DogLover45

Sorry, don't know anything about the wifi service, but we are probably going to take the "All-In" package.  We are going (hopefully) end of February.   Same trip is also in the beginning of February.  Right now, we're still trying to decide whether it's worth it for us to take the trip - depending on what is allowed off-ship.    We have until end of December to make a final decision -and I'm hoping that people who are doing this in December can provide good feedback. 

Thanks.  I figured it may be too early to know the whole story, but if we can't go to ports on our own, I'm thinking of cancelling.   So, I'm trying to find out whatever I can as soon as I can.  

We will be on the Legend in February and we will probably want to take advantage of the watersports platform.   Does anyone know if you need to make reservations in advance to use a kayak?   Do they have enough kayaks on board that it is relatively easy to get one when you want one?  Are they single kayaks only or do they have tandem kayaks?

We are currently booked on the Legend in February - from St. Maarteen to St Kitts, St Bart, Montserrat and British Virgin Islands.  I have been reading about restrictions for entering these islands and from what I can tell, some islands require a covid test prior to getting off the ship.    Sometimes, it says that the covid test needs to be done 72 hours prior.  So,  since a covid test is required to embark the ship, I assume those results would be good for the first 3 days of the trip.   That means we would probably need another covid test for the next 3 days.  I also read somewhere that you may not be able to enter an island unless you are on ship's excursion - can't just do things on your own.     Does anyone have any more info on this?   

Thanks so much for the review.   We are considering doing this cruise and your post was very helpful.   I'd love to know if you have a ballpark figure of how much you spent over and above the cost of the actual cruise and airfare.    Your motel nights, your excursions, etc.   Bar bill when drinks aren't included?  etc.  

My husband wants to go scuba diving and will probably use the $50 credit for that. Even if we only use it at two ports, it still seems like it is a better deal than the one time $50 dining credit. No??

We just booked a trip on Norwegian Sky to Bahamas and Key West for February 2019. We need to decide which two freebies we want. I have some question on the options:

• I definitely don't care about the photo package.
  
• The excursion freebie sounds like a good deal - $50.00 per cabin per port. Does that include the embark/debark port? Does it include rentals (snorkel gear, etc ) at the private island - or just excursions?
  
• The $50 dining option. Is that enough to cover a 3-4 course meal for two people? In other words, how much does a full dinner typically cost?
  
• The 100 minute internet option. What happens if you go over the allotted minutes?
  

We were on Spirit in 2104 and there were about 10 couples on the Roll Call. We had so much fun connecting with each other prior to the cruise. On our 2015 cruise, there were only 4 couples on the Roll Call. But, as I look through the existing roll calls, even 4 is a rarity now. I wonder if people don't realize what the roll call is.

DogLover45; you are taking the right steps to encourage fellow Silversea cruise critics to join your roll call. Sometimes, folks are just reluctant to join and may wait to the last minute. Another thought is if you used a TA, you might ask her/him if any more clients signed up for your cruise and ask the Ta to encourage them to join the Silversea Cruise Critic roll call you started. btw, do you have a fav breed y'all enjoy or do you love all breeds?

Thanks for TA idea. To answer your question - I love all dogs, but I'm partial to the bigger breeds - especially goldens and labs.

We signed up for a cruise to the Caribbean months ago and I keep checking to see if anyone started a roll call for the cruise. No one did, so I finally decided to bite the bullet and started one myself. But, it looks like people are not very well aware of the roll call option. Most of the upcoming cruises do not have more than 3 passengers signed onto the roll call. On our last two cruises we "met" several fellow passengers before the cruise and that added so much to our whole cruise experience. We loved talking to fellow passengers before the cruise. Any thoughts or suggestions for getting people to sign up for the roll call?

Is the unlimited internet plan a per cabin price where two devices could share the plan using it at different times? Or is it good only for one device?

 

 

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We just came off the Whisper using the unlimited plan. My husband used the ipad and I used my phone to access the internet. We couldn't be on at the same time, but we could use two different devices. If you haven't logged out of one device and try to get on with another, you will get a message saying that you are already logged on.

Yes, we're Meet and Mingling! Just wish there were more people joining us!

Haven't had much activity on the Roll Call for this cruise! Where is everyone? We'd love to "meet" a few people online prior to the cruise. Please sign up - or at least let me know why you are reluctant to do so!

I ordered a veal chop! It was so good, that several of us ordered it again for the last night of our cruise.

