caviargal

Ponant was a one and done for me. Did not care for anything about the line.

OMG, yes, please! All of the Explora speak is beyond pretentious!

Yes, I overheard a similar conversation this morning in the fitness center. These decisions by Silversea are going to come back and bite them. As they should.

This happened to my friends on Muse with me now. They will not honor the quoted price (she has documentation) and are stating that prices can change at any time. While that would be ok for those NOT confirmed at the lower rate, it is NOT ok for those that are.

Agreed. In this case, we are a group of 6 friends and none of us enjoyed (or even ate) our meal in Atlantide. We had 4 different entrees between us. Indochine has been the best experience so far.

My benchmarks for comparison are recent cruises (within 14 months) on Seabourn and Regent. Actually the food in BLU on our recent cruise (we took our kids and grand kids, which is the only reason we chose Celebrity) on Celebrity Equinox was much better dining experience than we are having on Muse. We are booked again on Regent in August and Seabourn (our favorite ) in October and Explora for the first time in January. We are also booked on Silver Dawn next year but are considering a change to that based on this cruise as well as feedback from trusted friends (in terms of quality of food and service) just back from the Dawn.

We are day 4 of our Muse cruise. Ship is elegant, well appointed and staff overall has been gracious and accommodating. We had high expectations for cuisine based on our Nova experiences. However, there are quite a few disappointments. 1) Silver Note menu is very different and not nearly as creative or tasty as on Nova. 2) Lunch menu at Kasakei is very limited. On Nova, the options were plentiful with soups, salads, alternative entrees to sushi. On Muse, it's sushi or sashimi, period. 3) We loved Atlantide on Nova. The food on Muse on Atlantide has been mediocre. Entrees are not hot, meat dishes have been tough and underseasoned. Not sure if it is a quality of ingredients issue or the executive chef but we had very tasty veal and steaks on Nova and the same dishes on Muse have been poorly executed. Fish has been way overcooked and dry and tasteless. Yes, we did speak with the restaurant manager and he offered to replace our meals but we were tired by that time and ready to leave. 4) In La Terraza, food was also lukewarm. My eggplant was woefully undercooked and my husband's mahi was dry as a bone. My pasta with duck ragu was tasty but also cold. Bread has been excellent with great variety and delicous every day. This has been the opposite of our dining experiences on Nova, where we had very few disappointments. Tonight we will try Indochine and are hoping for a better experience. We were planning on doing the Sommelier's lunch on Muse as it was fabulous on Nova. However, based on our overall food experience on Muse so far, I cannot imagine it is worth the $200 per person.

I am on Silver Muse now and I have to say that the food is mediocre at best. It's unfortunate as ship is lovely and staff terrific (except for our server last night, who started off with an attitude and did not improve). Silver Nova was much better in terms of food. Seabourn and Regent had much, much better food.

Same.

I do understand and appreciate the point you are making. Aqua Class on Celebrity was a bit of that, as at least we could avoid the crowded MDR and buffet and have a quiet and good meal in Blu. We are headed to Alaska on Silversea in two days and then Regent in August for two weeks in Northern Europe and Seabourn (our favorite) in October. I am looking forward to all of them.

My tastes and preferences for travel in general have certainly changed over the years. For the price of the Retreat on Celebrity I can book the least expensive stateroom on a small luxury ship and that will always be my preference. Even the parking experience was a pleasure (almost) at Port of Miami on Regent versus the cluster we experienced at Port Everglades with Celebrity. I have no interest in MSC YC or otherwise (I sailed with them years ago before their mega monster shis) nor a return to Celebrity We simply do not enjoy crowds or kids nor do we need shows and casinos. Small ship cruising is our choice when not on a land trip (still my personal preference but my husband likes the convenience of a cruise). We enjoy Seabourn, Regent and Silversea. I am looking forward to Explora in January and trying a short 7 night cruise before I commit further. I am sure the onboard experience is infinitely better than their awful technology.

I've never understood the attraction of a "ship within a ship" personally. I sailed in Aqua class on Celebrity last July as it was the least offensive of the options when sailing with our extended family. We were able to avoid the MDR and buffet but the public spaces were still crowded and pool ridiculously loud. We stuck to our balcony and the library when on board. I know the Retreat has their own pool but the other issues still remain. Unless we decide to do another family cruise, which is unlikely as an all inclusive would be a better option IMO, we will stick with the ships under 1000 pax.

Hopefully VS will get their act together before we board but I am confident based on the past 3 weeks of trying to get this done.

This will be my 10th Alaska cruise. Weather is a crap shoot. For off the ship I pack layers, a hat and gloves for when we are out on glaciers or in small boats; waterproof thigh length jacket; puffer vest; waterproof hiking boots and waterproof sneakers. We do the more active excursions and my husband brings medium hiking pants - they dry faster than jeans and shed water better - puffer vests, hiking boots and hat and gloves.

Nova was my first Silversea cruise. IMO the ship is beautiful! The Arts Cafe was always busy and service was slow. It will be interesting to compare to the Muse in ten days, though reviews are concerning overall for this ship.

Exactly! Now if SS would understand their own programs it would be helpful. We sail in 2 weeks and are Diamond Plus on RCCI and Elite on Celebrity. They have yet to issue the loyalty match, no one knows why and I want my laundry for Alaska 🙂

The t's and c's state that the ONBOARD benefits are applicable after June 5. So frustrating!

I cannot find that information but so be it. The FAQ's and T's and C's say nothing about a date that the cruise needed to be under deposit. I have been trying to get the VS issue fixed for over a month now. I never get the same answer twice and am just over what a time suck this has been.

I used the nicely equipped fitness center on the Nova daily but did not notice the spin bikes. Sorry!

Important to note that, per Silversea, the status match only applies to bookings made on or after May 30, 2024. Therefore, any reservations deposited prior to that date do not qualify. Maybe I am missing where this is stated but that is what I was told yesterday, after several hours on the phone with SS over the last 4 weeks. For me, the loyalty match was not a simple process and still has not been completed. They told me yesterday to call RCI and of course RCI told me the issue is with SS. My form was submitted a month ago. Nothing has been done and they can't even figure out why I was not assigned a VS # after my first cruise with them in March. I was looking forward to laundry service in Alaska next month but it looks like I am doing my own.

MIA is a nightmare IMO. We just connected through MIA for the first time in years. Long and slow moving lines. No priority for first and business. TSA pre check got us a card so we did not have to remove shoes but we stood in the same awful lines.

You are correct that wailtist is not always possible.

The best laundry service at sea! It's like getting a present.

We are on this cruise and the options for flights were very limited. You should check with Regent to be sure but we ended up booking a flight to AMS and are overnighting there and then finishing the trip the next day. Our options from Oslo on disembarkation day was 9am to get us all the way home. I spoke with Regent and was advised not to book prior to 11.

It IS! While the self service laundry is great, we very often had to go back 4-5 x to find an open machine. I was most successful around 5:00am.