hadn’t bothered with a jacket I enquired and was told by the same HW that he could do absolutely nothing to stop the other guest from coming in. What a complete waste of space!

So true, as usual the saving grace for the cruise was the majority of the staff who continue to go above and beyond, and the amazing guests that we meet again or for the first time. Noname rules!

In 20 years of travelling with SS this was the worst overall experience. Although not directly impacted by the cancellation from Mahé, which I agree could have been made at least a month before, friends onboard and many other guests were. Service levels went from bad to patchy, shortages didn’t help. None of the tours we took matched the descriptions in the tour brochure, some were bad, others indifferent. The exit tour had a major mismatch which again caused angst to many guests. Senior management seemed invisible or indifferent. We will be on the Shadow in 7 weeks and are hoping this was an isolated occurrence. One thing is for sure, we are never getting back on the Spirit.

The 2 singers (1 male, 1 female) and 4 dancers, 2 of each, are throwback to the JAR shows from 12 years ago, except with more modern songs.

I don’t know about Paolo being onboard. I think we have a Captain change due and we will certainly need a new CD as Katherina was due to leave here tomorrow to go to the Dawn, but has broken her ankle, so will go home.

He did have a particular issue and got reported too many times for SS to run the risk of keeping him.

Back to reality and on topic on this thread. A return to Madagascar today and a tour that was completely different from that advertised. Our small bus voted for an early return as it was so bad. The ship has now run out of PF, Tiki, Vouvrey and the better French Rose.

Just to recap, very poor service on the first two days, suite bathroom flooded twice by backwater from the bath, not fixed the first time! Missing items in the suite but available from the butler when asked. Still no LP pink fizz. TV requires remote to be pressed twice for any response. Awful WiFi in suite, at the third time of asking and after 36 hours the router was changed. Wine and food supply issues. Missing ports (weather related). Poor communication regarding weather related changes. Grumpy staff (not surprising when being sent home without pay for 4 weeks). Warm food served on cold plates. IMHO SS needs a real kick in the proverbial because this is a 4* service at 6* prices.

Slightly weird dinner at the Grill last night. My ribeye was almost twice the size of the one I had last week and the prawns had been shrunk down to big shrimp size. Wine service was good, although the Pouilly Fume has completely run out. Interestingly we have loads of Tiki whilst my neighbours on the Whisper are about to go cold turkey as they only have 2 bottles left.

We are running away, instead of overnighting in Mauritius and leaving at 6pm tomorrow we are now leaving at 8pm tonight! So tomorrow becomes another sea day. We had to cancel today’s tour after getting a stomach bug from the poor lunch on the useless tour in Reunion yesterday. The service on the ship is very up and down. Although we were having dinner with the CD last night it took over 30 minutes to get any wine and despite asking for a hot plate for the main, hot food came on a cold plate. Plus yesterday morning and for the first time in 20 years on SS, I got dissed by a member of the wait staff in La Terrazza at breakfast.

Why? The reason I haven’t played is because my partner died.

And tonight at 11pm we are on tune 3 of the same 9 that the so called DJ plays every single night, yawn.

So, what is it with all the idiots who refuse to adhere to the dress code and turn up in a bar or restaurant on an informal night without a jacket. It defies my understanding. This also includes those who come, underdressed to the Venetian Lounge.

Have not played bridge at all for almost a year. There is bridge on here but I believe only one or two tables at the most.

British Pub Lunch on the Pool Deck, with a strange Antipodean flag

Very rough last night and when we reached Tolagnaro this morning the Authorities told the ship that the port is closed due to adverse weather conditions, so now we have sea days 4 and 5 on our way to Reunion.

No, it’s not the Art Auction Route, it’s the same stuff that used to be on here 12 years ago with the Andrew Weiss Gallery in LA.

Along with the retrograde dancers (remember the days of Jean Anne Ryan) SS has now tipped their corporate toe back into the cesspit that is the art market and allowed the Spirit to be adorned with many series of expensive prints. Oh, and there is an art curator too!

It’s amazing how often folks get the wrong end of the stick on here. Your ‘clue’ is very much appreciated.

Today’s cappuccino at breakfast was produced in 4 minutes and the staff are significantly more attentive, so things are looking up. Today is our second day at sea and the weather has improved. The swell is down and we have sun again. All is good apart from Trivia, where we are being thrashed by the Grand voyage teams.

Hi Terry, good to see back on SS again at last.

Interesting to get a different perspective from new SS cruisers. Mine is based on 20 years with SS and a number of cruises since lockdown and the RCL takeover. I also have friends on the Whisper at the moment who experiencing similar issues.