drron29

Well Silversea may well have gone the way of Crystal if they hadn't been ac quired by RCCL. And no there has been no change since RCCL took over.The gradual decline in standards that had been obvious for some years has continued at the same rate. Considering the gross disruption due to Covid I think they are doing very well.

I had forgotten to post about one crew member on our 54 day Moon cruise. He will remain nameless for I hope obvious reasons. He noted that nearly all his flights to and from his contracts were on Emirates so he signed up for the frequent flyer program. Although those fares are obviously not great he has been able to upgrade himself on several occasions to Business class. He has had nearly 30 contracts. I thought that showed great initiative and Put forward his name for promotion as well as having a private word with the Hotel Director. He was also very good at his job.

Well you are at the right age to start cruising with Silversea. I was 63 on our first. My favourite ship is still the oldest of their Expedition ships the Explorer. However it is leaving the suite and both of us no longer able to fully appreciate expedition cruising. So our new favourite ship in the Silversea fleet is any one of the 3 Muse class ships. That is the Muse, the Moon or the Dawn. Why? Big enough to have a lot of public spaces and restaurants but with a small enough passenger load to not feel crowded at most times. Favourite suite. It used to be a Silver suite which on the smaller ships was basically the smallest my wife felt comfortable in. it also comes with a great bonus for people starting out on Silversea - free laundry. It also comes with free premium wifi which now with starlink is a good benefit. However on the Explorer in warmer climes we would have a medallion suite because of a much larger balcony. That was also the case on the Whisper. They also get the perks with a slightly lower price tag. On our first time on the Silver muse we had a silver suite and it was much larger than the smaller ships. so we asked to see a verandah suite and thought it would be big enough. We have just done a 54 day cruise on the Moon in a verandah suite and are happy to keep sailing in one. We have qualified for free laundry so didn't need that. Only comes with standard wifi which is better than it was in the past but still limited. Interestingly we felt that 30 days was the longest cruise we could tolerate but we were on and our 54 day cruise turned into our best yet. The reason is because we got to know a lot of the creww better than on shorter cruises and that just made the experience much better. Most who have cruised a lot on Silversea will say one of the top reasons they continue is the crew. Dining. Really this is so variable due to an individuals tastes and dislikes that there swill never be agreement on any cruise line, hotel or airline's food as to which are good and which should be avoided. That said we really enjoy the food on Silversea. our favourite restaurants now are Atlantide, kaiseki and the Arts Cafe for breakfast. We don't do buffets. The up market restaurant La Dame is a $US60 a head surcharge. yes it is better than atlantide but for us not enough to warrant thast surcharge. Similiarly Kaiseki has a $US40 surcharge at night only. We love our Japanese food and frequented it for lunch on most days. Again the evening menu to us does not stand out as wonderful Japanese cuisine. But on the Silver Muse at night they had Teppanyaki which is definitely worth the upcharge. Although the Silversea website says teppanyaki is available on all ships that have Kaiseki the Muse is the only one where you sit around the Teppan grill and the chef performs. As to investment I don't think eating at la Dame or Kaiseki at night is essential for the enjoyment of the cruise. Nor do I think it is necessary to have wine from the connoisseur's list as the complementary wines are of a very reasonable standard and if you dislike a wine supplied on the day just ask for one of the other standard wines instead. I am not sure what else you mean by amenities but have mentioned the important 2 - laundry and wifi. But as others have said the only way you will really know is to try a cruise.

If american bacon is a slice of heaven why is it nearly always cremated?

We had 925 on both the Dawn and the Moon. Certainly agree there is no problem with deck 9.

Simple take a 4 to 5 hour flight to Vancouver then wait in Vancouver for 2 hours ( or 13 if you don't like short connections) and then a 15 hour flight to Brisbane. I know I would be in loo Loo land maybe even in La La land by the end of that epic.🙃

It must be loo loo Land.

Though on our recent cruise the 20% of gents without jackets was common in Atlantide and SALT. Enforcement was tried but often they just gave up. Was terrible to hear the abuse handed out to the Maitre'D in Atlantide when she tried to enforce the jacket rule.

You see very few evening gowns on formal nights now. In fact on our recent Moon cruise just as many women as gents dressed down on formal nights.

Congratulations Rachel on your award success. It really is a major problem this last year and probably for a year or two longer. Impossible very nearly to get flights by the shortest route so I liked the way you routed via Austin. Well done. And by the look of it several Cruise Critic cruisers on board so wish you all an amazing cruise.