...we don't have any interest in Samana, which is a "stay on the ship" day

This probably isn't the right place to comment on Samana, but if you are making a selection of Caribbean cruises based on itinerary, I have to put in my two cents on Samana...

Our cruise on the Spirit in April 2014 included a stop in Samana. The people who went on the excursions were extremely disappointed. The "guides" didn't do anything and the places they went to were very overrated.

We didn't do an excursion - we just walked from the tender area to the town. It could have been a beautiful walk - but it was very disconcerting to have the locals constantly stopping us and asking if we wanted a ride, if we wanted to buy something, if we wanted a tour, if we wanted them to show us the best stores, etc. It was constant and very annoying. However, if you can live with that, the walk into town is really beautiful. Just save your money and don't take an excursion in Samana.

In retrospect, even though I didn't enjoy the constant barrage of "sales jobs" while it was happening, I actually look back on it as a very interesting experience. And, the walk into town really is beautiful.

We were on the Silver Spirit in April and loved it. But we wanted to try a smaller ship for our next cruise. Rather than going on the Cloud, we decided to do the Whisper on December 12 - which is a size between the Spirit and and the Cloud.

One of the downsides to the December Cloud itinerary is that it is going to the same ports that all the large ships go - and you may have tons of people in port with you. The Whisper is going to some of the ports that the big ships don't go, so I suspect it will be a nicer experience.

The downside of the December 12 Whisper cruise is that it leaves from Barbados (as opposed to Ft. Lauderdale), and, there doesn't seem to be any direct flight (from where we live) to Barbados. But, we decided to make the best of it and spend a few nights in Barbados pre-cruise. The Whisper comes back to Ft. Lauderdale on the 19th.

Thanks to all for your replies and opinions. Still haven't determined what we'll do, but it sounds like no bad choice. We have to sit down and analyze everything - these comments, size of ship, pricing, size of room, time of year, air arrangements, etc. How are the verandas on the Cloud? They are smaller than Whisper - are they too small?

Stumblefoot and Patnlcc, you asked what we liked about Spirit. We're coming from a different perspective than most of you. The only prior cruises we have been on are the mainstream large ships. Spirit was so much nicer than that; we realize that we love the small ship experience. I doubt that Cloud would be too small, but I guess it's better to go down in size gradually! This is what we loved on Spirit - but I'm sure it would be true for any of the Silversea ships: No crowds anywhere - always able to find a place to sit - wonderful, interesting, and friendly people aboard the ship - no loudspeakers announcing an activity - all inclusive on drinks - good restaurant choices (but we enjoyed the main dining room so much that we couldn't warrant spending an additional $80 for dinner in the upcharge restaurants, - great itinerary going to places that the mainstream ships can't get to ... etc. etc.

We recently returned from a cruise on Silver Spirit. Loved it. We are now trying to make plans for our next cruise - Caribbean on either Silver Whisper in December or a very similar itinerary on Silver Cloud in March. Any thoughts on the differences between the two ships? We would be staying in a Veranda Suite. There is a big difference in price between the two - the cruise on Silver Whisper in December is considerably less expensive than the similar itinerary on Silver Cloud in March. I believe the Veranda Suite on the Whisper is larger than the Veranda Suite on the Cloud. Is the difference significant? Any other info would be greatly appreciated!

Fudge, did you say table tennis? Do they have that on Spirit? We're avid ping pong players and will bring our own paddles if they have the table. I just never even thought of ping pong as an on-board option.

I just changed my room from Concierge Class to Aqua Class. The difference in price was only $50 per person - or $100 for the two of us. (I'm not sure why someone previously stated $1000 difference.) Our original Concierge Class reservation was Starboard side (for a Northbound Alaska cruise) on the 8th deck, to Starboard side on the 11th deck - 6 cabin-lengths further back.

From what I can tell, the $100 difference is definitely worth it. If we were in CC and wanted to eat in a specialty restaurant, that alone would be $80 for the two of us. If we were in CC class and wanted to buy a bottle of water every day, that would be about $50 for the two of us (it's included in the Aqua Class). So it essentially isn't costing us any more than the CC would.

I haven't found any downside to the Aqua Class, so I booked it. Trip is next month. If anyone wants further info, I can report back.

We currently have a concierge class room booked for our Alaska northbound trip. Apparently, we can change this to aqua class with no real price difference. But, I'm cocerned that if we change to aqua class, although we may get more ship amenities we may be sacrificing a great location on the ship. Since view in cruises to Alaska is quite important, I' m wondering if I should bother making the change. Location wise, can anyone tell me about the room location for the ac.