OK I am a bit later than I thought I would be but here we go. I'll start with what seems to top Peoples concerns. Dress Code. I really don't see why it should be a major concern but it is. Formal nights I understand as some just don't like dressing up. But you don't have to participate in the formal nights. You can eat at La terraz which has an informal dress code on those formal nights. There is also the option of the Grill and in suite dining where you can get the dishes from the other restaurants so you don't miss out on any specials for the night. Informal. simple requires the wearing of a jacket. This I see as eminently reasonable. It is no problem bringing a jacket to the cruise even if you fly hand carry only. You do as I do just wear the jacket on the plane so it doesn't take up any more room or weight in your luggage. What intriques me is that quite a few have brought a jacket but then won't wear it to a restaurant. Had a real classic on this cruise with a gentleman was indignant at being asked to wear a jacket to enter Atlantide. However he was on the same excursion the next day and it was very cold so he was wearing........a jacket! Next comes food. Definitely everyone has different tastes but quite frankly with the number of restaurants plus the everyday dining menu there should be something to satisfy everyone. Someone complained about the lack of chicken dishes though on our 54 days there was a chicken dish on the menu at La Terraza and the everyday menu for the whole 54 days. I felt that food quality was of high standard. The beef apart from the Argentinian cut was very good especially the Limousin fillet in La Dame. And it was always cooked to my liking. Though it was obvious not everyone on the ship thought so. there was one gent who I noticed in Atlantide who always had the sommelier and food manager come to his table every night. I have already told the tale of his encounter with the sommelier on the last night of his cruise when he and his partner sat beside us. We ordered at the same time and he and I both ordered the Beef fillet rare. mine was perfect however I noted when he cut his beef it was medium to rare so I wasn't surprised when the restaurant manager was called. However I was surprised with his problem He told the restaurant manager that he had ordered his fillet rare but his steak wasn't cooked enough! Not really relevant but he was a Crystal cruiser on his first SS cruise. The fish was for me cooked to perfection,not overcooked and dry. Though I know many who would rather have it cooked considerably more. Desserts as always among the weakest of the food offerings but the creme brulee from the everyday menu is quite good I will come back with my summary of the wine,crew, entertainment and excursions in a couple of days.

All the best JP but I am officially jealous. Unfortunately probably a lot of zodiac rides and rojaan's back no longer up to those rides. Really looking forward to your report.

I personally haven't flown out of athens but all the airports I have flown out of in europe recently have had premium security lines that can be used if in business class on any airline. I searched for times Pireas at 8am on mondays and came up with a better answer- 1 hr 5 min (50.0 km) via A/D Pireos Athinon Thessalonikis Evzonon/A1/E75 and Attiki Odos/A6/E94 Again seeing you are in business class it shouldn't be too bad getting checked in and through security. I would check in online the day before and have the BP on your phone so you just have to drop bags. The Turkish website says that bag drop will close 1 hour before an international flight. So it is doable but would be tight. I assume the 1.30 flight wouldn't connect in IST?

The last I heard that there is no very good lounge in Athens. From a friend who flew from Athens on a One World carrier a week ago.

It is 2 twins together but with a single Queen mattress on top. it must be the 66 inch wide queen because at home we have a king bed and we have no problems on the Silversea bed whereas we do in US hotels with a queen bed.

When we arrived into Athens about 4 weeks ago on the Moon "Debarking" as Roy calls it began ~ 7.30am. So if you book a private transfer say at 7.45 am to meet you at the port then even if it takes an hour you should be at the airport 2 hours before the flight leaves which should make for little stress though very little if any lounge time!

Thanks for a great report. The Explorer was definitely our favourite ship so lots of memories triggered. Have a good trip home.

though the original post about poor food is still there so couldn't be that the Faithful were outraged. Probably good that I didn't see the post that was removed I postulate.

Most of the hotels are in Quebec and it would be very difficult getting yur baggage down the hill. A taxi would be the go. Just before the pandemic we had booked a cruise on the Scenic Eclipse a year after it was to have been starting. It turned out to be the Inaugural cruise so we cancelled. Glad we did as it was still being outfitted on that voyage. We had though booked a hotel to stay after the cruise the Auberge Saint Antoine. It turned out to be literally over the road from Wharf 22 where the ship berthed, The Scenic Eclipse is roughly the size of the Cloud and Wind. So if you want to walk look for something in Petit Champlain.

On our last 2 cruises 8/22 and 3/ 23 boarding times were at 1pm and midday. And we weren't the first on though close at midday in Lisbon.

Thinking back on our Moon cruise when Paolo arrived as HD the food,service and dress code enforcement all improved.

If you like spice just ask for extra spice when ordering. It always works for me though on the Moon it came very spicy so I modified it for extra spice on the side so I could get the heat I like without overdoing it. That way I found the chillies they were using were very powerful and this from a fellow who can eat a whole birds eye chilli by itself without trouble.